Tag Archives: Personal

08.13.17
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Getting Personal #80: My Love for American Girl

American Girl - Etsy

Image Credit: Etsy

Some of you have probably figured out by now that I have loved Pleasant Company and American Girl for, well, forever.

I wanted to give you a bit of an inside look into my love and passion for these books and the dolls!

Here’s a few articles that I read and reviewed while working on this post:

Before we dive into my love / passion for these books and dolls, here’s a brief history of Pleasant Company and American Girl.

Pleasant Company was launched in 1986 by former textbook writer Pleasant Rowland. The idea was sparked when she wanted to buy dolls for her nieces, ages 8 and 10 at the time, and the only options available were Cabbage Patch Kids and Barbies.

She then took a trip with her husband to Colonial Williamsburg, and she was inspired by the history there. She thought girls would be interested in learning more about history by connecting with dolls associated with certain historical time eras.

There were three original Historical Characters when the company started in 1986:

  • Kirsten Larson, 1854
  • Samantha Parkington, 1904
  • Molly McIntire, 1944

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Here is the complete list of Historical Characters the company has created:

  1. Kaya, 1764
  2. Felicity Merriman, 1774
  3. Elizabeth Cole, 1774 (Felicity’s best friend)
  4. Caroline Abbott, 1812
  5. Josefina Montoya, 1824
  6. Marie-Grace Gardner, 1853
  7. Cecile Rey, 1853
  8. Kirsten Larson, 1854
  9. Addy Walker, 1864
  10. Samantha Parkington, 1904
  11. Nellie O’Malley, 1904 (Samantha’s best friend)
  12. Rebecca Rubin, 1914
  13. Kit Kittredge, 1934
  14. Ruthie Smithens, 1934 (Kit’s best friend)
  15. Molly McIntire, 1944
  16. Emily Bennett, 1944 (Molly’s best friend)
  17. Maryellen Larkin, 1954
  18. Melody Ellison, 1964
  19. Julie Albright, 1974
  20. Ivy Ling, 1974 (Julie’s best friend)

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In 1995, the company debuted its American Girl of Today product line, where girls could pick from a variety of hair, eye, and skin colors to make their own dolls. Today, it has been relabeled several times, and it’s now branded as the Truly Me line. The company even offers dolls without hair for girls with alopecia, hair loss, or going through cancer treatments.

In 1998, Rowland sold Pleasant Company to Mattel for approximately $700 million dollars!

In 2001, American Girl launched its “Girl of the Year” (GOTY) line. With the exceptions of Lindsey (2001-2002) and Kailey (2003-2004), all GOTY dolls have only been available for one calendar year, with the new doll being unveiled on January 1st.

Along the way, several Historical Characters have been archived – Samantha and Nellie, Kirsten, Felicity and Elizabeth, Molly and Emily, Marie-Grace and Cecile, and a few others. The decision was made for all the “Best Friends” dolls to be archived by August 2014. Caroline Abbott was the most recent character to be archived, in spring 2015. The only two Historical Characters to have been brought out of the archives, so far, are Samantha, and Felicity.

In the summer of 2014, American Girl revamped its Historical Characters line into the BeForever line. The original six-book set was redesigned into two main volumes, and then what’s called a “Journey Book,” where a modern-day girl goes on a journey with one of the Historical girls.

Currently, in 2017, the BeForever line has approximately 10 characters, with the 11th being Nanea Mitchell, 1941, scheduled to officially debut at the end of August. Gabriela is the current GOTY. There is a new Contemporary Characters line of 18-inch dolls, consisting of Tenney Grant, Logan Everett, and Z Yang. Logan Everett is the company’s first boy doll. Z Yang is the first doll to be created from American Girl’s popular YouTube channel. The WellieWishers are a series of five 14.5-inch dolls, designed for younger girls. Bitty Babies are also available for children ages 3 and up.

