I hate to interrupt you from the naming contest going on below, but guess who just got some of her professional wedding pictures back?

That, ladies and gentlemen, is what it looks like when you’ve got twenty attendants in your wedding party.

I’m kind of hidden, but if you’ll click the picture below, you’ll see me circled in the hot pink. I was going to jump higher for the picture but then I realized that it might make my hair fall.

And I think we all know what a tragedy that would have been.

P.S. – Katie’s Facebook status from last night:

“Cooked dinner tonight for my husband for the first time (I know, it’s been two weeks) and didn’t burn down our home. That’s what I call success!”

Right before I left for Katie’s wedding, I told you about receiving this darling thing as a gift:

I didn’t know it at the time, but that little piece of machinery was about to change my life. Anyone who has EVER ridden with me on ANY trip knows just how bad I am at directions. I’m awful. Truly, terrible. Worse than bad. ARE YOU GETTING THE IDEA HERE?

From the moment I plugged him in, I knew that Mr. GPS and I were soul mates. I’ve thought I’ve loved other boys before, but I assure you that I did not know what true love was until I met my little directional device.

Now, I know what you’re thinking — how can I be so sure he’s a boy? Well, I’ll tell you how I know for certain that he’s a boy:

1. He never wants to stop and ask for directions.

2. He has excellent manners; when I make a wrong turn, he gently asks me to “please make a u-turn.”

3. When I profess my true love to him on a daily basis upon entering my automobile and seeing him there waiting for me, he doesn’t say much back. Strong, silent type, you know?

Here’s the only problem we’ve run into so far: he needs a name. Now, I’ve got his “voice” set to British English Male, which the company nicknamed Daniel. I’m not necessarily against the name Daniel, but I think y’all can do better than that.

And so, I implore you: whatever shall I name my new boyfriend? Remember, he needs something that sounds British and masculine and strong yet sensitive. It needs to be something that goes well with both “I love you” and “ARE YOU SURE YOU’RE SENDING ME THE RIGHT WAY?”

To thank you for your help, I’ll be randomly selecting one commenter to win THIS:

It’s the new CD from Above Only, a Christian hard rock back that I happen to have a little inside connection with. All you have to do to be entered is leave your suggestion for a name for Mr. GPS in the comments below by midnight on Wednesday, July 1. I’ll randomly select a winner from all entries received, though the name I pick for Mr. GPS may be different than the entry I pull out of a hat. Only one entry per person please!

Well, my planned weekend of prep for Eg*pt, answering 283 emails, etc. didn’t go quite as planned mainly due to the fact that MY AIR CONDITIONER BROKE AGAIN.

Also due to the fact that there was a little showdown in the lobby of my rental agency on Saturday morning when they wouldn’t give me an estimated time of when it would be fixed.

Now, I’m a pretty nice girl. My friends would tell you that I’m fairly pleasant, I like to joke around, etc. But after several days of living in a house that was reaching 96 degrees each afternoon WITH PUPPIES TRYING TO LIVE IN IT, I had had enough.

Mess with me all you want, BUT YOU DO NOT TOUCH THE PUPPIES.

I’ll spare you the details other than to say that, after the receptionist told me I would not be able to speak with my rental agent (even after I offered to wait as long as it would take), I may or may not have whipped out a couple of Bon Qui Qui statements right there in that lobby as well as reached up to take my earrings off (Cate once taught me that, if you’re serious about something, you take off your earrings because it’s the international symbol of I’M ABOUT TO GO CRAZY ON YOU).

I unfortunately didn’t have any earrings on, which may have explained why the receptionist didn’t seem too fazed by my reaching for my naked earlobes.

It was an ugly two hours that included my going to print off a copy of the Tennessee Residential Landlord Act and, upon returning with it, informing the receptionist that I was just going to “chill” in their lobby until someone could take the time to talk to me. Shockingly, no one came to talk to me because, hey, I’m only one of their customers, you know. No big deal at all.

And then the receptionist started talking smack to me.

So, I did the very thing that I least wanted to do because I kind of like being independent and all: I picked up my cellular device, looked up “Mom Cell” and proceeded to call my Hot Shot of a Realtor mother to see if she’d mind going to bat for me. She tried speaking to the lady as a mother, first, but then that lady started talking smack over the phone to my mama and I could hear it from where I was sitting in the lobby and I wanted to hold up a sign for the receptionist that said YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW, MA’AM. YOU DO NOT KNOW.

