Happy Halloween/a Penny post

We have had a few trick-or-treaters so far this evening. Penny is quite intrigued by this whole "Halloween" thing.

1. She rarely hears the doorbell ring at our house.
2. She loves people.
3. She has to be held so she doesn't attack the people with kisses.
4. She is sad when the people don't come inside to play with her.
5. She just waits on the bench for the doorbell to ring again.

And yes, she is Batdog for Halloween. :)

about birthday celebration day

Birthdays somehow haven't been declared as holidays yet...not sure why.

So, because my actual birthday was on Monday, and I had to work, Aaron and I celebrated my birthday on Saturday.

We woke up and had coffee in our Disney mugs.

Then, because my brother and Sarah are amazing, they came to watch Penny for the day so we could go out and about. I'm telling you...having a dog is good preparation for having kids. A dog-sitter is often needed around here, if anyone is interested.

Anyway, our first stop was downtown at the Mellow Mushroom to meet my very best pal, Renee, and her husband, Derrick, for lunch.

We try to get together with Renee and Derrick at least once a month because we live an hour away from each other. What better day than my birthday celebration day? Well, there isn't one!

Renee also knows me well, and gave me a Cinderella cup with my birthday card. I promise my obsession with Cinderalla isn't unhealthy...I know it seems that way lately...

After lunch, and a detour at Crabtree (aka The Disney Store for Vinylmations), we headed to the Streets at Southpoint for the rest of the day.

Aaron spoiled me with clothes and new Apple Earpods (they. are. awesome.)

We finished the day with dinner at Maggiano's. It was delicious, as usual.

I had such a great birthday celebration day and spent it with my favorite boy, wonderful friends, good food, and new presents. :)

the first post (of many) from birthday week

I feel like I have so much to catch up on since the last time I wrote. I try to stay ahead on my blog posts by a week, if possible. Even though I posted a blog yesterday, I actually wrote it last week sometime. And a lot has happened since then!

It was my birthday week, and there was much celebrating and to-do. We also had a visit from some family last week, found time to vote, got our gym time in, and still went on with the usual things of life.

So, to kick off the blog post updates, let's start with my first birthday present I received...

Ta-da!

Our friends Patrick and Vesal came up on Friday to go out to dinner and brought Aaron's gift as well as mine. They know me well, obviously. I added my new fancy mug to my Cinderella collection.

And I got to use it to have my birthday coffee.

And I've used it like 3 more times since then.

Aaron's gotten a lot of use out of his present from Patrick and Vesal too.

Criminals beware. We just might snuggie you to death.

on my birthday

It's my birthday today.

I am now a quarter of a century old.

Twenty five.

25.

Mid-twenties.

Closer to 30 than to 20.

There it is.

I'm not too concerned about my age or bothered about getting older.

I rather like my birthday. My parents always made sure birthdays were extra special. And Aaron and I have had so much fun celebrating each others' birthdays so far since we've been together.

So, it'll be a good day. And it's already been a fun weekend celebrating my birthday with Aaron and friends and family.

I am thankful to have had 25 years of life. They've been a lot of fun. And I have a feeling the next 25, Lord willing, will be even more fun!

about a first world pain

For Aaron's birthday, I took him shopping. He and I like a lot of the same stores. He, however, likes some stores that I do not.

Namely, H&M. Don't hate me, Steven. H&M is just one of the many stores that I don't like for the reasons that:

1. They are too overwhelming.
2. There are too many choices.
3. They are busy.
4. They are crowded.
5. They are crammed all together.
6. You see something on a mannequin and must search all over for it.
7. It. Is. Chaos. In. My. Mind.

Ok, so there's that. That is also why I will not shop for clothes at Kohl's or TJ Maxx or other places like that.

There's nothing wrong with buying clothes at those places. I'm sure they might even have something I would like. But, it stresses me out to shop at them.

