Friday Five

One – Blog Refresh

Away She Went has a new look! I purchased the template from 17th Avenue Designs and I’m really happy with how it turned out. I love how clean and simple it looks now. I also created a new travel page and organized all of my posts by country and then by specific location. I think everything should be working now, so if you see something wonky on the blog, please let me know.


Two – The Wire

Adam and I have been watching The Wire on HBO GO and it’s SO good. He’s seen it before, but I haven’t and I’m loving it. Right now we’re on the third season (there are 5 seasons). It’s set in Baltimore and focuses mainly on law enforcement trying to get a handle on drugs in the city. However, each season introduces a new Baltimore institution into the storyline - Season 2 was the seaport system, season 3 is city government/bureaucracy, I think season 4 is the school system and season 5 is the media.  It’s from the early 2000s so obviously the technology is a little dated, but the storyline and characters are so good.


Three – Thrift Find

My parents came to visit a couple weekends ago and my mom and I spent the day thrift shopping while my dad and Adam went to a spring training game. This striped sweatshirt was my favorite find. I got it at Savers for $6.99. I love it, but Phoenix is quickly getting too hot for sweatshirts so I don’t think I’ll get much wear out of it until the fall.  I couldn’t find the exact same one online, but this sweatshirt is similar if you like the style.


Four – To Kill a Mockingbird

Last June, on my 30th birthday (and golden birthday), I created a list of 30 things that I wanted to do in my 30th year. One of those items was to read 3 classic novels. A few months ago I found a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird at Goodwill. Like most of you, I read it in high school, but I don’t really remember it and I’m sure I mostly just skimmed. I’ve always loved to read, just not what others tell me to read.
Anyway, I finished reading it last week and it was so, so good. I’ll be honest, I thought it was going to be overrated. I know people love it, but do they really or are they just trying to sound well-read? No, they really do love it because it’s amazing. Atticus Finch is one of the best fictional characters of all time. If you’ve never read it or like me, haven’t read it since high school, I highly recommend adding it to your list.


Five – DietBet

Have you heard of DietBet? It’s a weight loss challenge website where you can bet money that you’ll lose a certain amount of weight in a set time frame. At the end of the challenge, everyone who met the goal splits the prize pot. For example, I signed up for the kickstarter challenge. The goal is to lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks. I joined Just Brandi’s (aka Mama Laughlin) challenge and it starts on March 27th. The prize pool is over $20,000 and there’s still time to join if you’re interested. I’m curious to see if it ends up being motivating or not…


I hope you all have a great St. Patrick's Day and a wonderful weekend. What do you have planned? We’re going to Las Vegas for Adam’s nephew’s 2nd birthday. We’re excited to see everyone and get away for a couple days.

         

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