Five on Friday

Happy Friday, everyone!!  I'll just go ahead and dive right into my five points.

1) Rachael and I talked and decided that this Monday would be the last week for our Weekly Wrap Up link up.  With her being in China, it's harder for her to access the internet, plus there's the whole time difference thing.  We wanted to thank everyone who linked up with us!  I know I found some great blogs through the link up such Becca's blog and Lora's.  Hopefully you can join us on Monday for our very last link up!

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Speaking of link ups, I'm excited about this new one called Create Your Own Adventure which is hosted by Steph @ Life According to Steph and two other gals.  Each month has a different theme, and the very first one is all about fitness goals.  I don't know about you, but I always have so much trouble in this area.  If I'm being held accountable, I definitely do better because it would be so embarrassing to link up next month saying, "Well, I exercised once and had cookies every day."  When I participated in a spending freeze with Steph, I was able to save so much that month.  (And...just noticed that I typed "shave" instead of "save."  Good thing I caught that!!) Click here and scroll down to #9 for more details about this link up!

2) I heard on the radio that there is a casting call for Magic Mike 2, which is set to be filmed in Savannah.  If I don't start working soon, maybe I can try out to be one of those women screaming in the crowd??  Hahaha.

3) Everyone is talking about fall, and I'm not feeling it at all.  Don't get me wrong, if I was living in Ohio, I'd be all about it.  After all, it's still my favorite season.  It's just that it has been 90 degrees here most days, so nothing about that temperature feels like fall to me.  I'm not even craving a pumpkin spice latte. Everett says the leaves usually start changing here in November, so in a month or two I'm sure I'll be more in the fall spirit, but for now I'm still enjoying summer weather and might even go swimming this week. :)

4) This is just a reminder that Nancy and I are hosting a journal swap and sign ups are still open.  I know that I've met some awesome bloggers through swaps.  So why not make a new friend and get a journal, too?  Click here to sign up!

5) I finally had a job interview this week.  Seriously, I do feel better about that...I was starting to feel sorry for myself and get all mopey about not getting call backs, and frankly, those feelings are just gross.  I hope all goes well! I honestly cannot wait to start working again.

Anyone have any exciting weekend plans?

Favorite Moments

*Reading at night right before bed
*Exploring a new city for the first time
*Laughing so hard with my friends and family members that I start to get looks from strangers
*Snuggles with Claude
*Getting snail mail
*When I find the perfect pair of shoes in my size
*Pretty much the whole season of fall
*Meeting someone new and instantly clicking with them right off the bat
*Every second spent in Savannah's historic district
*Getting a compliment on a bad day
*Finally landing after a long flight
*When the gas tank is 100% full
*Having my first daily cup of coffee
*Being able to wake up naturally instead of to an alarm clock
*Falling asleep to the soothing sound of rain
*When I'm able to pay off even a small amount on my student loans
*The first snowfall of the year
*Taking long walks with good companions (This one kinda makes me sound like an old lady...so be it!)
*When strangers smile and hold the door open for you (I always try to do this for others in return!)
*Roommate t.v. time...It has become a tradition. :)
*Stepping on the scale and finding out I lost weight (though this hasn't happened lately)
*Getting to meet up with an old friend after not seeing them for a long time
*Watching a newly released movie and then determining that it is one of my ultimate favorites
*Discovering a place so beautiful it seems unreal

 These are just some of my favorite moments.  What are yours?

Journal Swap

Hi guys!  I have an exciting announcement today--Nancy and I are hosting a journal swap!  :)  I don't know about you, but I love having a nice journal around so that I can document my thoughts, jot down some of my favorite quotes, or write out blogging ideas.  All of the information you need about the swap is posted below, but should you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or e-mail one of us.

Journal Swap

Hosted by: Lisa @ Adventures of a Dream Catcher & Nancy @ Neatly-Packaged

Dates: 

August 26th- Open sign ups.

September 10th- End sign ups.

September 12th- You will receive an e-mail from us letting you know who your partner is.  Please contact your partner within 48 hours.

September 23rd- Your partner's journal should be in the mail by this date.

September 30th- Link up your reveal posts!  We will leave the link up open for a few days.

