The Snow Storm That Prompted The Snowmen Which Led To The Snow Fort

It all started with me taking pictures...

 however, somehow I got wrangled into helping build the snowmen...

And within minutes, I was laying on the icy cold ground with my head in a snow fort.

But I guess I'll follow that face anywhere.

What this Week Is: {The First Week of July Which is the Best Week of the Year!}

In between the 106 degree weather, here is what happened around the D.C. area this weekend.

Good gosh, you'd think we were still in Oklahoma.

In other news, we went to the Holocaust Museum this weekend. Fabulous, if you ask me. {Assuming that something that is super somber can be considered awesome at the same time.} 

Oh and my birthday is tomorrow. 

And the 4th of July will be spent down with the tourists, doing all the touristy things. Must haves will be really good walking shoes, sunscreen, and fried chicken.

What I Crossed Off the Bucket List: {East Coast Camping}

Girls Camp is fun.

Canoe races in the pool, hiking, fires, s'mores, testimony meeting, staying up until the wee hours of the morning chatting with the other leaders like we were 14 again.

It was a blast.

But East coast camping is different. It's hot. Really hot. The bugs are huge. Moss grows all over everything. And the fires are hard to start because the wood is wet. And I don't really wanna go east coast camping again.

But I am so glad I did! I'm so glad I was randomly called to be the Assistant Girls Camp Director. I'm so glad I was able to build a relationship with the girls and leaders. I'm so glad that I am able to cross another thing off my bucket list that I didn't know was on it.

What I Do: {My Daily Life}

With Mike working 8 1/2 hours a day and studying for the bar another 4 to 5 hours, I spend most of my day alone. And as much as that sounds like I am looking for pity, I am actually pretty good at filling my days.

I've been doing these workouts. This girl is tough. She makes me sore. And that makes me happy.

I watch a whole lot of HBO.

I read {currently reading Killing Lincoln}.

I watch the maids. Yes, we have maids. And its very awkward to sit here while they clean. But on the flip side, I'm not leaving cuz I plain have trust issues. But yay for a clean house!

When I feel excited and like I want to get downright sweaty, I actually do venture outside. Sometimes I'll go down to the mall and hit up a museum. I frequent the grocery store a few times a week. I regularly walk down to Mike's work at quitting time and walk back home with him {that's my favorite 30 minutes of the day}. We walk everywhere {except church}. Which is actually pretty awesome. It gives us more time outdoors. Once you make peace with the fact that you just kinda always have a stench and a small stream running down your back, the walk can actually be quite pleasant.

I eat delicious food.

I play with my blog template. Which you may notice is a bit different today. And don't be surprised if you see some pretty constant tweaks here and there. I have a lot of time on my hands!

So what may seem like a really boring, unemployed life, is actually very scintillating to me. I enjoy my days so much and I am really having a blast here in Washington D.C.

Many of these pictures were taken via instagram. You can follow me @abbys14.

What A Snapshot Looks Like: {Our Stint in D.C.}

4 suitcases, a large duffel, a backpack and a laptop bag later, we find ourselves in a small ground floor apartment that smells like a dog in the heart of Washington DC. Where the bedroom is through the kitchen, the back door exit is through the bathroom and the laundry detergent and a bottle of wine are included in the rent.

At the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

In one hand I carry my mace and in the other hand I turn my wedding ring to the inside whenever I see a person that makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm a young, white girl from the suburbs and this little bit of a city life that I am currently living occasionally makes me feel very vulnerable. 

At the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

Today I received one of the best arm workouts I think I can get in DC by carrying our groceries from the store back home. Mike insisted we get a case of water, so between that and a gallon of milk, that poor guy was literally drenched in sweat by the time we got home. We were grateful for the clouds and the occasional breeze. 

If you came to my house for dinner tonight, I could offer you mac n' cheese, PB and J, Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Ramen. Epitome of health, we are.  

And as my arms still shake while I type this, I laugh at my life, learning how to appreciate this current random adventure that we are living. 

{And it JUST occurred to me that it is Friday, and I should be posting a FridayFreeForAll but to be honest with you, I can't keep track of the days of the week since I stopped working and so I'm just gonna bypass this Friday if you don't mind...}

What Happened This Weekend: {Tornadoes}

I struggle to even write this post. As you can imagine. Our weekend, here in the Midwest, was eventful, to say the least. I've honestly never been so happy to see a Monday.

