Mary Poppins Wasn't Perfect

Hi, again. I'm currently in route to Phoenix, Arizona where my friend Helen will be picking me up from the airport before transferring me to my sister Lisa for the 5 days. It's now been three weeks since the fire. The phrase "oh. my. gosh." has been the most used phrase to come out of my mouth. For a lot of reasons. But mostly. Because I've been stunned by the generosity and support by so many people near and dear to my heart.....But also- by people I have NEVER EVEN MET. Many of you already know, but my friend Laura set up a donation page within hours of hearing about the fire. I was swamped at the conference and didn't even realize what was happening until later that night. When I finally got around to seeing messages, I saw that within several hours- $2,500 had already been raised. I was FLOORED. At the same time I was looking at the devastating pictures, I was seeing money come in. There was not even a chance to grieve. God had already b

I want to post Part 2 but I don't feel that it is even finished being lived out yet.  I sit here at the computer and it's still too fresh. I'll come back to part 2 later. In the meantime, I DO want to share photos with you from my time in DC and NYC. Here are a few from the summit with coworkers: There are PLENTY more where these came from, but I'll post them later.n But I must add here- I work with the best group of people. I am so grateful this team was around me when I heard the news of the fire. After hearing the news, they supported me, let me cry on their shoulders (and into our walkie talkie's....which I didn't know was happening...oops!), brought me froufrou drinks from Starbucks, brushed my hair, and did a fantastic job covering for me during parts of the summit when I was slacking. I LOVE this team. I am blessed. If any of you coworkers happen upon this blog- know that I am overwhelmingly grateful for you. The outpouring of suppor

Because I simply have to start somewhere.  Have I mentioned I love my job? I do.  I've been getting to travel as of late. And last week I was in DC for the 5th Annual National Summit on Education Reform. This is an event hosted by our organization.  This one-stop shop of policies and practices offers an opportunity for lawmakers, policymakers and advocates to learn the nuts and bolts of education reform. It's our biggest event of the year. This year the line-up of speakers included Jeb Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Joel Klein, Arne Duncan, and many others.  It's a big deal. We arrived Sunday morning and began setting up at the hotel and preparing for over 700 attendees to arrive.  Monday was filled with the same.  We went to bed late Monday night and had a 6am call time Tuesday morning.  I woke up at 5 and was in the process of getting ready when I received a phone call at 5:30am.  The number was a Florida number and not listed.  I answered and heard "Is

Heads up dudes. This information could be helpful. Found myself crying over a burger this week. Sarah bought me a burger and, yes, I found myself crying. It's true. But if Sarah were to buy me a burger next week, I can promise you- it would not make me cry. Sarah buying a burger was an incredibly nice gesture. And I needed a nice gesture. I've noticed, most often, if I find myself crying-it's not over one particular event. It's because MANY things have happened, I've been holding it together, trying to be strong, and then there's just ONE. MORE. THING. that happens sending you over the ledge. It's not even necessarily that the last thing was the worst- or the hardest. It was just 'the straw that broke the camel's back.' So. Guys. If a girl is crying and you ask her what's wrong, most often- it won't be a simple answer. The story could start off with "3 weeks ago, when this happened...." Or it could be "last

A year ago today, I wrote this post.  One year later, I could write a very similar post. I went to the same beach. With the same feelings. With the same plan: sit and do nothing but listen to the waves. Last year I packed a lunch, a towel, and my journal. I did the same this time. I remember writing in my journal last year at the same beach. The journal entry was filled with much anticipation and excitement for the year to come. I was brand new to Florida, brand new to my job, and I was very excited/anxious about what would transpire over the next year. As I journaled this time around, I felt the same anticipation. I'm keeping the same job, but come January, I could possibly be moving. I could possibly be in a new city. Once again, where I know no one. Clearly, that's not a problem for me. I'd say this past year in Florida has been wildly successful. I've met tons of people, become involved in my church, and made some great friendships. Who knew moving to a

