Worried

Thursday July 21st

I have been upset that I haven't been to the beach this summer but I got over it really quickly when I had the opportunity to go to Lake Junaluska in NC with my best friend, Rebecca. I've been to the family lake house before but it was always in the Fall and the weather was chilly. So, I was looking forward to seeing the lake in a different season. I got there mid afternoon on Thursday and it was BEAUTIFUL!! The temperature was in the mid 80's but on the cute little porch with the fan blowing it was perfect. The house does not have air conditioning. I don't know how I missed that bit of information and I guess it never came up before until I asked "Um, are we going to leave the windows in the house up all night?" Rebecca chuckled and said "Yeah, because we don't have air conditioning."

So this is when I started worrying. WHAT?!?! No air conditioning?? What have I gotten myself into??? I tried hard not to think about it during dinner but no joke I was worried that I was going to wake up in a puddle of sweat.

Finally, it's time to go to bed and start this sweating session. I typically do not sleep with the ceiling fan on full blast but I was happy to see that there was one in every room and I wasn't going to take any chances on sweating through the night.

I was really tired so I fell asleep easily and prayed that I'll be able to sleep through the night. I'm proud to announce that I didn't sweat through the night but at 3:30 am I had to pull a blanket over me because I got cold. Yep. I don't go to the mountains a lot in the summer but I'm now a fan since the weather is typically cooler than Upstate SC.

I enjoyed the rest of my time there. The lake was so peaceful and we got a lot of eating, sleeping, reading, and talking done. What more could I ask for?
my morning view

The Pressure is On!!!

So not only do I like to do adventurous things I also like doing home improvement type things too. This past Saturday was suppose to be a day of relaxation at the pool and then go to Brooke's wedding in Greenville. I had it all planned out in my head and was looking forward to it. Then the phone rings. My mom has called to "just let me know" that my brother brought a pressure washer from work. This really means "can you come over and help me pressure wash?" So there goes my pool time but I think I can still make it to the wedding. Off I go to my mom's with long pants and long sleeve t-shirt on because no joke it was cold outside and I didn't want to be be wet AND cold.

Side note: My mom and I tackle a lot of jobs that are really considered the "man's job" in our eyes but all the men in my family don't give a rip that the porch needs painting or the bushes need trimming. So my mom's favorite saying is "If you want it done then you got to do it yourself, girl." This is how I've become so independent. I always want to make my mom happy so if the porch needs to be painted then that's what we'll do and we'll do it without the help of a man.

So back to Saturday. Mom and I are about to get this pressure washing party started. She only wanted the front porch and the side of the house where the sun doesn't shine and plants have made a mess to be cleaned. It's 10:30 am and we are geared up and ready to work. Hose, check. Nozzle, check. Gas, check. All there is to do now is crank this bad boy up. Yeah, that's where the party came to an abrupt halt. Neither one of us can crank the pressure washer. We yank and yank and kick and yank. Not the slightest sound to indicate that it even wants to fire up. In the mean time my 5 year old nephew comes over and says "Let me try. I know I can do it." After he yanks a few times we are saved when my oldest brother finally pulls into the driveway to get it started for us. Yeah, only 2 pulls and he had it going... ugh!
So the long story even longer is that we cleaned the front and the side of the house but we ALSO cleaned the front sidewalk, the side porch, the sidewalk off the side porch, the garage door, under the deck, and the retaining wall. Needless to say I was cold and wet after all and didn't make it to Brooke's wedding. :( But I have one happy mother who says "I couldn't have done it without you, Allie." And my response is always "I know you couldn't, Mom, that's why God made me for you."

Getting Heated

Wow!!! The temperatures are HOOOOOOOOT around here. I'm not only staying busy with my adventures with some of my good friends from work but I'm also staying busy with my church kids. I'm the children's director at my church and the summer is always filled with fun activities and trips. I've enjoyed the 3 years that I have held this position but the one thing that is the hardest is scheduling these activities. The weather is so unpredictable and it can change at any moment.
This past Tuesday I had a trip planned to Carowinds. This is an amusement park that the kids have been looking forward to since the last summer when we went. I have no problem with the rides but I do have a problem when the heat index is going to be 102 degrees. Yeah, now that's hot!!!! So what do you do? Cancel? Postpone? What? I really dont' want to be sweating it up like Richard Simmons :)
So I decided to text my parents and give them the opportunity to back out if they wanted to. Well, you'll never believe that they all responded back and said that their child would be highly disappointed if we didn't go. So, we sucked it up and had a hot sweaty day at Carowinds. The lines were short and the water never tasted so good. :)

Adventures

I have been busy this summer with some fun and exciting adventures. Some girls from school and I decided to start the summer off with skydiving. It was so much fun. If you have ever had the desire to skydive then you should definitely do it. It's not as scary as everyone thinks it is.
Next on the list was a zip line tour. It was so much fun and so much cheaper than skydiving :) It lasted 3 hours and we had a wonderful tour guide named Walt. If you decide to go, you should definitely check out Navitat canopy tours. Request Walt and Eddie.