I'm not going to address the elephant in the room. You know, the one where I haven't updated this thing in almost 2 months.

It's been a good few weeks, and as we roll into the Christmas season this is the first time I've had a moment to breathe. Seriously, the past two weeks have been nonstop, and I guess my body is catching up with me because I'm starting to feel ill.

Makes me kind of think I should have kept moving. But my introvert self says "NO. You relish in that alone time!"

Which then makes me think of Erin Napier's post yesterday, which speaks to me on so many levels it's ridiculous.

I'm a little bit shy. Maybe you already knew that from reading here, if you've been visiting for any amount of time. And maybe I wouldn't say it's shyness exactly, but talking to people I don't know very well takes every ounce of my energy. And I'm able to seem normal (I hope--It feels like I'm doing a good job at it at the time!) and carry on at a party, but inside I'm scrambling to think of the right thing to say. And when the conversation ends and I step away, I feel like I have an allowance of personality for each day and I've depleted some of my ration. By the end of a busy day at the Mercantile, I am all used up. I have used all my words. I am utterly spent. My dearest friends and family know this about me and never think twice about my virtual silence over dinner. They know it means I talked a lot that day. They ignore my crabbiness, my quietude, and choose to love me in spite of it. And at a crowded party when I feel anxious, I then feel my heart swell with happiness at finding them. My tribe. #framily

A photo posted by Erin Napier (@erinapier) on Dec 19, 2016 at 8:43pm PST

It's funny, even when I don't feel I have the energy to interact with people, even my close people, somehow God gives me the energy with them. When I think I'll be exhausted energy wise, it's like I become an extrovert for a second and my energy is spurred on by them.

I hope the friends, church family, real family in my life understand how important they are to me. That I don't have to be "on" for them or "try" with them, and how instead of me feeling depleted, they energize me!

This morning we woke up nice and early to put some wear on the tires of the Jeep Cherokee we rented.

Once more into the fray 🗻

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Nov 4, 2016 at 8:11am PDT

Baby rock garden has my weak heart pacing #iammoreworriedabouttherental #iwantmysecuritydepositback

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Nov 4, 2016 at 8:27am PDT

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Nov 4, 2016 at 9:24am PDT

Checked out Hoover Dam. Second time we've been and it's magnificent every time.

At around lunch time we headed back to Vegas and got Stephen to SEMA show in time the finish up the last few things he'd not seen. I on theother handd decided I'd take a tour of some of the casinos that I had yet to see.

So I walked around the Strip and visited Harrah's, Paris, Venetian, and walked through a couple others trying to get from one to the next. I think by far my favorite is the Ballagio, but after that is the Venetian. Themed casinos are the best, especially when they are modeled after travel destinations. Apparently there is another casino coming in the next year or two that will feature places all over the world in one hotel. Count this chick excited.

I ended the day trying to play hide and seek with Stephen, as we met up for the drive out of all the show cars. Thankfully we found each other and were able to watch a lot of it together.

These blog posts would be a lot more thematic if I could show you some pictures, but I'm still going to have to steal a few pics from Stephen's phone. That's a chore.

This morning we headed out early to the SEMA show to be there before anyone else in hopes of Stephen meeting Ken Block and I meeting Richard Rawlings. Stephen was first in line for Ken Block, and about an hour later got to meet him face to face, as well as coming away with a signed Ken Block Gymkhana shirt I got him ages ago. I on the other hand was a little later meeting Richard, and Stephen managed to show up just as I was about to meet him.

Stephen is a poo head. I didn't really care to meet Richard Rawlings, I don't think I've got that gene that just goes goo-goo over celebrities or the need to meet them. But we needed his autograph for a friend of Stephen's, and Stephen was determined it would be me talking to Richard, not himself. So I awkwardly walked up and gave him a side hug, and ran away with a signed poster. Stephen's plan for me to frown during the photo didn't work, cause there were 30 standerbys that were eyeing me during the whole photo op.

I left SEMA early today, because my feet were killing me finally. Really not sure how Stephen has managed to go 8 hrs plus on his feet the past 3 days.

I headed back to the hotel, grabbed Panda Express on the way, and enjoyed watching Law & Order for 2 hours before I finally went back and picked Stephen up for the night.

