August

September 1, 2013 | Jen Pace Dickenson

Wow, I have been such a horrible blogger! I didn’t post last month at all. So for my “Happiness 365” series here are my “Days 213-243” in Instagram photos… (Unfortunately they posted backwards!)

“The Miley”

Parker-Binns Vineyard

Overmountain Vineyards

Green Creek Winery

a poem and drawings from kids at the library

I got a scholarship to the NCLA conference!

my new display at the library

my babies

picnic and concert with the fam

rafting on the Nantahala River

The Local Taco

margaritas

it’s my cat in a bowl

Lego librarian!

Breaking Bad premiere

gambling

dinner at Ruth’s Chris

ready for my birthday night out

Ménage à Trois

road trip

this book was great!

babysitting Hayden

birthday card from Bobby

a favorite new TV show… Orange is the New Black!

Malachi got a new home 😦

foggy commute

hiking with Riley and Diesel

flowers from my mom’s garden

tubing with Brittany

lunch at Olde Hickory Station

mountain sunset

Monday Quiz About Me

July 29, 2013 | Jen Pace Dickenson

I’ve missed a few weeks…

1. July is National Ice Cream month… Are you celebrating?
You know, I really haven’t been eating enough ice cream this summer. That needs to change!

I love froyo!

2. What is your favorite rainy day activity?
Going to the movies.

gonna see this tomorrow…

3. What is the one book from high school that you remember reading most?
Lord of the Flies.

4. Have you ever visited Charleston, SC?
Yes! I even lived there for a year.

Sullivan’s Island in 2011 with my mom and brother

*****

1. Wednesday, July 24th is National Drive-Thru Day… Do you have any drive-thrus that you have a hard time passing?
I go to Wendy’s about once a week. Love me a chocolate Frosty.

2. Other than signing your name, when was the last time you physically wrote something?
I write notes all the time.

3. What was the first movie you saw in a movie theater? The latest one?
The first one I remember was Snow White… Most recent was The Heat.

4. Have you ever visited Disney?
Yes, when I was three and six.

*****

1. What is your favorite pair of shoes?
Old Navy flip flops.

2. Do you get embarrassed easily?
I don’t think so…

3. What makes you cringe?
Nails on a chalkboard.

4. July 29th is National Lasagna day… Are you celebrating? What kind of lasagna do you prefer?
Nope… But I LOVE my mom’s lasagna!!

Bonus question for blog hoppers to answer:

5. How did you celebrate your last birthday?

We Want to Know Wednesday

July 10, 2013 | Jen Pace Dickenson

1. Show us in pictures how your summer is going so far…

2. What is one thing you are never too busy for?
My favorite TV shows… Gotta keep my Bumday Monday TV nights free! 🙂

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Finishing up an online class.

4. What is the best advice you have ever received?
I don’t usually ask for or receive advice… But I think the best decision I have made was to get my master’s in library science and move back home to start a new career!

5. Share some of your favorite quotes…

Wednesday Hodgepodge

July 10, 2013 | Jen Pace Dickenson

1. What’s something people might ask you for help with?
Travel planning or book recommendations.

2. What’s something you might ask someone else for help with?
French braiding my hair… LOL.

3. Did your family take summer vacations when you were a child? If so, where did you go? If you’re a parent, did/do you plan summer vacations with your own family? Did/do they resemble those you took as a child?
Yes, to Edisto Island in SC. I am not a parent but if I ever have kids they will definitely travel.

I’m pretty sure this was taken in Miami but… It’s a picture of me on a beach as a kid! 🙂

4. Pool, lake, ocean… Which one is most appealing to you on a hot summer day?
Pool for sure. But I don’t mind swimming in lakes, oceans, rivers, whatever!

Swimming in a lake on July 4th!

5. Have you ever justified using the expression, “you gotta be cruel to be kind”? Was it really necessary or were you rationalizing?
I haven’t used the expression but I can see when someone would… In a romantic situation.

