I really am Smarter than a 5th Grader!

I was reading over some of my last posts and I realized that I often make LOTS of grammatical errors! My bad y'all!!!! I just wanted to address it so that everyone knows I typically do not proof read this blog. I just type and then post.

This weekend will probably be one of the biggest football games I have witnessed in a long time! It's the IRON BOWL! Which means... Alabama vs. Auburn! I am so excited! Alabama is undefeated and it's the first time in many years we actually have a chance of beating Auburn. We are heading down to Tuscaloosa on Friday and will be tailgating on Saturday. We don't have tickets to the game, but hopefully we might score some cheap ones (yeah right!) before the game. My sister always has a way of working the system and getting a cheap one (Don't worry it's all legal and appropriate!). So who knows!

Ok, I'm off to do some cleaning. Hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving! And good luck to those who will be making an attempt for some bargains on Black Friday! For the first time in a while, I will not be one of them!

My "7" List

7 Things I want to Do Before I Die:

1. Get Married

2. Have babies!

3. Be a grandmother

4. Travel, travel, travel!

5. Lots of mission work.

6. Live in another country. Not forever, but for a short time.

7. Have a large family.

7 Things I Can Do:

1. Paint (Like paintings, not walls)

2. Hair/Makeup

3. Plan Events

4. Procrastinate

5. Shop (I'm good at finding great stuff for a good price!)

6. Change a tire

7. Babysit. ( I love kids and I love to keep them! Unless they are bad kids.....)



7 Things I Cannot Do:

1. Food with weird textures or smells

2. 24--- The show ( I have tried several times, I just can't do it!)

3. Wake Board (I want to so bad, but something in my brain doesn't click with my body to get up)

4. Shop when I have no money to spend

5. Read in the car (I get motion sickness like an old woman!)

6. Grow my fingernails out. I have an awful habit of biting them or they just break.)

7. Sit on my bed when it's made. I hate it and I'm seriously OCD about it.



7 Things that Attracted me to my hubby: (Well I don't have a husband so I'll just say qualities I'm attracted to)

1. Obviously someone who loves the Lord. And they are passionate about it.

2. Someone who cares about and thinks about others. So I guess they aren't selfish.

3. Someone I can laugh with and doesn't take everything so seriously, but has a serious side.

4. Someone that everyone likes and he gets along with most people. Especially my friends and family.

5. A family man.

6. Someone who is adventurous and willing to try new things.

7. I need someone who is a guy's guy. I can't handle the feminine boys. No offense to anyone. I just need manlyness.

7 Celebrities I want to Meet:

1. Reese Witherspoon

2. Jennifer Aniston

3. Jessica Simpson

4. Brad Pitt

5. Patrick Dempsey

6. Sara Evans

7. Kimberly Williams Paisley (Kind of random, I know!)


**This was a lot harder than I thought I would be! I took out a section called "7 Things I say the Most." I couldn't come up with any!

I tag Sara, Amy C., Jessica G., and Beth Spray

Can I get a "WOOT WOOT!!!!!"

I have great news! I have a job! It's not what I was really thinking would come, but at this point I'm over the moon with excitement! Here's the story:

I checked my email earlier this week and had an email from my old boss at Student Life. Basically the summer months, along with December and January are very busy times around the Student Life office. She was asking me if I might could come in and help her out some during these next few weeks. But she wasn't 100% sure she would need someone. I told her yes and thought I might hear from her in a few weeks. Then a few days later I got an email from another girl in another department at Student Life. She basically asked me if I had a job yet and if I would be interested in coming and working in their department. Once again I said yes and we made plans for me to meet with them on Friday (yesterday) to discuss my schedule.

So I went in and met with the two girls I would be working under. Then I asked how lmany months/weeks she would need me. Well she told me it wasn't just a temporary job. They need me all the time! I instantly felt as if a huge burden was lifted off of my shoulders!

The job isn't full time, but it is about 30 hours a week. Which is actually perfect because there are so many other things I have gotten my hands into over the past month or so. God has taken care of my insurance and I'm not having to worry about that, which everyone knows is such a huge blessing! It's also going to work with my Children's Hospital Volunteer Schedule!

See I told y'all it would all work out! No need to worry ;) haha!