Now, if I remember correctly, I was given my Bitty Baby doll in 1994 or 1995. I have some photos from a few vintage Pleasant Company Holiday Catalogs below.

Before I even received my first 18-inch doll, my “American Girl of Today” that I named Stephanie, I absolutely fell in love with the American Girl books!

Pleasant Company Catalogue Holiday 1991

These are the original “meet” books – This photo is from the Pleasant Company catalog for the holidays in 1991. Image Credit: Mental Floss

Before the BeForever line was introduced, each Historical Character had a “Central Series” of six books. I’ll use Molly’s name as an example:

  1. Meet Molly: An American Girl
  2. Molly Learns A Lesson: A School Story
  3. Molly’s Surprise: A Christmas Story
  4. Happy Birthday, Molly!: A Springtime Story
  5. Molly Saves The Day: A Summer Story
  6. Changes for Molly: A Winter Story

The six books cover approximately two years of each character’s life. I loved reading and re-reading these books. There were beautiful illustrations in every one! My personal library had all of Felicity’s books, and Samantha’s, in hardcover. I borrowed the rest from the library, over and over. When I was in speech therapy for most of elementary school, I distinctly remember reading Felicity’s books out loud to my parents as practice.

Eventually, I gave away most of my American Girl book collection to other girls, and the library. Now, I’ve been feverishly rebuilding my childhood library, and then some! I have a huge copy paper box in my office space that is overflowing with books. I’m so excited to get my huge bookcase from my parents, and promptly fill it up.

In addition to the Central Series, American Girl has published other contemporary titles for girls, and I owned many of them (Games and Giggles, Tiny Treasures, Help!, The Care & Keeping of You, etc.). They have also published multiple short stories and mysteries featuring the Historical Characters. I’m also very fond of the 22-book History Mysteries series, as well as the eight Girls of Many Lands books.

I will never stop loving the books!

Photo montage!

This is the most recent catalog that I received in the mail. It’s significantly smaller than the older Pleasant Company catalogs. This one is about the size of a small magazine, roughly 50 pages total.

This is one of the vintage Pleasant Company catalogs that I recently purchased from someone on Facebook. I loved looking through these as a kid, over and over.

This is my current “stash” of doll stuff in my office!

 

I have Molly’s desk at my parents’ house! I found it in really good condition from a Facebook post a few years ago – I only paid $30 for it!


This is from one of the Pleasant Company catalogs. I remember starting at these full-size photos for hours!

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Here’s some photos featuring the American Girl of Today line!

I loved the Snowflake Jumper when I received my American Girl of Today, who I named Stephanie. I need to do a second blog post when I get all my dolls from Mom and Dad’s!


My Stephanie is currently dressed in the School Jumper outfit at Mom and Dad’s. I also had the Girl Scout Uniform, and I took Stephanie to a few troop meetings!


I had the Cheerleader Outfit for many years – I eventually sold in it a lot of AG clothes to a woman at my office building for her 6-year-old daughter. She emailed me the following weekend, saying that she gave the box of clothes and accessories to her daughter early, and she and her friends loved everything!


I now own the Culotte Dress after years of wanting it. Facebook is an amazing resource for all things Pleasant Company and American Girl!


I didn’t have that swimsuit set, but I did have the In-line Gear and Baxter the Bunny!


This was the outfit that my doll Stephanie arrived in, for Christmas 1997!


I remember loving all the girl outfits and accessories! My parents said no, though. They didn’t want to spend a lot of money on clothes that they knew that I would quickly outgrow!


I love the Jeweled Headband, and those AG Earrings! I also had a very similar haircut from fifth grade through middle school.


I loved these outfits – Totally 90s!

I absolutely love the older catalogs! I’ve had so much fun recently, looking through the three that I recently purchased. So many memories!!

Here’s a fun quiz:

Here’s my results:

2bf1ec0b-ae8c-4690-85a3-e684df75d79f

“Hey, Molly. You either wanted to be a Samantha but got stuck with a mom who gave you Molly (raises hand reluctantly), proudly wore glasses, loved World War II, or all of the above. Either way, be proud of your inner Molly — though you suck at doing math.”

