Alcoholics Anonymous

My friend Jessica and I went an AA {Alcoholics Anonymous} meeting tonight. It was for our Addictions class we're taking. We have to write a paper on our experience observing an AA meeting. Well, anyways, it was {obviously} my first time going to an AA meeting, and let me tell you, it was quite the experience.

It was so hard for me to see the people in attendance there. Yet, I was so proud of them for trying. There were people there {I'm guessing here..} ages 20-60. You could definitely see the age in some of them. You could see the effects alcohol had had on their lives. I am willing to bet that a lot of them are not as old as they look. The consequences of alcohol have definitely taken a toll on all of their lives- physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually...and you can tell.

I want to applaud all of the people there- anyone who received their white chip tonight, symbolizing their first 24 hours being sober {from what I understand, you aren't "sober" until you come and admit you're an alcoholic}, or anyone receiving another colored chip, symbolizing a longer period of sobriety. Alcoholism is something that completely controls your every fiber. It takes a person being beaten down so incredibly much for them to even begin seeing that there might be a problem. So, again, I applaud everyone there, working hard to make their sobriety their top priority.

I heard something tonight that got me thinking. The speaker said that he heard someone say that their sobriety was their absolute top priority in life, and they said it sitting beside their wife. Honestly, if I was married to an alcoholic {and FYI: you're an alcoholic for the rest of your life. You don't become an ex-alcoholic. You just are sober.} then I would want my husband's top priority to be his sobriety too. If being sober isn't your top priority, there will come a time when you will relapse. It's as simple as that. When you are sober, because you made sobriety your top priority, then everything else has the ability to fall into place. So, I had never thought of it that way before, but, I guess it surprisingly makes sense.

Something I thought about on the way home was this:

Just because you drink every day, doesn't make you an alcoholic.

Just because you don't drink every day, doesn't mean you aren't.

I have gained a life experience tonight by attending this AA meeting and I will pray for the ones I met tonight and also everyone else in attendance I didn't get to meet. One particular prayer I am praying for them hits me on a personal level. I'm sure there is someone, somewhere, that is angry at them, not speaking to them, holding a grudge, or may even hate them because of what they have let alcohol do to their lives and to the lives of others. I pray that those people see these alcoholics trying, staying sober, and struggling to make a change in their lives. I pray that these people will be given a break, and given another chance. We all deserve another chance. And if world will treat them no differently drinking or sober, then what motivation does that give them to want to change? That's just something to think about...

Signs I am slowly losing it!

I ordered pizzas from one Dominoes and attempted to pick them up at another.

Click here to read other signs that I am slowly losing it.

staff love & one more week left!

MAN today was a hectic day!

I want to give a shout out to my fabulous staff right now. They all were up at 8 AM this morning, wanting to give a present to Isenhour's housekeeper. They weren't able to do that because some had to leave to go to class, and the others went back to bed after waiting about 20 minutes because they realized none of us had a clue as to what time she comes in to work...but it is definitely the thought that counts!! First off, I thought it was thoughtful of them to want to do something special for her, but for them to be willing to all get up at 8 AM & wait on her to get here...that was mighty nice of them! I have definitely been blessed with an awesome staff my first year here at LR. I don't know what I would have done without them this year! As the year's drawing to a close, you'll hear me say this all more, because it's hitting me that we won't all be together next year- and quite frankly, it really makes me sad just thinking about it.

On a happier note: I am checking things off my to-do list left & right! I really don't have any other choice because it's the end of the year and it seems like all of my professors waited to make everything due at the end. Well, right now I have ONE WEEK OF SCHOOL LEFT {this semester}.
I am...

• 1 AA meeting {for my addictions class}
• 1 Stats test
• 3 papers
• 1 Capstone presentation/paper...

away from this semester being over. And again. only ONE week. There is no option- I have to make it work! I haven't been procrastinating either. I've had things due the last two Wednesdays & the Saturday in between. I've been working on things as they're due, and now- everything's due within two days & that makes it CRUNCH TIME! :)

Say a little prayer for me that I don't lose my mind!

Dream Journal Entry #3

Journaling dreams for class...

