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Showing posts from 2011

My Pitiful Story

Last week I made plans with a couple of co-workers for them to come over to my apartment for dinner. You people know me...I'm always hosting and cooking. And just because I live in a new state and city doesn't mean I still can't do that here. sidenote*** (I'm well aware that a few of my coworkers might be reading this blog...and I'm well aware that this is going to make me sound pitiful...But i'm willing to risk that for the sake of my OTHER readers who care to know how i'm doing in Tally) So last week when I made the plans I was stoked. My place was decorated for Christmas and what good are Christmas trees, beautiful decorations, and Christmas music without people to share it with?!?! I had a spot for 3 people at my table so I invited 3 people. (one is not a coworker- but family of one of the coworkers) The plan was for them to come over on Thursday night. Well. Wednesday afternoon/evening I began to feel the effects of food poisoning. I got home f

Opening a Conversation

I'd like to open a conversation with you. I've read 2 articles recently that have got me thinking. And a blog is one way to open a conversation that invites response, yes? So here goes. If you leave a comment- make sure to click the button that says "email follow up responses" so you can stay part of the convo. (I know, blogspot needs to get better about this, but for now- just click the box.) Here is article number 1: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/digital-issue/53?page=66 Here is article number 2: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/27/why-young-christians-arent-waiting-anymore/ There is a new show coming up on TLC called something like "The Virgin Diaries" or something. I have to say. I've watched the preview clips and it is mortifying and embarrassing. If I were 15 and watching- I'd say "Find me the closest guy and let's get it on!" in attempts to not let that be my story. They have made the clips downright horrifyi

Up on the rooftop click click click?

While at home this past week for Thanksgiving, Dad and I decided to put up all the outside Christmas lights together. He pulled everything out of the shed, we laid it all out, and began the process. Dad set the ladder against the roof and went up with the first strand of lights. Once up there, he asked me to go grab the leaf blower, an extension cord, and to climb on up to clear off the roof. I got all the necessary things and plugged in the leaf blower. As I climbed up the ladder, I might mention that my dad needs a new ladder. The ladder I crawled up is the most warped, bent, and scary ladder EVER. I climbed up and turned on the blower. Being careful with the cord I started in one corner. As I moved across the roof I saw something begin to happen that I could not stop. I started screaming and yelling in hopes that what I was witnessing would somehow not be true. But no. The screaming did not make it stop. The cord of my leaf blower had snagged around the ladder and when I moved

No place like....

I have thoroughly enjoyed living in Florida. REALLY. The town is quaint, my job is fabulous, and my apartment finally feels settled. The beach is close, the weather has been perfect, and overall, living in Florida has been great. But can I please say I’m so glad to be at home in Paris, TX for this Thanksgiving break. After I’d already accepted the job and had started work, I found out that we were given the entire week of Thanksgiving off!!! Once I learned that- I knew for sure I’d be coming home. Mom and dad made sure of that!! I know, I’ve only been away from Texas for 35 days and it’s probably too soon for a trip home, but after 35 days like my first 35 days in Tallahassee were, home was a great option. But let’s back up a little bit. 63 days ago I was offered a job in Tallahassee. 59 days ago I accepted the job and turned in my two weeks notice. 51 days ago mom and I drove out for the first time. 41 days ago I started my new job (In San Fran, no less!) And 35 days

To the crooked...wait, what?!

I’ve been thinking about this blog post for a while, but just hadn’t felt it was completely formulated in my brain until this past weekend. The night of my going away party, I had SO many friends share things with me that left me speechless, encouraged, honored, etc. I mean, really. I was blessed. After the group prayed for me, my friend Benjamin came and shared a verse with me, shedding light on this particular verse that I’d never noticed before. He read the verse to me, “To the faithful, you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked, you show yourself shrewd.” During the time in which people were standing up and sharing words about me, the word ‘faithful’ came up almost every time. So I assumed Benjamin was going to highlight that portion of the verse. HA! Was I wrong. He then says “the part that stuck out to me was “but to the crooked, you show yourself shrewd.” Oooh dear Benjamin. You sure

STAMP!

