Out of it... and randomness

I am COMPLETELY out of it.. between working two jobs, band camp, moving, my dad being sick and the crazy other happenings of life I am totally out of it.. I even forget to read the blogs I love to follow. My life is in a whirlwind right now.

I need your prayers, for my stress level, my anxiety, and to strengthen my walk with the Lord despite all the crazy times. It always seems when things get tough.. God is the first one we forget, and it should be that way.

It is so weird training someone to take my job..and at the same time trying to get ready for a new job.

My roommate Gabby, her boyfriend Chad and Hunter all helped me paint my classroom Tuesday night. It is coming along great! I am very excited about the crisp clean feel that a fresh coat of paint gives.

Here's to new beginnings, calming tides and hopes of all worries left behind you. Do you ever get really upset and have that urge to post it all over social media? Yeah, me too... but lately, I have been trying to control that more and more. It is unnecessary to complain all the time online, only those who seek attention "need" that. And, think of how long people made it through life without social medial. Find a friend, sorry folks Mary-Anne is taken, and talk it out. It really helps to have a best friend who you can be totally honest with. LOVE HER!

Bows for a Cause

Many people take for granted the ability to have a child, and the joy of having a child. We so easily get bogged down in the fast tracked pace of this world, we forget to think of what blessings we really have, me included.

Here is a link to a post belonging to a friend of mine and her husband who are adopting after a long battle with infertility. A friend is doing a fundraiser to help bring their baby home. You can find out more information here.

Birthday

My birthday only comes around once every four years... Yep... you guessed it. I am a leap year baby, and a twin on top of that. One day, when I have time..  I will conduct a mathematical study on the likelihood of this happening.. Yep, I am a nerd.

Two of my best friends had birthdays this week, also! My friend Steph turned 22, and my friend Mary-Anne turned 24. Mary-Anne had a mini mid life crisis, which really got me to thinking.

24 - (or 6 if we are talking leap years) what do we have to look forward to? Most life milestones are gone.. or long forgotten. Now we just work, hope true love looks our way... and strive for retirement. That is when a co-worker and friend of mine said, you must set many more goals. Goals in life to keep you going, to keep you young.. to keep you strong. You can check out Clint's management blog here!

Life isn't over because we are getting older, we just have a new outlook on things. After all that has happened the past few years here are some things on my list:

Goals:
Graduate with my Masters (May 2012)
Get accepted to the PhD program
Get a teaching job, with my very own classroom
Get married (maybe one day...)

I believe after these goals are accomplished, another new phase in life will get started... then, a new perspective and yet another set of goals.

Perspectives:
Not much really matters in the grand scheme of things. Stephanie has taught me through her struggle to value life and everything that you are given. Don't worry about the petty pickings of those self absorbed drama lovers. As long as we have each other and know what is important... we can do this.

Have fun, working yourself to death when you are young will only kill you - I can thank Clint and Hunter, David Tingle and Mary-Anne for this one... IDK how many break downs I have had throughout this graduate school journey. And looking back to how much fun I had in undergrad. Working your tail off isn't worth if you didn't enjoy it along the way. Clint gave me an intervention pep talk about grades and perfection, and Hunter strives daily to take me away from the desk even if just for a little bit and make me smile (I have begun watching TV again!). DT and Mary-Anne, I wouldn't know what to do without their shoulder to cry on... through the tough times, it means a lot to have someone who will actually listen.

Take the time to listen, you never know what someone has went through, me included. Stop your judgemental rudeness and have a heart. Yeah world, I said it. ;)

Beyond it all, God can bring you out of and through anything.. it may not be the way you planned it, or the way you wanted it. But that is why He is God and we are not, isn't it?  This year I asked God to heal my friend Steph for my birthday, and even though He may have said 'no' or 'not right now' somehow... this will all work out... I haven't been in the greatest mood or mindset though all of this, and I am trying really hard, but it is harder still to watch someone you love suffer. But that is another post for another day.

Here's to another year, another goal, a blessed life from God and some of the greatest friends a girl could have. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!



Here is a wall shelf a friend handmade for me, for my birthday! :)

Click here to read a short article done by the local news back home for mine and Donna's birthday.

Meet with me - Ten Shekel Shirt

"Ten Shekel Shirt - Meet With Me lyrics"

I'm here to meet with you
come and meet with me
I'm here to find you
reveal yourself to me

As I wait, you make me strong
As I long, you draw me to your arms
As I stand you come and sing your praise
You come, you come and you fill this place
Won't you come, Won't you come and fill this place

I'm here to meet with you
Come and meet with me
I'm here to find you,
reveal yourself to me

As I wait, you make me strong
As I long, you draw me to your arms
As I stand you come and sing your praise
You come, you come and you fill this place
Won't you come, Won't you come and fill this place
Lord come Lord come and fill this place

I'm here to meet with you
Come and meet with me

You can listen to this song here.


