Brittany

Treasure Hunting

2011-07-10T14:24:00.001-05:00

I went yard selling today. One of the best treasures I found was this frame for my rooster picture.

I'm going to paint it and get a mat for it, but I'm so happy to finally find something.

My other option was to have a frame custom made and that. is. not. cheap! (this frame is almost 4 feet)

I'll post after pics when I'm finished!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Test

2011-06-17T09:43:00.001-05:00

I'm testing this from my new iphone 4! I switched to Verizon-which meant upgrade for me!

This is what I've been doing all week.....

They aren't mine, just keeping them for a friend.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bad Blogger

2011-05-23T14:48:00.000-05:00

I have been such a bad blogger recently. I was doing so good and then the tornado events happened and it seems like everything got crazy after that.

But hopefully I'll get back in the swing of things shortly!

Just an Update

2011-04-25T13:08:00.000-05:00

I mentioned our Easter Carnival and egg drop that we were having this weekend in my last post. We were planning/hoping for 1,000 and ended up having between 5,000-6,000!

It was way more people than we ever anticipated but everything went great!

We dropped 15,000 eggs from the helicopter.

We also had 4 Easter Services and had 1,077 people there (we are a 7 month old church plant, so this is way more than we thought)! God is good!

**Numbers aren't everything, but it does typically reflect the amount of lives that are being changed.

Weight Loss Challenge Week 3

2011-04-22T10:46:00.004-05:00

I've done really well this week even though the scale didn't really show it as much. I'm hoping it is going to all catch up at one time and I'll have a big number loss. Also hoping I'm gaining muscle while losing some F.A.T.!

This week: down 1.7lbs

Total: -5lbs

A drug rep brought us these today......

The fact that they have been here for about 30 mins and I haven't indulged myself yet, is a big accomplishment in my opinion ;) I don't think I will last much longer.

Tonight I am going to a simulcast for "Secret Church." You can read more about it here. It's at The Church of Brookhills here in Birmingham, but it has gotten so big that they are doing the simulcast so that more people can participate.

This is an excerpt from the website. I thought it was pretty convicting.

"Right now, around the world, millions of Christ-followers are meeting in secret places, worshiping in hiding, practicing their faith behind closed doors. If exposed, they face prison, torture, even death. Yet their devotion to God and His Word are unwavering, even heroic. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must learn to take our God as seriously as they do."

I'm really looking forward to it but also know that it lasts for up to 6 hours. Usually it isn't over until midnight. The fact that I'm even debating if I'll be able to make it until it's over shows how much I take for granted that I can openly learn and share God's word.

Tomorrow our church is hosting a FREE Easter Carnival. I know some of you are from the Birmingham/Cullman area so I thought I would extend the invitation. It's at the Cullman Fairgrounds.

I'll be there, but unfortunetly I've never met most of you so I will have no idea if you are there or not :)

This is an old ad, it is now at the fairgrounds and not Depot Park.

Happy Easter!

Weight Loss Challenge Week 2

2011-04-15T10:49:00.000-05:00

As of this morning, I have lost 3.3lbs this week. Even though I would love for it to be more like 10lbs :) I'm pretty excited about it.

Especially since we had small group at my house this week and one of the girls left this......

"Sugar cookie flavored ice cream with a big blue icing swirl and colored buttercream freckles."

My ultimate weakness= white birthday cake with icecream, so I knew I was in trouble with this. I ended up having to melt the remaining ice cream in the sink. That was hard because it is soooo good.

My goal has been to do some type of physical activity everyday this week. Monday and Thursdays are Bootcamp. So I'm trying to add something on the other days.
We recently got one of these. It is actually a better work out than I thought it would be.

3 down, 17 more to go :/

2011-04-13T20:15:00.000-05:00

As of about two days ago, it looks like I will be going here in November.

Weight Loss Challenge

2011-04-07T10:27:00.000-05:00

So this is my second time to blog in the past week.... who I am right now?????? And I'm blogging from home. I haven't blogged from home in forever!

This isn't a blog I really want to post but I decided to hook up with Maggie and some other people for what they are apparently calling the "Weight Loss Challenge."

Never in a million years, if my life truly depended on it, will I post my real weight. NE-VER (I'm just not that brave). But I will post how much poundage I lose.

Ugh, diets stink! But bathing suit season is coming up. It's only 8 weeks. I can go hard core (hard core may be a bit of an exaggeration.) for 8 weeks. I already have the working out part (well sort of, I still need to add some more to that), now I just need to get serious about the dieting. I would be much better if it wasn't for the drug reps at work bringing us lunch. So I'm digging deep, looking for some major self control. But if I had self control, I probably wouldn't need to diet in the first place :) Self control and self discipline are two things I'm really trying to work on right now.

I started working on self discipline a few months ago, starting with being in bed by 10 every night. It's currently 12:15am so I clearly have a ways to go on the self discipline.

I talked about losing weight here. I want to lose 20lbs by the time this is over. I think that it doable but it will be hard work.

I'm not sure how good I'll be at actually blogging about the "diet." But I'm really going to try and keep up with it so that I'll be accountable.

And why is it that when you are on a diet all you think about is food?

What I'm Loving....

2011-04-01T14:29:00.000-05:00

I think everyone does these on Wednesdays, but let's just pretend I posted this two days ago. I'm trying to fight against this blogging rut I'm in.

So here are a few things I'm currently loving:

.....I'm loving that it's almost time for lake weather!

Karley and I last year on July 4th

.....I'm loving that my friend asked me to come to the beach and do her hair and make-up for her wedding. It's a very small wedding so only family will be there. I'm also going to do something on the beach for them decor wise. It won't be anything big, but just something to add for pictures.

This is my inspiration

.....I'm loving this book I recently started. In my opinion its pretty deep, or maybe I'm just slow :) Either way, it makes you think. I am reading it pretty slow because I feel like I have to do a lot of processing. Maybe its not the book that is so hard to grasp, but actually applying what your reading to your life.

It talks about joyful thanksgiving, which seems like such an easy concept, but actually is much more challenging than I was expecting.

My only complaint is her writing is very poetic and I can't decide how I feel about it.

And another update....... I'm LOVING this.......

It has been going great! I have made it every week without missing a class. My only problem is it's only two days a week so I've got to do something else at least 2 more days. And the cold weather we have had recently has been less than inspiring. I'm pretty over it and ready for summer.

......I'm loving Dancing with the Stars this season! I wasn't excited about the cast at first but now I'm loving them! I watch way too much reality t.v. though and need to prioritze.

....I'm loving Twitter right now! I check it way too much! When I first started twitter a few years ago, I thought it was the dumbest thing ever. And now I'm a little obsessed. I follow way too many celebrities though. It's embarrassing. But apparently not embarrassing enough to stop. I've seriously considered having two accounts simply because I feel that people like Beth Moore, John Piper, David Platt, etc should not be surround by words from every reality star there is, all of the Kardashions, and the Bronx Zoo cobra.

......And the last thing on my list is Google Reader. I love it! I may not be blogging as much, but I'm definitely still reading way too many blogs. I recently introduced Maggie to it and she loves it too! It makes reading blogs so much easier. The only problem is that I never comment anymore because it's not really set up for that.

Writers Block

2011-03-14T10:24:00.000-05:00

So everytime I sit down to write a new post, I just get a huge writers block and nothing comes out. Once I do write something, I end up erasing it.

I'm going to try again later today though!

Today is the day!

2011-02-28T09:56:00.020-06:00

Bootcamp starts today! This is how I feel about it.....

Apparently we have to do a shuttle run?!?! Didn't I do that in elementary school? I practiced last night, so we will see how it goes.

Want to know what I'm dreading the most about bootcamp? (Ok, maybe not the most, but it's pretty high on the list-and the list is pretty long!) Sometimes they post pics on the official "Bodyshock Bootcamp" facebook page to promote bootcamp. I'm pretty sure a picture of me during class isn't what they need to get more people to attend.

I honestly don't think it's going to be as bad as it is in my head, but I want to expect the worst so that I might be a little relieved when I get there and it isn't some kind of new torture technique they might consider using in prison.

These are the ladies that will be attending with me:

Jecca and Kourtney

Cristi (This is a pic of her and her husband-which she likes to call him her "Italian Stallion." Haha! She's going to kill me!)

and April

I have a lot of fun with these girls, and I'm hoping I don't get the giggles during class!

And here are some pics of my weekend....

Friday night a few girls got together and went to dinner and then came back over to our house for cupcakes and a movie.

Maggie brought these. It's reasons like this I need bootcamp in the first place. So thank you Maggie :)

We also built a fire in our fire pit. It was a very last minute decision so all we had for fire wood was our Christmas tree that is still sitting behind our house and a phonebook. Not really the best idea I've ever had. We had a big flame but there was so much smoke you really couldn't get near the fire. My plan was to sit by the fire, drink coffee, and eat our cupcakes. Unfortunetly, between the smoke and the fact that I just can't figure out how to make good coffee, that didn't really happen.

We gave it a good attempt

I saw a cute wreath on another blog that I really liked. I tweeked it a little and here is the finished project.

Hope everyone is having a Happy Monday! I actually look forward to Mondays now because I really enjoy starting a new week.

Superficial Post

2011-02-25T21:37:00.000-06:00

This may be a post that not many people really care about, but I know I've talked to some of you about make-up in the past so I thought I would just share.

I've recently made the switch to bareMinerals make-up. And by recently, I mean last weekend. Several friends wear it so I thought I would give it a try. For the past year I have been wearing M.A.C.-which I love, but I was ready for something new.

Incase any of you are considering it, here are my thoughts so far:

1. It is way better coverage than I thought it would be.

2. It last longer than I thought it would. (As far as staying on all day)

3. It takes several days to get used to. At first I didn't think I was going to like it, but I'm starting to become a fan.

4. I'm curious how often I will have to buy it. I don't think it's going to last as long as my other make-up has in the past.

5. I LOVE the bronzer that comes in the starter kit.

So that's all I have so far. Let me know how you feel about it if you've tried it or if you have any other make-up suggestions.

I will say that I have heard it may be unsafe??? Apparently it's bad for you because you inhale the particals or something like that. I'm hoping it's not as bad as it sounds!

Finding a Routine

2011-02-21T11:15:00.001-06:00

So I signed up for this yesterday:

I'm really nervous! I have two friends, Cristi and Jecca, that encouraged me to do it with them. We went and ran/walked last night. (It's pretty sad when you have to get in shape in order to 'get in shape.') I haven't ran in so long. I did a little better than I thought I would, but no where near what I had been doing when I was training this time last year. Running is NOT like riding a bike! You don't just pick up where you left off! Dang! And I wish I was a natural runner that made it looked effortless. But I'm pretty sure my face and my body scream, "This isn't easy!"

My friend Maggie has been doing it (bootcamp) for a while and she looks amazing! So she's my current inspiration.....no pressure Maggie!

Something else I've realized is how crucial it is to be getting enough sleep. I am a night person. I don't always mean to be, but it seems that midnight gets here faster than I realize. So my new goal is to be in the bed by 10 on week nights. This is going to be a HUGE challenge for me. I think the first thing that is going to help is putting the iPhone down! (Did I tell y'all I finally got the iPhone?) I waste so much time on that thing! But I was in bed at 10 last night. I slept terrible, but that was due to the fact that I was on call for work.

I struggle with this a little, because I'm 26 and single and a blessing I have is not being on a strict schedule. So I feel like I should be staying up late and doing random fun things while I still can. But I have a real job that just doesn't let me be as random as I once was. But I guess that's just part of growing up????

My little sister is hoping to have a job with Student Life this summer. I found myself a little jealous of her wishing I could go back to those care free days where summer vacation is an actual reality and not just a past memory.

And just for fun, here are some recent pictures. All are from my phone because apparently I don't believe in using a real camera anymore. Or actually being in any pictures I take.

These are some cookies I made for my friend's baby shower. It was my first attempt with royal icing. There's a shadow, but it's an owl incase you can't tell.

These are the cupcakes. They were so yummy! (White cake with white icing is my ultimate weakness!)

Last night after we walked, we sat around the fire pit. It was such a gorgeous night!

And this is from our Valentine's Party. We just got several girls together and had a "party" at a local Mexican resturant. It was actually super fun!

Now I have to get back to work. This has been my motto recently......

Happy Monday!

P.S. We had 520 (I think that was it) at church yesterday!

Still Here

2011-02-08T20:49:00.000-06:00

I'm still here. Just not a whole lot going on that I find blog worthy.

Random note, I started taking vitamins this week. I'm hoping they will give me more energy. I'm lacking motivation to work out and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I feel exhausted all the time. Which is because work is crazy busy right now.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I'm open to hearing about them.

And just because I have nothing else to blog about, here are some random pictures that never made the blog. I just closed my eyes and chose these, so they really are random.

My friend Cristi and I At Mallory's Lingerie Shower

Side note: 10 years ago, if anyone would have ever told me she and I would have been friends now, I would not have ever believed them. There are so many people like this in my life now.

Does anyone else have friends like that?

Me and Karley when the Osborn's were here in July. The picture here is my inspiration for the rooster picture in my house. Karley painted it for me after seeing this one. It's in a few post back.

These were my eyelashes I wore for Halloween this year.

Mal and I at the Alabama Theater. They play Christmas movies here during the holidays. Mal had never seen 'White Christmas.'

That's all I have for now!

Bored at work

2011-01-17T15:32:00.001-06:00

I'm currently sitting at work waiting on 4:30 to get here (I have 2 hrs 9 mins to go). It has been such a long day, and I didn't even get here until 11!