Yes, it's way past time for a new STAMP! edition. So here you go! I have a new favorite fall/winter scent from Bath and Body Works. For the past 2 years, I've LOVED making my home smell like Bath and Body Works "Leaves" scent. Seriously. SOOOO good. But. This year. I've found a new favorite. My friends Ashley, Austen, and Shelby got a candle for me for my going away part and I've not only been burning this candle, but I've gone to get another one, purchased the wall flowers in this scent, and also the car scent.  I present to you "Marshmallow Fireside." Item number two that gets my STAMP! of approval is a brand of shoes. I own 5 pairs of heels that are this particular brand. They are the most comfortable heels I own and can wear them all day without dying! :-) They not only are comfortable but I KNOW this brand. I know that I can always get the exact same size and not worry about if they will fit or not. LOVE them! I present to you: Madden Gi

Weekend at Party Pier

This weekend will mark 4 weeks of Florida living and I'd yet to see a beach. Figured I'd check that off my list this weekend as I had Friday off. Drove out to Saint George Island which is about 1 hour and 30 minutes away from Tallahassee. This morning I woke up, made pumpkin pancakes and coffee- then packed my bags. As I was driving- I had a serious "OH MY GOODNESS, Is this REALLLY my life?" moment. :-) The drive was spectacular. Stunning really. And then. I saw the water. I about had a heart attack. This was real. I DO officially live in Florida if I can drive an hour to go hang out at a beach for the day. I do apologize for the quality of these pictures. But yeah. I got to the turn off which would take me on a bridge about 7 miles long which connected us to the island. Um. Let's read that sentence again. Yeah. I went to an island today! :-) It was pretty chilly this morning (low 40's) but knew it was to warm up. I went in my suit, shorts, and a t-shirt- and

Settling In

Well I guess it's time for an update. My stuff arrived Friday morning and my boss was gracious enough to give me the day off so I could start unpacking/settling in. Where as in the past I tend to drag out the unpacking phase for as long as possible- this time I was ready to have it over and done with! I worked all day from 8am-10pm unpacking and moving furniture around. Around 5:30ish- several guys from the church I've been visiting stopped by to help get a huge load of boxes/trash out to the dumpster for me. They live right around the corner from my place and one of them has a truck so I didn't feel TOO awful by asking! :-) Grateful for their help!!! At around 7pm, Carl, Jennifer, and Ashley stopped by to hook up my washer/dryer. Their visit was MUCH appreciated as not only did they show up with drinks in hand, they helped me figure out the best way to arrange the furniture in the living room! After we moved furniture around pretty much every way imaginable- we set

The Moving Fiasco

The movers are scheduled to be at my apartment today with all of my belongings. I plan to have my camera ready to take pictures of anything that looks damaged or broken. For those who’ve followed me on Facebook/twitter, you know I’ve been waiting. They picked up my stuff on the 10th of October telling me it would be 7-10 business days before arrival. I was aware of that and totally ok! After they’d had my stuff in their possession 7 days, I thought I’d just give them a quick call to say “Hey, just checking in…Making sure everything is ok…and getting an update on where everything might be. In no way was I pushy, aggressive, or demanding. Just wanted to check in. I called the main number where I was prompted with either 4 options. 1. Customer Service 2. Sales 3. Billing 4. Dispatch I selected option 1….I was given an answering machine. I didn’t leave a message at this point- tried the dispatch option next. Upon selecting #4 I was told “this number is not a working number.”

The tweets I never posted

This week I've gone to write several tweets and then stop myself. Don't want to lose followers on twitter just because I'm a debbie downer. I just figured I'd keep a running tab of some of them here. For my own personal blog purposes. You have the freedom to skip this post if you'd like :-) (timeline on these will seem weird since some of them were from earlier in the week.) -Watching the Rangers in the World Series is less than exciting while watching via ESPN Gamecast on my laptop. -Going to the gym. Cause I'd rather not sit in an empty apartment. -14th night in a row to sleep on an air mattress. SO over this. -Morning coffee would be so much better if I didn't have to drink it standing up. #WantMyCouches -Day 16 of sleeping on an air mattress. #EnoughSaid -All my errands are done for the day in 1.5 hours. Guess I'll go back home to my air mattress. -Did I mention all my $$ is tied up too? Yeah, had to switch banks & have yet to

A few picture updates:

