Oh July, we're gunna set the world on fire.

It's a beautiful Friday the 13th here in Denton! 

And my first day back at work. How unlucky for me. 

Wait. Let me rephrase all of that. I love my job and I’m really glad to be back with the boys and hanging out. However, my brother and his fiance are in town and I really wanted to spend the day with them. Marmee even took the day off to explore with them! She never takes the day off to explore with me-sigh. 

Over it. 

HAPPY DAYS! I have a surprise.... I got a puppy! (obviously it didn’t take much to get the secret out). His name is Boone (previously known as Rover-had to change that) I couldn’t let him stay in the pound. He’s too beautiful to spend his days there/be put to sleep. And the good news., he was half price! In the month of July all pets are half price at the Denton Animal Shelter, So if you ever wanted a sweet little furry friend like Boone, go check them out. Now. 
He thinks he's a lap dog & he likes popsicles. Whatta cuttie. 

Isn’t he precious?!? Comment below with your “aww”’s and “can’t wait to meet him”’s.. 

So here’s the sitch. We’ve gone and come back from Austin, where we had a grand time celebrating Skye’s birthday. We’ve mastered doing the dip (ditching/leaving/escaping) on creepers or people that we were bored with. We’ve made new friends, ran into old ones, and had an all around great weekend. Floating the river was an experience and I did not get a sunburn. Hollla! It might help that I’m already super tan, so my first initial sunburn has already taken place. 

My week has consisted of packing, cleaning, packing, occasionally sleeping, and more packing. In between those things I may have gone to an orientation (pictured to the left. Photo Cred to Greer), gone swimming with the boys and taken them to Bonkers, and hung out with some friends. It’s been a good week. Nothing life changing. Sorry to bore you. 

Saturday (tomorrow) I get to fly to Stephenville with friends. You may think that silly, but the cool part is that I have a friend, who is a pilot, who can fly us to freakin Stephenville just for the heck of it. Jealous? And I move in on Sunday1!! woooo! Free cupcakes and cake balls to those who help me move. You know you want some. 

I’ll post pictures of the new place when I get it all set up. 

I can't get my mind off of

Song obsession:

Wagon wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show

Perhaps its the banjo in it. Perhaps it's that I really do feel like I should be traveling somewhere when I listen to it. Perhaps it's his voice. I.Don't. Know. But what I do know, is that I can't get enough of this song. Every time we hop in the car to go somewhere, I play it at least once. I even have the boys singing it at the top of their lungs now.

 But that's not all! 

If you know anything about me, you'll know that I'm mildly obsessed with Mumford and Sons. So when I found this, I kind of..maybe a little bit...freaked out a lot. 

I'm in love. Seriously.

Craft of the week:

I’ve been able to secure two globes to work with in this project. I really love that you can basically find anything you’ve ever wanted to do on Pinterest. It makes life so easy. Anyways-I plan on painting verses on them, any suggestions of which ones? I’ll be sure to show you guys the finished project!! 

Also-I’ll be redoing a brass headboard (which is harder than it looks), Painting a tacky gold frame, which will later house a mirror, and making DIY work-out shirts. Check back for the updates! 

What I'm nervous about:

Now that I seriously only have a few hours left till I graduate college, I’m constantly wondering what the next chapter of my life looks like. Do i go to grad school (which I’m leaning towards more and more each day), or do I just....pick up and go somewhere? Friends say it’s the best time to go where you want to- you don’t have ties to the city anymore. But secretly, I love Denton. I mean-I would love to go to Seattle, but I’d get there...and then what? I know what I want to do, I just don't know how to go about doing it. For now, Denton is my home and my focus. I’ll go where I’m told. Let’s make the most of this place. 

Keep it real,

Shelby

Oh it's July now?

It’s amazing to see how many boxes your life can fit into. I’m also amazed as to what I’ve collected over the past two years since moving into my own place. I’ve rediscovered some treasures and cringed at ones I was hoping I’d lost. Gao, my Chinese fisherman, is very excited to be moving on with me. However, the stack of magazines I’ve stashed away, well...they’re being relocated to the dumpster outside of my apartment. All this packing has led me to thinking about what I put my value in. Do I put my value in my possessions, or do I put them in Christ? If all of this, all of my movies, books, clothes, shoes, etc. were taken away from me, would I still be joyful? I've learned that the question is not "could/would I be happy?". Happiness is a fleeting emotion. Joy is something that can't be taken from you.