And lo, my Hot Shot of a Realtor mother didn’t really like being spoken to in that manner. By this time I could actually hear my mother’s voice coming through the phone line and realized that, with one sentence, she was about to do the Realtor version of taking her earrings off over the phone:

“My name is —– ——-, my Realtor ID badge number is ———- and what is yours?”

I had a repairman to my house within an hour.

(But it’s broken again as of last night.)

(I don’t want to talk about it.)

After taking the last couple of Saturdays off for the wedding and vacation, it’s back to Survey Saturday!  This week’s survey is a little different than the regular ones, but it looked fun.  Remember to join in with your own answers in the comments or on your own blog, if you want!

Oh, and ’cause I keep getting this question, I get these surveys from ones that I’m tagged in on Facebook.  I don’t do each one I’m tagged for, but sometimes they’re fun.

A

Available: This is a very tricky question right now. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.

Age: 24… but not for much longer.

Annoyance: People smacking their gum.

Animals? Snuggles y Cuddles, obvs.

B

Best feeling in the world: Being in love.

Best weather: Not sure, but I feel confident in saying it probably won’t be the weather I find myself in about this time next week when my plane lands.

Been in love: Yes, but I think I’m just now getting an education in what it means to really love somebody.

Been on stage: Many times for Starlite, most notably the time I fell off a chair whilst sitting on it.

Boys: I like ‘em, but not as much as Cate does.

C

Candy: I don’t really like candy that much, but I have worn a candy necklace or two in my day.

Chinese / Mexican food: I’ve never had Chinese food; I’m not a big fan of Mexican food.

Cake or pie: Cake, chocolate.  I’ve never had pie.  I think.  Or did I try it sometime?

Continent to visit: Well, I’m heading to Africa this time next week…

D

Dancing in the rain: Yes, please.

Drop things: Most often?  Cuddles.  He’s a wiggly little thing.

Dog: Mr. Snuggles and Sir Cuddles, thank you very much.

Diamonds: I don’t know; I’ve never had one.  But I think they’re gorgeous.

E

Eyes: They change colors with my emotions.  It fascinated one of my boyfriends to no end.

Everyone’s got: A need.

F

First thought when you wake up: “Good morning, God.”  (I say it when I wake up each morning, so I can make sure to tell Him hi first thing.)

Food: I really love strawberries and bananas together in the summertime.

G

Greatest fear: Being alone for the rest of my life / being abandoned / something happening to the puppies.

Gum: Not a fan.

H

Hair color: Natural, now.

Happy: Sometimes.  It’s an emotion and I have a lot of different emotions.

Holiday: Thanksgiving, I think.

I

Ice cream: Could live without it, easily.

Instrument: I’ve tried to play the piano but……………..

J

Jewelry: I really want to buy myself a promise ring sometime soon.

Job: Excited to be coming out of vocational ministry for a bit.

K

Keep a journal?  Five: this blog; personal online one that’s hidden; handwritten personal one; handwritten one for future husband and prayer journal for a friend who is in a rough season right now.

Kissing: I like to think of it as my personal love language.  KIDDING.

L

Laughed so hard you cried: Cate, describing titles we could give to this season of her life.  You don’t get even half of how funny she is from the videos on the blog.  Not even half of it.

Last time slept: Not well.  I’ve been talking and crying a lot in my sleep lately and it wakes me up.

M

Movies: I’ve been loving Penelope lately.

Motion sickness: In cars or on boats, sometimes.  Can’t wait for that several day cruise down the N*le River in a couple of weeks!

N

Not ready for: Being away from the puppies for so long.

Name: I really love Ella, Ava, Grace, etc.

O

One wish: To take the puppies with me next week.  Are you noticing a theme here?  Mama is feeling really sad about it right now.

P

Perfect pizza: Just cheese, please.

Pets: STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME CRY, SURVEY.

Q

Quote you’re loving: “Do you want me to tell you something really subversive?  Love is everything it’s cracked up to be.  That’s why people are so cynical about it.  It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for.  And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong

R

Reality TV: I don’t even have my TV plugged in… haven’t watched TV in a very long time.

S

Song of the moment: She is Love by Parachute.  Constant repeat.

Salad Dressing: No thank you!

Strawberries: LOVE THEM!

T

Thunderstorms: Love them at night especially.

Trust: Still not sure if it’s a pre-requisite for love or a by-product of it.

U

Unpredictable: Me, sometimes.

V

Vacation spot: Quiet beach at night.

W

Weakness: Snuggles y Cuddles, especially when they know they’re in trouble.

Worst feeling: Realizing someone is about to stop loving you.

X

X-rays: I like the little vest they make you wear.  I pretend like I’m one of the Jetsons.

