Sara's Thoughts

Top 5 Tuesday (33)

2012-02-09T00:34:00.001-06:00

I am very much aware that I am about to post this on aThursday. However, if you’ll bare with me, I’ll explain.

After missing 4 weeks of T5T I decided during my second weekof absence to treat it as an experiment. The experiment would prove (ordisprove) that T5T affected my mood. I did notice in the 4 weeks of not doing aT5T post, my life was a little more stressed, and I was a little bit sadderthan usual. While it did not cause me to go into a depression of any kind, Icould tell there was a difference in my attitude. I wasn’t acknowledging thegood things that had happened to me in the past week enough, which had caused alot of awesome things to go unnoticed; which resulted in me being in a not sogreat mood.

I also came to the conclusion that being committed tosomething like blog updates every 7 days was harder than I had originallyplanned. I think that means I might turn it down a notch and do one every 2weeks.

With all of that being said, I think it’s time for a T5T.

1 1. Ihave gotten to spend a lot of time with my parents the past few weeks. They hadto come to Birmingham for some doctor appointments for my mom. I’m pretty surethat they came up here 3 weeks in a row for just one night. As hard as I’m sureit was on my parents, I’m not going to lie and say I wish they wouldn’t havehad to come. I really enjoyed coming home from work to them in my apartment.They always make me happier just by being around.

2 2. UpwardBasketball came to a close last Saturday. It’s been a fairly good year withonly a couple of issues. As much as I enjoy basketball, I’m really not sad tosee it go. One reason is because I know it’ll be back before I know it, andanother reason is because I’m going to get about 3 Saturdays IN A ROW off. Thatalmost never happens, so I’m pretty excited!

3 3. Speakingof taking 3 weekends in a row off, all of them will include seeing friends thatI feel like I haven’t seen in years. That also means that I’ll be getting out ofBirmingham. I sincerely love it here, but getting out of town every now andthen really makes a difference.

4 4. InApril I will have the privilege of going on the girls retreat with the VHUMCyouth group. I honestly can’t explain my excitement. I’ve become friends withthe Youth Directors and I am genuinely looking forward to this. More to come onthis later.

5 5. Number5 is the most important part of this T5T post. If I weren’t able to post this,things would be drastically different for me. My mother had a very serioussurgery Monday morning. My sisters and I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 AM (myparents arrived an hour and a half earlier). For the next 5 hours we waited.Around 11:20 AM we received word that her surgery had started. Then we waited alittle more. Around 12:45 or 1:00 PM we were told she made it out of surgeryand Dr. C. was able to get the tumor. Excitement (as well as a sigh of relief)took over. Even though we had so many people praying and a really great doctor,we really weren’t sure how this one was going to turn out. Goes to show youthat even when you doubt God, He’s in control. It is all His. Everything. Wefinally got to see her around 5:30 PM. She was still really out of it, but itwas so good to see her. By the next day when I went to see her (around 12:00PM) she was eating a grilled cheese and had already taken a lap around herfloor. Hopefully, she’ll be going home tomorrow (Thursday).

My mom is the strongest person I know. I hopein the years to come I will gain her strength. She never ceases to amaze me.Her faith in God, her love for her family and friends, and her genuine kindnessleave me in awe. I love her more than words can express. My dad ranks right upthere with her. His love for my mother reminds me that true love still exists.He wouldn’t know what to do without her, and she wouldn’t know what to dowithout him. He worries when people he loves are experiencing any kind of pain.He cares about people, and I know for a fact that he has done many random actsof kindness that I’m not even aware of. I honestly could not have betterparents. I am blessed beyond words.

Top 5 Tuesday (32)

2012-01-11T01:36:00.002-06:00

Sorry I missed last week. I've been a little off lately. So, here we go...

1. As I said on Facebook, "Even as an Auburn fan, there is no denying how awesome it would be if the state of Alabama won 3 football national championships in the past 3 years." That was before the University of Alabama beat LSU 21-0. And needless to say, it was awesome. I'm happy for UA. They played a great game. While the competition on the field wasn't that exciting (I honestly feel like LSU did not show up for that game), Alabama's execution on the field was really exciting to watch. So, congrats to Alabama (the school and the state).

2. My parents are here. They're only here for a short time (not even 24 hours), but it is always nice to see them. I really wish they lived in Birmingham. Heck, I'd settle for closer than 3 hours away. They always put me in a good mood. I'm just happy to spend any amount of time with them.

3. I got my haircut. I know that seems like a lame thing to put on a T5T, but I LOVE haircuts. With the help of my sister, Anna, I found a hairstylist in Birmingham. Which is a task in itself because I'm pretty particular about my hair. Anyway, she's (Holly) been great. However, she announced around Christmas that she would no longer be cutting hair. So, now Anna is on the hunt again for both of us. It was nice to have Holly for as long as I did. So, here's hoping I (Anna) finds someone just as good.

4. Upward basketball is almost over. It's a little bitter/sweet. Basketball really is my favorite Upward sport. It's just a different atmosphere from flag football and soccer. I will miss it, but that just means we'll have another sport finished so we can move on to the next one.

5. I usually try not to put anything into the Top 5 that hasn't happened yet, but I'm just so excited about what is happening tomorrow (Wednesday) night. One Tree Hill's (FINAL) Season 9 Premier will be airing at 9:00 PM central time. I'm literally going to be on "auto-pilot" all day tomorrow. Just in a zombie-like state just to get through the day. Sounds lame, but I love this show. I'm going to be so sad when it ends. Only 13 episodes for the last season. Oh well, I'll appreciate it while it's here, then I'll just re-live it over and over again when it comes out on DVD. Ah, technology.

That's all for now. Until next week...

Top 5 Tuesday (31)

2011-12-27T22:14:00.000-06:00

Hello, all! So sorry for my absence last Tuesday. Let's go ahead and get started...

1. Last week I was able to have lunch with my friends Grace and Tommy. They were passing through on their way to visit Grace's sister and her family in Papua New Guinea. I know Birmingham isn't really on the way to PNG, but just trust me. This time it was. While we only got to spend a short 2 hours together it was so great to see them. Everyday I wish we lived closed to each other. Maybe one day.

2. Just in case anyone missed it, Christmas was Sunday. We travel every year for Christmas. My traveling has lessened a little due to the fact that one of our stops is Birmingham. Since I live here now, it's just like coming home. I must say Christmas was very good this year. Spending time with my family is always a joy. I look back and remember when it used to feel like a chore. So glad I got over that. Just wish I would have gotten over it sooner.

3. In other good news, I was off work yesterday and today. Needless to say, I'm a pretty happy camper. Days off are few and far between for me nowadays. Which isn't too bad because I love my job. But sometimes a day or two (in a row) away is very refreshing.

4. One word: Babies. They took over this Christmas in a such a good way. They were everywhere, but they were so entertaining. We all wondered what we did before them. Did we just sit around and look at each other? Because now we sit around and look at them. We are so blessed in that category. I can't imagine our lives without them.

5. I might be getting something new soon. The closer it gets to time, the more I'll tell you. For now, this is it. :)

Until next time...

Top 5 Tuesday (30)

2011-12-14T00:03:00.001-06:00

Woah, it's still Tuesday. Watch out. (Well, when I started this it was still Tuesday. That's gotta count for something.)

1. I kind of just realized today that I have been employed at VHUMC for 1 year and 13 days. What a challenging and fantastic year it's been. I've learned so much about myself, and I've met some great people along the way. I feel so blessed that this was my first job. I really can't wait to see where it's going to take me.

2. This past Saturday I went into work at 8:00 AM and left work at 9:40 PM. On Friday I was honestly dreading it. David wasn't going to be in, so it was just going to me doing Upward basketball. And earlier in the week I had double-booked birthday parties for that day, and I was helping with the Vestavia Dance lock-in. I knew I could make it through the day, but I just couldn't bear actually doing it. And then God reminded me that He had my back. At 4:30 on Friday David called me and said that his meeting was canceled so he would be at The Lighthouse with me on Saturday. I can't tell you how excited I was. I'm still excited thinking about it. While Upward basketball can be done by one person, having someone that you can trust with you makes things so much easier. It's takes away just about all of the stress. Saturday turned out to be a great day. It was a long day, but I was genuinely happy at the end of the day. Can't ask for anything more.

3. I really hate to be admitting this, but it was honestly one of the good things that happened to me in the past week. I got to watch a preview trailer for the last season of One Tree Hill. Back in February it turned into one of my guilty pleasures. I watched all 8 seasons in just a couple of months. I was able to catch up with it so I had to watch it on TV with commercial interruptions like a normal person. Anyway, it starts back in January. I cannot wait. Judge me all you want, I'm still excited.

4. Today was a very good day. I got some work done, discovered a new book (I will not share what book until I read a little more just in case it turns out to be horrible), and I realized that I'm on "cruise control" until January. I don't really have anything huge due at work. We don't have to start thinking about Upward soccer until January, and in between now and January we've got Christmas break. Times are good.

5. Newk's just opened right across the highway from the church. I love Newk's, but I don't go very often because the closest one to me was right off of 280. I try to avoid 280 at all costs. It's a nightmare. I was able to go tonight for dinner, and it was great. I told my sister that it's going to be a blessing and curse. Hopefully more of a blessing.

Until next week...

Top 5 Tuesday (29)

2011-12-06T23:57:00.001-06:00

Let's pretend tonight that Wednesday doesn't start til 1:00AM. Thanks :)

Okay, please bear with me tonight. I'm going to tell you a story, and it is definitely the top/most amazing thing that has happened to me all week. It's one of those moments where you really think everything is going to fall apart. But when you stay calm and make a plan, it all works out.

This afternoon about an hour before my "fitness class" (it's in quotations because we don't really do fitness. I just run around and play games with K5 through 3rd graders) I sat down to decide what game we were going to play. I was a little excited because I was going to try and find a new game. We have worn out some of our favorites over the last 4 months. So, as soon as I sit down the phone rings. I answer with my usual, "This is Sara." The voice says "Hi, it's Amy. I just wanted to confirm our party this Saturday." I pull up my calendar but the only party I have down is one for Julie. As soon as I see that the names don't match, I start to panic, but I don't think Amy can tell. However, when I tell her I don't have her party on my calendar, I can tell she is starting to panic. I look back through my emails and over my notes when I find it. Written as clear as day is "Amy, birthday party, Dec. 10th, 2:30 PM". I apologize profusely, and tell her that I'm going to call Julie because I think I have a plan. She is so kind in the way she says "okay". More kind than most mom's who planned their party 6 weeks ago and sent out really cute invitations (she sent me a copy of one a while back...adorable).

A side note: parties at The Lighthouse last an hour and half. I call Julie with a horrible plan. I ask her if she can move her 3:00 party to 3:30. That way Amy's party can have an hour in the gym (2:30 - 3:30) and then I can movie Amy's party into a room upstairs for cake/presents and Julie's party can start in the gym on time. Perfect! WRONG!!! It's four days before the party, of course Julie (like Amy) has already sent out the invitations. As I'm apologizing to Julie, I think of another plan. I say, "Okay, since your party is already 30 minutes after Amy's let me ask you this. What if for the beginning of your party yall get a dance room upstairs. I'll put some jump ropes, some gymnastic mats, and music on, and your kids can just hang out and dance and do some rolls/cart wheels or whatever. Then after that 30 minutes (it'll be 3:30 by then) Amy's party will have had their hour in the gym and then we can just swap places. Your party can last longer than an hour and a half since this was my mistake." And much to my surprise, she said "Okay, I think that can work. They are 3 years old so that should entertain them for 30 minutes." Oh, they're 3. Let's just put in a movie. Just kidding. Sort of. (I did not say that to her, by the way)

Sweeeeeeeet!!!!! As soon as she agrees I take a deep breath and give a sigh of relief. However, I know I still have to call Amy. Before I get off the phone with Julie she says the sweetest thing. I apologize over and over, and she says "Hey, you're human, and I know you've got a lot on your plate. It's not a problem. I'm just glad we can still have the party." After that, I call Amy and give her the plan. She agrees as well. She is just as kind, saying almost the same thing as Julie. I can't believe that I got two moms who maintained their kindness when the plan for the birthday party for their 5 year old and 3 year old was almost ruined.

I've never double-booked a party before. The worst I have ever done is book a party that requested the moonbounce when the moonbounce was being used by someone else. It cost us $100. We had to rent another moonbounce so everyone would be covered.

So, here is what I learned. WRITE EVERYTHING ON YOUR CALENDAR! EVERYTHING! I also learned that everything will work out, and if it doesn't, it's not the end of the world. However, always try to do your best and not make a mom mad. I've experienced mad mom's before...I just got lucky this time.

Thanks for reading. Until next week....

Top 5 Tuesday (28)

2011-11-30T00:07:00.001-06:00

I know it's Wednesday, but my excuse is that I was sick Sunday and Monday. It threw my week off so I feel like it's Tuesday. :)

1. Thanksgiving. What a wonderful holiday it was. Both of my sisters, their husbands, and all the babies got to spend some much needed time together in Monroeville. The babies provided most of our entertainment, however we've become quite the "gamers" when we hang out. A few Christmases ago it was the Wii Fit, last Thanksgiving it was a couple of card games accompanied by Scattergories, and this Thanksgiving it was Cranium. What a fun game. We always have so much fun when we're together, and I wouldn't trade any of it for anything.

2. Thanksgiving break. How lovely it is to get a break every now and then. A time when nothing is on your mind but peace. That was what I thought about for the majority of the break. Peace. Every time I get frustrated, I try to go back to that frame of mine, and when I do, it calms me. Deep, I know.

3. Auburn/Alabama game. My parents found me a ticket fairly last minute to the game this past weekend. Even though we lost, it was so much fun. I hadn't been to a game in a long time, and getting back into that atmosphere was such a great feeling. There is nothing like Auburn football.

4. Breaking Dawn Part 1. Part of me feels a little dishonest placing this on my Top 5, however the other part of me can't seem not to mention it. I was able to attend the midnight premier with some pretty darn good friends. The company was awesome, but the movie left me feeling a little disappointed. I went to see it a second time a few days later, and it was better. I wish I could explain to you why I felt disappointed with the movie, but I just can't. If I can figure it out I will surely dedicate a post to it. Sometimes you just come across things that you aren't fully pleased with, but you just accept it because there's just something about it. It probably has a lot to do with my love for the books. I can't fully refuse the movie, because I loved the books so much. And maybe it's all of the excitement for part 2. I honestly believe it is going to be phenomenal (I promise to admit it if it's not).

5. Last but not least, it is cold. And I love it. I think it is finally going to stay that way. None of that 50 degrees one day and 80 degrees the next. I'd rather be cold than hot any day. Something about it is just so refreshing.

Thank you for all of your patience. Every now and then life gets in the way and this slides down the priority list. Thank you for (still) reading.

Monroeville

2011-11-22T00:17:00.001-06:00

A small town can be a blessing and a curse. When you’reyoung, it’s more of a curse. As you get older, you realize how much of ablessing it’s always been.

In high school I couldn’t wait to get out. Monroeville wasthe place where everyone knew everything about everybody. People even took theliberty of making up things about you that you didn’t even know were true. Butat the same time everyone had their group of people. Whether it was 5 people or50 people, they were the ones you counted on.

After high school graduation, whether it was you going offto college or your friends, you knew things would never be the same. I was theone that was saying, “Now I’m really going to find out who my friends are.”Then after your second year of college or so, you realized “who your realfriends were”. When in reality, it was everyone’s fault for not keeping intouch with each other. Some tried more than others, but life just got in theway.

After college graduation, you realize how much you misseveryone. You’ve made some irreplaceable new friends while in college, but youstill miss the ones who were there in the beginning. The ones who were with youwhen you were still trying to find out you were. You really begin to miss home.

Between the end of high school and now, tragedy happened.You either lost a friend, a family member (including pets), or someone Monroevillenever knew, and no matter where you were Monroeville reached out. It reachedout and offered a hug, an “I’m sorry”, meals for weeks, cards, etc. I got myfirst glimpse of Monroeville’s love when Adam died, but I didn’t reallyunderstand it until my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer. People I hadn’ttalked to in years were offering a kind word or would just say “if thereanything I can do for you…” was always more than enough. It made me realize howspecial Monroeville really is, and always had been.

Last week, a boy from Monroeville passed away. Just byreading all the Facebook statuses you could see how much it touchedMonroeville. He hadn’t even lived there his whole life, but Monroevilleremembered him, and knew it would miss him.

Monroeville is special in the way only someone fromMonroeville would understand. When you were young, you felt like it was alwaystrying to bring you down. As you got older, you wished you had given it achance to bring you up, because it definitely would have.

Monroeville, I’ve missed you, and I can’t wait to come homefor Thanksgiving.

So sorry...

2011-11-16T01:25:00.001-06:00

Please forgive me. Times have been busy, and I am too tired now to catch up. I should have some good ones next week since it'll be Thanksgiving, and I will have missed the past 2 weeks.

Love to you all.

Top 5 Tuesday (27)

2011-11-02T00:09:00.004-05:00

I've got 10 minutes. So here we go...

1. I took myself on a date tonight, and it was wonderful. Actually I took myself on a date last night too. Tonight I went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and it was great. Then last night I took myself to a movie. I saw Real Steel. Stop laughing. It was actually pretty good.

I'm going to be honest with you. I know that what I typed above isn't the only good thing that has happened in the last 7 days. However, right now, it feels like it is. Work has been really good, but really busy. I'm tired a lot, but I'm also happy. It really is just a complicated situation.

It's the month of Thanksgiving so I'm just going to say what I'm thankful for. First, God. The one who is there for me no matter how ungrateful I am. He has given me everything, and yet I still doubt Him. And through it all, He is still there for me. Second, my family. Everyday I'm amazed at how awesome my family is. It's almost hard to put into words. We're always there for each other and we always enjoy each other's company. If I didn't have my family, I know I would be miserable. Third, my friends. I don't get to talk to them or see them everyday, but I know they're always there for me. There are only a few that I can call best friends, and they really are the best. Life really is a lot easier with friends. Fourth, my job. A lot of people don't have one, or they do and they hate it. I have a job that puts food on the table, clothes on my back, and a roof over my head, and I love it. I loving playing games with kids, and being a part of Upward and being in a church setting. I can't imagine being anywhere else. And lastly, everything else. I have so much to be thankful for I could be writing this for months. God has been so good to me. He has given me more than I deserve. I know I fail Him everyday, but He still allows me to feel his presence in everything I do. He allows me to feel a presence that I am completely unworthy of. And with that, life is good.

And now after I've typed all of that, things don't seem so complicated anymore :)

Until next week...

Top 5 Tuesday (26)

2011-10-25T23:49:00.002-05:00

I've got 25 minutes. Here we go...

1. Upward Basketball is about to start, and while life is a little hectic trying to get ready for it at the same time we're trying to finish Upward Flag Football, I'm excited. Basketball is a completely different setting than flag football, obviously. It's a controlled space, and I also feel like I can see more of what happens. Basketball is definitely one of my favorite sports. It's going to take up most of my weekends, but I remember that Upward is a great program. It teaches sports in a Christian atmosphere and helps the kids learn that winning isn't everything. Totally win/win.

2. Today was long, but I found myself in a great mood. I had fitness time with the kids, and honestly, our fitness time together is just us playing games. Today we played "Simon Says". I tried a new Simon command unsure if they would really be into it. I said "Simon says dance" and they went nuts. I joined in with a little dance of my own, and it made my heart so happy. That kind of happy that you really feel. Those kids can sometimes push my buttons, but goodness, there are certain moments I can't get enough of 'em. Who knew I would ever say that about kids?

3. I finally got to spend some time with friends this weekend. Working 6 days a week leaves little time for a social life. It started out with a few friends, and then turned into a bunch of other people I didn't know. We were all watching the Alabama game. I'm not a Bama fan and I didn't know the majority of the people there, but it was fun. It felt good to be surrounded by people while not being at work. Sometimes it's just the little things.