Yep. My blog just took a turn there. Feel free to stop if you want. I won’t be offended. Shoot. I won’t even know. 

After thinking about the question and really searching my heart, I've found that I would be joyful.Well that's easy for you to say now, you're not in the situation. You're right, I'm not in that situation. I don't think I would be happy that everything was gone. However, my parents, Tj & Bekah, and others have done a wonderful job in teaching me that it’s all just material things that are easily disposed of. Why would I put my joy in something that was so easily taken away? If and when I put my joy in Christ, nothing compares. 

When all is lost, I have everything. 

So I sit here, looking at these boxes that are piling up around me and have no emotion. I neither love nor loath them.  If you saw Gao, you’d probably laugh at the little Chinese man holding his rod and smiling at the fact that he’s caught a fish. And you’d be right, that’s exactly what he is. But to me, he reminds me of the first semester I took an interest in the Chinese culture or of an old friend. You see a tacky fish bowl...shaped like a fish? I see a flea market adventure with my marmee and finding something so tacky, it worked. & the home of the late Calvin & Calvin the Great (when I move into my new place I’m thinking of getting Calvin&Hobbs. Yes. All one word.). These things that I possess don’t keep me tied to this world yet they tell a small story of who I am. My ultimate joy comes through knowing I am a child of my Fathers. 

Chew on that.


Off of work. Packing. Fireworks. Friends. And officially done with summer school. It's been a great week. Austin this weekend. It will be Legen.....Wait for it because I'll tell you all about it on Monday ...dary. 

Ah it’s 11:38 pm and I’m still not:

Emma Stone. I can’t get enough of her right now. Or ever. I don’t think she’s done a role that I haven’t liked yet. So now that The Amazing Spiderman is out and she is starring as the lovely Gwen Stacy, I’m going to have to go see it. My DVD player is constantly playing Easy A & Crazy, Stupid, Love. I’m sure if I owned more movies with her in it, they would be in rotation as well. Merp. I just want to be her best friend. 

What app am I hooked on? 

Epicurious. 

It’s this awesome app that has all different food recipes that are categorized by different needs, tastes, skill levels, etc. Perhaps you are a master cook, look at the more challenging recipes. Not so much? That’s okay, there’s a section for us too. Need idea for brunch, pasta, or meals that are kid friendly? They’ve got you covered. In the mood for a banana? Simply tell the app that, and you’ll get 234 recipe results. You can favorite those recipes that you want to try, and save them for later! WAIT. None of that is even the best part. The best part is that once you decide it’s time to make that meal, you can add it to your grocery list in the app. Want to make three meals from the app? All of the ingredients from all of your recipes are categorized neatly and easily for you! Your shopping trip just got a whole heck of a lot easier. It’s a free app. So download it, check it out, tell me what you think. 

Here’s the link to download it on your iphone or ipad: 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/epicurious-recipes-shopping/id312101965?mt=8

My guilty pleasure lately:

chocolate and a big glass of milk before bed. I don’t know why, but it helps me sleep so well. it’s probably not helping my tooth ache. Also, Mom...I have a tooth ache. We should probably get that checked out. 

My current read:

People have been raving about this book since it came out so I finally decided to devote my summer to reading it. I have to tell you, it lives up to the hype thus far. Occasionally I have to pull out a dictionary or a commentary over what I’m reading. And I have to be honest, I had no idea what Christian Hedonism was before I picked up this book. Let’s be honest again, I’m still not sure what it is. The book is helping me to learn what one is though, so hopefully by the end of it I’ll be able to tell you exactly what Christian Hedonism looks like. The statement the book is working off of is; The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. And we’re slowly breaking down that statement to see how it’s true. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to pick it up. 