Stephen told me it was my choice on dinner, and knowing me, he mentioned we should find a really great steakhouse. Well that's subjective around here, and steakhouses can run from $9 a steak (eek!) up to $120 per steak. We finally settled on a steakhouse in Eastside Cannery Casino Hotel.

Outside of casino. It was about 30 min from our hotel and the strip.

We managed to have THE BEST RIB EYE OF OUR LIFE. Best steak of our life probably. We both went a little daring and decided we'd get our steaks rare. We've always been a medium rare kind of people, but we always wish for rarer. This was sublime. Melt in your mouth like butter sublime. So make sure to visit Carve for the best steak in Vegas for $25! 

After Stephen scoped out the SEMA show yesterday, he decided today would be the day he crossed off his celebrity checklist of those he wanted to meet and also friends and family may want autographs from. We met all sorts of people, and I'll eventually have to get my SD card back to share some photos. It is always so exciting and awesome to have individuals who are infamously known, especially to this car community, and they stand and talk with you for minutes on end, all the while realizing how normal they are and "celebrity" just seems like a made up word for them.

I took a little break in the afternoon before we had to leave for the day, so I swung into Harrah's for a bite to eat. Their Food Court is insane. Like let me just spend my life here because I can get sushi, mexican, hamburgers, shakes, pastries, smoothies and more!

It's huge. This is a fraction of it.

So I grabbed some Sushi and went back to the car to rest for a few minutes before Stephen was ready to be picked up. Sushi was pretty good I'd have to say.

Stephen and I decided we'd try the "Secret Pizza" place we'd heard about when trying to find some inexpensive good places to eat. So we headed to the Cosmopolitan hotel for some of the best pizza in Vegas. Except it wasn't.

It was hidden down this little corodore, not labeled, and in the back you found some arcade games, and a small area to order in.

I'm terrible at taking pictures in the moment.

The pizza had been sitting all night, which had to be reheated for us to consume. While the pizza was huge, the flavor and quality was not, and at $5 a pop that was a little too rich for us.

So we decided to make up for it by finding some great dessert. Ever heard of Serendipty?

Rom Com anyone?

This couple in NY meet each other, enjoy a perfect evening together, and leave it up to fate to bring them together again. They enjoy ( as pictured) a frozen hot chocolate. Which lives up to it's weird name. It's most definitely the cold version of a hot chocolate and nothing else, and it's amazing! We also enjoyed the most outrageous sundae of our lives, which healed all the disappointment of the pizza we'd had.

And on our way to and from Serendipty 3, we passed the Bellagio. It may be my favorite casino. We managed to time things perfectly and catch two shows at the fountains in the most prime viewing spot (from their moving walkways). One of those magical memories standing there with my love, watching the world move below.

The fountains at work...so pretty!

A video posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Nov 2, 2016 at 7:06pm PDT

We woke up this morning to the sounds of cows mooing, to find that the area below our hotel room windows is the pasture for the bull riding show next door at the casino. Great. Although really does make you feel like you're out in the country right?

We woke up early to go and exchange our vehicles for a Jeep Cherokee--Stephen is convinced we will go off roading in it. We'll see.

After riding around the block desperately trying to find a parking space that wasn't $20 parking and within reasonable walking distance to the Convention Center, we decided I'd drop of Stephen so he wouldn't miss anything, and I'd figure out what the best place was. I finally decided the monorail was going to be my best friend. I'd drive Stephen to the Convention Center every morning, go park at Harrah's free parking garage, and then take the monorail to the Center.

Needless to say, finding my way around this city is proving to be difficult at times, but after another time or two I'm going to be a Vegas expert driver. Future cabby here I come!

We saw lots of cool cars, more than I probably care to see at one time, but Stephen had a great day taking everything in.

Look at that #wagoneer! #sema2016 #semashow #semashow2016 #jeepgrandwagoneer #grandwagoneer

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Nov 1, 2016 at 3:30pm PDT

We tried to find somewhere to eat that had great reviews, so we found ourselves chomping on barbeque at Ellis Island Casino. It's off the strip, and to say this place is small and janky is an understatement, but the barbeque. Well it was incredible. And we were both incredibly stuffed.

Unfortunately today marks our last day in LA. We got to sleep in a little bit this morning, but quickly gathered all of our items to clear out our little LA AirBNB and also to return the Camero. We're playing car tag this week, as we have a Turo rental here in LA, an Enterprise rental to get us from LA to Las Vegas, and then a Turo rental in Vegas.