I like Old Navy. And American Eagle. And Express. Here's why:

1. They always have something I like. 
2. It will come in like 10 colors. 
3. They are all right there together. 
4. They have the mannequin right next to where the item is. 
5. They are smaller stores. 
6. There is a boy side and a girl side. 
7. It is orderly. 

That is what I like.

Anyway, I was washing Aaron's new H&M clothes, and to add to my loathing attitude towards it, they have those stupid laundry symbols. How much harder is it to write out what I'm supposed to do? Who in the world has time to memorize what all of that means?!

And, of course, the one with the square/circle/X means "do not tumble dry."

Bother.

to hurry along Christmas

Is anyone else ready for Christmas? Is it just me?

I'm quite ready.

But, I will withhold from all Christmasy things until after Wednesday at least.

But starting Thursday, I deem it appropriate for Christmas music. 

And our decorations are going up on November 11th. It's on the calendar. So it's happening.

And after those are up, it's all over. 

Christmas movies are allowed.

And the smoker man will be lit often. Just wait until you meet our smoker man.

And present shopping will commence.

And cheeriness will be everywhere.

I just can't even wait.

a Friday flashback

Aaron and I have new friends. I don't know how long you classify someone as a "new" friend. I feel like it still applies though. 

Aaron met Ryan back in the spring. Ryan went with our Journey group to the Orange conference in April.

Over the summer, Aaron said Ryan and his wife wanted to have us over for dinner as sort of a thank you for inviting him to the conference.

We finally got a dinner scheduled at the beginning of August.

So, we went to dinner. Aaron and Ryan already knew each other. I got to meet Ryan. And Aaron and I both got to meet the rest of the family:  Aura (wife), Jesse (oldest girl), Caleb (oldest boy), Leah (youngest girl), Micah (youngest boy), Radar (dog), and Trapper (cat).

Ryan and Aura are very cool people. They're probably our most random friends because they aren't like any of the other people we know in our whole life. 

They have four kids. Four. They are all under the age of seven. And Ryan and Aura make it look super fun and easy (I'm sure it's not always easy, but those kids are always fun for sure). We are not parents ourselves yet, obviously, but we sure are around a lot of parents. And it's quite refreshing to come across parents who just have fun with their kids. They don't complain about them. They love them. And it's obvious. Plus, their kids are so dang cute and funny.

They homeschool, which is awesome. They go to Renaissance Fairs. How cool would that be? They are crafty and make monster hats and homemade magnet white boards and they mummify chickens. 

Anyway, we feel like they should write a book about their adventures. 

Their house is homey and we have enjoyed both of our visits there very much. They tell very funny stories and we sit for hours but it doesn't feel like hours until you look at the clock because it's so much fun.

We went to their house for the second time last Saturday night. They told me they expected to see a blog about our visit. Specifically our dinner that they made us. And I shall not disappoint. So, let's flashback to...

Last Saturday, 10/20/12...

Saturday afternoon, Aaron and I went to the gym. While we were there, Aaron got a text from Ryan:  "Do you guys have any aversion to pumpkin?"

He read it to me. "No, I don't think so," I said.

"What do you think he means by 'pumpkin?'" Aaron asked.

"I don't know. Probably pumpkin coffee or pumpkin cake or pumpkin pie."

"Hmmm...I don't know. With them, we'll probably eat like an actual pumpkin or something..." 

"Oh whatever. I doubt that. It will be fine. Tell him we like pumpkin."

So he did.

Ryan texted back that they would have a backup plan just in case. Whatever that meant. We continued our workout.

And a few hours later, we got to their house. They were all outside. We hung out there for a bit.

Then Aura said something along the lines of, "We're trying something new for dinner...I hope it worked!"

Hmmm...what could that mean?! We went inside. It smelled REALLY good.

They opened the oven, and there it sat. A giant pumpkin in a roasting pan.

I thought in my mind. Well, by golly, Aaron was right. We are eating a pumpkin. They have cooked us a pumpkin.