4. My iPhone is still the greatest in the world. I'm sorry, it's just so awesome that I had to mention it again :)

5. Thanksgiving is less than a month away. I seriously can't wait to spend time with my family and go home to Monroeville. It has been far too long. When I was younger people would always say that you'd miss your hometown when you got older. I always thought there was no chance of that happening because my hometown was Monroeville. It's taken a little while, but I think I've finally reached that point. I would love to be able to go home once every month or two. And that's not just because I miss my hometown, I miss my parents. Everyday. And that has a lot to do with the fact that they are honestly the best parents in the world.

Until next week....

Top 5 Tuesday (25)

2011-10-18T23:09:00.000-05:00

For all of you that really know me, I'm sure you'll know what number one is going to be...

1. I got my iPhone 4S on Friday. It's my first iPhone and I don't know how I've survived this long without having one. All of my work stuff (calendar, email, etc.) automatically syncs with my phone without having to plug it into my work computer. EVERYTHING is just right on my phone. I love it.

2. Sunday was our first day back to flag football after a glorious week off. I must say, I wasn't really looking forward to going back because having a full weekend without work was awesome. However, it was a really great day. Just watching the kids run around with huge smiles on their faces makes for a good day.

3. We were pretty down in numbers for Upward Basketball. We had our last evaluation/sign-up day tonight and we had 72 people walk through. We definitely surpassed 100 which is awesome. Such a blessing to get kids involved in Upward Sports.

4. The Lighthouse had a golf scramble Monday morning that benefits our scholarships and Mobile Rec. My alarm when off at 5:15 AM. I moaned and groaned and got in the shower. As I was leaving The Lighthouse (after picking up some stuff) around 6:30 the sun was starting to come up. The sunrise was so beautiful it took my breath away. I guess an ordinary sunrise would do that to me since I really don't see that many, but it was fantastic. It almost makes me want to wake up for every sunrise. Almost.

5. My mom is coming to Birmingham tomorrow. I won't get to see her until Thursday or Friday due to work, but I can't wait. Even though I saw her less than a month ago, it feels like I haven't see her in forever. And if I hadn't spent so much of my parents money, my dad could quit being a dentist and come to. I love my parents!

Until next week...

Top 5 Tuesday (24)

2011-10-11T00:51:00.003-05:00

1. This weekend I did almost nothing. We didn't have flag football on Sunday, so I got 2 days off in a row. That is very rare so I try to take advantage of it. And by taking advantage of it, I did nothing. Mission accomplished.

2. I preordered the iPhone 4S on Friday at 2:00AM. I had never done that before, mainly because Verizon just got the iPhone at the first of this year. If they had had it all along, I probably would have done it a couple of times. I got on the Apple store at about 5 til 2. I kept hitting refresh just in case they went online a few minutes early, but by 2:15 I was getting a little frustrated. I finally did some research and people were saying the site was down for everyone. So, I ran on over to verizon.com and preordered my iPhone with no problem. I'm so excited. It should be here by this Friday.

3. We had a fairly big issue come up this past weekend with Upward Flag Football. I'm not going to go into detail on here because I don't really believe it is my story to tell. But the point I'm trying to make is that I made a plan and took care of it (with the help of my friend David). And today my boss told me I did a good job. While he tells me that just about every other day, this one felt extra special. Not sure why, it was just one of those feelings.

4. I went to see Courageous two weeks ago, and I must say that I really enjoyed it. It's from the same people that did Facing the Giants and Fireproof. While the acting never really blows you away, the story/message can stand on it's own. It really was a great movie. I'd definitely go see it again, and I'll more than likely buy it.

5. I really do believe that one day I'll be able to look back on my life and be genuinely happy about it. I might regret a few things, but not enough to lose sleep over. Because in the end, all of those so-called "regrets" will have gotten me to that point. And that makes me happy.

You are welcome for the most random (yet honest) #5. Until next week...

Top 5 Tuesday (23)

2011-10-04T23:45:00.000-05:00

Here we go...

1. This past weekend was fantastic. My friends Grace and Tommy Stanton came and stayed with me. I hadn't seen them in what seemed like forever. They get here Friday around 10PM and then left Sunday morning. We had such a great time just running around Birmingham and spending time together. I miss them everyday, and I always wish they lived closer.

2. Upward Flag Football on Sunday was fantastic. The weather was unbelievable in the best way possibly. A breezy 70-ish and not a cloud in the sky. On a normal, hot Sunday I drink up to 6 bottles of water. However, this past Sunday I only had 1 and a half. And to top it all off, we're off this Sunday. So, I get a break. Awesome!

3. Well, today was a big day in technology world. Apple had an iPhone keynote. I, along with a lot of other people, thought they would be announcing the iPhone 5. However, they only announced the iPhone 4S. Initially I was disappointed, but the more I read about the 4S, the more excited I got. While it looks exactly like the iPhone 4, it's insides are much different. It's faster and has a better camera. The main reason I'm excited about all of this is because I am due for an upgrade. As soon as the iPhone 4S launches, I'm getting one. SO pumped!

4. I am currently reading the Hunger Games. I must say, I was a little disappointed after the first few pages, but it got moving shortly after that and I am hooked. I'm so excited I found (after some of my friends pointed me in the right direction) these books. I can't wait to see what happens next.

5. Last but definitely not least, I get to go to lunch tomorrow with a friend from college that I haven't seen since I graduated over a year ago. Seeing old friends always puts a smile on my face, and it'll add a little something extra to my week. I'm so thankful for everyone I have in my life. I wouldn't be who I am today without them.

Until next week...

Top 5 Tuesday (22)

2011-09-29T19:48:00.001-05:00

Most of you that know me, already know what I'm going to write tonight. You will also know that the one thing I have to mention will take up all of T5T because he is that special.

1. (The only one) Jack Leslie Mosley was born at 1:50AM on September, 27th. I will let my sister, Mary Alice fill you in on the rest, but here is a preview of the cutie...

Definitely not going to be able to get enough of him.

Yep, that's it. The reason I'm late is because I left Birmingham Monday night around 8 to head to Montgomery to meet this little guy. Then on Tuesday I went to Troy to check on this one...

Not the best picture, but that's because this is the only one that I could get with her looking at the camera. So, I didn't get back to Birmingham until 9:30, and Wednesday was a long day (as usual), but it was a good day. Okay, I'm done. Good one coming next week, I'm sure. God bless.

Explaining T5T in 14 words

2011-09-24T16:57:00.001-05:00

Top 5 Tuesday (21)

2011-09-20T01:38:00.002-05:00

I'm back! I'm sorry I've been MIA. I've had a few things going on. Nothing bad. Just stuff that kept me distracted. So, here we go (finally)...

1. Upward Flag Football has started, and it has been great. The weather has been really awesome. It's never been unbearably hot, and when you live in Alabama and a lot of your job is spent outside, you appreciate the lack of unbearable hot weather. The first game is at 1:30. The sun is shining, and there's usually a nice breeze. It gets a little hotter as the day goes on (the last game doesn't end until 4:30) but when it's over it's about to start cooling off again. The kids are good and we have some great coaches this year too.

2. Needtobreathe's new album just came out at midnight tonight. It is fantastic! They are a Christian group, but you honestly can't really tell unless you either really listen to or read their lyrics. Needtobreathe has already become a favorite group of mine. Also, I got Shane & Shane's new album early. It's great as well! It officially releases on October 4th.

3. Even though Labor day feels like months ago, it was never mentioned in a T5T when it totally deserved it. It was the babies first trip to the beach, and I think they had a blast. It was great spending time with that part of the family that we rarely get to see. Family is family no matter how often you get to see each other, and I consider myself blessed in that department.

4. My birthday was 8/31 and I have to say it was a day of mixed emotions. Mostly good ones though. I know most people don't think 25 is old, but even when I was 18 I thought it would be FOREVER until I reached 25. Then all of sudden, I'm here. I feel accomplished though. The way I feel about my job helps with that accomplished feeling. I can't imagine being anywhere else. I also feel accomplished when it comes to friends. I had a few people who treated me very special that day. I am more thankful than they know.

5. Babies! Not mine, of course. My cousin's baby boy was born Monday (9/19). Adorable. And my sister, Mary Alice's due date is about 2 weeks away. But everyone is thinking he's going to come early. Which is beyond exciting. Our family is definitely blessed in the baby department.

Thanks to all of you who are still reading. Sorry I slacked off. Until next Tuesday...

Trying to keep up

2011-09-08T23:28:00.000-05:00

I know I've missed the last 2 weeks of T5T. To say the past few weeks have been a challenge would be an understatement. Work has actually turned into work. I know that won't last long because I love what I do. I am surprised everyday by people's kindness. I'm also surprised everyday by people's lack of kindness. I always try to make sure that the good outweighs the bad, but it's been tough lately.

I wish I could put into words the way I feel. However, I can't. There is too much backstory. Most of which doesn't have any business being on my blog. Most of the time it just feels like I'm climbing a hill, and no matter what I do I can't make it to the top. But I know I will make it eventually. I always do.

I feel like I've been fighting on my own. But one of my favorite bands (needtobreathe) put out a 90 second preview of one of their new songs. The name of the song is "Able" and the main chorus says "I'm not able on my own". I couldn't agree more. I know God is right beside me through all of this. I also found a verse that gives me some peace. Psalm 62:1 Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. I can't help but smile when I read it.

I apologize again to my readers. I told you I would give you a T5T once a week, and I have not. I am going to try to keep my head above water long enough to get you a T5T next week. I don't know if one person reads this or 100, but I do know that no matter how many people do, it really means a lot that anyone at all would take the time to read my thoughts. God Bless.

Busy, busy week

2011-08-26T13:44:00.000-05:00

This has been a very challenging week for me. Flag Football hasn't even had it's first game, and I'm already just trying to keep my head above water. But the good news is that whenever something happens that needs to be fixed, it gets fixed. One of the worse things that happened was a child's registration was completely skipped. To this day, I have no clue how he got skipped. On top of that, he had to be added to a league that was already maxed out. It was a disaster. However, a very kind coach offered to take him. And now he has an odd number of players. And before you think about how that's not a big deal, you have to understand the substitution process. Each child gets to play an equal amount of time. Before this new child, he had 12 on his team and we play 6 vs. 6. So, his substitutions were easy. 6 the first quarter. The second 6 the second quarter and so on. With 13 on a team, that just puts a kink in everything.

So, it got worked out, just like everything else. But it adds stress to everything. And when a child has to change a team, you have to swap his box from his old team to his new team as well as the box of the child he was traded for. Sometimes it's just tough keeping it all straight.

This week was also my first week of "Fitness" with K5 and 1st graders (Tuesday) and 2nd and 3rd graders (Thursday). Which went great. All the kids seemed to have a good time, and their teachers (who stay and help during the session) said the kids loved it.

On top of that, this was the first Wednesday for BAM and Choir. BAM stands for Bible Activities and Mission. Since I did so well last year, they kept me on as the Activities teacher. I don't have as many kids and we're in the gym. So, it's going pretty good. Choir is a little more complicated. They don't start actual choir until 4 so between 2:45 and 4 they are in The Lighthouse. I didn't think it went that great. However, no one was seriously injured (we skated), so I guess it should be counted as a success. But we've hopefully tweaked it enough, that it will run a lot smoother next week.

I know I missed a T5T, and it's not because there was nothing positive that happened this week. It's because I literally did not have time. I've been exhausted when I get home, and so busy at work that I just couldn't spare a minute. Until today. It's been a chill day and time has been passing by rather quickly. So, it's been a good day. I'll be back with a T5T next week. Until then, have a great weekend!!

Top 5 Tuesday (20)

2011-08-16T23:58:00.000-05:00

It's still Tuesday. I've got about 32 minutes to write this. So, here we go.

1. I got my new mattress. It is just like the one I got for my guest room. I got one for my guest room because well, there was no bed in there. I was also in denial about how much I needed one for myself. So, I finally decided it was time. It is heaven. If I was in it right now, I would have already fallen asleep in mid-type.

2. Brooke and Phillip's wedding was this past weekend. It was beautiful, and I can wear my bridesmaids again. Also, I met some fun people, and got to hang out with some people I hadn't seen in years. All in all, good weekend celebrating the union of my good friends.

3. Things are starting to get really busy at work. I'm excited and exhausted thinking about it. Flag Football is about to start, Men's basketball league starts Monday (which requires me to stay at work until 10 every Monday), BAM and physical fitness starts next week. It's mixed feelings now, but at the end of each long day, I'll have a smile on my face and feel like I did something good for people.

4. I'm going to start a Be Kind Challenge. Sounds corny, and that's because it is. But it really is a good thing. I'm going to create a checklist of things you can do to be kind. I found a place online that had a pretty good checklist. I'm going to tweak it a bit and post it on here. I guarantee that doing something nice for someone will put you in a better mood. Whenever you feel helpless, depressed, or angry...do something for someone and it'll make you feel a whole lot better.

5. We had Upward Flag Football evaluations yesterday afternoon and this afternoon. Usually evaluations are extremely hot...almost unbearable. But all of a sudden, the weather was beautiful for both nights of our evals. Truly a blessing.

Top 5 Tuesdays (19)

2011-08-09T13:42:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! It's Tuesday! Woo hoo!

1. Last week was nuts. I had gotten a little spoiled this summer because all we had were camps. Soccer was at the beginning of the summer so I didn't even remember it. And basketball was inside where it was cool. But last week sucked the life out of me...in the best way possible. It was hot and the kids were crazy, but I love what I do. So, crazy but good week last week.

2. This past Saturday was my cousin's baby shower. My cousin, Julie is expecting her first child in September. Little George. I know he's gonna be adorable.

3. My boss is in Kentucky (his home state) this week getting certified to teach body recall. So, I'm having to come in at 8 every morning. Kill me now. But the good I'm taking away from this is that I get off at 5. It's really crazy to me that places are still open when I get off work now. But I sincerely can't wait for his return. Working 2:00PM to 9:00PM is more my style.

4. Random fact of the day: I got a roommate Sunday. Woah baby, I know. My good friend from Monroeville, Brittany Martin moved in with me. We have been friends since she came to Monroe Academy in 5th grade. We didn't talk a lot during college, but I always thought of her as my friend. And now she's living with me...just in time to plan her wedding because SHE'S ENGAGED!! Oh my, I was so close to being done with weddings (this weekend WAS my last one), and now this. Just kidding (sort of). I am extremely happy for her and Daniel (her husband to be).

5. Two of my best friends (Brooke and Phillip) are getting married to each other this weekend. Everybody knows how excited I get about weddings, haha. But I am genuinely happy for these two. They both deserve the best. I'm glad I'm going to be a part of their day. And by "day" I mean "weekend", because if you're in the wedding, everybody knows it's not just for a day :)

Until next week...:)

Top 5 Tuesday (18)

2011-08-02T00:12:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be lame tonight. We started flag football camp today and I didn't get home from work until after 10. I'm exhausted. The only reason I'm still awake is because I had to wash my camp shirt. I've got a lunch meeting tomorrow then I have to go into work early to get things ready for tomorrow. So, instead of skipping out on the update altogether, here I am letting you know I'm going to be lame. You're welcome :)

1. My mother got her report back last week. While everything came back pretty good, there was a little spot. They called it a nodule. They don't think it's cancerous, so she's got another check up in 3 months. While it's still not 100%, it's not terrible. So, we sure are hoping for best. Prayers are always appreciated.

2. While I am completely and totally exhausted, and my body hurts, I walked out of The Lighthouse tonight sometime after 10 with a smile on my face. I love my job and the people I work with and around. And I'm not sure why I am the one that got so blessed with a job I love, but I did. And I am forever thankful.

Told you I was going to be lame. And honestly, the top 2 that I listed seem like the most important happenings to me in the last week anyway. I'm going to bed. Goodnight all!

Top 5 Tuesdays (17)

2011-07-26T19:05:00.000-05:00

Hey, it's still Tuesday and I'm updating! Watch out!

1. I got a new monitor at work!! Yay! If you could have seen how small my last one was, you would understand why I'm so excited. It's like I'm seeing everything for the first time (I know, so poetic).

2. Check out my organ donation post. It's a really good thing (the actual donation of your organs, not my post. Although, my post has some pretty interesting facts).

3. This past Sunday I had to host an event for JA (Juvenile Arthritis). And by "host", I mean set up tables and the moonbounce. At first, I honestly treated this like any other event, but by the end of it, I was intrigued. I talked to the coordinator (Kim Smith, which I think it's funny that is her name because that was my high school principals name), and she informed me that there are no support groups of any kind in Alabama for JA. I was astonished. There are support groups for everything these days. At our church alone there is Over-eaters Anonymous, Children of Adult Alcoholics, AA, NA, Weight Watchers (and I'm sure there are more that I'm not even aware of). A little bit of everything. So, we talked a little bit, and I'm hoping we can work together in the future, and The Lighthouse can be host to a bigger event in support of JA.

4. We need some prayers this week. Thursday is my mom's check-up. Things have been going pretty well for the Lee family (especially with all the babies), and we just pray for a clear scan. However, no matter what happens, God is in control, just like he has been from the beginning. Well, He's obviously been in control since way before the beginning of my mom's journey against cancer. We just have to trust in Him, and everything (good or bad) happens for a reason.

5. I'm hoping to get involved with the youth at VHUMC. They have a pretty big event coming up, but I've got a wedding that weekend. I have been talking with the youth directors, and we're planning on putting me somewhere that I can help. I'm pretty excited about the opportunity, and I hope it works out soon. More to come on this later.

That's all folks. Have a great week, and I'll see you next Tuesday (if not before).

What if you could donate life?

2011-07-22T22:39:00.000-05:00

What if you could give something to someone and instead of them dying, they would live. I don't know about you, but I would absolutely love to be able to do that.

Guess what? You can. Become an organ donor. After you die, you're not going to take one thing from this earth, including your body. So why not give someone the gift of life. Your kidneys, pancreas, liver, lungs, heart, and intestinal organs can save up to 8 lives. EIGHT! 110,541 (1,785 of them are infants, children, and adolescents) people are waiting for an organ. An average of 18 people will die each day waiting for an organ. The most recent data from 2007 reports that 2.5 million people died. Imagine if they all had been donors? Imagine if just half of them had been donors?

"ORGAN DONOR" has been on my drivers license since I got it. I always thought that was enough. It's not. Tell your family and friends (which I am doing right now in this post) and register. You can register in less than 90 seconds at http://donatelife.net/ or http://organdonor.gov/.

One day, you or someone you know might need a transplant. And I like to think that even after I die, I can still help people.

Donate Life.

(Facts and such retrieved from donatelife.net and organdonor.gov)

Top 5 Tuesdays (15 & 16)

2011-07-19T18:10:00.000-05:00

Woahhhh. Last week was so busy, I didn't even realize I had missed a T5T until now. I'm dreadfully sorry to all 7 of my readers (one of which emailed me a reminder that made me feel special...just knowing I was missed). Okay, I am going to put 2 of these in one, hence why it says "15 & 16". Here we go...

1. HARRY POTTER!! The midnight premier was fantastic! Got to go with a new friend, which was exciting, and I've already gone again (last night)! Woo hoo!! I CANNOT wait for it to come out on DVD!

2. The twins birthday party this past Saturday was a hit! Love those babies! Unfortunately, I had to leave early to get to Monroeville for a luncheon I had on Sunday, but I was able to stay for a lot of it and had the best time. Three of my favorite pictures coming up now...

3. Speaking of the luncheon...it was Brooke's bridesmaids luncheon and everyone knows how I am about events that I have to wear a dress to. However, this involved friends (and a really awesome cake), so it was a really great day. I also provided a great ice breaker. Long story short, I sat down at the table and as I went to move my chair closer, my legs hit the table with enough force to knock over a vase of flowers. The water spilled all over the one bridesmaid I didn't know, Caroline, who was very gracious about the whole ordeal. The water took over her plate so they had to fix her a new one. But luckily she moved pretty quick so it only got some of her dress wet. Ah, making memories.

