Thursday, March 22, 2012

11/30: Pet Peeves

Describe 10 pet peeves you have.

1. When people leave food on their dirty plates they put in the sink.
Then I've got to reach in there with my clean hands and come out with something slimy that doesn't resemble anything we've eaten in the last couple of days. Just put it in the trash.


2. When I have to repeat myself because someone wasn't paying attention the first time.
Writing that makes me realize I probably shouldn't ever teach adolescents...

3. Finding hair everywhere.
My hair used to be about 3 inches away from my bellybutton so it was STINKIN' LONG! I'd find long stringy hairs everywhere. At least once a day I'd jump thinking there was a bug crawling on my arm only to find a rouge hair stuck to my sleeve. Getting out of the shower was awful because they'd be stuck all over me and cover the bathroom floor. Thankfully, I got a whole 12 inches cut off yesterday which should rid me of this problem!

4. Mumbling.
Enunciate, please. :)

5. People who talk on the phone while they're checking out of a store.
People behind the cash register have been there and will still be there for a long time. Take a second to talk to them a brighten up their day.

6. Not using blinkers.
It's a simple flick of the wrist people. C'mon!


7. People who work on commission and hound you down in stores.
I totally get the fact you get paid based off what I buy... but if I want your help, I'll ask you for it.

8. Cussing for no reason.
I understand the occasional slip of a four-letter-word in fear or pain, but to throw it into everyday conversation is too much for me. It especially bothers me in shows/movies because those words had to be written in to the script and it would all be just as good without them.


9. Pointless hashtags.
#whynotjustwriteitinanewsentence?


10. Group text messages and reply-all emails.
These are the worst thing ever invented. Seriously.


If you're my friend and you're reading this, I swear I don't have names associated in my head with these things so I'm not talking about anyone in particular... just don't do these if you want to stay friends...

Kidding! :)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

10/30: Embarassing Moment

Describe your most embarrassing moment.

High school was essentially just one giant awkward moment for me. I was constantly falling, tripping, getting caught on things, etc. and ALWAYS in front of someone.


There was this one time I tripped and fell three times in about 10 seconds in front of 600 people. Or the time I slipped in a puddle during my very first high school foot ball game in front of two cute boys from church and came up with what looked like tiger claw marks going up my thigh. Or the time I tried to look cool in front of the very same boys at camp that summer and hopped over a rope like it was nothing, only to get my back foot caught in it and fall straight on my face.

But no, I don't consider those my worst. At all.

I was a cheerleader my freshman year.

That's it.

I'm just kidding, but really. It was the most embarrassing experience as a whole.

One night was particularly bad.

We were in Portland, TN, in the middle of nowhere, but for some reason the stands were full. Three things happened...

1. My stunt group tried to do a basket-toss and one base was super strong and the other was weak and the flier ended up flying over the weak ones head and I barely caught her shoulders and fell to the ground with her.

2. During half time on the field, we were doing a cheer that required us to stunt. A different flier decided to just sit down on my head instead of cradling which ended with our entire group on the floor and me sobbing like a baby walking off the field because I was pretty sure my back was broken (clearly wasn't thinking about the fact I was walking off the field).

3. After sitting on the sidelines the rest of the game due to my presumably broken back, we won and the cheerleaders were going out on the field for the obligatory and awkward post-game hand smack down the line ritual. Portland didn't have a gate to get out to the field so we had to climb over the fence. Every other cheerleader had gone and made it look simple so I hopped on over, only to have the bench I was supposed to land on on the other side fall over, making me fall onto the fence beneath me, my pants getting caught, and me literally hanging off of the fence by my sweatpants. Somebody had to come help me rip my pants off the fence and my face was probably maroon by then.

It was awful. All of it. Awful.

And the most embarrassing night of my life.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

9/30: Influenced

List 10 people who've influenced you and describe how they have done so.