The lines that touch me the most in this are "As I wait, you make me strong; as I long, you draw me to your arms." Sometimes we are required to wait on God's timing... It is my prayer that as I wait, and as you wait... become strong.. and draw near to the Lord.

Necklace Winner!!

I follow many blogs of friends and a few fashion blogs, as well as a few food blogs. Ever so often, blogs I follow host giveaways and most of the time I usually enter, I mean... why not?

I have never considered myself a lucky person, but when I got online to read Lilly's blog today I saw her post entitled ...Giveaway winner. Reading along as always, I wondered why the picture looks so similar to my blog profile picture. As I continued to scroll down reading, I noticed it was me!!


I am so excited to have won this beautiful necklace!

If you are looking for cute fashion tips and great outfits, I suggest you become a follower of Lilly's blog! How fun and exciting is it to get a surprise. This was a great start to a manic Monday!

800+ miles

So many friendships are broken after high school and college. There are few lasting friendships that truly bless us.

I am fortunate enough to have one of those friendships. Yeah, I had my worries, and I am sure my bestie did too. Never in my life did I know that I could grow closer to my best friend when she moved 800+ miles away.

But, it's the little things. Things like chatting on Gchat every day at work. Texting up a storm and calling when we can. Skyping to work out together, or just watch a TV show together, like GLEE. :) Those are the things that have held us together and have made our bond stronger. Never could I have imagined a better friend, a truer bestie.

Just this past week, in light of my love for snail mail, I received an adorable card from Mary-Anne!

Isn't that cute? And, check out the back!

Mary-Anne and I complete each other. She an English person, we have completely opposite thought processes and ideas. Math and English make best friends! I help her with problem solving, she edits all my research papers. To us, it is a win, win.

So, to my Brain, my best friend. Thanks for your thoughts and kindness! Here's to many more wonderful and fun filled years!

Snail Mail

Snail mail makes my day!

Checking my mail has been different since Hunter returned from basic and AIT. I have been working on the urge to run to the mailbox every time I get home... I keep reminding myself, "Hunter is here.. you can actually talk to him now"!

Yesterday, I checked my mail with no real expectations except maybe some junk mail. To my surprise I had received two unexpected pieces of mail!

One from Lauren in Afghanistan and one from my friend Stacey. Stacey goes to school in Mobile now, but I met her in Troy. She has sent me random things throughout my time in Tuscaloosa just to keep in touch, like this precious gem!




Made by Stacey :)


What sweet friends!

Lauren's mail takes a while to get here, as does mine to her... but it is so fun being able to communicate with her in this way. 6 months until my girl comes home! Here is a picture of the letter she sent, it brought me to tears... she means the world to me. Letters sure do take a beating when they travel so far.

I am so thankful for these girls and many others in my life who truly care and make it known. God bless them! Praise the Lord for them!

ROLL TIDE!

Alabama's home opener was this past Saturday. I had a great time spending the night with Heather and going to the game with some friends from church. This was mine and Hunter's first football game together. ROLL TIDE ROLL!

After the first quarter I offered to go to the concession stand with my friend. To make a long story short, she was very sick, almost passed out and we ended up spending the rest of the game sitting against the wall of the stadium and in the EMS room.

Thankfully after some medical attention she felt much better... just got a little too hot. We then went to the quad at the end of the 4th quarter and then back to her place and continued to watch the rest of the SEC games on TV that night. I had a wonderful Saturday spent with great friends!

Good times, and a little about 'time'

This past weekend I was blessed to have the bestie fly down from DC to spend the weekend with me and us travel to a friends' wedding together. I had so much fun getting to spend time with her, chat, and just hang out. I forsook all homework for this weekend and it was a glorious weekend.

After the wedding a group of old friends went to Starbucks and then dinner together. It was just like old times and we were both sad to have to leave. It just reminds me what a blessing my undergraduate experience at Troy was... and how I am so blessed to have great friends.

As for the homework thing... this summer class is kicking me... And yesterday... I let the devil get me down. Working full time, while doing grad school can do that to you. This summer I am doing my research, and in July I added on another class. Bad idea.

So yesterday, after not being able to finish my homework the past few nights and having an upcoming test... I am stressed to the max. I began to tell God I didn't have time.. there wasn't enout time in the day... and that I am just so weary....

Again, I love being in control... and unfortunately my 'self' likes to take the reigns from God. However, after crying my eyes out at work (of course this would happen during the most emotional time of the month...) my faith was restored. Clint told me not to worry, that in the end, whether or not I had an A or a B in this class didn't matter in the grand scheme. And my devotional for the day was about 'not having time'.

I put WAY too much emphasis on school, and often times left my school and school work define my worth as a human. However, this is not true. God defines who we are and loves us so much!! I need to get my priorities back into place. Even if I don't have time, there is always time for God.

Luke 9:25

For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?

In the BIG picture... God is the only one that matters. If He brings us to it, He will bring us through it. If we choose to let Him have control and let Him lead... then all other things will fall into place.