4. Upward basketball camp was last week. While it was very busy, I had a such a great time. We played a little 3 on 3 with the 4 and 5 year olds and I was the "coach" for one team and had a blast. One of my kids even made a basket. Such a great experience seeing the kids learn basketball, while having a devotion as well. I love Upward, and it will be dear to my heart for as long as I live.

5. We have an Impact cheer camp taking place at The Lighthouse next week (Impact is similar to Upward). We have been struggling getting girls involved in our camps/leagues. We actually had to cancel girl's basketball camp because we only had 5 girls signed up. At the end of last week we had 4 signed up for cheer camp. We now have 7 and people keep calling about it. So, that is some great news.

6. I am discovering something more and more about myself everyday. And that is that I really do enjoy working with children. I've been spending a bunch of time with 4 year olds through 5th graders in Upward, and then some other ages with the different events taking place at VHUMC. While they sometimes get on my nerves (which is to be expected), when I see how excited they get while attending one of our camps or events, it makes my heart happy. I never thought I would feel this way about working with kids, but I do. I really do.

7. I don't know if any of you will get excited about this, but I know I am. I just remembered that I could sync my work calendar with my phone. I just have to plug it in to my work computer (duh). Oh my this is just fantastic. Now, I am able to see my calendar no matter where I am. I never thought I would have a job where I'd want or need to do that, but I am there right now!

8. We are showing "How to Train Your Dragon" for our Pizza and a Movie this week. For this event we eat pizza and watch a movie...yeah. It's all free, you just have to show up. I am so excited about this. For our last Pizza and Movie event, we had a lot of people show up for a not so popular movie (not because it's not a good movie, it's just no one had heard of it) Everyone's Hero, check it out if you're into cartoons about sports (baseball) with a positive message. We're expecting a lot of people for this one, which means a very fun night that will consist of families spending time together.

9. I was able to attend a Baron's game for work a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this, but oh well. It was such a great time. I got to hang out with a lot of people that I work with, and even though the Baron's lost, that was the most fun I had had in a while.

10. Just found out that CSRM (the event that took place in Indianapolis that I attended this past April) is going to be in Texas next year. I am so excited. This program is not only giving me the opportunity to learn about recreation ministries, but it's also giving me the opportunity to travel new places. Nothing but good times here!

Okay guys, I will try to be on time next week so I won't have to do a 2-in-1 sort of thing again. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back next week!

Top 5 Tuesday (14)

2011-07-05T23:25:00.000-05:00

My T5T is probably not going to be too exciting. But it's all positive and made me extremely happy. Although my vacation to Destin this past weekend wasn't long enough, I definitely enjoyed it and it was much needed. Just a change in scenery was very nice.

So, needless to say, Destin IS my T5T. You might think that a short weekend in Destin isn't worth near enough to take up all 5 good things. Well, you've never been to Destin with me and my family. Mary Alice, Rob, and Allie made the trip and my parents had already been there for about a week (minus the couple of days they spent in Birmingham welcoming William into the world). We just hung out everyday with no plans and did whatever we wanted. I love my family and our time together. It has recharged me and now I'm ready for at least another week (maybe 2) of work before I'll need my next break :).

Here are 2 pictures I took from the weekend.

Such good times! I thank God for every moment I get to spend with my family!

Top 5 Tuesday (13)

2011-06-27T23:48:00.002-05:00

Hello, friends. I'm early again. Not sure what's going on, but let's all take it in and remember this. I'm sure I'll be late to the party in the near future.

1. Three words (or names rather) William Edwin Gresham. Born 6/24/11 at 11:42PM. 6lbs 5oz. Here's the only picture I have of him...for right now.

Too adorable? Yes, definitely.

2. So, since he was born Friday night at 11:42 guess who got to keep the twins by herself that night? If you guessed me, you are correct. A little overwhelming, but a blessing to say the least. I've always told Anna that I'm gonna hang out with them so much more when they're older. And that's not because I don't love them now. I do, with all of my heart. I just think we're gonna be really great friends when I can tell them jokes. Two changed diapers and a bottle feeding later, we all survived to meet William. It was touch and go for a while, but we made it. I told my aunt earlier today that I think they can smell my fear, and they treat me differently because of it. I say that because whenever I'm put in charge they are really, really good. I count myself lucky for sure. And of course I'm lucky (I prefer the term "blessed") keeping these cuties...

3. Whenever I start something new, I get pretty excited about it. That is the main reason I'm awake doing this now. I was already in my bed, and I got an idea. I started a tumblr. Please don't ask me to explain what tumblr actually is because I don't think I can right now. Basically I'm going to post pretty much whatever makes me happy. One thing everyday. Whether it be a photo, a quote, a thought, lyrics, an entire song...anything! You know, just another social media outlet I have to remember. Here's the link: sarlee86.tumblr.com. I literally just started it tonight, so be prepared for everything to change (layout and such).We shall see how long it lasts. Enjoy!

4. My boss comes back on Wednesday. Which means, no more working 8 to 5. It has not been fun. Getting off at 5 is nice, but by golly I love sleeping til 11 more than I love getting off work at 5. So, it's settled. I have to work 2 to 9 at my next job. Yeah, good luck finding that.

5. One word: VACATION!! I am going to Destin on Friday until Monday. I haven't been to Destin since '97. Not really, but it feels like it's been that long. I literally can't talk about it anymore because I'm THAT excited.

Goodnight, all!

Top 5 Tuesday (12)

2011-06-20T23:56:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are again, and it looks like I'm on time for the second week in a row. I must be sick.

1. Wedding weekend in Monroeville. Stefanie Long married Will Starnes this past weekend. It was honestly so good to be home. I hadn't been to Monroeville in months. It felt good to be home with family (all of my sisters and brothers in law were present) and friends.

2. I must admit that I don't really plan for many movies to be in my T5T. However, I just feel like I need to mention this one. If you are in to X-Men, go see the new one, X-Men: First Class. I thoroughly enjoyed this it. I loved X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and I was honestly hesitant about the most recent one. However, I was very pleasantly surprised, and I would go see it again.

3. I am still on Weight Watchers, and it is going very well. I had a little set back this weekend, but only because wedding cake was involved. However, I have bounced back, and am doing great.

4. I got to babysit the twins this morning. The were fantastic. Here's a preview...

5. And this one will be a countdown special...10 days until I finally get to go to the beach. And 24 days until the last Harry Potter. Although, this website has lead me to believe the movie on July 15th won't be the last we see of Harry Potter.

Top 5 Tuesday (11)

2011-06-13T23:27:00.001-05:00

Well, look who's on time. If I was lame, being on time would make the Top 5. But I'm not lame, so here we go...

1. I had the weekend off. And while I could probably say "enough said" after that first sentence, I will not. It was a great weekend, full of no work, and a whole lotta nothing. Which most people know is right up my alley. Gosh, it was a great weekend.

2. Mary Alice got to come to town for a little while Saturday and we got to go on a lunch date. Then we did a little shopping. Luckily we went mostly went maternity shopping, so I wasn't really looking. Although, I would probably fit better in some maternity clothes. That was not a hidden message saying I am pregnant. I know my sisters are, but I AM NOT. I repeat, I am not pregnant. It runs in the family, but it stops at the 3rd child. Okay, enough of that.

3. I get off at 5 tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday. As much as I love my work schedule of 2 to 9, getting off at 5 every now and then is nice. And even though I have to wake up at 7-ish, getting off at 5 is sometimes better than getting to sleep in until 11. Wait, what am I saying? I hate waking up in the morning. But Tuesday and Wednesday will be nice.

4. Finally got my Wii back out. I literally haven't played it in over a year. I forgot how much I loved it. Especially Wii Fit. Good stuff.

5. I saved the best for last. I feel like if I tell you, then I'll stick to it. I started Weight Watchers. I really hate diets, but I need something to help me eat better. It makes you keep track of what you eat everyday, which makes me accountable. I think this is good. My boss's wife has done Weight Watchers before so I'm going to have her help and advice. And Mary Brooke is going to keep me in line as well. I'm excited.

And that is all. Thanks for reading :)

Top 5 Tuesday (10)

2011-06-08T00:35:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. It's Wednesday. But in my world it's still Tuesday. It makes sense if you don't think about it, so just go with it.

1. This weekend was definitely T5T worthy. Ashlee and Joah's wedding was this weekend. It really was beautiful. A little hot, but I'm still glad I was a part of it.

2. After the wedding, I got to see Grace and Tommy. It definitely wasn't long enough, but it sure is better than not seeing them at all.

3. A shower is definitely going to make my Top 5. After the wedding (in which it was hot all day) I got to Grace and Tommy's around 10. It was one of the best showers I had taken in a long time. Well, since Upward soccer. I don't know if you can tell, but I love a good shower.

4. I've noticed that I sometimes have a tendency (mostly when I'm by myself) to get really stressed out about small things that I can do nothing about. For example, on my way home from Gulf Shores I got into a lot of traffic (apparently due to the road work). So much so, that it was pretty much stop and go for about an hour. Yes, it's annoying. But can I do anything about it? No, not really. I could either get off on the next exit and get on 31 or just wait and be patient. I can't magically make my car fly. I can't just transport myself to my apartment. So, there was literally nothing I could do. Which means, I just need to take a chill pill. Getting mad and frustrated is just going to make things worse. When there are things you can't change, like there is absolutely nothing you can do to make it different, stop stressing. It's probably just supposed to be this way.

5. I finally got a cord for my printer. So now I can scan pictures and print things. I didn't think I would miss having a printer too much after college since I wouldn't be printing papers and such. But I have missed it, and there are already a few things I'm ready to scan.

BONUS: Anna is due with my second nephew in about a month. And Mary Alice is due with my THIRD nephew in about 4 months. WOAH! And BRITTANY MARTIN brought to my attention that I will be 25 in a about 2.5 months. Gross. Thanks, Britt...NOT!

Top 5 Tuesdays (9)

2011-06-01T10:30:00.000-05:00

Well, apparently it is Wednesday. Since Monday was a holiday, can we just all pretend that it's Tuesday and not Wednesday? Great. And no worries, tomorrow is still Thursday.

1. Grace and Tommy were here this past weekend, and we got to hang out like we used to. Which was fantastic. I miss them everyday. And I'm pretty excited I get to see them again this coming weekend.

2. Jenilee Foukal is living with me for a couple of days until her house is ready to move in. While I have enjoyed having a place to myself, it's nice to have someone there. Especially someone like Jenilee.

3. As you all know, this past weekend was Memorial Day Weekend. The Lighthouse was closed from Friday to Monday because our gym floor got a huge scratch on it when our new fitness equipment was being delivered. This was my first weekend off since beginning of March. And I'm going to be honest, I did absolutely nothing all weekend. If I ranked T5T, this would be number one. It was so peaceful not even having to think about work, much less be at work. It was much appreciated, and needless to say, Tuesday was a tough day.

4. Ashlee Norris is getting married this weekend. Knowning she's wanted to get married since I met her in the 10th grade makes this weekend that much sweeter. I am very happy for her and Joah, and I pray they have a long, happy marriage.

5. I am currently reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It's a really good book. It started off kind of slow for me, but it has turned into something I don't want to put down. Part of me wishes I could experience that time (the 60's), but the other part of me is glad I never had to.

Hopefully I'll be starting The Hunger Games next. Has anybody read it? What did you think?

My apologies to my avid readers (all 5 of you...and all 5 being family) for posting T5T on Wednesday. I need to set an alarm for around 10PM on Monday night just as a reminder. Thanks for reading!

Top 5 Tuesdays (8)

2011-05-24T20:05:00.000-05:00

I've had kind of a rough week/weekend. So, please excuse me if this post isn't up to par.

1. When life gets tough, and I mean when you are pretty miserable, in order to stay sane, you have to be able to find the good in everything. Even if it is something very tiny, if it's good, it counts. If you can finally make it to where you can find the good in everything, life will be much easier. When you can find a way to smile through the tears, then know that you have accomplished something some people never do, and that you're gonna be okay. I've realized that this is where I am. Sometimes I need to vent to people, and sometimes I get really frustrated. But when I calm down and think rationally, I can find the good. Which then allows me to move forward. Some days are harder than others (like my last few days), but it really feels much better when you're able to get to this point.

2. So, I've got this friend and her name is Mary Brooke. Unfortunately, our schedules have become complete opposites recently. So, we try to hang out as much as we can, when we can. We did so last night. We went to dinner around 8 and then I went to her place and we hung out and just talked until after midnight. It feels good to have one of those friends around. Especially in person. I don't know if she knows how much I really do appreciate her presence...because I do.

3. Grace and Tommy Stanton are coming to Birmingham this weekend. I am speechless and beyond excited. Like I really don't know what to say. Yay!!

4. I was able to go to an old friend's wedding this past weekend. The drive there and back turned out to be an adventure in itself (that's a story for another day), but it was really good to see her. I don't think we had seen each other since either 2008 or early 2009. So, it had been a while, and I have missed her.

5. There is a possibility that I might have this weekend off. Our new fitness center equipment came in last week and the workers scratched the floor. So, it's getting re-done. If they do it when we want them to, we will be closed Friday through Monday. And after working about 13 weekends in a row, this weekend is going to be heaven for me. So naturally it's going to fly by. How nice.

Bonus: Everyone has the right to have at least one guilty pleasure. Mine is the TV show One Tree Hill. I love it. I discovered it some time in January or February and I caught up on 8 seasons within a matter of months. Literally watched every episode. I thought the series was coming to an end after 8 seasons (it ended a week ago today), but I just read online that they are going to have one more season. I am beside myself, and I don't care what anyone thinks :)

Top 5 Tuesdays (7)

2011-05-17T18:22:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be neat to number each T5T. Hopefully, if I keep this up, we'll have a huge celebration when I get to 100 (or maybe even when I get to 50).

Here we go...

1. Upward soccer ended this past Saturday. While it was a great feeling to have a break for a little while, I know a part of me will miss it. Luckily, in less than a year, we'll be back at the beginning again.

2. I've had a couple of epiphanies the past week or so. My first one happened on the soccer fields during Upward. The older kids were playing their 6 minute periods, and I was sitting around waiting to blow the whistle. While I was sitting there I realized that I never saw myself in this moment. Working for a church, with kids, all day, outside. Right after that, I realized that there wasn't anywhere else I'd rather be. Most people know me for how much I love to sleep and basically do a whole lot of nothing. But this job, and many of the people I work with and just come in contact with everyday, make me enjoy my life a lot more.

3. My second epiphany was while I was driving home a few weeks ago. Have you ever heard the saying "I don't want to go to sleep because reality is finally better than my dreams"? Or something along those lines. Well, I used to want to sleep all of the time because sleeping was better than being awake. A lot of that had to do with losing Adam. There was a time that I would give up everything, my present and future, just to see him or be with him again. But I finally realized that I have gotten to a point where I don't want to give up certain experiences (friends, graduating from high school and college, nieces/nephews, etc.). If I had given all of it up when Adam died, I would have missed so much. So much that I don't want to give up, but sadly didn't realize it until now. I think once you can get to this point, you can either already see the light or you are at least at the top of that long, steep hill you've been climbing. What a great feeling.

4. I come across some really great people at my job. Most of them are the parents and coaches in Upward or the older adults around the church. This past Saturday, a soccer mom (who also helps a lot around the church) walked up to me before her son's game and gave me a present. Just the fact that she thought of me and gave me a bag with some of that colorful tissue paper in it was enough. But once I opened it, I found that she had gone the extra mile and had given me exactly what had been on my heart and mind lately. This is what was in the bag...

In case you can't read it, it says "Trust God, you are exactly where you are meant to be." I was speechless, and if I was a crier, I would have been on the floor, in the fetal position, crying my eyes out. With it was a card, where she had written some very kind words, along with a sweet note from her son (that you could tell he wrote himself). This is only one of the many reasons that I love my job.

5. Speaking of my awesome job, I get to plan an Atlanta Braves trip. Not sure when we're going, but it will hopefully be some time this summer. And just the fact that I get to plan something like this AS A PART OF MY JOB, is just fantastic in itself.

Thanks to all who read these. They really are fun to do. And I'm just really excited that I posted this on a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday :)

No Top 5 Tuesday...maybe something better.

2011-05-11T01:12:00.002-05:00

There will be no Top 5 Tuesday. Instead, I went and explored my old livejournal (a blog I had from 2004 to 2009). I found a really good post that I think can go with today. My grandmother passed away yesterday (May 9th) and Adam has been gone for 8 years today (May 10th). It's a little long, but I think I had the right idea...

"death sucks"
Feb. 13th, 2008 at 1:07 AM
yeah, everyone knows it sucks. whether someone very close to you has died or someone close to you has lost someone. either way it sucks. sometimes it's not even someone you know. you just hear their story and your heart breaks for them. whether they be young or old, it's still sad. sometimes one hurts more than the other. but it hurts. i've experienced the death of a loved one first hand. and by no means am i an expert. i don't think anyone really becomes an expert in any way when you lose someone..no matter how many people you lose. maybe you become numb to it...but not an expert. i lost my boyfriend when he was 17 and i was 16. that hurt very badly. it still does hurt at times. then, my cousin who was in her 30's died of cancer. we didn't see each other much at all. she was kind of a distant cousin. i can remember her mostly from our family reunion we had back in '98. but more from the video my mom took of her. she was beautiful. she had 3 beautiful girls. she also had a very good looking, successful and very loving husband. it's a sad story. and for the people who have no idea who she was, and they read this, they'll be sad. even if only for a moment. in a way your hearts just hurts for people whether you know them or not.

i got to thinking tonight. as much as death sucks, how crazy would it be if no one ever died? at first thought, you think "that would be awesome" (i thought the same). but once you really think about it, if no one ever died, then no one would really appreciate anyone. imagine, if you knew that your friend would never die, you'd hold grudges that should have been forgiven long ago. you'd let things bother you more when they probably shouldn't in the first place. if i knew that no one would ever die, i can guarantee that i would still be mad a some people. and all it would do was add more stress to my life. i always feel so much better when i work a disagreement out with a friend. and on top of all that, you get to go to Heaven. who wants to stay on this earth forever anyway? seriously.

everything happens for a reason. and even though death is one of the hardest things to deal with, it's the only thing we know for certain is going to happen to us and someone we love. but all for a reason. things happen for a reason every day all the time. and most of the time, it's when you least expect it. i know this from personal experience. i'm sure a lot of people have experienced it too. example (whether you want one or not). i got a devotion book back when i graduated from high school in 2005. i read through it once shortly after i got it, but put it back down and never picked it back up. when i moved to college, for some reason i threw it in a box of stuff that was coming with me to my dorm. i didn't touch it my freshman or sophomore, or the beginning of my junior year. finally THIS WEEK, i decided it was time to start reading my Bible more. i remembered my devotion book that i had. i pulled it out. i realized it was a devotion book for a year. so it was marked from january to december. it's already february and i considered starting on the present date, but decided to start from the beginning. i'm usually OCD about that kind of stuff too. and i must say, i'm almost on january 20th and every devotion has meant something to me. they all have something to do with something i've dealt with a few months ago to things i'm dealing with now. it's amazing. they are very short and to the point and i love that. God knows what you need when you need it. even if it seems like He's ignoring you, He's definitely not. when people you love die, you want answers, and even if you think you’re ready for those answers, God knows if you really are or not. most of our questions will be answered when we met Him in Heaven. we’re not meant to know everything here on earth. we just know it happens for reason. a reason that is better for us than we could ever imagine even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time. God knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s got a perfect plan for everyone. (a favorite quote of mine, "sometimes something good as to end in order for something better to begin.")

one that really got to me tonight was the one for january 13th. it said, "How often do "alone with God" times happen only because we can't take it anymore? Everything is going wrong and we close ourselves off and say, "Why, God, why?" Don't wait for your life to go sour. He wants to know the good things too."

it's so true. i often find myself praying to God only when i need something or something has gone wrong. He wants us to talk with Him during our hard times, but He also wants us to talk with him during our good times too. i mean, He is the reason for the good things happening...shouldn't he be the one person we should want to talk to?

Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.

God is amazing. that's all. sorry it's so in depth. it was on my heart and i just felt i needed to share it. God bless............sar

That was it. I still agree with this entire post. 2008 seems so long ago, and even though it has only been 3 years, I have grown so much. I read many of my other posts, most of which were very negative and decided to delete the journal. I was going through a lot back then, and I still hadn't figured out who I was. Whereas now, I know who I am...mostly :). And I'm happy. Life is good, and God is great. I feel that the entry that I posted above is one of the best.

Be looking for a "Top 5 Tuesday" next week. God bless.

Top 5 Tuesday...sort of.

2011-05-03T01:10:00.000-05:00

A lot has happened in the past week. Not necessarily in my life, but just around the world. However, one event does hit close to home. Here we go. Bear with me, pretty sure this weeks Top 5 will only be a Top 2 considering what I think is important.

1. Osama Bin Laden. Unless you have been hiding under a rock (much like Mr. bin Laden was), you know that he has been killed. I actually didn't have cable when Obama announced it, but I just happened to be in Wal-Mart in the electronics section when it aired. As soon as it was announced, I, of course, took out my phone to see what everyone was Tweeting and Facebooking. The only one I completely agreed with was a re-tweet by Leslee Foukal..."don't celebrate death, celebrate justice" - Derek Webb. I honestly believe that if I had been directly affected by 9/11 (meaning if I had lost a loved one), it might be hard for me to agree with that tweet. However, I really do believe that either way, it should be taken to heart. I do feel some relief for the families and friends directly affected by 9/11 because a man that they have hated for so long is now gone. And while it won't bring their loved ones back, I think it'll give them some closure. I can't say that I wouldn't feel the same way. However, I'm sure there is a another person right under Osama who has stepped up and taken the lead. But I'll feel safe as long as our US troops are around. I think that Bush started it, Obama continued it, and our troops literally did it.

2. While Osama was a very important part of American history, the tornadoes that annihilated Alabama (along with I think about 6 or 7 other states) is honestly the more important of the 2 to me. That being because it hit so close to home. I have friends that were literally sitting right next to that scary, destructive piece of nature. So close, in fact, that if it had gone a few yards one way or the other, they might not be here.

If you're wondering why the tornado is on my Top 5, it's not. Just giving some background information. What's really on my Top 5 is how Alabama has come together during this time of tragedy. All of the donations, volunteers, prayers, everything, has me in awe. I never doubted that we would help each other out in times of need, it's just overwhelming to see it in action. I'm going to share a story and then I'll be done. This past Friday morning, one of our Upward soccer coaches had an idea to have a designated drop-off area during our soccer games on Saturday. She also wanted to set-up a concession stand with drinks and snacks. And of course all items and money made would go directly to the relief fund. By Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before games, we drew up a letter and emailed it to the league informing them of what would be happening at the fields. It almost brought me to tears how much we got. We made over $700 from the concession stand alone (that includes purchased items and monetary donations). And we easily received over $1000 worth of stuff. From cases of bottled water, to diapers, baby formula, toiletries, food, napkins, paper towels, clothes. With less than 24 hours, the people came together and donated all of this. A lot of these people hadn't had power the past few days and/or had damage to their house. We also had a woman who heard about our "drop zone" on the news and drove from Mobile, AL, dropped off her donations, and then drove back. She grew up in the Birmingham area, and she said she just wanted to help. I am at a loss for words when it comes to our state (as well as other people from other states wanting to help).

This makes me proud to be an American, and more importantly (for me) an Alabamian. For a state that people may think is all about football, take a closer look and realize that we know what's important. And that's people.

Top 5 Tuesday

2011-04-27T02:19:00.001-05:00

What do you know. It's pretty much Wednesday, and I'm just now writing Top 5 Tuesday. Apparently, I need to make it a habit of writing these at midnight on Monday. Oh well, without further ado...

1. When I was at CSRM, I mentioned that I learned a lot more personally than professionally. Which is true. In almost every workshop I went to, the first thing they said to do was pray. Whatever is happening in your life, your work, anything, pray about it. I think we sometimes forget how powerful prayer can really be. I was reminded this past weekend. It was late Friday night and I was not looking forward to Saturday. I had to do Upward soccer by myself, and as you all know, Saturdays are just really long and exhausting. And also the week before, we had some minor issues, and I knew I was going miss having help. So, Friday night while I was laying in my bed, I prayed. Hard. I asked the Lord to help with Upward soccer. I asked Him to help me realize that the kids as well as their parents enjoy Upward and all it has to offer, and so should I. Help me to do my job, and do it well. Help me to have a good attitude, because we all know good attitudes can be contagious. So, Saturday comes and not only is it a beautiful day, it was a really, really great day. Numerous people came up and thanked me (as well as my co-workers) for all that we do to make this happen. Time flew, and a little tiny part of me was a bit sad that it was over. It really was that good of a day. All thanks to prayer. It is such a great feeling to know that we have something that powerful that we can actually use.

2. Guess what? A shower is not going to make this list because my day was that good. The shower was good, but not "Top 5" worthy. For number 2, I will talk about my job. I had been struggling lately with how routine my job has been for the past few months. In reality, it was me who was being routine. I think I have the opportunity to do a lot of things, yet I'm just sitting back, getting by. I feel like Saturday was a little kick (of love) in the rear, reminding me not only about how awesome prayer is, but how awesome my job is. The stuff we're doing is good stuff, and I'm a part of it. And I am beyond blessed to have a magnificent God, and I need to remember that everyday."Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done." C.S. Lewis. I think I need to read more of his stuff.

3. My new shoes just came in. Today. Check 'em. I am in love.

4. I got CPR certified today. I literally thought I was going to be miserable during the 3 hours certification class, but I was proved wrong. About 12 of us from VHUMC were in attendance and we had a really good time. The instructors were fun, and helpful. And while I had to be there at 9 and didn't leave until 11:30, it wasn't too bad. However, I'm glad I don't have to get re-certified for another year or 2.

5. Friday, for me, is a blessing from God. And my boss. He gives me Fridays off because I work all day Saturday and I usually come in for a little but on Sunday. I got some awesome and much needed sleep this past Friday. Sometimes it is really nice to be able to get recharged. And while going to bed around 2:30AM tonight will not help me get recharged, it's nice to know I have Fridays off to catch up. I was so sad when I wouldn't be able to use the term "Free-day Friday" anymore when I got a big girl job. But thanks to my job, I can still use it. And they're pretty much my favorite.

Looking forward...to an extent

2011-04-24T22:59:00.002-05:00

I have a problem. And I honestly didn't realize it was a problem until recently. I am one of the lucky ones...my job isn't exactly the same every single day. However, sometimes it still feels routine. I think that's just what people do when they'd rather be travelling the world, or just hanging out at the beach. Anyway, my problem is that when things start feeling routine I have a tendency to look forward. Looking forward isn't always a bad thing. Looking back is usually what is counter-productive. However, if you keep looking forward and never look to the present, you miss everything right in front of you. Good things are happening right now, and last time I checked, good things don't only happen on the weekend. So stop wishing the whole week away. I know work happens during the week, but I'm pretty sure there are 5 days in a week and only 2 on a weekend. There's a better chance of good things happening when you have 5 chances rather than 2.

This might be ridiculous, but time is flying by so fast for me now. I think it has a lot to do with continuously looking forward. And while that's not always bad, if you do it all the dang time, you could miss what's happening now.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Good ol' Ferris Bueller. He (or his writers rather) said it best first. Look at what's happening right now. It'll all be over before you know it.

Top 5 Tuesday

2011-04-19T09:39:00.000-05:00

Good morning. Let me just say it is going to be somewhat of a challenge to write a "Top 5" when I'm as sick as I am. However...well, I'll save the for "Top 5".

1. I didn't get sick until after my trip. Enough said.

2. My trip was fantastic. And while the trip was supposed to be for my professional benefit, it benefited me more on a personal level. I met a lot of people, and just had a great time. I hope I'm able to go again next year.

3. My mom accompanied me on the trip. Even though I was gone for most of the day, and was ready to pass out by the time we got done, we got some good hang out time. I sure do love her, and I'm so blessed I'm able to call her my mom.

4. Traveling by plane was wasn't too bad. I've never been too excited about being on a plane. The last time I flew on a plane was probably 10th grade. Pretty sure it wasn't my favorite then either. Our only bad experience was when we landed in Chicago. It was only a 36 minute flight from Indianapolis to Chicago and they never announced the we were about to land. It was cloudy and little rainy. And all of a sudden, we landed. We kind of slammed on breaks as well. Not my favorite memory. But we survived, so all is good.

5. I'm just going to share a funny story for #5. So, yesterday I had a fever, sore throat, couldn't breathe and just really felt out of it. I was laying in my bed and realized I wanted some water. I walked into the kitchen and went to the microwave. And for a brief second, I couldn't figure out why my water wasn't in the microwave. I finally let out a big laugh and found my water in the fridge.

I'm still sick today, but I don't think I have any fever. So, yay for that. I don't know why, but this didn't feel like my best "Top 5". Hopefully, next weeks will be better.

Top 5 Tuesday (Wednesday)

2011-04-13T12:40:00.000-05:00

It was brought to my attention that it's Wednesday. And even though I posted something last night, it was not a Top 5 Tuesday post. So, my apologies to all 5 of my readers.

Here we go...

1. Just so everyone knows, as long as Upward soccer is going on, a shower will always be in my Top 5. After a long day working at The Lighthouse (including a birthday party) and then 4.5 hours in the sun, a shower can change your life. It changes mine every Saturday afternoon around 5:30.

2. I get to go to Indianapolis tomorrow. My mom and I fly out of Birmingham at 6AM. And while waking up at 4AM is not going to be in the Top 5, I think Indianapolis well definitely make the cut next week. A little scenery change will do me some good.

3. I love accidentally finding good music. I have no idea how I found noisetrade.com. Like I literally can't tell you how or when I found it. All you do is go to noisetrade.com and trade your email for free songs. The only emails they send you are the ones with your free songs. No junk. I just downloaded a few songs from Ben Rector and I love them. It really is awesome site.

4. Sunday was a beautiful day. I had to go to some Sunday school classes at VHUMC to announce our Lighthouse 5k/Fun run around 9:45 and after that I came home and ate some breakfast and lounged around. Then I went to see my grandmother for a little while. And then I went into work at 3:30 and stayed until 4:30. I left work and went to see Soul Surfer. Very good movie. Movies have a tendency to make me forget the real world. I don't think about work, or what I really should be doing (like cleaning my house, doing laundry, etc.). It's an escape, and I love it.

5. I get to spend 4th of July with my family. I was able to work it out with my boss, and I'll be in Destin with my parents and sister (Mary Alice....Anna will be expecting Baby #3 in a week or so) for that first weekend in July. Just knowing that allows me to take in a deep breath and look forward to some down time.

So sorry for my late post. Hopefully Top 5 Tuesday will not turn into Top 5 Wednesday. Just don't have the same ring to it.

I'm tired, but...

2011-04-13T01:09:00.000-05:00

I work a lot. More than I ever thought I would. Due to work, I have gotten into a comfortable routine. Wake up, eat lunch, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to sleep. I get Fridays off, but I'm so tired I usually just sleep. Most people from the outside looking in probably think I don't do that much. I do have a lot of down time at work, but then there are days like Saturday that I spend 2.5 hours helping with a birthday party at The Lighthouse and then spend 4.5 hours in the sun helping with soccer.

But every time I get tired and I don't want to work or do anything, I remember how much I am blessed to have a job that pays the bills. That I have a job I enjoy. And that I really, honestly, enjoy the people I work with. I enjoy helping people, and that is a lot of what we do at my job.

I'm attending a seminar/workshop "event" this weekend in Indianapolis. It's all about sports ministry. Something I never saw myself doing, but so glad that I'm doing it. My mom is going with me, which is exciting because due to "baby fever" and other happenings in my family, we haven't gotten to hang out much. I'm excited to spend some time with her.

God is good all the time. All the time God is good. There really is no other way to say it. He will provide. He knows when I need rest, and when I can keep pushing. And even though I feel like I've been doing nothing but work the past month or so, I know I can keep pushing. As long as God allows it, I will keep pushing.

You're gonna be okay.

2011-04-10T22:42:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think it's okay to be sad. Every once in a while it feels good to let a little emotion out. I don't think sadness is weakness. I feel like it's just a way to cope.

If we were happy all of the time, I don't think we'd appreciate happiness as much. As long as you're able to pull yourself out of sadness, you're okay. I think it feels really good right after you get done crying (or whatever you do when you're sad) when you tell yourself "Self, pull it together. It's gonna be okay. Life will go on, and the world will keep spinning. Tomorrow is a new day. You're gonna be okay." It helps to remind yourself of that every now and then...you're gonna be okay.

Even if it seems like nothing is going right, and you want to give up. Don't. Tomorrow could be the best day you've had in a long time. Or something great could happen next week. Or even next month. Good is coming. You just have to believe that it's coming.

Sometimes things are bad, so we can appreciate the good. And sometimes things are only good, so we can appreciate the great. God is great. Appreciate Him during the bad, the good, and the great.

Top 5 Tuesday

2011-04-06T01:48:00.000-05:00

Holy Toledo, Batman. Tuesday totally snuck up on me. And while it's technically Wednesday, most of you won't read this until sometime after 8AM. So, let's just pretend I posted it on Tuesday.

Here we go...

1. I GOT A HAIRCUT!! Like a cute, short haircut. I almost went shorter than what I did, but I still love it. It's a got a few layers and it's just the cutest thing you've ever seen. If you're in the Birmingham area, check out Holly Mullins here.

2. Soccer finally happened this past weekend. We were rained out the first week, then we had 2 weeks of spring break, and then we got rained out the week after spring break. So, this past Saturday was a blessing. Not only did they all get to play, it was the most beautiful day I had seen in a while. It was just perfect weather.

3. And even though the weather was perfect, I got sunburned. Pretty bad. My nose, arms and scalp got the worst of it. However, the good that has come out of this, is that my face has already started peeling. The sooner it starts, the sooner it stops. It's hard to find the good in sunburn, but I think I just did. Sort of.

4. After a crazy, long day Saturday, and a not so good day Sunday, God gave me an awesome Monday. Let me clarify, there is definitely a difference between a long day and a bad day. Saturday was a long day. While it's length was tiring, it really was great getting to watch all of those K4 through 4th graders play soccer. They were so happy to just be running in an open field. Sunday was a bad day. I woke up tired, and stay tired the rest of the day. And everything got on my nerves. I hate those kinds of days. You try your best to not let things irritate you, and they still do. It really feels like you have no control of your emotions on days like that, which makes it even harder. God knew that I was feeling a little burnt out and that I needed to catch my breath. So, on Monday I went into work at 2PM and we closed at 6PM because of the bad weather. And even though I am one that hates bad weather, like really, really hates it, it felt good to come home 3 hours earlier than usual and just be.

5. The Braves were 3-1 (prior to Tuesday nights game). I really do love Braves baseball. I can watch their game while doing other stuff on my computer (kind of like you can do with a favorite movie or TV show). I can mute it and listen to music, or I can be completely sucked in, hanging on every word and swing of the bat. I think baseball is a great sport. And if I lived closer to Atlanta (and liked to drive in Atlanta), I would probably buy season tickets (oh yeah, I would need money for that as well). Braves baseball just makes me happy. And even though they lost a few hours ago, they still put a smile on my face.

Just so everyone knows, this Top 5 Tuesday is harder than I thought. However, I didn't realize how much good had happened in the past week until I started thinking about. Until I started trying to pick out the stuff that was good. I was even able to find the good in the things that I thought were bad when they happened. Top 5 Tuesday is going to be a challenge for me, but I definitely think it's going to be a very, very good challenge.

Top 5 Tuesdays

2011-03-29T16:36:00.000-05:00

Here are my thoughts...

Top 5 Tuesdays will be an entry about the top 5 good things that have happened to me within the past week. And you guessed it, I will write this post on Tuesdays. I think this is good for me because it will not only give me something to look forward to, but it will also help me find the good within my week. Because I sure don't want it to be Tuesday and show up with nothing to post. What a disappointment that would be for all of my avid readers.

So, here we go...The first official Top 5 Tuesday

1. Just the other day, I had to write an extremely long email to all of our coaches for Upward Soccer. Mainly because for the second weekend in a row (well, sort of in a row) games had to be cancelled because of the weather. So, I sent out an apology (well, sort of an apology...I mean, we work for God, but that doesn't give us the power to control the weather). Anyway, at the end of every email I write I press F7, which is the shortcut for spell-check. And I knew as soon as I hit it, I was going to have to start correcting words left and right because sometimes my brain moves faster than my fingers. Right after I pressed F7 a box popped up that said "Spell Check Complete". Not one word misspelled. Not even a word it suggests you correct, and you end up hitting the ignore button anyway because sometimes spell-check can be a bit of a spelling nazi. That, my friends, was a good feeling. I'm pretty good about rejoicing about the small stuff :)

2. When I'm reading a good book, there's always a point when I realize that I really love this book. That I don't want it to end and I want the characters to come to life and I want to hang out with them. Most of the time, I can't tell you the exact sentence, or chapter, or even the day this happens. But more often than not, I can tell you that it happened (assuming it is a book that I love). That is always a good feeling, and that happened to me this past week. Disclaimer: This can happen with bad books as well, but we're talking about good stuff. And even though it's good you realize you don't want to waste your time reading a book you hate, it's usually sad that you couldn't finish a book. Well, it's sad to me.

3. A few days ago, I decided that I wanted to go for a walk in the rain (call me crazy, I do not care). I do have a fear of lightning, and thunder is not really my favorite, so I have to pick the right rainstorm. I decided I was going to do it soon because it had been raining so much, but work has taken over my professional and personal life (in a good way, if you can believe that). On Saturday I went into work at 8AM and watched as it rained without thunder or lightning (my perfect rainstorm). As much as I wanted to, I decided against playing in the rain and that I would do my job instead (there was a birthday party taking place at The Lighthouse, so I was kind of in the middle of something). At noon, when we closed, I headed toward Southminster fields to help out with Upward Soccer. 3 games (6 teams) can be played at one time. As I was watching the youngest ones (4 and 5 year olds) play, and smiling at the fact that all they did was follow the ball around like it was being controlled by someone else, it started to sprinkle. I was thinking this was my chance. It rained for a just a few minutes, and it wasn't very hard. Honestly, I was a little sad. But about an hour later, the bottom dropped out. It started pouring. We cancelled the rest of the games. And even though I was having to run around picking up soccer balls, soccer goals, trash and various other things, I was hanging out in the rain trying to disguise my skipping as running. It was great! It definitely wasn't a stroll in an afternoon storm, but I was a very happy camper.

4. I finally called my hairstylist (sounds like a I have a professional one) to set up an appointment. She hasn't called me back yet, but it felt really good to know that I finally called her. I'm such a procrastinator, so when I do something as small as this, it feels good.

5. Lastly, I saw a "Baby On Board" notice hanging from someones car window the other day. And as much as I wanted to run into them, thanks to that sign, I refrained. That was a pretty good feeling as well. Not as good as the "spell-checker" feeling, but it'll do.

Alright, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed Top 5 Tuesday. I sure do hope this will stick, because even if no one reads this, I enjoyed writing it. Be back soon.

iPad 2

2011-03-15T02:02:00.000-05:00

I am currently typing this from my new iPad 2. I waited in line for about 2 hours to get my hands on this gadget. Which isn't bad at all considering the sight of the line. The security guard counted and said that the group I was in was around the 196 mark. I got in line at 4:00PM and I walked out of the Apple store with my iPad at 6:00. Pretty sure they knew what they were doing.

I am typing on this just like I would a normal keyboard. It takes a little getting used to, but the auto correct is pretty good. The keys are also spread out enough for me. The screen is about 9.7 inches. Which for a laptop that's pretty small. But when the screen is the entire computer, it's awesome.