Price range: $10-$15, excluding shipping

Rules & Info: 

* Sign up using the form below or click here.  (Bloggers only, please.)

* If you do not receive contact from your journal swap partner by Sept 16, let us (Nancy or I) know so we can pair you with someone else--hopefully this does not happen.

* This IS open to international bloggers.  There is an option of whether or not you would be open to being paired with an international partner in the form.  

* This is a reveal post swap. Feel free to show off your journal and new friend anytime you like, just please make sure you link up with Nancy & I and/or #journalswap on Twitter and #septjournalswap on Instagram.  

* There is a button available for your reveal post and/or sidebar, should you want to use it.  

Contact Info:
Lisa: http://www.adventuresofadreamcatcher.com/ adventuresofadreamcatcher@gmail.com
Nancy: http://neatly-packaged.com/ neatlypackaged.blog@gmail.com

Sign up here! 

Grab our button: 

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Weekly Wrap Up: Lulu's Chocolate Bar + Savannah Sights

This weekend was pretty good!  On Friday, Ev and I went downtown and tried out Lulu's Chocolate Bar in downtown Savannah.  We had walked by it many times and were tempted to go in, but the timing just wasn't right, so we figured Friday night was as good as any to give it a shot.  They have all sorts of sweet martinis to try such as white chocolate pomegranate, chocolate covered cherry, peanut butter cup, key lime, and chocolate cake, to name a few.  Ev and I each got a martini which were delicious, but strong. A bonus was that we inadvertently went during happy hour, so we got $2 off each drink. I love it when that happens! :)  Lulu's Chocolate Bar also has a selection of sweet treats that are all made from scratch.  It was a tough decision, but Ev and I decided to split a piece of the vanilla strawberry cake.  

After that, we walked around for a few miles.  I don't even know how I did because it has been SO hot around the Savannah area.  Hot as in 100 degrees, but the heat index was 110.  Even though we were sweating, it was nice to get out, walk around, and take in the sights.

We stopped by the Sorrel-Weed house, which has been featured on Ghost Hunters, Most Terrifying Places in America, and the Travel Channel.  We grabbed a pamphlet describing the ghost tours that are offered within the house and want to take one...maybe closer to Halloween to get us in the spirit.  :)  Everett is kind of obsessed with the paranormal and loves looking around in Colonial Cemetery in hopes of finding a ghost, even though he never has, but he sure does enjoy watching this creepy video.  

We also stopped and looked at the outside of several of Savannah's churches like the Independent Presbyterian Church and the Lutheran Church of Ascension.  

Our walk ended with a stop at Forsyth Park and then we went into Parker's, which is a really nice gas station/convenience store.  As in unbelievably nice!  They have all sorts of gourmet food for sale, a good selection of imported cheese, tables and chairs to sit at inside, clean bathrooms, etc. I never thought I would rave about a gas station.

On Saturday night, we went out for Jared's belated birthday celebration to a Mexican place called Los Bravos.  The boys recommended that I try a frozen peach margarita and it was as good as they said.  Afterwards, we headed downtown to a bar called McDonough's because they have karaoke and Everett loves to sing.  He sang "Let it Be," and I give him props because I would never want to do something like that in a million years!! The only times I ever did karaoke was when there were about 20 other girls going up with me and the mics were far away from me.  I also sang in a private karaoke room in Asia where it was just me and a few friends, but I'll PASS on getting up in front of a room full of strangers!  

On Sunday, I just had a lazy day catching up on laundry and cleaning up a bit and then binge watched some episodes of Dexter.  

Link up your weekend with The Rachael Way and I below! 


Weekly Wrap Up Info: All you have to do is write about your week and/or weekend to link up with The Rachael Way and I.  The code for our button is available below.  Adding it to your post is always appreciated, but not required. :)  We will probably be getting a new button soon since I changed my blog name, but for now this one works! 

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Tips From Other Bloggers

As a blogger, I learn as I go!  Besides Googling random articles, one of the best resources has been the knowledge and expertise of other bloggers, so today I wanted to share what I've learned.