Okay, so I figured something out. I might have said earlier that I never have good dreams. Well, I'm not retracting my statement or anything, but I definitely have learned that I do have non-nightmares from time to time. And, I've slacked a little. I've learned that if I wake up from a non-nightmare dream, I'll just {probably check my phone, lol, and then} just go back to sleep. But with a nightmare, I wake up, don't want to go back to sleep, so have been getting up and journaling blogging. Well, I definitely slept in this morning but I'll attempt to blog about my two dreams I remember having this morning.

Dream #1: 
I wore this really long purple dress I have to a country-style bar with some friends of mine.

{To be honest, I would never really wear that dress to any bar, and I don't really go to bars.}

I was with an old friend of mine, Ashleigh, and she had just started dating this boy. And for SOME reason she was really afraid that this scrapbook that she had made would make him not want to date her. Only, it was a scrapbook of middle and high school years, and we have been graduated for 5 years now, and they had just started dating, sooo...I was confused. As we got ready to go to the bar I was defending her, telling the guy that whatever was in there, was from a long time ago, and is in the past. That's the end of that story.

Now, I was at the bar with the friends, and then I noticed that I had started talking to someone in the bar and turned around and all my friends were gone. I went looking for them in this room that had some pool tables in it, and there were probably three girls from high school that I honestly just don't like. So I did a quick glance over of the room, pretended I didn't see the girls, and left. I remember being kind of glad that all my friends were gone and I could just talk to this person. I honestly don't even remember if it was a boy or a girl, so I definitely couldn't tell you what their face looked like, or who they were!

Ask me how I got home....because I have NO idea. I think I woke up at this point and went back to sleep to dream this dream:

Dream #2:
Pretty much, I don't know what happened beforehand, but me and all my Christian friends were in a movie theater-like place, only it had a somewhat tall stage at the front. {I guess you could still call that a theater?} We all had a Bible in our hands and there was a group of guys at the front, on stage, hollering at us, telling us what we were going to do. {It reminded me a lot of the "bad guys" from The Book of Eli.} We were supposed to, row by row, line up and walk towards the stage. We weren't allowed to get on stage so we were just supposed to walk in front of the stage, one by one, and throw our Bibles into this pit of fire on stage. None of us wanted to do it, but we all did it. We all seemed convinced that the guy up front would let us live if we threw our Bibles into the fires.

{Side note: I can hear you saying now, "You gave in to the Devil and sacrificed your Bible instead of defending the Lord and dying for him" or something of the sort. In actuality, I never felt like that in my dream, but I thought that myself as I typed this up. HOWEVER, I remember thinking in my dream, "It's okay because I have at least four more Bibles at home."}

The person had told us to bring our favorite Bible to this place, and that if we wouldn't, he would find us and kill us. I remember bringing this Bible that Alex got me in June 2008 because it is my favorite. {I only know it was June because he wrote it on the first page.} And then I remember crying my eyes out after I threw it up onto stage because it was a Bible that Alex gave me. It had more sentimental value to me than the others.

I don't really know what happened afterward, but I woke up and didn't want to go back to sleep after that. {Good thing because it was 12:15pm and I have things to do today!} But man, I was not the brightest person ever in my dream! Why didn't I just bring another Bible and say it was my favorite? Why did I go at all? Why did I not stand up for what I believed in? What did I think I was going to do with my life once the men on stage let me have it?

Hmm...Odd dream. Pretty scary to me. :/

Click here to read more of my dream journal for class.

Dream Journal Entry #2

Journaling my dreams for class...

