Monthly Archives: February 2017

02.10.17
by

Blog Awards #10: One Lovely Blogger Award! – Number 2!

one-lovely-blogger-award

Image Credit: Found on vinnieh

Many thanks to vinnieh for the nomination! He is the king of movie reviews!

Here’s the link to his post, where I was nominated:

The Rules:

  • Thank the person who nominated you and link their blog
  • Add the One Lovely Blog Award to your post
  • Share 7 things about yourself
  • Pass this on to as many people as you like
  • Include this set of rules

Seven Things About Laura Beth:

  1. I love watching shows like Law & Order: SVU, The First 48, and so on, but I can’t watch a marathon of them at night, especially right before bed. I replay the episodes in my head, and make myself scared.
  2. I am officially in love with / addicted to Stranger Things on Netflix. Holy cow, it’s so good!
  3. I don’t get sick often, but when I do, it’s bad/awful/terrible! I was just diagnosed with the flu and acute sinusitis – Yay! I’m camped out at home for the moment, hoping that I recover over the weekend and can go back to work on Monday.
  4. I hope to own all the Dear America / My Name is America / The Royal Diaries books, someday.
  5. I’m currently 14 chapters into John Grisham’s latest book. It’s been so long since I’ve read one of his books, and I forgot how addicting his writing is. It’s hard to stop at night when I need to go to sleep! I powered through four whole chapters in 45 minutes the other day.
  6. I don’t buy a lot of music anymore, but I definitely have the soundtracks to Moana and Hamilton on my wish list.
  7. I’m ready for consistent 60 and 70-degree weather! Not this ugly roller coaster ride! So many people around me have been sick!

Nominations:

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

02.08.17
by

Writing Prompt #44: “52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge” (Week 6)

Week #6: The City You Live In

I currently live in Portsmouth, Virginia. It’s a historic city, and, as new residents, we have a lot of exploring to do!

Since Al was born in Portsmouth and raised in Chesapeake, and I’ve been in the 757 since the age of 4, we mostly know our way around.

However, we’re always up for more adventures!

I took this photo from our bedroom window after the huge snowstorm in January.

IMG_2395

The first floor of the Children’s Museum of Virginia, in downtown Portsmouth. Al and I went on an adventure here in August of 2015. We both have fond memories of coming here as kids, but they’ve done a nice job with updating it!

I don’t have a lot of my own photos that showcase our city – Not yet, anyway.

city-of-portsmouth

Image Credit: City of Portsmouth

the-city-of-portsmouth

Image Credit: www.portsmouthva.gov

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard is located in Portsmouth, where it repairs and overhauls ships for the U.S. Navy. It has the ability to dry dock an aircraft carrier! Wow! It was originally named “Gosport.” There’s an amazing restaurant in the downtown district called Gosport Tavern. We went there for New Year’s Eve – Awesome food!

It was first established as a town in 1752, but its roots for shipbuilding date back to 1620! Given that we’re basically a stone’s throw away from Colonial Williamsburg (about 45 minutes), it makes sense.

There are several historic sites in our city. There’s the Olde Towne Historic District – The homes there are just gorgeous! They are always beautifully decorated for most holidays – Especially the 4th of July, and Christmas. Naval Medical Center Portsmouth has been in operation since 1827! Cedar Grove Cemetery was established in 1832.

The Commodore Theatre is another favorite – It’s a restored movie theater that looks and feels like a time capsule. They only show one movie for a limited run, with one nightly show and a matinee three days a week. You can eat lunch or dinner there, and it’s a great place to see a movie!

Portsmouth City Park is a beautiful space, and features the Pokey Smokey II locomotive. Al has taken his quadcopter there a few times, and I want to go back at least once or twice this year.

The city of Portsmouth is part of the reason that my family moved back to Hampton Roads. My dad served in the U.S. Coast Guard for 23 1/2 years. Among other active duty assignments, he served on the USCGC Bear, whose homeport is Portsmouth.

After several years and a few moves, he went into the Coast Guard Reserve, while his main full-time job was across the river in Norfolk. The Fifth District is headquartered in downtown Portsmouth, and the Coast Guard base is about five miles from our house.

I’m grateful that we found our house in Portsmouth, in a beautiful neighborhood. I’m excited to enjoy married life with Al, and eventually start our family here. We have several friends who live close by, and my parents are roughly 10 miles from us. We have almost everything close to us – The gym, grocery stores, restaurants, and a decent school district for a few years from now – and I’m very happy.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

02.05.17
by

Getting Personal #59: “Snow Cabin, Mora, Sweden” (Reblogged)

This photo is so beautiful. Personally, I love to see snow at least once per winter, which isn’t every year here in Hampton Roads. We did get socked with 7-8 inches one weekend in January, so I think we’ve had our fill for 2017.

Now, here we are, in early February, going back and forth between 40 degree and 70 degree temperatures! Ugh. No wonder everyone’s been sick recently.

Anyway, I wouldn’t mind taking a vacation and spending a week in this gorgeous cabin. Scandinavia is on my growing list of places to travel!

