It's Thursday! Normally that would mean that me and the roommates would be meeting up with most likely Jeff, Lauren, and Cam. However, this Thursday will unfortunately not be the same. Why? you ask... I started a new job on Tuesday (in addition to the job I already had) so I will be doubling EVERY day starting today through next Friday. In case I don't update very much, now you know why...Needless to say I'm a little bummed that I wont be able to go out tonight but sometimes you have to tell yourself, "Self, it's time to be responsible" :) so here that goes...

Unlike the past weeks this one has been a personal best for myself. I've finished all of my to-do lists (except resizing the pin board and getting a phone charger) and I've even done a few extra things here and there! YAY ME!

I guess it's true when they say, "when it rains, it pours" hopefully this is a sign that MY storm is over and I can feel like myself again. Thank you to everyone who has been encouraging to me. Thanks to those who were my shoulder to cry on - especially the long distance shoulders :). I have amazing friends and family in my life and you can never truly know who your friends are until you go through a hard time in your life. I've begun to notice, or realize that true friends/people are those who see you going through a hard time and instead of laying low or falling out of your life they come right beside you, pick up your burdens and carrying them with you. I can honestly say that I don't think that I could have made it through this past month if it wasn't for a few certain people: My Mom- She's truly amazing, and even if she doesn't have anything to say, she listens. Court (Bestest) you, also amazing! Your support means so much to me and I'm glad that we are somewhat in the same shoes so that I can learn from everything that you've had to deal with. Matt-although we've fought almost everyday (hahaha) I thank you for putting up with my mood swings and homesickness and of course supporting me in every way you could. Lastly,  Thank you to those who have been a huge support in my "25 things project" Kyle, Bucky, Court, and those who stop by the blog every now and then. You are all awesome and I appreciate you all!

Quick update: 3rd pen pal letter HAS been sent :) annnnd today marks week 5 of eating no meat! Technically I only have five more days to go but I'm thin
I know I will be busy this next week but I will make it a priority to update as much as I can! Happy Thursday All!

The Bible is the endless supply of encouraging truth

Everyone needs a bit of encouragement from time to time. Thankfully we have the Bible as our ultimate source of encouraging words! Even in the midst of the “financial crisis” that we are in the middle of, we can remain hopeful and encouraged if we keep trusting in God.
The important thing to remember in the midst of the chaos is that God is in control. He is not surprised by the events and He is not unsure how He is going to take care of his children. We are just as safe putting our trust in Him when things are going great as when it looks like everything is falling around us.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” – Phil 4:19

Notice the above verse says “ALL.” It doesn’t say “some” or “most,” but it says that He will meet all of our needs. It doesn’t say how He will meet our needs and I have found from experience the way He does it is often not what I expected. But the bottom line is that God is faithful and He does what He promises.

I will leave you with some encouraging bible verses that I found to be helpful…

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. Psalm 46:1-3,7

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 2 Tim 1:7 (AMP)

I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8 (AMP)

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). Psalm 55:22 (AMP)

He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be moved. Psalm 62:6 (AMP)

Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)

The Lord is good, a Strength and Stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows (recognizes, has knowledge of, and understands) those who take refuge and trust in Him. Nahum 1:7 (AMP)

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

It's Tuesday and I have some pretty  big hopes for this day! Let me first start off by saying that I finished ANOTHER book last night. It's called, "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone! Seriously, anyone can learn from this book whether you are drowning in debt or have so much money you don't know what to do with it- GO READ THIS BOOK! It's awesome, and it was extremely interesting to read.

I'm gonna try and take another whack at my list today. Yesterday I didn't finish anything that was on the list, but I did get A LOT done :) Today I'm going to attempt the following:

1. Clean Car- oh wait, I already did that this morning!
2. Gym- when Ally wakes up we'll be going
3. Finish laundry from yesterday- last load is currently being washed
4. shower :) hehe
5. Birkdale
6. Clean our room- finally
7. make Matt go through his stuff in the loft
8. resize pin board
9. make print outs for it works
10. buy a phone charger
11. bank

I should probably stop adding things so that I can finish it!