* If it weren't for Kathy @ Vodka & Soda, my font would still be way too small.  I had my font set to "normal," so I didn't even think twice about it until Kathy wrote that reading smaller fonts hurt her eyes.  She put an example of what she thought was too small and when I looked at it, it was similar to the font size I was using.  Oops!  Now I changed my font to large because no one should have to strain their eyes to read a blog.

* When Ash @ The Grits Blog was designing my blog, she created a section of categories for my posts.  I saw how some other bloggers were labeling their posts, but never knew how it was done.  Because of Ash, I figured out that all I had to do was click "Labels" under my post settings, type in the label I wanted to use and press save.  It's so nice to have all of my travel posts in one spot, as well as all of my posts on blogging/Savannah/food easily accessible with a click of a button!  

* In April, I tried installing Disqus onto my blog several times and it never worked.  I even messaged Disqus about it, but was told that there was something wrong with Blogger and to contact Google.  I gave up and never looked back into trying to install Disqus because I reasoned that I might get fewer comments, anyway.  It wasn't until I read this post by Becca @ Becoming Adorrable that I changed my mind.  I've only been using Disqus for a couple of days now, but I already know that it was the right move to make!  One of the reasons why is because although I respond to every comment on my blog, I didn't always copy & paste my response and send it out in e-mail form to those who commented.  I like how Disqus takes care of that aspect for me.

* This next tip also comes from Becca.  When Rachael held her Sip and Share a few weeks back, Becca asked the other bloggers present if they preferred in-text links to open a new window or to re-direct you to the new page altogether.  The consensus was that a new window popping up was preferable because then your blog is still open for your readers.  I never even considered that, hadn't been doing it, and realized it is SUCH an easy fix.  I'm actually a little embarrassed that I didn't know this already!  On Blogger, all you have to do to have a new window open up is go to where it says Link, click it so the Edit Link box comes up, and then check the box that says, "Open this link in new window." Now I don't feel like some readers are getting "taken away" from my blog if they click on a link.  

* I've never interacted with Dana @ Wonder Forest personally, but her post titled, "How To Set Up a Custom Domain in Blogger" helped me immensely when I was trying to figure out how to switch over from my blogspot.com name to the .com name I purchased from Go Daddy.  If you are looking into doing the same, her post is an excellent resource and has pictures to help with all the steps.  

* Another post that was helpful to me was this one by Paulina @ Color Me Brave.  I do have a "good" camera (nothing super fancy, but something that takes higher quality pics than my I-phone would), but I don't always have a picture suitable for every post.  Paulina came up with a list of sites that offer free stock photos so that I am able to find a photograph, use it in my blog post, and not have to worry about copyright infringement!

* This week, I stopped over at The Darling Daily and commented on a post of Ashliegh's.  She responded and I mentioned that I never made a penny off of my blog and was going to look into a way to monetize it.  I never tried to do this before because I was always too busy, but since I'm not working, I figured that any small amount would help.  Ashliegh suggested that I start by using ShopSense.  So far I made 30 cents, but I'm seriously so excited about that 30 cents, lol.  I think ShopSense will work well with my blog because I write posts about my favorites or make wish lists on here, so why not get paid a few cents when someone clicks on a link I would incorporate into my post anyway?  No, I don't expect to make big bucks at all, but every tiny bit helps!

* Last month, I sponsored Samantha @ The Samantha Life's blog and instead of just getting an ad space, Samantha offered to take a look at my blog and offer any suggestions/answer any questions I had.  One of her tips for me was to make my blog more visually appealing by using the same sized pictures within a post.  That was definitely a good piece of advice and one I'm trying to work on!  

* My friend Nancy and I were texting a few days ago and she suggested that I take a look at Blogger's Closet, which I had never heard of.  She found a cute purse on there that she got a good deal on, and the money she spent goes directly to a fellow blogger, win-win!  

What are some tips you've received from other bloggers?  

Lilly Pulitzer 2014-2015 Agenda Review

I ordered the Lilly Pulitzer August 2014-December 2015 Large agenda and have been using it for about two weeks now.  Today I'll be sharing my initial thoughts and opinions on the agenda that I recently started using.