I'm afraid I'm going to forget about my laptop. Okay, that's not entirely true. There are some things that I just prefer doing on a laptop. For example, I was going to update my blog (background and such) and I realized that I wanted the feel of my laptop instead of the iPad. Plus I have certain programs on my laptop that I do not have on here.

All in all, I am very happy with my purchase. Saving up Christmas money really does come in handy. I thought about this for a long time. I didn't get the first one, because I just didn't feel a strong need for it. And while now, the iPad is still more of a want than a need, I have no buyers remorse.

That is all. It's late and I have to be up early (7:30AM for all you smart alecs that would say 11:00AM is early for me). Update again soon.

Story time before bed.

2011-02-24T00:03:00.000-06:00

At least 3 times a year the staff at the Lighthouse travel to South Carolina by van to pick up Upward orders. They do this to save $400-$500 on shipping. This time around, me and my boss, Jim, took the trip together. He just wanted me to become familiar with the trip because I would more than likely do it next time. So, we set out at 7AM on Thursday morning, and little did we know what was to come in the future...

The trip started out normal. We got gas before we got out of Birmingham and we were on our way. We got to Atlanta and we started to hear a weird noise. We kind of looked at each other and decided that it was coming from the big dump trucks that we kept having to pass. Right outside of Atlanta around 10:30AM (AL time) in a town called Buford we got a flat tire. What joy.

We got out of the car and assessed the damage. We didn't just have a flat tire. It was definitely a blow out. We called the church and they called a tow truck. Around 11:15 (AL time) the tow truck shows up. He gets everything situated and we head to Tires Plus. Lucky for us, we were only 1/2 mile from an exit and Tires Plus was less than a mile from the exit. We get to the Tires Plus and our luck starts to fade. The manager comes up to the truck and says they don't have the tire. He called another tire place, Firestone, and they had it. Only bad news is that Firestone is about 5 miles in the opposite direction (south) and then the actual location is about 3 miles off the exit. What joy we experience again.

We finally arrive at Firestone and the manager comes out to the truck. He says that they don't have a tire due to the fact it's a weird size or something. He says they can order it. Which is nice, but it's going to take 3 hours to get there. So we go for it and decide to wait. There is a Sonny's BBQ across the street (which is one of Jim's favorite places to eat). So we go there and eat lunch. Sonny's is located in a shopping center so we go for a walk. We go to Lowe's first and look at some stuff. Then we sit on the patio furniture that is for sale and just talk. I mainly asked him about his wife (how they met, how long the dated, how he proposed, etc.). We did not talk about my love life.

We then head to Wal-Mart and look around in the entertainment section since that is a happy place for both of us. After that we finally decide to head back to Firestone. When we get back we wait about 20 minutes or so and it is finally ready. By this time it was 4:00 (AL time). We talk for a moment about what we want to do, and we decide it is best to go on to South Carolina and save a little money for the day. Luckily, Upward was very generous and gave us a number for two guys that live close to the facility because we would arrive after hours.

We arrive at Upward about 5:30 (AL time) and get loaded up. The nice guy, named Terry, shows me around their warehouse (which was actually pretty neat) and then we hit the road at 6PM (AL time). Jim always stops at the Beacon when he has to come to SC so we did and got our food to go.

We hit the road and head home. We stopped at McDonalds somewhere so I could use the restroom and Jim could get ice cream. The trip back did seem longer, but it was nice to learn a little more about my boss. Where he came from, his family, etc.

We pull into the church parking lot at 12:30AM. We're so exhausted we don't even unload the truck. We get in our cars and go home. In the end, we spent 17 1/2 hours on this trip. About 90% of it spent on the road. Usually the trip takes about 12 hours, and that's when they take their time, sitting down to eat meals and such. So, 5 hours was spent on a tire. And to think all of this could have been avoided if the van we chose had a spare tire. Come to find out, every single other van available at the church had a spare tire. We were just lucky, I guess.

We spent most of the day laughing about what went wrong, and being thankful for the small things. Mostly the weather. If it had been raining, or cold, or both, it would have been a nightmare. But it was actually a very pretty day. So, we definitely found the positive amidst the negative, which is a great way to live life.

Sorry that was so long, but it's pretty much everything that happened. Believe me it is way better if I can tell it in person. But for now, this will have to do. Hope you all enjoyed story time with Sara Lee. Until next time...

What's wrong with different? Nothing.

2011-02-20T00:10:00.001-06:00

Who says I have to get married? Who says I have to get married and have kids? I know that extreme happiness can be found in doing both of those. But what about the people who don't and are still extremely happy? Is that so wrong? I don't think so.

I told someone the other day that I hadn't dated anyone since high school. They were kind of dumbfounded. I dated Adam, and I like to think we would have been together for a long time. But we weren't. Two years after he died, I dated another guy. A great guy. He was a good boyfriend, and I was a bad girlfriend, and that is why it ended. I was a bad girlfriend because I wasn't ready to date yet, and I thought I was.

And since then, I haven't dated. I haven't found anyone to date. I always heard that if you quit looking, they will find you. I have quit looking and either he just hasn't found me yet, or I'm not meant to be with anyone. And is it so bad to be ok with both of those possibilities? I don't think so. I have my good and bad days. And I know for a fact that people who are married and in love have good and bad days as well. They can lean on their spouses. I can lean on my parents, my sisters, my friends, my cousins. Married people can lean on all of those people as well.

What's so wrong with being single? Nothing. It's just different than what the world expects. And if you can find happiness not being married, all the more power to you. If someone is meant to find me, he will, and I'll be extremely happy. But if no one is meant to find me, I'll still be extremely happy because of all the people who have already found me.

And just to let you know, I am in love. I am in love with my God. I'm in love with my family. I'm in love with my friends. I understand that "married love" is different than what I am talking about, but I think it's just as strong. And again, what's wrong with different? Nothing.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T00:39:00.000-06:00

You're probably thinking that since this post is titled "Valentine's Day", and that since I'm single, I'm about to bash the holiday. Most (not all) people who are single do bash this holiday. However, that is not the case.

I will admit that I used to hate this holiday. I guess it all goes back to the fact that I was/am single. But I've got good news, I've grown up. I embrace this holiday. I think of all the family and friends that love me. I also think of all of my family and friends who have found true love, and I can't help but be happy for them. It's stupid to be unhappy for people who have found happiness. Especially the people you care most for.

I heard a quote the other day that kind of stuck with me..."Those who tear down happy people are just trying to hide their unhappiness". So stinkin' true I can't stand it.

If you want to treat Valentine's Day like any other day, that's fine. But don't take the "love" holiday away from the people who have found love. Let them celebrate it. And you just remember all who love you. If you don't think there's anyone that loves you, just remember someone does. You know who it is. Are you gonna make me say it? Ok, I will...gladly. Jesus! Such a great One to love and be loved by.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Right here, in this moment...

2011-02-08T03:02:00.000-06:00

If someone were to ask me right now, "If you knew then what you know now, would you change anything?" Of course, I don't have a simple "yes" or "no".

I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. Part of me wants to say "yes" (hesitantly) to the question above, but I don't believe I'd be sitting on my couch, in my apartment, in Birmingham, AL right now. And I'm happy right now, so why would I want to change that?

However, part of me does want to say "yes" and be completely ok with it. The reason for that is because I know I'd appreciate things so much more. Like high school sports, old friends, Adam, Maggie...the list could go on forever. I don't think I could have saved either of them. As hard as it is for me to admit, it was their time. No matter how long people spend on this earth, when God calls them home, it's their time. You can't fight that. The selfish side of me wants to fight it with everything I have, but my faithful side will support it.

The other part of me, the right part, says that my answer is "no" to the question. For the first time, in a very, very long time, I finally feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. It's a weird, yet peaceful feeling. I guess it's weird only because I really can't remember the last time I felt that way. Maybe in high school, before Adam died.

If we had the opportunity to have do-overs, life wouldn't be as precious. We would make mistakes only because we knew that if things didn't turn out the way we wanted them to, we could just do them over and over again. I don't think we'd learn from our mistakes either, which is a big part of life. Experience comes from learning from your mistakes. As well as learning from other's mistakes.

Life is precious. The most precious. Because it's the only one we have. God gave us life. How can we not appreciate life when we only get one? And how can we not appreciate the one who gave it to us?

I have good days and bad days. The bad days remind me to appreciate the good days. On both good and bad days, I'm glad God has given me every day.

Timing

2011-01-10T13:05:00.000-06:00

I'm glad I'm not in control of time. I'm pretty sure I'd make all the wrong decisions in association with time. Timing is everything. Timing can make the small things seem like big things, and timing can make the big things seem like small things. That's why I'm glad that God is in control of my timing. The small things are small and the big things are big, all because of His perfect timing. You might not see it now, or ever, but His timing is always perfect. You just have to believe it.

I'm in Birmingham right now because of His timing. I'm almost living completely on my own because of His timing. I have the friends that I have right now because of His timing. Timing is everything. Well, almost everything. God is everything. Believe that, and the timing thing will just fall into place.

I'll find a guy or not find a guy in God's time. I'm convinced that I have everything I need right now because I have it. Whatever I don't have, I don't need right now. God is good, and He is in control of my timing.

Hello all!

2010-12-22T23:53:00.000-06:00

For all you avid readers of "Sara's Thoughts", I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. I've been getting settled into a new city and a new job. Both of which are great! It's so weird to look back and see how far I've come. I definitely never saw myself here, but I am so glad that I am here. A lot has happened, most of which consists of me growing up and realizing many things. Also most of which will not be mentioned. Here's what I will mention...

I officially became full-time at Vestavia Hills Methodist Church on December 1st. I am the Assistant Director of Recreation Ministries. I go into work at 2 and stay until 9 Monday through Thursday. On Friday I go in at 8 and get off at 5. My dream job hours. Most everyone else I know would despise those hours. However, I believe they were made just for me. I have grown to love my job, my coworkers, and where I am in my life right now. I've found that no matter where you are, each part of your life is important and makes you who you are. I feel like I'm always learning, whether I realize it now or later.

I went to the beach this past weekend. Drove to Destin late Friday night by myself and spent the night at our beach house. Saturday afternoon I drove to Elberta to hang out with Grace and Tommy, who are totally married to each other, and cuter than ever. I never thought I could appreciate them more than I did in Troy. But I guess them being over 4 hours away has made me realize how much I love them. I wish we could live closer to each other, but for now, we are where we are, and we are all happy. I just miss them.

Mary Brooke Webb has saved my life in Birmingham. Without her, I would go to work, come home, and go to bed. We definitely picked up where we left off from high school. We remained friends throughout college, just not as close. I am very thankful for our friendship. I pray that it continues no matter where we end up.

Christmas will be a little different this year. Mainly for me. I won't be going to Monroeville at all. I have to work tomorrow. Then Friday I will go to Auburn, like we do every year. Then Christmas day we come to Birmingham for Christmas with the Howells. What's awesome is that I'll be home at my apartment on Christmas day, which is awesome. Mary Alice, Rob, and Allie will be staying with me, and possibly my dad. It's gonna be a great Christmas, I know it.

Well, that's pretty much it. I actually had a little more to tell you than I thought. I do hope everyone that reads this has a very merry and blessed Christmas. Appreciate Christmas...Jesus was born, and hopefully you're spending time with loved ones. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!!

Wedding festivities

2010-11-02T14:11:00.000-05:00

Well, this past weekend my best friends got married. I wish that everyone could have been there to experience how beautiful the wedding was. It too place outside in Fairhope, AL at Oak Hollow. I can't even describe how beautiful it was. My mom took pictures that I haven't received yet. As soon as I get them, I'll post one or 2 so you can catch a glimpse of it.

Needless to say, the wedding was perfect. I'm so happy that not only I, but my mom was was able to attend it. Kind of wish it could happen again. Feels like it went by so fast. I'm so happy for my best friends. The only thing I wish is that they lived closer. Life would be a little easier if I could see them whenever I wanted. However, I will take what I can get. At least I get to see them every now and then.

As for work, I'm hoping I'll have som good news in the next few weeks about that. I'm gonna keep it hush, hush for now.

Everything else is good. Happy to be where I am now. Sorry this was somewhat short, but I'm gonna go. Here's a pic from the wedding...such a beautiful bride! Pretty good looking groom as well! Update soon!

Been a while...

2010-10-10T14:06:00.000-05:00

So sorry I've gotten away from this a little. When things get moving, I kind of forget. They've slowed down somewhat, but they will pick back up soon enough. Upward flag football is still happening. As soon as that's over, Upward basketball will start. Good times.

I think this is where I'm supposed to be. So many things are happening that are keeping me here. Or at least making me want to stay here. I do like my job. And maybe once it turns into a full time job (if it ever does), I will like it even more.

Mary Brooke and I have been hanging out a good bit, which has been great. I have missed her. We went to the Sugarland concert September 30th. One word: Awesome! I love Sugarland and could seriously watch them every weekend and never get tired of them. Then we went to see Tyrone Wells at Workplay. One more word: Awesome!! I've always liked Tyrone Wells, and I have a lot of his music, but his performance at Workplay is something I'll never forget.

As for everything else...nothing much going on. I have to go into work at 4 this afternoon and probably stay til 9. Which is fine. I've got some stuff I need to do. At least I won't be bored.

I usually like to leave you with something. However, I don't have much at the moment so this will have to do. I have some music suggestions. First of all, Sugarland and Tyrone Wells since they were mentioned in this post. Tyrone Wells put out an album with his wife Elina. It's called "Tyrone & Elina". It's very cute and funny. Preview it on iTunes. It's a good one. Sugarland's new album comes out October 19th. I think it's gonna be great! I just recently started listening to Augustana's album "Can't Love, Can't Hurt" again. I've fallen in love with it again. Some language, but not much. Jeremy Camp's new album "We Cry Out" is, I think, one of his best. If you're a Jeremy Camp fan, get this album. You won't be disappointed. One more...Ron Pope. Thanks to Pandora, I discovered this artist. He's very, very chill. Also kind of sad, but I love it. The album I got is "Daylight". So far, I've listened to it about 3 times all the way through. I'm going to look into more of his music.

Hope all is well with everyone. Oh yeah, btw, Grace and Tommy are getting married in 19 days! Crazy/awesome!! Love to all. Update again soon...maybe.

Happiness

2010-09-04T00:29:00.000-05:00

So, things have slowed down a little. They'll pick back up soon enough, I'm sure. I still like it here, and I'm still happy with my decision. I kind of had a moment a few days ago. I think my problem has been that I'm always looking for perfect. I don't think you can ever find perfect. Nothing is perfect, and that's ok. Although I do believe people have their own versions of "perfect", and that's ok too. In the end, I should just be looking for happy, which I believe I've found. I'm happy here. I've got a job. Even though it's only part time, it IS a job. I've got family here and friends. Things are good. I think they'll only get better, too.

I sincerely miss Grace and Tommy. I Skyped with them the other night, and it made me miss them even more. I'm ready to see them. I'm ready for them to get married. And I'm ready to not work every weekend so I can go see them. They are my best friends. It's nice having a best friend couple. Then you have 2 best friends at one time. Thank you, Captain Obvious.

God is good. All the time. I'm glad I'm on His side. I don't know where He's taking me, but I'll be sure to follow.

Update again soon.

I'm a Birmingham resident!

2010-08-26T23:44:00.000-05:00

Well, a lot has happened since my last update. I found a place to live. I am living in Vestavia Park Apartments. Pretty cheap too, but very nice. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath. I really love it. My job started last Saturday. To say I have been overwhelmed since then is sort of an understatement. There has just been a lot of stuff that I've had to learn about the Lighthouse (which is the recreation section of the church). I think it'll pass once I get settled. This place (Birmingham, my apt, and VHUMC) has already started to feel like home.

Windchime is feeling right at home. I know she misses Hazel. She sleeps so much more than she used to. She's gotten a lot sweeter too. A little more clingy. Which is ok with me. I got her declawed about 2 weeks ago. I didn't want to, but I just had to. Otherwise she would have demolished my furniture. But she has pretty much fully recovered.

The babies are good. I fed Ellen for the first time last week. It was a little intense for me only because I've never fed a baby before, but I'm sure I could do it again. Honestly, they are the cutest babies in the world...even when they're crying.

That's pretty much it for now. Might have an update about a second job after tomorrow, but we shall see. Hope all is well with everyone. I'll update soon.

P.S. I'll be 24 in 5 days. Scary.

Quick update

2010-08-05T22:49:00.003-05:00

For those of you that don't know, I had a job interview for the recreation assistant position at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church. The interview was at 2 and around 4 they called me to offer me the job! Wednesday was a very successful day! As soon as I was offered the job, I began searching for an apartment. Totally different experience than I had in Troy. Still kind of fun though. I think we've decided on a place, but not sure yet.

As for when I start my job...basically as soon as possible. They asked me to start Monday, but I told them I couldn't. They know I don't have a permanent living arrangement yet. So, they were very understanding in that respect. I do have to go back to Birmingham next week for a meeting. Hopefully then I'll know more about a "schedule" (I put that in quotes because it's a part time job, and I'm supposed to be flexible, which I am). As soon as I get to Birmingham in an apartment, I will be looking for another job. Not sure exactly what I'll be looking for, but I just need to make some more money. Life would be so much easier if money wasn't pretty much necessary to live. However, it kind of is. Funny to think that I, Sara Lee, will soon have 2 jobs. Haha.

Well, I saved the best for last. I got to hold my nephew, Cole Jr., for the first time. I took a picture with my phone. Let me see if I can send it to my computer......

Too cute? Yeah, I know! That's it for now! Update again soon!

I know. I'm sketchy.

2010-07-29T01:46:00.005-05:00

I'm so sorry I have been gone for so long. Things have been happening somewhat fast on my end. It's kind of sad, kind of scary, and kind of exciting.

If you know me, then you probably already know the most exciting news that I have to share. I am officially an aunt to Ellen and Cole Jr. Woo hoo!! I was present at the hospital when they were born. But they arrived about 6 weeks early (like most twins do), so they were put in the NICU. Mary Alice and me were not allowed to see them. Just parents and grandparents. So, I have yet to see them. I have gotten to see a lot of pictures and video. So, it's better than nothing. To say I'm a proud aunt would be an understatement. Most people that know me, know I'm kind of afraid of infants. I think that will change as soon as I get to spend some time with these cuties.

Job update: I have been asked back for a second interview at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church for the recreation assistant position. I know the majority of people didn't even know I had a first interview. I didn't tell many people because I didn't know if it wasn't going to work out. And even though I still don't have the job, I just wanted to brag that I got asked to come back :). So, that's all there is about jobs. Haha.

A little sad news: My roommate, Grace, moves out tomorrow (today, actually, since it's after midnight). Then I move out Friday. It's only little sad because it's also a little exciting that we get to close this chapter of our lives and start another one. I'm going to miss living with Grace more than I thought possible. Having someone you trust and someone you truly love being around living with you 24/7 makes life easier. But luckily, there are these things called cell phones and cars, so we'll keep in touch.

Random: I got a new phone. A Droid Incredible. I am extremely proud of this piece of technology that I now own. It doesn't take too much to excite me when it comes to technology. I like just about anything in that category.

As for everything else: Nothing much happening. I'll be moving back to Monroeville on Friday and see where this job interview goes in the next couple of weeks. Maybe next time it won't take so long to update. I kind of wanna leave you with something. Let's see if I can find something fun...

Ok, I got it. Now, I am totally ok with saying that I am somewhat of a cat lady. At least I only have one cat. But since I don't think I've ever shared a picture of my cat on here, I think it's ok that I do now. So, here is the cat that I'm taking home with me that will have to live in my room, since our other cat isn't the friendliest. Her name is Windchime (thanks to Tommy Stanton). And if you knew her, then you'd totally agree with me when I say that the name totally suits her.