When I leave here I'm meeting a friend to go to "Body Pump" class. The new year has inspired the typical weight loss/get in shape plan. Over the last year and a half, I have lost a total of 30lbs. Which is crazy to me.... 1) Because I can't believe I needed to lose that much weight 2) I just can't believe I actually did it.

I'm hoping to lose another 30 this year. And by this year I mean before the summer ;) Or at least 20 by the time summer gets here! I want to start running again, but its so cold outside and cold weather is not very motivating. So for now I'm going to get in the habit of taking the indoor fitness classes.

Usually starting a new year isn't that big of a deal for me, but this year I have found myself more excited than usual. Excited may not be the right word, but I am definitely anticipating what 2011 holds more than I have any other year in a while. There are three areas in my life that I'm really choosing to focus on:

1. My spiritual life/walk with the Lord.
     - I have been on an interesting "Spiritual Journey" over the past 6 years. A journey that has definitely been different than the one I would have chosen for myself. I'm sure I'm not the only one that can say that. I'm at a place now where the only way I know how to really describe it, is I am ready to go deeper with the Lord. You know the feeling you have when you start a new relationship? Where you are really excited about what's to come? That's where I am right now. I have no idea what's coming, but I feel like I'm ready.

2. Finances
    -I have seen a lot of people who feel like the Lord is moving them to do something, but finances seem to stand in the way one way or another. I know with God all things are possible, but I also know for me personally there are things I need to be doing/taking care of now so that I am doing my part.

3. Getting in shape
     -I've pretty much said all I'm going to say about this already in this post. But I'm more motivated than I have been in a long time.

One other area I'm working on is what I'm doing with my time. I'm the worst ever at volunteering to do things that I really have no desire to do. I stress myself out over things that aren't important to me. I know that sounds selfish, but the problem is I do things that other people enjoy doing or simply because I think there isn't anyone else to do it. But because I'm doing them, those people aren't. And in order to focus on these other 3 things, I need to evaluate what I'm doing with my time. So I'm definitely learning to say no to a lot of things. Or more importantly learning to keep my mouth shut and my hand down when asked to volunteer for something. And I'm learning that down time is ok. I don't have to constantly be on the go.

So that's just a little about why I'm looking forward to 2011.
And just for fun, here is a picture from 10 years ago.....
I'm on the front row, 2nd from the right.

Tonight we start our new small group, which I just remembered I'm supposed to be taking a dessert to! P.S. It's these kind of things that makes losing weight not very easy! Looks like it's probably going to be raw cookie dough to bake when I get there. I'm sure the ladies won't mind!

Happy Monday!

I'm getting old!

2011-01-13T11:03:00.001-06:00

You know you're getting older when these are your favorite Christmas

gifts :(

But this vacuum is awesome! Especially for hardwood floors.

2011-01-12T12:48:00.000-06:00

So one thing I have figured out recently is that furniture is expensive! And when it comes to decorating, I want everything done immediately. I don't like waiting.

So when I found out I would be moving, my cousin and I began making a list of things that we would need. I bought a couch from my friends that lived in our house before us. They were wanting something different and I loved the couch so I just bought it from them. Lucky for me it was in great condition!

This is the couch. I just got the picture from Ashley Furnitures website.

As soon as I knew we were moving, I began looking for furniture at yard sales and thrift stores (I call it "treasure hunting." And I LOVE treasure hunting!)

This was my first find. I actually found 3 of them. They came out of an old church that was close to our house. They were not much to look at but the guy sold me 3 of them for $10.

Before

After

I basically just sanded and painted two of them and they are now in our foyer. The walls in there are a chocolate brown. I'll put pictures of that up later.

For my next find I knew I wanted a buffet for our dining room. I found this one at a yard sale and negotiated with the man so I got it for $30. I was pretty impressed with myself. Especially since my negotiating skills are lacking!

Before

After

(It's a terrible picture but I painted it a smokey gray color and the hardware is white. I love it! Except that the drawers get stuck, any suggestions on how to fix that? They stick from the paint. The picture is thanks to Karley. I saw it in a resturant here in B'ham and she did a replica for me. I'm having a frame made for it. The size is not standard so I couldn't buy one. The lamp is from a yard sale but has since been moved and replaced and the red candle sticks are from the thrift store.)

I got this chair from my granddad's storage buildings. The same place I got this. So it was free.

After

(I know it's bold, but I loved this fabric!)

This is a table we put in the kitchen. There isn't a lot of room so it needed to be something small. My cousin had this so she painted it and recovered the chair. She also made a valence to hang on the window.

Before

After

There is another chair but it wasn't finished at the time I took the picture.

So that's all for now. There are still several things to show you, so hopefully I'll have those up soon!

Weddings

2010-12-25T00:41:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple pictures from the weddings.

Mallory and Lance's wedding was in a garden. It was the week before Thanksgiving so they were worried how the weather would be. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. Like could not have been more perfect.

The theme of their wedding was rustic. The reception was in a barn.

This is a picture leading into the garden. There were four trees that had candles in mason jars hanging from them. It looked so good once the sun went down.

Some of the honory bridesmaids before the wedding (They didn't have any groomsmen or bridesmaids stand up with them during the ceremony, so there wasn't an official wedding party). We hung this fabric outside the barn.

The fabric was my favorite part!

The gift table and "blessing tree." They did a blessing tree instead of a guest book.

Mal walking down the ailse. We did her bouquet too.

These are from Autumn's wedding. Her colors were black, purple, grey/silver, and white. All of the bridesmaids wore different grey dresses.

The bouquets mom and I did.

The reception was at a really fun resturant right down the street from the church. It has a ton of stuff everywhere for decoration so there wasn't a whole lot we could do there.

The food table.

Bride/Groom's table. He had cheesecake from Chessecake factory.

These are all of the pictures I have for now. I took some of these off of facebook. One of our friend's did Mallory's wedding and he did an incredible job (photography). Here is a link to some more of their pictures he put on facebook. The last three pics I put from Mal's wedding are his.

Where has the time gone?!?!

2010-12-21T13:32:00.001-06:00

To say I have been busy over the past few months is a major understatment. Seriously, this has been the busiest I have ever been. After the first of the year, I should be able to relax a little more.

So why has it been so busy? I'll start from the beginning.....

Back in July two of my best friends got engaged, one being my roommate Autumn. The other my friend Mallory. So because weddings are crazy expensive, my mom and I decided that we would help them with the wedding design/decor. I LOVE doing this, but it is A LOT of work.

So we began planning for a Novemeber 21 wedding and a December 18 wedding. Not a ton of time.

Since Autumn was my roommate and we lived in her house, I didn't think it would be appropriate to keep living there after she and Michael got married :) I'm sure they are grateful! So I began looking/praying about what I wanted to do. The Lord completely opened up a door/house and a new roommate (my cousin). So we moved into a house at the beginning of October. We lived together our freshman year of college so we knew it would work out. If we could make it in a dorm room together, we knew we would be fine with an entire house.

I LOVE our house! And I will be posting pictures soon.

On top of working crazy hours, moving, and wedding planning we were getting ready to start up our new church (Desperation Church), which is also a lot of work. But it is going GREAT by the way!

This is all I have time for at the moment. I'm working on getting pictures up of the past few months and I'm very excited to share them with y'all! Even though I haven't been blogging, I have still been keeping up with all of you!

P.S. This blog design needs major help too! It's on the to-do list!

I'mmmm baaaack!

2010-12-06T15:08:00.000-06:00

So I'm back. And yes, it has been A LONG TIME! I can't believe I haven't blogged in such a long time. There is a lot to catch up on and it is coming so hang in there a little longer!

A little more randomness.

2010-05-25T13:56:00.001-05:00

This weekend several friends and I headed to the beach for our friends', Jill and Ryan, wedding. It was a great weekend, but the trip was way too short!

We left Friday around lunch and got home around 3pm on Sunday. We had a few hours on the beach Saturday morning (enough to get a nice sun burn) but that was pretty much it. And I took no pictures. I have somehow managed to lose my 3rd charger to my rechargable batteries so my camera has been dead for a while. I'm determined to find it though!

Last night we had Bunko at my friend Jenny's house. This is my second year to be a part of this group. The group itself is full of random people that really don't hang out any other time but once a month when we play, but I love these girls! And there is never a dull moment!

Our theme for the night was "Red, White, and Blue" since Memorial Day is coming up. These were the glasses you had to wear whenever you got a "Bunko." Because I NEVER seem to win and I have terrible luck, I wore them proudly for about 30 mins.

Still staying strong in the glasses......

After I was booted from the winners table.

I ended up coming in second place and walking away with a super cute Picnic blanket that I think will be great for laying out on the beach or at the lake!

On a completely different note:

For the past 7 years we have had "The Generation" which is a service on Thursday nights that targets the 18-34 year old generation. However, we have had people coming that were all ages. Two weeks ago we had our last service. It was probably one of the best worship services I have ever experienced. I feel so blessed to have been a part of something like this.

Here are a few pictures I stole from a friend's facebook...

We usually run between 300-400 people, but that night I was told we had close to 700.

Past and Present Leader's at our church and at The Generation

They brought back all of the worship leaders that have been a part of the Generation from the beginning.

Worship Leaders from the very beginning to the very end.

Tonight we have a meeting for our new church that will be starting in September. I'm getting super excited about what the Lord is getting ready to do!

2010-05-12T11:55:00.001-05:00

I haven't blogged in forever. Not a whole lot to blog about. But summer is {almost} here so hopefully things will be a little more exciting. I'm heading to the beach next weekend for my friends', Jill and Ryan, wedding. Its a short trip, but its still the beach! Then two weeks later I will head back to the beach for a long girls' weekend.

I don't have time to watch a whole lot of tv, so for now I am trying to read more of this and this.... and less of this.

My dad says I'm not aware of the things that really matter that are going on in the world. I guess knowing that Larry King called off his divorce, or seeing pics of Dr. Phil's new granddaughter isn't going to get me very far in life.

Slowly but surely!

2010-04-19T13:51:00.001-05:00

SLOOOOWLY, but surely, I'm getting the pictures up of my vacation to LA and Vegas. I can't remember what day this is, but it was probably one of my favorites.

Lunch on the beach in Malibu

Ann and Keith (AKA: Ozzie)

Kar and I

I love these people!

After lunch we went over to Pepperdine to see Karley's dorm and decided to run around Malibu. These are some of the pics we took that day.

There isn't a whole lot I can say about the views, except that they were AMAZING!

Please excuse my poof on my hair... the wind caught it!

This is also the day I had my first celebrity spotting..... (Besides Heidi and Spencer from The Hills, but I don't really count them..... I saw them at the Apple Store.)....... Patrick Dempsey! I was pretty excited. He was outside eating at this little outdoor shopping center in Malibu. I played it very cool and didn't embarrass myself!

My pictures are scattered all over, so that is my excuse of why it's taking so long for me to get them up!

Finally!

2010-04-12T13:26:00.002-05:00

It's been a year since I moved and I finally finished my room this weekend.

My dad, mom, and I worked on this headboard all week and put it up Friday night. I'm very excited with the way it turned out! The bed skirt (which I made myself... not to brag!) is wrinkled. I tried ironing it and burnt a hole all the way through. Luckily it was on the end and I could cut it off.

Curtains

Thanks Maggie and Sis for helping! Even if you didn't know what you were getting yourselves into :)

Never a dull moment.....

2010-03-27T17:23:00.003-05:00

First let me say that I often wonder what Autumn and I's neighbors really think about us. I'm not sure who they think really lives here. In any given week, we will have a variety of 2-5 different cars outside the front of our house. Some stay all night and some just come and go. Between my sister, Autumn's sister, and all of our friends, we never know who might end up spending the night. And usually about once a month we have people over, which means there are always tons of cars lining the street.

Today we are cleaning because we are having people over tonight to grill hotdogs. That alone should be interesting because the last time I tried to grill hotdogs on my own was with Maggie in college, and it didn't go so well. Apparently you have to let charcoal sit for a while before you put your food on there. They were awful and I think if we would have eaten more than a bite to try them, we would have fell over right there from the taste of lighter fluid.

Soooo..... Autumn and I decide to leave the door open because it's so pretty outside. I'm on the phone with my mom and walk into the living room to find this.......

Autumn's cat (who I already dislike) standing over a snake. And it's still alive. I just started screaming. I let my mom go and Autumn comes in and starts screaming. So we are both just screaming and looking at each other. I think at this point we are both also standing on the furniture.

Autumn kept telling me to do something. I calmly told her I would not even attempt to get that thing out. So she grabs the broom and just holds it down and tells me to go get help. You would have thought we had some type of medical emergency. So what do I do? I run down the street looking for someone to help. No shoes on, just running down the street like a crazy person (I've never been good in situations like this. I always seem to panick). I ran one way and then noticed a man at the very end of our road in the opposite direction (4 houses down) cutting his grass. I've never met him before but I think Autumn has. Or at least they know her as the "lady that walks her dog at all ours of the day."

So I flag him down. At this point he looks a little worried like I might be in trouble. I just said "Sir. We have a snake in our house and need you to get it out." He said, "well... I don't really like snakes." I didn't really give him an option to not come and get it. I just told him to grab a bucket or something and took off back to our house.

So he comes over and gets it in his bucket. Then we walk outside and several other neighbors are walking down the street to see what's going on. His kids said they heard us yelling (4 houses down) over the lawn mower. I wanted to ask why they didn't come and make sure we were ok then, but I didn't. Hopefully we don't ever have a real emergency!