The cost the agenda I purchased was $28, and they are still for sale on the Lilly Pulitzer website. I did get free shipping on my order, so that was a plus.  

Positives

* A hard cover.  This is a necessity for me because I will be putting this in my purse and taking it around with me. I need something that can last and not get bent up easily, and this fits the bill.

* Cute cover design.  Some of my previous planners were bought at the $1 section from Target or from Dollar General, so actually having a design I like on the cover is something new to me.  There are five other designs to chose from in the large size if this particular one isn't your style. 

* There are two pockets to keep stuff in.  This comes in handy in case I need to keep an important receipt or note.  I also plan on using the pocket to keep cards in before I give them to someone.  If I just put the card in my purse and carry it around with me before I give it away, it gets bent.  The pocket page is the first page of the planner, which makes it accessible and handy.

* Elastic band present.  This keeps my agenda closed and makes it harder for what's in the pockets to fall out and get lost into the oblivion (aka my very large handbag!)

* Tabs present for each section of the planner and also for each month.  These are definitely a plus so I can just flip right to what I'm looking for.

* Fun touches.  The planner comes with a page of stickers that I plan on using to jazz up my agenda.  I like that the stickers are included for free because I would not have purchased these as an extra.  There is also a section for holidays and horoscopes.  Additionally, I like that there are plenty of pretty borders on almost every page.

* There is a section just for notes.  This is actually a section I use quite a bit.  Nowadays I have so many different accounts, so this is where I keep track of my usernames.  Before having this planner, I would just write them down on a post-it and eventually lose them.  

* Each month has a different design.  I like starting a new month fresh with a different look.

* It's a good size.  The agenda is roughly 7" x 9" which means it's not too heavy or bulky to carry around with me.  For each weekday, there are 8 full lines and for Saturday and Sunday, there are 8 half-lines, and I don't really need more space than that to keep track of what I'm doing.

* There is a monthly calendar available.  Thank goodness for this because I always write down all of my plans in a monthly calendar, that way I can just take a quick glance at the day to see if I have something going.  If I notice that I'm booked for three weekends in a row, I might not want to plan anything the weekend before.  I don't want to be flipping a bunch of pages to determine this, so a monthly view helps me to not overbook myself.

* The planner is a 17 month planner instead of just a yearly one.  This worked out perfectly for me because it started at the beginning of August (technically on July 28th), and that's right about when I was looking to purchase a new planner.  

* A decent price.  The Erin Condren and Whitney English planners look nice, but I went with this one because it cheaper and still had everything I was looking for.

Negatives

* This isn't a negative for me personally, but could be for others.  This planner meets my needs because I don't need to keep track of what I do every hour.  If are looking for a more detailed planner, then this one might not be the best match for you.  

* I had to write something down for September 30th, but when I went to the September tab, it only went up to September 28th.  September 29th and 30th are under October's tab.  I'd prefer it if all the September days were under the September tab, even if that means that there would be some extra space on the pages.  (A lot of the beginning/end of the month dates are in the previous/next month's tab.)

* You know how certain holidays are written into the planner so that you don't forget?  Well, the dates of Lilly Pulitzer sales/events are written into the planner, and that is something I personally do not care for.

  
* There is a page that lists out the dates of every major American holiday in 2015, but since this is a 2014-2015 planner, I feel that the 2014 holidays from August-December should have also been included.

Overall, I'm getting great use out of the planner and am finding it to be helpful and think it was a good investment.  

What kind of planner do you use and are you happy with it?

Blog Re-branding + WWU

For Weekly Wrap Up this week, I'd like to first address my blog's new name and design!  After careful consideration, I decided to change my blog name because I recently went through a big life change when I moved out of Ohio, which is where I'd been living for the last five years.  By moving South, I took a chance, and now I'm still in the process of trying to "catch" my dream of making a new life for myself here, hence the name Adventures of a Dream Catcher.  I feel like my new blog name better reflects where I'm at in life right now...So, what are these dreams that I want to catch?  I'm not that complicated of a person, really, and just want what almost everyone wants: a steady job that pays decent, a supportive group of friends (quality over quantity), a good relationship, and to travel.  I hope you'll stick around as I try to achieve these goals (some of them might be a struggle!), one step at a time.  Of course, I'll still be posting about whatever else strikes my fancy, so my blog's content isn't really going to change that much. :)