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I’ve always loved Molly! I definitely wore glasses, from sixth grade on. And I definitely suck at math!

This past week, American Girl officially launched their newest product – “Create Your Own” American Girl!

Not the best photo. But, meet Bethany, my true look-alike!


Bethany loves to daydream. Her fave place is the city, and her fave things are reading & writing.

The new doll line is a bit more expensive than the other dolls, around $200. But, after nearly 20 years of having a blonde doll, I think it’s high time that I have one that actually looks like me!

My doll collection, at the moment, consists of five dolls:

  1. Stephanie, my American Girl of Today, 1997 — Mom and Dad bought Stephanie for me for Christmas. I was a very happy 9-year-old!
  2. Molly McIntire, 1944 — Molly was the first doll that I bought with my own money, right before she was archived in 2013.
  3. Kit Kittredge, 1934 — Al bought her for me for my birthday in August 2016.
  4. Chrissa Maxwell, Girl of the Year, 2009 — I quickly identified with Chrissa’s character several years ago. Her story revolves around bullying. Chrissa came home to me in early 2017.
  5. Unnamed American Girl of Today, circa 1996 — I bought this doll off eBay in 2016, trying to help out someone on a Facebook group with creating Harry Potter dolls. That never happened, so I kept her. I may turn her into Hermione Granger someday 🙂

I have a few other dolls on my wish list. Aside from Bethany, my Create Your Own, I would love to eventually own Nanea, 1941, and Maryellen, 1954.

Nanea Doll - American Girl Wikia

Nanea Mitchell, 1941. Image Credit: American Girl Wikia


Maryellen - American Girl Wikia

Maryellen Larkin, 1954. Image Credit: American Girl Wikia

As long as I live, I don’t think I will ever get “too old” for American Girl. It’s been such a staple in my life since the mid-1990s!

I’ve always appreciated Pleasant Company’s and American Girl’s dedication to historical accuracy. I give immense credit to these books for making me love history!

I’ve written Book Reviews on several of the new BeForever books, including Maryellen’s and Melody’s stories. For my birthday last week, Al bought me the two Classic volumes of Felicity’s books, and I can’t wait to read those. I’m also very excited for several new releases this winter (I may or may not have already pre-ordered these from Amazon):

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

08.01.17
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Getting Personal #78: August Goals

We have arrived at the peak of summer. It’s my birthday month! But, I’m also excited because we’re in the home stretch, headed toward fall. Yay!

Here are my goals for the month of August:

  1. Register for the fall semester.
  2. Donate blood.
  3. Clear out the clothing clutter, once and for all.
  4. Celebrate my birthday!
  5. See The Dark Tower.
  6. Write at least 300 new words for my 2012 NaNoWriMo attempt.
  7. Move my bookcase from my parents’ house to ours.
  8. Update my resume and LinkedIn profile.
  9. Make a series of home improvement blog posts.
  10. Make the Succulent Sphere craft for Savy.

Here’s the breakdown:

Register for the fall semester.

  • This is happening on Friday! I’m absolutely determined to make this happen!

Donate blood.

  • Blood drive #101 is on Saturday!

Clear out the clothing clutter, once and for all.

  • My thredUP donation bag is scheduled to arrive this week!
  • I’m so excited to finally clean out! Our closets need it!

Celebrate my birthday!

  • I’m excited to take the day off from work and thoroughly enjoy it.
  • I’m making my regular pilgrimage to LUSH Handmade Cosmetics and Barnes & Noble, plus meeting Al and his co-workers for lunch!
  • My parents are taking us out to eat sometime this coming weekend – Spaghetti Eddie’s!
  • Al’s parents are supposed to stay with us during the second weekend of August, so hopefully we can get our parents together then, too.

See The Dark Tower.