One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected are BOTH on tonight! Anyone else a fan of these shows?

For those of you who enjoy the songs I post here is another one for you. It's from Kenney Chesney's new CD and I LOVE it. I replay it over and over and over in the car.  It's Called, "Somewhere with you" (it's way better if you listen to the song, and then read the words so I included the youtube video at the end).

If you're going out with someone new
I'm going out with someone too
I won't feel sorry for me, I'm getting drunk
But I'd much rather be somewhere with you

Laughing loud on a carnival ride, yeah
Driving around on a Saturday night
You made fun of me for singing my song
Got a hotel room just to turn you on

You said pick me up at three a.m.
You're fighting with your mom again
And I'd go, I'd go, I'd go somewhere with you

I won't sit outside your house
And wait for the lights to go out
Call up an ex to rescue me, climb in their bed
When I'd much rather sleep somewhere with you

Like we did on the beach last summer
When the rain came down and we took cover
Down in your car, out by the pier
You laid me down, whispered in my ear

I hate my life, hold on to me
Ah, if you ever decide to leave
Then I'll go, I'll go, I'll go

I can go out every night of the week
Can go home with anybody I meet
But it's just a temporary high 'cause when I close my eyes
I'm somewhere with you, somewhere with you

If you see me out on the town
And it looks like I'm burning it down
You won't ask and I won't say
But in my heart I'm always somewhere with you

Laughing loud on a carnival ride, yeah
Driving around on a Saturday night
You made fun of me for singing my song
Got a hotel room just to turn you on

You said pick me up at three a.m.
You're fighting with your mom again
And I'd go, I'd go, I'd go

I can go out every night of the week
Can go home with anybody I meet
But it's just a temporary high 'cause when I close my eyes
I'm somewhere with you, somewhere with you

Somewhere with you
I'm somewhere with you
I'm somewhere with you
Somewhere with you
Somewhere with you

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Well, if I were to compare my day according to the list it would be a huge FAIL... I was super productive I just didn't do anything that I had planned on doing.

1. Website- check!
2. Laundry- half check since its still in the washer and dryer
3. Gym- half check again (I only made it for a run around the block)
4. call the itworks peeps- CHECK!

Well, 4 out of 10 isn't bad... especially if you include all the other cool things I did like: finish a project, bake my "famous" cookies, research some stuff that I plan on selling on EBAY, applying for a couple jobs, catching up on my shows, and talking to the Gas man this morning...

O well, we'll try it all again tomorrow :)

Happy Monday everyone! I've never been one to dread Mondays- oh, except when me and John broke up and I was forced to double with him every Monday- then, I hated Mondays.

But I have never really had an office 9-5 job where I had the weekends off, can I say that I'm lucky for that? Money wise, probably not, but talent wise absolutely!

For those of you who have never waited a table in your life I suggest you do. It takes a rare bread of person who can actually serve efficiently, effectively, and with a GREAT attitude. Trust me, I have those days where I don't even want a customer to look in my direction but at the end of the day I TRULY love serving others... don't get me wrong, I don't plan on being a life long server but I would like to be a part of the industry in some way... We'll see :)

I'm not really sure where this is coming from, that was nowhere near the topic I had on my mind today...

Back to Mondays being not so bad. So, it's Monday (DUH) and I plan on being SUPER productive... I've already chatted with the Gas man (yay, we have heat now!) and I've started a load of Laundry... I got distracted stalking (shocker) but now I'm back on track, starting with the website!

1. website
2. pen pal letter ( :)  )
3. Laundry
4. Gym
5. Clean: Room, Kitchen, Loft
6. Rearrange Office
7. Re-size pin board
8. Learn about the it-works stuff
9. Call the itworks peeps
10. clean car

and that's the list for today... Good thing its only 9:20- I have the whole day to get it all done!

p.s. sorry for my terrible spell checking the past few posts :) at least someone got a laugh out of one of them hehehe

EDIT: Go check out the 50 states tab. Arizona and Arkansas were added this morning!

