driving and reading. don't do both at the same time.

hmm...they say driving is good for putting babies to sleep. i would not be the expert on that, but i am an expert on driving and listening to music is good for clearing your mind and relaxing-it helps when you get a call mid-drive from someone who can let you talk through things. decisions, decisions, decisions...sometimes they can seem daunting.

i need to stop using the toll road as my go-to..it racks up...and 635 is just as good, going toward the airport and seeing the planes in queue to land, or taking off. but at least now i have a plan. smiley face emoticon.

today was national bagel day, so andrea and i made stops at panera to pick up bagels for our favorites! and i also asked for a breakfast sandwich...i should've checked the bag before leaving, because when i got to school and opened the bag, i found that, lo and behold, there was no sandwich...there was a lightly toasted bagel. um. not. what. i. ordered. so i had to find the receipt, to find the number to call the manager. and explained to him that i was disappointed...and since i was the first one in the store, and he had helped me, he remembered me by name-i do that to people..he probably did it on purpose so that we could have a second date. yes, that would be the epitome of my dating life these days...or years...so anyhoo, tomorrow i'll go back and claim the prize from cory.

earlier this evening, i was able to finish a book that one of my friends got me for my birthday, and it was as good as i expected it to be. it goes along with a lot of things i've been thinking about. it's interesting, because several of the things that are on the 'positive impact test' are things that i've actually done recently..even this very morning : helped someone in the last 24 hours, praised someone in the last 24 hours, developed a knack for making other people feel good (i hope), listened to someone talk through his or her goals and ambitions, always smile at people i meet, feel good about giving praise whenever i see good behavior, like being around positive people...

and the best concept to put into practice: listen to your friends with unconditional, positive regard. support them in their endeavors. encourage them. be a mentor, or at least be the person they know they can always go to for a kind word.

i highly recommend it, and understand why tim loved it so much!

life is good, even when it is uncomfortable and confusing, it's just a matter of putting on the right lenses, although, just looking through rose colored glasses will not turn your water into pink lemonade.

i suggest investing in several shades!
julie

almost a challenge-free summer...

i was positive that i would get through the entire summer without being tagged for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. but no. my dear friend brandy tagged me. at first i thought, "not sure i would've done it for anyone else." i think a lot of these things that people do are silly for a moment of fame. that's why i chose not to do it in front of  a bunch of our staff ...i didn't want it to be a spectacle. at first i was just going to do it because it was a challenge from brandy; then i thought about it a little more and here's what went through my head: i have or have had friends that are going through painful stuff- fibromyalgia, chrohn's. breast cancer, lung cancer, lymes, depression...in a HEARTBEAT i would do more than this for them. so, although i do not know anyone with Lou Gehrig's disease, after i saw this story, i know that the more people who are made aware of the disease, the better.

alright, i kinda had a moment and ran out of gas...and got busy before i was able to finish telling about my summer adventures. let's back on up to july 27th.

july 27th was a very bittersweet morning. i had to leave my cousin's house (sad face), but i was on my way to see brandy (yes, the afore-mentioned brandy, who felt the need to tag me in the challenge). brandy and i go way back. we were friends back when i lived in HONDURAS, and we've been back in touch over the last couple of years-which i have loved! so when the chance arose, it was so good to get the opportunity to visit with her!

we met for brunch with one of her dear friends, regyna, in d.c. i gave myself some extra time to find the place, and good thing i did because it was insane trying to find parking for sunday brunch! yikes. but i did...and when brandy and regyna arrived, we ordered the best brunch all you can eat/drink and then i got to sit back (only not literally as we were on stools and i would've fallen off), but i got to figuratively sit back and be entertained by some great stories! bad boyfriend stories, pink eye, and rude concert patrons...there was a lot of laughter! bummer that regyna had to go home, it was great to meet her because again, when you meet friends of friends, it adds a layer to who they are!

i followed brandy to her place, and it was an adorable apt. in a beautiful area. we took a long walk on the trail by her place, and it was beautiful! but more than a beautiful trail, conversation. oh how good it was to catch up-real. 

every once in awhile you just have to live!

since when do you walk by the slides and keep walking??

 and then we when we got back, we began a sherlock marathon! (really brandy, alien cat? i suppose i should see him in blonde and see if i agree). on monday we had sushi, and that evening we had dinner with another friend brandy knew through recruiting, who was in town with her family. they were so gracious to treat us to dinner and amazing company-so fun!

we realized that we didn't have any pics, so we took a selfie

it was a late night and i felt terrible that brandy had to get up at 3:30am; although i thoroughly enjoyed the amazing cup-o-coffee she brewed up! kept me awake on the way to dulles!

and now that it has made it back to my place, whenever i use it, i say a little prayer for ya!

there are so many things i love about brandy! amazing sense of humor, love for people, insightful, attention to detail, art-centric, adventurous, brave, strong...i could throw out a few more adjectives, but the point is i truly love having brandy as a friend, even if she did guilt me into the ALS bucket challenge! 

then when i left, it was pretty much straight back to mom and dad's and then back to dallas to get started with my school year again. we'll get into that on another day!

julie

p.s. carrie, bmayes and jackie, hope to see you making people aware real soon!