Before we made the exchange we found the giant donut in the sky, and had to stop in to try them out. I was super impressed, as my real love for doughnuts is expressed only through Krispy Kreme doughnut, but these did not disappoint!

Morning pick-me-up at Randy's Donuts. #texasglazed #dotheyevenmakedoughnutsthatbigintexas

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 31, 2016 at 11:37am PDT

Our transition between cars was pretty smooth. Stephen had one last request before we headed out of LA--The Petersen Car Museum. Which was actually really interesting. Plus we got to see lots of cool cars.

Oh yes that would be #thebatmobile, #jamesbondscar, #thegreatgatsby, #breakingbad, #thelmaandlouise, #thedelorean, #magnumpi, and the car from #littlemisssunshine @petersenmuseum

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 31, 2016 at 12:11pm PDT

We had one last groupon to use, and so we bought our food and headed up to a beautiful overlook to enjoy one last glance at LA.

Trying out @smokespoutinerie while enjoying an incredible view!

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 31, 2016 at 3:44pm PDT

Into the night we drive now, as we venture across desert for 4 hours to get to our bed tonight. I'm ready.

Heading east to Vegas! 👋 LA!

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 31, 2016 at 6:12pm PDT

A few months ago I read one of my favorite blogs, and Erin and Ben's travels up the California coast to Santa Barbara. Knowing we'd be headed to CA this fall, I've been slightly dreaming of experiencing her quint essential California vacation, experiencing the smells, sounds, and sights she did, because she romanticizes them in such a way that you feel compelled to do the same.

Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, and Stephen has been in a slight haze since the beginning of our trip. We've been living on a lack of sleep for a few days now, trying to get up early to catch flights or whale watching tours.

Nonetheless, we had a great time. The rainy day feeding our sleepy feeling, and forcing us up the coast to Santa Barbara.

Rainy day on the coast as we head up to Santa Barbara #rainraingoaway

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:16am PDT

We found the end of the Muholland Hwy, which we kept hitting Muholland Drive, but none of the roads were quite what Stephen expected to find. It's an infamous road, and the Drive portion never really delivered. But the Hwy, oh it did not disappoint.

Finally found that infamous drive. One happy man @slp950

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:55am PDT

We stopped at a Starbucks on the way in this funky little shopping center. I was hoping for some good shopping in there, but unfortunately it wasn't anything more than real estate businesses, a grocery store, and the glorious Starbucks. I've had a serious Starbucks addiction this trip.

Coffee break at #Stabucks in #MalibuCa before we continue up the #PCH on our way to #SantaBarbara

A photo posted by Stephen Prahl (@slp950) on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:15am PDT

We finally arrived in Santa Barbara. We really hoped to be able to see some of the locations of Psych--but that didn't work out as most of that is actually filmed in Canada. Bummer.

But we visited a VERY large fig tree.

Now that's a fig tree!

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 30, 2016 at 1:05pm PDT

And then we ventured to the pier that is kind of a central spot in town. This pier is so large, you drive on it, and can shop on it, and eat there, and even go to an aquarium. It's huge.

Got to spend a rainy day walking the pier in Santa Barbara. The epitome of a misty fisherman's day.

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 31, 2016 at 11:34am PDT

 The foggy, dreary, rainy day gave me all the feels of a hardened fisherman on a dewy morning. I kept seeing guys fishing, and they all looked like this to me...

It's a hard life.

After fully exploring and driving around Santa Barbara, we began heading back to LA. So much for using that beautiful drop top we have on the Camero today. Pretty sure we had on the heat!

Instead of seeing The Living Room group, because we got back into town so late, we headed into downtown LA to find the Ice Cream Lab. We had to walk through little Korea which was super fun. We turned in our Groupons for our icecream, and got to see the magic happen.

This morning y'all. This.

😍😍 #airbnb

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 29, 2016 at 7:25am PDT

Well if that doesn't given you enough reasons to check out AirBnB, I don't know what does.

We woke up early this morning and headed out to try and see some whales. A whale we did find!

We got our 🐳!

A video posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 29, 2016 at 12:42pm PDT

We made our way back towards LA driving up the coast, doing a little Hotwheels shopping and feeding my Starbucks addiction.