I know it's not that big, but I cringe to think where it would have gotten had I not walked in and found it. Ugh!

Crazy Cat!

Thanks to these awesome woods behind our house, we find all kinds of little friends.

We also have scorpions that like to make an appearance in the summer! I think last year we ended up finding between 25-30 of them in the house! Not all at once. One day I had one hiding in my comforter on my bed!

I've searched everywhere online and apparently there isn't a whole lot you can do about this.

Here is another little friend we found in the driveway last year.

Ok, I have to stop thinking about it now!

Happy Saturday!

Vaca Day 3-Better late than never!

2010-03-26T15:16:00.000-05:00

Day 3:

We spent most of the day on Tuesday on Rodeo Drive. I ended up buying my mom a really cute necklace, basically because it was all I could afford! ha!

Eating lunch at this place that was a major bust....

Ann and Kar

After lunch we shopped/browsed some more and then had dessert and coffee at the Beverly Wilshire (the hotel from Pretty Woman).

I want one!

2010-03-23T11:49:00.001-05:00

I really, really, really want one of these........

But I don't want AT&T. That's a problem. I've heard T-Mobile could be getting them soon. I can only hope!

And my cousin started a blog. I love her, so check it out!

Weekend Review

2010-03-22T11:24:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I just can't get motivated to finish posting my vacation pictures. So until then, here is how my weekend went:

Friday: I met some girls for dinner and then we went and watched Bounty Hunter. I thought it was good, but I might have been the only one in our group that really liked it. I think I just liked it because I'm a big Jennifer Anniston and Gerald Butler fan and I always try to find the good in movies if it has actors I like. Some call it crazy, but I'm calling it loyal :)

Saturday: I slept in and cleaned. It was so pretty outside, so I ran Saturday afternoon. Saturday night a friend hosted a Twilight party. I haven't read the books, but I like the movies.
On the way home, Autumn and I witnessed what we thought was a high speed police chase. They ended up pulling the guy over, so we turned around and went back to see if there was anything exciting happening There wasn't. We were disappointed.

I stole this picture from Maggie's blog.

Sunday: I basically went to church and layed around all day.

And that was pretty much my weekend.

Home Project

2010-03-17T13:34:00.001-05:00

I'm finishing up my vacation posts, but until then here is a little home project my mom and I did.

I took this with my phone, so it's terrible quality. But it's an earring holder. Basically just a picture frame with screen behind it. We just stapled the screen to it.

I hung mine behind my door so you really can't see it, but it's still super cute!

And I'm pretty excited because I finally got the stuff to make my headboard that I've been talking about for a year now. Hopefully it will get done this weekend!

Also, an update for the People on my "running." I have to use that term loosely because technically I don't think I really qualify as a runner. It's more of a jogger. I started out as a wogger (combination of a walker and jogger), but I have now advanced to just a jogger. The most I'm up to is almost 6 miles. Which is great I think, except that between Lacy's vaca to the beach and mine to California, we fell behind a little. We are supposed to do 9 this weekend. 9 miles! That seems like so much. I can run from my house to downtown Birmingham in 9 miles. It's a little crazy when I think about it. But we are determined. I think.

Everyone has asked me if I've become addicted to it. And my answer is "NO." Yesterday we ran through some trails and I loved it! We only did 3 miles though. Which, in my opinion, is just enough. Once this 1/2 Marathon is over, I doubt I will do another one. Honestly, it just hurts when you run/jog that long. So I'm just going to stay around the 3 mile marker. But this woman on the biggest loser couldn't work out and so she walked like 18 miles. So I thought, "If she can do 18 miles, then I can do 13." Right?

We shall see.

Vaca Day 1 and 2

2010-03-10T11:55:00.000-06:00

Day 1:

Sunday night the Osborn's picked me up at the airport and we went straight to dinner. We ate at Geisha House (I'm pretty positive it's one of Ashton Kutcher's resturants). I am not really a huge seafood fan, so it's kind of odd that I will eat some sushi. Not a lot of it, but there are some I like. I think that's mainly why people go here. They had their own version of a California roll and it was so good!

Karley and I at Dinner

Keith and Ann

Day 2:

Monday was a great day! I knew I was going to have to run while I was there, so Ann (who has been running for like 15 years) came with me. We were staying in Santa Monica so we decided to run along the beach. Our hotel was just up the street from the Santa Monica Pier.

We ran 5 miles and then met up with Keith and Karley at the Pier.

I didn't take this picture, but this is a picture of the whole Pier.

We really had no definite plans for the week (which I loved!), so that day we just decided to rent bicycles and ride through Santa Monica up to Venice Beach.

Venice Beach is not really somewhere I would spend tons of time, but it was fun to go.

I took this pic with my phone so it's not that great.

This is for real. They have these everywhere. Keith said his elbow was acting up again!

That night we went to dinner at a Mexican resturant. Not too crazy about the Mexican food in California. They don't have queso.

After dinner we had dessert at Shutters on the beach. Apparently famous people go here a lot. But we didn't see any.

Shutters

Here is Karley and Jonathon (who happens to also be from Alabama)

And that was pretty much Day 1 and 2.

Wednesday Weigh-In

2010-03-09T23:55:00.002-06:00

First of all something really random, as I type this I can hear my roommate talking in her sleep and for some reason that always freaks me out. I can't tell what she's saying though. But that really has nothing to do with what this post is about.

So....... my friend Maggie has been doing Wednesday Weigh-In for the past couple of months. Basically she is just tracking her weight loss on her blog (P.S. Maggie, you're linky thing isn't working. You might want to take a look at that!). And she has done so well. She's my current inspiration!

This week, she decided to put a link thing on there so other people can join in. She's crazy if she thinks I'm about to post my weight on the internet for all the world to see, but my roommate (Autumn-the one who is currently talking very loudly in her sleep) and I have decided we would participate since summer time is coming up. However, we will be keeping the numbers within these walls! We said we are making a "lifestyle change" not going on a "diet!" ha! We shall see!

So I might let everyone know how much we are losing each week, but a lady never reveals her weight, right??? Unless, you have major guts like Maggie! haha! I wish I were that brave!

I told Maggie if this thing goes global, I'm getting some of the profit!

Back to reality.

2010-03-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

Well I'm back from my trip and back to work today. I have tons of pictures coming soon, but the trip was so great!

2010-02-22T11:38:00.002-06:00

So I read this on a blog. There's alot more to this story but I just thought this was really good.

It's pretty self explanatory but it's a conversation between a little girl and her mom (the author of the blog I was reading).....

"Mommy, if Jesus comes to live inside my heart, will I explode?"

"NO!" I proclaimed as my ten children and I headed to the Nile River to be baptized yesterday.

And then I thought about it.

Yes.

If Jesus comes to live inside your heart you will EXPLODE.

With love. With compassion. With hurt for those who are hurting and joy for those who rejoice. You will explode with a desire to be more. To be better. To be close to the one who made you.

Sometimes I sing. Sometimes I dance. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cry. And usually I can't tell you why, other than to tell you that the grace and goodness of our God is so BIG that I can't contain it and it literally EXPLODES out of me.

Yes, my little daughters. Jesus is coming to live inside your heart. Get ready to explode."

Confession and other random pics.

2010-02-16T09:40:00.002-06:00

This is kind of embarrassing, but obviously not so embarrassing that I'm above putting it on here.
Remember when I did THIS, well apparently I never got around to mailing my hair that day, because I found it in my closet last night still in the envelope! I know that's so gross! But the hair still looked good. I wonder if there is an expiration date on that stuff? I'm still going to mail it though. I guess they will know when they get it if it can be used or not.

And something else that might be more than you want to know/see... here is the bruise I mentioned in my previous post. My leg looks very weird in this picture. Maybe it's the angle.

This picture is from a couple of weeks ago when my family went bowling for my dad's 50th birthday.

My mom and I

Sister, Mom, and Me

This is what happens when we try to get him to smile for a picture.

This is from our snow day on Friday. I got home thinking someone might be there to take pictures in the snow, but Roskee (my roommates dog whom I have a very love/hate relationship with) was the only one I found. And the neighbors were outside so I thought it would look strange if I was taking self-timer pictures by myself, so this is the next best thing.

Saturday night we got really cheap tickets to the Black Eyed Peas concert. I'm not a huge fan, but it was a fun concert.

My mom usually cooks lunch on Sundays. This is our Valentine's lunch.

Notice anything wrong with this pic?

A little cake type-o. We fixed it though.

And just because these kids are so adorable.... here are a few pics of Kaley and Logan.

This kid seriously melts my heart. He tried to convice everyone that his real dad's name was Christopher. Too bad he doesn't know anyone named Christopher. No idea where he came up with that!

Kaley practicing for her dance competition. She can definitely shake it! So much so though she gets in trouble some for some of the moves she comes up with! haha! The girl likes to shimmey!

Yea, I did it!

2010-02-15T11:09:00.005-06:00

Last week my friend April asked me if I wanted to run with her in a 5k they were having here in Birmingham. Lacy (my usual running partner) was out of town so I told her I would do it. Even though I have ran 4 miles and a 5k is only 3.1, I was still really nervous!

April registered early in the week but I kept waiting because I heard there was a chance of snow, so I really wasn't sure we would be doing it. It did snow, but we decided to tough it out. Because we are pretty hard core like that! ha!

This is what I woke up to on Saturday morning....... Needless to say, it was cold outside.

This was our house when we were leaving at 6am .

April and I on the way downtown.

My camera was set on a weird setting so this picture isn't very good, but this was right after we registered and got our numbers.

This was the little tag you had to wear to get your official time. I'm still not sure how it works though.

Our friend Toni joined us too. She waited until we were about to start to tell us she used to run track and set some records in Georgia. What?!?! I just told her I would see her when it was over :)

This was right before.

At the "after party." They had tons of free food and goodies. No idea why I look like such a spazz in this picture.

My time wasn't anything impressive. I really just wanted to finish. But I did run the whole time and I didn't come in last place! Or even close to it!

I carried my camera with me the entire time. I took a few pictures but not anything really worth showing. I have a huge bruise on the side of my leg where it was in my jacket pocket beating me in the side of the leg as I ran (I tied my jacket around my waist). The camera will definitely not be tagging along again!

Something to think about.

2010-02-09T22:44:00.000-06:00

"The area of sensitivity and tenderness in your life is probably the area where God wants you to experience your most victory, where He wants the biggest ministry to come from your life."
-Priscilla Shirer

This was in one of the videos from my "One in a Million" bible study I was doing. I can't help but think how many times the areas we struggle with the most (the areas "of sensitivity and tenderness") always seem to be the areas of our life we want to keep hidden from other people. We either don't talk about it or we try and pretend like we have it all together in those areas of our life.

So many of us have amazing opportunities to minister to other people through areas we've had experience in ourselves, but for whatever reasons we come up with, we don't.

Me included.

I don't think you have to air all of your "dirty laundry" or share everything you are dealing with between you and the Lord, but I am praying that God will show me what experiences he has taken me through so that I can share them with others.

Hope that makes sense.

Busy Weekend

2010-02-09T17:18:00.000-06:00

Friday night I got off of work and went home for a while. Then I went over to some of my good friends house-Chris and Lacy (When I first wrote that, I accidently put "Christ and Lacy") Lacy is my friend I run with. We hung out and watched the Biggest Loser. I have never gotten into that show, but this season I'm pretty much addicted to it. Minus all of the extra skin that everyone has, the before and afters are incredible. Very motivating and inspiring!

Saturday morning we had a mission day. Something I haven't mentioned yet is that I'm a part of a church plant that our current College/Singles minister is getting ready to launch (September 2010). I will have more to say on that later, but Saturday we went and did mission work in the community the new church is going to be in.

Saturday afternoon Lacy and I ran 4 miles! I am pretty excited about that. I'm pretty sure that's the furthest I have ever ran in my entire life. And... not to brag, but it was snowing. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves. But then the pain crept in and I had trouble walking. But I'm doing great now!

Saturday was also my dad's 50th birthday! My mom cooked dinner and my parents, sister, and I went bowling. It was what we call an "FFO" (Fun Family Outing).

Sunday night I went to a super bowl party at my friend's parents house. They have a big theater type room so it was great to watch the game on. And it wasn't the typical group of people I hang out with so I had fun meeting new people. I decided to pull for the Colts, but wished I wouldn't have. Obviously, I'm not a true fan.

The only negative is that my roommate and I had a wreck on the way there. She was driving. I feel the need to point that out. We were fine and her car was fine but the two cars infront of us were complaining with neck pain. I really do think they were fine though. I did jam my finger, but 2 days later and it's fine. Saying it was jammed may be a bit of an exaggeration.

The bad part is that I got the giggles while we were sitting there waiting on the police. I was trying to find the positive in the situation and I was cracking myself up. Like laughing uncontrollably to the point where I was crying. Everytime the cop came to our window I prayed that God would help me to get control of myself. Seriously.
We were already late to our super bowl party (and we had the buns for the hamburgers, so everyone was waiting on us) so I didn't really have time for the cop to question me or Autumn and possibly take us to jail. We were laughing so hard I don't think we could have walked a straight line. And Autumn had cooked stuffed peppers that were now all over the back seat (part of the reason for the laughter). We tried to save what we could so what was still edible, I was holding in my lap in an plastic football serving dish. No cover on it or anything.
It was quite the evening.

I have pictures from the weekend that I'll post later! For now, I have to get back to work. It's 5:15pm and we still have patients sitting in our waiting room :( I think it's going to be a long night.

