From starving student to starving graduate

My baby sister graduated from University today. I can call her my baby sister and she won't get mad at me because she never reads this blog, despite my repeated efforts to get her to do so. I mean, come on! Who wouldn't want to read my blog? It's funny. It's insightful. It's pretty much the most amazing thing on the Internet! No offense to the other blog writers out there of course. And even though I harass her to no end, and I accuse her of stealing the spotlight and I call her a drama queen... wait, I don't think she knows about that so let's keep that on the down-low... I am very proud of her! Unlike me, she actually did well in school. My motto was (and still is) C's get degrees, and I have the paper to prove it! Okay, so I wasn't quite that bad, but she definitely worked harder in school than I did. And all that hard work paid off, because today she goes from being a starving student to being a starving graduate. Congratulations Babe! You did it!

40 hours

On Sunday, Husband and I had to go to Kentucky. One of Husband's aunts passed away and we went to the funeral. One of the advantages of living in Virginia is that we are about a 7 hour drive (one way) from his family (in Texas, it was a 19 hour drive - one way!). Because Husband is taking classes, we knew we had to make it a short trip. We left Sunday morning at 8am and arrived home at midnight last night. Total time away: 40 hours. Needless to say, we are pretty worn out today! The drive was a bit intense. We have to drive through West Virginia, which, while pretty, is one continuous windy, mountainous-type road. Some stretches of road were a bit nerve-racking, with hair-pin curve after hair-pin curve for miles. On the drive back through West Virginia, we were in a pretty severe rain storm: thunder, lightening, almost zero visibility. Thankfully, Husband was driving.

Although not the ideal circumstance, it was great to see family. Husband's sister and brother-in-law happened to be in Kentucky, visiting from Texas with their adorable 14 month old son. I also met a couple of Husband's aunts that I hadn't met yet. We were sad that it was such a short trip, but we are thankful that we live close enough to (hopefully) make another trip soon.

Me with my super cute nephew! Just ignore the slobber. He's teething!

Look at those big, beautiful blue eyes! Everyone says he looks exactly like Husband did when he was a baby. If that's the case, this boy is going to grow up to be so handsome!




Husband being pretty. This picture validates my comment on the previous picture.







The storm we drove into. Not so fun!








After the storm ended, the sky turned an amazing orange colour. Unfortunately, it was behind us, so I had to get creative with the picture. This is the best I could get.

Happy Independence Day!

Thomas Jefferson once stated "The only birthday I ever commemorate is that of our Independence, the Fourth of July." According to what I've read and heard, Mr. Jefferson loved celebrating Independence Day. Because we live close to Poplar Forest, a house Jefferson had built as a retreat for him and his family, we decide to celebrate the Fourth Jefferson style. Today at Poplar Forest, we were able to travel back in time and get a glimpse of life during Jefferson's time. There were flax weavers, a potter, a blacksmith, a fife and drum band, a magician and a sword swallower (I found a new project: learn how to eat fire and swallow swords!). Definitely a fun way to spend the day!