Summary of My Summer

Here's a summary of summer events from my calendar. I gave Tagxedo a try in creating this. You could spend hours trying new fonts, color themes and layouts ... and browsing creations already posted in the gallery. The shapes intrigue me and I hope to get back to this site and give it a try.
Only a few calendar squares open before I head back to work. Summer break is coming to a close!

Summer Movie Date Night

I've been a bit off the radar with my blog this summer. It seems like all the calendar squares have been filled with people, projects and fun events. One activity we have enjoyed during the month of August ... $5.00 movie night at Regal Cinemas in our area. We've also received several freebies with our Regal card -- popcorn, beverages, $2 popcorn. This has made for a standing Thrifty Tuesday Date Night.
When we went to see The Help we worried about crowds since it had only been released a few days. We quickly drove by Taco Bell for dinner and when we arrived at the theater we discovered we were the first ones there. The total price of that date night for two including dinner, movie and popcorn: $17. You just can't go wrong at that price. Here are a few of the movies we've seen this summer:

Simply Delightful

Even though I greeted my first day of summer break bright and early, I felt energized to make the most of this glorious day. Awesome to have a summer-like day ... love the blue sky and warm breezes. It would be nice to have several days in a row like this!
I decided to celebrate by doing something I normally can't do while working the school year ... garage-saling! I looked on Craigslist and narrowed my search down to just our area. With the price of gas so high you just can't drive all over town looking for a great deal. Fortunately, there were quite a few right near my neighborhood.
I stopped first in an upscale neighborhood and wondered if the items would be a little over-priced but to my surprise ... they had the best bargains of the day. Everything in this picture priced out at exactly twelve dollars ... what great "entertainment" for a reasonable price. I think the best deal of the day was the sweater on the right ... Banana Republic in like-new condition = $1.00! I even picked up a few Christmas ornaments in an estate sale free box. These make nice additions to my Christmas packages!
The second thing on my list was getting a pedicure and manicure. There is nothing as wonderful as being pampered. It seems like the last few weeks of school my schedule gets crazy and I just don't attend to things for myself. Today I tried my first shellac manicure. I read about it on Pioneer Woman's blog and she had positive reviews about it so I thought I would give it a try. The polish instantly dries without chips or smudges and is supposed to stay on for two weeks. I now feel ready for summer.
Here's to a lovely summer break ... I think I'll celebrate with a little nap : )
Hope you are enjoying relaxing moments this summer!

Escaping the Heat Wave

The Portland area reached 106 degrees yesterday and predictions are that we will see that temperature again today. To escape the heat I picked up mom yesterday morning and drove over to Lincoln City. Whew ... the high there was 76 degrees ... a perfect day at the beach.
We set up the sun shelter and enjoyed a "picnic" lunch while delighting in the view of the ocean. After a long walk on the beach we drove down to Mo's for lunch, browsed through the Christmas shop and the outlet mall before heading home to the extreme heat. What a great escape! Hope you are finding ways to stay cool!

Summer's End BBQ

Saturday night we rounded up the family to celebrate the last days of summer with a BBQ.
Uncle Matt brought a new Star Wars "gadget" so we were honored to have Darth Vader(aka Colin) join us as special guest.
Our evening of fun included a great dinner, playing at Lafky park, enjoying our last s'more of the season and ended with a competitive game of Nerts ... which included hilarious conversation -- always a Germer family tradition!
Now as the season changes ... our work schedules, routines and the weather will change also. It's good to have summer memories ... and perhaps, a new tradition!
Credits:
Paper: Kris Myers Designs -ScrapArtist.com, Orange Stripe
Element: Nancie Rowe Janitz, Sunny Daze Mini Kit; Misty Cato, Date Bits 2- 2008
Template: Lina's Layouts Template 016
Font: American Typewriter, CK Ali's Writing, Eccentric Std, Pea Ink & Post, Pea KatieH