Me, Alex, and some friends were somewhere, walking all over this building. It seemed like a professional building most of the time, but it seems like we were at an amusement park other times because we kept talking about the rides we were going to ride and at one point in time we all put our stuff in lockers. Well I remember putting my pocketbook & things in a locker, because we were getting ready to ride The Tower of Terror at Disney World. If you've never ridden this ride, you seem like you're on an elevator, in your seat, and it takes you ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL the way up, opens up the door, and the DROPS you down super fast! I remember my friend Ashleigh was with us, as well my friend Jose and Valerie- which is odd because those are all different friends of mine from different groups of friends. On the way walking around the building towards the locker, I remember talking to my friend Ashleigh about the last time we rode The Tower of Terror and how much fun it was. {We really did ride it together, at least once, when we were in 7th grade at Disney World for a cheerleading competition.} But anyways, most of the day we had spent walking around this building-- guys walking with the guys and talking and the girls walking with the girls talking, as usual. But anyways, so, we put our stuff in the lockers, and then all get on the elevator. After we went up a couple floors, I thought that I might not have closed the locker door. I told them that I was going to get off the elevator and go check my locker to make sure my pocketbook didn't get stolen. When the door opened, my friend Becky and I ran off the elevator, only to be suspended in mid-air! We actually were on the Tower of Terror and didn't know it. They were now using real elevators for the ride and we didn't know! But somehow, maybe it was an angel or something, an angel with a warped sense of humor, we were held up in mid-air, and then DROPPED suddenly with the elevator as it went down! We both were scared to death, screaming for our lives because we thought we were going to hit the ground and die. But, we didn't- it was all part of the ride, which I wanted OFF of as soon as possible! Now, for some reason, I went then by myself {guess Becky had had enough} to go check my locker. I was running around the professional building again, now by myself. I turned the corner and this man, who seemed like a black version of the killer off of the new The Lovely Bones movies was standing at a corner as I ran around it. At first we made eye contact. I must have ran into him or something, because I stopped dead in my tracks. We stared at each other for a moment, and then as soon as I thought to run again, he grabbed the bottom of my shirt. I yelled to him that I didn't have any money on me or anything- I didn't even have pockets in the pants I was wearing and I was heading to my purse, so I literally had nothing on me at the time. Somehow I must have swatted at him or something and got away and started running again. He started to come after me- but was walking! I saw two people walking down this stairwell at the end of the hallway, so I yelled to them for help! By the time I got to the end of the hallway I kept yelling as I started BOLTING down the stairs- and when I say "bolting" I mean jumping down each half-flight of stairs. I was flying down those stairs and he was still walking, yet it seemed like he was always right behind me! I, at times, saw people walking up and down the stairwell and would yell at them that I needed help. They would all give me a look, give the man behind me a look, and then keep going on about their business. I think at ONE point in time, ONE man showed some care in his eyes for me, but didn’t do anything about it, he just watched as we flew down this staircase, heading to whoknowswhere.

That’s when I woke up. It was 8:45 AM. I don’t know if I woke myself up or what- I have tried to do that sometimes when everything just seems too much like a dream. My alarm clock didn’t go off and I don’t think any of the residents were being loud this early in the morning. Either way, I wasn’t about to go immediately back to sleep. I don’t want to know what happens when he catches me- IF he caught me. I wonder if the rest of my group of friends started to wonder where I was.

Side note: I Googled images of the Tower of Terror to show  you in case you don't know what I'm talking about. This is the building at Disney World from the outside:

It has a hotel theme, which gets creepier as you go through the ride. And once you get to the top, you see the view of all the park, because you're extremely high up, and then it DROPS you super fast! You get your picture snapped as you start to "fly down the elevator shaft!" The pictures are the funniest to see. We bought hard copies of ours and Mom still has them to this day. {It was about ten years ago. MAN I feel old!} This isn't what your pictures look like. Usually it's all you and your friends, instead of these creepy hotel clerks that don't show a BIT of emotion as they are flying down this thing. But, this shows you a good idea of what it feels like to go down the ride.

I have not seen a reminder of or even thought of my Disney World trip, the Tower of Terror, hotels, or anything recently. I find it extremely odd I dreamed about this. {Not to mention The Lovely Bones man who was chasing after me}.

PS: I haven't seen the movie The Lovely Bones, but I have been planning to.

Click here to read more of my dream journal for class.

What Gets Me Going!

Do you ever have a song that totally gets you going? Ace & TJ on Kiss 95.1 a long time ago had radio listeners call in and tell them what song got them pumped or brightened their day. This was one of the songs someone called in to say that they always listened to when they were having a bad day and there was no way they couldn't start dancing in their car once they heard it. They played a little clip of it and I had to download it when I got home. It's by Michael Franti & Spearhead & it's called Say Hey (I Love You). I listened to it this morning as I got ready & it totally puts me in a good mood!! :) What do you listen to to get you pumped?

Dream Journal Entry #1

I am taking a Dream Works in Counseling class in July. Yesterday, our professor emailed us, telling us to begin journaling ours or someone else's dreams for class. So, that's what I'm going to do. I'm not one to remember my dreams, usually. I have had/occasionally still do have a lot of nightmares. {Read more about that.} Those are usually the ones I remember- the bad ones that wake me up and keep me fearing going back to sleep. But anyways, for class, and for my own personal sense of dream journaling, I'll be posting any dreams I remember having. Again, I got the email yesterday so I just started, and sure enough, last night I had a nightmare for lack of a better word. So, here's Journal Entry #1. If anyone knows anything about dream interpretation and would like to give me their two cents, please feel free. Anyone can leave a comment below {I do believe}. I'd love to know your thoughts!