Luckily, we didn't see the worst of it where I am. And I continually pray for those in Woodward, OK and in Kansas and Iowa and Nebraska.

To even share my individual experience seems petty. Minuscule.

Friday afternoon I head out of work at 3:30, which is my normal quitting time. Mike calls to say that they let him out of work early because of the weather so he's going to stop on his way to fill up on gas, and then he'll be home. My drive home was easy, maybe a little more traffic than normal. The radio broadcasters played music and promised that if the weather got serious, they would switch to wall-to-wall tornado coverage. I got home and pulled my car in the garage, which I don't normally do. I came inside, hit the power button on the TV and went to open the blinds while simultaneously dialing my mom.

The TV blares.

"Tornado warning, there is a tornado on the ground!"

PANIC MODE.

Instead of calling my mom, I call Mike.

"Where are you?"
"There is a tornado coming."
"I can't believe you aren't here with me."
The tornado sirens go off.
"I can't believe I am here alone."
I turn up the TV and run to the closet and lay on the floor.
"I can't believe this."
"Where are you now?"

Mike simultaneously saying,
"Are you okay?"
"Where is the tornado?"
"Abby, you need to talk to me!"
"Traffic is at a standstill, I'm not going anywhere."
"Where is the tornado now?!"

All while I'm trying to listen to the TV to hear where the tornado is.

4 miles away.
3 miles away.

"I can't believe you aren't here with me!"

"Abby, you have to talk to me, where is the tornado now?"

The tornado hits 2 miles from our house.



{Tornado from our backyard, my neighbor took this picture...remember...I was laying on my closet floor}

Luckily, only an EF2.



If Mike hadn't of stopped for gas, its a high possibility that he would have been on the freeway at the same time the tornado was on the freeway.

We were definitely being looked out for.

I hate the Midwest.

When Mike got home, he was barely through the door before he had me in his arms. "I love you. You were so brave."
He has a way of making things better. Swoon.

We packed a bag. We had to be ready to get the heck out of here if we needed to. Fortunately, we never had to use the bag.



But the entire weekend, we were on edge. Family and friends called and texted.

Thank you for your love. We appreciated every single person that was looking out for us.

You know I used to consider Friday the 13th as lucky? My first date with Mike was on Friday the 13th.
I'm not so sure about the whole "lucky" part anymore.

27 days until I leave the Midwest. And heaven help me, I'm never coming back.

What Today Is: {Weekend Outlook with a FridayFreeForAll}

When people who have lived in Oklahoma their entire lives start getting nervous about this weekends upcoming weather, I know that things are getting serious.

Here is tomorrow's forecast...

See the arrow? That's about where I live. Notice: red. Red means bad. Severe. Scary. Tornadoes. So this is when you start praying. Pray for the Midwest folk. Because the next 48 hours are bound to be quite the news story.

Hope your weekend is looking a little better than mine.

And here is a song.....because it's FridayFreeForAll! {Hah, you thought I forgot! No way dude.}

A new favorite {but look at him.....is he falling to pieces or just going a little boho on us?}

I Won't Give Up

Jason Mraz

And don't forget...feel free to leave your own suggestions for the next FridayFreeForAll!

If you give suggestions, I will highlight you/your blog/and your video on next week's FridayFreeForAll...just make sure you give me all the details! {And you must be a follower.}
{Oh and all music videos must be appropriate. We are family friendly on this here blog.}

What We're Up To: {Guess What....}

Thanks to my dear neighbor, we've been collecting newspapers.

This isn't a normal collectible in our house.

Til now.

Guess why...

We're moving! Yep, we are!
Mike is finally {finally!} graduating from Law School in a month {a month!}.
Which means we are headed out.
Where, you ask?
Washington D.C.
I know {I know!}
It's only temporary. Mike got a fabulous {fabulous!} clerkship there for a couple of months.
I think we are still in shock. We have yet to make any plans beyond that of actually going.
It's a little stressful to even think about moving there.
But we are so {so!} excited!
After the clerkship is over, we will be moving again {again!} to a land unknown.
We've got it down to three different locations.
But we've still got a bit a prayer to go before we figure out that one.
We are so grateful for this opportunity and cannot believe how blessed we are to receive it.
It literally fell right into our hands.
And of course, I have my wonderful husband to thank for being awesome enough to be considered and offered such an opportunity.
I cannot wait to discover this wonderful city. {And spend the 4th of July in the Nation's Capital! You just can't beat it!}

What We Decided: {TV}

Isn't it funny how integral technology has become in our lives? All day I sit in front of a computer screen crunching numbers, then I go to the gym where I run on a treadmill, which has its very own TV, then its home, where Mike sits on his laptop studying, then the TV goes on, and between that and our phones, the night is pretty much shot.

