Comic What?! | Day 3

They were calling for rain over the weekend so our garden tour plans got put on hold and we went shopping instead. We went to Sally's Beauty and got hair dye for my hair which also ended up being in the same shopping center as a COMIC BOOK STORE. OHMYLANTA!
Where I live, there is no comic book stores. Barnes & Noble is the closest thing we have to one and their comics are $16.99 a piece, which are a liiiittttllleee out of my price range.

It was probably the coolest thing on the face of the earth. They had a Predator costume along with Batman. My friend tried to convince the guy working to let him wear it, he said on free comic book day he could try it on ;]

I only got two comics this trip. A Hawkeye, and Batman for my one friend. He's not much of a reader at all (I know, I told him we can't be friends anymore.), but he also said he wants to step up his comic game. Now he can do so :]

We also discovered a big Cabela's, of course we stopped there too.

There's no more pictures to share, but lastly, in the same lot, there was a Barnes & Noble that was two floors and huge and amazing and we spent a good while in there. It was wonderful!

Hagley Museum & Library | Day 2

On the second day of the trip we went to Hagley Museum. I took more video then I did pictures, so here's another YouTube video if you'd like to watch [:

My one friend came with us so we were sure to include him on the activities too, this one was mainly for him but we all ended up really enjoying it.
Hagley, owned by the DuPont's, was the place gunpowder was made. It turned out his son had learned how to do it before they located here, so he taught the others. And thus, they had gunpowder.

 This tree is 326 years old, one of the oldest trees left, tied with one other.

This is the DuPont family home.

We saw an eagle down near the Brandywine from the patio.

Finally, An Adventure! | Day 1

I've been waiting so long for this. My Grandma is a big traveler and it turns out that I've caught that gene and I've been itching so badly the past couple years to finally go on an adventure. My hold up was my anxiety. Car rides and people caused me so much stress and left me fearful of leaving the house. After about two years of fighting back, this summer I finally get to travel.

The previous night I did get some packing in, the majority of it. Then I woke up at 4:30 in the morning and decided to pack the rest of it. Ended up with 3 bags. A suitcase, my 'entertainment' bag, and my laptop/camera bags. If you call them bags.

Typical me forgot to take a picture of my suitcase and all, but here's what I packed:

 6 shirts, 3 for outfits 3 for sleeping, excluding the one I wore in the car. The weather was supposed to pretty warm so I packed mostly tanks, although, the one I didn't really end up wearing and the others were. But my aunt, that we stayed with, let us use her washer.

 2 pairs of leggings, and 2 yoga shorts. Mostly for sleeping.

Perfume of choice.

Bath bag filled with all the things.

The 'entertainment' bag

Top left to right:

Nintendo DS & Games
Sketch book, pencils, journals
Books. (Got to have the books)
Travel Scrapbook
DVDs

Items packed that aren't pictured:

2 Shorts
1 Pair of jeans
1 Hoodie

1 Belt

Socks
Under clothes
Vitamins

Of course we brought snacks and my backpack that I kept in the front. 

This was the only picture that I really took during the trip, I did take a video though that's on my YouTube if you'd like to see some of the view[: Something got messed up with the audio though.

 

These plazas seemed so fancy. Then again it was my first time being to one. They were a combination of Starbucks, Steak n Shake, a gas station and some other little quick food shop.
We only made two stops on the way and me an Mom got a coffee to trucker through the rest of the 6 hour trip.

We got to my aunts around dinner time and stopped at Chick-fil-a to eat. We were all pretty tired but it was definitely worth it, the ride was absolutely gorgeous. Everything there is so green and lush, and there was a lot to look at on the way down for it being interstate.

A Stressful 2 Weeks

Oh where to begin. It feels like lately it's been nothing but running around, which is super great in one way, and exhausting in another. Here's just a few pictures of some of the days.

A couple weeks ago I went to the mall and sat in Panera Bread with a smoothie and finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower while my mom was at a job. My friend ended up meeting me there and we shopped around until my Mom met us for lunch.