Aura went on to explain that she found a recipe for "Stuffed Pumpkin" in a Halloween craft/cookbook. And they had never had it either. So, we were all to be guinea pigs. And if it was awful, they would whip up some tomato soup.

Ryan and Aura have now inspired bravery in Aaron and I for both dinners we've had with them. (The first was a new kind of salad and homemade soup with new kinds of vegetables we'd hardly heard of).

And good grief, if their kids are going to try stuffed pumpkin, there's no good reason for us not to!

So, Aura sliced up some wedges of pumpkin and spooned some of the rice and bean concoction on each of our plates.

We all joked about the carnage. I mean, just look at that thing...

After everyone had their plate full, we all tried a bite.

And you know what?

It wasn't half bad.

It was actually pretty good!

I had never eaten pumpkin before, but it tasted kind of like yellow squash.

And the rice and beans were good too!

I was proud of Aaron for trying it...I know I've told you about his picky eating habits. But, lately, he's hardly been picky!

I don't think I would classify it as a favorite meal, but I will say we ate a good dinner last night! And it was quite adventurous and fun at the same time.

Ryan promised we would have pizza next time...but even if we don't, Aaron and I will look forward to whatever in the world we will have to eat with our fun family of friends.

about helping Cameron

Last week, we celebrated Aaron's birthday for the third and final time at my parents' apartment downtown.

My mom made him his favorite meal that she cooks:  parmesan crusted chicken with alfredo sauce and bowtie pasta.

Then we walked to his favorite downtown cafe, Benelux, for coffee.

It was fun night with my parents and my brother and his girlfriend, Sarah.

Around 8pm we dispersed. Tyler and Sarah left through the parking garage. But Aaron and I had parked on the street in front of the apartment building.

As we were walking to our car, we were approached by a teenage boy. He looked to be 16 or 17, and he was very visibly upset.

You can't ever quite trust the stories you hear from people on the streets downtown. We've heard a lot of them. Something tragic always happens. Their wife is pregnant and they need to get home. They've walked for miles to find money to get a new tire. They have to pick up their mom from the airport but ran out of gas on the way. You get the idea.

But, this boy, he just broke my heart.

He said he got into an argument with his mom, who had been drinking, and instead of taking him all of the way to his girlfriend's house in Fuquay, she dropped him downtown with no money and no phone.

He said he had been asking everyone for help but had only received a couple bucks.

A taxi cost a lot more than that, and buses don't run all the way down to Fuquay.

He was so sad, with tears in his eyes, and Aaron and I looked at each other helplessly.

We very, very rarely carry cash, and we had driven my car with two carseats taking up the back seat. Not to mention that Fuquay is 30 minutes in the opposite direction of where we live.

We told him we were so, so sorry, and we watched him walk away defeated again.

I was so sad for him. We got in my car and I turned to Aaron, "We HAVE to help him somehow."

We discussed some options, and I finally decided to call my dad.

The boy had walked down the sidewalk, but we could still see him. We watched him get blown off by a few more people.

My parents said they would come down and could probably give him a ride to Fuquay.

I stayed in the car with Penny while Aaron went back out to talk to him while we waited for my parents.

When my parents came out, I watched them talk to him for a few minutes. Finally, Aaron came back to the car.

The boy, Cameron, had used my dad's phone, and it was decided they would take him to the Walmart in Fuquay and his girlfriend's mom would pick him up from there. 

Aaron said that he definitely wasn't in a good family situation, but he was going to be 18 in just a few months, so he couldn't really get too much sympathy from social services.

My mom later told me that Cameron told them he has ADHD as well.

Cameron has been on our minds a lot, and we made sure he knew that we would all be praying for him.

My mom told him that she would hate to think of one of her kids wandering around downtown looking for help, and she was so glad we could help him.

He was very thankful, and I'm glad we stopped. I was still a little hesitant sending my parents off with a strange boy. I get nervous about stuff like that just because you never know if you can trust people. But I guess I realized it's not my place to worry about that.