Confession/Girly Fact

2010-06-23T02:48:00.003-05:00

It's funny, I've lost count of how many girly facts I've put on here. At the most, there are 3. How could I lose count? Oh well.

I feel like all of my girly facts are confessions, and not just plain girly facts. Confessions are what no one knows about you, right? Yeah, right. Moving on. GIRLY FACT #3 (maybe) I really like the movie Dirty Dancing. I used to hate it. I think it's just because I never really watched it. It came on AMC the other night and I watched it all the way through and loved it. I used to make fun of Mary Alice (whether she knew I made fun of her, I do not know, but she does now) for liking it. I think she really likes it. But I just thought it was stupid. But it really is a good movie. And that is a girly movie if I've ever seen one. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."...? That's got "girl" written all over it. I love the soundtrack too.

Well, this weekend I'm in a wedding. Never my favorite activity, but I'll do it for a friend. It's in Birmingham. I'll stay there til Monday probably. Then I'll drive that hellacious drive to the beach. Gulf Shores to be exact. Chill there. Then maybe, hopefully Destin. I think I mentioned all of this in my last post. Just trying to take up space.

Mary Alice always says I never put pictures in my posts. She is a picture freak in her posts. Not complaining, or making fun, I promise. So, here's a picture to show my excitement about the upcoming weddings in the future...

2010-06-19T17:30:00.002-05:00

Well, my life has basically stayed the same since my last post. The only thing that has changed is that my mother's identity has been confirmed. She is Superwoman...or maybe Wonderwoman. I'm gonna just go with both. She had surgery Wednesday and dominated. She went home Thursday around noon or 1. Thanks to the doctors who dominated as well. And thanks to all of the prayers. I know there were many.

As for me. I'm in Troy. Still job hunting. I'm getting prepared to move back to Monroeville for a little while. I'm ok with that. I know it will be hard, but at least I'll get to spend some time with my parents. Please continue prayers for my mom, but while you're at it, say a prayer for my job search. It's honestly a lot harder than I thought it would be. I knew it wasn't going to hard, but I don't think I was quite ready this challenge.

Moving on...I've got Amy Wilson's wedding a week from today. Then I'll be in Gulf Shores with Grace and Tommy to watch Eclipse and hang out. Then hopefully I'll be headed to Destin with my parents and Mary Alice and Rob. After that, Grace will have moved back to Troy. So, I'll have my roommate back for the remainder of July. Yay! Then July 31st, I have to be moved out of my apt. Gross. Let's not talk about that.

I guess I should post my graduation slideshow. The music that is set to it is funny. At least I think so. I think most people have already seen the pictures, but for anyone who just waiting on the slideshow, here you go:

Life after graduation

2010-05-28T03:50:00.004-05:00

I can't sleep...so here I am. 2 people have told me that the slideshow didn't work for them on the website. I will try to get that up on here soon.

It's funny how so soon after graduation I'm wishing I was back in school. Not because I want to be, but because then I would be able to say I was doing something. And I don't want to say I'm doing something because I'm bored. I could be a bum the rest of my life (which isn't really a quality I'm proud of, but I'm not ashamed to admit it). But I feel bad that now I'm just spending my parents money not doing anything.

Do you know how many jobs are out there? A bunch. Do you know how many qualified people are applying for them? A bunch. Needless to say, it's a dog-eat-dog (I didn't wanna say it, but it's all I've got) world out there. I think what's holding me back is that I'm not quite sure what I want to do. The Coast Guard keeps sticking out in my mind, but just because you really want something, doesn't mean it's time for you to get it, or that you're even supposed to get it. A lot of things are happening right now. My sister is expecting twins...soon! My mom is still fighting the good fight. If I get too far away, and something happens, if I miss something, I will never forgive myself. But at the same time, I don't really feel like anybody needs me to stick around. Everybody has their significant other and/or plans (and do not mistake this statement for me complaining that I do not have a boyfriend...just trying to make a point). I just feel like it's time for me to have something I want. I've always wanted to travel and help people. Maybe something else will come around that will allow me to stay close. Until then, I am very discontent with where I am. But not to a point that I'm going to go crazy. The place I am right now, is a big part of my life, and I will miss it. But for right now, I'm ready to move on.

I think I'm ready to move on from this post. So, here I go. I'll be at the beach this weekend with the soon to be parents of twins and the soon to be grandparents of twins. Weird...in a good way! Take care.

Graduation website

2010-05-17T16:21:00.002-05:00

So, I made a website dedicated to my graduation from Troy University. Click here to check it out! I used a program on my Mac, iWeb. It was very helpful, and made it really easy. However, the slideshow of pictures won't work when I bring it up. Check it out and let me know if it works for you. Hope you enjoy!

My life is full

2010-05-01T23:11:00.001-05:00

God has always been a mystery to me. But at the same time, I know one thing about Him is certain…that He loves me. It’s hard to believe He could love me, but I am so thankful that He does.

It’s the beginning of May, and it has never been a favorite month of mine. It’s about to be 7 years since Adam died, and oddly enough, it IS getting easier. Never thought I would be able to say that, but I honestly can. I still get sad. I still miss him very much and would give the world to have him back. However, my life has gone on. At first I didn’t want it to, but now I’m glad it did. May does have something rather exciting in it. I’m graduating in 6 days! From college! Wow! I NEVER EVER thought I would be able to say that. It’s amazing to me how far I’ve come. I didn’t think I’d make it out of the 10th grade. But here I am, a soon to be college graduate.

There, of course, is one person on the top of my list to thank. God has done nothing but help me get to where I am, and He is going to take me where I’m going. That’s very exciting and calming to me. It’s exciting knowing I have somewhere else to go. It’s calming to know that God is leading the way.

I also have my parents to thank. Without them, I wouldn’t have gone to college. College always seemed foreign to me. Like something I would never do. Now without it, I don’t know where I’d be. Is it weird to say my parents are always right? Because they are. I can’t remember one time when they were wrong. I’ll keep thinking on it though. If I can remember a time when they were wrong, I’ll update soon after. I seriously have the greatest parents in the world, and I have no idea what I did to deserve them.

My sisters are also high on the list. Just being there for me has made this life of mine so much easier. They are there just to talk, or complain to. They are always on my side, which is a plus. Except for the times I’m being stupid. And they’ll tell me when I’m doing so. Life without me sisters would definitely be less enjoyable. I probably wouldn’t enjoy life at all.

My friends. I have a certain set of friends (some old, some new) that never cease to amaze me. They always want me to be happy, and are always there for me. Without friends, you have nothing. With my friends, I have everything.

This life God has given me is ridiculously full. It’s full of love, laughter, caring and so much more. It’s absurd to have all of these things, and not believe there is a God. And in all honesty, if I die, and find out there isn’t a God (even though I know in my heart there is) I’ll be sad at first. But then I’ll smile because I’ll be happy that I believed in something while I was alive. That I lived for someone who died for me. And that I loved, and always knew there was someone, someone very special, who loved me too.

Patiently waiting...sort of.

2010-04-20T02:52:00.002-05:00

Well here I am 17 days away from graduation. Pretty crazy. I'm seriously thinking about what I'm going to do about a job, which is even crazier to me. Things are really slow now. I have a presentation on Friday. After that, I will be done with my last class at Troy University. I have a softball game this week and then 3 this weekend. Then I have my Internship notebook due before dead day (which is April 28th). Then, all I have to do is graduate. Feels a little bitter/sweet.

Australia is officially, officially cancelled. My teacher was able to keep the trip alive, but only myself and another girl were going to go. I told my parents, and they discussed it and decided they didn't think it was that safe. I was never mad with their decision because I understood. I was just a little sad. In January I thought it would be a sure thing. But slowly, things just started to fall apart. Oh well, maybe something better will come along.

I went to Atlanta this past weekend for a career fair and my FIRST BRAVES GAME EVER!!!! The career fair was alright. All they really had to offer were internships, and they told us we could do everything online. I'm still glad I went. The game was awesome. Even though we lost to the Rockies 4-0 and they pitched a no-hitter. First one in Colorado Rockies history...which is kind of neat. I'll definitely be attending more of those!

As for everything else...well, I'm honestly just waiting around for graduation. So, I guess that's it. Hope everyone had a good Monday and has a great rest of the week! Until next time...

I survived

2010-04-03T22:54:00.002-05:00

Well, here I am. I survived my crazy weekend of my exit exam, CHFD, baseball games, and golf. A week later I am surprisingly still alive. My exit exam went ok. Not going to lie, I kind of freaked out when I was handed the test. I am 100% positive I spelled my name right, and I know I got at least one other question correct. Enough about that...

Children's Health Field Day was awesome!! Out of the 95 that pre-registered, only about 50 showed up. Which was a little discouraging until I found out that between 250 and 300 kids walked-in. Major success. No kids went missing or died on our watch. Which means we should pass the class. Ha. I was honestly dreading CHFD. I didn't think it was a waste of time, I just wasn't excited about it. I think that had to with a lot of the stress that was involved in planning it. Once it got here, time flew, and we all had fun. Even at 7AM.

The baseball games went as planned, like always. And the golf tournament was a success too. I was only a volunteer for that event so, I wasn't required to do too much. Needless to say, I was exhausted Monday night. I think I fell asleep around 10:30. I don't even remember trying to fall asleep. I don't think I even remember my head hitting the pillow.

As for everything else, it's slowing down. I've had baseball games this weekend. After tomorrow, we don't have a baseball or softball game for the next 13 days. One word: awesome. I'm sad I'm not home for Easter. Anna and Cole went to Monroeville. Mary Alice and Rob are stuck in Troy with me because Rob has to work. I believe I will be joining them for an Easter dinner tomorrow night. I still wish we were all going to be together. I'll take what I can get.

My Australia trip, which I think the majority of my readers (haha) knew about, has been officially cancelled. However, my professor is still trying to figure out a way for me and hopefully some others to be able to go. I'll keep you posted.

I am almost only 1 month away from graduating. :) Yay.

Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone has a very blessed Easter!

Long time, no post

2010-03-22T00:09:00.003-05:00

I have been so busy, I can't even remember the last time I thought about blogging. As soon as I get down time, I don't wanna do anything. Hence my non-updated blog. Spring break came and went. I was at the beach from Sunday night til Wednesday afternoon. That morning we (me and my mom) got word that my grandmother was really sick. She packed up and left before me. I cleaned up the beach house, showered, shut everything down and headed to Birmingham about an hour or so after her. I was in Birmingham from Wednesday til Saturday. Most of the days were spent visiting my grandmother at the hospital. However, my sister Anna made it feel like I was having somewhat of a spring break in Birmingham. My oldest sister Mary Alice came into town Thursday evening. The situation that brought us together was scary, but we were all glad to be with each other. Happy to report that my grandmother is out of the hospital and in skilled care. So glad she'll be with us longer.

My games have picked up a little. I feel like I'm having more games and less free time. My event for my class is coming up this weekend. It's going to be hectic. Friday at noon I have my exit exam, which I have to pass to graduate. Then at 6 that night I have a KHP banquet, which I'll be recognized (along with about 15 others) during the banquet for the most service hours. I think you had to have 20+ hours. On Saturday I have to be at the sportsplex for my event (Children's Health Field Day) at 7AM. It lasts until 12. After that I have to help with clean-up, which should last about an hour. Hopefully less. At 1PM I have a baseball game. Then at 6PM I have another baseball game. Should get home around 9PM. WOAH! Sunday I have another baseball game at 1. Followed by a golf tournament Monday morning and another baseball game at 6. I'm getting so tired just talking about it. I'll definitely need prayers this week and weekend. But after this week, it's smooth sailing. My class will basically be done, and the only worries I'll have left are my journals for my class and internship. Both of which can be finished in a few days.

So, there you go. I will be applying for jobs as soon as my cover letter is proofread by a professional (my sister, Anna). Scary. Already got one lined up to apply for, but it's a secret for now.

More to update you on, but I need a little sleep. Be back soon-ish :)

Frustrated

2010-02-25T01:32:00.003-06:00

So, I wish I had really amazing, awesome things to update you on, but I do not. I'm in a very frustrating place, and it's starting to get the best of me. I am currently 10 weeks and 1 day away from graduating (71 days). I am so close, I can't stand it. I hate to wish the last of my college days away so fast, but honestly, while things are good, I feel like they could be better. I know things could be so much better if I could get out of here and experience somewhere else. I really hate my Event Management class. Things are just getting really annoying in the class. My internship is great, and I'm thankful I found it. If this internship was somewhere other than Troy, I would be set. I'm just in this place where I know change is coming, and I feel like it's never going to get here.

I was driving down University Avenue the other day, I was looking around, taking everything in, and I know I'm going to miss this place when I leave. Troy has been a big part of my life these past 5 years. I've grown up so much since I've been here. I've learned so much also. I've learned more about myself than I have in class. Sometimes, I feel like that's the point of college. Of course you're supposed to learn in the classroom because you need to get a job, and doing so requires knowledge from the classroom. But I feel like if I hadn't learned anything about myself here, it would've been a waste of time.

When all of this is over, I know I'll miss the routine of classes, and having a lot of free time, but I also know, I'm ready for the real world. It's going to be hard and scary, but, if I remember correctly, college was hard and scary at the beginning too, now I think I'm pretty good at it :)

In the end, I am thankful for everything I have. I try to remind myself that I need to step back and realize what I have. I need to appreciate where I am, because more than likely, I won't ever be here again. Sometimes I just wish patience came in the form of a pill.

Thanks for reading. If anyone is. Goodnight.

Informative post :)

2010-02-10T00:37:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to update really quick. Things are about to get really crazy for me with baseball and softball season about to begin. I have to be at ALL of the games. Next weekend, we have a double-header basketball game and a baseball game on the same day. Not sure what's gonna happen there, but we'll see. Needless to say, I might not have too much time to update. So, I wanted to do so now.

I feel like I haven't talked about what I do for my internship much. If I have and I just forgot, skip this part. If not, enjoy. Well, I basically do what I'm told. I've spent the past 4 days or so on iTunes getting the music together for baseball and softball. I have to download all of the music the players want for the walk-out songs (like when they're going to bat). Then I have to put them in a thing called Click Effects so they can be edited to play about 10 seconds of the song. It's been a lot more time consuming then I thought it would be, but I'm definitely not complaining.

During the week of basketball games we (meaning me and the other intern, Eriko. I and everyone else call her Erika...I asked her about it and she said it's the same..so whatevs.) have to type up the scripts. Which is just what the announcer says during media timeouts and such. It sounds pretty intense, but it's not. On game day, we help set up. There's actually more to it than you think, but there's no need to get into all of it. During the game we just help out in whatever section we need to...crowd management, event management, promotions. It's a lot of fun. It's definitely tiring, but fun. At the end of the game, we clean up.

I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing with baseball, but as soon as I know, I'll let all of you inquiring minds know.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish I could get hired to work at Troy. Don't tell anyone I said so. I've always said that I don't want to end up in Troy, but this job has become very comfortable and enjoyable. I only work from 1-4:30, so maybe that's why it's comfortable. Haha. Maybe I'm also saying this because I really don't want to have to go through the job hunting process. Oh well, here's to graduating and growing up. Yuck on the growing up part. In all seriousness though, I'm realizing that Troy is a big part of my life. I will be very sad to see it go.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship. I feel like I've learned a lot, and gotten some much needed (and wanted) experience. I'm going to be rather sad when it ends, but very happy that it happened.

Alrighty, I must go to bed. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week, and hopefully I'll be back sooner than later. Goodnight.

No clue what my title should be.

2010-02-03T00:47:00.003-06:00

Hi. Can't sleep. So, obviously I'm blogging.

Weird day today. Not exactly sure why. Just felt weird all day. Guess I'll share something with you...

I've been thinking a lot about "beliefs" lately. Mostly about how everyone's are different. I honestly don't think anyone's beliefs are exactly the same. Which can make for a more interesting world, but it can also make for a harder one. I don't think I've ever stopped being someone's friend because of something they believed. Then again, I've never encountered anyone who had a belief that was so shocking I couldn't stand to be around them anymore. Well, it wasn't shocking to me. I honestly believe that God gave me the gift of understanding. I feel that almost no matter what, I can relate to someone and how they feel. Sometimes my feelings get hurt, and you can tell. But once I take a minute (maybe longer than just ONE minute :)), I can understand why they said or did something. Sometimes that's really awesome, other times it's not. Sometimes I just keep my mouth shut instead of telling someone how I really feel. Which can come back to haunt me later, but lately, 9 times out of 10, it's just made everything easier. Maybe that's what I'm missing. Something challenging. I always take the easy way out. Whether it's keeping my mouth shut to avoid confrontation, or something else that I can't think of an example for :)

I'm going to be really honest right now...I think part of my problem is that I feel like I'm in a rut. I've been in Troy for 5 years. It's not a bad place to be. It doesn't have a lot of stuff to do, but it's a nice little town. I'm ready to get out. I'm so close to doing so, that I'm getting very restless. I'm ready to see other places. I'm ready to experience other things. It's time. It's finally time. I'm so scared, but so ready. As scared as I am I feel good about all of this. Right before I went off to college, I had this feeling that I could start over. Reinvent myself if you will. I feel like I'm getting a second chance to do so when I graduate. It'll be good. God is good. That's all there is to it. It's all Him. And I'm so thankful.

It's after 1 so I guess I need to end this. My mom is coming tomorrow. I'm so glad. She always pulls me out of my rut and makes me happy. I love her. Update again soon :)

Well...

2010-01-20T23:53:00.002-06:00

Due to some certain circumstances, "No Tech 3" has been cancelled. There's just a lot going on. I'm still going to try to cut out a lot of Facebook and other things. I also need to clean my room. If I don't soon, I'm gonna have to move into Grace's room. I'm sorry I couldn't do it right now. Maybe I can reschedule soon. Thanks for the prayers. I'll let you know when it's happening again. Goodnight.

This is it.

2010-01-19T23:55:00.003-06:00

So, I'm starting this no technology deal tomorrow. Or in like 5 minutes. I'm ready. It might be a little dorky, but I'm excited. It's going to be amazing how much stuff I can get done.

Here are the rules:
1. No phone. Only for emergencies, and for my boss.
2. I will be communicating through email (sarlee86@gmail.com or slee45921@troy.edu).
3. No computer. Except for my online class, and answering emails.
4. NO FACEBOOK/TWITTER or anything of that nature.
5. If you need to talk, which I doubt anyone will, just email me saying we need to talk.
6. No xbox or Wii.
7. No tv. Whatsoever.

All of these "distractions" will be replaced with reading, Bible studies, CLEANING MY ROOM, exercising (or just going on a nice walk), completing assignments, and anything else I can think of.

Please support me on this with your prayers. It will be greatly appreciated. I'm going to try it for 3 days and then go from there. Here's to "No Tech 3" (no technology for 3 days)! Woo Hoo! Call me weird if you want for giving it a name, I don't care :) I'm having fun with this! God bless you all. Update about my progress soon!

I have made a decision.

2010-01-19T03:55:00.003-06:00

So, these past couple of weeks I feel like I've gotten into an annoying routine. Since I can't really change it up by going anywhere (because I kind of need to be here) I'm going to do something else. I'm going to get rid of my phone, my computer (partially), my tv, and my xbox/wii. I say partially beside my computer because I need it to do schoolwork (online class and such). Here are my rules: I will communicate by email (sarlee86@gmail.com or slee45921@troy.edu). So all of the people that really care, will know that I'm still alive. I might update this in the process, but we'll see. No Facebook. If there is an emergency I will talk on my phone, but I'd rather not. I will not answer my phone unless I get an email saying we need to talk. I will answer the phone only for my boss, because I don't wanna get fired due to this little shindig. Also, no texting. Part of me didn't want to say that because it's almost the same as email, but I decided against it.

I'm going to replace all of the stuff I'm getting rid of with reading, Bible studies, CLEANING MY ROOM (it is awful), walking, and whatever else I can think of. I really think I need this. I believe it'll be good for me. I'm thinking about starting on Wednesday. I'm going to try it for 3 days. If it works, I'm going to bump it up to a week. If I can do this for a week, maybe it'll get me interested in other things.