Now, just because I trust in God and I chose to put Him first yesterday didn't mean I finished my homework last night. I did 4 problems, in 4 hours... then I was so tired I had to call it quits and go to bed. Here's the thing. I didn't pray and spend time with God yesterday afternoon for the sake of God miraculously finishing my homework for me... that isn't the point. The fact is, when you spend time with God your soul and mind and spirit are strengthened.. I was given a peace knowing I did something that truly mattered yesterday afternoon. I spent time with my Father, time with my Maker.. and my soul was given peace and rest. This is what matters... time spent doing what matters most... and the rest will work out. You can't just throw it down, God expects you to be a part of the process. So get up off the couch and get it done! :) Just know, that God will bless you beyond your wildest dreams if only you trust Him and let Him be in control.

This is a daily process, a daily fight agains satan's snares. Pray with my and for me as I pray for each of you!

Lord,

Bless us indeed!! Help us to put away foolish things and make our hearts thirst and long for You like never before! Captivate us Lord, move us to the place that You want us to be. Encourage and strengthen us Father. Give us the courage and the strength to let you be in control dear God! Open our eyes to see how much more life is when you are number one in our lives. Lead us Lord, teach us. Help us to live out our lives for You, knowing that everything else will come into place. I love you and praise you God for what you are doing and what you are going to do. May the glory be all to you Lord. ~Amen.

Side bar: After telling Clint how I wasn't smart enough to handle classes and work, and telling him I was giving up (all before the Lord used Clint and my devo to convict me) Clint was able to make me open my eyes and gain a different perspective. This morning at work Clint handed me this:

 I am a 'smartie' ;)

Father's Day

Father's day weekend was great! I was able to make the trip home Friday night. After a long day of work I was so excited to get out of the car when I finally arrived at Donna's house. 190 miles is no joke. UGH. HAHA!

Friday night was spent hanging out with the fam. Donna and I chilled at her house waiting for Mom and Dad to leave the funeral home. Unfortunately, my dad's half sister died this past week, so our weekend turned from family fun to working around unfortunate circumstances. No matter, we had a great time and celebrated life. So, after the funeral home Donna and I went out to eat with Mom, Dad and some of our Aunts and Uncles. Have you ever had dinner with seven senior citizens? 90% of whom have hearing difficulty??? Oh my gosh... it was hilariously embarrassing. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was yelling across the table at each other. And my dad, who is one of the worst, ended up being translator and repeating everything for everyone! What a night. Donna and I then went to the new yogurt shop, 32 degrees. I have to say it doesn't beat YoMo in Tuscaloosa, but it is a start for Troy. ;)

Saturday I was able to sleep until 7am!!! This, my friends, is a big deal!! I was so excited and my body appreciated the sleep too! Mom and I then lounged around, looked at coupons and got some things ready for Sunday dinner. My Aunt June came to visit and gather some fresh vegetables from our garden. It was so great getting to spend time with her... she means the world to me. I then had lunch with Mom and Dad and left to hang out with the bestie, Stephanie. We had a great time just catching up and chatting. We were up to no good after her boyfriend Bobby returned from ring shopping. We plundered his truck to find the ring... and find it we did! Don't worry! Stephanie didn't look, but she asked me to, so that we could make sure it wasn't just earrings. HAHA! After the relationships we have been through in the past, she needed the affirmation that the ring was real... and that is what I gave her. Boy, it is beautiful. *Side Note* I have decided through my past experience that I do not want to know about ring shopping or the idea of marriage in a young man's mind. I want to be totally and completely surprised. Never in my life would I have ever agreed to go through Bobby's truck.. but, this is Steff, and we have a special bond. It was an afternoon filled with excitement and I am so happy for her to have found that one true love. Those two are perfect for each other!! Saturday night I went out to eat with Mom and Dad and my second family. :) They, of course, had lots of questions about Hunter.. and I can't wait to bring him home for him to meet the family and friends.


Dad and his girls!

Sunday I went to church with my parents and then we were joined by my sisters and a few other family members for a wonderful father's day lunch. We then played with my niece, and opened Dad's presents. As I was packing and the rest of the family was heading to their respective homes, I got the phone call of a lifetime.. after missing the first one (I was DEVASTATED!!) Hunter was able to call again!!! They got a four hour pass on father's day!! After he had called and talked to his family he called me. We talked for a little over an hour.. and it was great!! It was so good to hear his voice, listen to his laugh and get a chance to actually TALK about what he had been up to. We laughed about how we are doing so many things backwards. I met his family without him, and this week my family will most likely meet his, without having even met their son. HAHA! I then made the drive home, unpacked, washed a few dishes and had dinner with Hannah and her family. It was a fun filled fast paced weekend. As are all my weekends spent traveling home... But I had a great time with my family and friends!

Whirlwind Week

WOW! What a week, and it is only Tuesday?! HAHA!!