Another reason why I decided to change my blog's name is because no one could really pronounce or spell Ameliorer la Vie except for my fellow French majors/those who know and comprehend French.  Understandably so, because I know that I'd have just as much trouble trying to remember a name of a blog in a language that I never studied.  Adventures of a Dream Catcher is easier to remember, and I bought the domain through Go Daddy, so no more blogspot.com in my URL! :)  And...Oh my goodness...Like many of you, I'm just learning about blogging as I go, and sometimes I just feel clueless.  When I bought my new domain name through Go Daddy, I had no idea that all of my personal information would be visible online unless I bought the privacy protection.  I only caught it because I got a view from Domain Tuno and when I clicked on it, it displayed my first and last name.  I called Go Daddy and the representative told me that my phone number and street address were also public, which made me freak out and pay the $9.99/year for privacy protection.  I'm just glad that I caught it when I did.

This week, I spent hours re-branding my blog and sent quite a few e-mails to the person who designed my blog, Ash @ The Grits Blog.  Ash is awesome to work with--she messaged me back right away about everything, let me pick the fonts and colors I liked the most, and she made sure everything had my stamp of approval before she moved on.  After she installed the design, she offered to tweak a few things for me that I wanted changed.  I highly recommend her if you're looking for a friendly gal who is easy to work with and want a new design for your blog!

In other news this week, I went to go see The Hundred-Foot Journey.  It was great--I appreciated the French, the pretty scenery, the plot, and of course I was drooling over all that delicious-looking French and Indian food.  My friends and I also started watching The Killing.  Parts of it are slow, but overall, we are all into the show and keep making guesses over who the murderer is.  I also started reading Game of Thrones.  People have told me that it's "confusing" and that there are "too many names," but I'm not lost at all because I watched Season 1 already, so I know who the main characters are.  If I continue to like Game of Thrones as much as I do, I will be reading the whole series...well, at least up until what George RR Martin has published.

I also got my massage this week from a student at a massage school in Savannah since last week no one showed up for my appointment.  The student that gave me the massage was really professional and my back hasn't been hurting as much these past few days.  The best part of all was that it was only $25 for an hour long massage.  I would give them another shot because it's inexpensive and I've paid a lot more for some pretty terrible massages.  Afterwards, I had some Chinese food and did a little shopping at a nearby Target.  Unlike where I lived in Ohio, there isn't a Target super close to where I live (which is good and bad.)  I bought mostly necessities, but did buy The Night Circus.  After Game of Thrones, it's pretty much going to be If I Stay or The Night Circus for my next read.

On Sunday, Everett, Jared, and I got invited over to Ev's aunt's house for a little cookout/mini birthday celebration for Jared who turned 31 on Friday.  We went swimming for a bit in the pool for a bit and then enjoyed some hot dogs, side dishes, and a slice of  Reese's Peanut Butter ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.

It was a good week, but I'm not going to lie, I'm getting ANTSY about my job situation. Hopefully it will all work out...

Weekly Wrap Up Info: All you have to do is write about your week and/or weekend to link up with The Rachael Way and me.  The code for our button is available below.  Adding it to your post is always appreciated, but not required. :)  We will probably be getting a new button soon since I changed my blog name, but for now this one works! 

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One of my worst dates EVER

Okay, so this week I'm doing something a little out of the ordinary and will be talking a little bit about my love life, which is a topic that I haven't really touched on here.  I'll be bringing up the past and discussing one of my worst experiences while out on a date.  The purpose of this post isn't to be negative, but well...hopefully you get a chuckle or two in because I think that the date I'm about to describe was so bad that it was funny.

So, I really liked this guy, "J" for months but he had been sending me a lot of mixed signals.  Like, one day he bought me a rose and talked to me for hours on the phone, and then other days it seemed like he would completely ignore me.  Of course, I was young and dumb and just continued on liking him despite all the games.  Finally he asked me if I would like to go out to Columbus with him to this bar that he liked.  I accepted his offer, the two of us arrived at the bar...so far so good, right?

