"Family" Vacation to Destin

We got back last night from a "family" vacation to Destin. Why was it a "family" vacation ? Well, this was a trip that started out as a couples trip with our good friends Nan and Daniel. When we were planning, Daniel's family caught wind of it so they came too, with their younger son Dustin and his girlfriend Kristen. Then their friends that they always vacation with, the Johnsons, came as well. Nan's parents also ended up being in Destin and they had a couple that they were vacationing with. So we had a big family, just none of our own. Still, we had a great time.

I had not been to Destin in ten years. It was still sugary white sand and crystal clear waters. Small enough wave presence that we played frisbee in the ocean and just had a great time. We did some great eating, great playing ( mini golf where I got two hole in ones and go carts) and some great relaxing! I got most of the way through New Moon from the Twilight series while we were there and just enjoyed the last of my time off. This was the second vacation that we had taken with Nan and Daniel and will definitely not be the last.

Here are some pictures from the four day excursion:

The Girls - Kristen, Nan and Me

The Dillards

The Couples and David- Dustin and Kristen, Daniel and Nan, Brad and Me

The Dillards

By the end of the second full day at the beach, my beachmates were tired!

We went out to eat Saturday night just as couples and took some pics on the beach:

You've Heard of Krogering....This is Kohl'sing :0)

Yesterday I met my Mom at Kohl's during her lunch break. I was armed with a 15% off coupon and thought I would look for some work appropriate clothes before the crazy crowds are out doing the same thing during the next couple of weeks. I wasn't the only one with the idea as I did run into one of my colleagues, but the store was pretty free of crazy crowds. I had much better luck than I usually do. I even bought a matching outfit....that never happens.

Here is my spread:

Total Spent : $ 92.05 Total Saved: $150.15

This is what we call Kohl'sing friends. Let's break down each of the deals.

A Black V-Neck Shirt

Original Price- $20.00 On Clearance for $6.00 Plus 20% off Coupon = $4.80

A Black Sweatjacket

Original Price- $30.00 On Clearance for $6.00 Plus 20% off Coupon = $4.80

A Top and Skirt to Match

Each Original Price- $36.00 On Sale for $18.00 Plus 20% off Coupon = $14.40

A Shirt and Pair of Capris

Shirt Original Price- $24.00 On Sale for $14.99 Plus 20% off Coupon = $11.99

Capri Original Price- $36.00 On Sale for $21.60 Plus 20% off Coupon = $17.28

Sandals ...Sadly a Size 6 but I am so tired of looking for the nonexistant cute size 5.5

Original Price- $54.99 On Sale for $23.97 Plus 20% off Coupon = $19.18

So overall I did great and you will notice that my coupon value changed. Since I couldn't do any worse than the 15% coupon I got in the mail I decided to test my luck at the scratch offs they have in the store. I got a 20% one. Yay. Now let's just hope I do so well in Destin at the outlets on my shopping outing with Nan.

Reasons to Celebrate Summer

As summer comes to a close, let's celebrate the reasons it is so enjoyable and will be so sorely missed as we head back to work....me heading back two weeks from tomorrow.

While I walk periodically year round, tonight I will celebrate a six night stint of walking 2 plus miles a night. During the school year, something always comes up where I can't walk this many nights in a row or I just don't feel like it even if I have the time. So here's to the chance to feel physically fit and accomplished in the exercise realm during the summer.

I love to read. As a child, I was most happy when my dad would drive us down Memorial Drive early on Saturdays and let us pick out one new book to read at Waldenbooks. We spent many a days in the library. However, with the Masters coursework of the past few years, I had not been able to take time to read leisurely. Whenever I tried, I would literally fall asleep behind the book. Here's to summer for giving me time to finish one whole book and start into a second one. Thanks to Sarah and Jennifer for getting me to start in on the Twilight books.

Who doesn't like to relax at any time of year but especially running to the beach at summer's peak? I have been blessed to go to the beach two times and will be leaving for the third this week. Here's to summer for allowing me to start the summer with a cruise one day after work stopped, make the segway from vacation to summer school by being at Myrtle Beach leading right into day one of summer school and a finale to Destin for four nights with great friends.