So the weather my first week in Tally was cuh-razy. Here's a comparison to Dallas! My first weekend in Tally, Carl and Jennifer took me to an FSU game! Here's me with my $10 shirt I sported: And a picture inside the stadium! The 2nd week in the office we packed up and moved due to growing out of the space. Here's the view from my new office from yesterday morning: In addition, a view from the parking garage this morning!!! SPECTACULAR! Also- due to just all the craziness of my move, the fact that the movers have not arrived...the fact I've been sleepin on an air mattress for 18 days....all of these things have started to take a toll on my body. Here's what my computer area looked like this week: If you'd not heard yet- my movers have not yet arrived. Still waiting. Not feeling settled at ALL in Tally. Ready for my belongings to arrive here. Like, yesterday. But all in all- my coworkers are awesome and have been so kind. I'm becoming more and

Arriving in Tally

One week ago today, I got up at 4:30 in the morning finished loading my car, and said goodbye to Texas. The older I get, the faster time seems to go....but this week. Has been a REALLY long week. It feels like I made the drive a month ago! Helen, one of my dearest friends and old roommate, made the trek with me on Saturday, October 15. My car was loaded down with all my hanging clothes, my keyboard, my kitchenAid mixer, AND my coffee pot. :-) Since I'd been in San Francisco all week, Helen had a travel bag packed full of snacks and drinks for the ride. We were on the road at 5:30 and began the long drive. We were 2 hours into the drive before we even stopped for coffee. Crazy, right?!?! Yes. But so fun. :-) We drove through Shreveport over to Jackson, Mississippi- then headed south from there to Mobile, Alabama. From Mobile, we jumped on I10 and headed East. Oh. Also before leaving Texas, I'd meant to get my oil changed as it was past time and knew it would be wise to do

San Francisco

Well well well. Let me first say, I did NOT leave my heart in San Francisco. :-)  After the Starbucks incident, I got on the plane and was off! As life would have it, I sat next to a couple that were on their honeymoon.  And honeymooning, they were. When I arrived in SF, I went to hail my first taxi cab when I heard that prices were better if I did a shared cab ride. Um, yes. Dave Ramsey would approve- even if I wasn't the one paying for the cab! Being frugal with money other than my own. BAM. So once I arrived- it was after dark and I missed seeing any part of the city. Arrived at the hotel and was left standing with my mouth gaping open. It was GORGEOUS!!!  I got to my room (a king sized room, I might add) and kinda did a happy dance. It was 7:30pm, I was exhausted, and I didn't have to be anywhere til 9am the following day. I slept about 10 hours, got ready, stepped outside the hotel and went directly to my right where on the corner sat the lovely green sign advertising

The Last Weekend

So after the going away party- now that I knew movers would be coming to take my stuff to Florida, I knew how to pack. And let the chaos begin. Saturday morning I woke up for an early breakfast with Laura for one last goodbye. Such a sweet time, but let's be honest. The ugly cry came. I sure do love that woman. After breakfast, my friend Lauren came over to the apartment to help make some sense of all my stuff. What an INCREDIBLE blessing she was. Lauren...I know I said something multiple times, but SERIOUSLY. You helped out SO much!  Saturday evening I went to my last service at Gateway, then in typical Gateway Saturday night church fashion, we got a group of friends together for dinner after. After dinner, Ashley Movold asked me if we could go grab ice cream....um. DUH!!Yes please :-)  And let me tell you. The next 2 hours were some of the sweetest hours. We sat underneath an awning outside of Starbucks with our chocolate ice cream and chatted for a while. Sweet Ashley, t

The goodbye party...

I have a feeling that if I keep waiting to find time to update the blog, I'll get so far behind and won't be able to update all that I want! So I'll break this up a bit and blog about it in pieces. Let's back up a bit. Friday night. My friends threw the most amazing 'going' away' party ever. To say that I was overwhelmed, honored, encouraged....well. That would just be understating how I felt. All day on Friday- I knew the party was coming and was well aware that I would most likely fall apart. The entire day- I had a sick feeling in my stomach and was just at a loss with how to deal with all the emotions and feelings I was experiencing. As I pulled up to the party I received a phone call from my new boss saying they would pay a certain amount of money for my move- which would cover the movers. HOLY MOTHER! I was SOOOOOO freaking relieved. There were so many things that needed to happen in a matter of 3 days and I was, again, at a loss with how to deal