Around 5 or so, we headed to Vonetta's to pick her up for dinner. It's been years since I've seen her, actually I think it was about 3 or 4 years ago at her military graduation from basic training at Fort Jackson.

We caught up over pizza at Pizza Rev, and I found out a lot more details about her leaving NY and her new life in LA. Miss that girl more than she knows.

We then headed to The Living Room's Saturday night church service. I've never experienced such a welcoming church. Everyone spoke to us, hugged us, loved on us, and made us feel included beyond measure.

Had a great night of worship and smoothies with the kind folks at #TheLivingRoomMovement @tlrmovement

A photo posted by Stephen Prahl (@slp950) on Oct 29, 2016 at 10:10pm PDT

We said goodnight to everyone, and really hope we see them tomorrow at their 7 year anniversary pot luck dinner.

We tend to try and take a couple vacations a year, and specifically try to take a week off locally and then a week off a little farther away.

Back in May we did a coastal tour in South Carolina. I realized then I felt like we had a ton of minivactions in a week, and while it was fun, it was a little tiring. But looking back, it seems like we were gone for so much longer. And regardless of exhaustion, it's the memories that linger and keep me holding on until each new vacation.

Stephen is in love with cars. I don't know if that has been properly conveyed here. He has loved anything with wheels since he was a kid. Used to get in trouble for drawing cars, and still has books filled with his sketches (he was really good too). He worked hard at a young age, saving up enough money to buy his first car at the age of 14, before he could even legally drive. Over the years he has bought and sold probably more than 35 vehicles, and currently we have about 6 cars in our yard for sale.

Couple of years ago we went out to Vegas for the SEMA show, and this year we're back at it! So this morning, way earlier than I cared to, we headed to the airport with my parents. They were kind enough to drop us off so we wouldn't have to pay parking for a week, especially since the airport is 15 minutes from the house.

Our flight left at 5:20 am, and we arrived safely and relatively rested at 10 am PST in Los Angeles, California!

We made it! 🌴

A video posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 28, 2016 at 4:23pm PDT

It took a while to get our car rental. Unfortunately we were a tad late to pick it up, and then the guy who was picking us up was a tad later. But we did go through Turo.com which let us rent a Camero convertible for almost the same price as a regular rental, just ignore the fact there was a bullet hole through the door.

Please ignore my awkward angle here.

We had most of the day to just wander around and site see. So we did just that. We headed on down to the coast. Dipped our toes in the sand at Long Beach, which was completely barren and weird-->I'm used to Myrtle Beach, y'all.

We found an In-and-Out to eat at, a must when you're out west. We then tried to find some famous sites. Saw the old Fantasy Factory (now a mattress warehouse), Fast and Furious's Terreto's house, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air house, The Dunphy's house on Modern Family, and more. None quite feeling or seeming like they do in real life, the Bel-Air house was surrounded by a giant fence and you could barely see it, not to mention it was itty bitty. But what did make me happy was to see the family who lives in the Dunphy's house, decorating for Halloween, in true Claire form...

Well it would just be easier to give up on this thing, but I don't want to because I look back at entries and realize the good in them. Things I'd frequently overlook, but now can look back with fine detail.

So we'll play catch up again, but I'm going to try and give you some nitty gritty details of at least one thing-->our trip to LA and Vegas!

Hold on to your seats as we zoom through the past few weeks. Okay just scroll. Scrolling is good.

Today was the last day for Carolina Girls. We got to enjoy worship and service with the First Baptist Church of Myrtle Beach congregation as our missionaries lead in service.

I was so sleepy on the trek back home this afternoon, I almost forgot to let Stephen know I was headed home. When I did, he told me had a surprise waiting for me.

A clean house. YESSSSS. Vacuumed. Dishes done. Laundry folded. How did I deserve this sweet man?

Today the girls enjoyed a few conferences with different leaders as well as our missionaries for the weekend.

The Haneys, Anissa and Eric, those kids are talented. Okay they are older than me, but still. Sometimes you wonder what is that one thing you're really good at, for them it's like a million things. While I don't think this video does the best representation of how great they are, I think it gives you an idea of what they are capable of.

