Watch Fiasco

So, I don't save my receipts. I just don't. I LOVE to throw things away. I give things to Goodwill every 6 months. I just don't like excess. If I don't need it, I don't want it. Clean is good. Less is more. I don't save receipts.

I bought a watch 10 days ago at the Benton Target. It was a Mossimo watch and it was the only purchase I made that day. So, I immediately put it on my wrist and promptly threw away the receipt and box and other packaging. Watch is the one job that a watch has in life? To keep time! This watch did NOT keep time. Incidentally, I do believe I did purchase a man's watch. But that's another story. It was primarily meant to be an accessory anyway, but still. So, Matt talked me in to attempting to exchange the watch at Target. I also hate exchanging things. Really, really hate it.

So, I run in to the West Little Rock Target very quickly this morning. I find the same watch and I ask the nice man behind the counter if I can exchange with out my receipt. He says yes if I have the card I purchased it on. Of course I do! It's my Visa debit card- and I never leave home with out it! (Remember those commercials? Was that even Visa?) Anyhoo, I hand it to him. He scans it. I ask, "Did it come up in the system?" He says no. (I can only assume this is because I bought the watch in Benton.) So I give him my drivers license. He scans that. We move on. THEN, he picks up the watch that I wanted to buy instead of the Mossimo watch. Underneath the box is ANOTHER box. EMPTY. Someone had STOLEN a watch and put this watch box inside that watch box- make sense? So the nice man looks at me funny and says, "There is the box for the watch you bought!" Haha. I said, "Nope! I don't know where that box came from." He is quite suspicious of me at this point I'm sure. The new watch was also $5 cheaper, so I know he thinks that was my goal. Steal a watch, get a free watch, AND a $5 gift card. Believe me, I'm not smart enough to think of this whole scheme on my own. Anyhoo, I quickly finish the transaction and run to the door because I know at this point he's about to call security. And wouldn't you know, I left my debit card! He screams, "Ma'am! Your card!" I am so embarrassed.

Look people, none of this would have happened if I just had infinite funds and could purchase the exact same watch that Sandra Bullock wore in The Blind Side. It's what I remember most about that movie! And this is my second attempt to copy it. LOOOOVED it. That's all I wanted. My new $14 watch is a little bit closer to hers, but way big and I can't figure out how to take out the links. Help!

PVCC Book Club and Other Nonsense

Matt's dreams have all come true! Besides marrying me of course, Matt's dream in life has been to be a member of a country club mainly for the purpose of playing as much golf as possible. His dreams came true in April when we joined Pleasant Valley Country Club.

I've played golf probably 4 times in my life. Each of those times were during our college years (4 years ago) and hadn't picked up a club since. Anyhoo, we picked up a set of starter clubs for me and I've been learning how to use them from him. It's really fun! I am starting to make contact with the ball MOST of the time which is obviously a good thing. No one likes to swing and miss, you know.

They have a wonderful gym too. That's what I have used the most. My previous gym in Maumelle was a bunch of meat head men who would stare at me while I trained for the half marathon on the treadmill. (The previous sentence is no statement about the way I look or anything, but I imagine in a room full of men, staring at the one woman who is running on a treadmill is a natural reaction.) Anyhoo I say all this to say that I was completely embarrassed in there every day and I probably lifted weights 10 times in the year that I was a member because it was so STINKING embarrassing to go over there with them all. I LOVE my new gym. They built it last year and it is clean and no one cares what you're doing and I can lift weights and do squats and abs and stretch and life is good. On another note, why can I not make a muscle appear on my left arm? I should flex for you sometime, 3 Summitt Family blog followers. It's pretty amusing.

But, my FAVORITE part about the club is the book club. It's a group of women who meet once a month and talk about the book they read the previous month and have cosmos and eat dinner. Everyone is in their 50's and up so it was really neat to get their perspective on the book we read. Last month was A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemingway about his time in Paris from 1921-1926. It was really good. This month is To Kill A Mockingbird which I still need to pick up. But the month BEFORE was The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It is an AMAZING BOOK. In fact, tonight, I am going to watch the Swedish version with subtitles and I am super excited. I am going to attempt to make my way through the list of books they have already read- minus An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. Had I been a member of the group that month, I would have read it- borrowed from the library of course. But no way am I reading that bologna.