  • Al is more excited for this movie than I am (Stephen King’s epic book series), but I’m intrigued!
  • Plus, who can resist Idris Elba?

Write at least 300 new words for my 2012 NaNoWriMo attempt.

  • I felt so good at the end of July – I just want to keep going!
  • Making time for it makes such a big difference.

Move my bookcase from my parents’ house to ours.

  • This will be a significant step in making my office complete!

Update my resume and LinkedIn profile.

  • Piggybacking off of last month, this is something that I desperately need to do. Five years is way too long!

Make a series of home improvement blog posts.

  • This is long overdue, so be prepared for lots of Before & After photos!

Make the Succulent Sphere craft for Savy.

  • Link coming soon!
  • Savy saw this video when I shared it on Facebook and tagged her, and I’ve offered to make it for her!

Do you have any goals for the month of August?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

07.31.17
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Getting Personal #77: July Goals Recap

July felt like one of the longest months to me, but I think that’s because of two weeks of suffering through AC issues (Now gloriously fixed!), and we didn’t have many plans during the weekends. However, the end of the month always seems to sneak up on me!

Here’s the link to my July Goals post:

—

Ready?

Here we go!

  1. Clear the clothing clutter. — Semi-Achieved.
  2. Start designing my custom American Girl doll cabinet / storage unit. — Semi-Achieved.
  3. Register for the fall semester. — Did not accomplish.
  4. See Spider-Man: Homecoming. — Accomplished!
  5. See Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. — Accomplished!
  6. Write at least 200 new words for my 2012 NaNoWriMo attempt. — Accomplished!
  7. Work toward weekly meal planning. — Accomplished!
  8. Set up a consistent cleaning schedule. — Accomplished!
  9. Update my resume. — Semi-Achieved.
  10. Publish a bigger variety of blog posts. — Accomplished!

Here’s the breakdown:

Clear the clothing clutter. — Semi-Achieved.

  • I got it a bit more organized and clearly divided.
  • I tried everything on, just to be absolutely sure!
  • This past week, I just ordered a Donation Bag through thredUP – I love that what I put into this bag, when it arrives, (including Al’s stuff!) will help our local Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation! There are three local charities that we can choose from, at any time.

Start designing my custom American Girl doll cabinet / storage unit. — Semi-Achieved.

  • We took measurements of a standard American Girl doll box.
  • Al is starting to work it up on the computer, using Adobe Illustrator.

Register for the fall semester. — Did not accomplish.

  • This is happening, just later this week!
  • I called the academic advising department two weeks ago – They don’t make appointments, they only take walk-ins (Of course they do).
  • I’m prepared to sit on campus all day on Friday until this happens. I’m tired of waiting!

See Spider-Man: Homecoming. — Accomplished!

  • We saw this on Thursday, July 6th! It was a later showing, and we were both really tired on Friday at work, but it was COMPLETELY WORTH IT.
  • It’s one of the best movies with Spider-Man, in our opinion.
  • It’s a movie that I think would make John Hughes proud.
  • If you haven’t seen it, we both highly recommend it!

See Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. — Accomplished!

  • We saw this last weekend – A Sunday matinee.
  • It was good, overall – Not anything spectacular.
  • The CGI was stunning and mind-blowing.
  • The story – Not so much.
  • We’re both a little sad that it flopped at the box office.

Write at least 200 new words for my 2012 NaNoWriMo attempt. — Accomplished!

  • Drumroll … I wrote approximately 452 words!
  • I feel awesome. I’m hoping to keep this momentum going!
  • Current word count: 10,662 words.

Work toward weekly meal planning. — Accomplished!

  • We sat down and mapped out the month of July. We basically picked one meal per week, and then I adjusted the recipes I had accordingly.
  • One of our favorite recipes now is Creamy Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken.
  • The first time I made it, I followed the recipe step-by-step. It was really good!
  • When I made it again this week (Monday), I grilled the chicken on our George Foreman grill after marinating it for over 24 hours with olive oil, water, salt, and pepper. Instead of spinach, I used a whole head of broccoli. Absolutely delicious! I made enough for us to have ample portions for five nights.
  • This week – Taco salad!

