10 Random Things that Happened in October

I've been on yet another little blogging hiatus. But truth be told I was waiting on some new glasses I ordered two weeks ago to arrive so I could tell you about them. Plus I wanted to make a list for this blog post....

Thus I give you the 'Top 10 recent and random happenings in my life you MUST know about'...(as if my life is really that interesting to anyone other than my mom...hey - let a girl dream!)

1. I cut my hair. Feeling the need for a little change, my hair ended up on the chopping block. For those of you who live on another planet and haven't seen the pic on facebook yet...tadaaaaaaaa.......

2. We (Mom, Dad, Cory and I) rode the entire Blue Ridge Parkway. All 469 miles of it! It was an amazing trip in so many ways. I'm so thankful!

3. Two years ago this month, as I stood by my dad's bedside in ICU watching a machine breath for him, if you'd told me that I'd stand at the top of Mt. Mitchell with my dad during a ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway, I would have NEVER believed you. Well folks, I'm here to tell you miracles happen...and my dad is a MIRACLE! (hello tears...whew!) God is good!

4. Our house is decorated for Fall/Halloween...and I LOVE it! A few pumpkins here, a pumpkin spice candle there, a fall spray on the door....bring on the chilly weather!

5. Since cutting my hair, I've decided to give dry shampoo a whirl. I found some by TRESumme at CVS...for about 4 bucks. Hopefully it'll cut some time off the getting dressed process in the morning and help preserve my highlights and lowlights. I tried it for the first time Tuesday morning. Feels a little strange on my scalp...but my hair looks clean! Mission accomplished!

6. A perk to following an array of blogs is that I come across new decorating, money saving and recipe ideas ALL THE TIME! This weekend I made these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins that I found on Fly Through Our Window....Delish! Super easy peasy!

7. My new glasses from Zenni Optical came in the mail Tuesday and I LOVE them! I'll post more details about this later. But for any of you out there who has ever purchased a pair of classes you know they can be expensive...as in a couple hundred bucks! Well friends, you HAVE to check out Zenni Optical. I just received 3 pair of the cutest glasses (great quality) and including shipping I paid a whopping $40! No kidding!

8. I spent two weekends in a tent! If you know me...then you know this is kinda a big deal! Yes, Cory and I love to go on day hikes...and on a rare occasion I'll do a 1-nighter hike with him. Given the opportunity for a weekend hike...I usually get the words "NO!" out of my mouth before Cory even finishes asking. Well...recently we went 'truck camping' (no hiking...just loaded up the truck with such luxuries as air mattresses and our 'big' tent and drove to a campground for the weekend). And this 'truck camping' took place 2 weekends in a row! Never thought I'd say that! The first weekend we did a little day hiking in search of a amethyst mine up in North Georgia (no lucking finding it) and the second weekend we went canoeing down the Etowah River. The purpose of this canoeing trip was to canoe through this old mine shaft called the Etowah Tunnel...check out this video (warning: she says a few bad words) of this hilarious lady going though the tunnel. Our trip through the tunnel didn't go as smoothly. The water was about a foot down due to the lack of rain...so when we got to the rapids...our boat just rammed right into the mine wall and we flipped over. BAM...BAM...SPLASH...(cursing!!!) "Painful" wouldn't begin to describe this experience! After capsizing a few more times in the darkness, we finally made it near the end of the tunnel where I ever-so-loudly proclaimed "I'd NEVER do that CRAP again...NEVER!"(edited to be suitable for all readers) I still have bruises!!! But I have to admit...all in all it was a blast!

9. I got a FREE book in the mail simply by commenting on a blog I recently started following. If you don't follow Michael Hyatt, I completely recommend you doing so. One of his recent post is about his interview with Andy Stanley. And if you're lucky, he just might pick you to be one of the lucky 100 people to receive a FREE copy of Andy's new book! Come on...it's FREE...I just can't resist FREE!

10. My Nissan Murano hit 100,000 miles recently! I've driven my Murano since 2005 when I bought it brand new. I was like a proud mom on her kid's birthday or something absurd like that! I just happened to look down when the mileage hit 100,000 exactly! I think I even let out a little squeal! I beginning to suspect my car knows that it's hit this milestone as I've had to invest a little bit of money for a few repairs lately! Do cars know how old they are? It's crazy I tell you!

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween weekend! I'm looking forward to spending time with friends and family... and maybe even a little day hike on Blood Mountain!