Monthly Archives: August 2016

08.06.16
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Tag #5: “3 Days, 3 Quotes Tag” (Day 2)

Tag - cateredcrop

Image Credit: cateredcrop.com

Rules:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you – Blanca @ A Girl’s Voyage.
  2. Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day).
  3. Nominate three new bloggers each day.

Here’s my quote for Day 2!

Tag - brainyquote

Image Credit: brainyquote.com

My Three Nominees:

  1. Sableyes
  2. Natalie @ The Girl in the Little Black Dress
  3. Tony @ I Am Antonia Michele

Come back tomorrow for Day 3!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

08.05.16
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Tag #4: “3 Days, 3 Quotes Tag” (Day 1)

Tag - cateredcrop

Image Credit: cateredcrop.com

Rules:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you.
  2. Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day).
  3. Nominate three new bloggers each day.

Thanks to Blanca over at A Girl’s Voyage for nominating me!

Here’s the link to Blanca’s post where I was tagged:

Here’s my quote for Day 1!

Bravery - quotationof

Image Credit: quotationof.com

My Three Nominees:

  1. Ariel Lynn @ Writing Radiation
  2. B.G. @ Getting Through Anxiety
  3. Kristian @ Life Lessons Around the Dinner Table

Come back tomorrow for Day 2!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

08.05.16
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Getting Personal #26: “Guest Post by Laura Beth @HotShotHeadlines: Raising Awareness About Domestic Violence” (Reblogged)

Domestic - pinterest

Image Credit: pinterest.com

Today, this blog post is a HUGE step for me.

For the first time, ever, I’m sharing my entire story — My entire experience from 2006 through 2010. Until now, I’ve mentioned pieces of it, here and there, on this blog. This took a lot of courage. It took me multiple drafts of an email, several days of reviewing and re-reading, feeling knots in my stomach and tears in my eyes.

I’ve wanted to do this for almost six years now, but something kept telling me to wait, to be patient, that the right venue or opportunity would come along.

Thanks to Carla and her amazing blog, she’s made it her mission to share those stories that need to be read / heard. Please check out her blog – The Melodramatic Confessions of Carla Louise. She balances tough, scorching topics – Feminism, rape culture, domestic violence, abuse, capital punishment – with awesome challenges about TV shows and music.

Carla has a disclaimer at the beginning of her post, but I’ll share a version of my own:

Disclaimer: This post contains graphic depictions of abuse, violence, sex, alcohol, and a few other difficult topics.

—

With that said, I welcome comments or questions. Please feel free to reach out to me, via commenting here, or by the information on my “Contact” page.

Thank you.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

08.03.16
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Hot Topic #15: Thoughts On The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

Rio Olympics - geckoandfly

Image Credit: geckoandfly.com

It’s hard to believe that the 2016 Summer Olympic Games will open in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in just two days, on August 5th.

Originally, I wasn’t super excited about this year’s Games, much less wanting to support them.

Rio Olympics - pinterest

Image Credit: pinterest.com

I knew my thoughts and feelings were a direct result of watching / seeing / scrolling through the constant news coverage.

The Zika virus.

The state of Brazil – Its government, etc.

All the criticisms of Rio – Delayed construction of Olympic facilities, raw sewage, etc.

Protests.

Those athletes deciding not to compete.

But, as the opening day has drawn closer, more and more commercials showcasing Olympic athletes have sprung up, everywhere, and my thoughts and feelings have shifted, ever so slightly.

I’ve always been excited to watch the gymnastics teams compete at the Summer Games. It started with my mom recording them on our VCR, and it’s continued to grow.

Over the years, I’ve grown to enjoy watching beach volleyball, softball,  swimming, diving, and a handful of other sports.

Despite all the negativity and criticism over the last several years, I’m proud to be an American and support all of the athletes who represent Team USA.

I plan to eagerly watch athletes Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Missy Franklin, and Dana Vollmer, compete for our great nation.

I know I have a bit of bias towards women, but I’m cheering for Team USA as a whole. Competing at the Olympics is symbolic of so many things, including hard work, dedication, determination, perseverance, and more.

I’m certainly not a world-class athlete, but I’m excited that so many of them are representing Team USA, as well as other countries around this little blue planet of ours.

Rio Olympics - youtube

Image Credit: youtube.com

What’s your opinion of the 2016 Olympic Games?

Has the news coverage affected your opinion at all?

Do you plan to watch the Olympic Games?

Do you have a favorite Olympic sport?

I’d love to hear about it!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

08.01.16
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Getting Personal #25: August Goals

Goals - quoteslike

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Several bloggers I follow do monthly goal posts, and I’ve always enjoyed reading them. It’s good to put yourself out there, to hold yourself accountable!