6. The Journal of Psychology recently mentioned the results of a survey identifying the ten most hated foods as: liver, lima beans, mayonnaise, mushrooms, eggs, okra, beets, brussel sprouts, tuna, and gelatin. Of those foods, how many do you actually hate? Anything you’d add to the list?
The only one I really like on that list is okra. Fried okra is delicious!! I definitely do not like liver, mushrooms, eggs, beets, or tuna. The others are OK.

7. What’s your favorite book or movie set in a beach or lake town?
This is a hard one… Off the top of my head I would pick the movie The Beach! (And I’ve been to Ko Phi Phi, where it was filmed, which is totally crowded and trashy… Literally!)

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Wish the rain would go away! See how flooded my normal swimming hole is…

Sunday Social

July 7, 2013 | Jen Pace Dickenson

1. What is the best trip you’ve ever been on?
I have been on so many amazing trips (34 countries); it is really hard to choose just one. So I’ll just tell you about my most recent trip… I went to Chicago in May and had the best time!! Check out my blog post about it here.

2. What is your best idea for a girls weekend trip?
I have been on girls only trips to New York City and on a cruise to Mexico and Grand Cayman. Oh yeah, and all around Europe, Cambodia, and Thailand, but those weren’t typical girls trips. Although now that I think about it, I would recommend Southeast Asia as a great girls trip destination. Beautiful, lots of good food, and dirt cheap massages! Check out more reasons here and the best places to go here.

Laos, 2012

Oops, just realized the question said weekend trip… In that case, Vegas!

Sin City, 2008

3. What is your best idea for a couples trip?
Italy! I loved it and would love to take a boyfriend/husband there one day. Eat lots of food, drink wine, chill on the beach…

Cinque Terre, 2004

4. What is the best vacation on the cheap?
Southeast Asia!! See above.

5. What is the place you most want to visit?
Peru… Planning a trip there for 2014. 🙂

Happiness 365: Day 187

July 6, 2013 | Jen Pace Dickenson

Today was Coon Dog Day! Parade during the day, then the Green River Brew Depot in the evening, then lots of drinking and dancing at Green River BBQ and a party in the Pot Shoals parking lot!

We Want to Know Wednesday

July 3, 2013 | Jen Pace Dickenson

1. Now that it is officially summer, what season is your favorite and why?
Fall! I love the weather, clothes, and Halloween!

my flapper costume last year

2. What does summer look like in your house? Sound like?
Well I am never home because it looks like swimming holes and sounds like country music!

3. Recount a summer memory from your childhood.
I always had my birthday party at Twin Lakes… The same place as my 4th of July party this year!

4. Do you have 4th of July plans?
Party! I am writing this almost a week late but the party was great despite the rain… I even went down the waterslide! 🙂

yep that’s me about to go down the waterslide

5. Does it get super hot where you are in the summer and how do you deal with it?
Not as hot as other places but unpleasant for sure. AC and swimming is how I deal with it!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

July 3, 2013 | Jen Pace Dickenson

1. What’s one simple small pleasure on your summer “to do” list?
Go swimming as much as possible.

yep that’s me about to go down the waterslide

2. Do you have strong feelings or opinions regarding the immigration debate in your home country? Feel free to share your thoughts, but please play nice.
I’m not sure where I stand… I was a (legal) immigrant in Korea for two years and I’m glad I had the opportunity to go to another country and make money when mine wasn’t providing for me. However there has to be some kind of policy; you can’t just have millions of people moving to a new country with no rules.

3. What’s something in your home or wardrobe that could be described as “star spangled”?
I have a gray scarf with stars all over it that I adore! Of course I can’t find a photo of it now.

4. Is your house set up for a party?
Not unless it’s outside.

5. What one never-before-visited city in America, would you most like to see?
This is a hard one but I’m going to go with Boston. Also San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle!!

6. Your favorite red food? White food? Blue food?
Raspberries. Rice. Blueberries. (Off the top of my head…)

7. What freedom do you value the most, and why?
(Mostly) equal rights of men and women… I’d hate to live in a Muslim country and not be allowed to do the same things as men.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Happy 4th! I’m actually writing this post almost a week late… But I had an awesome 4th of July party despite the rain!