Set up a consistent cleaning schedule. — Accomplished!

  • I took a pen to our Chick-fil-A calendar in our kitchen, and basically alternated Kitchen, Bathrooms, and Floors on every weekend. I wrote it down for every Saturday, but I give myself all weekend to make sure whatever it is gets done.
  • I’ve also noticed that I now feel less stressed because I’ve broken it down in this way!

Update my resume. — Semi-Achieved.

  • The main thing I did was write down the highlights of my current job, and the skills that I’ve learned while working for Riverside so far. I just need to condense it down into something that’s resume-worthy.
  • I’m not planning on leaving my current job anytime soon, but I know that it’s a good idea to keep my resume updated and refreshed.
  • I also need to overhaul my LinkedIn profile.

Publish a bigger variety of blog posts. — Accomplished!

Final Thoughts:

  • I was able to put Accomplished next to six out of 10 goals! Yay!
  • The three goals that were Semi-Achieved: I’m happy with my progress with these goals.
  • The one goal that I did not accomplish: I’m okay with this – I’ll be able to mark it as officially Accomplished at the end of this week!

What about you? Did you have any goals for the month of July?

Come back tomorrow to see my August Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

07.30.17
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Tag #23: “Who Am I?” Tag

who-am-i

Image Credit: Stuming Games

Many thanks to Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts for tagging me!

Here’s the post where I was originally tagged:

What does my name mean?

Since I go by my first and middle name (given in honor of my great-grandmother, Laura Bethany Powers), I decided to search for “Laura” and “Beth” separately. When I searched “Laura Beth,” most results landed on either “laurabeth” or “laura-beth.”

This is what I found for the name Laura:

“Derived from the Latin laurus (laurel, an evergreen shrub or tree whose leaves were woven into wreaths by the ancient Greeks to crown victors in various contests). Originally a Latin name, Laura came into use in England in the 19th century, and is now popularly bestowed throughout the English-speaking world.”

This is what I found for the name Beth:

“Originally a short form of Elizabeth (God is my oath) and Bethany (house of figs), Beth is popularly bestowed as an independent given name and as a name element in compound names such as Mary-Beth or Laura-Beth.”

According to the website Seven Reflections:

“You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act.You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.

You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.”

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What is my Myers-Briggs Personality Type? (Link)

My results: Protagonist (ENFJ-T) — Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging, Turbulent.

I would agree with these results. I’ve always been enthusiastic, sensitive, caring, and so on. In terms of Turbulent, my results were 53 percent Turbulent to 47 percent Assertive, and that’s me to a T, no pun intended!

“With vision and determination, nothing is impossible.”

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What is my Zodiac Sign? (Link)

I was supposed to be a Scorpio (November 18th), but I was born a Leo (August 7th).

LEO TRAITS

Strengths: Creative, passionate, generous, warm-hearted, cheerful, humorous

Weaknesses: Arrogant, stubborn, self-centered, lazy, inflexible

Leo likes: Theater, taking holidays, being admired, expensive things, bright colors, fun with friends

Leo dislikes: Being ignored, facing difficult reality, not being treated like a king or queen

People born under the sign of Leo are natural born leaders. They are dramatic, creative, self-confident, dominant and extremely difficult to resist, able to achieve anything they want to in any area of life they commit to. There is a specific strength to a Leo and their “king of the jungle” status. Leo often has many friends for they are generous and loyal. Self-confident and attractive, this is a Sun sign capable of uniting different groups of people and leading them as one towards a shared cause, and their healthy sense of humor makes collaboration with other people even easier.

