So Long Summer...

Eeeeek! Tomorrow is my first day back to work after a wonderful summer that was totally focused on me, myself, and I...which is exactly what I needed after 10 months focusing on 23 nine-year olds! There really is something to be said for having long breaks because my batteries are recharged, and I am ready to face a new school year! But, talking about all that will have to wait until later in the week because first, I need to be selfish for another hot second and take a moment to recap on Summer 2011...for memories sake! And to get into the school spirit, I decided to do my summer recap ABC style...just in case I forgot them while my brain was on vacation!

A is for Adventures in the Kitchen!

Thanks to reading blogs and Pinterest, I found some amazing recipes to try! S'mores bars, Reese's pie...please and thank-you!

B is for Blogging

I FINALLY had time to put a little more effort into my blog and remember why I loved it and had started it in the first place! I was a much more faithful blogger and blog-reader, and found some new ones to enjoy as well! Let's just hope I can keep it up!

C is for Couponing

This was something that I had been meaning to do for a long time and was able to start doing towards the end of July! Thanks to amazing websites, like Southern Savers and Krazy Coupon Lady and some wonderful tips and encouragement from my sweet friend Feixy and my brother's sweet girlfriend NJ, I've  been off to a great start! I LOVE saving money, and I LOVE free stuff even more! It's a win-win!

D is for Date Night

Kyle and I had some amazing Date Nights this summer! We took advantage of the amazing restaurants in the triangle, went to a couple of baseball games, had dinner & a movie in (thank you Redbox & Netflix!), visited the Farmer's Market and more! It was so nice to be able to just enjoy each other and not have to stress about what I was teaching the next day or needing to get a good night's sleep! It was even more amazing to get to have date night more than once a week! Happy sigh :) 

E is for Exercise

As usual, this past school year I totally didn't do enough to focus on my health. Which is why I had the most amazing summer working out at my gym, Empower. I only go there during the summer's because they have this awesome deal called the "Fit Club" where you can get personal training & go to small group classes (4-6 people), as well as have full access to their gym! It reminds me a lot of the Biggest Loser because they don't have a ton of machines. They have things like a lawn-mower that you push or huge balls that you smash. Being there 4 days a week definitely made me a lot stronger and more toned. I am so incredibly sad that summer is over, and my time there has to end, but I at least feel like I am 100% committed to keeping it up! 

F is for Friends

This summer has been wonderful for catching up with friends! 

Early on, I caught the tail end of a beach week with my bff growing up, Kristen (all the way from Michigan!) and my other high school loves, Jan and Ally! 

I got to catch up with another HS bff, Becca, during another beach weekend. We did our typical play date, which always includes girl chat while walking the Loop at Wrightsville & visiting Port City Java! And, of course, we ALWAYS forget to get a picture!

My college bestie, Beebs, came down for a weekend visit, which was SO wonderful considering I'm still not over the fact that we don't see each other EVERY day anymore! We had a great time shopping and visiting all our old stomping grounds, including a dinner with A. Stew at 411 West followed by oreo milkshakes at home...Delish! And, we tried a new German restaurant called, Guglhumpf, that was delicious! 

Typical Beebs...goofing around with the baked goods!

Speaking of A.Stew (some of you may know her better as According to Ash), we took advantage of us both being off for the summer & in grad school together and had some good girl time together! We did some dinners, a lunch at Which Wich, AND volunteering at the Food Shuttle for our grad school project! I even got to meet her host-sister from Mexico, Miriam! Good times, good times!

Ash, Me, Miriam, and Emily after dinner at mi casa!

Yup...we got to ride in the truck while volunteering! This was right before it started POURING!

G is for Grad School

I survived my first (and only!) summer of grad school! Luckily, next summer we don't have any classes before our final fall & spring semesters! I wouldn't say this was how I loved spending my Tuesdays & Thursdays this summer, but it helped that I had a bunch of friends to commiserate with! And, I ended up doing well and was super proud of myself! 

H is for Harry Potter

I, along with the millions of other HP fans, watched and cried during the final installment of the films. Kyle and I wished that we could have gone to the midnight showing (or the 2:30am one like his brother!), but we just couldn't do it with Kyle having to work the next day and me wanting to be alive for my weekend with Beebs! I personally loved it and thought that they did an amazing job. It has been so fun to be apart of the HP craze, and I'm super bummed it's over! Maybe JK Rowling will change her mind about not writing more!? One can only dream!

I is for Ice-Cream

Ice Cream was the treat of choice for me this summer! I FINALLY got to try Maple View ice cream after an unsuccessful attempt a few years back when I was in college and got WAY lost! It was worth the wait! And, I may or may not have taken the girls I sat for last week 3 times...whoops!

J is for Junk...Yay for Purging!