Then I found out that the reason he wanted to go to the bar so badly is because of an event the bar was having, which was midget wrestling.  J told me he was "obsessed with midgets" and went on to say that he even had a "midget catching net."  WHAT!?  I asked him what that was supposed to mean and he said that he had a net that he "threw the net on midgets at Meijer's."  I didn't ask him to elaborate. The worst part was that the little people that were there were scary and violent with each other and anyone else who got in their way.  They were throwing stuff, knocking over stools, and at one point they yelled, "We HATE TALL PEOPLE."  Since I'm a gal whose six feet tall, I decided it would probably be a good time to sit down.  The worst part was that while this was going on, it appeared that J apparently saw someone he recognized and was over talking to the guy for probably a good 30 minutes, so I was just sitting there alone.  When J finally came back over, he informed me that him and his friend decided it would be fun for the three of us to head to Gameworks.  J's friend was the one doing the driving and after about 5 minutes he started pulling out cans of beer and chugging them.  I guess open container laws did not bother him.  Not only was that bad enough, but he would then throw the cans out of the driver's window.  I guess if he didn't care about DUI's and open container laws, the least of his concerns would be littering.  I tried to get J's attention and flashed him looks of concern because I realized his pal was drunk and I wanted to get out of the car ASAP.  When we got to Gameworks, J admitted that the guy who I thought had been his friend was really just a stranger he had met at the first bar.  Needless to say, I was beyond furious with the whole situation!!  Why would you invite a girl out just to ignore her for a drunk stranger?  I'm just thankful I made it to Gameworks in one piece, and now that I'm wiser (at least I'd like to think so!!), I would not tolerate this type of behavior.  This date occurred about 13 years ago and I'm still scarred.

I've had a couple of other bad dating experiences, which is why I hardly ever agree to go on dates in the first place.  Would you be interested to hear about a couple of my other horrific dates?  What was one of your worst dates like?

Southern Expressions 101

I've always been fascinated by different dialects, and ever since moving down South, I've been listening carefully to the way people talk.  Since these Southern expressions are so interesting to me, I begged Everett to teach me some more that are common in this part of Georgia.  Here's what I learned from my "lesson" on Southern phrases from the Low Country.

* Hey sug!  In this case sug is short for sugar.  Ev says girls usually say this as a term of endearment to each other, but that sometimes men will say it to women, though it's less common that way.
* My word!  I knew this expression before I moved down here, but mostly because of Southern belles in the movies.  This is one of Ev's favorite expressions to say when he's shocked, dismayed, horrified, etc, and it's one that I've picked up myself!
* Slower than a Sunday afternoon- Very slow.
* Lord have mercy upon my soul!  I was told that you say this when you don't know what to do or when you're aggravated.
* fixin' to = setting out to do something.
* He hasn't got the sense God gave a billy goat.  This is the perfect thing to say when talking about an idiot.
* Bless her heart.  This can be used as an insult to describe someone clueless, or it can be used when something bad happens and you might not know what to say.
* It looks like the bottom's going to fall out of the sky.  This is how a lot of Georgians describe the sky when it looks like it's going to storm badly.
* Buggy A grocery cart
* If the creek don't rise... This means that you'll be there, God willing.  Example:  See you next Christmas if the creek don't rise.
* Good ole boy- Ev said this is used to describe the typical Southern guy.  I told Ev when I heard the expression, I thought of a bunch of old, white, Southern men who are cronies.  Ev told me that both are right, but it depends how it is used and that it could be either negative or positive.
* Hello darlin'
* Madder than a wet settin hen Ev said his great grandmother used to say this one and he thinks it is more common among older generations, but that it means what it seems like it means--to be pretty pissed off.
* 'Preciate ya- I heard this one the other day when we went out for barbecue.  Ev held the door for a man and he said this in response.  I guess it is common to drop the "a" in appreciate.
* as mean as a rattlesnake- aka really mean.  I guess I'm not surprised about this expression since there are a lot of snakes down here compared to the North!
* taller than a Georgia pine- very tall.  I hope people don't use this expression to describe me, lol.
* Your tongue is tied in the middle and loose at both ends.  This is used to describe someone who runs their mouth a lot.