Woo Hoo!

2010-01-29T10:44:00.000-06:00

So for those that don't know.... I lived in Dallas for 3 years. While I was there I lived with a family, that became a second family to me. We are all still super close.
So they (Keith and Ann) have a daughter, Karley, that went to college at Pepperdine in Malibu last year. For the past year and a half we have been talking about all meeting out in CA for a vacation. Well..... I finally booked my flight last night. So on Feb. 28 I will be meeting Keith, Ann, and Karley in LA. We are staying there until Friday and then driving over to Vegas for a tournament that Karley is cheering at (She cheers for Pepperdine). Then we will stay in Vegas for a night or two and fly home on Sunday.

I'm super excited! I'm working on a list of things I want to do while I'm out there. Since I've been running (Update on that: I ran 3.5 miles yesterday! I was pretty excited! It's a big deal because my goal was to be able to run a 5k and that's basically what I did yesterday.), I want to run while I'm out there. Ann is a big runner, so she said she will go with me. That is obviously not at the top of my "to do" list, so I'm open for any suggestions about fun things!

About Me

2010-01-24T21:29:00.000-06:00

1. I love baths. I take at least one every day. Usually before I go to bed. They help me sleep better. I have been known to stay in there for hours at a time, not everytime though. Most of the time I read.
The worst part is I leave the water running the entire time. Usually when the hot water is gone, that means it's time to get out. I know it's bad for the environment, but I do other things to try and make up for it.

2. I think I'm a pretty sensitive person and I'm not good at hiding my emotions. Not sensitive in the cry baby way. Maybe it's more tender hearted. I don't know, but I'm definitely not afraid to cry.

3. I have major OCD when it comes to people sitting on my bed when it's made. If its not made, have at it.

4. One of my guilty pleasures if Britney Spears music. Don't judge me.

5. Most of my friends make fun of me because I blog. Lucky for me, I don't care. And a lot of them read my blog. They think it's funny I read about people I don't really know.

6. I hate washing clothes.

7. If I had a choice, I wouldn't get any older. 25 is a good age for me. But it is soooo weird that I'm 25.

8. I'm currently learning a lot about trusting the Lord.

9. I have a lot of really good friends, who live all over the place.

10. I love my family.

11. I hardly EVER drive over 2 RPMs. (I think it's actually 2000) This usually means I average about 60MPH on the interstate. I'm definitely in the slow lane with the grandma's! ha!
-I do this to save gas, just FYI. And it really does work.

12. I love candles

13. I love fresh flowers.

14. Hydrangeas are my favorite flower.

15. I love movies-going to the movies and watching them at home. I especially love a good romantic comedy.

Ok, that's all I can think of for now. I reserve the right to add more later!

BONUS: These are currently a few of my favorite things:

Gatorade G2 (I've never liked Gatorade before, but I tried this and I'm addicted to it).

Dove Dark Chocolate

Weight Watcher Ice Cream Candy Bars

They taste like these...

But not as bad for you. And they are so GOOD!

This

These!

Home Improvement.

2010-01-20T21:02:00.000-06:00

So this was one of the things on my to-do list this past weekend.

I documented the process.....

This was the problem (not really a problem, but just a plain boring wall)

I saw something on the Oxygen show "Tori and Dean." I know it's not a great show, but for some reason I like them. Anyways, it triggered an idea.

So.... I went to the thrift store and bought 7 of these:

(Old picture frames. All of them are different.)

Then I bought some spray paint and painted them.

I broke several pieces of glass when I was trying to take them apart to paint them, so now I have to go and buy a few more frames just for the glass. But they were only $1 each , so I think I can spare it.

These are a few of them after I painted them. It was raining the day I did it, but I was determined to make it happen that day.

I was going to do 8x10 pictures but they are were more expensive than I really wanted to pay, so I had 5x7's printed out and got mats for them at Hobby Lobby (It endede up looking way better than the 8x10's).

The mats were white, so I just bought paint and painted them (Our den furniture is blue and brown).

While the mats dried, I hung the frames.

Then I added the mats and pictures.

A few of the frames

I acutally didn't paint this frame. I just put it in the center and left it as is.

I'm pretty excited about the way it all turned out.

In this picture, there is a frame missing on the bottom. I accidently knocked it off of the wall and it shattered. I guess that's what you get when you only pay a dollar for it. I went and bought another frame today and tried painting it tonight......but I broke the spray thing off the top of the can so I can't paint it until I get a new can of paint :( How I always manage to do stuff like that, I'll never know!

I actually painted it with a different can of paint I had and debated repainting all of them that color but opted to just wait.

I'm going to get ready for bed now. My alarm is set for 5am.

Productive Weekend

2010-01-18T00:07:00.001-06:00

I didn't do everything I needed to do this weekend, but I'm pretty excited about the things I did get done:

1. Yesterday I had to run 2 miles to stay up on the training program Lacy and I are on. I'm very proud to say that I ran the entire 2 miles. That is definitely the longest I have ran in a long time. And my time wasn't terrible. It wasn't what it needs to be, but it wasn't bad. (I promise I'm not going to talk about this all the time). But, I am soooo sore today! It's sad.

2. I finished a project I have been working on for our house. It turned out super cute! I'll be posting pics later.

3. I finished a bible study that I started back in August. I managed to turn a 6 week study into 5 months. This is probably the best bible study I have ever done.

A close second would be Beth Moore's "Believing God."
This was one of those studies that you feel like the person knows right where you are and is speaking directly to you. The Lord revealed soooo much to me through this study.
I had one video left to watch and I have been putting it off for a couple of months. I'm not sure why, but tonight I decided to watch it. It was EXACTLY what I needed to hear RIGHT NOW. I seriously believe the Lord lined that timing up for me. It was just so much that I needed to hear. I know I already said that, but it really was.

A couple of things I did that weren't on my "To Do" list:

1. I have been wanting to go bowling forever. Last night we finally got a group of people together to go.

2. I saw "Up in the Air." It was ok. I don't think I would recommend spending money on it in the theater though. Several people decided to go and see the Book of Eli (I think that's what its called). I didn't want to see that (I hadn't heard of it and had no idea what it was about. None of the girls really cared for it so I felt great about my decision). So I just went and watched a movie a different movie by myself while they saw that (And no, going to the movies by myself is not that big of a deal to me).

3. My mom, sister, and I went and saw 101 Dalmations on broadway today. I was NOT impressed with the costumes, but it was cute.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good about my weekend! I'm off tomorrow, so technically it's not over yet :)

FYI

2010-01-14T16:49:00.003-06:00

I have so much to catch up on blogging wise, but just haven't felt like it. But I wanted to post on mine and Lacy's working out...... we are still doing it. And we are still going at 5am. I went after work one day and hated it because I got home so late.

And..... we started training for THIS on Monday. Hopefully since I put it on here, it will hold me more accountable. This will be a huge accomplishment for me. I had "Finishing a 5K" on my "Bucket List" so this will definitely take care of that.

I told Lacy I am already winded just thinking about it! And we are doing the 1/2 Marathon just in case you were wondering. There are actually several people I know that will be doing it that day, so I think it will be fun--->;or as much fun as that can be.

Everyone kept saying that you will lose a lot of weight when you start running. If that's the case, Lacy and I have decided we will be sporting a matching sports bra and spandex for the race :) I'm just sorta kidding. I talked to another friend that did it last year and she said she didn't lose that much weight, so it looks like we might need a new plan.

Just a few things I have learned since Monday:

-I am not a runner (I knew this before Monday, but I'm definitely feeling it this week. Once in high school, we had to run suicides for cheerleading practice, somehow I finished first and you would have thought I won an Olympic Gold medal. I was very proud. That's about the extent of my running career though.)
-However, I can run farther than I thought I could
-Running takes a lot of self discipline
-I am way out of shape
-Old people are very encouraging. (They are the only people at the gym in the mornings.)
-So far, it does not get easier the more you do it
-It's kind of expensive to enter these things, but you do get a "free" t-shirt- which I will wear ALL the time if when I finish it!

That's all for now. Work has been incredibly crazy these past few weeks. I'm hoping it will slow down soon! I wish I could post all of the stories I have on here, but I think there may be laws or something against that. Just know that some people are CRAZY!

Catch up....

2009-12-29T16:32:00.000-06:00

I have lots of holiday pictures to post, but work is crazy so it doesn't look like it will happen this week. I'm working today and tomorrow and then heading to Gatlinburg tomorrow night. We have about 20 people going and staying in a cabin. I'm super excited!

I'll be back on Monday so hopefully I can update all of my pictures then!

I'm kinda glad the holidays are almost over so things can get back to normal.

Happy (early) New Year!!!!!

Christmas Week Kick Off!

2009-12-22T15:08:00.002-06:00

Last night we had our annual "High School Friends" Christmas Party. Every year we vary on what we do-which is usually go to someone's house or go out to dinner. This year we opted for dinner out because it's just easier.

It's so rare that people stay friends after high school, but I love these girls and we have so much fun everytime we get together.

Me, Rachel, Lacey, Lacy

Nicole and I

Me and Bre

Courtney, Rachel, Lacey

I'm missing the group pic from last night. My camera decided to quit working for it so I'm waiting on someone to post it on Facebook.

But here are previous years....

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2007 (AWFUL picture of me! ugh!)

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2005

I'm missing pics from years 2003 and 2004. Those days were pre-digital camera and facebook so they are harder to come by.

Tonight we are having some people over to watch Christmas Vacation. I haven't sat down and watched this whole movie in forever, so I'm pretty excited about it!

Merry Week of Christmas!

Happy May Saturday!

2009-12-18T10:18:00.000-06:00

I'm a day late, but Happy May Saturday!

Last year.

2009-12-09T21:37:00.001-06:00

Have you ever come to a place where you feel like the Lord is constantly showing you things about yourself? I'm definitely there right now. Unfortunetly, for now it seems like I'm starting to see a lot of areas that I didn't have as "together" as I would have liked to thought I did. I guess the only way you learn these things is by being thrown/placed in situations that force you to take a good hard look at yourself.
I'm hoping in the long run, this is a good place to be. But for now, figuring out things I really need to work on = not the most fun I've ever had.

Last week, Matt Chandler (the pastor of the church I went to my last year in Dallas) had one of these kind of moments. On Thanksgiving he had a seizure which ended up being the symptom of a brain tumor. This is definitely one of those situations you hope you never find yourself in any part of (the person actually going through it, the wife/husband of this person, the friend, the family member, the child, etc).
One day while I was feeding my blogging addiction, I read his wife's blog. She didn't say anything hugely profound, but to me there just seemed to be such faith in everything she had written. Then I clicked on a link to his blog. He had written several things he was thankful for- one being his wife. He quoted some of Proverbs 31. This verse stuck out to me the most:
Proverbs 31:25
"She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come."

I don't know if I will ever be at a place where I "laugh at days to come." That almost seems crazy to me right now. But I want to be at a place where I don't fear what God might be doing. And if something happens that isn't part of my plan or I where I'm facing adversity, I don't just fall apart. You can see from some of my past blog posts, that this is definitely a process in the making. But I am finally at the place where I am grateful for the experiences I have had- both the good and what I would consider the bad. But I have such a long way to go.

After I started typing this post, I saw this.

Week 4

2009-12-04T16:46:00.000-06:00

This week kicked off mine and Lacy's 4th week of 5:15am workouts! I'm actually kinda starting to enjoy it. The initial waking up process is terrible- I'm not a morning person! But once we get there, I'm good. We are working out in our church gym. My favorite part...... the old people that are there every morning with us! haha! They are so encouraging and unlike Lacy and I, they are morning people. They are always smiling and have something witty to say. Sometimes I don't know how to respond, so I just laugh and keep going.

Other Updates:

Thanksgiving: I somehow failed to take any pictures. I'm pretty bummed about it because my family from Houston was in town. But it was great!

Black Friday: Lindsey was in town and spent the night Thursday night so we could get up at 3am and be at the mall by 4. My mom met us at my house and the 3 of us went out to battle the crazies! Honestly, we got some good deals, but I'm not sure I will be gracing the Galleria with my presence at 4 in the morning next year. But I think I said that last year too.

I haven't felt well this week and turns out it's because I have broncitis. I have some meds. so hopefully I'll be good after the weekend. My mom and I are heading to Memphis tomorrow to see Emma in her Wizard of Oz play. We are pretty excited to see her! And tomorrow morning I have my first of many Christmas parties of the season. It's that time of year again!

1216 Family

2009-11-21T01:53:00.001-06:00

I had dinner with these girls tonight..........

This picture isn't from tonight, but I love these girls and miss them a lot! There's me, Maggie, Sis (my cousin), and Lorie.

This is what I call my 1216 family. When Sis and I first went to Alabama our dorm room was 1216. We never really referenced it as Brittany and Kristen's room, but everyone always referred to it by 1216. Well then our sophomore year Maggie and Sis moved into another house and Lorie and I moved into an apartment. Sis and Maggie's house number was 1216. So it just kinda stuck.

We have all known each other for ever, but became really close while we were at Alabama. Sis and I lived together our freshman year (Just a random story: the first day we moved into the dorm, our whole entire family came down.... grandparents, parents, siblings-probably close to 15 people- to help us move in. We definitely had more people there than anyone else moving in that day. I remember walking across the street to our sorority house after telling them goodbye for the "last" time and Sis quietly told me to keep walking and don't turn around. Obviously, I'm going to and I look and there they are all lined up and every single one of them are crying. For us, it was the first day of this big adventure, but it was like they watched us turn into women as we walked across the street. You would have thought they would never see us again. When in reality, they were all there the next weekend for the football game.)