Leo belongs to the element of Fire, just like Aries and Sagittarius. This makes them warmhearted, in love with life, trying to laugh and have a good time. Able to use their mind to solve even the most difficult problems, they will easily take initiative in resolving various complicated situations. Ruled by the Sun, Leo worships this fiery entity in the sky, quite literally as well as metaphorically. They are in search for self-awareness and in constant growth of ego. Aware of their desires and personality, they can easily ask for everything they need, but could just as easily unconsciously neglect the needs of other people in their chase for personal gain or status. When a Leo representative becomes too fond and attached to their achievements and the way other people see them, they become an easy target, ready to be taken down.

Leo – the Lion in the Cave The story of the Lion always speaks of bravery. This is an animal fearless and impossible to challenge, hurt or destroy, their only weaknesses being fear and aggression towards those they confront. Living in a cave, a Lion always needs to have one, nesting and finding comfort in hard times. However, they should never stay there for long. With their head high, they have to face others with dignity and respect, never raising a voice, a hand, or a weapon, bravely walking through the forest they rule.

I completely agree! These results made my laugh out loud so hard! I’m definitely stubborn (My mom mentioned this just a few weeks ago!)

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What is my Hogwarts House? (Link)

Hufflepuff – Loyal, Dependable, Hardworking.

I’ll take it!

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What are my Learning Styles? (Link)

Visual 10

Aural 9

Read/Write 12

Kinesthetic 14

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Am I Left or Right Brain Dominant? (Link)

I’m more Right Brain Dominant —  66 percent versus 34 percent (images, chaos, creativity, fantasy, intuition, curiosity). Yep, that definitely makes sense, especially since I’m left-handed!

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What is my Blood Type?

I am A-negative (A-), just like my mom. My blood can be given to patients with four different blood types (A+, AB-, AB+, and A-). My dad is O-negative, so he is the “universal” donor. That means his blood type can go to anyone! I’m currently working on my iron level so I can donate again on August 5th – Blood drive number 101!

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What Career am I meant to have? (Link)

Writer

You have a skill for language, your imagination is vast and you are artistic and creative. Your brain is just overflowing with ideas, and all you have to do is get a piece of paper and share it with the world. You were born to turn words into magical stories.

Yes! Awesome!!

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What Divergent Faction do I belong to? (Link)

I belong in Divergent.

You deviate from the norm. The aptitude test is inconclusive. It cannot determine just one faction for you, Divergent. Your mind is ceaselessly changing. You’re creative, with a strong sense of self, and you have a clear picture of who you are and what you want. You stand out from the crowd. You may pose a threat to the norms of society, but you are unwilling to give into them.

I love it!

—

What does my Birth say about me? (Link)

The Firstborn (Technically only child)

Stereotype: Natural leader, ambitious, responsible.
Why it’s true: The eldest, for a while, has no competition for time (or books or baby banter) with Mom and Dad. “There’s a benefit to all of that undiluted attention. A 2007 study in Norway showed that firstborns had two to three more IQ points than the next child,” says Frank J. Sulloway, Ph.D., the author of Born to Rebel. Firstborns tend to be surrogate parents when other siblings arrive, hence their protective and responsible nature.
When it’s not: Parents can set high expectations for a first (or only) child. “When he feels like he has disappointed his parents or can’t measure up, he may veer off in another direction,” says Kevin Leman, Ph.D., a psychologist and the author of The Birth Order Book.

This was such a fun tag! Thanks, Jenna!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

07.25.17
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Getting Personal #76: “Sunset Dock, Pelican Lake, Wisconsin” (Reblogged)

As the incessant heat wave breaks a little bit this week, I feel like this photo is foreshadowing what fall could be like. This girl is beyond ready!

I look at this photo and I think about several great things happening in September and October – Savy’s epic bachelorette weekend in the mountains, and then Nick and Savy’s wedding at the Vardaro farm!

Also, knowing this photo was taken in Wisconsin makes me think of my beloved Green Bay Packers and football!