April 20, 2010:
                For some reason, I was running in complete darkness. For some reason I think it was after church, but I’m not 100% sure. I feel like I was waiting on Mom to get ready so we could go somewhere, and it was time to go but she hadn’t even showered yet. So I got some keys and started walking down the road in the pitch blackness. I didn’t have a phone or anything with me to see. Somehow I came upon this old, big house, so I went towards it. I feel like the house was (in some ways) First Baptist Church (my old church), like, for example, as I walked towards the back of it, I felt like I was behind FBC. But as I got up on it, I saw old doors, and old architectural designs. I guess I was looking for a door, so I stayed close to the church so I could see what I was looking for, and as I walked around it, I saw that there were huge speakers locked up under the (patio, maybe?) of the side of it. I thought that was completely normal for some reason- because maybe they had fundraisers, or BBQs, or hosted events or something. (I mean they were huge speakers.)  Anyways, as I walked around the right side of the house, I saw some old stairs leading up to what looked like maybe a side door that would maybe lead to a kitchen or something. For some unknown reason, I took off running and stomping up the stairs, tried my key, and it let me in. I bolted the door open and yelled, “HELLOOO?!” It hit me as I was entering the doorway that this really might be a family’s house, and they might be inside. I mean, some people live in really old, run-down houses. And then I thought, “What if they think I’m a burglar?” But when I bolted in the door and yelled that, I looked around. There wasn’t a light on in the house. There was furniture everywhere like a family had lived in it, but it seemed deserted. There were cobwebs everywhere. I remember being TERRIFIED at this point, for some reason. I started walking and looking around, very slowly. I remember seeing an old grand piano in the next room.

                And then I woke up. I was really scared when I woke up. I don’t know why. Nothing scary happened really. The house was just really creepy and I felt like something was going to get me, or pop up out at me, or I was never going to make it out of that house alive. My alarm was what woke me up; otherwise I feel like I would have kept on discovering what was in the house. Thank God for alarms, then! I was so scared to go back to sleep that I ended up just getting up after alarm #1 (which is not always my norm).

                It’s ironic that I’m so scared of this dream, even though nothing really bad happened in it, yet. It’s ironic because as I went to bed last night, I began reading the book of Joshua in the Bible. I read this verse and repeated it to myself over and over in hopes of memorizing it. Let’s see if I can still do it this morning {I’m going by memory alone here…} – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged. For the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:9

                I looked it up after I typed this, and yep, I forgot the first sentence at first but then it hit me after I finished the rest. I memorized the verse last night, and then here I go, waking up terrified, afraid to go back to my precious, precious sleep. :(

My new favorite Facebook group*

A couple of days ago, something popped up on my Facebook newsfeed. It was a Facebook group called "Praying for Pat Sykes." Of course I clicked on it, and a lady named Candy from my home town had recently made the Facebook group to ask people to pray for my brother.

Why you ask?

Well, first, I was deeply appreciative of Candy doing this.. especially since it's been two months since Pat's diagnosis. So Candy, if you see this, {again} THANK YOU!

I think it's extremely important to continually pray. Our family and Pat's friends prayed for an answer, to find out what was causing Pat's blindness. Just because we now know why doesn't mean we can stop praying. I keep praying for healing {always, no matter what the doctors say}, coping skills, the tools he needs to help him, good influences for friends and friends that will selflessly help him with everything, and just a peace beyond understanding. I pray that one day Pat can use this this happening to him to glorify God and show everyone that with faith, he is not stopping. I will not stop praying for Pat.

Anyways, I did not post this to publicize the Facebook group, even though that may happen. I already invited every Facebook friend I have anyways yesterday. The whole point of my post is this-

the group now has 415 members!

That might not be a lot to you, and some people may have just added the group because I invited them. {However, I know some people declined the invitation.} But either way, the group raises awareness and will lift the numbers of prayers for Pat going up- and that's all that matters! I appreciate all the people posting comments on the group's wall to Pat. I'm sure he's read/will read them and I know it'll mean a lot to him. 