Things I'm counting down to before the end of the  year: (nov12) Veterans Day. (nov22) Thanksgiving. Still not sure what I'll be doing. First Thanksgiving without my family. (nov25) National Summit in DC. SO pumped about this. (nov30) NEW YORK CITY. Mashable conference. WHAT?!?! Yes. (Bucket list item will be crossed off as I'll be there while Christmas decorations are up at Rockefeller Center. Ice skating? Yes.  (dec13) Transiberian Orchestra in Jacksonville! (dec20) Phoenix!!!! Yes. I'm going to Phoenix to sing with Lisa for Christmas services at her church. SOOOOOO pumped about this. Christmas music is my favorite. And singing with my sister? Um. YES.  (dec25) Home to Paris, Texas for CHRISTMAS. Home. Home. Home. Home. I love my family. the end. 

My favorite Christmas song: Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Here are my favorite versions: (ALL TIME FAVORITE) Kenny G http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjUoGCLqAW0 Followed by these two versions: Frank Sinatra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtUK4AyHeTw Katherine McPhee and Chris Botti.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzaxvuTGgpA The end. 

Tomorrow marks a big day. I mean, really! How cute is she?!?! Ok, maybe a HUGE day. A little background. Cause you know I like to do that. My mom. She's pretty awesome. When my sisters and I were little girls, it was SO important to my mom to stay at home with us. No questions asked- no matter if it were financially feasible or not. She and my dad committed to making it work. They felt so strongly about it. In addition, my mom taught each of us to read. She home schooled us for kindergarten. She made up her mind she wouldn't put us in school until we learned to read. And we are all strong readers today. Staying home was THE best thing she could have ever done. But since she stayed home with us, that meant school or a career was put on hold for her. Until 1998. My mom decided to go back to college. She started college and graduated with an associates degree in nursing in 2000. She became Kathy Corso, RN. Watching a parent go through college is one of the

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Psalm 107:29, 30

I updated my Facebook status this morning as shown above. After seeing several of the comments, it reminded me of the most brilliant idea I think I may have ever had.  Back in January 2010 we were having a super cold winter in Dallas. And I should probably remind you all of a few things. I'm a Dave Ramsey girl. This translates to this: In the summer, I don't turn my a/c down very much and in the winter, my apartment stays pretty cold. So. One Friday night I'd been preparing to go to bed (probably at 8:30pm, or something) and was thinking about coffee for the following morning...and since I'm being honest here, let's break it down even more. I'm always thinking about coffee in the morning. At lunch time I think about my cup of coffee I'll have the next morning. Before bed, especially, I'm thinking about that cup of coffee I'll have. I just love coffee.  Well. Anyways! A most uncomfortable experience in the winter is having to actually

One year ago today, I landed in Tallahassee. Here is the post from a year ago . Re-reading it almost made me cry again! Such an incredible year. It started out SO crazy- and has ended up so crazy AWESOME. And turns out, I started my adventure in Tally the same way I celebrated my one year: (this picture was taken last year- but could have easily been taken today) I'm grateful for this past year. It could possibly be one of THE best years of my life. It's been a peaceful year, drama free, and an adventurous year. What more could one ask for?! In other news, yes, I'm sick again. Allergies have overtaken my body. Went to the doctor today to see what I could do about it- considering I've gone through almost 3 boxes of sudafed in the past 8 days. Came home with 2 more prescriptions (in addition to the slew of meds I got while in the ER last week), and the makings for homemade soup. I've wanted soup all day and I'm not a 'canned' soup kind of gi

So I had quite the eventful day yesterday. Kidney stones. Any of you ever dealt with them before? And just FYI, I'm going to use words like urethra and ureters in this post. If those words bother you, you may want to stop reading now :-) I've had three ladies tell me in the last couple of days- if they had the choice- childbirth or kidney stones- they would choose childbirth. No questions asked. Let's think about that for a second. Yeah. Let that sink in. So I woke up yesterday morning, turned on my coffee pot, and sat down to read. Like any normal day. Until I began to feel wildly uncomfortable. I'd known the kidney stones were making their move this week as I'd had some issues on Monday and Tuesday. But this was different. I went to the cabinet and found some expired pain meds from the last bout and thought I'd see if they helped. They offered no relief. Now, here's the deal. Growing up, we hardly EVER went to the doctor. So that's not m