Jesus would have helped Cameron. And He wanted us to help him too. I'm glad we didn't miss the opportunity.

about David and Goliath

This month in MiNi CiTy at Journey, we are learning that God helps me do big things! All of our stories for October and November are about David from the Bible. David the shepherd, David the warrior, David the king...all of the really cool stories about David, you know? Because God helped David do A LOT of big things.

This past Sunday, I led worship with the kids and then our really awesome storyteller, Piper, came up to tell the kids the story about when David defeated Goliath.

When I heard that was our story earlier that week, I didn't think much of it.

If you're anything like me, you've heard the story of David and Goliath like a billion times before. 

But, the cool thing about God is that His stories never get old. And as soon as Piper started telling the story, I was entranced just like the kids.

I hadn't really thought about the story of David and Goliath in a quite a long time.

Can you imagine a GIANT person? Like, I've seen a couple basketball players in my life that were maybe a little over seven feet tall. And one time at the Ripley's Believe it Or Not museum there were like statues of the tallest man ever...he was like eight feet tall. Well, Goliath was even TALLER!

And all of the Israelites in King Saul's army were terrified of Goliath. Every day, Goliath came out to mock them. And they let him. They forgot that they had a God who would help them do big things! 

But, don't worry. David took a break from watching his sheep and came to bring his brothers a snack.

When he heard Goliath come out and start his daily taunt, he was like, "Why are you letting him talk like that? Don't you remember? We have our God to help us! He will help us do big things!"

So, David went to gather 5 rocks. Rocks.

And he got out his trusty sling shot.

And he went to fight a GIANT.

A giant with a big helmet and armor and a sword and a shield.

And he slung that first stone around and around.

And BANG! He hit Goliath!

Right between the eyes!

Goliath fell over, and David won!

But not David really...GOD won!

God helped David do a REALLY big thing! And he did it in a way where he would get all of the glory! Because there is no way a little boy could sling shot a rock into a giant man without help from a really BIG God!

And that very same God lives INSIDE of me! And He's inside of you too if you've invited Him in!

Jimmy said on Sunday, "You have God IN you...so live like it!"

And that's what I want to do. And I challenge you to do that too!

"We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us." 2 Chronicles 32:8

a Penny post

I'm going to be a wreck when Aaron and I have kids. I think I'll cry at every little thing they do. Not really. At least I hope not.

But, our Penny girl graduated from her beginner's training class last night, and I teared up. I had to fight back some tears. It's true. What is wrong with me?

It was mainly because we really liked her teacher, Amber, and she told us Penny was her last student because she got another job. She was saying bye to Penny, and Penny was giving her lots of kisses. And Amber said she loved Penny and that Penny was her favorite, secretly. (And obviously)

And I just got sad that Penny probably wouldn't see her again. :(

Anyway, I'm crazy. So let's move on to happier things.

Penny got an "A" in her class that she was in all by herself! The odds were in her favor, I suppose.

We were very proud of her.

Before we went in for her exam, we gave her a little pep talk in the car. We told her to just do her best and we were proud of her either way. (Again, we realize we're strange.)

If you remember her picture from her first day of school...

She wasn't too sure about it.

But, by last night on her sixth class...

She couldn't wait to go!

She performed all of the commands for her test very well. We were a little nervous, especially for her to stay in place for 15 seconds. But she did it...twice!

For all of her hard work, she got a fancy certificate.

We are so proud of Penny (and ourselves) for learning so much in school.

You know it made it to the fridge...

about the gym

I've mentioned before that Aaron and I aren't quite the athletic type. But, not counting sports though, we do enjoy athletic-ish things.

When we were dating, we would go to the gym together often because Aaron had one in his neighborhood.

After we got married, he moved, so no more gym.

And it was something we put off for two years.

But, last Monday, we finally joined a gym again!

There is a brand new Planet Fitness that opened up about seven minutes away from our house.