Anyhoo, I hope to catch up with them on this...

AN AMAZON KINDLE!!! I am pleading with my husband to purchase for me this precious (think Gollum from Lord of the Rings when reading "precious". Ew! Maybe I could read those books on my new Kindle!) for our anniversary so that I can download books and read from it. Favorite feature? That it can read to you- while getting ready in the morning or driving or whatever I may need to do. We threw around the idea of getting the ipad, but I really just want to read from it. I don't need another computer. The laptop I have had for 4 years that doesn't close and the screen is breaking and the wireless has to be disabled and reactivated just to get on the Internet works perfectly fine. :)

Ok, to sum it up, love PVCC- especially book club- love Matt -especially if he buys me a Kindle- and can't wait to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Swedish tonight.

That is all.

26th Birthday

2010 is the year that I have turned 26. How do I feel about that? I am not really sure.

You know, I know that I am happy and thankful to be here. I have a wonderful life- more than I ever dreamed possible really.

• I have the best, sweetest, hardest working husband in the world. He is my best friend and I can call him during his busiest time of year (rough estimate 8 times during the work day) and he always stops and talks to me. Or at least calls me back promptly. He has worked incredibly hard the last several months and it is all for us. I am so proud of him. I wish I had the words to express to him how much I appreciate his sacrifice.
• I have a wonderful family (both biological and in-law) and we are all healthy and happy. I am so excited this summer because we get to go on vacations with both of them!
• I have a home that I am proud of, that we worked hard to save and have the money to put down on. I work hard (after working all day) to keep it clean and neat and presentable and I am proud of it. I love that I am able to serve through hospitality and host our Lifegroup every Wednesday.
• I have the 2 best dogs on the planet. They have been my constant companions the last 3 months. They have kept me sane. They let me talk to them and rub them and play with them. They are ALWAYS happy to see me when I come home. Honestly, I would rather spend time with them than some people. Ok, maybe a lot of people. :)
• I have a job that allows us to save for our future and provides great benefits for me should something happen to me. And as I am getting older, I am realizing that it would be ok if something happens to me. I remember after September 11, my sense of being "invincible" went away. I am scared to fly, I worry when in high places, and I am nervous in general. As I am aging though, I see that these things are all ok. That this isn't my home anyway.

As I reflect on the last 26 years, I can see that it is truly God who has put me in this place. I am humbled and thankful for the blessings that He has given me, and I hope that the next 26 years I can use them to bless others.

Do I LOVE or HATE Facebook?

Let me preface this blog post by saying that I am the first one to admit that I, Lana Summitt, am addicted to Facebook. I have an app on my crackberry that if I am realistic I will admit that I probably check at least twice an hour. For the 16 hours a day that I am awake. That's a lot. I scroll through, I read status updates, I look at pictures, I "like" a few status updates, I write on a wall, respond to a message, etc. Here are my issues with Facebook.

Do we know too much about each other?
For instance, I went the Kojie Reunion at Harding Homecoming (and blogged about it a few months ago), and I felt like I already knew EVERYTHING about most of the girls I spoke to that morning. I knew who had babies. I knew who was expecting. I knew who got married and to whom. I knew who was still single. I knew about jobs and haircuts and new cars and going back to school. I knew it all. I can't remember one thing I "learned" about any of my friends that day. And some of them, I have not seen since graduation four years ago! And there are maybe some people that I know that I don't want to know everything about me. But I put it out there for anyone to comment on or "like". I put everything on Facebook and I don't even know what my privacy settings are. There is no telling who reads the stuff I put on there. *Note to self, check privacy settings after publishing post.

Should this be our main form of communication?
For instance, (and what prompted this post), Matt checked Facebook a few weekends ago only to find out that his brother, Joe, had become engaged! Now we knew he was planning the engagment (which he had asked us to be present for) and we absolutely love Tiffany so it wasn't a shock or disappointment to find out this information. Shouldn't they have talked to each other on the phone or in person or at least through text? And if I am making plans with someone, should it be through a Facebook message? (Big groups excluded. It may be just easier to do through Facebook message.) What happened to a phone call? And will we never write letters again? I realize that email is probably more to blame for that one, but who doesn't love receiving a letter in their mailbox? And HANDWRITTEN to boot. LOVE a good handwritten note.