 1. Clint. He's my best friend in the entire world. He is the most supportive and caring man I've ever met. He's taught me to just try things. If you never try, you never know what the outcome will be. Failure isn't the worst thing that can happen to me.

2. My parents. Kind of a no-brainer. God's used them to majorly shape me into the person I am today. They're giving and kind and selfless and fun and all around great people. I can see both of them in me today.

3. My In-Laws. Mike and Shelly's story would bring you to tears. Seriously. They're incredible people and God's used their story to teach me that He can heal people in bigger and better ways than I could even imagine. They got a divorce when we were in college and 4 years later, less than a week after we got back from our honeymoon, they got remarried. It's a beautiful picture of God's grace!

4. Miriam. Miriam has taught me so much about friendship. We're real, honest, and simple. She's the first friend I've ever had who has come to me when I've done something to upset her and talked through it instead of talking to everyone else. I'm incredibly thankful to have such a great example of friendship.

5. John and Debbie. John and Debbie led a Bible study for high schoolers that Clint and I were a part of for years. They taught me how to study my Bible and really search for answers. When I'd ask them what to do in a situation, John's first response was always, "Well, what does the Bible say about it?" and he wouldn't take "I don't know" as an answer.

6. Angie. Angie and her husband, Mike, used to open up their house to 10 or more 20-somethings every Monday night. Every. Monday. Night. Those are a lot of mouths to feed. She's got the sweetest heart and is the queen of hospitality and has taught me a lot about serving and the heart behind it.

7. Staff of The Gallery Church in NYC. In my summer up there, they taught me to love the people of the city, and not just the city itself. Yes, the city is incredible, but it is full of lost people in darkness. The cool thing is that the surrounding darkness makes the pinpricks of light that much brighter.

8. Anna. Anna's taught me to love hard and to love well. Love through the mess and struggles. It's easy to love put together people. It's the broken ones that need your love.

9. Gretchen. Gretchen is one of those "Why not?" people in life. Want to clean out the room that's been destroyed by your dogs and is in complete disarray? Why not? Want to run a 5k? Why not? Want to start a craft business? Why not. I need more of those people in my life. :)

10. Terry. I don't think I could ask for a better boss. He's understanding and supportive of what Clint and I feel called to do in life. He and his incredible wife, Melinda, care more about us as people than me as an employee. He's quick to take the blame from and pass on the glory to his staff. He's a great example of a leader and I'm thankful to know him and Melinda!


Monday, March 19, 2012

8/30: Passion

What are five passions you have?

1. My relationship with Jesus. It's the only constant I have in this life and I'm so, so, so thankful for grace. It's incredible to me that the Creator of the entire universe wants a relationship with me. For some reason, the sunsets are extra beautiful to me, and every single night I'm reminded of His creativity and that if He creates something that beautiful for the fun of it, how much more beautiful is what He's got planned for our lives?



2. Becoming a better wife. Being a wife is my newest and biggest family role. I'm not a mom yet, and instead of sitting around and thinking about how fun a little one would be, I want to seize the moment and stage of life I'm in and become the best wife I can possibly be. I recently started reading Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs and it's wonderful. God's using it to teach me so many seemingly basic concepts that I think will end up completely changing our marriage for the better!



3. Creating. I love creating things. Painting, sewing, crocheting, and so many other random things. It energizes me and gets me so excited. Once I complete one project, I start searching for the next one. I love it when people ask me to make something specific and getting to see the look on their face when they see what my brain came up with. I still think a Mother's Day gift requested by such a dear family is my favorite thing I've ever made.



4. New York City. Sounds crazy, but I seriously think about that place once a day. I served there for a summer and since then the Lord has been stirring up a passion in my heart. The people. The culture. The history. The need. I love it and sincerely hope we end up serving the city full-time at some point in life.



5. Learning. I'm the weirdo who actually misses school. I love learning stuff about anything. Pop culture, history, psychology, new technology, animals, Disney, life stories, anything. I love it all. I think it's important to know things so that you can better understand life around you.