Anyways, I have a lot of great memories with these girls. Every Tuesday night we had "family night" where we would all get together and cook. Then we would watch our favorite t.v. shows. When the show The O.C. came out, we all skipped class for 2 days trying to catch up on the first season. Not something I'm super proud of now, but at the time it was a lot of fun! Family night grew to be a huge group of people and Maggie's sister and her friends (who are still at Alabama) still have there own version of family night.

These are some of the members of the original 1216 family.

The first picture is from what we call "1216 Comes to Dallas." Which is basically when Sis, Maggie, and Lorie drove out to Dallas when I lived there (I guess that's pretty self explanatory!).

I have so many great memories with these people. I would name a few more, but it's 1:15am and I'm pretty tired! So that will have to wait!

We went to eat and then decided to go and see The Blind Side. We drove across town to the 10:00pm showing and it was sold out when we got there. That was a major bust. I did however, let them talk me into buying a really cute pair of boots that I have no outfit to wear with them. So now I have to find an outfit to match the shoes! And after reading over those last two sentences, I realize how extremely shallow that sounds.

Now I'm off to bed. My roomate is gone and I have officially freaked myself out like 100x! I don't know why, because she couldn't really do anything if she was here. Oh well, hopefully I will get some sleep!

2009-11-10T12:04:00.003-06:00

**UPDATE: After I posted this, I read this on another friend's blog. Such a great reminder.

So I need to brag on myself for a moment.... my friend Lacy and I got up and were at the gym at 5:30am this morning. I read in a magazine something about how you aren't supposed to tell people you are working out or trying to eat right because then you are less likely to do it. The odds are already pretty against us so maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it, but I'm really not sure it will happen again so I need to boast while I still can! (Side note: By 9:30 I was ready for lunch and a nap......it's not looking good!)

I feel like Lacy has an advantage though because she has a 2 month old baby. Why is that an advantage? Because the hardest part is the actual getting out of the bed process and when you are already up at 4:45 feeding your baby, the hardest part of the battle is already won.

Now, I do realize that I will have the advantage when I get to go home from work and take care of no one but myself while she is having to take care of a husband and 2 kids. So maybe we are even.

I've wanted to post an update on what the Lord is teaching me right now, but everytime I try I just get overwhelmed and don't even know where to start.

So to just sum it up very shortly..... I'm learning A LOT about faith and how to trust the Lord. I heard someone say on Sunday that "the opposite of faith is not doubt, but disobedience."

I'm also learning how to not worry or be anxious- which I think falls under the trusting the Lord stuff. I'm definitely a work in progress in this area and I have a long way to go. Taking every thought captive is a lot of work! I'm such an analyzer. I analyze every situation and over think waaaay to much! Then the over analyzing turns into fear and then it can just go down hill from there. So it's definitely a daily thing to just surrender it all over to the Lord.

I haven't posted pics of a lot of recent happenings so here are a few....

Several weeks ago we kicked off fall by havnig a camp out. The bonfire didn't make it in the picture, but the moon walk did! And yes, we definitely had a moon walk ran by a generator in the middle of the woods!

Stacey, Charli, and I in the moonwalk.

We also hosted a Pumpkin Carving contest at our house. We had about 40 people over to carve pumpkins and eat soup. I really just put this picture on here because I never did a post about where I live now.

This is the group of people that were left at the end of the night and all of the pumpkins.

Everyone carving their pumpkins in the driveway.

This is Autumn and I in are Bunk-o-ween costumes. There were only 3 of us that dressed up. And we basically just wrapped sheets around ourselves and said we were Greek goddesses or something like that.

This is my Halloween costume. It took me forever to decide, but I finally decided on a gypsy. It was actually really easy. I had a fake nose ring that everyone kept asking me if it was real---I don't think I'm hard core enough for a nose ring. I know you can't see the whole costume, but it was basically a skirt with boats.

I apologize if there are any misspelled words... I can't find the spell check since I updated my posting stuff.

Psalm 91

2009-11-05T09:26:00.000-06:00

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—

even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation."

A random little post

2009-10-16T12:48:00.007-05:00

I saw on another blog where someone did a post of the pictures they had on their phone, so I thought I would post some of mine. Some of them are very random!

These were some cupcakes that I made for a friend's birthday.

My dog

Me and Karley when I was in Dallas last summer

Um.... this is something I saw in a magazine and I gave it to my cousin, Sis. I thought it was pretty hilarious!!!

It says, "Hey baby, want to rub some lotion on my back?" haha!

I know yall are going to think I'm so weird! But I'm ok with it!

My sweet little buddy, Logan!

Logan and his dog.

Kaley

If I ever see something strange, I take a picture of it so everyone else can see it too. I thought this Easter Bunny was very disturbing. It's life size. I don't think any kid would want something like this.

Me and Dillion (one of the little kids I used to babysit).

Dillion, Kaydence, and Haley

Logan at the Zoo

Lake

My dad's father's day card. I had to add the "s" so it could be

from both me and my sister.

Kaley and Logan at the mall

Flowers

This is Eve. It was painted on a nursery wall at a church we helped out at. I just thought it was a little risque for the church nursery.

And here is Adam

The snake we/my friend Cody killed in our driveway.

Some more flowers that I really like the colors of.

Spiderman (AKA my friend Hunter)-My first experience at face painting at Children's Hospital

Catch-Up Post #1

2009-09-28T11:31:00.005-05:00

I have a lot of bloggging to catch up on. I have seriously been working on this post for like 3 weeks. Everytime I start it I get interrupted.

So the first post is mine and Charli's trip to the Alabama vs. Arkansas game. Last year, Charli and I got tickets from her dad's boss to this game and we got lucky again this year. He has really good seats.

On the way there, the weather wasn't looking too promising. We had so much stuff to take into the game-a whole roll of trash bags so we could use them to sit on, towels, rain coats/ponchos, etc.

Here we are walking into the game. (Last year we lost our car when we came out and spent almost an hour walking around looking for it-In our defense it was really late and really dark.) It poured until right when we got in and then it stopped. It ended up being a really good day after all of the rain.

These definitely came in handy! And I'm always looking for a good excuse to wear them!

Right before the game started.

Charli and I after getting drenched from the rain.

I think it's so funny how the people you are sitting by at the games somehow become like your best friends while you are there (Even though you have never seen them before and will most likely never see them again). I felt bad for the man in front of us because 1.) He was crazy 2.)I think he really was hoping to have some really energetic people around him who were as crazy as he was.

At one point we scored and he turned around screaming and looked at Charli and I. I think he was hoping we would bump chests with him or something manly like that. We didn't though. The best part was when he is standing up raising his hands to try and have everyone else stand up with him. Everyone just kind of looked at him and kept watching the game. Then something exciting happened so we stood up for that. I looked at this man and he had a grin on his face-I really believe in his heart that he thought he was the reason all 80,000 or so people in the stadium were standing. Poor Guy! He had his son with him too. The son basically stayed facing the opposite way in a fetal position because he was so embarrassed by his crazy father.

Then the lady on the other side of me was a grandmother that had brought her little grandson with her to the game. He was probably 7 or 8. She and I talked a little but nothing meaningful. She didn't get my name or anything like that, but for some reason she trusted me to watch her grandson while she went to the bathroom. I know I'm pretty overly cautious about a lot of stuff, but I could have been a crazy too and walked out with her grandson. Maybe I have a trusting face or something.

Anyways, Alabama won and it was a lot of fun!

I hate titles.

2009-09-21T13:45:00.013-05:00

I feel terrible today. My throat isn't hurting, but it's definitely not feeling normal. My head hurts and I'm scared I am getting sick. Normally if I don't feel well or if I have any type of pain I do not try and keep it to myself. I'm pretty quick to let everyone know. And usually it isn't anything serious, but this isn't me just being a little dramatic. I really do feel strange. Hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow and feel better.

My body is a little achy, but I'm thinking it might be because I did this last night:

It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. The funniest part was that I was doing the video while my roommate laid on the couch watching me. She was my motivator :)

I saw an advertisement for this the other day:

I would love to go! My Grammy used to take me and my two cousins when we were little. We went every single year, but I haven't been in forever. We may try and get a group of girls to go.

Here are some pictures from this past weekend. It was my friend Charli's birthday and another friend of ours. Our celebration was not quite as eventful as it was last year, but it was fun hanging out with everyone.

Autumn and I at Mellow Mushroom for the party

April and I (She is expecting a baby boy, Levi, in December. I'm making her baby shower invitations and I'm super excited about it!)

This is one of the cutest familes ever! Josh and Lauren and their sweet baby, Dillion. They are fairly new to our ministry and God has done a lot in their lives over the past few months. I love them and can't wait to see what else the Lord has in store for their family!

Me and Mal

Dillion
Several weeks ago I got the idea in my head that I wanted my bangs to be shorter. I saw a picture of a friend who had really cute bangs and I wanted some. Every once in a while I go through this phase where I want bangs, but then when I get them I always regret it. They are so annoying and they never look as good on me as they seem to on everyone else. (FYI: I had real full out bangs until 9th grade! haha! It was a big deal when I let them grow out!)

So one day I just decided that I would cut them myself. I was kinda in the middle of an "emotional moment" and decided that bangs might make me feel better. Um... they did for about 5 mins and then I remembered how annoying they are and I was over them. So for the past few weeks I've pretty much worn them pulled back every day. Hopefully they will be grown out very soon.

Here is a random picture of me at the beach with the shorter bangs. This is pretty much the only time I have worn them down since I cut them.

Ok, I'm leaving work now and heading to bunko.

FYI

2009-09-19T14:07:00.000-05:00

My sister started a blog.

http://cpelfrey.blogspot.com/

Not quite as exciting as me, but I have high hopes for her!

Baby Shower and other randomness.

2009-09-15T19:42:00.008-05:00

This past Saturday we (our College/Singles ministry at church) hosted a baby shower for a lady in a women's shelter here in Birmingham. Autumn, my roomate, has a huge heart for this kind of stuff and she got everything together. We had cake, punch, presents, and everything else baby shower.

Some of the little girls that came to the shower. (We definitely left there way more grateful for everything we have).

The whole group with the lady we had the shower for. She was so grateful for everything.

Some of the great gifts that she got. Even though the guys didn't get to go, they gave money and gifts to help this sweet lady out.

How cute is he?

Roxy, Jenny, and I. (Jenny just moved in with me and Autumn for a month or so while she is getting ready to buy a house).

And this has nothing to do with the baby shower, but this is what I cooked for dinner tonight-Enchiladas! No idea what got into me.

And Autumn (who makes fun of me for blogging) requested that I put Rosco and Kitty on the blog.

Kitty (AKA Satan. Seriously, this cat looks nice but is very mean).

And here is Rosco. AKA: Roskee. He's quite the DIVA. If he was a real boy, he would be the one that gets made fun of on the playground and all of the other kids give him wedgees (no idea how to spell that) and push him down.

FYI: Autumn felt like a bad mother after seeing these pictures of Roskee and she trimmed the hair around his eyes..... I'm defintely not ready for a dog like I thought I was :)

Beach Pic.

2009-09-14T12:04:00.005-05:00

This is sad, but here is the one decent picture I have from the beach. And I didn't even take it. I stole it off of a friend's Facebook page.

This is at The Red Bar in Seaside (It's right in between Panama City and Destin). They have amazing food! There are only 5 or 6 things on their menu, but I think between all of us we were able to try everything they offered. It was all soooo good! I'm not a big fish person, but there's was amazing! (Or maybe my taste buds have changed and I do like fish now- I'm thinking I should try it again).

It's a fun place to go too. There are kids there, but I wouldn't recommend taking them-It's very crowded and very loud! Expect to wait a while too. But once we ordered, our food was seriously on our table within 10 mins. I guess that's one of the perks of not having that many options.

A picture of some of the girls. When we first got there it was a down pour,

so this is after all of us had been soaked.

A Moment

2009-09-10T22:50:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have one of those "God moments" that you just know you will never forget? I definitely experienced that this weekend.

Like I said before, our Beach Retreat was amazing. It was one of those weekends where almost everything that was spoken seemed to be directed right to me.

These past few weeks God has done a lot in my life. There have been a lot of things I don't understand and I've definitely played the "why Lord?" game quite a bit. I feel like I have been on a roller coaster of emotions and even though it's not always easy, I'm at a really good place right now.

Several weeks ago I heard someone speak about us being living sacrifices. He mentioned how as humans, we have the option to lay down our lives on the alter for God to do what He will with them. But we also have the option to pick ourselves up, turn around, and walk away.

For a lot of people, me included, the problem isn't laying my life down.... it's laying it down and keeping it there. So many times when things get hard I tend to pick myself up and question if all this is really worth it (in my heart I know it is, but sometimes it really is a struggle).

I watched a little girl try and give blood last week at work. She tried to fight it the whole time. She would stick her arm out and just when the nurse would get close to her, she would jerk it back up and tuck it under her other arm.

I'm not one of those people that tries to make every situation into something super spiritual, but I couldn't help but think that that is what I've been doing with my life lately. I lay a certain area down, and then right when it doesn't go like I think it's going to or I start to question what the Lord might be doing, I jerk it right back up. Or when I feel like I'm losing control, I try and take matters into my own hands.

I've been battling with this for months.

