Milestones and the Death of an Icon

The summer seems to be flying by as I am spending most of my time out of the house working and staying busy.  Megan and mom went for Megan's orientation at the beginning of the week; everything went smoothly with no issues.  We HAVE been having some issues with the cars this week though.  I was backing out of the driveway on Wednesday when I hit the rear end of the suburban, leaving 2 scratches on the 'burban but taking the entire front bumper of my dad's highlander :( Sooo the car is driveable (good) but the bumper will need to be replaced to the tune of $500? (bad).  And to add to that, Megan couldn't get the Honda started yesterday so it's sitting in the parking lot of Capt'n Franks until Steven can get over there to take a look at the spark-plugs; hopefully that will be a quick fix.  Any and all prayers concerning vehicles and money associated with that are amazing and appreciated.

I did hit a milestone this week (besides getting into my first car wreck in my own driveway) when I actually cooked dinner for Steve and I!  I never cook (I love to clean, can't hardly cook) so this was a pretty big deal, but it turned out great.  I made portabella mushrooms stuffed with a ricotta and mozzarella cheese filling, with tomatoes slices on top; I also seared up some tasty fresh green beans.  Good stuff :) 

Cathy and I accomplished alot of wedding stuff in VA on Wed. which was very exciting, and I got my dress for her wedding in the mail the other day-it's beautiful.  Tom., I am throwing a lingerie party for her which should be lots of fun.  Can't wait for the wedding!!

And on a final note, I was really shocked to hear about Michael Jackson's death on Thursday, and I know others were too.  I have never really listened to his music or been all that into him but from watching the news and listening to those that grew up with his music, I've realized how much music really shapes people's lives.  I feel like the media coverage surrounding Jackson's death and life could rival that of the presidents who have passed in recent years; he has had that much of an influence on people's lives, plus his controversial life has left many questions and many mysteries.  

Successful Week

I did absolutely NOTHING today except watch tv and sleep for about 3 hours-it felt amazing!  I was so exhausted from working all week plus we had Megan's graduation on Friday (yay!) and then a party for her on Saturday and then I went to a bridal shower for Cathy that was being thrown by ladies from Chris' side of the family on Sat. night.  It was a great week with lots of things going on but I was so thankful for the rest I got today. 

This coming up week holds another 6 days of work and then Steven and I are going to VA Beach on Sunday to see dad since it's Father's Day; Mom and Megan will be leaving for Meg's orientation at UNC-A on Sunday.  

Here are some graduation pics; it went really well although there was a pretty good thunderstorm beforehand with some nasty lightning plus rain, so they had to move the time from 7:30 to 8, but after that, everything went smoothly.  Congrats to all '09 grads!

Madre and me

Padre and me

Doing a great job of walking to their seats.

All seated.

Post-thunderstorm sky.

Officially FFHS '09 grads!

Meg with mom and dad.

Life

I am attempting to start blogging more now that I am home for the summer, but I am also in the process if getting used to working 6 days a week!  The weather is beautiful today and I'm the only one home so it is a great day off :)  My only issue is that I don't feel like I can afford the rest but I know I need it. The wedding season is in full swing; Cathy's bridal shower was last Saturday which was alot of fun (Thank you everyone for all the help!) and  yesterday was Rich and Lauren Coleman's wedding-it was beautiful, and I'm so happy for the both of them.  One wedding down, one to go!  Megan graduates from high school on Friday (crazy how fast life flies) so that is the next big event on the list; she will be going to UNC-Asheville in the fall.  And then my baby bro's last year of high school will be in progress!  

I believe I mentioned earlier on that I have learned how to knit, and I just finished my first project:  A scarf.  I am very excited because I always have trouble finishing things and I have actually learned something new :)  

Here it is modeled by me.

And here it is modeled by Roxy (ignore the background clutter)

I have also enjoyed being able to read for pleasure again; I have so far, finished "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank Peretti (amazing book, been reading it since October...)  and I read "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (also pretty good).  Having time to do what you enjoy is great :)  

Busyness and Baby Names

What a busy week it has been; I worked Tues. through Thurs. and then threw a bridal shower for Cathy on Sat. which was so much fun and a big success due to all the amazing help I received!  I have pics which I will post soon. I am very excited about this week because I will be working over 40 hours which will help to replenish my bank account after a school year of not working.  I enjoy working at the Culinary Duck because it's pretty quiet (even though being busy is a good thing) so I get the opportunity to think, read, and knit-quite a different environment from Capt'n Franks. But Capt'n Franks is a plus because when I waitress at night I get tip money.  

So, I follow McMamma's blog: mycharmingkids.blogspot.com  and her 4 kids have really cool names and she did a post several weeks ago about baby names; I also noticed a link that Tricia Lawrenson posted about the most popular baby names of 2008 on her facebook page (I'm really glad, by the way, that Tricia and Nate went with the name Gwyneth instead of Emma, because it's the perfect name for her :) Sooo because of seeing all this baby name info., I though I would reveal one of my loves: baby names; I absolutely love hearing names and finding out their meanings and the reasons why the parents chose that name; I even told my mom that if "names" was a minor at school, I would be all over that.  I ALSO, have a word document on my computer where I keep track of names I love (Yes, it's a weird hobby, I know) AND (I guess I'll just have to have like 20 kids so I can use all the names I like).  Here are ones I have on my list right now-some even have middle names I like.

-  Nyjah Luke

-  Talen (Tal) 

-  Story/Stori Lynn

-  Ethan Gregory

-  Machaela Grace

-  Noah

-  Micah

-  Jonah

-  Jack

-  Chad

-  Mya

-  Addie

-  Gabriella

-  Jocelyn

-  Aidan/Adin

-  Isabella

-  Isaiah

-  Eli

-  Ella

What can I say-I love names :)