I Wore Pink.........................

.......................................AND SURVIVED!!

I'm not sure how it started, but somewhere in middle or high school I decided that I couldn't wear pink or red or yellow or orange or anything that would clash with my red hair.  I would cringe when my friend would put her red haired daughter in any of those colors.  My closet was filled with mostly greens, blues and purples, with an occasional black or white.  Recently I've been trying to branch out a little bit in my colors, I discovered brown doesn't look too bad and there are some purples I've been buying that have been closer and closer to pink.  Well, this shirt I bought online and it looked very purple on the website and when I got it I decided just to try it and what do you know, I survived wearing it for a whole day!  It might just stay in my closet!

My New Favorite Gadget

My friend Dawn and I have been walking together for a couple weeks and finally last week we started jogging.  She had used a program before for beginners to work up to running a 5k and since it had been awhile since she'd been running she was okay with starting over on the program with me. The first time we went jogging we used a kitchen timer, but then I found this awesome interval timer online, so I bought it right away.  I tried it once without reading the directions and it worked okay, but then I read the directions and the next time we went jogging it worked great! It's small and light and clips easily onto your clothes, it times one or two intervals for as many rounds as you'd like.  I've never considered myself a runner, I tell myself I would like to enjoy it, but have never spent enough time building up my endurance.  Yesterday was our third time doing the intervals and I'm happy to say it felt a little easier.  I do say that with a grain of salt, because on Wednesday we have to increase our jogging time.  I don't know that I'll ever want to run a 5k, but I hope to be able to finish the program with Dawn and be in better shape and maybe a couple pounds lighter!

High Tea

My good friend Sarah is getting married this summer and while she was visiting we had a Bridal Shower themed tea party!  It was so much fun to get dressed up and use china.  Everything was so beautiful and yummy.  We tried four different kinds of herbal tea, Very Berry, Mystique, Rosamint and Creamsicle. 

Here is the table set so beautifully.

We loved the china, and the tea pots and the sugar cubes.

Even the food was beautifully arranged and worthy of a few pictures!

I didn't take too many pictures of me, but this is my best pinky picture, you have to stick out your pinky when you're drinking tea out of china!

Here's Sarah holding her miniature tea cup, we each got one as a souvenier.

And as if the day wasn't special enough for Sarah, we walked outside and in front of the floral shop next door was a sign that said if your name is Sarah come in for a free gift! She got a lovely rose!

It was a really fun day and a great way to have a small, intimate bridal shower. 

I can't wait to have an excuse to go back there!

Pineapple

Chris bought a new toy for the kitchen!  It cores and scoops out pineapples.

I thought it was pretty cool to drink pineapple juice straight out of the pineapple!

Good Friends

Last week I got to hang out with some good friends from high school, two of whom I hadn't seen in almost seven years!  We went out to lunch and had so much fun chatting and catching up.  Then we went to a park so the two little kids could play and we'd have more time to chat.

There was this cute 3 month old English Mastiff that we all fell in love with and wanted to take home.  She was more than happy to play with us!

Cake Decorating

I've always enjoyed making and decorating cakes, but have never spent much time on it.  It'd be fun sometime to take a decorating class and learn professional techniques.  For now I'll just stick to special occasions.  Today I made one for my mom's birthday.  It wasn't anything special, but I think it turned out cute and I had fun! I recently discovered some tricks that make it a lot easier.  1. Baking the cake the day before frosting it so it has PLENTY of time to cool and there won't be any crumbling.  2. If coloring the frosting, mix it and let it sit in the fridge so it's not too mushy and will hold the shape of whatever decoration you're making.  I'm pretty proud of myself for discovering those things and making a cute cake!

Junior Achievement

One of my biggest pet peeves working at the bank is people - ADULTS - who have no idea how to use their bank accout, have never been taught how to fill out a check or balance a check book.  So I've been trying to find ways to volunteer in the community.  Granted, I'm still learning myself, but I believe if you're going to have a bank account, you need to know how to use it.  So last month I got in contact with one of the other branch managers at my bank who started teaching Junior Achievement classes last year to elementary school students.  It's not just focused on banking, but being a productive member of your community and understanding how the community works.  Yesterday I went with her to a 2nd grade class in Aberdeen and really enjoyed it.  This class is five sessions long, so I'll go to those with her as her teaching assistant.  I was talking to my branch manager about wanting to get more involved with it, so she's going to see what she can find out about doing the same class at the elementary school right behind our branch.  I never wanted to be a teacher, but I enjoy helping out in classes and I feel better knowing I'm doing SOMETHING to help educate the public.
So, my lecture for the day - make sure you understand how your bank account works and start early teaching your kids how to use bank accounts!