Frisbee ministry with people on the beach

The evening was spent in worship again, kind of summarizing the weekend with the girls, and asking them to commit themselves to God's calling and will. They each had collected shells on the beach today, and brought them back to the worship service. They brought each of their shells to the foot of the cross, symbolizing their burdens and hang ups that they could lay at Christ's feet, as well as surrendering to his will.

This weekend I got to spend a lot of time with a couple of girls from the NC summer staff at Camp Mundo Vista. Cassie was amazing, stepping in and helping with technology stuff just when I needed her. She's confident, engaging, and so sweet to everyone she meets. She's instantly your best friend, and you feel like you've known her for a life time. So thankful for her friendship this weekend.

Today I headed over to Donna's house to head down to Myrtle Beach for Carolina Girls. This is a weekend for our North Carolina and South Carolina teenage girls to come together to not just learn and worship, but to do outreach in the community.

I've never been to this event. I didn't know what to expect. While some things could have been done differently today, honestly I'm excited about what this weekend holds.

We had about 200 girls come together tonight for a few snapshot conferences (just little tidbits they could learn about camp, or how to do a new form of outreach) and then for a worship service.

Andrew Mann speaking... my phone is really takes terrible photo quality

They got to hear from Andrew Mann who is a pastor in the South Bronx, Mott Haven neighborhood (which is where I interned for a summer!), and from the Haneys, a husband and wife who serve in Sweden ministering to the musicians and artists of the area. The Haneys lead us in worship, and it was nothing short of the Spirit moving in that place. 

Sometimes All the time, I feel insignificant. My self worth isn't always rooted in the one place it should be, and so I come away feeling defeated and useless a lot of times.

But I'm reminded over and over again that God uses the useless. He uses the insignificant. He strengthens the weak. He lifts us up on his wings. He does things for his glory, and magnifies himself through our weaknesses. Are you getting why 2 Corinthians 12:9 is my favorite verse--my life verse?!

Tonight Stephen headed to the state fair with David and Jason to go see Alabama in concert. Alabama is a little before our time, but Stephen caught himself up this week on their music by listening to YouTube on repeat.

Since I had nothing going on, and two entrance tickets and some ride tickets burning a hole in my pocket, I convinced my mom and Jaye to come venture to the fair with me.

From Above

There's just something about the fair that while it doesn't seem like it should be appealing is. I think it's all those years of anticipating the day in grade school. Knowing you'd get a day off of school, or go here on a field trip, or spend the evenings surrounded by your best friends stuffing your faces full and making yourself sick on fair rides. I mean I do have a history here...

Some of the best friends I could ask for...

Making our snowmen bookmarks at the fair

We so cool on the ferris wheel

Getting sick on the Himalayan.. by far one of my favorites

Looking like infants on the ferris wheel

So it was really fun to get to experience this with my mom and Jaye. We filled ourselves way too full on anything from fried okra and mushrooms, to funnel cakes, to doughnut burgers, to strawberry lemonade, to frozen bananas. So good.

Searching for food

Ran into Philip and Makayla as they were about to get on the skylift. Unfortunately didn't get to hang out with them, but I think we've got a trip to the mountains soon we'll plan with these two lovebirds.

We did enjoy the pig races, which was a first for Jaye. It's fun showing the northerner how we southerners do it, but honestly she's probably more southern than I (I mean she really wanted fried okra and boiled peanuts..something fierce).

Pig dancing 🐷💃I mean racing🐷🏁

A video posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 19, 2016 at 7:16pm PDT

We also got to see Pastor Rich's infamous photo that everyone is taking a picture with from church..

His picture from Kenya

 After seeing the guys at the chicken area...

Giant chicken award goes to....

My mom and I hit the skylift as we waited on Jaye.

So grateful for such a fun and wonderful mamma

And we left soon after, but not before we grabbed a few more goodies to head out with. Such a fun night. Such fun memories.

Stephen had guys group as normal, so I headed out to run some errands. But not before stopping outside and chatting with a few of the guys.

Sometimes I don't feel that I really stand alone around the guys. I try to distance myself some from them, just out of respect for Stephen and mine's relationship, and because the guys are his ministry and not mine. But I finally feel like I've built up a friendship with a good many of them, something that finally does stand alone. It's nice to know even if we aren't close, I've found a friend in them too.

I figured I'd run to the store before I headed over to my parents, but my stomach was growling, so I headed straight to their place instead.