Friday night in our first service, I was really challenged to just lay it all down. Our college/singles pastor really encouraged everyone who felt like they needed to, to go down to the alter. I haven't been to an alter in a long time and it was very intimidating to have to walk down in front of everyone. Especially when I always sit in the very back and had to walk past everyone I knew.
And you know there are people wondering why you are going down and what it is that's going on with you. We've all done it before.
*Why is it that we feel the need to try and make people think we have it all together and we aren't struggling? I've been doing a lot of that lately.

So before I can even make it to the front the tears just start coming. So now, not only am I walking in front of everyone, but I'm a blubbering mess the whole way there. I just sat there and cried. And when I felt like I could get composure enough to walk back to my seat, I got up. I realized once I got back that I didn't really even pray or anything while I was up there. I just cried.

I think I experienced some of what this verse talks about:
Romans 8:26 (The Message)
"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. "

****Note to the people: I'm not really sure what the whole "pregnant condition" thing is all about. But it most defintely isn't the part of the verse I'm relating with :)

All I could do was stand there and try to pull myself together. I was having a moment where I really needed to feel God. Just hearing someone tell me that the Lord is always with me wasn't enough.

So I look up and I see my dad walking towards me. (For some reason I always want to be brave in front of my dad. I know he doesn't expect me to be, but I also know that he doesn't like to see me cry and see me hurting.....especially when it's something he can't fix and make better. I think dads are just like that with their little girls/24 year old daughters). So I try and pull it together for my dad because I know he's about to hug me. But as soon as his arms closed around me, I lost it. And I just stood there for what seemed like forever and cried while he hugged me.

I really felt like the Lord lined that moment up. He couldn't physically reach down and hug me so He gave me the next best thing. I think I needed it way more than I ever knew.

I'm back.

2009-09-10T15:21:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm back from the beach and back to work this week. Our Beach Retreat was amazing. I have a lot I want to say about what the Lord is teaching me right now, I just have to find the time to sit and write it all down. And my computer at home is doing something very crazy, so who knows when it will happen.

Until then though, here is a poem I read today- I thought it was very challenging:

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
[Sir Francis Drake]

Slow day.....

2009-09-03T15:33:00.002-05:00

It's been a very slow day at work today, so I've had a lot of time to blog and get some other stuff done.

One thing I've been working on is my packing list. Most of my friends think it's so weird that I make a list of everything I need to pack. But I think it's just necessary! I don't forget anything because I have it all written down. And packing isn't as time consuming because I don't have to think about it. Pretty much everything that goes in my bag will be written on the list. And then I can take the list with me wherever I go and I won't forget anything when I'm coming home. It's pretty smart if you ask me!
FYI: I'm not as OCD as this makes me sound.

Here is my packing list.

But.... since I had a lot of extra time today, I decided to vamp up my list. So here is the new and improved packing list :)

And I saved it to my computer so I can just modify it as need.

(I told you I had a lot of extra time today!)

An update for the "People"

2009-09-02T11:40:00.007-05:00

Work is going great! I still love it! Our office stays pretty busy which (in my opinion) makes for a fast day. And I love everyone I work with- that is such a huge blessing!

The other day, I had this 4 year old little boy ask me if we would be giving him a shot. I told him, no because we only take blood. We don't give shots.

He responded very confidently with "well actually..... I think I just want to keep my blood today."

Haha! So many cute kids!

On a different note, I'm getting ready to leave for the beach this weekend. The Generation is having our annual Labor Day Beach Retreat. This is the 3rd one I've been on and I love this trip!

And because every good blog post has pictures, here are some pictures of where we are staying.

San Destin Resort

The plan was to leave early Friday morning, but we are actually leaving as soon as we get off of work today. (Side note: That's one reason I'm glad I don't have kids yet. If we want to pack up and leave early for the beach, we can. We don't have to make a lot of different plans and work around schedules. No offense to the mom's out there, but I've seen what it takes to leave for a vacation with kids. It's not an easy task!)

I'm so ready for this trip. I'm excited for the whole beach aspect, but also for the worship services we have. They are always amazing! David Jett (he was on staff at Gardendale and then the pastor of the church I worked at in Memphis) will be speaking. Everyone who knows him, knows what an incredible man of God he is. I'm super pumped that he will be there!

You know when you are at the place where you just really need to hear from the Lord?...... I'm definitely there.

Hopefully I will take some pictures of the weekend. However, my camera hasn't seen the outside of my purse in over a month.

Another exciting aspect of the weekend is that Alabama football will be starting! I love getting together with everyone to watch the games!

I think that's really all of the updates for now. The Lord has been showing me A LOT lately. Hopefully I will have time to share some of that too.

Hope everyone has a Happy Labor Day!

P.S. The Herb Garden.... hasn't happened yet! haha! shocker!

I want to start......

2009-08-21T13:35:00.002-05:00

an herb garden.

Do I know anything about herbs......????? NO.
Do I know anything about gardening...??? NO.

But I think it will be fun.

So I'm open to any words of advice :)

A much needed reminder.

2009-08-04T22:05:00.007-05:00

Someone shared this with me today:

"the Lord often chooses a wilderness experience for us because His goal is to make us more dependent on Him.
The problem is once we leave the wilderness, we become independent of Him again and go our own way.
We must remember that the wilderness was leading us to abundance, yes..... but more importantly, abundance in Him."

abundance: overflowing fullness

Very fitting.

A week in the making.

2009-07-29T19:05:00.014-05:00

So I've really been learning something over the past week or so. Trusting God is like a constant work in progress (I think I believed it was more like riding a bike---once you seem to accomplish it in one area, it's just something you always know how to do---I'm starting to realize I was wrong). Or at least it is for me.

I think the more we trust the Lord, the easier it gets....but why is it so easy in some areas, but so hard in others?

For the past few years there have been certain areas of my life that I have just had to completely surrender to the Lord. It took a long time, but I finally just gave it up and turned it all over to Him. God has blessed me in these areas more than I EVER imagined.

I've experienced so much joy over these past few years. And especially these past few months. For a while it was that joy that you only experience in the desert- I think that's the kind of joy you really have to choose every day to have.

For the past few months, I have experienced a different kind of joy. It's that joy that you just can't deny. The kind that just seems to just radiate from within.

This week I completely let Satan steal all of that joy from me. The sad thing is that he really didn't have to work that hard for it. I kind of just handed it over, almost without even realizing it. And then I did a great job of making up excuses of why I was feeling the way I did. None of which were the truth.

Too bad just when I think I have it all figured out, I quickly realize I do NOT.

I let the enemy plant a thought of insecurity and then I just let him run with it. It's crazy the places our minds can go.

Then that insecurity turned into worry and that worry turned into fear, and I completely let fear control all of my thoughts and actions. Fear makes you do and think crazy things sometimes.

It was miserable.

Thankfully last night, through lots of prayer, the Lord really began to open my eyes and I was able to take all of those crazy thoughts captive. But of course Satan just kept attacking all day today. I'm learning that trusting the Lord is really something you have to choose to do.

I don't know how to end this, I feel like there may be more I want to say, but for now I'm just going to stop and say that there really is so much freedom in trusting the Lord.

Blogging Slacker

2009-07-24T09:15:00.004-05:00

I've been so bad about blogging lately--not because nothing is going on, but because there has been so much going on.

I'll start with the most exciting thing.....
I copied and pasted this from my facebook profile:

"Relationship Status:
In a Relationship with Matt Morris"

I've been wanting to post about this for quite a while now, but it was one of those things that I've gotten to tell most people so I haven't really gotten around to it.

I'm going to tell about how it all happened eventually (I've started on the post but haven't finished it), but for now here are some pics.

Here is Matt... he's amazing!

This picture is from July 4th weekend at the lake.

This is from this past week when I was visiting him in Louisville (where he lives). We were playing golf--well he was playing, I attempted one hole. It didn't go so well. For some reason I don't have very good club to ball contact.

The new job is still going great! I love the doctor I work for and everyone else that I work with.

Hopefully I'm going to get better about my posting.

Quick Update.

2009-06-21T16:08:00.003-05:00

I know my blog has been neglected lately. I did most/all of my blogging at work when I worked for Student Life and now I haven't really had the time. But today I was determined to make it happen!

Update on my new job: I LOVE it!!!! I just finished up my first week and it was way better than I ever could have hoped for. In my last post about the job, I said that I really think this position was a much better fit for me..... it definitely is. God is good and knew what He was doing!
The doctor I work for is incredible! And I'm working with kids all day. It's pretty fast pase with not a lot of down time-which I love. Working at Student Life I would just be sitting there for hours at a desk and the day would move so slow. I'm having to learn a lot of medical terminology, which is quite funny because I'm also having to learn how to spell a lot of medical terminology. I'm not so great at it yet. Because I'm working for a gastrologist, most of the terminology is in regards to "mother nature" calling, so I'll spare you all the medical words I have learned so far.

As far as the rest of my life goes, I don't think it could get any better! I'm so happy right now! There is more updating to come.... hopefully sooner than later!

P.S. I finally wrote about my pictures that I posted in the last post.

Murder Mystery Dinner Party

2009-06-15T22:31:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday night Autumn and I (mostly Autumn-I was kinda preoccupied ) hosted a murder mystery party. Autumn found a website where you can buy them. It was soooo much fun and I highly recommend it for anyone who is looking for something fun to do with a group of about 15 people.

The theme of ours was a Mobster Wedding Reception. Everyone has a part and you have to come dressed in character (you get an invitation with all of that info on it before you get to the party).

The punch and cake table. We made a bride and groom's cake. (The more you get into it, the more fun it is!)

Bride's Cake

Groom's Cake

Leah & Andy (The Bride and Groom)

Leah was the victim. We outlined her body after she "died."

2009-06-15T22:13:00.001-05:00

Me and April

This was my family photo.

Mallory (Trashy mother of the Bride), Me (the outcast sister), Leah (the good sister that got all of the attention), Marcus (the rich Mobster dad)

The whole group!

Life Update.

2009-06-08T09:21:00.003-05:00

I've been holding off mentioning anything about what I'm about to mention. I wasn't sure of the outcome and didn't want to post about it all over my blog until I knew it was official. So basically......I got a new job!

I've known for the past year that I would eventually have to have something full time (with benefits) by October of this year. So it's been in the back of my mind for a while and I've been praying through the whole thing and keeping my eye out on any opportunities that might become available. **Side Note: God has seriously blessed me in every job I have had over the past few years!

Several months ago my dad ran into a family friend whose husband is a Pediatric Gastrologist. She asked what I was doing and then told my dad that they were getting ready to hire someone full time for a front office position. So I sent them my resume and then just waited to hear from them.

A couple months went by and I never heard anything. Until several weeks ago. I got a phone call from the office manager there and set up a day to go and interview. I thought the interview went great (I was there for about 2 hours), but weeks went by and I never heard anything. Some other potential opportunities seemed to be opening up and I thought that maybe God was just closing that door.

So last week while I was at the beach the actual doctor called me and offered me a position (I think he's going to be a great boss!). It's not the position I applied for, in my opinion, it's much better. Better for me anyways. I kinda accepted it without really thinking through it a whole lot. I got really excited and just said yes. But the good news is that I know I made the right choice. I did tell the Lord that I was willing to call and tell them I made a mistake since I didn't really pray about it or anything before I said yes :)

Basically what I will be doing (I think he called it a Medical Assistant or Medical Technician???) is taking patients from the waiting room to their rooms. I will weigh them and then explain their prescriptions and stuff to them after they see the doctor. That's honestly all I know. I will be working with people (It's a pediatric office so lots of kids, which anyone that knows me will know that I love kids) everyday, which I love.

I'm super excited about it though! I have had a complete peace about the whole thing since I first sent them my resume. I know it's not really ministry related, but I also know it's where I'm supposed to be right now.

So I start next Tuesday the 16th. My last day at Student Life will be this Friday. It's a bittersweet feeling. God is doing A LOT in my life right now. I can't wait to share more!!!

2009-06-03T10:57:00.005-05:00

We found a fun outside kareoke place while we were at the beach this past weekend. Me, Autumn, and Sis were chaperones for my sister and her best friend Mallory.

Despite how it looks, everyone with us is completely sober in this video. And I'm warning you, it's rough!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

P.S. There are some changes coming, I'll update everyone on those later! But life is GREAT right now! God is so good :)

Something I have been working on.

2009-05-27T16:25:00.004-05:00

This site has a long, long way to go and needs a lot of work. I was going to wait to post it, but I just decided to go ahead and do it.

I have no idea what my plans for it are, so for now it's just for fun!

www.bpelfdesigns.blogspot.com

Because the people want to know.....

2009-05-27T14:22:00.003-05:00

Here is where I spent my lunch today. I've been going to this park for several weeks now during lunch or after work to run. I love it there!

I bet this one is named "Big Mamma" or "Big Daddy." Either way, I don't go near it.

These ducks are psycho. Seriously! If you have food they just flock to you and get as close to you as you let them.

Before and After

2009-05-25T09:35:00.005-05:00

When I was getting ready to move I became a little overwhelmed by all the stuff I needed wanted. My granddaddy, who owns some storage buildings, knew I was looking for some furniture so he called me when he came across anything he thought I would use. Basically the way the storage buildings work are when you don't pay rent for so many months, whatever is in your building becomes my granddads and he can do with it what he pleases. Which is usually give it to us or sell it.

I call this an armoire (I just spelled that correctly without even having to look it up!) but I'm not exactly sure if that's really what it is. When I first saw it, I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I'm very pleased with it!

My granddad kept telling me how "nice" it was. He was a little surprised when he came in and saw what I had done with it. It was completely different.