There has been a new fad on Twitter and Instagram in which people post old pictures of themselves and tag it #TBT or "Throwback Thursday." I have ignored this fad as I truly believe God was looking out for me when Facebook was created AFTER I left high school. There are just some things that need to remain offline....such things being any picture of me between the age of 12 and 18. They can stay in a locked vault. When I'm 40, I'm sure I'll look back and laugh- but even at the ripe old age of 28, I still say "TOO SOON!" I know we all had those 'awkward' years....But let me tell you. It wasn't a phase for me....It was my life. It didn't help matters that 2 weeks before my senior pictures were to be taken, I went in for a haircut that left me looking like a 35 year old mom of 4. (Not that anything is wrong with being a 35 year old mom of 4 kids....But for some reason, there are so many women who get pregnant, have a baby- and BAM! T

Saturdays in Dallas usually meant sleeping in, then rolling out of bed to meet up with close girlfriends for brunch and coffee. Usually it was at my apartment, so I really COULD roll out of bed. These are the moments where, as cheezy as it may sound, we truly DID LIFE together. We didn't just talk about what we'd done the previous week. We didn't talk just about events we'd gone to or surface-y type things. These are the mornings we opened up and talked about what was reallllly going on in our life. What was challenging us. About areas in our life we needed someone to stand with us and believe with us that God was good and had our best in mind. Saturdays are usually the days I miss Dallas the most. I needed those friends this weekend. I called two girls here in Tallahassee and said "I'll have breakfast and coffee if you'll just come sit on my couch!" They came. We talked. (ok, I mostly talked...but a lot has been going on!) It was good.

Today is game day in Tallahassee.  FSU playing Clemson. ESPN people are in town. Crazy day for sure. Which means everyone in Tallahassee is on campus. PERFECT time for me to get my errands done. Started my morning off with a coffee phone date with mom...(i was drinking coffee...she was drinking coffee....we talked on the phone) and then went out to get my errands done. Came home, made pumpkin cream cheese muffins for a party I'm attending tonight and decided today, being as though it's the first day of fall, was a great day to pull out my fall decorations. So here you go. Decorations, a pumpkin cream cheese muffin, and a great smelling candle! :-) Happy Fall, Y'all!

Today marks one year. One year ago I was on my way to celebrate my mom's birthday in Dallas when I called Jaryn. We had played a bit of phone tag throughout the day and I asked "Is this a good time?" She responded "I'm sitting at the airport in Indianapolis. Attended a conference that covered social media....and I'm hoping you are calling to tell me you are accepting the job!"  :-) That's exactly why I was calling.  Funny thing is, I leave Sunday for Indianapolis. The exact conference she was at. I'll be there as THE social media person.  So glad I accepted. There has not been a SINGLE day....let's take that further....there has not been a single MOMENT where I've regretted accepting this job.  Obviously, there are a lot more 'one year anniversaries' coming up. I'll try not to blog about each of them. ;-)

I don't know how to start this post. I probably won't know how to finish it either. But I have to start somewhere. The Republican National Convention was in Tampa this year. We've known for a while we would be hosting some fundraisers around the event for one of the Foundations I work for.  I'd been told I could help out for our Tuesday event. I'd drive down Monday, be there for the event on Tuesday, then drive home on Wednesday. Then at the end of July, Governor Bush was asked to speak at the RNC.  The schedule would be much busier now. Governor would have interviews, meetings, speeches, fundraisers, and all other sorts of events. I was still planning to be there Monday-Wednesday. Then Brandi, our events coordinator, said they needed someone to drive Governor's SUV to Tampa (from Tallahassee) on Saturday morning. Since I was already planning to go, I was the lucky winner. The other thing was this....Whoever drove it down- would have to drive it BACK to