July Update and August Goals

 January's Goals

February's Goals

March's Goals

April's Goals

May's Goals
June's Goals

I'm back for another update on my monthly goals!

July's Goals:

1. Do my daily devotional

Check! My favorite one being this:

In the scripture, it says that God didn’t lead the Israelites by the shortest route to the Promised Land; He took them the long way on purpose because they were not prepared for war. God knew that if He would have taken them into the land too quickly, they would have been easily defeated. Their enemies were much bigger and much more experienced. I’m sure they prayed many times, “God, we’re uncomfortable out here in the desert. We’re hot. We’re tired. Where’s our Promised Land?” But God didn’t answer that prayer, not because He was trying to make their lives miserable, but because He knew what was up in front of them. He had to prepare them to step into the fullness of their destiny. In the same way, God has already laid out the plan for your life. He knows exactly what you need and when you need it. If you are in a difficult situation that’s taking longer than you had hoped, know that God is preparing you. He is strengthening you. Stay in faith and keep praising Him as you move forward into the Promised Land He has for you!

  

2. Continue doing something active for at least an hour once everyday.

Check! I'm not sure about at least an hour, but there is lots of hard work that's been done at my grandparents!

Especially this:

cutting down trees is hard work!

3. Stress less

I don't know if I'll ever be able to fully do this, but being up here with my grandparents is a nice break from reality. I love it. 

4. Read more (and pick better books!)

I always think that I should be reading more because there are so many books I want to read, but I've finished one book "Always Something There to Remind Me" that I randomly found and decided to read. I really enjoyed it!

Oh, If you're wondering, I gave up on "Love Walked In." It stunk.

2013 Bucket List:

-Cut out processed foods

-buy local produce/go to local farmer's market more-a perk of living near farmers!

-volunteer somewhere

-have my first giveaway on my blog

-figure out my college plan

-save my money up for something big

-bake a blackberry cobbler from scratch-So picking my own blackberries didn't turn out so great, so I'm making it with frozen instead. Bummer. 

-eat better and be active-

-make new friends

-work on my scrapbook

-go on a road trip-Sarasota, Daytona, Rainbow River, Florida to Georgia!
-write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
-go camping
-read at least 8 books- 4 down, 4 to go :)
-teach myself how to sew

and now for....

August Goals:

1. Be Kind. 

I often find myself getting too absorbed in the moment, and forget to be kind. Does this happen to anyone else? I just snap with my pre-programmed answers and forget to truly listen. I want to change that!

2. Use up products before opening new ones.

I may be the only one that does this but I have like a million different hair sprays, 40 billion different soaps and I feel like I am wasting so much stuff! I want to use what I have first, then try others. 

3. Live in the Moment.

Life is too short not to, right? I

4. Read "The Fault In Our Stars", "Beautiful Ruins", "The Spectacular Now" or "Gone Girl" 

I can't make up my mind! 

There you have it! I'll check back in at the end of the month!

July Beauty Favorites

1. Physicians Formula Conceal RX Concealer (In shade Fair/Light)

Lately, as in since January, I've been having sleep trouble which has inevitably led to dark circles under my eyes. Yeah, not fun. So, I've had to find a good concealer that has enough coverage to disguise them. This one certainly is. It's thick, so just use a little bit, but it works wonders! It does the job well and a little goes a long way. {Watch out for sales at CVS for this. I got mine for $1.99!}

2. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (In shade Sweetheart)

I'm the kind of girl who puts on my makeup once in the morning, and doesn't touch it again until I wash it off at night. I don't really touch anything up, because I just find that I don't need to. The same goes for lipstick. While I love wearing different shades, once it wears off, I don't really find myself re-applying throughout the day. This is why I love this lipstick! It's a balm-y feel, but it actually stains my lips so I don't have to ever reapply throughout the day (like I would anyway). I'd really like to try out a few other shades because this one is really bright. I'm thinking the shade "Honey" will be my next purchase. 

3. NYX Powder Blush in Shade 'Spice'

I got this in last month's Ipsy Bag, and I've been loving it recently! It's a really pretty shade that compliments my skin tone really well and lasts all day. It's perfect for summer!

4. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencils (In shade Zero)

I'm going through this phase where I don't want to wear liquid eyeliner like I normally do (it just takes too much time!) So I've moved back to using a regular old eyeliner pencil. I got this for Christmas and I love the formula. It is literally the smoothest eyeliner I've ever used. The shade is just a regular matte black so I'd love to try out the other shades as well. I'm normally not one to spend a lot of money on things, but I can tell you... this is worth it!

The Infamous Starbucks

So, I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but my grandparents live in the boondocks. 

Literally.

They live on top of Lookout Mountain in a secluded area.