I have such a peace about this whole thing. The timing is perfect. I wasn't sure what I was going to do about the holidays. They are such an expensive time. It also takes so much pressure off about finding another job. I know I still need a full time job eventually, but now I do not have to be in a hurry. I think it was getting to the point that I would have taken the first job that became available no matter what it was. The only negative is the job is about 25 to 30 minutes from my house. This summer I spent a ton of money in gas, but now that gas has gone down so much, I'm not as worried. And I do LOVE working on that side of town!

So enough about that.... I have one more thing to share. On my last post I told y'all about my new driving rule of not going over 2RPM's. Well, the other night I was on my way home with my mom and a police pulled out behind me. I was going up a very large hill and I refused to go fast just because he was behind me. Well he ended up pulling me over, I guess because I looked suspicious driving about 20 when the speed limit was 55. My mom tried to encourage me to drive faster, but I was willing to risk it.

When he walked up to the window he asked me if I was nervous. My response was "because I was driving so slow?" He said yes and that I got in the other lane a little. I told him I just didn't go over 2RPMs and I'm not sure why I was in the other lane. His conclusion, "You must have just gotten policidice" (not sure about spelling). I guess when my mom told him we had been at church, he knew we couldn't be that big of a threat. He probably just thought I was crazy.

But anyways, I thought I was hilarious that he pulled me over for going too slow! I think the Morris police need some more excitement in their town!

Ramblings.

Side Note: I still feel like my last post was such a dreary one. I should have elaborated more on the fact that God has completely provided for me in every way possible during this challenging time. Every time I start to doubt, He completely shocks me! I really don't know why it shocks me anymore, because I know He always comes through with more than I ever expected.



I have really been pondering a few things lately. The first is that I think I have learned so many things about life lately. Things I never expected to learn. So I think that I'm going to write a book. I'm pretty sure it will be a best seller! The title I've come up with so far is "Living Life & Growing Up: The Things They Don't Tell You"



It's going to be from a Christian perspective and each chapter will be about different things I have learned over the past few years. One chapter is going to be about money/financial information. I really think too many people believe that finances aren't supposed to be worried about until you are out on your own and making your own money. But by then, it's just too late.

When you aren't making any money, you begin to learn how to truly stretch a dollar. These are a few things I have learned lately:



1. Don't ever let your car get over 2RPMs. This will save you mega bucks on gas. If you are doubting me, just try it! Now I must warn you though, if you have no patience, this is probably not for you. For most cars, only driving 2RPMs means that you probably will not be driving over 60 mph. But you will definitely get way better gas mileage. You have to really watch it going up hills and when you first take off. That's when you use A LOT of gas. And you will probably be the slowest person driving on the interstate.
* I have converted a lot of people to my new way of driving.


2. If you do not have self control when you go shopping, then DON'T go shopping. I practice my self control when I am making the decision to go to the mall or not. Once I get in there, I'm hopeless, so for me I just don't go.



3. Don't eat out a lot. And if you do, learn to eat at places with a dollar menu. Avoid Chick-fil-A. They are a great Christian company with semi-healthy food, but unfortunetely they are super pricey. So if you are saving money, just don't go there.



4. Don't go to Target. Ever. There is something about that store that you can't just walk in and walk out without buying anything. I feel like I have to purchase something if I go in there. And don't buy shampoo and stuff like that at Target. They are usually more expensive.



5. Find fun things around you that are free. You will be surprised at how many different things there are to do that do not cost money.



6. Learn to be giving with what little you do have. Many times, it isn't so much money but your time. We usually spend more money when we are bored and do not have anything else to do.



7. Learn to make a budget and develop the discipline to stick to it.

So that's all I have for now. And no, I'm not really writing a book, but I really am learning enough right now that I feel like I could.

I haven't mentioned something new that has come up recently. I am now a volunteer at Children's Hospital. I'm not saying it so you can give me kudos, I'm just telling everyone because 1. It's finally something new in my life and 2. I think I'm going to have a lot to share from this experience.
It has been about a three month process just to be able to go in and get started. Last Friday was my first day and I absolutely loved it! I'm working in Orthopedics. It is way more hands on than I ever thought. I basically assisted in putting on and taking off cast. I've never broken a bone, so I haven't ever really seen the cast process. For those of you who haven't experienced that either, when you take off a cast, it is a terrible smell! One mom had to walk out because she thought she was going to throw up. It's like really smelly feet times 100. Ugh, I just ate dinner and it makes me a little woozy thinking about it.
I was suppsosed to be a nursery nanny (which meant I would rock the babies), but the times they had available just didn't work out. I think that may be best for now though. Every three months we have the option of changing our departments so I will definitely be considering that again for the future. It's so easy for me to put myself in the place of these people and I get a little overwhelmed with emotion. So I think it's best to introduce myself into this environment through orthopedics first.
I can't wait to share more about it with everyone!