When I read Brey’s post this morning, I knew I wanted to start doing my own.

I commented on Brey’s post with my goals, so I’ll share those first:

  1. Build up some cash
  2. Thoroughly enjoy my birthday!
  3. See Star Trek: Beyond, Jason Bourne, and maybe one other movie with my husband
  4. Prepare for the start of my Trial Prep & Discovery class at the end of the month
  5. Finalize our first wedding anniversary getaway for November
  6. Read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child
  7. Keep blogging!

Between writing that comment and starting this post, I came up with a few more:

  1. Paint as much of the house as possible
  2. Hopefully move my furniture!
  3. Find at least five new recipes
  4. Start tracking our monthly expenses via spreadsheet
  5. Check out geekgirlpenpals.com (Thanks, A Girl’s Voyage!)

Here’s the breakdown:

Build up some cash

  • Last month, I got bit by the American Girl bug. I have two dolls – Stephanie and Molly – and I happened to find several American Girl groups on Facebook. Let’s just say I went a little crazy / overboard (Neither doll has made the trek from Mom and Dad’s to our house yet, either). So, in August, I’ve pledged to slow down on the personal spending and try to rebuild some of my cash.

Thoroughly enjoy my birthday!

  • My birthday falls on a Sunday this year – So that’s awesome. I worked on my actual birthday for several years, and I hated it. Finally, I decided that I would take my birthday off from work if it fell during the week, or a Friday or Monday if it fell during the weekend. This year, I’m doing the Monday route, and I’m so excited. The last few years, I’ve treated myself to a movie, solo, one that Al may not want to see. My plan is to go to LUSH at MacArthur Mall and then see a movie there. We’re (Al, me, and my parents) also going to Olive Garden for dinner on Sunday night – Yum!

See Star Trek: Beyond, Jason Bourne, and maybe one other movie with my husband

  • We’re hoping to see Star Trek: Beyond this week. Jason Bourne also looks very good. We are considering seeing Suicide Squad on Thursday night, but it may be later this weekend or next week. I have roughly three weeks before my fall class starts, so I’m very excited for the break!

Prepare for the start of my Trial Prep & Discovery class at the end of the month

  • I have a short break before my Trial Prep & Discovery class starts on August 22nd. It’s another on-campus class in Virginia Beach, but the class is held just once a week, on Tuesday nights. I’m really excited for this one! We get to learn about trials, the discovery process, and how you prepare to go to trial. I need to get my books and make sure everything is squared away long before the 22nd!

Finalize our first wedding anniversary getaway for November

  • Our first wedding anniversary is November 14th. Yeesh, how time flies! Al and I have been discussing where to go and what to do. We’ve been debating back and forth – Do we go away, or do something local? We probably won’t be doing a whole week off of work, but likely a Friday – Tuesday thing, since our anniversary falls on a Monday this year, due to Leap Year.

Read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

  • As much of a Harry Potter fan as I am, I was very skeptical about The Cursed Child. However, I’m going to bite the bullet and buy it!

Keep blogging!

  • I really enjoyed doing the July TV Show Photo Challenge! I had a lot of fun with it, and I’m so proud of myself that I posted every day for 16 days! Woohoo! I’m taking a break from daily challenges for this month, but I hope to do another one in September. In the meantime, I plan to keep blogging as much as possible – I have at least three books I want to read and review, plus house updates!

Paint as much of the house as possible

  • Al made amazing progress this weekend on the walls by our stairs and upstairs hallway. I was able to help a little, with finishing my final Legal Research project and all. We’re planning to get the paint for the four bedrooms tonight, and just go to town.

Hopefully move my furniture!

  • We haven’t moved much of my furniture because we’ve been painting, and our garages have been pretty full. So that would be nice to accomplish by the end of the month. Then we’ll be fully moved in, and my parents get two bedrooms back!

Find at least five new recipes

  • I want to pull out our new Crock-Pot and go to town, among other things. I have two recipes that I used years ago, but I want to push myself and find five brand-new recipes that will be healthy and tasty!

Start tracking our monthly expenses via spreadsheet

  • We just made our first mortgage payment! Wow. We decided last month to catalog everything in a spreadsheet, so we’ll sit down and start inputting every dollar.

Check out geekgirlpenpals.com

  • Thanks to her Snail Mail post, I want to check out this site immediately. I love writing letters and cards, so I’m excited to look at this site and possibly sign up to get a pen pal!

That’s it for my August goals!

I’m going to make this a regular thing – Do a “Goals” post around the 1st of the month, and then a “Recap” post at the end of the month. I’m excited!

Do you have any for this month?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