Of course, there are probably a million more that I'm not listing and these may vary depending on the different regions in the South, so if you have an expression that I haven't listed and want to share it, please do so in the comments below!  I get a kick out of learning them!

Weekly Wrap Up: Blogging and Barbecue

This week seemed like it flew by!  I'll summarize by doing a quick wrap up...

* I've actually been working a lot on blogging stuff, even though it doesn't seem like it!  My last post was on Wednesday, but I'm trying to organize a swap for September with Nancy, I'm working on re-branding my blog, I recently joined a blog group called Blog Life Chose Me, and I added some features to my blog like a search bar and a place to sign up via e-mail.  I figured now is the best time to be working on stuff like this since I'm not working but hope to be within the next two weeks.  Keyword: HOPE

* My roommates and I are all caught up on Scandal due to several nights of binge watching!  Good thing I don't have too long of a wait for Season 4 which comes out on September 25th.  We're thinking of watching The Killing for our next show...I kind of want to watch Orange is the New Black but my friends watched the first few episodes and said they didn't like it, so maybe I'll just check it out on my own. 

* I am still waiting on my Georgia teaching license, but I at least heard back from someone at the office and they said that someone will soon review my file.  I will feel so much better once the actual license is in my hands.  I still haven't even gotten my South Carolina one, even though I sent everything in by the end of June.

* This week, I did make it out to see Wish I Was Here, which was worth the 45 minute drive I made.  I didn't like it as much as I liked Garden State, but it was still a good movie.  Some parts were sad, some were funny, and there were plenty of teachable moments--just like in real life.  The little boy in the movie cracked me up because he was a little mischievous.

* I was so pumped because I found a massage school where I could get a massage for $30-$35/hour.  It was actually near the movie theater I drove to, which is on the south side of Savannah, so it was another long drive, but I figured it would be worth it for such a cheap rate.  When I finally got there, I checked my phone and I had a missed call from the massage place.  Since I was already there, I went ahead and walked in only to find out that they canceled my appointment because the student I was booked with didn't show up.  She told me the guy didn't even have a valid excuse.  I was pretty mad that I drove all that way for nothing, and the supervisor said something like, "What do you expect from a student?" That kind of rubbed me the wrong way because in the 1,000 hours of student teaching I had to do (not over exaggerating--we really had to do that many hours), I only missed one day EVER because I was very sick and of course got it from a kid.  She told me to re-book and she would give me a discounted rate.  After feeling a little pissy about it, I thought it over and ended up being kind of relieved because I was a bit nervous about getting a massage done by a man!  Is that weird that I just feel more comfortable going to another woman?  I've only ever gone to masseuses before, and I just don't know how professional this place is.  I'm going to re-book and request a woman and hopefully have a better experience! 

* Since I've been in Georgia for over a month now, I decided that it was high-time I got some barbecue!  I bugged Everett and Jared about it, and they suggested a place called Rusty Pig BBQ. A lot of the recipes they use in the restaurant are family ones.  As of now there are only two locations, but I don't know if they're planning on expanding.  They played Christian music the whole time, and I don't think I've ever been to a business that has done that, so it did surprise me a little.  The decor was neat--part of the walls were made of tin and in the bathroom the sinks were actual buckets.  The food was absolutely delicious--I got pork barbecue, a side of Brunswick stew, and fried okra.  Of course, I had some peach sweet tea to drink with it...I figured if I was going to have a Southern meal I might as well go all the way.

* On Saturday, Jared, Ev, and I also did some walking downtown on River Street.  We went into some shops, and Everett bought a Savannah guidebook.  There was a cookbook that was full of Southern recipes that I wanted, but I decided to wait to get it.  We also stopped at the Savannah's Candy Kitchen and I finally caved and bought a praline.  It was like my 10th time in the store without having one and I could resist no more.  The best part about it was that it was still warm when I got it!

Weekly Wrap Up Info: All you have to do is write about your week and/or weekend to link up with The Rachael Way and I.  The code for our button is available below.  Adding it to your post is always appreciated, but not required. :)

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