I just am so grateful for everyone's kindness and inspirational words. It all makes my heart smile. :)

Amazing Grace

My friend Lindsey posted this on her Facebook and I fell in love with this little girl!

On a roll

Melissa & I have walked 13 miles this week {& it's only Thursday!} I am so proud of us! Walking with a friend is a great way to exercise & I have become a walking machine! I'm glad the weather's warmed up & I'm able to go outside and enjoy these beautiful days. It's also great to talk and get to know a new friend. :) Alex and I usually walk every day during the weekends {or we have recently} but I don't see him during the week usually, so I'm glad I have Melissa! Good thing she's only moving down the street & not to Apex! :)

Grey's isn't new tonight {again, ugh!} so I will be spending my night working on some school work due next week and doing some reading. I got a new book today.

The cover of the book and the subtext of the title do it absolutely no justice and there's no way in the world I would voluntarily even pick this book up in a bookstore, had I not heard such GREAT things from so many people! Alex & I are going to start reading it soon. :) Stay tuned...I'm sure I'll end up blogging about it.

Oh, and today as I was walking out of my apartment to go walk, I ran into one of my residents, Beth, and one of her visiting friends. She said, "And here's our RD. Her name's Nicole. She blogs." I thought that was the funniest thing! :)

Blogging.
That is what I do now.

"When I Look at You"

Ok, try not to make fun of me, BUT my current favorite song is definitely this Miley Cyrus song from the new movie The Last Song. I am not a fan of Miley Cyrus, but this is certainly a hit of hers. It's such a pretty love song- one I could see someone playing at a wedding or something. {Yes, I just went there!} Don't knock her the song until you hear it.



Everybody needs inspiration,
Everybody needs a song.
A beautiful melody,
When the night's so long.
Cause there is no guarantee,
That this life is easy.

And when my world is falling apart,
When there's no light to break up the dark,
That's when I look at you.
When the waves are flooding the shore,
and I can't find my way home anymore.
That's when I, I, I look at you.

When I look at you,
I see forgiveness,
I see the truth.
You love me for who I am,
Like the stars hold the moon,
Right there where they belong.
and I know I'm not alone.

Yeah when my world is falling apart,
When there's no light to break up the dark,
That's when I look at you.
When the waves are flooding the shore,
and I can't find my way home anymore,
That's when I, I, I look at you.

You, appear just like a dream to me.
Just like kaleidoscope colors,
That cover me,
All I need,
Every breath that I breathe,
Don't you know you're beautiful!

Yeah

When the waves are flooding the shore,
and I can't find my way home anymore,
That's when I, I, I look at you.
I look at you, Yeah, Whoa.

You, appear just like a dream to me.

Love Is Patient. - Quotes

I found a Word document in my computer that had a bunch of old quotes I'd saved- probably from away messages and old Facebook quotes. Either way, today I give them away to you :) You can probably guess what stage in life I was in while I saved these quotes. So, please note, these quotes are still fabulous, yet do not currently reflect my current stage of life. Well, some are timeless...but you get what I was saying.

"Sometimes we just have to wait for what God has in store for us rather than trying to make things happen. Instead of worrying about what the future holds, learn to just 'be still' and know that God is God, and He knows your heart's desires."

"After he left, I cried for a week. And then I realized I do have faith- faith in myself, faith that I would one day meet someone, who would be sure that I was the one.
-Sex & the City

"You only stay where you are until you decide where you'd rather be."

"I do my thing, and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful."
-Boy Meets World

"Wait for the man who pursues you, the one who will make an ordinary moment seem magical, the kinda man who brings out the best in you and makes you want to be a better woman, wait for the man who will be your best friend, the person who will drop everything to be with you, wait for the man who makes you smile like no other boy makes you smile, wait for the man who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats & no makeup, but loves it when you get all dolled up for him, wait for the man who praises God for you,and encourages you daily in your walk, and most importantly wait for the Man who is more in Love with God than you."

"He's not perfect, and you're not either. But if he can make you laugh, if he admits to being human, and making mistakes, hold on to him...give him the most you can. He's not gonna quote sappy poetry and he's not gonna be thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you can break: his heart. So don't hurt him, don't change him, don't analyze, and don't expect more than he can give. Smile when he makes you happy, let him know when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there. Because perfect guys don't exist, but there's always that one boy who is perfect for you..."