Some days I would argue that going home and finding a cozy spot in front of the TV for a few hours is what we deserve. We work hard.
Other days I would argue that I have nothing else to do. I mean, I don't have any kids to take care of.

Mike and I have talked before of what kind of house we want to have when we bring children into the world. I knew that having the TV on all of the time wasn't going to work for our goals as parents.

Mike agreed. He knew of the opportunities that having less distractions could bring us. Not just for when we have kids, but the time that it would free up in our current lives.

So we dove in.
We made a list of our favorite shows that air Monday thru Thursday. Then we scratched a couple off the list.
We ended up with:

The Bachelor/Bachelorette
New Girl
Modern Family
Happy Endings
The Big Bang Theory

We decided that from Monday thru Thursday, the only times that we could have the TV on in the evenings would be when we were watching these shows. Other than that, the TV must be off. If we needed noise, music could be turned on. Morning television and weekend {Friday thru Sunday} television don't count.

We just wanted to free up a little bit of our time during the week, since it was already hectic enough.

We started on a Monday. And that first day was weird. What do we do with the TV off? How are we supposed to eat dinner if we can't do it in front of the TV? So what, now we're supposed to talk to each other?

But that first day really taught me something.

There were conversations going on that probably would have never happened with the TV on.
There were opportunities for learning things that we've always wanted to learn because now we had time without the TV being on.

For the sake of not completely losing our minds, we still allow ourselves other forms of technology throughout the evening. You simply just can't take away computer privileges from a law student and a blogger.

A few weeks later, and we're still strong.

And I even look forward to the quiet house when I get home. I relish the opportunity to focus completely on Mike, without having the TV blaring in the background.

And while I can't say that I accomplish a whole lot more each night, I still find that having the TV off more has been wonderful for my sanity and my relationship with my husband.

{My hiatus from Facebook is another post for another time.}

What I'm Thinking About: {Today}

It's Monday! I hope that everyone had a successful daylight savings weekend. I struggled. Getting up for church on Sunday morning seemed easy. But man did I feel it later and ended up taking a twoandahalfhour nap. I hate naps. What a waste of time. Then we went to bed at 9:15 {don't gasp, that's quite normal for us} but I didn't fall asleep until 11:00. And getting out of bed this morning? Blah.

Let's talk about today though. Item of business number one. Today marks exactly two months until graduation. TWO MONTHS! Which means nine more weeks. Nine more Monday mornings. Nine more weeks of studying {for school anyway, don't even remind me that we have the bar coming up}. Nine more Sunday's with my Primary kids. Nine more Friday Accounting meetings. Nine more weeks until our folks come out for graduation!

Aren't they the cutest?!

Which may lead to item of business number two, what our plans are for after graduation. Well we are in the process of figuring that out. We have a couple different roads we could take but we want to make sure that we are making the right decision. Which means a heck of a lot of prayer. But don't worry, you'll get the scoop on that later.

And item of business number three. Today also means The Bachelor finale. I know, I know, for those of you who don't care, you can just skip this part, but for those of you who do......I totally hope that he picks Courtney. I know, she is crazy, but lets be honest, so is Ben if he has let her go this far. And the 'After the Final Rose' part will be so much better if he picks Courtney because of all the scandal behind it! Yes, you better believe it's a pizza occasion tonight. Pizza and three hours of juicy television? Bring.it.on.

Item number four? It's going to be in the high 70's today. Yes, you heard right. HIGH 70's!

Happy Monday!

What Is On My Mind: {Monday Random's}

Wow, did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or what?
I hate Monday's.
Lets talk about this.
Why are Monday's really so horrible. Honestly, what is the difference?
I still come to work Tuesday thru Friday, so really the actual day of Monday is no different.

And I hate winter {even though today is supposed to be 66 degrees}.
But Winter. Eww.
January thru March are the worst. It's cold and dead and there isn't a single work holiday.
I don't really even like Spring for that matter.
I think we should skip from December to May. Skip all those crappy, cold, dead, tornado-y months.

Some days are like that. Even in Australia.
10 points if you know what that's from.