You may think I'm weird for doing this, or that I just want attention, but I have my reasons. Reasons that mean something to me. So, please support me.

Well, that's all. If I decide to start on Wednesday, I'll update this again. Maybe I can think of more rules. Goodnight.

Random

2010-01-13T03:13:00.003-06:00

Have you ever just all of a sudden realized that you were in a certain place? I kind of just did. Like it just came over me. It's weird. It's weird because the place I just realized I'm in is...well, it doesn't have a name (maybe I'll make one up later), but this place I'm in consists of only me. I am by myself. Whatever I decide to do, wherever I decide to go from the place I'm in, it's my decision. Well, for the most part it is. I will talk to my parents and sisters, and a few friends, but in the end, it'll be me that decides. A little scary.

It's hard making a decision by yourself. When you finally decide what you're going to do, and you end up not being happy, it's your fault, and you're unhappy by yourself. If you make a decision with someone, then at least you're both unhappy and can work on making each other happy. I need to be honest with you. Although I'm scared, I'm excited. I'm scared not only because I'm by myself but also because I have no idea where I'm going to end up and I'm gonna be in the real world soon. I'm excited because I am finally going to have some change in my life. There are certain situations that I love change, but there are also certain situations that I hate change. Like I hate that my roommate and best friend had to move to Georgia. But it's hard to be THAT sad because I am happy for her. Maybe a little jealous because she doesn't have to be in Troy. Basically what it all boils down to is that I just miss her.

It's 3:20AM, and I have such a long day tomorrow. Sleep doesn't come as easily anymore. I guess I just wanted to talk. Or type. I'll give an update about my internship later. Just know that so far, it's going good. I hope everyone has a good rest of the week.

Christmas and such.

2010-01-02T01:03:00.003-06:00

Hi. It's been a while since I last posted. I've been a little busy with Christmas and going to Mississippi and whatnot. Jackson, Mississippi was fun. I can see myself living there. Me and Leslee are more alike than I remembered. I'm glad I went.

Christmas started out a little slow. I got sick with sinus junk Christmas eve. But things picked up. I got a lot of things I loved. The majority of the stuff I got were surprises. I really do love surprises. I've always known that I was blessed. This Christmas made me realize even more how much I'm blessed. I can't wait to tell yall about it. Just not yet :)

My Aunt Ty did something awesome for me and my sisters this Christmas. She copied some of our home videos to DVD. I watched some of them tonight. They made me happy and sad at the same time. I began to miss a lot of things. I began to miss certain things about my family. It made me wish that we all had to get together like once a month. Not just Christmas and other big holidays. My family and I, myself have changed a lot. I started to miss not only the possible things (like how my family get togethers used to be) but also the impossible things (like Adam and my cousin Maggie). Missing something you can never get back is the worst. But at the same time, missing something you can have, but for some reason you just can't have it right now, is hard too.

Sometimes I wish that God would just appear in front of me, and we could talk. I know I can talk to Him without Him appearing in front of me because I do it ALL THE TIME, but I just wish I could get a straight forward answer from Him. As much as I wish for that to happen, I still get answers from Him the old fashioned way. Which sometimes, is just as good as if he appeared in front of me and told me the answer.

I think I'm just gonna stop right there. Another update soon...hopefully.

Rambling about life. A lot of rambling.

2009-12-12T03:59:00.004-06:00

It's 4AM, and I can't sleep. That has a lot to do with the fact that I slept til 1 then got back in bed at 4:30 this afternoon and slept til around 7:30. I haven't been feeling well, but I'm hoping that crazy nap I took this afternoon/night helped. I am feeling better so maybe it did.

I want to start of by saying I'm feeling rather emotional tonight. I just watched Marley and Me. A great movie but sad too. On top of that, a lot is happening. But it's mostly in my head. I've only got 5 months of school left. That is scary. For a while I really thought I knew what I was doing right after I graduated. The Coast Guard seemed like something I really wanted to do. Which I still think it is. But of course, being me (and the people that really know me know what I mean), I put it on hold. It just feels like the right thing to do to be close to my family and friends right now. No one in my family really gets too far away. Anna is the only one. She was 7 hours away for a while, and my family hated it, but she was happy. She met Cole while she was 7 hours away, so we're all thankful for that. Now, she's only about 3 hours away, and she is located where all of the Howell cousins and my aunt and uncle are located. Needless to say, she got it right when she moved the second time.

My only big concern about not doing the Coast Guard right after graduation is that now would be kind of perfect. I don't have a serious boyfriend, a husband, or a family of my own. I'm going to be done with school. My options are just wide open. I think if I can't find a job shortly after I graduate, the USCG will be plan b. You always need a back up plan, because sometimes you can follow through on plan a to a tee, and something is going to change, and you'll need a plan b. Funny thing is, I don't even really plan. Ever. I just like to go with the flow. I think that might change as I get older, but I could be wrong. Sometimes it's fun, but sometimes it just adds stress.

I honestly never saw myself being this old. I know, I know. I'm only 23. But when I was 16, I never saw myself here. 5 months away from graduating college. I didn't even really want to go to college, but in my family, it's kind of in the "contract". I'm glad it is too. College has been tough, but fun. I've learned a lot about myself. I've made some irreplaceable friends, and some great memories. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Part of me wishes I could do it over again. Just not the whole school/studying part. There are just certain moments in my life that I wish I could live forever. I don't really want to be in school forever, but I would love to live with Grace forever. Hang out with her and Tommy all the time. Have Meagan and JB, and Mary Alice and Rob down the road. I am kind of in that moment right now, but it's getting close to the end. Every ending is just a new beginning.

Oh dear, I feel like I'm just rambling now. I am. Ok. My computer is about to die anyway so I guess that's a sign. Just know that a lot of things are going to be changing over the next few months. So, please excuse the rambling, emotional posts. Sometimes, at 4AM, these posts are all I have.

Quick-ish Update 2

2009-12-03T00:43:00.003-06:00

Hello all! I just wanted to do another quick update for all of you who have missed me so much. The semester is almost over!! I've got a presentation tomorrow at 5, a final Monday morning at 8, and then one last final on Tuesday, which is open notes. So, prayers should be directed towards my final on Friday. First of all, it's at 8AM. Secondly, it's comprehensive, which it wasn't supposed to be. So, I'm working on my presentation right now, then I'm going to study until probably 8AM on Friday.

Everything else is good. Thanksgiving wasn't long enough, so I'm ready for Christmas break. A lot of things will be changing, which is scary. Grace is moving to Georgia for the semester to intern. I'll be interning in Troy. And I'll be so much closer to graduation. I have some other exciting, like really exciting news, but I'm going to make you wait because it's not set in stone yet.

So, that's it. I need to get back to this presentation of mine. Hope everyone is doing well. Be back soon :)

Quick-ish Update

2009-11-15T01:44:00.004-06:00

Well, things were crazy-busy 2 weeks ago. This past week was basically my week to chill out. So, I didn't do too much. I did go to Talladega this past Thursday to tour the facility with the KHP club. I think I was expecting a little more than what we got. It was kind of interesting, but it was a long day.

I've been doing a little traveling to observe my official for my online sports officiating class. He's a basketball official. The games haven't been that fun because the teams aren't that great, but the official I'm observing (Mr. Sonny) is really nice. He's about 49, and he's really helpful. The past 2 games I went to I was able to sit in on the pre-game meeting, halftime meeting, and post-game meeting. They basically sit around and talk about some new rules, points of emphasis that the NCAA want to well, emphasize, and just a bunch of other stuff. Might sound a little boring, but I think it's rather interesting. I've learned some stuff too. I only need 2 observations, but I might go to some more just for the heck of it.

Nothing else is really happening. Less than a month until Christmas break. A little bitter/sweet for different reasons. None of which I would like to discuss at the moment. So, I guess that's it then. I hope this post finds everyone well.

P.S. Shout out to Tara Rodgers and her blogger-stalking abilities :)

Tired of boring ol' posts? Me too.

2009-10-25T02:05:00.004-05:00

Well, I didn't want to type much at all tonight. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite things. So, I did so through a slideshow. I did this in kind of a hurry so it's not the best. I used iPhoto on my Mac. It gets credit for everything except for the photos in the slideshow. There should be sound so turn your volume on. I hope it works. If it all works like it's supposed to, I'll make a better one soon. If it doesn't work for anyone, let me know. Enjoy!

The good stuff.

2009-10-19T01:22:00.004-05:00

So, I finally have an update! Most of you already know, but for those of you who don't...I have an internship for the spring of 2010!! I will be working with Troy Athletics in Event Management and Promotions! I'm pretty excited! I'm so ready for my first day! This semester has been tough. It's only going to get tougher too. But that's ok. I'm kind of getting in a groove. It's a good groove too.

I went to the beach this weekend. Probably shouldn't have because I needed to do a lot of work this weekend, but it was totally worth it. I think I needed to get away to the beach for just a little bit. Kind of recharged me. Very nice. Great company, and great times!

I do want to share something I've learned. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away (Job 1:21). So very true. Lately, I have felt like the Lord has been taking a lot away (which it is all His, but I think you know what I mean). But I finally learned that in His taking away, He is also giving. I feel like either way, we're winning. God wants us to be happy. Whether He is giving or taking away, it is all for a purpose. I am going to try my best from now on to be happy with both the giving and the taking away. I'm human, and will probably get caught up in my emotions, but I just need to take a step back, breathe, and pray. Have a little faith? No, have a lot. God is right all the time, and I need to stop questioning Him. I may not be going to church very much, but I'm learning. God is speaking, I'm finally listening. It's funny to think how not so long ago, I couldn't hear Him. I just thought He wasn't talking. But it's so easy now. The Lord is the best. I don't know how else to say it.

In conclusion, my life is going to work out exactly the way the Lord wants it to. I need to stop worrying about being alone for the rest of my life, and not finding happiness. My happiness is right in front of me. In my family, my friends, my opportunities, and just my life in general.

So, that's all. Hope all is well with everyone. Goodnight!

Troy Internet is ridiculous

2009-10-13T18:50:00.003-05:00

Wow. Life is just out of control right now. I've had an off day dealing with electronics. Let me just tell you the story. Hint: If you don't want to read all of the in depth parts of the story, just read the bold stuff, and you'll get the gist of what happened. I was trying my best to be a good student and go to the Troy library to get some work done. I arrived around 3:30 and began looking up information for my research paper that is due in 23 days (AHH). I researched for a good 30-45 minutes. Then all of a sudden, I was knocked off the internet. It said that I had violated some internet policy. I was like, what in the heck? This had never happened before. And believe it or not, I've been to the library with this computer many times before this, and been just fine. So, I tried to figure it out for a good 30 minutes. I finally went and talked to the "librarian" (it's in quotes because I'm not really sure if he was qualified as a librarian). He sent me to the IT guy. I asked him about it and he said it probably has something to do with Limewire or Kazaa or some music downloading program you have on your computer. I told him I didn't have any kind of music downloading program on my computer except iTunes which is totally legal. So, he told me to call the Troy HelpDesk. I do so, and he told me I was knocked off because I have Skype on my computer. For those of you who might not know, Skype is basically a chatting program. You can just do regular text chats (like MSN messenger, Yahoo messenger, etc.). You can also do video chats if you have a webcam. Naturally, I asked why Skype was causing me to violate some policy. He said it's because it's a "peer-to-peer" program. Which according to Wikipedia is kind of like a lot of different computers sharing their files with each other (if anyone has a better explanation about peer-to-peer, feel free to share). Anyway, the IT guy told me to delete Skype. I reluctantly did so, and it still wouldn't work. I even called Grace's boyfriend, Tommy and asked him what to do. He even gave me his email info (which is what you use to sign in to use the internet) and it still wouldn't work. So, I left the library, and I am now at Village Coffee which has WiFi, but only after you purchase something. So, I bought a coke. Now, I'm sitting here with a headache because I'm not a big fan of the smell of coffee. BOO!

Something else happened electronically to me, but I can't remember. I guess I'm just so overwhelmed by that fact that I can't use Troy's internet unless I delete Skype. I guess I'm going to be doing stuff at Village Coffee from now on, and I'll just smell like coffee for the rest of my life.

I do have something funny I want to share with yall, but I think I've typed enough. So, this post was basically so I could vent about what happened to me today. Sorry for all of that, but thanks for letting me vent, blog world. It is greatly appreciated. Until next time, have a lovely night.

Hello blog world. Miss me?

2009-09-27T01:08:00.003-05:00

Hi. I was told I needed to update this. I don't really have anything to announce...yet. I think I might soon though. So, all of you people that just check this everyday to see what's going on in my life and keep getting let down, be patient. School is about to get intense. I've got a research paper I need to get moving on, along with a portfolio, and a couple of presentations. Needless to say, I'm about to get busy. I know I'm a lame-o, but that's it. Hope everyone is well. Be back soon :)

Same ol', same ol'

2009-08-25T00:27:00.004-05:00

Ok, this probably going to be a lame post. I just really don't have a lot going on, except school. I'm trying my best to make good grades, which prevents me from doing too many other things. Some people can have fun and make good grades. I have to work really hard to make good grades.

With that being said, I worked very hard this summer, and it paid off. I made the Provost's list. You have to take at least 12 hours in a semester and make at least a 3.65, and I got a 3.75. So, that was kind of awesome. I'm hoping to do the same this semester. Maybe better. Our tests just haven't started yet, and that's when things will get really stressful. I think this semester will show how committed (or uncommitted) I am to making good grades. And Mom, I'll just go ahead and say I'm committed. Don't worry :)

That's really all I've got. Wait. This weekend my parents, and Anna and Cole are coming to Troy to celebrate my birthday on Saturday. I'm really excited! We'll be celebrating at Mary Alice and Rob's by grilling hamburgers and my sweet oldest sister is making mac & cheese...my fave. I'm sure my second oldest sister will do something sweet too. What am I saying? She doesn't know how to do anything that isn't sweet. Haha. Grace and Tommy will be celebrating with us also. I'm beyond excited! It makes me appreciate all I have. I really am blessed with an awesome family and awesome friends.

Well, that's all. Hope everyone is fantastic. Until next time...<--what does that mean exactly? Am I supposed to tell you what I'll be doing until next time? Or is it just one of those things you can say that nobody really totally gets, but you say it anyway? Hmm, oh well :)

A little bit of summer left.

2009-07-30T00:09:00.003-05:00

So, I have been out of school for a week, and it's been great! I got finished last Wednesday, took off to the beach til Sunday, and now I'm in Monroeville until Friday. I've only been gone from Troy for a week, but I kind of miss it. It's just really started to feel like home. A little sad it'll all be over in about a year. Still a little exciting though :).

As for school, I finished with 3 As and a B for the entire summer. A 3.75 GPA. Highest ever for me. I'm pretty proud. I feel like I worked really hard this summer. The only problem is now people know that I am capable of making good grades. So I have to really prove myself my last year at Troy. It's going to be tough, but it'll be worth it. As hard as this summer was, a lot of the stuff we had to do was fun and interesting. I had a to make a media guide, a brochure, and flyer for an event my partner and I made up. And for those of you that don't know (I didn't really at first either), a media guide is basically like a program you get when you attend a game. It usually has some ads in it along with player bios, staff bios, a feature story, and some other stuff. Ours ended up having about 27 pages. We made a 70/75 on it. We were pleased. If we would have had a little more time, and known a little more about it, we think we could have made it a lot better. But that was the point of the assignment, to learn. And learn we did.

Everything else is going great. My mother is still fighting hard. Treatment on Monday, bored by Tuesday. Such a trooper. Ever since school ended for the summer I have had nothing to talk about. Mainly because I've done nothing. I do know I'm not going to be ready for school to start back on August 12. Gross.

Well, I guess that's pretty much it. I shall update again soon. Hope everyone is well. Goodnight!

This is kind of exciting.

2009-06-29T22:39:00.002-05:00

Ok, get ready. First on the agenda tonight is to discuss grades and school. Don't worry, only good grades. My first minimester (May 27-June 26) went by rather fast. Came out with As in both classes. So, that's exciting. My second minimester could possibly have a different outcome. One class I'm taking is Sport Communications. I was told by the teacher that the class wasn't going to be too hard if you've already taken Sport Marketing (which I have). She lied. I don't think the tests are going to be too bad, but we have this one huge project called a "Media Guide" which I don't really feel like explaining it, but just know it is very involved. But I am smarter than I look. Or act. Or both :). I paired up with this really smart guy. We're kind of friends, but I just want him for his brain. Ok, not really. He's really a nice guy. Anyway, my second class I'm taking is Psychology of Wellness. I'm not really worried about this class. It only consists of two tests and a presentation/paper. Not too bad. So, school is awesome, and I wish I could attend forever. Not.

Moving right along. I just discovered girly fact #2. It took a while, but I think I found it. I went shopping last week and bought a dress, a pair of pants, and two nice shirts all for $56. The pants were originally $50, but I got them on sale for $20. The shirts we $9 and $3. All of that came from Gap. Then I bought a dress at Target for $17. Originally around $30 or $40. 75% off. Who's awesome at shopping? That would be me. That counts as a girly fact even if it only was a one-time thing. Go me and my girly self.

While I was in Montgomery shopping I ate dinner with Monica Hudson and had a "grand" time. I just figured she needed a shout-out (assuming she reads this) haha.

This past weekend I went to Auburn. Thursday I spent the night with grandparents. Hung out with them for a bit on Friday. It was really good to see them. Then I headed to the legendary Mobile House to spend the weekend with Jenilee and her friends. We had a great time. There is a picture I might post later that supports my dad and his frat-tastic past. But I need to "inspect" it first. All-in-all, very good weekend. I loved seeing Jenilee and meeting her friends. Definitely going back soon.

Now, back to reality. School is in full gear...again. Test tomorrow and wednesday. Awesome class activities and projects coming up soon also. So, that's it. Nothing too crazy, but definitely nothing but good times.

Wanna know something funny?

2009-06-08T13:55:00.002-05:00

Well, funny for you, but not for me. Most of you who read this kind of know who I am. And how I feel about babies (and everything that has to do with babies). For those of you who are randomly reading this and don't know me. I don't hate babies. They just make me nervous. When they cry, I kind of freak out. Which I guess is kind of stupid because it's not mine. But I just kind of freeze. I don't think I've ever really held like a baby. An infant. They just make me nervous, and I'm afraid they're going to jump out of my arms and I'm going to be blamed.

Ok, moving on. I'm taking a Human Sexuality class (because I need more electives to graduate, it's an easy class, and I like the teacher). Thursday, we talked about contraceptives. Not too bad. But today, oh my goodness, today. We talked about pregnancy. We talked about a lot of the stuff that happens during the pregnancy. I was doing ok until we had to watch a video of a natural pregnancy. Don't worry we're watching a C-section tomorrow. Luckily, she taped it from TLC. So, not much is shown, but still. I would be totally uncomfortable in the room with someone I knew having a baby. Much less a stranger. Goodness. Does she know who I am?

And let me just say this, the book we had to get has a lot of pictures. A LOT OF PICTURES!! Do you hear (or see) what I'm saying? Pictures of everything. Live pictures. I know I'm almost 23, but for me, none of this is part of my every day life. Maybe when my sisters have kids, I'll get better. But until then, excuse me for being scared.

Ok, I'm done. I know exactly who is laughing at this too. I'm not gonna name any names though (ANNA AND MARY ALICE).

School, sleep, & The Shred

2009-06-02T23:17:00.003-05:00

So, summer classes have started, and they're getting the best of me. I do not recommend 8AM summer class to anyone. But I guess anyone in their right mind would know that and wouldn't take them in the first place. Obviously, I'm not in my right mind. Everyone already knew that though :).