[Cory: It's an interesting feeling, you know?
Shawn: What, knowing it's over?
Cory: No, being the only guy in the world who knows it's not.]
-Boy Meets World

"I wasn't sure this day would ever come, but you were. I wasn't sure love could survive everything we put it through, but you were. You were always strong and always sure. And now I know I want you to stand beside me for the rest of my life. That's what I'm sure of."
-Boy Meets World

Update: Ike Cook Out: Success!

Literally, I haven't stopped for two days. Since I woke up until the time I went to bed, it was literally nonstop! But I made sure my paper was finished last night that is due today so I didn't feel stressed today, obligated to get up early & make sure it was finished before class at 5pm!

Melissa & I have been walking...that's been fun! I love walk/talk sessions with her! :) We could only walk 2 miles yesterday because she had to go to work- we'll see how many we get in today! :) Alex and I have been little walking machines too. We walk everyday on the weekends it seems! 5 miles here, 4 miles there... it's been fun! We keep saying we're going to walk 10 miles around my parents' neighborhood- but, we haven't had the time yet! Hopefully we will soon!

Anyways, so Monday was a busy busy day! Most of the afternoon was spent preparing for Isenhour's cookout! {Isenhour is the building I am the Resident Director of, in case you didn't know!} My six RAs have to do a certain number of "programs" a month, and we have a budget to help them buy stuff to draw people to those programs. The point of it all is to draw residents of the building together for either a social or educational purpose and help build community. Well, the Isenhour Cook Out was by far the most successful program my staff, or any other staff to my knowledge, has done. We started out with 40 hamburgers & 48 hot dogs. Needless to say, we had to make two charcoal runs & another trip to the store! We ended up giving out about 120ish hamburgers and hot dogs to residents and Lenoir-Rhyne students! Talk about a success! I was completed proud of my staff for pulling it all off. They truly are the best! :)

Here's just a couple pics from the event:

And here's just a couple of some of my fabulous staff:

Megan

Moose

The boys, Matt, Keenan {RAs} & Andres {who graciously manned the grill while Matt was at class, even though he isn't an RA, yet!} getting the massive grill going!

And even Maria {another RD at Lenoir Rhyne}stopped by & joined us for a bit! :)

It really was fun! We'll definitely have to do another one next year! :)

Movies Movies Movies

So, I successfully got Alex to watch My Sister's Keeper, The Box, and Where The Wild Things Are. That's the good news. The bad news is I have currently got my "movie picking" rights revoked because he absolutely hated all three. I can't blame him about the later two but I mean, come on! How can you hate My Sister's Keeper?? Maybe it's because I told him how the book ended and he expected the same out of the movie, which had a complete opposite ending, but nevertheless...I'm on probation.

So! With that being said, I've had some girls nights lately to the movies and I am reminded of how much I LOVE watching movies. Why? I have no idea, but I like it! There's something about seeing emotion and love that razzes my berry, and reading a book just doesn't do it for me. Now, I'll still read the book {usually} but I still prefer the movie {usually}. If I ever read a good book, I'm always envisioning the movie in my head, even if there's not one! That's what I should do...make movies of good books I've read, because let me tell you- they're all fabulous movies in my head! :)

Okay, anyways...Mom, Laren, & I went & saw Why Did I Get Married Too and I absolutely loved it!! I am not a fan of all of Tyler Perry's movies but the first Why Did I Get Married and now this one are definitely ones to watch, especially if you are in some sort of long-term relationship! I of course am not married, but could totally relate to a lot of things in both of the movies.

If you haven't seen/heard of Why Did I Get Married, here's the trailer for it:


& here's the trailer for the new one, Why Did I Get Married Too:


Now, you KNOW I went & saw Nicholas Sparks' new movie, The Last Song! {because of the immense hopeless romantic I am}. I am SO proud of myself. I have the book but have not read the book yet and knew I was going to see the movie. I did not flip to the back and read the last chapter. I did not Google the book to find out what the movie would be about. I did NOTHING this time. Why I ever do those things, I don't know. I am SO impatient! Anyways, I really liked the movie and I actually cried!! {It takes a lot for me to cry in a movie.} Now, we aren't talking rolling in the aisles bawling my eyes out, but two tears definitely rolled down my cheek. ;)

Next on my list is: Sex & the City 2 {duh!} & Letters to God...


