taylor swift: preview

today i got to go see taylor swift!!!!!! if you know me at all, you know that i love love love taylor.  i took almost 500 pictures, so today i'm just going to post one picture. tomorrow i'll have lots more! just wait - they're great! oh - and to add to tonight's grandness, needtobreathe opened!

end note: her show is even better the 2nd time - if that's even possible!

maple view

today we had the best idea ever: to go to maple view for ice cream after dinner. it was a  crazy car ride - full of singing and screaming out the windows. we sat on the porch at maple view in the rocking chairs, ate our ice cream and talked as we watched the sun set. it was absolutely beautiful. i pinky promise the sunset picture wasn't edited - it was just that pretty.

end note: i say this everyday, but today was the best!

enchiladas

today maribel made enchiladas and rice for dinner: delicious. we have tried to make an effort to - once a week - have a mcmansioner cook dinner so that we can invite friends to come over and eat. we've been taking turns cooking. tonight we had 8 friends come join us for maribel's meal. i love these dinners. it is always such a sweet time with yummy food, good friends, and great dinner table conversation. i wouldn't trade this time for anything.

endnote: there is nothing better than good friends and good food mixed together!

bulls game

today i got the pleasure of going to a durham bulls game! i've been wanting to do this for a good long while and finally got the chance to do so today. i absolutely love the atmosphere of baseball games. tonight the bulls played the scranton yankees. we left the game a little early and headed over to amanda's for a bonfire, so i'm not sure who won - they were tied when we left. it has definitely been a great start to the week!

end note: i've had "take me out to the ball game" stuck in my head all day!

one ending, one beginning

today marked the end of housesitting, but it also marked the resumption of my daily bike rides with maribel. we saw these flowers on our ride today. i was so thankful to have that time of being outside and talking back! i think one of my favorite things about our rides is always getting to see something new in god's beautiful creation.

end note: a flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days.

down by the river

today i went back to the eno river with more people this time. it is really one of the funnest places. i love the rope swing, and the swimming isn't half bad either.

end note: i forsee many trips back to the eno river!

it's friday!

today is friday, which means many different things. it means a week of work is over. it also means that 3 of the kids i've been "teaching" for the past month won't be returning. they're moving to boone this weekend. i'm sad to see them go. the youngest, will, has been a handful. but, his smile and hugs made it all worth it. anyways, friday also means that this afternoon was fridays on the front porch. it's a relaxing time of dressing up, drinks, music and dancing at the carolina inn. it's a great atmosphere after a long week of work. i got to go with several friends before heading back to housesit, so that was quite enjoyable.

end note: i do love fridays.

nature watching

today i sat on the back porch of the house i am staying at and nature watched. there was a large variety of colors and sizes of the birds that i saw. and, there were even some squirrels.

end note: there are so many things you can see just by sitting outside.

meet lucy

today i started housesitting for a family that i babysit for. they have a new dog, lucy. i am absolutely in love with her. we've been on several walks today, played outside, and watched tv. it's the greatest - it's basically getting paid to borrow a dog!

end note: i'm starting to wonder if our landlord would really find out if i adopted a dog!

final touches

today i've spent some time putting the finishing touches on my room. i've put up pictures and done crafts. after a few mishaps, i finally got it finished - though i might paint the clothespins black... we'll see.

end note: i feel so accomplished!

bonfire

today has been jam packed. i worked, rode bikes with syd, swam, cooked dinner, had people over to watch the bachelorette, and most important to this post - went to a bonfire. crock was nice enough to let a group of us use his fire pit tonight. it was a fun time of talking, laughing and dancing. and, the bonfire itself wasn't too shabby!

end note: for those who don't know me well, i absolutely love fire.

winston: day 2

today i got to spend the day with sarah taking pictures around winston. we switched off cameras and took pictures of each other. it's a lot of fun to bounce ideas back and forth. plus, it's just been great to spend the weekend with her because it'll be the last time we'll get to hang out for a long while.

end note: this has been one of the best weekends.

winston: day 1

today i've been in winston salem. i was talked to sarah last night, and i decided to leave chapel hill and go spend the weekend with her. this spontaneous decision has been the best one i've made this summer because i was under the impression i wouldn't get to see her again before she left for denmark. anyways, tonight we went to downtown winston for live music. it was great. we also got to be a part of this drum circle, which was absolutely sweet.

end note: so glad i decided to come to winston salem.

meet yoda

today i got to go see the preying mantis that catherine's boyfriend caught the other day. he named it yoda, and it is the smallest, funniest thing ever. we tried to feed it crickets, but it just wasn't having it. i normally don't like bugs, but this one was pretty fun, and i really enjoyed taking pictures of it!

end note: i hate to admit it, but i was absolutely fascinated watching this bug.