With joy, 

Shelby

Ps! Shout out to my first follower, a dear friend of mine, Mrs. Thompson! Here's a link to her blog! And be sure to check it out...I'm a guest blogger! Wooo!
http://becca-thompson10.blogspot.com/

July 4th be with you.

And with you...

With all of the jokes that I’ve made about July 4, I feel some people may not think that I take it seriously enough. I want to say that I am so incredibly thankful for the country that I was born in. Thank you to all the men and women, past, present, and future, in the military that have fought for my freedom. I’m grateful to live in a country where I can worship freely, say what I wish, and ultimately be who I want to be. I don’t for a second take any of that for granted. 

I especially want to thank the friends and family that I know who are fighting/ have fought for our freedom. Tyler, Aaron, Jacob, soon Mr. Wilson, the newest edition; Crockett, my father, and last but most certainly not least, my grandpa. 

My life would be drastically different if you guys and those that came before you had decided that the military was of no interest. You guys are heros and I just really can’t thank you enough for fighting for our country. #MERICA!

This Fourth was spent with great friends. Eating hot dogs, making cake balls (I made them red, white, and blue!), and watching fireworks at Fouts Field. I missed out on the sparklers this year. Sad day. But! I did get to spend it with Whitney! Again, aren’t we presh? 

I’m off to help a little boy defeat Mario (though he’s doing very well without any help) and then to clean my apartment. ...and keep packing. 

Stay alive, 

Shelby

Oh how Pinteresting; 4th of July shorts

Fourth of July shorts!

My inspiration:

So excited to share with you guys my first DIY on here! Fourth of July is right around the corner! If you’ve been on Pinterest, you’ve seen the Fourth of July shorts that have been circulating for two months and thought, “I think I’d like to make those!”. But if you’re like me, you don’t trust your painting skills and are in no way skilled with a needle and thread. So how do we get around these dilemmas?

Bandanas and fabric glue.

No lie. It worked like a charm. Follow this step-by-step tutorial and you can make your own Fourth of July shorts for super cheap!!

1. Grab some shorts you don’t care about anymore. I bought mine at Denton Thrift for three dollars! No need to break the bank for shorts you’re just going to craft with. 
2. Grab your favorite stars patterned bandana (or actual fabric) and your favorite stripes pattern. I had some trouble finding stripes I liked so finally settled on the wavy. I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby for .99 cents each. And you only need two bandanas to get the job done. 
3. Buy some fabric glue. $3.99 for 4 oz. You’ll use it again, Promise. 
4. Trace on the bandanas where you want the fabric to line on your shorts. Follow said trace and cut them out. It’s okay if it’s a little off. You can tuck and trim. But in all honesty, who’s really going to be looking that closely? 
5. Put fabric glue on your shorts. Don’t be shy about the amount, but don’t drench it either. It’s like using a glue stick. If you don’t use enough, fabric falls off. If you use to much, it’s to wet and falls off. 
6. Hold in place! 
7. Wanna make it a little fancier? Put some lace on those beauts! I was going to add some gems on the side where there wasn’t enough fabric but it looked tacky. So instead I said “who cares. YOLO”. Okay, I didn’t really say that, but...if anyone judges me, forget ‘em. 
8. Let them sit for 24 hours. Don’t rush a good thing. 
9. Wear them proud Wednesday night!!

I seriously spent 10 dollars on this whole project. 

Any questions? Anything not explained clearly? This girls tutorial (though she’s kind of annoying) really helped me. And whoops, I ended up using the same fabric as her. 

Happy Independence Day!

Shelby

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

Last week I failed at my New Movie Monday blog. But I did see a movie on Thursday and it’s one that I’m not to thrilled to say that I spent money on. 

Seriously? I thought that it was going to be decent. A slight twist on a historical figure that we all know and love. And yes, it was. But it was done poorly. 