Well, today is a new day and it looks a lot better than the last. YAY!

I went to the gym today and before I start, let me first say that the gym I work out at has a skate/hockey rink and a soccer field attached to it and story time begins...

so as I was sweating away on the treadmill I was reminded of my middle school days and the greatest field trip of ALL- Roller Gardens, anyone remember that amazing place?

I suuuuuuure do. Mainly because of the Snowball- skating with a boy (so prohibited at my private school, but it was the only time that holding hands with a boy wasn't frowned on). Luckily, I got to witness this blissful "dance" today as the 12 year old's skated round, and round, and round to the tunes of Usher's,  "Burn". Good choice hahaha...
It got me thinking on how the only thing important in my life at that time was Boys. Boys, Boys, Boys, urrrgh. Oh, how I wish I could go back to those days and realize how immature my fairytale fantasies were and how the world was so much bigger than the 7th grade. YIKES.

Anyways... on to other things:

- Can you guess what these have in common? Bottle of win, convertible, sunny day, blanket, two dixie cups, comfort food... (the picture keeps getting bigger).

- I got ANOTHER Letter from my pen pal today!! First thing I did when got home from work today was check the mailbox- and there it was,  my letter :)

p.s. when I'm pregnant I will most likely live in spandex pants- sorry future baby daddy :) WOOOAH, Random!

It seems that we are always told to get over stuff, that everything will be okay. I know it will be okay but sometimes I just wanna throw my hands up and give up. That's how I currently feel. It's been a bad few weeks, I find myself more and more unhappy of my current location. (I know it will be okay, but can someone tell me when that day is, please?)

I was listening to this song this morning as I quieted myself in worship... It's by Dave Barnes and its called "When a heart breaks" I fits me almost perfectly right now... Enjoy!

No one ever told me
It would come to this
What began with such a promise
Would end with such a twist
I lean into the whisper
But I don't hear a thing

It's a tear in the dark
All alone in the car
In pieces, pieces
It's the sound of mistake
As I'm lying awake and
Sleepless, sleepless

This is the sound that's made
When a heart breaks

Everybody's laughing
Maybe that's just me
Does something unrequited
Mean it will never be
I lean into the whisper
But I don't hear a thing

It's a tear in the dark
All alone in the car
In pieces, pieces
It's the sound of mistake
As I'm lying awake and
Sleepless, sleepless

This is the sound that's made...

Please don't leave me here
Please don't leave me here
Please don't leave me here
Please don't leave me here

Life, for now, I've come to fear
You've dropped me off and left me here
With nothing here to find my way
But the light you take as you pull away

Far ahead the brush is moving
There's others here and good still proving
Nothing's wrong, it's in my mind
Nothing's wrong and I'll be fine

It's a tear in the dark
All alone in the car
In pieces, pieces
It's the sound of mistake
As I'm lying awake and
Sleepless, sleepless

This is the sound that's made
When a heart breaks

P.s. I hope this doesn't bring anyone down, I usually like to keep my posts uplifting and inspiring but how can I inspire others by being fake and pretending that everything is always okay. I'm human and have bad days too :)

So I can "technically" check off the political event from the list:

I say technically because I was hoping it could be a bigger event (although voting is very important) I was hoping for a debate or something like that.. however, there were not any around here. Maybe sometime within the next year?

Check out my POD for today to see how amazing my best friend is... I've had an hour or more conversation with her for the past two days and its been so great! I love my long distance friend... Just wish she wasn't long distance!

My friend Lauren told me about a cool Art Museum here in Charlotte- super excited to check it out! This weekend might also be a good weekend to go to the movies alone since I've got nothing planned and no one is here!

Sorry for the short blog, and the wait for the POD's It's all updated and I'll bring more to the table