Friday, March 16, 2012

7/30: Dream Job

What's your dream job and why?

There are a million things I could say...

Disney princess.
Take of my freckles and chop of 2 inches of my shins and I'd make the perfect Belle.

Dolphin trainer.
Like, for real. Who wouldn't want to swim around with Flipper all day every day?

Fashion designer.
I watch a whole lot of Project Runway. It can't be that hard... right?

Wedding photographer.
Weddings are just so fun and photos are my favorite part so it's a win-win.

News anchor.
See number 19.

Broadways star.
I saw Cats when I was 8 years old and was convinced I'd grow up to be the cat who sang "Memories."

Those are all just silly dreams though. None of them will ever happen and that is totally ok because they’ll all whims.

My real dream is to help people. Plain and simple. I still don’t know what it looks like, but that’s my dream. I want to start some sort of non-profit to help people. There are so many needs in this world. HIV/AIDS, hunger, poverty, orphans, human trafficking, and hurting people everywhere... I’m just waiting for God to open my eyes to exactly what he wants me to do. In the meantime, I’m very thankful to be in a place where I can see God at work around me and I’m thankful to play even the smallest role.





Thursday, March 15, 2012

6/30: Struggle

What's the hardest thing you've ever experienced?

College as a whole was by far the hardest thing I've ever experienced.

My freshman year started out with me going to UT and hating it before classes even started. I can't even put my finger on what made me hate it so much, but I can't help but believe it's because God never intended for me to go there. My freshman year ended a short 6 weeks after it began with me having to medically withdraw because of a serious case of mono. My mono was so bad that my liver got seriously messed up and my eyes started turning yellow. I remember my friend Austin saying, "I'm not trying to freak you out, but your eyes are turning yellow. Now I'm no medical expert, but I saw that happen on House the other night and it was bad news." I went home to a mom who was going through chemo treatments for breast cancer so we basically were just two sicklings, not allowed to touch each other, keeping each other company.

I took the spring semester off completely and just focused on getting 100% back to normal. The first semester of my "sophomore" year, I started at Tennessee Tech. I lived in an apartment with a girl I knew from church and one of the friends she had made freshman year. The first semester was great. I LOVED college and just knew that this was the experience I always wanted. I didn't do anything special, just typical college stuff, but I loved it.

The second semester of my sophomore year started a long, drawn out spiral down, down, down deep into sadness. To make a LONG story short, I ended up being kicked out of the group of friends I had made my first semester at Tech. These were my best friends then. The girls I did everything with. We talked about our weddings and bridesmaids dresses. Took spring break trips together. Ate together weekly. Did life together. To this day, I have no idea what happened or what I did to make it happen. All I know is that it hurt. Bad.

I've never felt so utterly and totally alone in my whole life.

I'd cry myself to sleep multiple nights a week. I lived in straight-up silence, going weeks without speaking to my roommate. I worked my schedule out where I was only there Monday afternoon-Thursday morning, but even that was too long for me. I tried to mend some relationships and thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel, only to find out I was wrong when I got engaged and no one cared enough to ask me how it happened.

I looked for ways out of Cookeville and Tech on a weekly basis, but God just kept closing doors right in my face. That's when I knew I had to finish school there and began begging Him to provide me with friends my last semester.

I worked my butt off the summer in between my 2nd and 3rd full years of school and took 15 hours at a community college so that I could take 20 my last semester and graduate a semester early. The Lord was SO GOOD to me and provided a sweet old couple with room for me to live with them during the week. I randomly reconnected with girls from high school I hadn't spoken to in years and they started inviting me to hang out with their friends a few nights a week. I was taking 20 hours, working 30 hours a week, and trying to plan a wedding so I couldn't always go, but they continued to invite me and include me the times I could. I don't know if they know how much that meant to me, but God used them to keep me going that last semester. I don't think I could've done it without them.