This is exciting for several reasons. Ready?

1. Healthy lifestyle. We all want to be healthier, right? Exercise is important to us, and we would both say it is one of our priorities. Also, I know it will help my back feel better in the long run.
2. Easier to be consistent. We had been exercising off and on for the past couple years because we weren't good with being consistent about walking/running outside. Now, since the gym is close, it costs money, and weather isn't a factor, we don't have an excuse to not go.
3. Cool equipment. They have like 50 treadmills, tons of other machines, weights, special workout routines, fun locker rooms...It's like a fancy gym land of magic.
4. Water massage. This might be our favorite part. To reward ourselves for working out, we sign up for the water massage beds at the end of our workout. Oh it's so wonderful.
5. People watching. We love to people watch. And let me just say there are some funny people at the gym. Free entertainment and/or motivation to be better at least.
6. Something fun to do together. Any excuse I can have to hang out with Aaron, I'll take it! We have had a lot of fun going to the gym together after not seeing each other all day. 

Anyway, I have loved the gym so far. I highly recommend joining a gym. The end.

an excuse

Sorry I've been MIA this past weekend here on the blog. My scheduled posts caught up to me at a time in the week where there just wasn't time!

We've been pretty busy these last couple weeks. Although, that seems to be the new normal for us. Our calendar is quickly booking up into the end of November already. I love our crazy, busy life together, but can I just say I'm ready for a vacation! Luckily, we have a break coming up at the beginning of November that include a couple days off work, an airplane ride, AND missing a Sunday (a rarity for us!). More on that later...

Anyway, I will be honest in that besides being busy last week, when we were at home, we were preoccupied with watching "Once Upon a Time." It's a show on ABC about fairytales...sounds right up our alley, right? And we have a bunch of friends that have told us all year that we would love it.

Since we don't watch TV much anyway, it took us awhile to even try it out. But it's on Netflix, so we started watching it.

And then we just couldn't stop.

It's one of those addicting shows that drags you in and before you know it, you've spent four hours watching it.

We finished the 22 episodes in the first season in like a week and half. And now we're all caught up with the second season that is currently airing.

Now that we aren't watching that every spare minute, we should be able to get back to normal around here...

about Frog's adventure

I came downstairs last night to this sight:

I guess Penny thought Frog wanted to look outside for awhile. 

a Penny post

You might remember how Penny has been going to school. Monday night she had her 5th class out of 6. She has learned SO much. And so have we!

Next week, she has her final test. She may not be very nervous about it, but we sure are.  I mean, I guess it's kind of a test for us too...to make sure we don't suck as teachers. But a lot of it depends on Penny, and hopefully she'll be in a good mood next Monday! 

If she does well, she'll have the option of going to the intermediate class. We aren't sure if we are going to take her or not yet.

She'll be tested on some of the skills she's worked on for the past 6 weeks:

1. Sit and greet a stranger (definitely need to work more on this...she gets too excited)
2. Here (she's great at this one)
3. Down (she's good)
4. Wait (she'll wait to eat a treat right next to her until we tell her she can)
5. Leave it (she's getting better at this one)
6. Stay (for at least 15 seconds in a sit position not breaking eye contact...yeah this is the hardest one)
7. Watch me (she does well)
8. Place (she is getting the idea)

So, I'll let you know next week if Penny passes her test and we'll be sure to get some pictures of her graduation!

about the NC State Fair

If you don't live in North Carolina, this may not seem like a big deal at all. But let me just tell you:  the NC State Fair is in town. 

You better believe it.

Now, I don't know if state fairs are popular in all states, but here in North Carolina, the fair is a big. deal.

Yes, I'm not sure exactly why. Is it the rides thrown together with rusty screws? Is it the greasy (but oh so tasty) food? The fact that you can get just about anything you ever wanted fried on a stick? The smells? The sounds?

I just know that for the 10 days the fair is in town, it is a hot topic of news and conversation, a cause for very long traffic jams, and you just better go if you don't want to be scoffed at.