Before:

Drawers

After:

Basically all I did was paint it brown. The handles are the ones that were on it. I just cleaned them off.

I really like the whole eclectic look when it comes to furniture/decorating. Which is a good thing because furniture is so expensive. All of the blogs I have on the right side of my page have been inspiring me in my decorating. Especially this one. It's very do it yourself.

So I went yard selling and found this lamp. I actually got 2 of them for $5! When I picked it up to buy it, Autumn just looked at me. They were ugly. I told her I had a "vision" for it. I was actually only going to buy one because I didn't need two of them. But the man started to bargain with me asking me "how much I was willing to give for both of them." When I told him I didn't need them both, and started walking away he said "fine you can just have the other one." So I walked away with 2 lamps! I told him that means I won and I wasn't really even playing! We went to another sale after that one where I found a shade for $.50. It was the perfect size so I bought it too.

Before:

After:

**The picture in the frame is one my friend brought me back from Paris. I love it!

Basically I bought a can of $3 spray paint at Wal Mart and 1/2 a yard of fabric from Hobby Lobby that cost $4.85. I just painted the base of the lamp and covered the shade with the fabric. I love it!!!

And here is part of my bed. Until I finish my headboard, it's all I'm ready to reveal :)

It's Memorial Day and I'm sitting at work :( Also, I think I have pink eye :/

A little Friday randomness.

2009-05-22T15:41:00.008-05:00

Do you ever pray for something and God answers it, but just in His way and not the way you really imagined it happening??? I'm definitely experiencing that right now in more than one way. But His ways are better than my ways, right? Ok, I know that is right, but it's easier said than done!

Maybe I need to be more specific in my prayers next time ;)

I'm about to leave work and go babysit some of the sweetest/cutest kids I've ever met! I've mentioned them once before but they are foster kids that a friend of my mom's has. I have fallen in love with these little guys (4 of them ages 5, 4, 3, and 2--And they are all siblings!) since November and it's looking like they may go back to live with their mom sometime soon.

It breaks my heart to think about and the way the whole foster care system works is seriously outrageous.

I thought I could be a foster parent one day, but now I'm not so sure. Having to let them go is harder than I thought and I'm not even the foster parent.

Here is a pic of two of them.... so precious! See what I mean?!?!

On a happier note, I'm going to the lake for the weekend when I get done babysitting. I'm hoping to finish this:

And do a little of this:

And just for fun, here is a picture of my dog (actually my sister's dog, but she says he's ours anytime she doesn't want to take him out or bathe him). Can't you tell how happy he is!

And here is my nerd of a dad.... gotta love him!

And because I haven't really updated anyone on my moving status lately, I am officially moved in! My room is slowly coming together, which is killing me! I want it all to be done the way I want it right now...... I'm obviously not very patient when it comes to stuff like this!

Now I will leave you with a quote I just read on another blog..... it's pretty challenging!

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion."

- Mark Batterson

I want one!

2009-05-15T15:52:00.003-05:00

Look at these faces! Ah! I want one. But I want a big dog too. The only option I seem to have is none or a big one and a little one.... and I don't think that's happening.

I really do know the people selling these dogs though.

A tribute.....

2009-05-14T12:48:00.007-05:00

Dear Green Bridesmaids Dress:

I hope I never have to wear you again. No offense to you or to the beautiful brides that have picked you out. You are beautiful, but I am just curious to see what other colors might look like on me.

There are three of you that hang in the back of my closet. There were four, but sadly one of your sisters got lost in my move from Dallas to the Ham. Pretty soon I am going to cut you all up and make pillows out of you. It looks like I'm going to need to start planning a room where I can incorporate you all in.

You each represent a special day in my life that I got to share with some of my most favorite people in the world. However, even though they say "You can wear it again" let's be honest ladies..... I'm probably not gonna. Simply because I don't go anywhere to wear long formal dresses anymore. But if one day I get invited to a formal St. Patrick's Day party, I am so set.

So green dress, I will most likely never wear you or anything like you again. But of course I will if it comes down to it :)

It's been fun,

Brittany

Lindsey and Ryan- June, 2008

Amber and Reid, May 2007

Courtney and Zach- May, 2009

There is one other one, but it was before the days of digital cameras, but it pretty much looks like the other ones you see here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is my only other bridesmaids dress I have ever had. I really felt like I needed to give it some credit.

Lacy and Chris, May 2005

Wedding Review

2009-05-14T12:41:00.008-05:00

My friend Courtney got married this past weekend. She and I have seriously been friends our whole lives. Our moms have been friends since the 1st grade. She married Zack who is on his way to becoming a professional golfer. Like seriously. He is 4th in the world for amateurs.

The wedding was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, and everything was a lot of fun.

Here are some pics of the wedding and wedding festivities.....

My friend Rachel. Well the back of her. I did her hair right before the wedding. I was pretty excited about how it turned out because it only took me about 10 mins. So I guess I'm being pretty vain right now, but here it is.

Courtney and Zack cutting the cake. His cake was so good. Peanut Butter and chocolate.

This is from our Bridesmaids Dessert and Coffee night at Cheesecake Factory

I have no idea why I'm smiling like this.

(Julie, Me, and Rachel)

Crystal, Julie, Jennifer, and Me

Rehearsal Dinner, all of the ladies in the wedding party

(The Bride is on the front row in the blue and black dress)

All of the girls at the Rehearsal

Pre-Wedding Pictures

All of my best friends from high school.

Lacy-she is with child right now :), Me, Breanna, Rachel, and Courtney

Me and Lacy

Several of the bridesmaids went to the beach two weekends ago. This is me and Rachel when we were out to eat one night.

Randomness in Pictures

2009-04-28T11:18:00.008-05:00

I have several pics, so here goes:

I never posted anything from Easter. Basically we went to my aunt and uncles house. They have a small lake/pond and so we fished, flew kites, hunted eggs, ate, etc.

Kaley flying her kite. I love spring time weather!

The Barbie Kite...not to shabby for only $1.

Me and Kaley. I'm looking rough because she insisted I run with the kite to get it up in the air.

Cass and Trey (My little cousin). She obviously has no clue what she's doing.

Getting a little better..

Can we see the sass in this walk...???

Yep, those are camo overalls! haha!

My little buddy!

One of my good friends, Jill, is moving to South Alabama for P.A. school so we spent last Saturday with her. We pretty much spent the whole day together. We picked her up and surprised her with a trip to the zoo.

My friend Linda's little girl, Savanah. She loved it!

After the zoo, we headed to Linda's to throw Jill a going away party.

The cake I decorated for her. Y'all know I love to decorate some cakes! It was suggested to get those old school sugar letters, but I shot that idea down. Sorry ladies :)

It's a nurse incase you can't tell.

All of the ladies

The guys... who knows what they were talking about over there!

This past weekend Autumn (my new roommate) and I decided to go yard selling. I haven't been in forever and it was so fun! Perfect weather! We got off to a late start so I think we might have missed some good deals, but we had a very successful day!

Autumn has been looking for an old trunk to convert to a coffee table. So we are driving down the road and we pass an apartment dumpster. I thought I saw an old trunk propped up beside it but I wasn't sure. I waited a few minutes and then told Autumn what I thought I had seen. I have been wrong on many occasions, but we decided to go back just in case.

Well sure enough..... it was an old trunk! Exactly what she was wanting!

One man's trash, another [wo]man's treasure!

Autumn and the new trunk, along with the dumpster and the rest of the trash.

**We also got a cute little wooden chair out of it. Sad, but true.

I thought this said "R.I.P." at first. We were a little nervous about opening it......not sure what we would find in there!

It says "R.P.B." though, so no worries!

And here is the new coffee table! So cute! Still needs a little work, but I love it.

We picked these flowers out of a neighbors yard and I just thought they were pretty so I took a picture.

Sunday night was another going away party for our friends Keith and Stacey. They are getting ready to move to Tuscaloosa to help plant a church.

This is the only decent picture I took.

Me and my friend Stacey (not the one moving)

I think that's all for today. I will get some more pics of our other yard sale finds!

Also, hopefully move-in pictures soon!

I'm going to the beach this weekend, so sometime after that!

Rat's Nest???

2009-04-24T10:31:00.005-05:00

I'm getting ready to mail my hair today. It seriously looks like some kind of rat sitting on my desk..... kinda gross!

And I really do like it short. It's so much easier! And, the hair I'm sending in really isn't that much. I mean to me it was, but to make a wig?!?! I would love to see how they make the wigs and just the process that goes along with it.

P.S. I hope no one at work saw me taking these pictures :/

Oh, and I ran out of gas last night on my way to church. I seriously coasted into the church parking lot! Thank the Lord for green lights, good friends, and no messed up fuel filter!

And because you are probably wondering.... I usually have 19 miles when my gas light comes on. Well I guess something was off because it said I had only went 4. So technically, it really wasn't even my fault. My dad was out of town so we are going to hope he doesn't hear about that!

I have pictures from my weekend but I left my purse at home. **I'm obviously distracted or something because I've been a little off my game these past two days :) We went to the zoo though. My first trip in YEARS! It was so much fun!

I'm super excited about tomorrow because I'm going yard selling! Hopefully I'll find some good stuff!

A little too far???

2009-04-23T10:21:00.005-05:00

Our front desk girl at work is off all week, so I am sitting at her desk until she gets back. Well on Monday, I found this in one of her drawers:

Except that instead of just the first season, it was all 3 seasons. (Well I thought it was all three. We are missing the last DVD. But I guess it's ok because we all know how it ends, right?) I know what you are thinking.... "no, you did not watch them." And, yes I did! And I loved it! haha! This came out my freshman year of college and we used to make it a weekly event to meet in our dorm room and watch "The Newlyweds." This is when my love for Jessica Simpson first came about.

I really don't love, love her. I know she and her family basically gave up everything they said they believed in (Her dad was a youth minister and professor at DBU-where I went to school) and just turned all Hollywood. But I don't care. I like her.

Side Note: I really do care that she just sacrificed her beliefs for her career. I want to win her back to the Lord :) And I'm really sad she and Nick aren't together anymore.

I sucked my friend Christine into watching them with me. Although it really didn't take much but a simple offer and she was in. As we watched all day yesterday and Tuesday, we really began to get emotionally involved (This could probably go without saying, but work has been really slow this week!). That's why I hate reality t.v. And anytime I hear about a married couple splitting up, it breaks my heart. So I felt the same pain for Nick and Jess.

I called Christine yesterday. She told me that before she and her husband ate dinner she prayed. Then she went on to tell me that she prayed Nick and Jessica would get back together. And the sad thing is, she wasn't kidding. She was serious. And in my heart, I agreed with her. We decided it was ok since no other marriages would have to be broken in order for it to happen.

I've been calling Christine "Jessica Simpson" and teasing that I'm going to do a page for Jessica Simpson in the office today. But I just don't have the guts.

So anyways, now you know one thing on my prayer list. Something tells me after this post, my name might be on several of yours :)

All I'm saying is that when Nick and Jess get back together, don't all y'all come to me with your prayer request!

P.S. I'm sorry if you feel like you just wasted your life reading this.

P.S.S. Another girl from work has the complete series and is bringing us the last DVD. Woo hoo!

Hair today, gone tomorrow....

2009-04-22T08:37:00.002-05:00

Well, I finally did it. I cut my hair. I was so nervous, but just told her to do it before I change my mind.

I was talking to a friend afterwards and telling her that it was shorter than I had really wanted it to be. Her response: "Well at least you still have hair." [Unlike the people with cancer that I will be sending my hair to]. Wow, so true and such a punch in the gut. Girls are so consumed with our hair.

Anyways, here are the pictures. I forgot to take a real before pic, so this will have to do.

Before:

After:

P.S. I've been running everyday after work this week. And yes, I know it's only been 2 days :)

Nervous!

2009-04-20T10:02:00.002-05:00

I may be getting my hair cut 8 inches tomorrow.......

I was going to do Locks of Love, but Pantene has a similar program. Locks of Love is 10 inches but Pantene is only 8.

I'm nervous! I guess we will see what I end up doing tomorrow!

I couldn't find a ruler so I just printed one off the internet. 8 inches isn't as much as I thought. So it looks like it's probably a go.

Sorry I'm being so self absorbed right now :)

On a more non-selfish/non-materialistic note: My dad left Saturday for Nicaragua. This is probably like his 15th time to go in the past 10 years or so.

Say a prayer for him and the rest of the team that's over there.

A good day so far!

2009-04-17T14:57:00.006-05:00

Well to start this day off, I got up an hour early. Just to clarify, it wasn't on purpose. You are probably wondering how you manage to get up early, and not late. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I think I was so tired I just wasn't thinking very clearly. Once I got out of the shower and realized what time it actually was and when I had to be at work, I laid back down for a few more minutes of sleep. That was sort of a mistake because I felt worse than I did before.

I made it to work though....

For lunch I went to this cute little park/lake down the road from my office. I think it's going to be a new thing that I do every day. It was SO beautiful outside and I just sat in the grass and read my book.

I love days like that! It took me back to my days at Alabama when we would go and sit on the quad and read.

They have geese and ducks there and a sidewalk that goes all the way around the lake. There were tons of people with their kids and dogs just hanging out. For a second I wished I had a kid or a dog there to play with.... but then I watched a dog start to chase the geese and it's owner run after it and I saw a kid throw a fit when it was time for her to leave..... after that, I was glad it was just me :)

I wish I would have had my camera.

To top off my great lunch, I stopped by Pier 1 on my way back to the office. They have the curtains there that I want to get for my room. I've been waiting on them to go on sale and today there were!