Let’s start with the plot line. If you’ve been living under a rock, you may not know that history books left out so much when teaching us about Abraham Lincoln. Did you know that his mother did not die from ‘milk sickness’ but rather, a vampire bite? Me either. And thus starts Abrahams quest to kill the vampire that killed his mother. He’s taught everything he needs to know about killing vampires by his mentor, Henry. And he has quite a few close calls. I had no idea that he led such an exciting life on the edge prior to entering politics! Did you know that the South was ran by vampire slave holders and they’re the ones that wanted slavery? Yea, the books failed to tell us that one too. Armed with a silver ax that was specially made for Abe, he was able to defeat the vampires in the south, win the war, and thus put an end to slavery. Thank you, Mr. Lincoln.

Benjamin Walker does a fantastic job at portraying Abe Lincoln. So, in no way am I dissing on his acting skills. In fact, it’s probably one of the only things I enjoyed about the film besides the one liners (I’m a sucker for one liners). The special effects and graphics were ridiculous at times. Like when the horse and carriage break through the vampires house, and then ride away into the night? Tell me you didn’t find that to be a bit over the top. The fiery train tracks?...for a little bit I really thought that scene was all about the little engine that could (too bad it didn’t make it. Otherwise that would have been two stories that we had grown up on that misinformed us of what really happened!). The ax seemed to have a fountain of blood that constantly spewed from it long after a kill and he tossed it around as if it was a stick. I don’t mean in the way where there was cleverly calculated tossing like a baton, but in the fact that he tumbles with it quite often and never seems to get hurt. That doesn’t happen bro. You get cut when things like that happen. I feel as if characters were introduced but never fully developed or relationships were learned but then laid there lifeless. It’s as if there wasn’t enough to go off of. 

At one point, I felt that it would be more fun to throw myself down the stairs at the movie theater than to continue watching the movie. There just wasn’t enough for me and by the time that we got to the bulk of the movie, they had lost my interest. To many action scenes and flashbacks in the beginning gave me nothing. Therefore, when the actual story started taking place, I was bored and ready to go. 

At one point my friend Ben leaned over and said “If Abraham Lincoln was such a bad a, how did he get popped off in a theater?” Awkward for us when right after the President won the war he’s in a dialogue with Henry and his wife, Mary, yells “Abe, hurry up! we’re going to be late to the theater”. We were definitely the only four people to crack up in the movie. 

Final verdict? I’m sure the book is much better than the movie. It always is. If you must go see it, please tell me that you have deals at your theater so you can only see it for $3? Any more and it’s not worth it. Wait till it’s out in redbox. Better yet, just save that dollar for something really good. Like Hunger Games. That’s good. 

Until the next New Movie Monday Post, 

Shelby 

The last week of June

Yo-yo yiggity yo. Crazy week that we’ve been having here in the 631! I haven’t been to the nanny house in a week and the break has been awesome. This next week I have off as well, so really these two weeks have been my summer break. I’ve stayed up past my bedtime, played capture the flag, hung out with old friends, and watched two too many lifetime movies.

Aren't we presh? 

My friend Whitney is in town for an internship, which makes hanging out with her so much easier than if she lived in Arkansas. Some other old friends, Kristen and Charlene came up to Dallas to spend time here, making for a very exciting weekend. 

<<Here's the whole gang. We ended up running into one of their old friends, and uh.. Kristen's ex boyfriend... and hanging out with him. Nice dude. And as for the random guy in the back, no one really knows his name. Oops. 

We celebrated one chapter of a sweet friends life closing here in Texas, while the next chapter of his life consists of the Coast Guard. He is currently in New Jersey for boot camp and will then make his way over to California for school. This is a huge deal! Do you know how selective the Coast Guard is? Pretty selective. And this dude got in, so proud! On another note, Crockett had to leave the love of his life and my best friend behind for a couple of months. No worries bro, I’ll take good care of her! ...When she gets back in Denton that is. But for real. he’s been like a brother to me for the last two years. And I can’t wait to see what the Lord has planned for him in the Coast Guard. Can’t wait to meet up at the Jersey Shore and fist bump with you!

At another adventure to El Guapos (which is the same place that we said good-bye to ‘Crocklett’) we celebrated a friends 21st birthday. WOO-HOO!! The birthday girl, my sweet friend Jazmine, had 20 of her closest friends next to her while she sipped her first drank. And her wonderful boyfriend got her a few of her favorite things. Such as life size Doctor Who cut outs. Isn’t he the best? 