So, go we did.

Friday night after I got home from work, we changed into proper fair attire. Well, not really...we just wore normal clothes. We hopped in the car with our pre-bought tickets (they're $3 cheaper you know?) and cash for parking and food. We slowly made our way there in the awful traffic. We found a parking lot, finally, for a $10 spot. We made it to the gate. We realized we had grabbed one ticket and one receipt from the glove compartment. We walked all the way back to the car. We made sure to have 2 tickets this time. We made it back to the gate. And in we went.

Oh, NC State Fair. How do you stay the same year after year and still attract us so?

We made our way through the crowds for a hand-dipped corn dog. Check.

We found our favorite place, The Tater Hut, for some fresh ribbon fries. Check.

We went to the NC Agriculture tent for our annual bottle of Cheerwine. They didn't have any this year. Fail.

We were momentarily saddened until Aaron spotted Cheerwine at a nearby pizza stand. Check.

I was determined to try the NC State Ice Cream that always has a freakishly long line. We got it. I didn't really see the big deal. Check.

We went to the Village of Yesteryear (my favorite) to see the crafty things and bought a couple of super cute stuffed animals for kids we don't yet have. Check.

For the first time ever, we walked through the gardens. That was fun. Check.

We went to the Exhibition Center to see the prize winning vegetables and pumpkins, and the adorable baby animals. Can I just have a baby cow for one day? We bought a $1 carton of milk from the NC State Dairy. Check.

Then we were about all faired-out for one night.

The NC Fair is pretty fun. If nothing else, the people watching is totally worth going!

We will actually be back again this coming Friday night with our crew from Journey18:25. So I better not eat too much else this week I guess!

Do you have a favorite food, ride, or attraction at the State Fair?

about Aaron's birthday party

My sweet husband turned 29 on Saturday! He thinks he's so old. I keep telling him it's all relative. To some he may indeed seem old, but to just as many more he seems so young. I guess in a couple weeks when I complain about turning 25 I can take my own advice.

So, on Saturday, I made him breakfast and took him shopping. He came away with quite a lot of birthday spoils! Mostly clothes. I refrained from looking too much for myself since it will be my turn to have a shopping day in a couple weeks.

On Sunday, we had a little birthday party of sorts. Aaron's favorite meal is his dad's lasagna. Dave made the lasagna on Saturday, then on Sunday morning, they brought it up to our oven so it would be ready after church. We had the whole family over:  my parents, his parents, his older brother and family, his younger brother, my brother and his girlfriend, and two dogs.

I made my first ever attempt at cupcakes as well. They turned out pretty well!

The party was Batman themed, obviously. (he may be 29 years of age, but he's more like 9 when it comes to some things...)

He got some gift cards, a stand for his MacBook, a Vinylmation, some Disney movies on Blu-Ray, and a funny plate from his mom. It says, "Honey, have you seen my..." and it has a picture of keys, wallet, and phone. It is Aaron all the way. He's always losing his stuff. Here's a picture of it...his eyes are closed though. Oops!

It was a lot of fun and so good to spend some time with our families. Happy Birthday, Aaron!

a birthday letter to Aaron

It's October 13th today. Did you know that 29 years ago on this day, my husband was born? It's true.

So, Aaron Jack Bauer, this blog post is for you.



aaron,

on the day you were born, i'm pretty sure the sun was shining a little brighter. and even though i wasn't around yet, i am glad that God was already working out his plan to bring us together.

on the day you were born, my world changed because you were now here and breathing and changing lives. and you started becoming the man you are today. the man that i love with my whole heart.

on the day you were born, your mom became one of my heroes because she gave birth to you and she loved you more than i know and she started raising you to love Jesus. she married your dad and they gave you a family to grow up in that taught you how to be a good husband and a good friend and a good leader and a good dad one day.

on the day you were born, it was one of the best days. God created you just the way you are. and he loves you so much and i'm so glad you loved him back. and i'm glad that he kept you safe and close to his heart until i could keep you safe too and keep you close to my heart.

happy birthday, aaron.

i am glad that you are my husband and i love to celebrate this day with you. and i will always love to celebrate it with you forever. 

love,

whitney

Aaron writes a Friday flashback

You're sure in for a treat today. We have a guest blogger! It's none other than my very own Aaron Jack Bauer. He thought of this week's Friday Flashback, and I thought he would be better at telling the story than I would. So, without further ado, let's go back to...