Flip Side:

Aren't Sunday afternoon's the greatest?
Even in the winter I get to experience 2:00 Sunday perfection.
There is a room in my house that from about 1 to 3 the sun shines in so perfectly and warm.
So I declare siestas so that I can be home from 1 to 3 to enjoy that sunshiney room.

Did I ever tell you that Mike and I fell in love through letters? I know, quite the romantics we are.
And we kept all those letters.
A few years back I took all the letters and compiled them in chronological order in a book.
So last night I curled up on the couch with those letters and with some of Mike's mission journals and read.
Oh how I adore my sweet man.
Small excerpts coming soon.

What I Caught: {More Sickness}

Yep. Again. I'm sick. Again! This, my friends, is the 3rd time in less than a month that I'm under the weather. And mind you, I did get my flu shot this year. Of course, this time its the nose/throat/feel like I've been hit by a train sickness. Other than its an easy excuse to get out of going to the gym, getting sick is the pits. I asked Mike yesterday if we could have popcorn and hot chocolate for dinner. Luckily, I regained my self control before dinner time and I even cooked a fabulous dinner. But, its a new day, and once again, all I can think about is popcorn and hot chocolate. We should probably throw some peanut M&M's in for good measure. Look what being sick does to me! Good thing I don't set New Year's resolutions or they would be blown.

{Oh, and sneezing. Isn't that like the best thing ever? It's like a quarterofasecond of pure relief when your sick. And I have an overly dusty office, so it works out really well for me.}

Luckily, we have been having some fairly awesome weather here in the Midwest.

Yep, see that temperature? That's what our weather has been hanging around. So even if I can't shake this season's sickness, I guess if I can walk outside in January and have the warm sun shine on my face, it's still a pretty good day.

Wind

It was a perfect 80 degrees today as we drove home from church. So guess what we did? We rolled down our windows and enjoyed it {which we rarely do}. I stuck my arm out the window, put my face toward the breeze, closed my eyes and took it all in. The sunshine, the smell of Fall, the clarity that comes from a little fresh air. It was such a small thing but it totally changed my day. We don't get much outdoor time between work and school and gym time. And the weather is always at it's best during those times. We need more "stop to smell the roses" moments. Today was a definite reminder of that. Hope you take a moment this Sunday to enjoy a minute or two of fresh air.

Earthquake

This past weekend, Mike was in Dallas for a competition {they did awesome, btw}. I spent two days and two nights by my lonesome. I had full plans going into the weekend that I was going to get all kinds of stuff done without him home. I was going to super clean our house. Work on my scrapbook. You know, stuff that I have been putting off. Did I do any of that? Honestly? No. But for some reason I felt rather busy. There was a whole lot of chick flick watching going on. Oh and some baking {post on the delicious cake I made to come}. But the most exciting news of the weekend? It had to be our Saturday night earthquake. There I am, laying in bed, watching another chick flick, and I start to hear something. It was like someone was tapping silverware against a glass. It went on for probably 5 seconds and then the house began to shake. And let me tell you, IT.WAS.AWESOME. Of course, I don't really recall thinking that at the time. Being home alone, and all. Actually, for some reason in my fuzzy, 11 o'clock at night head, I thought to myself, if I move, or breath, this house is gonna come down around me. And then my second thought was, I sure hope the painting above our bed doesn't fall off the wall and kill me. So just to let you know, all those earthquake drills that you learn in elementary? Yeah, they didn't work. Get under a door frame? Are you kidding? I couldn't even breath, and you expect me to get up and move? There I lay, in the middle of my bed, vulnerable to anything that felt like it wanted to crash down on me. After maybe 40 seconds of shaking, it stopped. And then I could hear the silverware against the glass noise again...for maybe 10 seconds. And then it was all over. And I was home alone. And somehow expected to fall asleep. Hah. Well actually, my heart did finally get back to its normal pace, and I did eventually fall asleep. And there were no damages {in my house at least}. A wall of crooked pictures. Thats about it. The earthquake registered at a 5.6, the largest Oklahoma has ever seen. Oh the natural disaster experiences that I get to have here in this state. Mike was so disappointed that he missed it.

TX

Headin' down to Dallas for the big game this weekend. So happy to have some time away. I could use some one on one with the hubby. Its supposed to be a sweaty 90 degrees down there this weekend. {Not that that's any different than what it has been around Oklahoma these days.....and Utah is getting SNOW!}

I promise pictures of our travels and some yummy food when I get back. Hope ya'll {bringin' in the Texas talk already} have as good as weekend as I'm gonna!