Since then, I've learned the Lord let all of that happen to me so that He could use it for His glory. I work with high school girls here and I'm able to tell them that no matter how lonely they feel, it will be ok. They'll make it out alive and the Lord is still good.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

5/30: Happy

What are five things that make you happiest right now?


 1. The fact I married a man that makes me laugh every single day.


2. Friday Night Lights

source

3. My dogs.


4. Spending time with sweet baby Jack and his mama, Mir.


5. Knowing that God has my life already figured out for me and I just have to trust in Him and follow His will for it.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

4/30: 16-year-old self

List 10 things you'd tell your 16-year-old self.



1. Don't worry about trying to be tan. The pain of getting those three per-cancerous spots taken off isn't worth it. And let's face it, you don't get tan anyways.

2. Quit hating Clint. You're going to get married one day.

3. Take a class or two in Spanish. It's a lot more practical than Latin.

4. Don't go to UT just because everyone else is. God is prepared to go to some serious lengths to get you out of that place. It'd be better to just start at Tech, even though you promised yourself you'd never ever go there.

5. Your mom is going to have cancer. And it's ok. God has got it under control and will be so good to your family through all of it.

6. Don't take your crazy fast metabolism for granted. It deteriorates by the year once you hit 20.

7. Keep a journal. There will be so many things that happen to you in the next 5 years and you'll want to remember all of them.

8. Don't compare your talents to others. God gave you the talents He wants you to have. Work them to the best of your ability!

9. You're not going to be a vet. Or a teacher. Or a dolphin trainer. Or anything else you've thought about doing so far. But you'll love what you end up doing!

10. You're a worrier by nature. It only gets worse as the things you worry about get bigger. Don't think of all the what-ifs in life and just take things as they come to you.

Monday, March 12, 2012

3/30: Parents

Describe your relationship with your parents.



My parents are incredible. Really.





My mom is one of the most selfless women I've ever met. She'll do anything for me and my brother. We've gotten to be so much closer as I've gotten older and I love it. I know she'll always listen to me, comfort me, and back me up no matter what. Plus, she makes a great shopping buddy!




I'm incredibly thankful for my dad as well. The work God has done in his life is just incredible and I consider myself blessed to have seen him do a complete 180º turn and become the godly leader he was intended to be. He's the one I call when I need any sort of "real-world" advice. I trust him completely and know he has my best intentions at heart.


Friday, March 9, 2012

2/30: Fears

Describe three legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.


1. Spiders.

I don't really have a story of how they became a fear of mine. It's like inbred. I will say that my senior year of high school, my parents had a ton of ivy cut out of the side of our yard and it apparently made all the little creepy-crawlys that were living in there seek shelter in our house. Specifically our basement... where I lived. There were days I'd find 6 wolf spiders throughout the day. Those suckers are scary. Have you seen that they're like taking over a city in Austraila? Yea. Im happy I don't live there.

2. Being hurt by another person.

I don't mean this in the deep, emotional sense. I mean I really don't want to be abducted, raped, tortured, murdered, etc. It's a natural fear I'd guess, but it's probably just intensified by the ridiculous amount of Law and Order:SVU I watch. Any semi-creepy person on the same street at me when I'm walking alone is a potentially dangerous rapist. I was so sure the sniper from Washington D.C. was going to come to Nashville, TN, wait outside my middle school, and kill me. I want my dogs to attack any suspicious noise they hear when I'm at home alone and get frustrated when they don't even raise an ear to it. I will say, I feel a bit more prepared for any dangerous situation after watching a fair share of I Survived...

3. My life not going the way I planned.

Whether it's losing Clint, not being able to have children, my parents dying at what I think to be an age that's too young, anything that I don't expect, scares me. I know God is sovereign over everything and I believe it. I'm just a control freak and want to have what I've always dreamed I would. I know the Lord's plans for my life are better than any of my dreams. My life up to this point has already been dramatically different from what I had imagined, but now that I'm on the other side of it, I can't imagine it any other way. It's just something I have to hand back to God on a regular basis and trust Him with it.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

BFFLRIMI

aka... bff like, really. I mean it.

