summary of the latest adventures including pink flowers, lanterns, cucumbers, girly movies, and FIRE!!!

Dear readers,

Well it seems like it is high time for an update isn't it?!  By the way, winter is over. almost 5 months later. In case you wanted to know.

It has been a busy life. Let me see what I can remember...

The 1st week in March I went to England with my beloved mom. More stories and pictures to come!

The 1st Friday night in April I went to see Captain America 2 with friends. At an IMAX 3D theater! Except I was just now told that it was not a true IMAX... the real ones have huge wrap-around screens that you have to lean back to take in. Apparently. Well I was still pretty wowed by my "faux" IMAX experience, especially by the countdown numbers that zoomed up through my skull. Oww it hurt! I had to close my eyes. And the movie was great too!

That same weekend and following week we wrapped up an intense project at work, which meant the end of 10-hour days and working 2-3 hours 2 nights a week.  What relief and I am still thanking God!

The 3rd weekend in April was Easter weekend, I believe. With Good Friday off, I headed down to Tennessee on Thursday to spend the weekend with my cousin of cousins Hannah Holder. We had such a good time... relaxing, exploring Knoxville, walking to our supper, watching most of Wives and Daughters (still one hour left to go! how have I ever been able to keep living in the interim??) and driving down dogwood-decorated streets, actually they were laden with redbud and azaleas too. Knoxville is quite the pink place. Very pretty!

The 1st weekend in May I flew down to Texas to join in the graduation festivities for brother Derek! Enjoyed chauffeuring my mom all over and giggling over stuff with her. Ask her about my makeup driving advisories. Heh heh :)  and of course a great chance to hang out with sisters Melinda and Carolyn! We five had some of the best times ever just hanging around talking and reminiscing... and singing a little concert in the campus chapel (and Derek and Carolyn are quite the pianists too!) and having a crazy cookout with Derek's buddies and their families, great conversation topics like how to burp and how to get a job if you car breaks down back in the day. And which of one family's kids was the sweetest. And how you can see all the stars in both hemispheres by standing on the equator. It's amazing the knowledge that springs like a fount as the campfire dies and the stars wheel overhead and you become less and less able to not laugh! hahaha :)

So that brings up to the first week in May, when one of my good friends (Lis) has been in town, plus another good friend (Anila) graduating, so we have been up to all kinds of shenanigans...

Wednesday night was game night with my Bible study group, and I finally had a chance to try out the riddle I learned in N.Z. WITHOUT using the answer as the first line. Lis then proceeded to recount how she imagined I had told it with the punchline first... it was so dead on that I almost fell to the floor laughing. Then Anila showed me how to rub cucumber slices on one's face for refreshment. So I started doing that and apparently I was getting into it enough that THEY almost fell to the floor laughing. And then we did play some actual games too.

Thursday night we girls went down to the lake to set off some of those floating lanterns in honor of Anila's graduation. The first two went off splendidly! once we stood in the shelter of a house to get out of the wedding. We were so excited. Then there was mine... I did not hold the top up enough, so the side got singed as the fire was building to lift-off... then I got nervous and let go too soon... it wobbled its way up... seemed to be coming down... wafted back up... down... went along... finally we saw it pretty definitely going down, way far along. By this time we were picturing Warsaw in flames. However we were unable to find the lantern or a fire for that matter, and since that was not the headline in the next day's news I think we may have very fortunately and blessedly escaped going to jail for unintentional pyromania.

Friday night three of us (Stacey, Lis and myself) decided we should have a sleepover! so we did, in a big living room with 2 full couches and an air mattress. We found Tangled on TV. and then we put in Bride & Prejudice (best movie EVER!!). When that finished, we started giggling our way to sleep around 3:00am... and were popping up around 8:30 or 9:00am to go our ways seeing friends, attending graduation, etc. What fun, you NEVER get too old for sleepovers! At least I pray I never do.

I hope that gives you an idea of some of the adventures lately. And I promise to post here again much sooner! Since I know this blog is the main source of inspiration, hope and joy to all 2 or 3 of you. heehee :)

love,
Sharon