This week I am the only office associate at work because my co-worker Cheryl is out this week to care for her daughter after a recent surgery. (Prayers are always appreciated, so far, so good!) I have been the only one here for a day or two every now and then.. but since I started this job back in August Cheryl hasn't been out for an entire week. Needless to say (or is it?) I was super excited about this week and having a lot to do at work! Having stuff to do makes the time pass so much faster! So I asked Cheryl if I could pick up the time sheets for her and get that done each day so she wouldn't come back to a weeks worth of time to enter. However, I have been asked to stay late and cover the phones.. so, in my last week of freedom before school starts... I am pulling 10 hour days. But, I am thankful for the opportunity for overtime and for the wonderful job that I have!

Each day I have been getting so much done! I love productivity. Yesterday was just great with only one minor hiccup at the end of the day. Today has gone well so far too! I mean, for me to pick up three crews time and having never done them before... I had the time finished by 7am!!! HOORAY!

Last night I drove over to Birmingham so that my friend Tori and I could have much needed girls time and retail therapy. This served as my last hoorah before classes start back and a small celebration just for the both of us. I met Tori at her apartment after work and we went to The Summit shopping center. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory... it was amazing!! And thanks to some awesome coupons we got a free piece of cheesecake! Dutch Apple Caramel Strussel Cheesecake to be exact... YUMMY!

After our wonderful dinner we went shopping at Anthropologie and New York & Company.  Tori and I were very disciplined in Anthro... only combing through the sale and clearance racks. Tori found an interesting top and asked me to try it on... so cute. It is definitely a part of their line that requires an undershirt. Today I am wearing it with a black camisole and black crop pants... check out my fashion adventures over at Mary-Anne's blog "Dream A Little Daydream".

I was specifically looking for a dress to wear to Hunter's graduation in August.. and after trying on many dresses I fell in love with a dress that I just picked up to try for fun! It is so cute.. yet I must keep you at bay.. I have vowed not to wear it until Hunter's graduation. I was so thankful to find it on sale at Anthro, and absolutely love it. My heart smiled thinking that is what I will be wearing the first time I see Hunter since the tornado. :)

I also found some great pieces at NY&C.. I bought dress black crops and a summer dress. I got each of these on sale and Tori and I scored some great finds, again with coupons! So.. my shirt from Anthro and crop pants made today's work outfit, and then a dress for whenever, and a dress for Hunter's graduation. One fabulous dinner, and a great night of fun and relaxation with a good friend. And, to top it all off, Hunter finally started receiving the letters I have been sending him. :)

This week is fully of many blessings, and it is only Tuesday. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for the rest of my week. I hope you are taking account of how He is blessing you this week. Here we go.. now, back to full swing of school and work. Let the madness begin!

Check this out!

My best friend Mary-Anne Gillis and I are combining our professional lives with a little bit of flair. Check out our daily style adventures plus so much more at her blog 'Dream a Little Daydream'.

I love Mary-Anne and can't believe how spectacular our friendship is. Keep in mind, she is my fashion coach. The outfit featured in this post however, I was able to put together myself!! Aren't you proud?

Law School Formal

WOW. Friday night, for lack of a better word was... interesting. Here we go.. from the beginning. After class I went to Starbucks to finish working on a problem with Anne. I was super motivated and determined to study all night Friday before leaving for Mary Allison's shower Saturday.

As Anne and I were sitting in Starbucks a guy we have met through studying at Starbucks walked in. This is not unusual as the three of us see each other in Starbucks and chat all the time. He has even been to visit my church a few times. This time, a new motive popped into his head. He came and sat down beside us and rather than getting out his books, continued to just wait on us. After a while Anne decided to give him our attention... much to my dismay as I really wanted to finish what we were doing and get home. He then presented his request to us. Friday night was the Law School Formal, and his date had to cancel due to her work schedule being changed. So.. he wanted me to go with him.. Mind you, it is around 5pm and he wants me to be ready at 7pm! He apologized for the late notice and said if nothing else, I would get a nice dinner out of it. He said he would take me to Chuck's and that it was a bribe if he needed it to be. Unfortunately for the two of them (Anne for all for this from the start) I had no idea what Chuck's was... so the bribe was not effective. After much begging, questioning and me continually saying that I needed to study... I finally gave in. What would it hurt to go to a short dance with the Law school.. after all... I had NO IDEA what I would be getting myself into.

So, with that Anne and I finished our problem and rushed to her house.. I tried on dress after dress and nothing fit... I was going to be embarassed by being improperly dressed in front of a bunch of Law students.. however, if I couldn't find anything I could back out! Unfortunately we finally found a dress. It was too skimpy and not my taste... but I figured I could wear a cardigan or coat over it. So, we rushed to my apartment.. I needed shoes, my hair fixed and make-up. When we got to the apartment, Gabby completely disapproved of my outfit and offered for me to wear one of her dresses. This dress, to me, is gorgeous.. and it fit me way better. With Gabby and Anne trading off doing my hair and make-up I was finally ready and made it to his house at 7pm, exactly!

Poor quality.. but it gives you an idea of what I looked like....