Tractor Supply got the chicks in. Oh, they are so cute!

We want chickens so badly, but we're not allowed to have them in our town. At least, the lady doesn't want them. We haven't received any proof that there is a 'rule' that doesn't allow them.

A perk of going to work an hour and a half early because you don't have a ride and don't want to get soaked in a rainstorm. It was so nice though getting to sit and read while it rained. A guy walked past that had a liver colored Malamute. It was gorgeous, still pretty young. I've never seen first-hand a liver colored Malamute. It came right over and wanted to play though.

This is the sad part. Because life was just funky the past couple weeks, I think I only made it to the gym, like, twice, MAYBE three times. It was sad. I felt gross and horrible and when I did finally make it, it was a hard workout between feeling stiff and sluggish. Although, my weight dropped, so that's great because I feel like I've been constantly hungry all the time.

This was a long time coming. Towards the end of last year I had begun working on it but my schedule with work had me tuckered out and never got around to finishing it. At the beginning of the week I managed to get it finished. This is the first portrait that I've ever done and I'm pretty pleased with it. Especially the Jack Sparrow part.

This just made me chuckle. "No fat and no cholesterol (means but hearts & small butts).

FINALLY starting House of Hades. My friend is probably about ready to strangle me because it's taken so long to finish the series. Had a hiatus there for a bit of not really being in the mood to read. Gasp! I know.

Thankfully, it left. It's becoming a saving grace again. Work has gotten busier and I've been getting stressed out a good bit from it. (If I haven't said this before, I'm a cashier). Introverted + HSP + Anxiety + Cashiering = STRESS OVERLOAD. Thankfully, I've been cross training again. I've fluttered around between 5 different positions since starting there, some were good, some didn't. But I'm so glad I got a chance to try them. Now, I've been helping on the floor and I absolutely love it. The people who work in the back are amazing and they have no problem laughing. It's just good vibes all around back there.
So on the days when cashiering, it's nice to just come home, curl up in bed with a book to be mentally somewhere else for a little while.

A Week In My Life | First Day of Trout

Hello!

I've been so incredibly busy with work lately. I've been switching from one position to the next cross-training. I absolutely love it. I'm learning new things and it keeps things different and changing. It's not fun doing the same thing every day. This girl needs variety.

The other day my Mom dropped me off at the gym while she did some errands. 1hr. and 45mins later, I was so very happy. The staff at the gym are so friendly and one of my friends ended up being there and we worked out together. The gym is starting to become a stress-relieving place. A good run always does good. Also, down 2.5 pounds, so happy!!

A guy she landscapes for needed someone to pick up sticks in his yard and I was lucky enough to get the job and I picked up 7-9 big piles of branches.twigs from under the tree, got some sun on the skin. It was nice getting the fresh air.

Two hours later, I was hangry and getting tired. We'd spent earlier the morning looking around for some clothes. Most of my shorts from last summer don't fit. Of course. Somehow, everytime I wander in a store for summer clothes, I come out with fitness clothes. No regrets.

We went to Barnes & Noble and I got a KIND Blueberry Cashew Vanilla bar. Those things are the most amazing granola bars ever. Oh, and a coffee frapp. I'm usually not a whipped cream person, I get it more for the way it looks and don't drink it. I was so hungry and thirsty it was gone in like 5mins tops.

Giant Eagle has a sale on their granola bars, a lot of only $1.00 so I snagged up a bunch, it's cheaper, plus it's a good chance to try different ones. the Belvita's were free with the ecarbs. Hello, blueberry. Also, why are like 90% of granola bars chocolate? Not everybody wants chocolate flavored stuff. More blueberry please!!

Saturday morning I got up early to meet with my Pap for the first day of trout. Not being a huge eater before going out, had a banana and 1/4 of the Lenny & Larry's Complete Cookie. My goodness. They are sooooo good! It's soft and chewy, no GMO's, protein packed, and is so good. Unfortunately, Wal*Mart has had them out of stock for the past 3wks and it's driving me crazy. Need more!