It wasn't the best sale ever, but they were cheaper. I need 2 panels so I bought one today. I got a coupon to fill out a survey and get $5 off my next purchase. So my plan is to go back next week (while they are still on sale) and get the other panel I need. I already filled the survey out and it was legit. Yea!

These aren't the best pictures, but here they are.... my friend at work looked at me like I was crazy when I was taking these. I told him to please just ignore me.

This is the picture that was on the outside of the package.

They are chocolate brown and I love them!

I have another lingerie shower tonight and my boss just told me to go home since we aren't busy.... I'm not arguing and I'm leaving before anyone changes their mind :)

I'm terrible at creative titles!

2009-04-15T12:46:00.005-05:00

To start with, I am updating my blog look. I love it, but it needs some color.

This morning I was talking to a friend at work. She just received a phone call from a job in Nashville that she really wants. The excitement she felt when she got off of the phone..... I was a little jealous. It reminded me of how I felt when I received a phone call about moving to Dallas, or the call I got about going to Memphis for the summer, or when I figured out I wanted to apply for the job at Student Life and move back to Birmingham.

As much as I hate the unknown, I love the excitement that comes when you begin a new journey. I absolutely love living back in Birmingham. I love that I was able to spend Easter with my family this year. I love that I have been home to hang out with my friends whenever I want. I love that I can attend all of my sister's events for her senior year. I love that I am involved in a ministry with people my own age........

......but at the same time, I love the idea of packing up and moving somewhere else. And getting out of my comfort zone. And just experiencing new stuff.

So what does that mean? I have no idea. **I don't think it means I am supposed to move to Seattle----Amy. Or to Vancouver ----Sara ;)

I was asked again today what I am doing with my life..... I still don't know.

More Randomness: So this time last year, I was taking care of this mess...... my closets back in Dallas. I was cleaning and packing them getting ready to make the move back to B'ham. It seems like so long ago, but really not that long ago. --->Does that even make sense?!?!

These are terrible, I know! The good news is, the doors closed and no one ever knew what it looked like behind them :)

This was the pile of clothes I put in the guest room as I cleaned them out.

I started this book yesterday. I heard it was a slow start. They weren't lying. But I'm sticking with it.

Bored.

2009-04-08T15:11:00.003-05:00

So I have looked at every possible website I can and the phones at work are dead...... I think that means it's time to go home! I've refreshed my facebook page like 50x. That's pretty sad.

It's such a pretty day today! I want to be outside in it! I'm off work tomorrow and Friday. I am so excited! I pretty much shut down about 12 today because I feel like it's the weekend.

I still haven't moved. I have had zero spare time. Hopefully that's what I will accomplish while I'm off.

Still haven't finished my Alabama taxes. I'm so glad I wasn't called to be an accountant.

30 more minutes.....

I woke up this morning feeling a little sickly..... I'm hoping it's just allergies.

I just took a walk around the office to pass some time. It only lasted 4 minutes.

Easter is Sunday. I don't think I will be purchasing a new dress this year. I didn't get one last year either. I have a dress I bought this past summer for Lindsey and Ryan's rehearsal dinner. I got it at Banana Republic and I think I've only wore it one other time. So I do believe that will be my outfit of choice for Sunday. We are having Easter at my aunt and uncles house. They have a large pond behind their house, and my grandmother has already informed me that we will be having a contest to see who can catch the largest fish. I hope money is involved :)

Ok, 12 mins left to this long, loooonnnngggg day! That's enough time for me to get my stuff together and then go home! Yea!

Weekend Review.

2009-04-06T15:21:00.003-05:00

I did a lot this weekend, but nothing way exciting. Friday I went to Children's to Volunteer, babysat, got Cass ready for prom, and then stayed home and watched Fireproof (It was good. A little forced at times, but great overall message). Saturday I went and watched Kaley in her first dance competition (those parents don't play! There was a four year old that could have made a varsity cheerleading squad. And I'm not exaggerating at all!) and then went and babysat all Saturday night.

I babysat for a friend from church. She has four precious foster kids, ages 2, 3, 4, and 5 (And 2 of her own)! And they are all real siblings. I love those kids! Say a prayer for them today. They are in court to figure out what the future of the kids will be. I thought I could have foster kids one day. And that I would be fine if they had to leave after I had them. After being around these babies for such a short time, I really don't think there is any way I could do it. I know God will take care of them, but it will be so hard if they are sent back with their mom.

I was talking with some friends the other day about being single and all that jazz...... after talking with them and having a few revelations of my own, I've decided that I want to make sure I'm living these years of singleness to the fullest. I have learned a lot of the past few years, the biggest thing being, I'll never have the freedom I have now once I get married and have kids. So I don't want to be one of those people who sit around and sulk because I'm not married yet. I want to enjoy the place where God has me right now.

If any of you married people have anything to say about this, I would love to hear it!

On a different note though, it would be nice to have a husband to do all my tax stuff! I hate it! And maybe to go and get my oil changed in my car. And to move all my stuff when I finally move----> of course I would tell him where the boxes go :)

It's almost over....

2009-04-06T11:37:00.011-05:00

Cassie had her prom this weekend.... from what she said it was a lot of fun and everything turned out great. As promised, here are the pics......

Cass and her group

Cass and Mallory (Her best friend)

She looked gorgeous! And not just because I did her hair and makeup!

Cass and David (Her date/boyfriend)

If any of you were a fly on the wall at our house while Cass was getting ready, I'm sure it's a sight to see. It is always mad chaos and we are always running behind. We are so different in the fact that I take my time whether I have it to take or not. She gets more stressed if she is running late.

So I fix her hair, she likes it, but I don't. I start to take it down, while she yells at me and threatens me. Then I begin to threaten her if she doesn't keep her head still and let me finish and if she doesn't stop telling me to hurry up. She complains that I'm hurting her and I tell her it's her own fault for moving so much. I finish her make-up and she looks in the mirror asking me if I'm serious. I tell her yes, I'm serious. It looks great! And I tell her if she doesn't think so then I guess she just doesn't know what great looks like. She puts the double sided tape on in the wrong place so I tear it off without thinking that it would probably rip off a layer of skin with it. She screams. Really loud. And tells me I did it on purpose. I tell her, "yes, because I love to hear you yell like that." Mom walks in to tell us her date is outside and can probably hear all the yelling. Her date gets inside and she puts her dress on while I am putting her shoes on her at the same time. Her date sits in the living room while my dad is left to entertain him. My dad asks him if he knows what he is getting himself into. Mom puts her jewelry on her and grabs the nail polish to paint her toenails since she didn't have time to get them done before. She runs around looking for her purse and everything that goes in it while trying not to step on her dress or mess up her toes. I follow her with a blush brush and lipstick trying to get the last minute touch ups. We all look in the mirror and tell her she looks amazing! We ask her one more time if she has everything she needs. She says yes and goes to meet her date. And it's suddenly like the chaos just never even happened!

.....then she calls a few minutes later to tell us she forgot something!

Sisters..... can't live with them, can't live without them!

You might be out of shape if....

2009-04-01T10:19:00.002-05:00

....you go and run one day and your entire body hurts for several days after.

Muscles that I didn't realize you use to run are hurting right now. I guess that's my sign that I need to work out more.

Other randomness:

-I really want to go on an over seas mission trip. I haven't been on one in almost four years and that makes me really sad. Hopefully this summer I will be able to go. Unfortunately, it's not free to go and do mission work like that.

-I think I'm going to start moving my stuff out on Saturday. If I have time. Which could be an issue.

I still do not have a bed yet, but hopefully I'll be getting that taken care of soon. I'm hoping to get my dad to build me a bed that looks very similar to this.

This bed has rounded edges on the sides of the headboard, and I don't want that. But I love it!

I found the curtains I want. They are at Pier 1. I will have two windows but I think I can get away with buying two panels and then cutting them in half to have four (they are the ones that are bigger than the average size). My mom can do all that stuff, which is going to help!

I just have no patience when it comes to this stuff. I want it all done, right now. I don't like having to buy stuff a little at a time.

-Cassie's prom is Friday. I love her dress! Can't wait to show pictures.

-Amber Kirk, I think you should start a blog. Like writing on it!! And a lot of you people have been slackers on updating!

That's all for now. I'm going to lunch. It's 1:43PM. I wish I could tell you all about what I saw yesterday when I went to lunch. But it would cause me to type words that aren't appropriate! So, I'll have to tell you individually on the phone. ha!

Past Due

2009-03-30T16:39:00.005-05:00

I never posted pictures from the Bridal Shower for my friend Joy that I helped host. So here they are.

Joy (Who got married this past Saturday) and the main table. I'm obsessed with fresh flowers right now. Especially hydrangeas! I love this arrangement! I wasn't sure at first because I had to leave the hydrangeas in my car for several hours the day before (without water). By the time I got them home they were really pitiful looking. But I cut the stems and put them in water and it was like a miracle before my eyes, because they just popped back up (popped may not be the right word because it did take a few hours)! I was so excited!

The Fruit and Punch Table.

The main table before all of the food

Those are peacock feathers. The colors were turquoise, black, and lime green so we used these to bring it all together.

That's all for this post. I'm about to leave work and hopefully go home, change, and then go walking/running. A friend and I met on Saturday and walked together. We are trying to do it more often. It's a great time to get to know each other and exercise. Hopefully I will run before we walk, but I'm not making any promises! I just know I need to get back in the habit.

Happy Monday! It's almost over!

On a serious note.

2009-03-25T10:10:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I forget what I actually post on here. There have been a few times that I have written out a post and just never published it. It sounds good in my head, but then when I read it out loud it just isn't what I thought.

I say that to say, in this post I might refer to things I have already mentioned, so I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself.

Last night I was reading the book of Hosea. I have read these specific verses before and they really stuck out to me. I just couldn't figure out why I was so intrigued by them.... until last night. I was moved by these verses, but just didn't have the words for it.

Hosea 2:14

"Therefore I am now going to allure her;

I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her."

I'm pretty positive it's God talking about Israel right here. But I've mentioned before that I have felt like the past 4 years of my life have been a desert time for me. Not in a "I've been miserable" kind of way, but just a time that I've really felt God took me to a place where I could really hear from him. He removed some things in my life that were causing distractions. Forever I thought it was about physical location. After I had moved several different times and nothing seemed to change, I realized it was a matter of the heart.

This verse is exactly what God has done in my life. There were some things he used to allure me to this place. I guess He knew I was not going to willingly walk there on my own. Once I realized it, there were many days I fought it. I often wished I could turn around and go back. I don't know when, but there was a point I finally surrendered and just told the Lord I would do whatever He wanted me to do. I didn't know what that was then, and I really don't know what it is now.

I just know that I'm ready, whenever He chooses to reveal the next step for me.

I really feel like this "desert" time in my life is beginning to slowly come to an end. I feel so relieved and happy, but I also feel a little sad. Looking back, it was hard. But sooo worth it. It has been such a precious time with me and the Lord. A time I know I'll never get back. I hope that I wasn't so focused on getting through it that I missed the beauty that was in it.

In the last verse of Hosea 2 it says this:

"I will plant her for myself in the land;

I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.'

I will say to those called 'Not my people, You are my people'

and they will say, 'YOU are MY GOD."

That last line pretty much sums it up for me. I have always been able to tell the Lord, "You are God." And I meant it. I have never doubted it. But before the "desert" I don't think I could really say "You are my God."

That's really all I know to say about it.

Disappointed

2009-03-23T09:16:00.005-05:00

I had a dream last night that I won free airline tickets.

I was so bummed when I woke up this morning and realized it was a dream.

In my dream I had already decided where I was going and everything. Such a let down!

Another disappointment....when I walked in the bathroom this morning at work and realized my middle button of my shirt was completely unbuttoned, showing much more than you want to show in the office. Actually much more than I want to show anywhere! I have no idea how long it had been like that. The sad thing is that I'm no longer surprised when stuff like this happens to me. I just buttoned it up, shook my head, and walked back out.

One thing I'm not disappointed about is something new I'll be doing at Children's Hospital now. I've mentioned before that I volunteer there once a week. Well the opportunity came up for me to be what they call a "Volunteer Coordinator."

Once a month they have "Fun Night at the Harbor" (The Harbor center is a building that was built to give kids in the hospital, or their families, something to do if they have to stay in the hospital for long periods of time. They have a basketball court, a game room, karaoke, a gym, and some other fun stuff for them). Well the current coordinators are in med school so they are moving to do their rotations in May. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and so now I'm getting to take over the coordinator position (it's still volunteer, FYI).

I went last night to hang out with them and learn what all goes on. I had so much fun and can't wait to get started!

I have to finish filling out my tax forms now :(

P.S. This weekend I painted an armoire for my room when I move. I will get before and after pics up soon! It looks so good! And the best part...It was free!

Bored to death!

2009-03-20T16:20:00.008-05:00

It's Friday afternoon on a BEAUTIFUL day and I am sitting at work. Needless to say, I am so bored!

I am sitting at our front desk which is nice today because I can see outside......

The bad part is that I'm not on my computer so I can't get anything done that I could be working on.

The office is DEAD today. The parking lot is pretty much empty, but I'm here until 7 :'( This is what I'm listening to.

You may not can hear that, but it's the sound of four clocks ticking away. It's putting me to sleep.

I really want to be outside in a park somewhere. Possibly laying on a blanket reading a book. Speaking of books, I ended up starting this one:

It really makes you think. If you don't know what it's about, click here. This is really all I could find to give a description.

Ok, it's finally time to go. I'm off to bunko.