The only stoplight is 10 miles away and their nearest neighbor is probably 3 miles.

It's legit. 

Anyways, like I said friday, there are plenty of tourist attractions on the Tennessee side of the mountain (about 45 minutes away). We always laugh at this sign that's posted:

Yeah, you see that?

Starbucks is a tourist attraction.

It has it's own sign, for goodness sakes!

So, we can't be that much in the boondocks if there is a Starbucks, right?

So after we visited Rock City, we decided to hit up the infamous Starbucks.

Because, I mean, how could we miss it?!?!?!

Of course, we had to have our picture taken in front of it!

The boys ordered Mocha Cookie Crumble and Strawberries and Creme "Milkshakes" 

I think they thoroughly enjoyed them. 

Mocha Light Frapp for me :)

I love this picture. No not because of me, but of what's captured behind me.

Doesn't it look like Sweet Matthew is contemplating what he's reading in the New York Times?

;)

I'd say our trip to the Infamous Starbucks was a success. 

Our Visit to Rock City In Pictures

 My grandparents live on top of Lookout Mountain on the Georgia side. It's really quite lovely. It's very serene and quiet. However, on the Tennessee side near Chattanooga, there are several different tourist attractions like Ruby Falls, the Incline Railway and Rock City. 

While we haven't been to most of them, my grandparents decided to indulge us in a trip to see Rock City.

I was prepared to be bored the entire time, thinking that all we would be doing was staring at rocks for a few hours.

Boy, was I wrong!

It was actually quite amazing. The landscaping was awesome and the flowers were breathtaking, but the coolest part was all of the rocks! There were tight squeezes, and even an over look where you could see 7 different states!

Anyways, I'll stop talking now and just share some pictures of our trip. 

Thank you Nana and Papa for such an amazing time!

Yep. This is me.

Except I get embarrassed on wether or not I should tell them that it came from Goodwill, which it is 99.9% of the time.

Today's Meditation

Everyday, as soon as I get out of bed, I check my email. I know, I know, but it's for a good reason! 

Every morning, I receive an email called "Today's word" from Joel Osteen. Sometimes, certain ones speak to me over others. Today was one of those. I just thought I'd share:

Break Out of Your Cocoon TODAY’S SCRIPTURE "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…" (Romans 12:2, NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria On the inside of each one of us is a blessed, prosperous, victorious person. This person is free from addictions and bad habits, confident and secure in God. But just because that’s in you doesn’t mean it’s going to automatically come out. In today’s scripture, that word “transformed” in the original language is “metamorpho.” It’s where we get our word “metamorphose.” We know how a caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly. This is saying that if you meditate on God’s Word, then a transformation will take place. Think about the little caterpillar. It’s very plain, nothing really special about it. At a certain point, it forms a cocoon. The metamorphose starts to take place. It’s a process. Little by little it changes. One day, it begins to push out of the cocoon. Before long, it goes from being one of the plainest insects to being one of the most beautiful. Instead of having to crawl on the ground and squirm around, it can now fly wherever it wants to go. Today, why don’t you break out of your cocoon? Believe that God is at work in you. Believe that He has good plans for you. Believe that He will complete every good work that He’s started in your life! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, thank You for the good plan You have for me. Thank You for Your Word which transforms me into Your image. I choose to trust, I choose to believe, and I choose to follow Your Word which is life to my soul in Jesus’ name. Amen. — Joel & Victoria Osteen

How We Celebrated National Ice Cream Day...

Last fall, at our favorite neighborhood garage sale, I found a brand new ice cream maker for $5. I had grand visions of hand-cranking the best tasting homemade ice cream, so of course I jumped at the price. 

{seeing that the particular Ice Cream Maker  I found retails for $54 on Amazon}

I gave it to my grandparents knowing that we would get more use out of it over the summer up at their place. Well, the time had come and my cousins and I finally took it out of the box to make our very own homemade ice cream. 

We got all of the ingredients together,chilled the mixture and bowl and layered the rock salt and ice.

It was a lot of work. 

Ha... little did I know.

You see, I was very adamant about hand-cranking it, (our maker had both the hand-crank and a motorized crank).

I wanted it to be just like the old-fashioned kind.  When I told my grandmother that, she laughed.

Yeah, little did I know that you had to hand-crank it non stop for 40 minutes!!!

Once I read that little detail, I voted to use the motor. 

I think it was a good choice. 

Anyways, 40 minutes later, we had our very own Wendy's Chocolate Frosty ice cream. 

{our forearms were thanking us ;) }

It was gooooood. 

Like really good. 

like I had 4 large scoops good. 