Scoping out the Land

Saturday morning I woke up at 3:45am, brushed my teeth, and got in the car with  my mom to head to Tallahassee. Dad was up and had coffee ready for us, said a prayer, and we were on our way. The drive: 14 hours. The destination: Tallahassee, Florida. The plan: find my new home. The result: Lots of information....no home. Sunday morning we woke up, took our time getting ready, then headed out around 9:45 to start driving around my new town. We drove first to my new office and planned to start our tour there. The office is right across the street from the state capitol with a small, but cute downtown area surrounding it. We started looking for breakfast and here is where the drama began. My mom, bless her heart, LOVES to experience new things. She likes finding that small little place that is new, out of the box, and 'fun.' We start to drive around looking for this place and I quickly realize that NOTHING I see is familiar. I see no familiar stores, no familiar coffee sho

It's Really Happening

I've turned in my 2 week notice. I've announced it on twitter and facebook. I'm going to Florida next week with my  mom to find a place to live. This. Is. Really. Happening. Last night was my 2nd to last service at Gateway Church (in person, anyways. Thanks goodness for live webcasts.) The first song had some technical difficulties (which hardly EVER happens, but must admit, I REALLY love it when it DOES happen....reminds me that this church is normal.) ;-) and the first 2 notes of the 2nd song had played and I felt it. Yeah. I felt the tears start to surge up my tear ducts. There was nothing I could do. It was coming. The first waves of emotions/tears in regards to the big adventure I'm about to embark on. This was the song that played to start off my night of tears...and if people can claim songs....Then I am claiming this one. It's my song. Seriously. Written for me. Listen. You'll understand.

Faithfulness, Part 6- My story.

I honestly did not plan for this blog series to turn out this way. I did not know that I'd be the finishing story. If that's the case- I would have done this blog series several months ago! :-) But here it is. My story. That finally unfolded in the past week. The Backstory: I’ve been really excited about this particular blog post for 4 months now. I’m not joking. 4 months. And 4 months ago, I had no idea what this post would say- but I KNEW that it would be an account of God’s faithfulness. 3 months ago. I still didn’t know what this post would say. 2 months. 1 month. 3 weeks. 2 weeks. Yeah. 2 weeks ago- I was REALLLLLY excited for this blog post, but still had no idea what it would say. But again, I KNEW it would be an account of God’s faithfulness. 1 week ago. Still didn’t know. On Wednesday, September 14, 2011- God revealed to me in a most incredible way what this blog post would say. He revealed to me yet another piece of my story….Another account of His faithfulness

Faithfulness, Part 5- Christian

2 years ago, my community of friends at Gateway got a HUGE blessing when James and Christian Lee came around.  I'd tweeted one afternoon that I was wanting to get my rollerblades out of the closet and was looking to see if anyone I knew had blades to come with me.  James tweeted back to me and said "my wife Christian loves to rollerblade! We'll come meet you!"  And that's how I met Christian! We went blading that day around a park in Irving and when you've got plenty of time- that's a LOT of time for ME to ask questions. And asking questions, oh- how I DO love that. :-) Christian is a woman that I have been SO encouraged to watch. She was one of the first married ladies in my current community and watching her relationship with James has been nothing short of inspiring. The way she honors her husband in speech and in action...The way she has made her house into a HOME...The way she loves Jesus.  She has navigated this season of marriage with ease and dig

Faithfulness, Part 4- Jennifer

Alrighty, peoples! Next up is my dear friend, Jennifer .  I met Jennifer back in 2008 and quickly realized that this woman is strong.  Her faith is strong. Her heart is strong. Her love for people is strong. This woman is an encourager. She will look you square in the face and call out giftings in your life. She will do whatever is within her to help call out the lies that the enemy might be feeding you. She speaks Truth. She speaks love. Jennifer is a stunning woman that exudes femininity.  And she is a woman of great faith.  Here is her story: Time was running out. This was the last weekend before I had to sign a contract of some kind. I had been doing what I knew to do, but nothing was coming through. Weekend after weekend, day after day...nothing. I knew God had put this search on my heart, but didn't He know that this was cutting it a *little* close? On Memorial Day 2010, I asked my dad out on a breakfast date. Conversation flowed over coffee and massive IHOP omelets. At s