Y

Yellow: A very happy color, of course!

Z

Zoo animal: Do they have whales at zoos?

While I hate to tear you away from my thrilling bookstore post, I need to ask a couple of things:

1. Are you one of the people who tried sending an email to the info AT starliteministries DOT org or amybeth AT starliteministries DOT org addresses and had it bounce back to you? Have you sent an email and not received a reply? If so, leave me a comment here or email me at ministrysofab AT yahoo DOT com ’cause we’re having MAJOR email trouble again and I know a lot of you have been emailing us lately. Just so you know, we never just ignore an email or delete it without replying, so if you haven’t received a reply, there’s a problem. And it’s most definitely not your fault.

2. Did you order a Starlite sweatshirt and not receive it from the company yet? I know that some orders have shipped, but I’ve heard that a couple of people didn’t get theirs. Let me know so I can follow-up on that with the company who makes them.

3. Are you waiting for a reply to a blog email, Facebook message, etc. from me? You’ll get it this weekend. Promise. (P.S. – Don’t ever let my delay in responding to emails make you think I don’t love them; emails, messages, etc. from blog readers are actually one of the things that make me happiest in life. Like, really.)

4. Lastly, and most importantly: have you made plans to wear your hair in a side ponytail at least once this weekend to properly celebrate The Summer of the Side Ponytail? If not, you still have a few hours before the weekend begins to get your hair priorities in order.

Love, kisses and ponytail holders,

amy beth

Kimber and I found ourselves with a little extra time before her flight left last weekend so we headed to a bookstore in ATL to look around for a bit. As I was walking in, I started thinking about how I’ve never told y’all just how much I love bookstores so I decided to pull my camera out and document the entire visit for you.

Because there’s nothing more thrilling than a guided tour of Why Amy Beth Loves Bookstores.

Kimber and I split up not long after walking through the doors. I’m sure she had something important to read, but me? I was headed straight to my very own self-help section:

It’s a pretty thick book, but I doubt even it could help. I’m a lost cause. Well, except when it comes to toast. I make really good toast.

Except when I burn it. Whatev’.

When I came out of that section, I found myself face-to-face with my usual favorite area of the store:

I’m going to be honest with you though: I totally walked on past it without picking up even one book. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  It’s like I wasn’t even myself or something.

Which would explain why I picked up this book to thumb through:

It turns out it’s a novel, not a list of instructions on how to be single. I was a wee bit disappointed.

I got myself together, however, and headed to my other favorite section of the bookstore: BIOGRAPHIES! I’ve never mentioned this on the blog, but I love to read any biography I can get my hands on.

I spotted another book that caught my attention, The Five Love Languages Singles Edition. I’m really fascinated by the idea of love languages. In fact, I am the weird girl who routinely studies her friends to try to figure out what their love languages are so I can love them to the best of my ability. I had never seen a version of the book for singles though, so the little book and I found ourselves in a comfy chair.

I expected the book to just focus on the love languages themselves, but the author just starting hitting the hard stuff from the very first chapter. As I read his explanation of why we may desire certain types of love more than others because of things that happened to us in childhood, I suddenly had this whole new understanding of why I crave a couple of types of love more than the others. I didn’t get past the first chapter of the book because, by goodness, I had started crying right there in that bookstore and it had the potential to become the ugly cry and stat.

I got myself together and headed over to the wrapping paper section because I love that kind of stuff which is where I found this darling cupcake wrapping paper that I just had to show you:

And then there were the greeting cards, of course. I love to write cards and letters to friends. I’ve mentioned this before, but I actually set aside Sunday evenings to write handwritten letters.

Oh, and there was ribbon, too. I love ribbon. Can’t figure out how to really use it well, but still love it.

It was there on the ribbon aisle that I realized that I had neglected my highest priority when it comes to bookstore visits: checking to make sure each store has a large stock of my favorite book ready for the masses. Now, normally it isn’t that hard to locate this particular book on the shelves because — how can I put this subtly? — BETH’S HAIR IS HUGE. But I couldn’t find it this time, until I finally saw one lonesome copy tucked away in the corner of a bottom shelf.

Which I promptly moved to an eye-level shelf because, obviously, someone doesn’t know where my girl Beth (and her hair) belong.

Nobody puts Bethie in a corner on my watch. Nobody.

I feel like we haven’t talked in days, perhaps because all we’ve talked about is the fact I’m stressed out, have no working AC in my house (STILL!) and have potentially found the cutest sink in the history of singlegirldom.

Let’s catch up, shall we?