My cousin Jaye is in town for a few days, so I got to catch up with her which was super needed. She lives in Chicago, and so I don't get to see her that often (normally just holidays), but she has a wedding in Anderson, SC this weekend so she stopped by for a few days.

We played around on her freebie virtual reality glasses and her phone. That is some trippy stuff. I accidently put them on while standing, that was a mistake. There was one video that took you into space. It would shoot you from planet to planet, and the motion just visually started making my stomach turn. So crazy how something visually can mess with your mind like that.

We also spoke about my cousin Loralyn and some of the things going on there. Please pray for her if you think of it. I hate to see the challenges she's having to go through and try and leap over, so thankful though she has a great sister like Jaye to do her best to help her through.

Somehow, even as crammed packed as this weekend was, I survived. After a week of relaxing and spending time with Stephen, I was prepped and energized to spend this whole weekend with sweet friends. So I expected to feel like my whole weekend was whisked away, but honestly it felt lengthed, and I think somehow that is just a God thing.

Although after a busy day at work today getting things ready for Carolina Girl and GA Super Saturday, I was ready for a quiet night in. Stephen let me have that, so he went to Monday dinner, while I stayed home and worked on a few things like my sign for Sandra that has taken far too long.

Thankful for the busy and the quiet. Because you know how much I need both these days.

This morning we woke up wayyyy to early to head out the door to meet at church for apple picking. This is our second annual apple picking, where we head up to East Pickens Baptist Church for service, and then head up to Hendersonville for apple picking.

We woke up this morning way too early. Stephanie woke up at 7 am after we had fallen asleep at 3 am. She was wide awake. Every time I'd doze back off to sleep, she'd blurt out something, waking me up again. I finally gave up sleeping in, and tried to be cheerful about the early wake up call.

I made breakfast for the bunch, but I kind of forget how much food it takes to feed like 10 people, so everyone got an assortment of food since I didn't have enough of any one thing.

We headed out after about 5 hours of lounging around the house, to go shopping. My shopping brain was not on, so after a couple of hours I was pooped out and took Katie home.

This evening I had the pleasure of hanging out with Kayla. We'd originally planned on going to a haunted house, but after watching one too many haunted house videos on Ellen DeGeneres's show, I was cured. Plus both of us were a little too tired to do so.

So instead we caught up over food at The Root Cellar in Lexington. Isn't that really all you need with friends? A couple hours, good food, and conversation to catch up? 

Pretty sure when I got married and turned 25, sleepovers were gone. Like you're a full grown woman, you sleep in your own bed silly. Although because I love my buddies at church, and I've heard countless times how we need another girls night, and the fact Stephen was going to be gone late for the Men's Conference in town--Sleepover it was!

We had a pretty sizeable group, and it was definitely an array of different people--but by the end of the night everyone was dancing, laughing, and acting a fool.

We stayed up till about 3 am trying to finish up the puzzle Stephen and I started like a week ago. While Lauren did manage to magically finish the white puzzle pieces (it's a giant thick border at the bottom of just white puzzle pieces--a nightmare!), we only still scratched the surface of this puzzle.

The love.

Adore these two :)

While my body can't handle this too often, it was good to get to spend time with them feeling like a kid again. Doesn't happen too often in this grown up world I live in now.

I drove to work this morning in an absolute haze, one where I was certain I was going to fall asleep behind the wheel. Thankfully I was woken up before getting on the interstate by this...

This #jeepcherokeechief woke me right up from my "ride into work" daze this morning. 😮😮

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 13, 2016 at 4:36am PDT

We had a lesson at Unleashed based off of a possum that entered Steve's backyard on Monday when we were over for dinner. Unfortunately Stephen and I had left already by the time the possum showed up, so we heard everything second hand.

The lesson was entertaining definitely. I did get to make some artwork for this week's again, which is pretty Halloween appropriate I think.

Oh yeah.

Capped off the night at Waffle House enjoying the company of Hannah, and many others as we packed out the restaurant. 

Yesterday on my way home from work, I sat side by side with a spider. A fat spider. I'm not sure what word these spiders are sending out to everyone, but they're all showing up. They ain't tiny--I've built up courage towards the tiny ones--they are HUGE. Okay, medium. But that's huge. Trust me.

Ham & Pea Pasta

I can't paint without it getting on me.