So here's to summer. It has certainly brought more reasons to be happy or relaxed than those but right now I would say that was the top three. What will you miss most about summer?

To My Teacher Friends: Go to Target!

This weekend after our journey to the Center for Puppetry Arts, Brad and I needed to kill some time before showing up at my Dad and Jan's house for dinner. So we stopped at the Target at Hwy 81 and 316 in Bethlehem. It is a NICE Target but even nicer were the teacher friendly deals I got inside:

Two 10 pack broad tip Crayola Washable Markers for a $1 each

Two 12 pack Crayola Colored Pencils for a $1 each

There were also sales on small rubber maid containers with lid for $4 for 5 containers!

These deals may seem small but without "Sonny Money" this fall, every little sale helps!

Blessings Abound

I am blessed with a really close relationship with my family and with three very dear best friends, Nicole, Sarah and Jennifer. The sad thing is that most of these people live very far away. Nicole lives in Atlanta, Sarah lives in Commerce and Jennifer lives in Forsyth. Therefore, when we do get together it is so powerful and reenergizes me completely. It makes me love the times we have together and makes them all that more significant. However, I have prayed for a long time that I would have a friend who lives locally to do things with at the drop of a hat. And God has answered that prayer.

Our church got a new youth pastor in February and his wife, Michelle is wonderful. From Day One when we took the youth to indoor putt-putt ( and beat our husbands), I knew we would be good , fast friends. We are both kinda perfectionists, have a soft spot for ice cream and have the guilty pleasure of liking Days of Our Lives among many other things. We are also both teachers. So we had plenty in common but we had to be patient because she stayed in Alabama to finish off the school year while Brian lived over here, beginning the mission of youth pastoring at Chestnut Grove. In that time, our husbands have formed a "bro"mance of sorts, playing in the praise band together and enjoying similar senses of humor. Now that Michelle is here, we went on our first double date last night - Bowling and On the Border. The girls were "blessed" with good bowling games ....I did a unMeredith bowl of 104 in the first game and a 124 in the second. Wow. It was so fun. Here are some pics :

It just felt good to have a friend that is around my age and is local.

But the blessings just keep coming because today we found out that she is going to be teaching fourth grade at my school, Norton! So happy. We have been working so hard to find her employment and now we will be working together. God is very good and I am looking forward to our time together. Now I have three fabulous best friends who I love with all of my heart and a new friend to get to know and do those special five minute later activities with.

Pictures from the Wedding

Here's some pictures from yesterday's festivities:

Mixed Emotions

My dad is getting remarried tomorrow after having been divorced from my mother for 12 years. While certainly I am happy for my dad, this is a hard event to work through emotionally. When my dad and mom divorced, I was legally supposed to live with my mom. I was a sophomore in high school at the time and decided to live with my dad. I felt like he needed me. It was the year my sister went off to college so it was just me and my dad. We grew extremely close and had a bond that I don't think most dads and daughters had. There were ice creams at home each night, dates to the dollar movie and all sorts of great memories. As I went through college, I came home every weekend to see my dad during my freshman year that I was miserable at Shorter. Not many dads would be willing to drive two hours to Rome and two hours back to Lilburn, only to do it again on Sunday. I was so blessed to have his company and his support during that hard time. We talked every night all my years in college. Being at UGA allowed us to see each other frequently without the long drives and we remained close.

Then after Scott and I got divorced I lived with my dad again for six months. It was the two of us alone again. My dad helped me stay strong at a time when I could have crumbled into pieces. We faced the pains and evils of divorce again and it strengthened our bond even more than I imagined possible.

Now that he is getting married tomorrow, I am full of emotions. I am happy my dad wont be alone anymore. I am saddened because he has bought a new house and that means I will soon watch my childhood home, where we have lived since I was five, go up for sale and go out of my life. I am scared at whether our relationship will stay in tact now that he is moving on in a way and gaining new family. I want more than anything to stay important to my father. I want to stay just as wonderfully close as we have always been. But with the happiness of him finding someone, there are a lot of unknowns that leave me a thought away from bawling. It is a hard time but I try to comfort myself with all the happy times that we have shared and the memories that reside in my mind. I know that with time this will become more normal and it will feel easier to be happy and at peace with this change.