Not a single catch. We had a nibble, no luck on catching any. The people to the left of us got a few, but none of us to the right did.

After a VERY eventful morning of fishing, I was hungry so I made a delicious smoothie.

Along with a chicken veggie mix. I've decided to step up my game and learn to finally cook meat. So I baked some chicken then heated it in a non-stick skillet with a smidge of olive oil, added some steamed veggies of Steamfresh Water Chestnut, Carrot, Sweet Peas, and Broccoli mix, along with some fresh sugar snap pears then spinkled it with ground turmeric and pink Himalayan salt.
Couldn't finish the whole thing, but it was really good.
Vegetables are starting to become a craving, it's a great feeling.

Top 5 Favorite Healthier Snacks

I'm what you call a 'grazer'. I'd much rather have a bunch of small snacks throughout the day as compared to a few larger meals. Also, I seem to have a major sweet tooth. Eating healthy has always been a struggle for me. When I was younger I was very much overweight, I lost weight, just hitting the "normal" BMI, stayed steady for a while and then hit a major wall where I got obsessed with calorie counting and was walking down E.D. Lane.
These past couple months I've been managing much better, joined a gym, not so strict when it comes to calories but rather paying more attention to what I eat, and trying to keep portions under control.

Here are some of my favorite snacks that are healthier compared to a pack of pop-tarts, or those gross cheese curls that are orange on the inside.

[source]

These So Delicious Coconut Almond bars are AMAZING. They're made with coconut milk which have amazing benefits to help with healthy hair and skin. Coconut milk also has properties that help fight against viruses like influenza.
These are also gluten free!

[source]

Surf Sweets has a large variety of sweets that "Anyone can enjoy Surf Sweets because our candy is free of high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and flavors, and the top ten allergens." - Surf Sweets.

Me, being a jelly bean addict, are absolutely in love with these! They taste SO MUCH BETTER than the artificial flavored stuff. These actually taste like fruit, and I feel a lot better about the ingredients in these as compared to artificially made.
P.S. The gummy bears are amazing too!

[source]

You can never go wrong with popcorn. Especially when you have the munchies. You can make it yourself and top it with whatever you're craving, or simply get a convenient bag to have at the ready.
This is one of my favorite brands. They offer so many different flavors that it would be hard no to find one you like.
Personally, I prefer the simple Sea Salt, Kettle Corn, or the Pink Himalayan Salt. 

[source]

Annie's Cheddar Bunnies are SO MUCH tastier then Cheez-its. Not going to lie.
These are made with organic whole wheat flour and real cheese. They, too, have a wide range of snacks from cookies, to crackers, and really good yogurt. The only thing I wish was different is if they had the Whole Grain stamp on their products, and a gluten free version of these.

Larabar's are another great sweet treat. They're made with dried fruit and nuts. My favorite is the blueberry muffin. The lemon bar is really great, too! These are great for on the go or after a workout. Usually I workout after I get done with work and don't eat something until after the gym, which is like a seven hour span between my breakfast and 'mid-morning snack', The blueberry has 4g's of protein, it's not a lot, but it is something to feed those newly sprouting baby muscles!

 

 

Bookstores and Fishing License

This has taken much longer then expected to update. The lack of taking pictures for anything has been real. When I'm not working, I'm just mostly trying to relax. I'll try harder though.

Bookstores are a wonderful place, filled with so many stories and adventures.There just isn't enough time in the world to read all the books. It's upsetting to be honest. It's so easy to spend hours in there just looking at all the different stories.

Finally got my fishing license. The first day is coming up and I need to get some practice in. It's been years since I've fished but the past couple years I've been really wanting to start up again, just hadn't gotten around to it. Now it's just time to practice.

 

Misty has been a personal heater lately. She either curls up beside me or lays on my feet. It's so nice.