As a blogger and a tweeter and a Facebook user, I guess bottom line I put myself out there. Things I don't like about Facebook, I also do regularly whether it be group messages or looking at pictures. I will say it is so helpful to be able to get on and look at pictures of friends who live in other cities (some 5 hours away in Nashville with a new baby boy I want to regularly see pictures of) and it's so easy, since I am on there all the time, to send a message or write on a wall to get a message across. I'm guilty too and I am an offender. I just wonder if personal forms of communication are gone with the wind...

Visiting the Kegleys

Oh my goodness. I got to go see my sweet friend Kelli Kegley and her sweet, sweet baby boy Connor not too long ago. Carrie, Lindsey and I made the trek over to Nashville. It TRULY wasn't a bad drive at all. AND, we stopped at a gas station on the way that sold Coconut M&M's. I bought 5 bags and gave some away to friends. WHERE ARE THESE IN ARKANSAS? Anyhoo. We arrived late Friday night and slept in Saturday. Saturday morning, we got to go see them!

Isn't he precious! Look at that sweet little perfect nose! Doesn't Kelli look beautiful! It was AMAZING to see her be a mommy. It comes to her so naturally. He has her undivided attention and she is great at taking care of him. Connor was such a sweet baby. He just slept and cooed and made cute little faces all day long.

This picture shows him doing what he does best. Being handsome.

Here are our friends! Rachael and KJ and Layla came to hang out with us! It was so great to see Rach. Layla was a hoot and entertained us all at dinner. I was so thankful to be able to make the weekend trip. I am so proud of Kelli and Matt! Connor Kegley is one sweet dude!

Sydney Bristow

I would like to share with you my obsession that lasted approximately 2 months. Alias- The Complete Series. I love Sydney Bristow! She is one of the coolest characters I've ever watched. It started when Jessica Dasher mentioned to me that I "might like it". So, I added all the seasons to my Netflix cue. I would watch 1 disc each night. (Each disc contains 4 episodes.) Hey- what's a girl to do during tax season? I quickly realized that Netflix could not satisfy my addiction fast enough so I added the 2 disc package to our Netflix. That still wasn't fast enough. Luckily, I talked about it one night at LOST club and our little friend Griffin Templeton mentioned that he had all 5 seasons at home. I got them the next day and my love affair quickly progressed season by season.

Sydney Bristow believes she is working for a black ops division of the CIA called SD-6. When her fiance is killed, she realizes that she does not in fact work for the CIA. She betrays SD-6 and goes to work undercover for the CIA where she meets her handler Michael Vaughn and they fall in love. Her dad also works for the CIA and her mom- who she thought died when she was 6 is a traitor to the US and a "bad guy". It's awesome. I loved it. And I'm sad it's over. I think next tax season, I will do the same thing with Felicity. Also J.J. Abrams, also recommended by Jessica.

Little Rock Marathon

So here we are! After months of training, Lauren and I finally got to run our half marathon! We bought these shirts the day before and they say, "This seemed like a good idea 3 months ago". We had all kinds of comments and we even had one dude take a picture with us! Ha ha

Name tag! People would yell your name as you went by. It was so encouraging.

Here we are towards the beginning; I think this was mile 2 or 3 I can't remember.

This next picture was taken after we had just come up a hill on a bridge. We beasted that bridge!

Here we are finishing. I did not see Matt and Zac but I guess Lauren did!


And here we are with our medals! (It makes it seem like the race went by pretty quickly but it certainly didn't! It was so fun! I can't wait to do another one! I would like to do several during the year. I just have to figure out where they are being held.


And here's my buddy. He was so sweet to come out and watch me all morning. LOVE HIM!


And our 2 cheerleaders together. I was so glad that Zac was able to come over and watch- and I know Matt was too!

I guess I can officially call myself "A Runner".