I think that's all of my ramblings for now though. I'm going to try and get in the bed at a decent time tonight.

I'm still here.

I'm seriously starting to feel like a broken record, but I'll go ahead and say it again "there still isn't any job news."

I know that God is doing something. I have no idea what it is, but I do have a peace about that. I'm currently reading/going through a study called "Becoming a Woman of Faith." (Amy, I went to find the "Becoming a Woman of Purpose" book you told me about, but stumbled across this one instead.) The whole book is exactly what I have needed during this time in my life. I'm learning so much new stuff and being reminded of so many things that we tend to forget when we actually need them.

"Faith" is definitely something I am learning a lot about right now:

-I don't want to be like Peter who had enough faith to start out walking on the water, but once he saw a challenge he lost faith and he began to sink.

Matthew 14:30

"But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid and began sinking."

I have definitely been seeing a lot of "wind" lately. I don't really feel like I've been myself because I have so much stuff on my mind. Not just the job situation, but all of the other things that come from not having a job. And I'm just trying to figure out my life right now. I am doing much better about just taking it a day at a time. I don't need all of the answers right now. Sometimes, it's a little more exciting not knowing. If I didn't have the rest of the world wanting to know what I was doing or why I wasn't doing what they think I should be, I would be a whole lot better.

I can honestly say that I am doing what I feel like God is telling me to do right now. And some days, it's so easy. But then there are other days, when I realize I have no job which equals no money... and then I get to feel a little stressed.

-Psalm 138:8

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Your Love, O'Lord endures forever- do not abandon the works of your hand."

I know that God has a plan for me. I do not know what all it is. Sometimes during these times, it's so hard to keep that faith and realize that even though we can't really see what God is doing, He IS doing something. I can look at my life over the past few years and it is so evident that God has had His hand in every opportunity that has come my way. I think one of the things that makes it hard is the fact that I thought I was called to work in the ministry. And by 'ministry' I thought I was called to work in a church. For so long, this was all I would really consider. Over the past year, my heart has completely changed. I have loved every opportunity I have had to work in a church, but my heart just isn't in that place anymore. I think that freaks me out a little bit because church work was way more predictable.

My major in college is Psychology and Religious Studies. Mainly because I thought I wanted to be a counselor or work in Girl's Ministry. But now, I just don't know. If I could have any job right now, I would be some type of Event Planner/Coordinator. The problem is that I don't have a ton of "real world" experience in that area.

-This is a prayer that I have been praying over the past few days (I didn't write it, I got it out of my book):

"No longer will I be concerned about what self wants, but about what Christ wants. When I pray I will not always be asking for things for my comfort and convenience but rather I will be seeking a place in God's will and asking for grace to stand where God wants me. I will not strive to show my love for God by the efforts of the flesh, but rather by the worship and trust of my heart. I will no longer try to show what great things I can do for Him, but will yield myself to Him so that He can show the world what great things H can do for me."

I think it pretty much explains itself.

All of this is kind of random, but it's just a small, small part of what is going on in my life right now. I hope it all makes sense. If some of you think I have fallen off the face of the Earth, I haven't.

I am in a constant state of surrender to God. Every day is a new day and every day has different challenges of its own. Even though I seem like such a Debbie Downer right now, there are some really great things going on in my life. I have amazing family and friends that I am absolutely loving getting to spend time with. I'm loving being a part of The Generation (College/Singles Ministry) and I am excited about so many other things.

Here are a few pictures from the past few months:

These are way out of order.....

Our Costume Party we had for the Young Professionals at church.

Jon and Kate came to B'ham. They didn't bring the "Plus 8" though :(

My sister's last home game ever and her Senior night. SO WEIRD!

I took Logan to the Galleria to ride the carasel. He is so precious and he melts my heart.

Some of the girls at the Costume Party. (Dorthy, me-the Lion, Mary Poppins-she took her hat off and her hair down, and the Scarecrow)

Our Group at the Costume Party. We didn't win, but we so should have. I love April's (AKA Dorthy) shoes. They are the modern day ruby slippers!

I have been playing in a Bunko group. I know it sounds very old ladyish but it's so much fun. It's 12 girls from the Young Professionals class. This month was "Bunkoween."

I had several ethnic babies in my swaddle that's around me.