If you've been following, you know that I've been helping my parent's purge after seeing how much stuff my grandparents accumulated after 30 years in their house! I decided that Kyle and I should get started...ya know, just in case we win the lottery and get to move into our dream house soon! Goodbye Junk! 

K is for Kindle

I finally put this puppy to good use! I read lots of books this summer, but my faves were The Help and The Art of Racing in the Rain. The good news is I still have Water for Elephants left on my Kindle! I guess I'll just have to make some time for reading this school year...I wouldn't want to be a hypocrite and all, forcing my kiddos to read & not doing any myself! 

L is for Lulu-Time

Y'all, I married the most amazing hubby in the world. Wanna know why? Because he encouraged me to really take this summer for myself! He didn't ask me to cook more and clean more like he could have since I was home every day. He really wanted me to focus on myself! And it was SO wonderful! I took his advice and never looked back! 

M is for the Mafia...Sopranos Style!

Kyle and I literally just finished the Sopranos series after watching all summer long! We had so much fun sharing this together and spent many a nights with Tony & the gang. I have a weird fascination with the Mafia and loved it, despite the violence and blowing off of heads and such! 

N is for Naughty Words (Cough, cough, Beebs!)

So, I just had to share this because it's one of my favorite summer memories. Let's just say that I forgot to dust off the headboard to our bed before Beebs came to visit. And like a good friend will do, she didn't criticize me for not dusting. Instead, she starts writing naughty words and drawing naughty pictures ALL over the headboard! We died with laughter...you know, the really good laughter, where your stomach hurts afterwards! The best part was that we made Kyle come up to the room and search for the "change" to the room! It took him a while but he found it! Luckily I remembered to dust it before my parents came the next day! This is just typical Beebs/Lulu shenanigans that had us laughing our way through college! 

I so wish I had taken a picture of this!

O is for Outlets

Yes, I shopped this summer. Shocker!!! 

P is for Pinterest

I blame Ash for my addiction to Pinterest. Luckily, she didn't introduce me to this until the latter part of the summer or else, I may not have done as well in grad school! All I have to say are 2 words. LOVE IT! 

Q is for Quiet

Yup, that's right. No kiddos yelling at each other over markers. No one calling my name 50 times a minute. No screams when a spider was discovered on the floor. Peace and Quiet. Ha-Le-Lu-Jah!!!

R is for Reunion

We had a family reunion back in June for my mom's side of the family! We had it in Wilmington and the 3 families in our little part of the clan piled into our house while the rest of the clans piled into other houses or hotel rooms all over town! The beach was a perfect place to catch up! My only regret is that we didn't take more pictures because I didn't get one with Kat :(  Shame on us!

 You should have seen Addison in bathing suit...presh!!!

Me with Sa...last visit before she left for Peru for the year :(

S is for Sun & Sand

3 weekends in a row at the beach in Wilmington = my kind of summer! And, we're going to squeeze one more in veryyyy soon! 

T is for Trashy T.V.

Guilty as charged. I watched it all, peeps! Thank you Bravo, E, Style, ABC and MTV. Special shout outs to my homegirls from Real Housewives of NYC & NJ, Ashley H from the Bachelorette, Giuliana, all of the Kardashian sisters, & Snooki! 

U is for Unplanned

I love being able to be spontaneous during the summer! And Kyle especially loves it when I love to be spontaneous because he is not a planner! Ahh to be flexible and carefree!

V is for Veggies on the Grill

We LOVE to grill in the summer and definitely had our fair share of kabobs! Yum, yum!

W is for Weird Pick-Up Lines

True story. Last night of grad school called for drinks at Top-O. I'm sipping my Amaretto Sour chattin with the girls, when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turned around expecting to see one of the gals. But no. It was a guy. And he said, "Hey, uh, I think you dropped your toothpaste"with a weird grin on his face and proceeds to pull out a full size bottle of Crest and hand it to me. Come again? I was so taken aback I didn't even no what to say and just turned around! The best part was that my friend Alex totally wanted to keep it and put it in her bag, despite our warning that it might be roofied! 

Amy shows off Crest in the parking lot! 

X is for X-Tra time with Kyle

I loved those extra moments I got to squeeze in with Kyle that I miss out on during the school-year, like lunch at home when he's making runs over our way or that extra 15 minutes in the morning! I will definitely miss that for the next 10 months! 

Y is for Yogurt

Yes, I know I already mentioned ice-cream. So what! Yogurt was also a big part of my summer, what, with all of the trillions of Yogurt Chains popping up all over! We now have 3 right at our very fingertips...Local Yogurt, Tutti Frutti, and Sweet Frog...how's a girl to choose!? 

Z is for Zzzzzzzzz's

I slept more than 7 hours and past 5:30 every morning...it was awesome! 

So long, Summer! It's been fun!