Its what friends are for.

I've been helping my friend K get her house renovated for months now. Mostly painting, hole filling - small jobs really - but honestly just doing what friends do...helping out when needed and since Chad is on 2nd, I have the time at night when I am not working. I keep hoping - for my sake, but definitely not K's - that it takes so long to sell that she will be here for a long time but that isn't fair for her! She really is my closest friend here in Chattanooga and it has taken me a while to build these friendships so I am incredibly sad to face the possibility of her moving in the near future. She will keep her job with the GS so I will get to work with her and see her in Knoxville for meetings every once in a while but it just won't be the same as lunch together every day and having her down the hall, ready for a trouble-shooting chat anytime I need it! Ok, before I get all emotional, I'll move on and pretend it isn't happening.

What I wanted to show you was this cool gift she got me.
It is an Origami Owl necklace - which I hadn't heard of until she got one from her mom. I introduced her to Pandora so I guess this is only fair. It is an awesome little glass "locket" on a long chain that you get to fill with charms that mean something to you. Mine has a charm that looks like a sewing machine (we took a sewing class together back before Christmas), a cat (come on, obvious), an Ixthus fish (great symbol of my sweet faith and my 2nd tattoo), a ring (cause I'm all married and such) and a camera (a hobby that K and I share). It is such a neat, personalizable gift and I am super excited to wear it all the time!

Bunnies.

So, my dearest Chad and his friend T got this hare-brained (hardeeharhar) idea that they were going to get rabbits. You see, T is a fairly strict Paleo dieter and thinks that he needs more lean protein in his diet. (So, yes, stop reading now if the idea of eating rabbits that grew up in your backyard grosses you out.)

 

Chad and T made a deal. T doesn't know much about raising animals, pets, building things, power tools, etc. Chad told him that he would pay for the supplies to make the rabbit hutch if T would purchase and feed the rabbits. They worked on this hutch for a couple of weeks when they would both happen to have time off at the same time of day until it was finally finished last week. After a trip down to a rabbit breeder in GA, 3 little bunnies now live in my backyard under my favorite tree. 2 girls and one boy will be the "breeders" so these won't actually be eaten - which is fine by me. (Let me be clear on one point - this gal has absolutely NO INTENTION of making dinner - or any other meal for that matter - out of these cuties. I don't know what Chad's intentions are but I believe they align with mine. I made him promise, pinky swear, cross his heart and hope to die or stick a needle in his eye that no rabbits would come to their demise in MY backyard. If I ever, ever, ever find a tuft of fur or any remnants of any idea that a bunny died on my property, this whole thing is bust. This way, I can basically pretend that it isn't happening.)

 

And that is the story of how 3 bunnies - and their future offspring - came to live in my backyard. They are basically identical so I keep threatening to get a washable marker out and put dots on their backs or something so we can tell them apart. As it turns out, one of them doesn't like celery - at all - always leaves it behind so I want to name "it" (because, let's be real - bunny parts are hard to figure out) Celery and give it a green dot. Any name suggestions for the other two?

 

Sorry for the super blurry bunny on the right.

Do you know that they don't hold still for photos, no matter how hard you try to bribe them with fresh clover plants?

Honored.

Today was a really cool day. This morning was our council's Annual Meeting. This is the event that I planned last year as it was a bigger blowout party for our 100th Anniversary. This year, we brought the event back to our three regional areas and held it over out video conferencing system so it would be easier for our members to get to/not as far to travel for most people. Generally, this is just a business meeting with our CEO's annual report and some discussion. This year, a couple of our Board members were being honored with adult awards - nominated by their peers - so our CEO wanted to give them out at this event instead of our other awards events. I am actually the staff liaison for this awards committee so I knew we had a few folks that could receive awards at this event; it is special to receive an award in front of your peers so it was a great time to hand them out.

At the end of the meeting, our CEO gave out the awards and much to my surprise, I received one as well. I know it seems strange since I am basically just "doing my job" but the award I received is a national level award, meaning that it has to be nominated by one of my peers, approved by our awards committee, and then approved by our Board of Directors. I received the Appreciation Pin - which is a GSUSA award and can be worn on your official uniform (doesn't sound like a big deal but it pretty much is!). It is for service in one geographic area of our council, above and beyond expectations. I am very honored; I know what other volunteers and staff have also received this award and I am among dedicated and loyal Girl Scouts. It feels so incredibly good to know that my hard work, long hours, off hour phone calls and emails, and attitude have shown someone (nominators are kept confidential) that I am worthy of this award. I am so honored.

April Birchbox!

It's April Birchbox time!

So glad that this came today because I was checking the mail at my friend K's house over the weekend while she was out of town and I discovered that hers came. I was experiencing some Birchbox jealousy so glad it was here when I got home. :)

 

Women's Health Magazine was the partner for the month and the theme was "tiny tweaks, big results". I have been seeing them blog about it for a couple of weeks so I was waiting to see what the box would include. I also watched the sneak peak video, which I should learn NOT to do because I get excited about things that end up not being in my box.

This is what it looked like when I opened it...they are still a big fan of those little inner boxes.

This is an anti-aging hair serum by the Nexxus company. Admittedly, I have never heard of anti-aging hair products. I guess because I haven't really even delved into anti-aging skin care yet so this is a whole new world!

Excited to try this...

These three little lotion samples were my "lifestyle extra" for the month. This Weleda company says that they sustainably harvest plant oils and natural hydrators so I think it would be neat to try it.

This is a anti-shine mattifier that I am looking forward to using on my oily face. It is also a mineral based product which should go well with my current mineral foundation. Fun!

This is another anti-aging product by the StriVectin company. I have never tried any of their products but this is supposed to be great for eye wrinkles so I will try to be dedicated and try it long enough to see a differences. It says that you can see results in 2 weeks and that there is enough product to do that so it might be worth the try!!

 

Fun! This was a good box with a couple of good anti-aging products which has made me think a lot about taking care of my skin a bit better. Loving my monthly surprises...

Weekend Perfection

We seriously could not have asked for a better weekend this past weekend. The weather was so perfect and spring-like, my mom was here, we stayed outside as much as we could and I got a TON of stuff done around the house.

My weekend started early with some really good news. I got a promotion of sorts at work which means my role will be transitioning over the next few months. Instead of working primarily with volunteers, I will be filling a new position called a Teen Programs Coordinator. I will supervise 3 other staff members who work specifically with doing programming to recruit and retain older girls. I am crazy excited about it; I hope that it means I will get to work with girls a little more than I do and we will be working with travel and events as well so I think it will be a great change. There is still a lot of unknowns with the role so I am just telling myself to be flexible and enjoy it!

I worked a LOT last week so I took Friday afternoon off. Cleaned up a tiny bit in the house but saved all the clothes folding for my mom (the lady loves to fold clothes. What can I say!?). Mom came and we ran some errands and rented a movie. Saturday morning we met J and S and went for a walk on the Riverwalk, ate lunch at our favorite little Mexican joint on their patio, then bought and planted some flowers in the yard. Mom folded the giant mountain of clean laundry while I steam cleaned carpets. All in all, a super productive Saturday. Sunday we went to church, had lunch, then mom headed south to see my sister. Chad and I got the lawnmower started and I mowed the front and back yards while he picked up sticks and limbs. I also mowed the neighbors back yard which was an obstacle course of fun (no seriously, I like the challenge!). Chad had to work Saturday and Sunday so I cleaned carpets again and prepped lunches for this week Sunday night.

We spent as much time outside as we could – I even ended up with a little forehead sunburn and farmers tan! – and the weather was perfection. Gotta remember to keep watering everything we planted so I have prettiness all summer long!