I'm going to interrupt this 30 questions thing for a moment...

My best friend and her baby boy are joining their other half in the windy city tomorrow. As excited as I am for her and Jack to finally be up there with Jonathan, I can't say it's going to be fun for me. Mir is like the sister I never had. We've only known each other for a little over 2 years, but it literally feels like it's been forever. She understands me like nobody ever has and lets me be me even when I'm weird. We've gone on all sorts of adventures together and she and Jonathan have played a HUGE part in my marriage. They were there when we got engaged, stood beside us on our wedding day, and have lived life with us through all of it. I know it's just distance and that nothing has to change, but I'll miss them. Like, a lot.


Excuse me while I go add alerts to my Southwest app so I can hear about all the $39 flights to Chicago from Nashville... :-)

1/30: Random Things

List 20 random facts about you.

1. I've only got one older brother who is a full 10 years older than me. We've recently become a lot closer now that I'm not the annoying little sister and I love it.

2. I graduated with a degree in Speech Communication, which is just a fancy way of saying Public Speaking. I don't really use it, but I could totally pull out a mean speech if the need ever arose...

3. I was 80% deaf when I was in preschool. I had my tonsils removed and everything corrected itself.


4. I could live off of cheese dip and chips.

5. Speaking of cheese dip, I always get french fries as a side at Mexican restaurants. Just can't handle the beans and don't care for rice.

6. I taught myself to sew, knit, and crochet. YouTube has been a lifesaver.

7.  I'd rather write with pen on paper than type on a computer or iPhone.

8. I'm naturally incredibly unorganized. It's a constant struggle to overcome it.

9. I'm the first one of my immediate family to graduate college.

10. I've got two dogs who a basically my children.

11. Clint and I hope to adopt one day. Only God knows when and where, but we're on board!

12. I was in a musical my senior year of high school and loved the experience so much I was convinced I'd go to Belmont and major in musical theatre... then reality hit.

13. I gained 9 lbs. on my 9 day honeymoon... Disney Cruise Line food is that good.

14. I'm incredibly fond of the number 4. No real reason... just am.

15. I hate onions, peppers, and mushrooms. With a fiery passion.

16. As I've gotten older, my filter is slowly deteriorating and I'm having a harder and harder time keeping my true feelings to myself. It's a love/hate thing. Sometimes it's great, other times I probably make people angry.

17. I served at churches in Naples, FL and NYC, each for a summer in college. Made some of the best relationships ever though those experiences.

18. I. Love. Disney.

19. If I had non-regional diction and about 3,314,234 less freckles/moles, I'd love to be a(n) reporter/anchor on the news.

20. I love reading. I don't do it nearly enough, but when I do it's magical.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

30 Questions: The List

Once again, I've forgotten to blog consistently again.

Shocker.

I've come up with an idea that will kick-start this baby and give me a solid month of posts. YAY! I got this idea from here. I'm going to answer 30 questions in the next 30 week days. Should be fun!

 1. List 20 random facts about you.
2. Describe three legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.
3. Describe your relationship with your parents.
4. List 10 things you'd tell your 16-year-old self.
5. What are five things that make you happiest right now?
6. What's the hardest thing you've ever experienced?
7. What's your dream job and why?
8. What are five passions you have?
9. List 10 people who've influenced you and describe how they have done so.
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.
11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your normal life.
13. Describe five of your weaknesses.
14. Describe five of your strengths.
15. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
16. What are your five greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you wish you were great at?
18. What's the most difficult thing to forgive?
19. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
20. Describe three significant memories from your childhood.
21. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it?
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. List your top five hobbies and why you love them.
24. Describe your family dynamic of your childhood vs. your family dynamic now.
25. If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What's your love language?
29. What do you think people misunderstand most about you?
30. List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.
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