5 December Favorites

I've been trying to catch up on reading blogs -- it's almost impossible! I've missed a lot. I've been doing lots of reading, not a lot of commenting. Once I'm caught up, that will be easier :)   I wanted to fill y'all in on 5 fun things I've done so far in December!   But first, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!   1. 22nd Birthday For my 22nd birthday, I had...lots of studying to do. BOO! But, I did get to start my day in kindergarten! My sweet teacher and students had a card, balloons and gift waiting for me! They are seriously too good to me.  I am so lucky to be with the best kindergarteners in the world :)

After class it was time for our family dinner! Here's what I wore:

 Lilly Joycee tunic, giant teardrop necklace from Groopdealz!

We went to dinner at a local restaurant, 622 North. Yum, yum, yum.

  2. Army v Navy Football Game Steven's family invited me to tag along for football game between Army and Navy.  One of Steven's brothers is at the Naval Academy and we went to last year's game, too.

 GO NAVY!

3. Hokie Basketball

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say it, but I hardly ever go to basketball games.  Of all the sports to watch, basketball probably isn't in my top 8.  However, once finals were said and done with, we headed to one of the weekend games vs Georgia Southern! Although the Hokies lost, I still had fun and I have high hopes for the team this season!   4. Picking out our Christmas tree

 We went to a family farm down in McCoy

 James starts the cut

 And, I had to help ;)

Taking our tree home!
5. Playing with my crazy, and most of the time sleeping, pets

 Belle peeking outside

 sink cat.

 Best friends and pet sisters

Snoozing, waiting for Santa

 Belle's 1st Christmas!

 Worn out from opening presents.

Seriously - they have slept all day! Oh, the life of a dog...

My December has been full of many blessings! Not to mention Christmas day, which was simply wonderful. Another post on that tomorrow, maybe!
Today is my Mom's birthday! We're going to see Silver Linings Playbook and then having dinner in Roanoke. I'm excited! Anyone seen that movie? Steven and his family are also heading home today. We still have to finish our gift exchange! Lots of fun :)
Have a wonderful day!

Cross Your T's, Dot Your I's // Thankful

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

I found this fun link up on Faison's blog and wanted to join in! I'm a couple days late linking up, but better late than never!

Joelle at Something Charming is hosting -- love her blog!

I love handwriting! Whether I'm taking notes, writing a list or composing a letter, I like to take my time and make my writing neat and legible! Messy handwriting just makes me anxious.

It's so interesting to see how different people write -- uppercase v. lowercase letters, different forms of 'a', small/large letters, cursive or non, etc. It's one of those things I find myself identifying people by -- it's so unique!

Be sure to link up to show off your style!

My handwriting, today:

It's not perfect, but that's what it is! I'm trying to improve my handwriting before I become a teacher. Being in kindergarten is helping with that since we practice handwriting & the proper ways to write our letters and numbers!

Today, I am thankful for the opportunity to go to one of the greatest universities in the country.  Each day I feel blessed that I was able to go to college following my graduation from high school and I am looking forward to May when I will receive my degree! I'm thankful for all of the professors, faculty and staff members, teaching assistants, bus drivers, volunteers, and the entire student body for making Virginia Tech the special place that it is today.

Hope y'all have a wonderful day!

Pre-Halloween Weekend & Color Me Rad

Boy, did I have an amazing weekend! I spent all of Friday at the elementary school, then headed to my mom's school to help with book fair [my favorite], then made my way to the high school football game -- where I found Steven :) -- and then we went out for a friend's birthday!
Saturday was spent getting ready for our Halloween party... I'll let the pictures do the talking [sorry there are so many]:

This was actually Thursday...I was so excited to be DT with my boyfriend FINALLY

LOVE my Ldeezy

Photobombs galore...all night long

It was my roommate's birthday on the 28th, so we celebrated that too!

Pageant queens - Miss Alabama, Miss Texas, Miss Louisiana

Boys

Roommates !

Joe Dirt, Lumberjack and Western Cowboy...aka boys in plaid

I love my friends.

Then on Sunday, two of my roommates and I ran the Color Me Rad 5K, which I blogged about earlier! It was SO much fun and way worth the $35 fee -- plus it benefited the Special Olympics.

If this run, or any other run similar to it, comes to a town near you -- DO IT! Even if you aren't a runner. Half of the people walk anyway. It's more of an "event", not a race. I had such a blast!

All clean, before we headed out:

The starting line on campus:

Lindz has a smile on her face, even though we had a crazy night the night before and literally slept like 3-5 hours:

The pink station at the finish!

Halfway through...our other roommate and Steven came out to snap a picture:

My momma and I at the finish! She is so rad.

It's safe to say after that, I basically collapsed on the couch and slept the rest of the day.
Whew! I want to go back to this weekend!

However, now on a serious note, I want everyone on the east coast to please be safe! Steven's college is closed today and tomorrow so he is staying in Fairfax. Virginia Tech isn't closed -- although they faked us out yesterday by cancelling classes and then uncancelling them an hour later -- but it's still snowing and really windy! I hate cold weather, so I'm not a happy camper, but I am thankful that I'm not up in NJ or NY. Praying for everyone dealing with the elements -- PLEASE BE SAFE!

Summer Koozie Swap!

Happy Monday everyone! 

I am excited to announce that Katie and I are teaming up to bring you a koozie swap! With those hot summer days heading our way, what better way to celebrate than by making a new blog friend and getting one of summer's most fun accessories?

Guidelines for the Koozie Swap:

1. Leave a comment on Simply Sarah (this blog!) or His Diamond and Mine with your first name, e-mail address, and blog URL. Please make sure to comment no later than June 5th at midnight, if you want to participate!

2. The limit for the swap is $15 before shipping!

3. We will be e-mailing you your swap partner between June 6th and June 8th. You will need to get in touch with them to exchange addresses and talk about favorite colors, etc.

4. Make sure to have your package mailed by June 30th. This gives you plenty of time to order koozies and get them to your partner! 

5. We will be hosting a link-up on July 8th to show off the fun swap items!

Not sure where to find Koozies? Here are a few suggestions: 

Lilly Pulitzer 

Marley Lilly

Etsy is a great place to look, too!

Let us know if you have any questions! We are super excited to host!

Making The Most Out of Summer

Since my summer time is somewhat limited before summer work starts (and I'm working the majority of the day, every day) I've been trying to make the most out of every day! This is also because Steven leaves on Saturday for Martinsville where he stays until August to play baseball. He lives with a host family and has games every single day either in Martinsville or throughout North Carolina - with the exception of two games in Petersburg.I'm definitely going to miss hanging out with him like I have been the past couple of weeks since school let out, but I know how much fun he has with the team, so I'm happy for him!The games are actually pretty fun - almost like a minor league game with fun things in between innings, mascot races, themed nights, etc. Anyway, here's what I've been up to!
I've...
started back up running - and even convinced Steven to come along

gone out for breakfast

had a barbeque with the family

stayed out late for live music

enjoyed the best burger in the NRV

gone 30 minutes for delicious ice cream & candies

spent some lazy mornings watching TLC

What are you doing to make the most out of summer? If only the rain would leave, I could do more outside!
Only two more days of school for the little ones! I can't believe how early we're getting out! I'm not complaining ;)
Happy Thursday!