So... we went to dinner (which took forever) and finally arrived at the Formal at 10:30pm. For those of you who know me... I don't drink or party... and I was greatly mislead... because this is exactly what I had just been brought too. Everyone there was completely drunk... and as most times that I have seen people drinking.. looked as if there weren't having any fun. I tried my best to act normal, but I think that the fact that I was not drinking along with all the other people really bothered him, and others around us. I was so thankful when he was ready to go home. I prayed all night that no one I knew would walk up to us.. Lord, it would have ruined my witness. And I was so thankful to get out of there. The law student, who I am trying my hardest not to name, and Anne thought that they had really done me a favor by 'broadening my horizons'. However, I must say that my horizon through Christ does not need broadening.. my convictions are my own, and I do not try to force them on anyone; and I do appreciate those who respect my convictions. While the night wasn't horrible, it is definitely something I will NEVER do again. And the next time someone asks me to help them out, I will learn to just say no. Part of this is due to my naivety in certain situations.

However, I do wish to think that everyone would be like me... until otherwise noted. I am proud to say that I live my life differently from others. And I praise my Lord for giving me the convictions and desire to do so. I so hope that each of you, when feeling the tugging of the Holy Spirit in your life will slow down, listen to what He has to say...and follow His commands. This life, is the only life that is completely fulfilling and rewarding. A life of Christ is the only life I choose to live!

In the end, this was a good learning experience for me. I now know more about two people that I see very often, and I know that when they suggest something, I am immediately to say no. Also, the two of them now know that I am not going to budge on my convictions and that my stand for Christ will not be moved. The experience made me miss my friends in Troy and Sean... for they would have never put me in such a situation. But, that is what life in the 'real world' is for... Learning, living, and being on your own. Making decisions and making the most out of life and what it throws at you.

....When I don't fit in and I don’t feel like I belong anywhere

When I don’t measure up to much in this life

Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ....

~Forgiven by Sanctus Real~

Spring Break 2011

WOW! What a great week I have had, and thankfully it isn't over yet! I just can't brag enough about how great my job is.. I mean, not many working professionals can say they have spring break.

Last week was super stressful with tests in all my classes! However, I feel that I did well on all. What a great way to start my break! Donna came to Tuscaloosa on Friday and went to the Alabama vs. LSU gymnastics meet with me.

I left for DC on Saturday morning. Thanks to my SAI sisters I was able to be dropped off and picked up from the airport! Thanks Tori and Erin! I made it in to Virginia a little after 5pm, Mary-Anne picked me up from the airport and we went back to her home. We had a wonderful dinner and finished a great night with many episodes from season one of Glee, accompanied with popcorn. Considering I never have an ounce of free time it was great to just sit back and watch a little TV. Sunday, we went shopping! :) We started out at TJ Maxx, of course and found some great deals! Then, we fulfilled a recent obsession of ours. Anthropologie has many great outfits and such cute clothes, however they are EXPENSIVE! One thing on Mary-Anne's bucket list was to own something, even if just a hair accessory, from Anthropologie. So, off we went... After looking around the store and loving everything we headed to the clearance room. We each found a skirt on clearance to try on, and then picked a few things from the store to try on. After much fun and many great looks, we made a deal. We would buy our clearance item, and a full price item, ONLY if we loved it. As we tried on outfits we found that we loved most things.. but we stuck to the plan and each got our one clearance item and one full price item. After all, with the stress of school and work, we deserved it!

Here is what I got:

How cute are these skirts!?! They are work and everyday appropriate!!

Sunday night I was able to have lunch with and meet, Charles... And I am so proud that he and Mary-Anne have found each other. What a CUTE couple!

Monday I went in to work with Mary-Anne and was able to hang out at the House of Representatives while waiting for my tour of the capitol. I had a great time hanging out and my tour was AMAZING! I also got to sit in the House Gallery, which was beautiful. Being able to see what my vote enables was an amazing adventure. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the U.S. botanical gardens. I took many pictures of the beautiful flowers and just had a great time walking around. You can see all these pictures and more on my facebook. :)

Tuesday I had another tour, this one of the Supreme Court building. It was interesting to learn about the Supreme Court and browse the history and sit in the courtroom. Wednesday Mary-Anne and I were fortunate enough to have an appointment to meet and get our picture taken with Martha Roby, the Alabama, District 2 representative. She is so cute and was so nice!! We were even able to ride the elevator with her as she went to cast her vote. It was great just chatting with her, talking about her putting on her makeup, and the fact that in high school, she dated my boss!! :) She was so nice, and not just 'You are my constituent I will be nice to you', GENUINELY nice.

Today I took the metro with Mary-Anne to the Airport, and then flew back to Alabama.. then I drove the rest of the way home. In one day, in a span of less than 12 hours, I have traveled by train, plane and automobile!!

I have had a blast so far on spring break... and have a few more things left to do. I am home to see my family for a while; then traveling to Birmingham to see the SEC Gymnastics Championships. Finally, I plan on having a day of rest and church back at my apartment. I am so glad I was able to pack so much into this week, and it has been great, and will continue to be. Praise God for such a wonderful week!!