As much as I like summer, it’s just too hot and humid! I love the cooler air and the changing leaves much more.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Just Wunderlust

Haley Woods
Sunset Dock, Pelican Lake, Wisconsin

View original post

07.01.17
by

Getting Personal #74: July Goals

July Goals

Image Credit: Pinterest

Here we are! Summer in Virginia is in full swing. Hot and humid!

Here are my goals for the month of July:

  1. Clear the clothing clutter.
  2. Start designing my custom American Girl doll cabinet / storage unit.
  3. Register for the fall semester.
  4. See Spider-Man: Homecoming.
  5. See Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
  6. Write at least 200 new words for my 2012 NaNoWriMo attempt.
  7. Work toward weekly meal planning.
  8. Set up a consistent cleaning schedule.
  9. Update my resume.
  10. Publish a bigger variety of blog posts.

Here’s the breakdown:

Clear the clothing clutter.

  • Piggybacking off of last month, we’re trying to clean out our closets. There’s a lot of things that don’t fit / we don’t wear anymore.
  • We just need to bag it all up, and head to the local thrift stores.

Start designing my custom American Girl doll cabinet / storage unit.

  • This is going to be my birthday gift from Al. I’m so excited!
  • I’ve been designing it in my head ever since we started talking about it last weekend in the car.
  • I’ll finally have a functional / beautiful way to store my dolls and their clothes / accessories.
  • This will be a fun project that we can work on together!
  • I promise pictures!

Register for the fall semester.

  • Once the replacement Longwood transcripts come in, I’m making an appointment on campus to make sure everything is taken care in terms of transfer credits.
  • After that, I’ll talk with Professor Pedigo to make sure everything is squared away.
  • Then, I can finally register for Legal Writing!

See Spider-Man: Homecoming.

  • We’re definitely going to see it on Thursday, July 6th!
  • Depending on how the first show goes, we may go see it again with friends.

See Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

  • I was initially skeptical about this one.
  • But, after watching several YouTube videos and reading more about it, I’m excited to see it!
  • It looks super trippy, in a good way. I’m excited to see how they interpret the graphic novel.

Write at least 200 new words for my 2012 NaNoWriMo attempt.

  • I was re-reading what I’ve written so far, and I’ve been jotting down some thoughts. I’m excited to add more to the story, bit by bit.

Work toward weekly meal planning.

  • After looking at our budget recently, and finding out earlier this week that we need to replace our HVAC system, I’m motivated to start meal planning in a notebook.
  • We have several good recipes that we like and use a lot, but any new ideas and welcomed and appreciated!

Set up a consistent cleaning schedule.

  • This is another thing I want to put in writing, or on the calendar in the kitchen.
  • I need to make time every weekend to do some cleaning, so stuff like dust doesn’t pile up.
  • We have our laundry and sink / dishwasher routines down cold, but vacuuming / dust mopping / dusting – Not so much.
  • As an adult with my own house, I’m now starting to understand why my mom had me do certain things at certain times every month – It really helps!

Update my resume.

  • In talking with Professor Pedigo at the blood drive last month, she’s offered to help me update my resume. She keeps student resumes on file for lawyers needing help, and other job opportunities.
  • She also recommends to update it every six months, so I’d like to get in the habit of doing that now.
  • I also want to update my LinkedIn profile, and a few other professional things this month.

Publish a bigger variety of blog posts.

Do you have any goals for the month of July?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

06.30.17
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Getting Personal #73: June Goals Recap

June Goals Recap

Image Credit: Fueled By Carrots

June is over!

Here’s the link to my June Goals post:

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Ready?

Here we go!

  1. Celebrate our 100th blood drive! — Accomplished!
  2. Refresh/update my summer wardrobe. — Semi-Achieved.
  3. See Wonder Woman! — Accomplished!
  4. Celebrate Nick and Savy’s engagement/upcoming wedding! — Accomplished!
  5. Attend the 10-year high school reunion with my IB classmates. — Accomplished!
  6. Celebrate Mom’s retirement! — Accomplished!
  7. Buy bikes! — Accomplished!
  8. Visit the library at least once. — Accomplished!
  9. Work to write between three-four Book Reviews. — Accomplished!