Sometimes I'm afraid all Stephen hears about my job is the complaints, because there's not much out of the norm that's exciting--just because I've been doing this for almost 5 years.

But today was the abnormality. Today, we had our staff meeting late due to the hurricane last week and scheduling with field staff this week. Apparently having a meeting at 2 pm in the afternoon when everyone is alert and really ready to go home, is about the best for humor and the worst decision to get anything accomplished.

I cry laughed the entire time. And when nothing was funny, I'd think about things that I'd been laughing at and start it all over again. Good thing Laurie thought me laughing was hilarious, because I--well all of us really--were a huge distraction. But it's really a blessing when we can all just finally lay back and cut up. It doesn't happen often enough.

After getting home this evening, Stephen ran out to go pick up Josh for Bible Study. He'd promised to bring me home a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell. I waited, and waited. A few of the guys showing up to the house already. Since I had a few chores to do out on the town, I decided I'd run out before Stephen got back.

Buying paint for the trim and walls for the downstairs area and some heartburn medicine (and fair tickets!!!!) put me back later than Stephen. I walked in to find him with fork in hand about to eat my Mexican Pizza. All the guys told him he better wait, so when I walked in, laughter erupted. I then exclaimed "I would have murdered you!" which sent them into laughter again. I got my pizza. All is well in the world.

Headed upstairs for a night of watching shows, reading, and working on a hymn sign for a coworker--which keeps coming out way worse than I imagine it should. Gotta get back in the rhythm of this.

The start of another sign. #gettingbackintheswing

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Oct 6, 2016 at 10:42am PDT

We will be painting trim tomorrow night, most likely. Pray for us. 

I've not had much time the past couple of weeks, or really time that I desired to sit down for a bit and document my life. Not sure why, the energy just has not been there. Although life has been busy, but not nearly as crazy as in previous weeks. It's picking back up again though, no worries--life doesn't stay too calm for too long.

Now that I'm not hormonal and crazy person, my anxiety and neediness are a bit lower than normal--so hey that's a big plus!

Last week Hurricane Matthew rolled through town. It was kind of a culmination of events because with the hurricane and Matt being out of the house for 10 days straight, Stephen and I spent A LOT of time together. But once again, doesn't God know what He's doing--he's prepped me for this week and probably the next where every day is filled with people and activities, and I have a lot of alone time energy to expel in these situations. I don't feel overwhelmed, although I can look at my calendar (I don't really keep one of those..) and see how packed it is.

The hurricane didn't cause any damage in our area really, other than fallen leaves, occasional fallen trees, some power outages, but other areas in the state and the world did not fare quite as well. My prayers and heart still go out to all these people who have lost so much, including family.

The days off meant my home got super clean. Well super is relative, but it feels pretty clean! I think this Friday we'll have new flooring--I'm so hoping. I've not yet got a call from them about coming to install them, but I'm thinking Tuesday night and Wednesday night this week may be spent trying to freshen up our trim in our house before they come to install the flooring and new quarter rounds.I'm not looking forward to this part.

I've gotten to spend time with a lot of friends, hear a lot of great speakers at church, go on dates with Stephen, put together puzzles, and more. I still don't have the energy to recap the past two weeks, but maybe from here on I can at least spend time really updating this every day.

One day it'll be habit :) 

Beautiful flowers from the hubs! Not only did he pick me up from work yesterday with flowers in hand to go to dinner at The Oak Table, he dropped them back off at work this morning so I could enjoy them today!

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Feb 18, 2016 at 7:29am PST

Uploading for a friend to see, but I got to create this growth chart for @jenndiq and @nealdiq 's soon to arrive little boy Micah. @slp950 installed some hardware for it on the back so they can hang it 6 inches above the ground. Can't wait for that boy to get here! I do fully expect Micah to grow the full 7 feet.

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Mar 17, 2016 at 7:59am PDT

So blessed to spend my days off enjoying the company of these happy people❤

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Apr 15, 2016 at 5:56pm PDT

One mighty tree #angeloak

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on May 19, 2016 at 12:02pm PDT

Where to park? Where to park? #toomanycarstoomanypeople #yesthesewouldjustaboutbeallours

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on May 28, 2016 at 9:08am PDT

Protecting my floors with pee pads is proving to be ineffective #sigh

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on Aug 23, 2016 at 3:03pm PDT