On my way home from my vacation last week that really wasn’t a vacation since I ended up working a majority of the time while I was gone, college friend Kimber and I headed towards Atlanta so I could take her back to the airport for her flight home. We made a few stops on the way though and by “a few stops” I mean I AM STILL TIRED.

First, Old Navy because they had their tank tops for $2 / each and I needed some to wear under my already-ultra-modest shirts for my upcoming Eg*pt trip.

We then made a little stop in Georgia to have lunch with Jenna from These Are The Days, a blog that is in my Top Five Favorite Blogs EVER. Jenna and I are about the same age and in a lot of the same places in life. The biggest difference between us? She’s way funnier than I could ever hope to be.

Proving that we were meant to be real-life-friends, when Jenna opened her purse to grab her ringing cell phone, I spotted a can of hair spray in her purse. A full-size can of hairspray in her purse, y’all. I knew our friendship was fated from that moment forward.

After a fun lunch with Jenna, Kimber and I headed to Atlanta. Our little lovebirds Eric and Katie had just come home from their honeymoon and — prepare yourselves — they actually wanted us to come over for a bit. To their new townhouse.  On their first night home.

I believe they win Newlywed Hospitality Award of ’09, no?

I apologize for the picture being so blurry, but I took it as soon as they opened the door and I got a little excited and I may have jumped just a wee bit.

We were immediately taken on a tour of the townhouse which meant that I, of course, had to take pictures of every little thing in their new home because that’s just what I do. I like to think of it as a coping mechanism when one of your best friends moves out of state. Plus, I knew y’all would want to see some of the wedding gifts. Obvs.

Let’s begin with the bathroom. I just love these little towels.

Oh, and look what I spotted nearby. You might remember it.

The kitchen was also a treasure trove of newly unwrapped gifts like this darling little thing:

And look at Katie’s apron!

I will admit I was a bit confused at the need for the apron seeing as I lived with Katie for an extensive period of time and can’t actually remember her cooking dinner more than twice. NOT THAT I AM ONE TO CAST STONES.

Eric explained the need for the apron, however, with one silent action:

I’m glad he’s man enough to wear it, ’cause I have a feeling he’ll be spending a lot of time in it.

A list of why I can’t find time to write a real blog post today:

1. I have a job offer that I think is going to be IT!!!  Waiting on a bit more info before I can make the final decision, but I’m feeling good about it.

2. Think I found a place to live if I take this job!!!  Waiting to hear back from the landlord.  I really, really want it to work out mainly because it has the most ADORABLE bathroom sink I’ve ever seen and y’all KNOW how important a cute bathroom sink is!

Have you ever seen something more perfect for your girl ABB?  No, I didn’t think so.

3. Ten days away from leaving for Eg*pt and haven’t found any proper shoes.  Suggestions?

4. My AC is still out at my current house.  It’s 92 degrees in it at this very moment.  And my rental company’s reply when I called a few minutes ago?  “We’ll get to it when we get to it.” Which I, of course, replied with “Oh, no problem, take your time.”

EXCEPT I DIDN’T SAY THAT BECAUSE, HELLO, IT IS HOT IN HERE.

5. I’m wearing a side ponytail today.  No real point in telling you that other than to inform you that I have hearby declared this THE SUMMER OF THE SIDE PONYTAIL because there is nothing cuter, you know.

That is all.

Too stressed to write a real post today, but someone asked me an interesting question so I thought I’d ask you, too.

If you could communicate your present need to God, but only had five words in which to do it, which five would you choose?

My five words?

Decisions: job? Moving? Relationship? HELP.

You don’t think He minds me using all caps on that last one, do you?

I came home from vacation to find that the air conditioning in my house was out therefore allowing me to sleep in 86 degrees all night which is perfect, you know, considering I’m only 12 days away for leaving for a country where the average temperature is 110 degrees a day.

Speaking of those 12 days left, I AM FLIPPING OUT. I had to get my final immunization this morning which was lovely seeing as there’s no way I’d rather start my Monday morning off than by having a dose of Typhoid sent into my veins while the nurse says “Now, this may make you feel a little bit sick for the next few days.”

Fantastic.

Anyway, I really am flipping out about the trip. Like, really, really flipping out. Like, calling Cousin Cate this morning and saying “DO YOU THINK IT’S WEIRD THAT I FEEL PANIC EVERY SINGLE TIME I THINK ABOUT THE TRIP?”

And actually, just writing that is kinda making me flip out. I think I’m going to go do something relaxing now, like writing out my living will so I can get my power of attorney form finished.

Yeah, no reason to flip out. No reason at all.