Faithfulness, Part 3- Osame

The next count of God's faithfulness comes from my friend, Osame. I met Osame while in college and were part of a small group together in which we started out each week by playing the game "Big Booty."  Don't know the game?  Don't ask. Either way- I got to know her more through that small group- but really began to connect with her when myself and 4 other girls began to meet up for a more connected/purposeful time of accountability and prayer. 7 years later, this girl is still one that I know I can call any time of day or night if I need something. Her heart for me is huge- but her heart for Jesus is even bigger. The past 5 years I've been able to witness her steadfastness to the Lord in a job/school transition that seemed insane. The whole time- trusting that God would come through. Trusting His heart for her was good. Here's her. She makes me want to Trust Him more and remain Faithful to His Word. God's faithfulness in my life has never ceased to

Faithfulness, Part 2- Caralyn

Well. The next post on Faithfulness is coming from my little sister, Caralyn . And let me start of by saying- I've prayed for lots of people in my life. Lots. But when I pray for this girl...my baby sister....I can't help but tear up. Every time. Every morning when I sit on my couch- whenever Caralyn comes to mind, my heart is overwhelmed with emotion. Because if God has been faithful to anyone...it has been to her. If I know she's walking through something tough, I ACHE for her. If I know she's in a good place and happy- I get emotional. Because I'm so grateful for the Lord being BIG in her life. So, Caralyn, good or bad season of life, my heart is overwhelmed with emotion- because I love you so much. I cry when she's hurting. I cry when she's happy- because it makes me so happy to know she's happy. :-) Here's her post. (side note- it starts off with a post she'd written a couple of months ago- then continues with the 'follow up') (sid

Faithfulness, Part 1- Jaclyn

Last week, my friend Leticia sent out an email update sharing the mark of 1 year living in New York. As I read the email, I was reminded of different events that had taken place during her first year. Areas in which we'd pray to see the Lord move. Reading that email did something to my faith. It was as though it was a present-day part of the bible. Where I'd just been reading about Daniel, Moses, Joshua...I just picked up that morning reading about Leticia too. The Lord came through for her just as He'd come through for those in the Bible. Every area in which we'd prayed about had been answered. This email from Leticia prompted me to ask a couple other friends to share a story of God's faithfulness in their life.  If reading stories of God's faithfulness could increase my faith even a little- then I needed to start reading LOTS of stories, as I'm in a place right now of needing to see Him move. And of course, I figured, if it encouraged me, who knows. May

11th Hour Wind

This morning I was reading in Exodus and was at the point in the story in which the Egyptians are chasing after the Israelites and the Israelites are facing the Red Sea. You need some back history? Ok. Joseph. Remember him? His dad gave him the coat of many colors. His brothers became envious and sold him into slavery. He sits in prison for a LONG time but then interprets a dream that not only gets him OUT of prison- but places him as one of the top men in the palace. He then brings all his family (and cousins, aunts, uncles, great aunts...etc) to Egypt to be saved from the famine. Well. Joesph dies- and the new Pharaoh doesn't know about Joesph and how he saved the nation. So he sees all Joseph's people (which has grown exponentially at this point) and says "They are taking over! Let's make them our slaves."  So now they are oppressed, beaten, and just downright miserable. Enter Moses. He comes in and becomes the famous "Let My People Go" man.

A big update. KING Sized big. Which reminds me...how you sleepin??

If you’ve known me for any length of time, you know a couple of things about me: • My roommates always seem to get married • I am often finding new roommates & warning them marriage will quickly ensue by living with me. • I love South Carolina • I go to South Carolina once or twice a year • I love my job • I’m a safe person. • I don’t like to make big decisions if it involves much risk. Well. My roommate gets married in October- which means I’m looking to move again. But here’s the kicker. I’m looking to make a big move. South Carolina, to be exact. Why South Carolina? Well. Here are a few things. My grandparents live there as well as my aunt/uncle/cousins Ever since I was in High School- I wanted to move to South Carolina. Every time I actually THOUGHT about it and started to put feet to that plan- fear overwhelmed me. Definitely felt unsettled about it. For the past 10 years, I have revisited that same thought… “Could I move there?” Every time