As we were sitting down enjoying our homemade ice cream, my grandma informed us that it was, in fact, National Ice Cream Day.

We literally had no idea!!

but, I have to admit, it was a wonderful way to celebrate. 

If you're interested here is the recipe we used:

Homemade Wendy's Chocolate Frosty

1/2 gallon of chocolate milk

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 container (8 oz) cool whip

Mix all ingredients together and follow instructions of your ice cream maker

Royal Baby

Source: Google

You may or may not know that I am an avid follower of William and Kate.

I just think they are an adorable couple and are a real life example of a fairy tale.

(I even visited Westminster Abbey, where the two got hitched, the summer after their wedding.)

So as I'm sure you can imagine, I am just over the moon with excitement over all the Royal Baby buzz.

My predictions (more like hopeful guess) is that it is a 

Girl, named Grace. 

Here are some interesting facts about the Royal Baby:

• The baby will have the title His or Her Royal Highness Prince or Princess (the baby's name) of Cambridge, St. James's Palace said this month. However, it could be as long as 10 days before the baby's name is announced.

• Anyone born in Britain on the same day as William and Catherine's baby will receive a special coin from the Royal Mint: a silver penny, dated 2013, that will come in a blue pouch for a boy or a pink one for a girl.

• Celebratory gun salutes will be sounded by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park (41 rounds) and the Honorable Artillery Company at the Tower of London (62 rounds) after the baby is born.

• William and Catherine did not want to know the sex of their baby beforehand, royal sources say. There has been speculation it is a girl, however, especially after a member of the public said in March that the duchess almost uttered "daughter" while at a public event in Grimsby. The woman said the duchess was given a teddy bear and replied, "Thank you, I will take that for my d--" but then stopped herself.

• The baby will be third in line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William, regardless of gender. A rule change in 2011 ended centuries of male primogeniture, which decreed that the crown passed to the eldest son and was bestowed on a daughter only when there were no sons. It means that if the next royal baby is a girl, she will eventually become queen; previously, a younger male sibling would have taken precedence.

facts found via CNN News

On Vacation... Be Back Soon!

I'm taking a week off blogging, as I just arrived up on my Grandparent's Mountain!

I'm so excited to be here and I want to enjoy this time as much as possible. 

Which means, I'll be taking this week off blogging. Don't worry and have no fear, I will be back to regular scheduled programming monday.

I believe

Source

Introducing....

Our new friend is finally named! 

Thanks to everyone who voted, it was a close call with only 1 vote difference deciding which name won....

Here is the winning name:

Yes, folks! We do have royalty on our hands!

Duchess of Pork reigns over our front porch

and we couldn't be happier.

(Well, if Harriet was still there to reign with her)

Thanks guys and let's hope The Harriet Saga has finally come to an end!

Sometimes in life you just need a little luxury.

My mom asked what my final requests were as far as using her discount at Neiman Marcus. It was her last week there, so I needed to buy whatever I wanted now, with her discount, instead of paying full price later (Like I even would). That was basically my only chance to really be able to afford luxury. 

I thought about it, and thought about it. 

"What is one luxurious item you've been lusting after?"

Well, a Chanel bag. But even with her discount, I'd never be able to afford it. 

So I scratched that. 

So, my next thought was Yves Saint Laurent. 

Yes. YSL.

but not just anything...

a Yves Saint Laurent lipstick.

(You have to say that with a french accent. have to. )

The creme de la creme of all lipsticks. 

and at $34 for a tube of lipstick, they better be. 

The packaging itself is to die for. I mean, this thing is heavy. 

It just screams luxury to me. 

I tried on a bunch of shades and finally got sick of staring at my lips so I randomly picked a shade I liked. 

When I got home and looked at it more closely, I giggled.

 Of course I'd pick the shade called "Pink in Paris"

and 13 happens to be my favorite number. 

Hmm... Was it made for me?

It made me smile because I swear I didn't do that on purpose. 

But it's the perfect shade of pink. 

It's subtle, but you can tell it's there, you know?

 I really like it and I feel like it's my perfect 'everyday' shade. 

Because sometimes in life

you just need a little luxury.

~~Update~~

A few people asked to see the lipstick on, so I took this rather embarrassing photo to show you.

*sigh* 

I'm such a dork. 

What Should We Name Our New Addition?

Remember this cutie?

This poor piggie is still nameless. What a shame! We have it narrowed down to a few names, but here's where you can help... Drumroll please....

YOU, yes YOU can help decide his/her name!

Click below to vote for your favorite name! I announce the winning name on friday :)

What Should We Name Our New Addition?
	Duchess of Pork
	Uncle Si
	Audrey (as in Hepburn)
	Kevin Bacon
	Scarlett
pollcode.com free polls