January 2010...

We were having a game night with our two good friends Renee and Derrick.  They were coming over to the townhouse I was living in at the time (this was before Whitney and I were married).  When we do game nights, we usually bring four or five games down and narrow the field from there.  On this occasion, Renee brought the game of Life - except it was a different edition.  This was the Game of Life: Twists and Turns Edition.  The original Life had been a favorite of mine growing up.  I like that I could get a college education (or not) and get married, and have kids, play the stock market, buy insurance, retire, and maybe become a millionaire at the age of twelve and do so in just over an hour.  But this edition was more.

The Game of Life: Twists and Turns Edition has the same concept of the original game except your money is on an electronic debit card.  You can set how many years (turns) you want to play.  It moves along a lot faster and different jobs, salaries, and twists and turns that can make win or lose at any moment.There isn't a finish line.  At the end of the years, everyone's total is added up.  Money is converted to "life points" and your experiences (marriage, kids, etc.) is also converted.  You could have all the money in the world, but if you don't have family, your life may not be worth spit.  That's the underlying message of the game.  That's the way I see it anyway.  We ended the night, had a good time, and everyone went home happy.  But that wasn't the end.

In every person's life there comes a time when one obsesses about something.  It's when you experience something so great that it lingers for days and weeks, and months.  Twists and Turns was such a thing.  It lingered for a few days.  Then a few weeks.  I would say, "Wasn't that game fun?" 

"What game?"

"You know - the Life: Twists and Turns game we played."

"Yeah..."

I had to have it.  I had to have it!

A few weeks later, Whitney and I were hanging out at her parent's house.  

"Let's play a game" Whitney suggested.

"Like what?" I said.

"Well, let's see."  

Whitney's parents had a cabinet of games.  Dominoes.  Cards.  Aggravation.  

"There's about four versions of Monopoly down there..." Whitney's dad said.  He was ridiculed for that statement.

"You know what I would love to play?" I said, dreaming.

"What?"

"Life: Twists and Turns Edition.  I wonder if it's available somewhere."

The truth is, I already had looked.  It wasn't on Amazon.  It wasn't on Barnes and Noble, or Target.  I found it on a game board enthusiast site for about $50.  The truth was, I discovered, the game was out of print as of a few months ago.  Whatever stock existed was left on shelves at stores here and there.  But I hadn't checked Wal-mart.  (What would we do without Walmart?)  So, I did what anyone in our generation would do.  I pulled out the iPhone and looked on the Walmart mobile app to check inventory at local stores.

"They have three copies at the one in Garner.  Let's go!"

Off we went.  It was about 8pm at night, but that store was just about 10 minutes away.  We arrived, and quickly went to the toy section.  It was a mess. 

It's important to note that this was just after Christmas.  Which means that every Walmart in America was selling discounted overstock of EVERYTHING and every aisle was a disaster area.  

So, we started searching. The game aisle turned up nothing.  We checked the clearance aisle.  It was full of Monopolies (multiple editions), Risk, Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and the Game of Life - boring, old, regular, non-electronic, straight edge edition.  No Twists or Turns.

"Let's ask someone," I suggested - which really means, "Whitney, why don't you ask someone?"  She has a sweet smile that turns stubborn, rude, store employees into magical, helpful philanthropists.  That's why she had to ask.

Whitney found someone and he said, "We have that game right over here." 

My heart raced.  Finally!

