Eat, Pray, Love

"I have a history of making decisions very quickly about men. I have always fallen in love fast and without measuring risks. I have a tendency not only to see the best in everyone, but to assume that everyone is emotionally capable of reaching his highest potential. I have fallen in love more times than I care to count with the highest potential of a man, rather than with the man himself, and I have hung on to the relationship for a long time (sometimes far too long) waiting for the man to ascend to his own greatness. Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

So...can anyone tell why I love this book so much? Go see the movie...or read the book.

Worry About You...

New band I'm lovin' even though this video is a little cheesy.

The Journey to Tubetopia...

Braeden's eyes twinkled like blue diamonds as he looked out of the water on his mission to swim up stream like the great salmon. Just another day on the Shenandoah River in our quest for Tubetopia. What is Tubetopia you ask? Well...Tubetopia is the name of a perfect tubing experience. Just chillaxin' while floating down the river...algae free...bug free...sharp rock free...with hopefully a cool beverage in hand.

After church this morning me and a few of my friends decided to go to a bonride/cookout on the Shenandoah River. Of course...the main reason to attend was because of the tubing option. Well...due to the fact that we're girls and we take a long time to do anything we missed the 3pm deadline to go tubing. Hearts were crushed...dreams were shattered...UNTIL two nice guys offered us their tubes and to drop us off up the river. THE DREAM was SAVED...TUBETOPIA was now once again within our grasp. Oh....if we only knew what was to come. So...2 of us got into a Jeep with one guy and the other 2 got into the truck with another guy. It didn't take too long before me and my friend Keri realized we should of rode in the truck instead of the Jeep, because lets just say our driver had been pre-gaming. To those who don't know what I mean when I say 'pre-gaming'...I mean he was 2 sheets to the wind...DRUNK DRIVING PEOPLE. There is NO DRUNK DRIVING in TUBETOPIA!! As our driver drove all over the road and we prayed for God's protection...I realized this might be the last 4th of July I'll ever have. LORD...if I make it out of this vehicle with this crazy crackhead of Your Creation...I promise to recycle more and kiss babies...I promise to call my mom more and not telepathically swear at people that cut me off in traffic....the list is endless Lord.

Well...the Lord must of took me seriously and answered our prayers, cuz we JUMPED out of that Jeep safe and sound. We're FINALLY on our way to Tubetopia. Sadly, it didn't take long before the algae and dragonflies descended upon our floating paradise. If I wasn't pushing algae out of my way..I was trying to keep mating dragonflies from using my knee as a motel. The water felt great and the sun was nice and hot...but sadly I couldn't help but think Tubetopia was lost forever. Well...we finally made it back to camp..had some amazing shredded pork and little by little forgot about our disappointing adventure. But when it's all said and done...we had a great time pushing away the algae....teasing the frisky dragonflies...and most importantly watching our amazing Braeden's blue eyes sparkle like diamonds as he braved the rushing liquid elements.

It was then that I realized....Tubetopia lives in all of us...it's all how you make it. You can either choose to have a Tubetopiain' time...or bask in the disappointment of witnessing WAY TOO MUCH insect love. I choose the glass half full approach...the next TUBETOPIA experience will probably be CAVE TUBING in BELIZE in November...wish me luck as I brave the mysterious caves and avoid those shameless foreign insects...:-)

Going to the Chapel...

Well, it’s a done deal my good friend Ben got married this weekend. I’m so excited for him. He is hands down one of the most amazing men I’ve ever met and to see him so happy just melts my heart. I was giddy from morning to night because my friends dream came true. He was marrying the love of his life and if you told him a year ago where he would be this past weekend he would of laughed in your face. Ben was our Seinfeld, but this weekend he married the beautiful Jessica who is just perfect for him. She loves him so much and as his good friend that’s all I could ask for. It just goes to show you just when you think God has forgotten you and you’ll always be single, He surprises you. I remember a year ago sitting down with my friend and him thinking that very thing. I told him then God had someone amazing around the corner for him and I’m so glad I was right. Jess is far more then anything Ben could of dreamed of and I look forward to knowing her better. God is faithful…and He doesn't forget about us even if it feels like He does. Oh...what a happy day when you realize He had your back the whole time. Here are some videos of that happy wedding day. It was a beautiful day in Carlisle, PA….a beautiful day to get hitched and BURNED…that sun was HOT. I felt so bad for the guys wearing black tuxes. There are certain events in life where it's better to be a girl and WEDDINGS are one of them. :-)

You may now KISS YOUR BRIDE...


Their first dance...


Such a happy HAPPY DAY....Love ya Benny...

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME...

I LOVE going to baseball games. Now, do I really pay attention to the game? No...BUT I still have a great time. Between the food, atmosphere, and company it always makes for a fun fabulous day. Below is a video of one such event. Say what you want about me and my friends...we know how to have a great time. :-)

Wake me Up...

One of my favorite bands will always be Evanescence. Her voice is so haunting which makes their music addicting. Of course...they're first CD is AMAZING, but like many artist tend to lose their awesomeness in their 2nd and 3rd CD. BUT...that being said here are 2 of my favorite songs of theirs. Bring Me To Life and My Immortal....hands down I still get goosedumps from these songs. I guess that means I can still identify with them...

Bring me to Life..


My Immortal...

Between the Lines...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Jane Austen and any rendition movie companies like to put on my TV of her books. Of course...the BBC always does the best job, probably because they're British and understand all too well Jane's masterpieces. You'll find 'most' women love Jane for the heroines she writes. They're strong women who for one reason or another thinks they'll never find love, mostly because they're women of character who stand behind their beliefs even if it cost them the men they love. But, the most wonderful part about Jane's books are they always end how they should. The strong heroines always learn how to be wiser and the men they love always fight for them. They always see the value in such women. What woman could resist such a author?! A author who doesn't lessin' her heroine to find love...but empowers the heroine to challenge it.

I've been thinking alot about women who lessin' themselves on a daily basis in order to help empower the men in their lives. Oh...what a better world we would have if more women embraced their true strength to challenge their men with love and in doing that empower men to be stronger. No one should ever feel like they need to lessin' themselves to be with someone.

As a true Jane fan, I can identify myself to almost every heroine she created...but if I'm being honest EMMA and Marianne 'SENSE & SENSIBILITY' is where I see myself most. What Jane Austen character are you?

Emma ~ This rendition is great. Emma loves being in the middle of everything. Highly recommend...


Sense & Sensibility ~ I think I've seen this movie a hundred times. To love and lost...just to realize losing isn't always so bad. My heart dreams like Marianne...yet tries usually in vain to guard like Elenor. Such a good movie...


My favorite Marianne scene...Kate Winslet is amazing. After realizing she lost the man she loves she walks in the rain to his estate, which almost kills her. Don't worry like I said before, losing isn't always a bad thing. :-)


So, can anyone tell I watched Jane Austen movies all weekend? Oh...if life could just be a book. :-)