It's by the one of the producers of Fireproof and Facing The Giants so I know it'll be worth watching!

Mmm....I think that's it for now. :)

My four day weekend comes to an end

I am sad to see this four day weekend go. Alex & I walked 4 miles one day & 5.8 the next! We were on a roll. Even Baby walked 5.6 miles! We were enjoying taking advantage of all this beautiful weather we've been having lately!

Saturday, Alex & I had lunch at Court Street Grille in Lincolnton with a great great friend of mine, Lindsey, her husband Rhine, & her niece, Taylor. :) It was SO much fun. Lindsey moved to the Wilmington area probably about a year ago and I have not seen her since!! :( Don't worry, we try not to miss our weekly {at least an} hour-long talks on the phone! :) I just love having TRUE friends that I can stay in touch with! I hate that all my best friends live hours away from me...but that's life! Hopefully it won't be like that forever!

Lindsey is a *MOMMY TO BE* and I can't WAIT to meet her baby!! I know she will be a fantastic mother!

On a different note, I was disappointed a bit by Easter this year, for more than one reason, but that didn't take away the fact that I was sincerely grateful to my Lord, Jesus Christ, for the sacrifice he made many years ago for me today. I can't imagine what it would have been like to physically witness the resurrection of Jesus--literally, I can't imagine. It's one of those "beyond my understanding" kind of things and I'm okay with that. Either way, I know He did it and I am proud to call Him MY SAVIOR! I know that even today, my redeemer is alive and living in me! Praise be to God!

On a more humorous note: PLEASE look at all this CANDY Mom gave me for Easter:

This picture was actually taken after my cousin Nicholas took a HUGE bag of Skittles out & ate them! Good grief! I love my Mom and her efforts but I really would gain 10 lbs. if I ate all this candy!! Her and her Easter basket DID introduce me to my two new favorite weaknesses:

and

Lindor white chocolate truffles & white chocolate Hershey's Bliss chocolates!! Thanks Mom!! :)

Now...if only I could get this paper written that's due on Wednesday, I'd be set!

my beautiful day

As most of you in North Carolina know, today was a BEAUTIFUL day! I am off Friday & Monday of "this week" for Easter & am loving the four-day weekend!!

Funny story: Alex has been working all week {gosh I'm so glad he's working now!} and I'd had the f-l-u :( so, needless to say...we were apart all week. :/ He had today off too {he is loving the idea of paid time off!} so he decided to come see me last night in Hickory. We went for a long walk around campus {it was gorgeous yesterday too!} & then got some Subway to go & ate dinner at my apartment while watching the Carolina game. Well, after dinner, Alex says to me, "Okay, you're done eating. Now go pack so we're not here all night." He knows it takes me for-ever to pack to go home for any length of time. Well, of course, five hours later, we left. Story of our lives. :)

So today I woke up to freshly cut strawberries sprinkled with sugar. Did I ever tell you that I LOVE coming home to Mawmaw & Pawpaw's?!?! :) After being lazy for a little, I went & picked Baby up from Mom's house & took her to "the farm" as I call it to her {which is really Alex's house} & spent the day there. He has a lot of land for her to run and play and cows in the back yard--hence why I call it "the farm." But anyways, he has a long trail to {I call} hike on and it's about a 2 mile walk to the barn & back. We took Baby with us and she had a BALL! After we came back, all three of us were wanting some water so we stopped by his house and dropped the dog off and then headed back for round two!

Trust me, this is no "walk on the track/treadmill" two mile walk. Baby definitely couldn't have handled round two! She was hilarious....as we were walking back to his house it wasn't until we got to Alex's neighbor's yard when she just quit walking and plopped down in the grass. I think that was her way of telling us she was DONE! :)

Then we washed my car & went to see his cousin's new baby, Charlotte! :) I love that name...makes me think of Sex & the City every time. Charlotte is my FAVORITE! Alex grilled salmon for dinner & it was de-lish :) After that I attempted to beat level 4 and/or 5 of Blip Bloink for an hour while he watched Smallville & was unsuccessful. MAN that game is intense!

I need to be working on getting to bed at a decent hour and all that fun in the sun today really helps! I called him around 10:30 and said I was going to bed!! I can't wait for tomorrow. :) I love spending time with "my babies".. ♥ :)