Ok, enough rambling. We started classes a week ago. I've been getting up around 7AM and attending class from 8 until 9:30 or so. We should be in class until 10:20, but she lets us out early. After that I should go to the library and study, but I usually come home and take it easy for a bit. Then at approximately 12:45 I head to my 1 o'clock class. It's supposed to last until 3:20, but he usually lets us out around 2:30 or 2:45. Then I come home and do homework or whatever. It's not that crazy of a schedule, it's just the whole waking up at 7AM thing that has thrown me off a bit. Wow, so much for not rambling.

Mary Alice, Grace, and I (or am I supposed to say me? Anna, let me know.) have started this workout video that is by Jillian Michaels. She's the trainer from The Biggest Loser. The video is called The Shred. And hopefully it'll do just that...shred off all of my fat. I guess I shouldn't expect results yet since it's only my second day. But it would be nice if I could already see my abs. Oh well. It was hard for me to turn my steering wheel and carry my water up the stairs. That counts as some kind of results.

In other news, oh yeah, that's right, there is no other news. My life is school, sleep, and The Shred video. Yay! If you're jealous, I understand. I would be if it wasn't already my life. It's 11:30PM and I'm in bed ready for sleep. Up at 7AM again. Woo! Goodnight all (or good morning, depending on when you read this).

Just thought I would share this.

2009-05-20T18:23:00.002-05:00

It's my summer for the next 6 days. Then things are going to get really crazy. So, naturally I've been staying up 'til about 4 and sleeping 'til about 2. Ok, to the point of this random, short story. I went to sleep last night (or this morning) a little after 4. At 6:30AM I woke up. I freaked out because I thought I had to be somewhere. I got up and walked through the entire apartment. I said hey to our cats. Then got back in bed. I thought I had dreamed it. But I specifically remember waking up at 6:30 and doing that. It's very rare I ever do something like that. Usually (even if there is somewhere I'm supposed to be) I go back to sleep because it's just way too darn early.

Anyway, that's it. It was a lot funnier in my head. Oh well. Sharing it anyway :)

Awesome!

2009-05-15T00:11:00.003-05:00

First and most importantly, my mom got a good report the other day! So, that's always the best!!! Second, I had a meeting with the head of the KHP department the other day. No, she didn't ask me to become a professor here...ha! We were just talking about me class schedule. And guess what she told me......I CAN GRADUATE A SEMESTER EARLY!!!! That means I'll get to graduate with all of my friends!! I'm so excited!! I've just gotta work hard. I picked up another class for the summer. That means I'm taking 12 hours total this summer. Then I'll be taking 17 hours in the Fall. Woah!!! Then in the Spring, I'll take 2 classes and have an internship! So, I have to for real buckle down! I'm excited though. I can finally see that graduation in my near future. It's sad that the end of college is so close, but I'm also relieved because I'm really tired of school. Like really really tired. It's scary thinking about being a part of the "real world", but I think it's something I need. A little change. I've never liked change that much, but as scary as it is, I think it's time.

So, in conclusion, I just have one word for all of this: AWESOME!!!

My dream. His plan.

2009-04-22T01:37:00.004-05:00

I had this dream, that one day I would go to sleep happy, and wake up happy. I dreamed that when my emotions tried to get the best of me, I would think of God, and He would calm me. That when someone disappointed me, I would think of God and realize that He's all I need, and He never disappoints. That when things seemed to be at their worst, I would be able to see the good in it all and thank God. That when I felt alone, I would know that God was with me and everything would be better in that instant. I dreamed that no matter what happens (or doesn't happen), I should be happy because I'm still on this earth because of God, and I have a purpose.

The part that is in bold is the stuff that has already happened. The other is what I believe will happen. One day, I'll be just fine. So far, so good. I used to think it was unlucky when you talked about the good that was happening. I really don't believe in luck. Not one bit. I believe in having faith. If it happens, it's supposed to. If it doesn't happen, then it wasn't supposed to. If it doesn't happen, then that just means something better is on it's way from God.

Good and blessed times are here. Tough times will come, but slowly and surely, I'm getting prepared to face them. WITH God.

Jeremiah 15:19-21

P.S. A really good song: Sweet, Sweet Sound by Sarah Reeves. Check it out.

Struggling

2009-04-14T03:07:00.002-05:00

So, it's been about 3 weeks since my last post. Things have been hard. I know I've been failing. But here's what I think (it's my opinion so please correct me if you think I'm wrong...I'm here to learn)...

I feel that when you decide to commit yourself to the Lord, things get harder and better at the same time. I believe that because you start to think more about what you do and say. When before, you just did and said whatever. I believe most people give up because they think everything is just gonna be sunshine and butterflies when they decide to live for the Lord. I think committing yourself to live for God is a "state of mind" thing. Also, a "state of heart" thing. I think I just made that up. Your state of mind means your mood and/or outlook. Which if you're living for the Lord, then your mood should be excited and your outlook should be positive. Because you know that whatever happens is supposed to, and that the Lord is leading the way, which is much safer than you leading. State of heart, well, since I kind of made it up, I guess I need a definition. You begin to feel different. You care more. You love more. Like Jesus loved. Which is so very hard. I've never understood the saying "love like Jesus loved" when Jesus is perfect and we can never be perfect. I really do want to be who Jesus wants me to be. But I feel like I'm going in the wrong direction.

Things have happened recently that have made me think more. I feel like things are just a little off balance right now. Just a weird feeling. Kind of like I'm stuck. I don't like it.

Thank you all for your prayers. They have helped, even though this post makes it sound like they haven't. Please keep them coming. Things will get better, I know they will. God is leading, I need to start following. Seriously.

A new beginning...

2009-03-23T02:55:00.002-05:00

I want to get personal for a moment. I know this is a public blog, and anyone can read it. In some ways some people may see that as a bad thing because I’m telling my personal problems to everyone. Part of me understands where those people are coming from. The other part of me thinks of the people who might be going through the same things as I am and maybe it’ll be comforting for them to know that they’re not the only one with problems…

This post is not going to flow at all. I’m just typing as things come to me. So, please bear with me…

First of all, where did this come from? Well, I’ve been struggling for a long time with many different things. The death of my boyfriend being one. It’s hard to lose someone you love, no matter what the circumstances. Immediately after he died, I was angry and blamed God. I was young too. My anger was very hateful in the beginning, but God has stood by my side through it all. Over the years, my anger towards God has fluctuated. Every now and then I think I’m over it and have moved on. But when it comes back, all of the memories and things I felt when I lost Adam hit me. I try my best to remember the good times we had, but it doesn’t always work. There is way, way more to the story, but I don’t want to get into all of it right now. In a nutshell, it really does all go back to the death of Adam. In some ways it has taught me things. But in some ways, it has broken me. I’m still trying to deal with it. And I know that the only way I will be able to, is if my anger towards God goes away completely. So, here we go…

For the longest time I thought I knew where I was going when I died. Recently, I had a conversation with a very close friend and it made me realize that I’m not even close to getting into heaven. I’ve always felt like I was a pretty good person, and that would be enough. It’s not. I find myself not talking about God too much because I really don’t know that much. I don’t know much about the Bible. It’s embarrassing to admit, but it is the truth. I used to say I was a lukewarm Christian, which isn’t a good thing to be to begin with, but now I don’t even think I can say that about myself. I do believe in God very much. That’s a start, but it’s not enough.

My first step is going to be to find a church. I haven’t been to church in so long it’s ridiculous. I’m just going to take it one step at a time. My problem is that I usually have a great idea, but I never stick to it. But guess what? You can help. Just pray for me. You may think that’s not doing a lot, but it’ll do more than you know. I know this is not going to be like a one-week thing. It’s going to be a hard, long journey. But in the end, it’ll all be worth it.

I’ll elaborate more on this as it happens. Thank you for reading. And thank you for caring and praying, for those who do so.

Spring break = Over

2009-03-17T02:09:00.004-05:00

Well, spring break is definitely over. It is approximately 2:10AM, and I'm not very tired. I'm kind of in a good/fun mood. Not sure where that came from because no matter what time I got to bed now, I'm going to be very tired tomorrow.

Hey, let me show you all the pictures I took while on spring break...

...

Yeah, that's right. I didn't take any. I really don't know how I didn't get the picture taking gene from my mom. She is a picture taking freak, and I love it. I wish I would have gotten it. Oh well. Spring break was very nice. Went to the beach on Monday with Grace. Tommy came on Wednesday. Then they left on Thursday, and Friday I went to Seaside to see my mom, sister, cousins, and aunt. Very good time. I was at the beach from Monday to Sunday. Glad to be back, but not glad to be going to classes again. Gross. Not glad at all to remember what terrible things I have coming up in school.

On to more happy things...well, I really don't have anything else. Not that I'm unhappy, I've just run out of things worth mentioning. Wait, no I haven't. Twilight comes out on DVD Saturday...heck yes! And hopefully, I'll get a new phone on Monday. Those are happy things. Yeah.

Don't worry, I'll be back :)

Top 5...and other things.

2009-03-12T18:09:00.003-05:00

Top 5 Reasons I Love Showers:
#5. I come up with my best ideas in the shower. (Ex. I came up with this Top 5 idea while in the shower).
#4. Even though I don't get many phone calls, it's kind of nice knowing that no one can get in touch with you (unless someone is in the house with you or in the shower with you, but that is just too weird to discuss any further). Nobody can get mad at you for missing their call either because who really takes their phone into the bathroom with them. Unless they're expecting a call at the exact time they're going to be in the shower.
#3. Showers always make me feel better. As hard as it is to wake up in the morning and get in the shower, once I'm in, I don't wanna get out!
#2. I feel my best in the shower. First, if the shower I'm in doesn't have a light directly over the shower, I look one shade darker than I normally am. Which then helps me to convince myself that I've been working hard on my tan even though I haven't seen the sun in 200 years. Secondly, naturally everyone feels clean in the shower because that is it's purpose. And I really like to feel clean. And third, it's just so darn relaxing.
#1. You can't possibly be doing anything else while you're in the shower. Which means, I can't be studying, writing papers, or going to Wal-Mart because I'm out of food, deodorant, and toothpaste.

Top 1 Reason I Hate Taking a Shower:
#1. I know I'm going to have to dry my hair when I get out, and I HATE drying my hair.

Random story: I'm at the beach in Destin. My beach house does not have internet so in order to get online I have to come to Panera to get free Wi-Fi. There is an old couple sitting directly across from me (and by old, I mean like 60's or 70's). They're on the computer together, and they're talking about Facebook. The wife is talking about how she wants to be friends with Karen Campbell because she hasn't "seen her in ages". They were also discussing how to delete a friend.
Wife: "Should we go to Applications?"
Husband: "No, it wouldn't be there."
Wife: "Oh wait, I think I found it. No, that's not it."
Husband: "I found it. There."
Wife: "Thank you, honey."
*A few minutes pass.*
Wife: "Are you sure you like doing this computer thing here at Panera more than at our condo?"
Husband: "Yes."
Wife: "Why?"
Husband never answers and wife just gets up and walks to the other side of the table, sits down, and starts reading her book.
True love.

Can't sleep. So, I'm gonna blog about it.

2009-03-09T04:56:00.004-05:00

First, I'm going to address the reason as to why I'm updating my blog at 5AM. I was exhausted around 11PM. Also, I had a headache and didn't feel very well. So, I went to sleep. Around 2:30AM I woke up with terrible heartburn. I took some medicine, which takes about 20-30 minutes to kick in. It also helps if I sit up. So, naturally I got on the computer to pass the time more quickly. It eventually went away, and I laid back down to go to sleep. I couldn't. I laid there 'til about 3:45, got up and went in the den. I watched TV until a little after 4. Came back to bed and tried to fall back asleep. I'm wide awake now. I'm hoping I won't become tired again at like 6:30 and want to go back to sleep. Hopefully, I can just stay up the rest of the day, because there are some things I want to get done before I GO TO THE BEACH WITH GRACE!!!!

On to other things. Guess what I have for you? I have a girly fact about myself. Take these seriously because they are very few and far between. Girly Fact #1: I wish that I could afford to get a french pedicure at least every 2 weeks. I really like the way my toes look when they're done, and I really hate the way they look when they're not done. If that's not girly, then I don't know what is. I really like the place I get my toes done. They're nice, and they're kind of familiar with me. It costs $30 each time. The non-girly side of me isn't sure if that's expensive or not. Oh well, I still get points for my girly fact.

There was something else I wanted to say, but I just can't remember. Ok, I really can't remember it. Oh well. Maybe I'll try and sleep. Still not very tired, but you never know.

Spring Break

2009-03-06T19:04:00.003-06:00

So, things are going pretty good. Finally on Spring Break. It's odd it snowed a week before our Spring Break, but oh well. School is ok. I'm having trouble in one class, but hopefully I can fix that when we get back from our break. I finally got a new computer. A MacBook....the best ever! I love it so much! The only problem is that I've had to transfer all of my stuff (music, pictures, documents) to my Mac from my Dell. It's been very time consuming, but it's been worth it. I just transferred all of my music from my iPod to my computer. As I was doing so, I discovered this free app that would allow me to get album artwork for all of my music. Thought it would take about 2 hours or so (considering I've got over 3,000 songs on my computer). WRONG! It took about 6 hours. So, I was up until 7AM trying to get that done. Then that made me sleep in until 3. Once I thought it was done, the program froze up, and I wasn't able to use it. It them lost all of my info. So, I have to do it all over again...tough times.

As for everything else, things are pretty good. I've been doing a lot of nothing so far on my Spring Break, which is awesome. Hopefully me and Grace will get to go to the beach. Then I'll go home to Monroeville for a bit, then to Seaside with my aunt, cousins, sister, and possibly mother. Good times. I wish Spring Break was 2 weeks instead of just one.

Hakuna Matata

2009-02-22T04:01:00.002-06:00

Sometimes it’s hard to be mad at someone who knows what they’re doing. You know they’re right, and you’re still mad. That’s how I am with God. I know that everything that has happened in my life and everything that will happen in my life is for a reason and purpose. Yet, I’m still mad because it’s not going the way I planned. Or it’s not going the way everyone else’s life is going. It’s hard not to compare your life to the people around you. It would be boring (and not to mention annoying) if your life was the same as the people around you.

I need to start living my life. I’m not quite sure what I can do right now. I think I need to graduate college and go from there. I need to do more for others. I need to have a good attitude. I’ve got an awesome family, great friends, and life in general. I’ve had some problems, and still do have some that I need to deal with. That doesn’t mean I should stop living. I’ll look back and be sad I wasted all this time already.

Here’s to change. It might take a while. But it’ll be worth it when it finally comes. I know it. Here’s to taking it one day at a time. Is it even possible to take 2 days at a time? I think that’s just called worrying. Hakuna Matata. God is in control.

Somethin' serious.

2009-02-04T02:39:00.000-06:00

I think I have just had a break through. Brace yourself, this one is gonna be a long one.

Before Adam, my life was very simple. I had friends, I went to school, I had (and still do have) a great family. I really did love my life. I loved myself, too (but not in a bad, conceited way). After Adam, things got more complicated. I withdrew myself from my friends, I hating going to school, and I also withdrew myself from my family. And on top of that, I hated myself. Then I had another boyfriend. Things started to get better. I think I started loving myself again because someone loved me too. After I screwed that relationship up, I went back to hating myself. My jokes were my cover. I figured if I laughed and made jokes, people would think I was ok. Inside I was a mess.

Then I got to college. It was a fresh start. I could be whoever I wanted to be. I went through phases though. I recommitted myself to the Lord. But I don’t think my whole heart was in it. I hurt people I truly cared about, and who cared about me. I turned into someone I didn’t want to be. Once I became who I thought I should be, people around me started changing. Not in a bad way. Mostly it had to do with my friends all having boyfriends, and both of my sisters being married. I freaked out because I saw that everyone could see who they wanted to be with. And I had no clue. Everyone was going down their own path with the one they love. But my path was so different from everyone else’s that it scared me. I feel that once you find that “special someone” you can see your future. Not saying it’s going to turn out the way you planned (because it usually doesn’t), but still you have your own glimpse of what you think your future will be like. When you feel alone, like I have for a long time, you can’t see anything because that special someone in your imaginary future doesn’t have a face. That freaked me out even more.

Then I realized, I can go down my own path with the one I love. God. He should be leading me whether I’m going down my own path, or hanging out on a friend’s path, or if I’m sitting on the side of someone’s path I don’t even know. Wherever I am at this is exact moment is for a reason. It’s because God wants me right here, right now.

Everyone is blessed in many different ways. My sisters are blessed (but their blessings are certainly not limited to this) because they have husbands who they love, and love them. And soon they’ll start a family and hopefully live happily ever after. My friends are blessed (their blessings aren’t limited to this either) because some of them have already found the person they want to spend the rest of their life with. And they’ll start a family and hopefully live happily ever after. I’m blessed because it’s just me. Getting married is like starting a new life. Before marriage you have your own life, your own rules. When you get married you begin a new life. A shared life. Better than your life on your own because you get to share it with someone you love. Maybe I’ll get to begin that new life someday. Maybe not. Not everyone is meant to get married. And if I never get married, I can consider that my own type of blessing too. (Disclaimer: Please know that all this talk about marriage is my opinion. Obviously I have never been married, so I don’t know what it’s really like. So please don’t be offended if I say something you don’t agree with).

Adam was one of the best things that ever happened to me. His short life on this earth taught me so much. Even though he’s gone, I’m still learning from him. God has taught me so much through my tragedies. God always knows what He’s doing. I pray so hard that some peace for myself will come from this. God’s love should be enough for me. And to all the married and/or seriously involved couples who might read this, please don’t think for a second that I am talking down to you. You are all blessed because you don’t have to search anymore. The one person that God knows can love you the most on this earth, you’ve already found. God doesn’t make mistakes. You’re married for a reason, and I’m single for a reason. ‘Nuff said.

One of these days, I will be TRULY happy. It’s coming. I already should be happy because God has blessed me in more ways than I deserve. But I’m human. I question, and doubt way more than I should. But I know God is in control.

Ok, I’m done. Sorry for the intense nature of this post. I just really needed to say it.

I'm still here...

2009-02-03T00:43:00.000-06:00

Apparently, I'm the only one left out of the Lee girls (Am I allowed to say that anymore since they went and changed their last names? Oh well.) that hasn't updated. The reason I haven't is because I have been a little busy. But your definition of busy and my definition of busy are probably two totally different things.

Moving on....Grace is leaving tomorrow for North Carolina...BOO! She's trying out for the Irene Ryan award. I think it's a pretty big deal. Yay for her, but boo for her having to go to North Carolina. 10 hours away...no thank you. She won't be back til Sunday either. Gross. But since she must go, I've decided to get on top of a few things. I'm going to clean our bathroom. I'm probably going to do some major organizing in my room also. I'm going to go talk to our landlord about our awful, leaky refrigerator. I'll probably sleep a lot too :). I've got to find some way to pass the time while she's gone.

In other news, school is really about to attack. Actually, it might already have attacked. I had to write 2 papers and one speech tonight. Then I have a test this Thursday. Then I have a test the next week and the week after that. All 3 will be very hard. Well, maybe not the first one, or at least that's what I'm hoping.

As for everything else, um, I don't really have anything else. I will try to get better at updating this joker. I'm really sorry I kept y'all waiting for this awesome update about my life.

Hello all.

2009-01-26T02:19:00.000-06:00

So, my first post. Well, on here. My sister, Anna, kind of made me jealous of her blog. So I decided to start one on here. I've had a livejournal blog (http://sar-lee.livejournal.com/) since around 2004, but not many people know about it. I've also updated my blog on MySpace. This one just looked like so much fun. So, hopefully this will be the last blog I start.

On to other things. School has been back in session for almost 3 weeks now. Not too bad yet. Still haven't had any tests though so that's probably why it's bearable. Just ready to graduate. Not ready to have a real job. But ready to be done with school. I live with my best friend, Grace. I could honestly live with her forever. Definitely one of the bests roommates. She cooks AND cleans. Doesn't get much better than that.

As for everything else...there really is nothing else. So, until there is, I'm gone. Hopefully my next posts will be a little more exciting. Have a good one