where has the summer gone?

it's quite hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of july. i'm really not quite sure where all of the days have gone, but i'm slowly facing the fact that i will return to work in a little over two weeks. sigh...

in the meantime, i'm getting back into the swing of things here in greenville after spending a week at oak island last week and atlantic beach two weeks ago. the week in between was somewhat random--mainly getting stuff settled for my P-LCSW stuff and studying for my upcoming clinical exam (ugh!). it'll be 170 questions over four hours, and i hope to take it right before school starts. it's been a while since i've really had to study, and let's face it--unless you're doing psychoanalysis all the time, you really aren't familiar with the 20 some defense mechanisms that freud listed. theories, vocabulary, treatment methods, medication symptoms...i'm cramming it all back in after finishing grad school a couple of years ago. luckily, most of it is coming back quickly.

i'll take a break from studying when i head to raleigh tomorrow for the john mayer/ben folds/james morrison concert at walnut creek. so exited about this...the last time i saw john mayer in person was three years ago, when i was the corrupting older sister and took alan to see him and maroon five the night before classes started. it was one of the best live performances i'd ever seen, and i have no doubt that tomorrow will be just as good. i'm riding with a friend from work, and we're going to picnic in the parking lot beforehand and just hang out and people-watch. perfect :)

recent fun/exciting events:
the arrival of rory to proud parents katie and nathan last thursday. yay!

linda's bachelorette party this past saturday night and her upcoming wedding weekend beginning friday with a bridesmaids luncheon and rehearsal, and the wedding on saturday. it'll be a busy time, but she and brandon make such a happy couple and i'm looking forward to being a part of the big day. i had a great time hosting her and the rest of the bridesmaids this weekend, and i must admit--i love actually having the space to do that!

and of course, ashley and mark's engagement and the beginning of the planning for their may 2008 wedding in duke chapel. also looking forward to being a part of their wedding when the time comes.

and justin and i are working on the plans for a house warming party sometime in august. keep your eyes out for a date and an evite. we want to celebrate with everyone who has been so helpful during this long process. we just haven't gotten around to actually planning it :)

continuing summertime goal: toilet training the cats. it can be done (google it, seriously--there are videos) and we're in the middle of the process. today, i went from litter box on top of the toilet to litter box in the toilet. i made the switch this morning... and there's no evidence yet that they've actually used it. this is the step in the process that actually concerns me cause it's the biggest change for them. i'll keep ya updated...

alright, that's it for now. check out flickr for new photos from the beach soon--i'm working on getting them up in the next couple of days. later, y'all :)

hot time in july...

so we're having a blast in july--with fourth of july fireworks, grilling out in the evenings, and lots and lots of yardwork.

i'm currently posting from the beach, where we're wrapping up the end of a week-long vacation with my family. it's been days of sun, surf, swimming and visiting with family around here. hard to believe that the week is almost over, but we have another vacation coming up with justin's family, so i still have that to look forward to :)

grass is coming, thankfully, after a veeeeeeeeery long day of tilling, raking and seeding our yard. i'm not a big one for yard work, but justin says it's making progress back at home.

that's about it for now. beach pictures should be up soon, but in the meantime, check out my photos on flickr and our updated house tour video on justin's website.