March 13: Kate Spade

There really aren't words needed for this, except to say my sister found a steal of a deal at TJMaxx on a Kate Spade purse (see it in the back of the picture, yep, I'm good).

Gardening

My grandpa had a green thumb.  He grew all sorts of things when they lived up on the hill: veggies, fruits, trees, flowers, and everything in between.  I wish I had that same gifting. I love flowers, and I'd love to grow my own veggies & herbs.

In the spring I bought some Lantana and Black Eyed Susans.  The Black Eyed Susan has grown like crazy and the Lantana has been a pain... well, more of an itch.  Yep, I'm one of the few individuals who breaks out in a rash if I touch the plant.  That makes pruning real fun.

However, the bigger accomplishment is a little flower that has sprouted from a seed.  That's right friends, I planted SEEDs and amazingly enough...I didn't kill them (yet).  The little plant has a fair amount of greenery and five or six little flowers.

For me, it's the simple things in life that bring me great joy.  Like walking out of my apartment and seeing my little potted garden and the most amazing little flowers that have grown from seeds planted in the dirt.  Amazing.

Magnificent Massage

After a long academic year, I knew I needed a break, and I had been talking about getting a massage for awhile.  I looked into many places.  The health center would do an hour massage for $50...great price, but not the experience.  For my first massage, I wanted the experience!  So then I began looking for day spas.  These massages began to run $90-100.  The price made me more convinced that I wanted my money's worth.  I found the Chateau Elan.  It's a local winery with a hotel and separate spa. I was sold when I found out that when you get a service there, you can use any of the facility for free.  

The options included:

a workout facility 

fitness classes

hot tub

robes & sandals

pool with jets for swimming

steamroom

sauna

afternoon tea and snacks

showers with all the necessities

lockers

and all the little extras that made it special

The massage itself was wonderful...although with the way my back was hurting she could have spent the entire time on my back and I would have been a happy camper.  The room was softly lit, quiet instrumental music, the bed heated from beneath me, and after the massage I sat in a quiet reflection room with dim lighting, flickering candles, wonderful lounge chairs and warm blankets.

I made a day of the experience and it was lovely.  AND just what I needed, a day of quiet relaxation and pampering.  I wanted to go around and take pictures of the place but thought it would be odd, so I took a few when I could. ;)

The grounds were beautiful and overlooking a small lake.  It was a much needed day.  Although I will probably supplement my experience with some trips to the health center, I will return and treat myself to another day of pampering!

My Crazy Staff

My staff is hilarious! They consistently crack me up. Whether it's the constant singing (which I LOVE and gladly join in), the rollerblading down the hall to stick up door tags (they asked and it was before residents were here), or the dart game which I've had to permanently ban from my apartment (otherwise we'd never get anything done), they make me laugh! Another great thing about them is that they know when to be serious. We've had some great moments thus far and I anticipate more to come! I am thoroughly impressed by them and am excited to see what God is going to do through this staff this year!

One night we went on a surprise excursion to one of my favorite spots in Waco. They were such good sports, even though many of them aren't fans of the 'outdoors'. Additionally, Allison taught us all how to skip rocks on the lake. There was a great competition and at one point everyone skipped a rock or two.

Now my staff isn't perfect, no one is, and there will definately be things we will all work on, individually and collectively, but I'm excited to walk this next year with this crazy group!

From left to right: Eric, Omari (resident chaplain), Will, and Jack
From left to right: Andrea, Kalie, Gretchen, Allison, and Kala