Birthday Weekend

Despite being terribly sick, I had one of the most fabulous birthday weekends!

Friday: I am so blessed that at my job, I get a day off for my birthday! :) So Friday, the University of Alabama gave me... 'A day in the life of a regular college student' HAHA! I woke up at 8am, got ready for class, packed for home, went to Starbucks, took some pastries to work for the office staff, then went to class and as soon as I got out of class, I grabbed some lunch and went home!! How amazing is that!?

Small side note: While I was visiting work, Neal, my boss, called me into his office and spoke to me about my job family - aka, the step ladder of promotions to go through. As of February 23, I have been working for Building Maintenance for six months! Wow how time has flown! And now that six months has passed.... I am eligible for promotion. And Neal told me that I was doing a great job, and that I deserved more money for it!! So, with that, he asked me to get started Monday on the process to my promotion... and ended with happy birthday and have a great weekend!! What a way to start my birthday weekend!

God is so GOOD!

Friday afternoon I arrived in Troy and visited Donna and her lovely puppy, Palin. :) Afterwards I met Daniel and Sean at the Troy rec fields, where Sean was giving a soccer lesson. Turned out the kid he was teaching went to Zion at one point, and I helped teach him in sixth grade beginner band!! What a fun reunion. After that I took a hilarious trip to walmart with my guys, Sean, Daniel and Derrick. Then the festivities began. The boys surprised me with a wonderful cookout and a guest list contained with some of my greatest friends! Even one that I haven't seen in forever, Charity and her husband Tyler! What a surprise! They also surprised me with a cake and limited my involvement in cooking. I truly know the best boys on earth!

Donna and Ali playing with Palin :)

Saturday: I was able to have a wonderful 'sleep over' with my niece Ali. We woke up early Saturday morning, played games and decorated posters for Dustin's (my nephew) ballgame. It was great to just hang out with her. Mom also took care of me while I was sick, and Beverly, my sister, brought me some medicine. We went to Dustin's ballgame, hung our posters on the fence and had a great time cheering Enterprise to victory! 

Dustin and Ali with his posters!

Saturday night Beverly's family came over and Mom cooked a birthday dinner made of all mine and Donna's requests! :) We also had a peanut butter pie for dessert! Dustin and one of his baseball pals found two balloons and came screaming 'Happy birthday' down the road. I thought it was so sweet that they thought of us. Donna and I opened our presents  after dinner, much to Ali's excitement. And then the night came to a close. 

Sunday: Mom declared me too sick to go to church and we hung out around the house, holding a hot rag to my face and playing on Mom's kindle. I traveled back to Tuscaloosa this afternoon and have been doing a few things around the apartment. I love my family and friends, and I thank them for a wonderful birthday weekend!

Fun, in the sun. :)

Yesterday I drove to Montevallo, specifically, the University of Montevallo, to watch my favorite boys play in a flag football tournament. Daniel and Derrick played with the Troy BCM in the annual statewide BCM flag football tournament. It was great to get out of the house and spend a beautiful day outside. Their first game on Saturday was at 8am, and due to a loss and then a couple wins they ended the night at 5pm. What I thought would be a short morning trip became an all day affair. But I had a blast getting away from it all and just relaxing on the sidelines cheering on my boys!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the event:

 Here Daniel is... taking a break from the action. He was definitely a star player! :)










Below: Sleeping in between games.. the sun wore me out.. and all I did was watch!!

 Here the Troy Co-ed team plays University of North Alabama...

Here the boys play Auburn.. it was an amazing win with the mercy rule being called at the half. Troy 35-Auburn 0

Tangible Love

Below you will find an exerpt from my day's devotional. Girlfriends in God is something I started receiving after hearing about it from my friend Lisa... it has been more than a blessing, and I have passed it on to many other friends.

October 5, 2010



Iron Sharpens Iron  - Sharon Jaynes



Today's Truth


"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17 TNIV).


Friend To Friend


In my silverware drawer at home, I have about 15 knives of various shapes and sizes. However, I only use about four of them and the others simply are taking up space. The problem is, the other knives are dull and I've never taken the time to sharpen them. I could just toss them in the trash, but that seems like such a waste.


The same can be true in our own lives. The Bible says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17 TNIV). When we don't have friends that challenge us and encourage us to grow, we grow dull. Ultimately, we become "not the sharpest knife in the drawer" and other ones are chosen for tasks that we would love to do. Is there someone that God is calling you to sharpen? Is there someone who God is nudging you to invite to be a sharpening agent?


Jesus gave us a word of caution when it comes to "sharpening" our friends. Do it in love. Alice Miller has a good rule of thumb for correction: "If it is very painful for you to criticize your friends, you are safe in doing it. But if you take the slightest pleasure in it, that is the time to hold your tongue."