Enjoy the Super Bowl today!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

02.02.17
by

Book Review #28: “The Underground Railroad”

the-underground-railroad

Image Credit: goodreads.com

I first heard about this book when Colson Whitehead was interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air back in August 2016. It’s one of several podcasts that I subscribe to, and I’ve learned about a lot of books, both new and old, in this way.

It took me a long time to finish this book. Not that I was in a hurry, but it was a tough book to read.

Whitehead took one of my childhood thoughts – That the “Underground Railroad” during the time of slavery in the U.S., was a real railroad – and turned it into a fascinating, yet heartbreaking story.

I can’t say much in this review without giving away potential spoilers, so I’ll keep this brief. I enjoyed Whitehead’s world-building, how he created the characters, and how he wove historical accuracy into an alternative reality.

I imagine he researched for a long, long time, to make sure certain parts of this story were as accurate as possible, at least for the time periods that were being viewed.

There’s so much emotion packed into this one book – Fear, anger, sadness, joy, trust, love, to name a few. He weaves horror into relief, courage and bravery into fear, love into disappointment.

There’s a little bit of everything in this book – Pulse-pounding action, a dash of romance, lots of drama, and a bit of thriller.

I look forward to reading more from him, in the future. I need a few days to recover from this amazing, yet horrifying piece of literature.

5 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

02.01.17
by

Getting Personal #58: February Goals

february2015goals

Image Credit: Michael and Tara

 

Wow, welcome to February 2017!

Here are my goals for February:

  1. Begin my journal adventure.
  2. Finish my 2012 NaNoWriMo endeavor.
  3. Donate blood.
  4. Celebrate our 6,000th donated pint at our blood drive on February 4th.
  5. Finally see Hidden Figures!
  6. Buy a desk.
  7. Buy a shelving system for my dolls!
  8. Move my huge bookcase, books, and dolls from Mom and Dad’s to our house.
  9. Make at least three new recipes!
  10. Successfully co-host the PEO meeting on February 13th.

Here’s the breakdown:

Begin my journaling adventure.

  • I’m determined to do this!
  • I’m not setting a goal of an entry every night, but I want to get pretty close to that.

Finish my 2012 NaNoWriMo endeavor.

  • I’m doing it. I want to set aside at least 15 minutes for three nights a week. If I feel motivated to do more than that, I will!
  • My plan is to work toward the 50,000 word count. I have a ways to go, but I want to finish it, once and for all. This one has dominated my thoughts since Christmas.
  • I’m excited to share my progress!

Donate blood.

  • Our next blood drive is on Saturday. I hope to have a high enough iron level!

Celebrate our 6,000th donated pint at our blood drive on February 4th.

  • We are just 46 pints away from number 6,000!
  • This is so exciting. We have a big celebration planned!
  • Doing the math – That will be 750 gallons donated!

Finally see Hidden Figures!

  • I’m so excited to finally see this movie, this weekend!
  • The author of the book is from Hampton, and the movie is set at NASA Langley, also in Hampton. I see the sign for the base every day on my commute!

Buy a desk.

  • I’m ready to pick out a desk for the Lady Lounge!

Buy a shelving system for my dolls!

  • We received a generous Target gift card from family friends for Christmas, so I’ll be buying a shelving system for my American Girl dolls.
  • I’ve been looking around for the perfect size – At least 24 inches between shelves, and around that depth. I’m excited to finally display them properly!

Move my huge bookcase, books, and dolls from Mom and Dad’s to our house.

  • This is the last of my things from Mom and Dad’s. I’m excited to start to bring the Lady Lounge to completion!

Make at least three new recipes!

  • Recently, I’ve found a ton of mouth-watering recipes! I made Cajun Chicken Alfredo this past weekend – Yummy!
  • I’m excited to make something new – A delicious dessert – for the Super Bowl party this weekend
  • I also want to find at least one other recipe in Megan’s cookbook!

Successfully co-host the PEO meeting on February 13th.

  • As co-hostess, I’m in charge of refreshments for the hostess, in Virginia Beach.
  • Since the meeting is the day before Valentine’s Day, I plan to have several heart-shaped or heart-themed goodies!

Do you have any goals for February?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

02.01.17
by

Writing Prompt #43: “52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge” (Week 5)

Week #5: Something Someone Gave You

I don’t have a picture of it to share, but I’m grateful for the watch that I wear on my right wrist every day. It was my first Christmas gift from Al. From my recollection, there’s a tradition in his family that the first Christmas gift, when someone is newly dating, is a watch.

It’s a gorgeous piece, way more flashy and sparkly than I was expecting. It definitely shows signs of wear (half the links show copper from the finish being worn off), and I’ve had to replace the battery two or three times. But, it hasn’t broken completely in over six years, which is amazing given the number of times that I’ve accidentally dropped it!

I will continue to wear until the day that it completely dies and refuses to work anymore. To me , it’s a beautiful reminder of our first few months together, and how enduring our relationship has been.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