Here's to the best small group that has ever graced Sigma and to the most wonderful birthday girl of the week. 

Left to right: Yours Truly; the newlywed, Anna-Marie; Birthday girl, Jazmine; The Fashionista, Mariah; Cowgirl Lauren; and Lucky Lindi

The rooms just moved out leaving two of us in the 631. And now the apartment feels oh so empty. I can’t knock on Greer’s door anymore and laugh at her or sit in the hallway for a couple of hours talking about nothing. But it’s okay, I can just call her on the tele. 

Also. In 14 days, I’ll be moving into my own place. Who’s getting excited?

Besides watching 15 kids on a saturday night, playing two rounds of capture the flag, and eating to much ‘brownie in a mug’, it’s been a pretty mellow week.. 


My Tv obsession:  

I am in. love. with this show. Probably because I'm awkward and I feel like Jenna and I could be sisters. Maybe it's because she blogs and no one knows about it, which is basically how I feel about it at this point. Although she is a lot more anonymous than I. I don't like all the weird sex stuff and that they curse so much, but oh wait, it's all bleeped out because you can't curse on MTV. Why write a script with so much cursing if you're going to be on a network that bleeps it out? Dumb. But whatever. I'm hooked.

What I'm Craving:

It's my weakness. And they just came out with that nacho burrito thing. It's delish. I already tried it. But for realz, I have to limit myself. I knew I had an addiction when I was going to TB at 9am for a burrito. ....no one should eat a bean burrito at 9am. No one. If you or someone you know is addicted to TB, seek help immediately. 

My craft project for the week: 

Just in time for the 4th! Im going to attempt these beauts and wear the crap out of them on Wednesday. Get excited. I'll let you know how they turn out. 

This coming week will consist of Fourth of July with Whit, a visit to give another birthday present, a trip to Austin, and a few other adventures. Here we go!! 

What are your plans for the week?

until we meet again,

Shelby

What's Going Down

Alright, let’s catch up on this week shall we?

I’ve been house sitting at the nanny house all week. Which has been quite lovely. I haven’t had to take care of the boys due to one at cub scout camp and the other visiting his grandma. So, I’ve been at the house watching the pup and taking care of some flowers. Take a look at these beauts! 

I’ve caught up on homework, taken tests, worked out, and done quite times like no ones business. It’s been both awesome and relaxing. Downside? I’ve eaten all their food, the house is kind of creepy at night (at the moment, something downstairs is singing. I'm upstairs. Hopefully it's just the dryer), and a flea bit me on the lip. THE LIP! It’s black and blue and puffy all over. Terrible. Be glad it’s not you.

Here’s some things that I’m obsessing over this week. 

My jam:

So if you haven't heard this Village original, you need to get on it right away. No, Really. It's beautiful.. 

"There is freedom, taste and see. Hear the call, come to me. Run into these arms of Grace, your burden heavy, He will take."

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/come-to-me-feat.-lauren-chandler/id535901067?i=535901154 <<You can buy it here. See how I did that ;)

My show:

Yea, okay. I may be a little late and this may be a little lame. But whatever. I've been alone all week and enjoy watching women kick butt in a court room. 

Plus I finished all of How I Met Your Mother. I really wish I hadn't. 

My draannkkk (alright. I tried this once. And it wasn’t that awesome. But still. I’m all for new things):

That is grapefruit, spinach, apples, almond milk, banana, and grapes. Yea, juicing isn't my thing. Why not just eat those things separate? It's not like you get more nutritional value by combining all of the above. Weirdos. 

Sorry I didn't do a movie this week. But thing were cray-cray up in hur. And there was a Freshman Orientation that I worked. And when everyone is going out for Chinese afterwards, how are you going to choose that over a movie? 

Wanna know what is getting me pumped this week?

A) Ikea with mi marmee tomorrow. I love that place. I love her. And I love buying new furniture...win, win, win. 

B) Seeing old Friends! My beautiful friends from Arkansas are here to visit and I get to catch up with them at some point tomorrow. Which excites me like none-other. 

Until Next time. 

Shelby