Here’s the breakdown:

Celebrate our 100th blood drive! — Accomplished!

  • We had an excellent blood drive for #100 on Saturday, June 3rd.
  • I was FINALLY able to give blood – Happy dance!
  • We collected 60 units total, which is excellent for a summer drive. Historically, the summer months are the worst for the Red Cross and other blood banks, because there are less donors.

Blood Drive 100

The awesome cake my mom bought at our local BJ’s!

Refresh/update my summer wardrobe. — Semi-Achieved.

  • I’m mainly happy that I moved/re-organized my fall/winter clothes! Those are stored away until the seasons change again (It won’t be long!)
  • I also moved some spring/summer clothes into my closet, and organized those properly.
  • Next: Go through the huge hamper at the bottom of the closet!

See Wonder Woman! — Accomplished!

  • I’m so glad we went to see it. It was AWESOME!
  • Gal Gadot is a FREAKING ROCKSTAR.
  • If you haven’t seen it, it is highly recommended!

Wonder Woman

Al’s caption on Facebook, June 4th: “Going to see Wonder Woman with my Wonder Woman.”

Celebrate Nick and Savy’s engagement/upcoming wedding! — Accomplished!

  • We had a great time at their house, as we always do.
  • Al’s parents drove us there, and my mom came with us!
  • It was an awesome reunion – Seeing Mia, Crystal and Steven, Jeremy and Chelsea, Rachel and Jason, Kudu, and others!

Attend the 10-year high school reunion with my IB classmates. — Accomplished!

  • After a few challenges, like changing restaurants, 18 of us (11 classmates, 7 spouses, and Sean’s not-so-little brother) gathered at Waterman’s at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on Saturday, June 17th. We had a great time!
  • Thanks, Sean, for setting this up!
  • We had to wait an hour and a half for a table big enough to open up, so a bunch of us gathered on the boardwalk for a while. We stood in a huge circle and had a great time catching up and reminiscing. It was really great to have that opportunity, because by the time we got in the restaurant to eat, it was hard to hear everyone!

Markus Miller

Markus was smart to hand his phone to our waiter! This is one of the better photos. It was so great to see everyone! Image Credit: Markus Miller.

Celebrate Mom’s retirement! — Accomplished!

  • We celebrated at Spaghetti Eddie’s with my parents on the last day of school.
  • The school had a wonderful end-of-the-year luncheon, where Mom and several other retiring teachers and staff were recognized.
  • A photo mat was passed around the school and signed for my mom, and all the messages were so sweet!
  • She received a wonderful send-off after 23 years at Chittum Elementary.

Buy bikes! — Accomplished!

  • We were able to support a fantastic local business, SCAT Bikes – And, they’re only a few miles from our house!
  • In one Saturday, we purchased two bikes, two helmets, a bike rack that works for both of our cars, and a fancy adjustable bar that makes my bike more stable when transporting it.

Bikes

Al took this photo last weekend before we hopped on. We love riding around our neighborhood – Very safe and quiet. We certainly work up a good sweat! The only change we’ll make is better bike seats!

Visit the library at least once. — Accomplished!

  • I went twice!
  • I picked up The Man in the High Castle and The Lost Symbol, and then renewed The Lost Symbol. I’m deep into that one now, and loving it! Trying hard to finish it before next Saturday!

Work to write between three-four Book Reviews. — Accomplished!

Final Thoughts:

  • I was able to put Accomplished next to eight out of nine goals. I think this is a record! I was so excited when I started counting!
  • The one goal that was Semi-Achieved: I’m just happy that I got things organized. I still have some more work to do, but that’s fine by me!

Did you have any goals for June?

Come back tomorrow to see my goals for July!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