As women, we love to soak in warm bubble baths, lather in fragrant soaps, and soften with aromatic oils. But all too often, when it comes to removing dirt from a friend, we pull out the hard-bristled scrub brush of harsh words and scrub, scrub, scrub. The end result is often not the removal of dirt, but a wounded, emotionally scraped and bruised soul. Powerful words are not caustic words. They are gentle, tender words wrapped in an attitude of love. Paul wrote to the Colossians, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12).

Wow. What a powerful message. At times I have felt attacked by fellow Christians in my feelings and I am thankful to say that I now have an army of girlfriends who encourage me and sharpen me with love.

I am as guilty as anyone, and I know that. But one thing I constantly ask of God is to give me something I can touch, see or feel. But God has begun to open my eyes through my conversations with my girlfriends, today in particular, Mary Allison. Each of us experience life differently and handle situations differently. However, as much as I want someone here in Tuscaloosa to talk to face to face, where I can see there expression, I have learned that this would take away the purpose of faith. Why would I have to put my faith and trust in God if I always had a worldy conterpart to look to???

I am thankful for my wonderful friends, and I am thankful that last night God gave me the chance to be still... and bask in His glory and grace. Last night I chose not to do any homework, and actually have dinner with my roomies and just have a calm night. **This will bite me later, but I am thankful for one nice of peace since the past two months have flown by.**

I am thankful for my friends, and how they encourage me to trust Him. And I am thankful that God will always be there for me, even though I can't see or touch Him, literally. But yet, as we live in God's creation, and see His mighty works we are in essence, seeing, and touching Him. Praises be to our wonderful God.

One AMAZING weekend!

Well, I wasn't very sure it was going to end up that way... I have a wonderful study buddy that God has blessed me with. Her name is Anne, and we work diligently every night of the week on homework. Anne has an undergraduate degree in business, and after working for a number of years decided that she hated her job and couldn't do what she was doing forever... So she is happily married and back in school, getting a Master's in Math with the ambitions of teaching college math.

So, needless to say, I spend much of my time giving Anne knowledge from my undergraduate background in Math. She has little to no mathematical foundation, so I am just going over the fundamentals and explaining theories and reasonings as we go over homework. Now, this isn't a one way street, as much as I help Anne through our homework, she is able to go ask our professors questions when I don't understand something. You see, with my job, I cannot go to any office hours that my professors have, but with Anne having backed off to a part time and very flexible job, she can go any time needed. So.. we are a great team.

After a long and daunting Thursday night we still weren't finished with the Numerical Analysis homework that we had started on Monday. Thankfully our teacher is so nice and graciously answers our questions. Most of the time, the methods aren't hard, just extremely time consuming. So, with Thursday being a total of 15 hours of work logged on our homework we decided to call it a night, and finish on Friday.

What's the problem? Well, I had planned since Monday to go home Friday right after work, and even worked over so that I could get off at 2:30pm on Friday. I had plans to spend time with my family before they left today on a two week vacation. I was going to attend my high school football game, and the TROY game, eat dinner with my friends after the game and do homework before the game. Thursday night was definitely a break down, and I called my mom to tell her that I just couldn't make it home for the weekend. I had too much homework, two more subjects were just waiting on me to get started... I hadn't been grocery shopping or had the chance to clean this week. So reluctantly and with many tears, I stayed in Tuscaloosa.

Friday after I got off work Anne and I worked on homework and finished around 4pm. Both of us having had terrible weeks, with tests that we spent hours studying for, and still didn't do well on... Mine was Stats and hers was Differential Equations. We were worn out, and super excited to finally to have finished oru homework for Numerical Analysis. We walked to Dr. Zhao's office together to hand in our homework with smiles on our face from ear to ear! As we handed our papers in Dr. Zhao, he returned our smiles and we high fived each other when we got out of his office. He is our favorite teacher, because he is so sweet and straightforward. I honestly never thought I would say that I little Chinese man was my favorite teacher. But hey, the University of Alabama works miracles. ;)

Well, after that Anne and I were ready to treat ourselves. Really, we had a horrible week, and worked very hard.  So, Anne being a local and knowing the town, etc. decided what we should do. We went to this wonderful little place in Northport called "Tips and Toes" and we both got manicures and pedicures!! If felt wonderful to just relax after goign 90 to nothing and then full blast. It was a great end to our week, and we actually had time to sit and chat with each other, and not have homework shorten our converstation.

Saturday I slept in a few hours from my normal 5am wake up call and then layed around the house and watched TV for the early part of the morning. I haven't turned my TV on in over two weeks... turning it on was a small victory. Then, I did what ever girl who needs a little boost does, I went shopping. I bought some cute cardigans at New York and Company, they were having a buy one get one half off sale, and bought a super soft sweater that was also on sale. This was also my first 'Wells Fargo' experience. Our bank, Wachovia, converted Saturday, and then was official today. So part of me really was just curious that my card may or may not work. The rest of the afternoon was filled with washing clothes, Alabama and TROY football, both of which were gut-wrenching games, and homework. I finally finished my stats homework around 10:30pm... that's right, I started at 2:30pm.... haha Graduate School.. isn't it lovely??