"Here you are."  The employee guided us to a stack of the Game of Life: Dull Edition.  

"Thanks..." 

It was pointless to try to explain.  But our trusty mobile app said that the Walmart on New Hope Road had a few.  What's another twenty minutes?

We arrived to find that store in worse shambles.  And it was spookier.  No luck.  

"Since we are here, we might as well run over to the one on New Bern Ave." I knew it was late, but it was so close.

"It's late."

"But it's so close."  Convincing argument, right?

So, we jumped in the car again and went to New Bern Avenue.  Our last stop.  We searched.  No luck.

"Can I help with you something?"  said a voice.

Walmart employees are sometimes considered to be mythical creatures.  That's why you should know that when a Walmart employee asks if you need help with something, you say yes.  If you say no, they disappear and you will never find one again.  

"Yes.  We are looking for a game.  The Game of Life: Twists and Turns."

"We have lots of those!" she said.  

"No you don't." I explained it all again.  How this game was different.  This was not a white box.  This was not cash based, but credit based, electronic transfers.  Twists.  Turns.

"Let me check our inventory."  

We followed her up front and explained our plight to a cashier who looked bored and needed a story. 

"Why don't you check the other stores?"

"I did.  There should be two at the store in Holly Springs."

I explained that we looked at inventories online.  They lied.  Was her inventory lying?  

"No.  The online ones get messed up because people make stuff up."  

I didn't know what that meant.  Except that we were driving to Holly Springs.  That Walmart was big, and huge, and new and clean.  They had to have it.

We got there (it was now about 9:30pm).  Game aisle turned up empty.  Clearance aisle.  Disaster.  I looked under racks, between shelves, behind Clue.  Nothing.  The inventory lied.  After twenty minutes of searching (and involving two other employees) we came up empty.  This game didn't exist.  Two hours, half a tank of gas, and four Walmart visits brought us nothing.

Fast Forward Four Months.

Whitney and I are preparing for our wedding just a few months away.  I'm at Walmart.  I'm only there to get a few things.  But, something inside me that day...something nudged me.  I can't explain it...to this day I can't explain it.  Instead of turning left to check out, I turned right.  What is in the seasonal clearance section today?  You never know.  Maybe that game, that old, out of print, long forgotten game, of twists, turns - maybe it's here today.  

I slowly walked down the clearance racks.  Old stuffed toys.  A bunch of action figures from last season.  A slew of Elmo merchandise.  This was a bad idea, I begin to think.  I start to walk away when something sparkles in the right corner of my eye.  I turn.  There on the shelf, sat a lone, isolated, sole, copy of the Game of Life: Twists and Turns.  My jaw drops.  Sure, the box is bent but it's the only one.  The only one!  And I have it at last!  I called Whitney.

"You'll never guess what I just found!"

about #FMSphotoaday

Back in February, my friend Ashley, who I have known since the 2nd grade, started doing this "photo-a-day" thing that she got from a blog written by a lady in Australia. 

It was super cute. So, in March, I started doing it. Every month, there is a new list of "prompts," one for each day of the month. They are completely random (i.e. "friend," "spoon," "what you ate," etc.).

You kind of interpret them however you want, take a photo with your phone, add a cool filter with Instagram if you so choose, and share them with all the other participants out in cyberspace by adding the hashtag #FMSphotoaday. (If you don't know what a hashtag is, go here)

I am quite proud of myself for keeping up with it since March. I haven't missed a day (I might have had to go back and make up one the next day a couple times), and I have a picture for every day for the past seven months so far.

I'm not a great photographer or anything, and I know some of mine are better than others, but I have so much fun doing it!

And, it makes me be somewhat creative every day.

And I'm excited to get them all printed after I complete a whole year.

Like, "My Year in Pictures," or something clever. I don't know.

Heck, I might even keep up with it again. I'm kind of addicted to it now. I love finding my picture for the day each day!

Feel free to join in! You can check out my photo-a-days in my Instagram feed over 
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