Alright - I have been on vacation for about a week now so I thought I should post something. A couple of posts ago I promised to upload a picture of my new car - well, here it is:

Wait! What's that!? That's not a Yaris!!! Hehe :-) Let's just say that there is a really long and boring story as to how this came about. The short version of it is that this is the car that I have wanted for a while now and things just worked out well enough for me to own a brand new one. I love it - what a wonderful vehicle and so much room! Already, Joe and I have been to Johnson City and Knoxville (2, 1-day trips). Johnson City was fun, we went there for lunch and came back. Knoxville was not so fun. We thought we would go stay at the Marriott Downtown and visit the Knoxville Zoo. Well, the zoo sucked! It was hot and miserable and it seemed like we were the only ones there. A lot of the animals were off exhibit and those that were on exhibit looked as miserable as we did. So, we came back.

When we got back, I took these cool pictures outside while I was washing my new Scion xB...



Yesterday and today Joe and I painted the shutters, washed the siding, and painted the stucco that skirts the house. Tomorrow (if my foot stops hurting from squatting and painting all day), I hope to build a new planter in the yard with 5 Colorado Blue Spruce and 10 Holly somethin-or-other. I will definitely have to post pics of how that turns out.

School starts Monday but I have already been studying. Yeah, I know what you're thinking - overacheiver...but it's not like that. Two of my professors have already sent syllabi and suggested we get started on some required reading. So I have been reading "The Epic of Gilgamesh" for my Humanities course. What an interesting read - suprisingly I have really enjoyed this "scholarly" book. Next I'll start on "Feud: Hatfields, McCoys, and Social Change in Appalachia, 1860-1900" for my Labor in the Modern South course. This is an advanced history class that the professor warns will entail approx. 225 pages of reading per week - how fun!

Anyways - I'll try to post some pics tomorrow if I get the planter done...