Peace and Love.

Journeys

Happy weekend everyone! We're going to search for a Dodge Journey this weekend.....and if we have time, we'll hopefully watch our dear Sooners beat Florida State.

And Hallelujah kids.....its raining outside!!

Summer

This is how Charlie and I spent our afternoon.

Oh the beauty of working from home on a laptop.

So How Do I Beat The Magic Bear?

Well we made it to Utah, safe and sound. Without any car troubles! We are so glad to be back with family and friends. We arrived Sunday around 12 noon, and then spent the day lounging with family! It was fabulous. I was back to work early Monday morning. Mike doesn't actually start his internship until next Monday so he has been bored to death. I have been busy working remotely and realizing what a bittersweet opportunity that it is. Bitter because man the days seem so long! I don't know what it is, but actually showing up at the office makes a day go by so much faster. And I was a little worried about the distractions that working remotely might bring, but its actually quite the opposite! I have been hardly distracted and working very quickly! I processed 27 expense reports in 2.5 days! Most have no idea but that is seriously awesome! But the Sweet part of all of this is the fact that this morning I hopped out of bed 30 minutes before I needed to be to work, took a shower, and headed to work with wet hair, no makeup, and in my pajamas. Now that has Abby just written all over it! It truly doesn't get better than that!

Not missing Oklahoma at all except for some dear friends and the nice, warm weather! It has been in the 40's and raining since we arrived. I have only ran once since I've been here and its kinda putting me in a slump. I miss my nice, temperature controlled gym! Hopefully all this rain disappears so I can feel the nice, warm sunshine on my face as I enjoy a run with the hubby!

And because all blogs should have pictures (or at least some would say), here is a picture that I finally got around to getting my hands on, taken of Mike and his siblings while we were all together around Christmas! Aren't they just adorable?!

Night

I woke up last night, not gonna lie, a little terrified. I had a dream I was in the middle of a tornado. Not the most fun dream I have ever had. It was strange too because I was running out of a building, to my car, for some reason thinking that my car was more safe than a building. And I remember running against the tornadic winds (yes, tornadic is a word), and thinking that I would never reach my car. And then as soon as I got to my car, I realized that that was probably the most unsafe place for me to be, but it was so difficult to get there, that I didn't think that I would be able to make it back to the building in time. So I laid down on the seat in my car as the windows all broke in around me. And then I woke up. And it was thundering outside (yes, thundering is also a word). Which made my dream all the more scary.

And then I started thinking about the Royal Wedding. Yep. Random. Because at 3 AM on Friday morning, I will be sitting on my couch eating snacks and wearing a tiara (even if it does say St. Patrick's Day on it...). ALL BY MYSELF. I did invite Mike to join me, I even told him he could wear a tiara too. But its the same answer as always...."It's finals, and that would screw up my whole studying schedule." But this is something I think that I would rather do on my own. No lame commentary from a man who would criticize more then compliment. I have even tried to convince myself that its totally lame and that I should just stay in bed since I do have to work the next day. But I decided that even if I make the decision to not watch it, my internal alarm clock will go off at approximately 2:45, telling me that the Royal Wedding is about to start. And then I would just be laying in bed awake thinking about it anyway, unable to fall back asleep. So at that point, why not just get up and actually enjoy it. Anybody else as into this as me? I look forward to watching the Today Show every morning as I get ready and ABC World News every evening while I run, just to see what new details they have about the wedding, which is mostly all just speculation. Either way, I can't hear about it enough. Which is very surprising. Normally, I can't stand when they talk about the same story over and over again.Maybe its just because this is a happy story. Or maybe its because I think being a Princess would be pretty nice. (I know, I know, as women, we are all Princesses.....but let's be honest......we really aren't.) (Sarah, I can't help but think this is something we totally would have done together back in the day!)

And I have already told Mike I want a Princess Kate/Princess Di ring. Gorgeous.

Oh and we should all start using the words lovely and dreadful. Because that's what British people say. And because they are just super awesome words.

Cheers!

Cottonballs

Ever seen clouds that like this?? Yeah, we hadn't either until yesterday. Oklahoma has been bringing some pretty crazy storms lately. Thank goodness the hail and tornadoes continue to miss us, even if just by a county or two like last night. Instead we just got these clouds and probably 60 seconds worth of rain.