Sunday I went to church and Anne came over and we worked on our Real Analysis homework. We finished that in a record of 2 hours! Needless to say we were exstatic! So, I finished my laundry, cleaned my room, went grocery shopping, and was able to have dinner with my roommates!! It was so nice to actually be able to spend time with them... I litterally hadn't seen them in a week!

So, I had a semi-restful and very productive weekend... And I am very happy about it. I have beautiful fingers and toes to remind me of God's blessings even when at first things aren't going our way. God knows best for us, and though times may be tough and decisions may be hard, He works all things for the good of those that love Him.

My first Paycheck

Friday was payday... and I was super excited. Even though we have direct deposit here at work, your first check comes as a paper check. So, I was able to walk across the street to the next door offices and pick up my check myself. I couldn't contain my excitement.

I was so excited, until I opened it. I was shocked to see the amount and if anyone had been able to see my face I am sure they would have laughed! I quickly began to review my deductions. After a series of emails, questions and phone calls, I found the problem. I had been charged over $300 in medical arrears... when in reality I was only supposed to be charged $36. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!

Thankfully I will receive this money back on my next paycheck. So for now, I have a running joke with my mother that thanks to the government I work... but don't get paid. Thankfully my rent was already paid for this month and I wasn't depending on that extra $300 that was supposed to be in my check... praise God for His many blessings.

I went home this weekend because Saturday, September 11, was my dad's birthday. Alabama played Penn State and we all got together at my oldest sister, Beverly's house to watch the game and have dinner with Dad. September 11 is also Coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant's birthday... and ironically enough January 26, my mother's birthday, is the day Coach Bryant died. Let's just say, I was destined to be an Alabama fan. ;)

Good times with friends and family always make it hard to make the drive back to Tuscaloosa every Sunday afternoon, but I love it here none the less. I love it in two places now, my dream home, and my home in Troy. :)

I told a friend of mine this weekend that God is doing a great work in me, and He is teaching me something through all of this. Even though I may not know exactly what His plan holds or exactly where He is leading me right now... This is where I am supposed to be. Away from all things that made me comfortable and content. So that I may grow in a new and dynamic way for Christ. I believe that when you are content you begin to get in trouble... I believe we should always be striving more, always reaching for a deeper and deeper relationship. Like a ladder, or stairs, once we make it to one, don't get happy and sit there, STRIVE for the next! So, I am striving, learning and living. I am ready for the great things God has for me.

But, my friends, God says to 'Count it all joy when you fall into various trials and tribulations...' I believe that if things aren't going wrong in your life, if you aren't facing some sort of something.. and don't get me wrong it doesn't have to be something catastrophic... Then you are not in God's will. Because if you are striving to do God's will in your life then the DEVIL will be fighting back. If you aren't working for God, the devil has you in his grips, so why mess with you? So, this is my challenge to my readers I guess... Are you striving? Or are you content with the worldly things around you?

Changes in Tuscaloosa!

So I am back in Tuscaloosa after over a week long vacation at my parents house. I have had a great time spending time with friend and family and was honestly sad to be coming back.

Here's the news... the apartment complex told Gabby that it would just be the two of us living here.... well WRONG. Another girl moved in today, and another girl will be moving in next week. So we will have a full house... I am excited for new people, but sad because Gabby and I got hyped up about it being just the two of us.. and I have a great relationship with her.

My newest roommate is definitely a drinker, as there is now an expanse of alcohol in the fridge and she is slightly messy.. sad day. She is big and athletic looking but seems nice. She keeps to herself in her room and is a Biology major.. And these are just my first impressions. The girl who will be moving in soon is a Music major and is Asian. That should be interesting... however she does play the flute, so that speaks to my heart. :)

I got to hang out with an old friend from high school today... and it was great to catch up. I haven't seen her in years and I just recently found out she was going to Bama for grad school too! We are going to orientation together tomorrow and hope to be better informed by the end of the day.

I have graduate orientation tomorrow, and then the graduate math department has orientation Monday. School starts Wednesday, and I start my job the following Monday. I am excited and scared to get things going and see how they pan out. Here's hoping! :)

Also, a super thing that is special to my heart happened yesterday. Sean has always wanted me to learn how to drive a stick shift car, and he has taught me how to shift the gears and let try to drive his truck a few times... well He went on a trip with his roommate Derrick this past week to New York. So, my wonderful friends were hanging out at Sean's house... Daniel and James washing clothes, and me and Chelsey just chilling. We had dinner and watched a movie and it was really fun... Well, while the clothes were washing Daniel offered to teach me how to drive a stick. So, we got into Sean's truck and drove around his park... ME!! I drove! Daniel was a very good teacher, and I think my background knowledge helped.. haha! But he was very patient with me and always helped me out and reassured me! So.. this is my surprise for Sean! I can't wait to see him and take him for a drive in HIS car! :) I think he will be impressed. And I am really happy to finally completely know how.

I am sure lots of stories will come in the following weeks... here's hoping for a great year!