Don't let the world fall on your shoulders.

Do you see now why I have to give myself assignments to blog?  Otherwise, it won't get done.  Many things to blog about...

First off, I would just like to give God a major thank-you shout-out.  What my family/company believed was going to be one of the worst months of our lives has now been almost completely redeemed.  I can't remember if I blogged about it or journaled about it, but we stood to face a pretty harsh month, separating the work load for four offices onto the shoulders of two PTs and two PTAs.  We lost one PT a couple of months ago, and we could get by fine without her...until we lost a PTA and another PT, not to mention some of our most promising and dedicated techs.  We had one PT lined up to start, but he couldn't start until July, and that was only if the board let him take his test early.  This pretty much made my dad shut down.  It was really hard to see him go through all that stress and hopelessness.  But oh my goodness, the Lord works in mysterious ways!  We ended up being able to hire another PT who'll start in the middle of the month and the PT that was supposed to start in July was able to take his boards even earlier.  He's starting tomorrow.  I have no words for how thankful I am.

This is a rough transition to a much lighter topic.  I finished that book today.  It's called Matched by Ally Condie.  I wasn't a fan.  And then I found out that it's part of a trilogy.  And I have major issues with not finishing a story.  So now I have to read the other two.  Crap.  The second book comes out this November.  I think I did find one sentence worth quoting:  "Every minute you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes part of theirs."  And that is as simple as this book was.  I wouldn't recommend it.  But I'll let you know if the second or third are any better.

I went to a music festival!  On the beach!  It was the second year of the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, AL, and I'm oh so glad Bethany convinced me to go.  Although it feels like misery being coated in layer after layer of sand, sunscreen, and sweat all day for three days, it was a blast!  The Avett Brothers put on my favorite show, especially since we got to witness a proposal during "Kickdrum".  So adorable, and not cheesy at all.  There was a band there I'd never heard of.  Very bluegrassy, and VERY fun.  They're called Old Crow Medicine Show, and they put on my second favorite show of the festival. Trombone Shorty was there, too.  His show was probably my third favorite.  But that's all I'll go in to.

Tomorrow night is Eisley!  Music!  Yay!

We're just like you, only prettier.

Hello, friends.
Last month I signed up for something called a BirchBox.  Those of you who listen to Kidd Kraddick in the morning may have heard of it since both Jenna and Kelli subscribe to it, as well.  That's where I got the idea from.  It's a service that costs $10 a month, and each month they send you a box with several samples of really great (usually expensive) beauty products.  Doing some research, I've found that it's sort of a thing to blog or vlog your BirchBox each month.  So this is what you're getting.  Here are the samples I got.

1.  A full-sized Stila eyeshadow in Cassis.  It's a really pretty dark purple shade, not too shimmery.  This is an $18 value, so there you go.  Already made some money off of this little puppy.

2.  Erno Laszlo Transphuse Night Serum.  I'm pretty excited about this since I'm a crazy wrinkle lady.  It's only a tenth of an ounce, but considering an ounce costs $190, I think I just made a little more money off this box.

3.  Archipelago pomegranate soap.  No, it's not full-sized, but it smells lovely.  I really like soaps.  I tend to buy them when I come across them and never, ever use them.  I'm a fan of this brand, too.

4.  Bulgari Jasmin Noir perfume.  It's no bigger than a sample you'd get at a department store, but I always enjoy these.  Plus, it also smells lovely.  I'll no doubt add it to my travel bag since it's this convenient little size.

5.  Two samples each of Oribe shampoo and conditioner.  These were sort of a bonus, although who knows if I'll ever use them.  I have a basket full of samples like this.

6.  They also threw in this cute, tiny greeting card along with a coupon to order stationary for 50% off from tinyprints.com.  I'll no doubt use it for when my friend Katie's daughter is born since there are birds on it, and her nursery is bird-themed.

It came with a card explaining what everything is and showing you the price of the full size of each.  The website also sells each of these products.  All in all, I'm kind of stoked about this whole service.  I've always been a try-it-before-you-buy-it kind of girl, so this is right up my alley, especially given that these are more expensive products.

Obviously, if you're interested, the website is birchbox.com.