Tired

Man, I am about as worn out as a lady can get today. I have had trouble falling asleep the past few nights and I think it's finally catching up with me. I'm so not in college anymore.

Speaking of college, I can't believe it's been almost an entire year since I graduated. That is totally nuts! A year went by so fast. This time last year I was doing about 101 things at once and living off Diet Coke and Cheddar Chex Mix as I was finishing up my thesis, studying for exams, doing presentations, and squeezing in last minutes of tomfoolery.

Enough on that, this child needs to get to bed.

Day Ten:

1. That my mom and my house are ok even though Myrtle Beach has apparently gone up in flames.
2. The Office--it makes me laugh.
3. That tomorrow is Friday. I'm just tired and need to get some sleep.
4. Motivation
5. That I have actually stuck with my commitment in these posts and not let my laziness or sleepiness get in the way.
   

I guess they like me...

...or if not...i am getting very mixed signals ;)

Today was Administrative Professionals Appreciation Day and I had no clue.

So I pull up to the Y this morning and I notice something weird is on my office window. My first thought was "What did after school do to my office?" (Sorry FGT). But when I walked inside I was overwhelmed with a display of streamers, balloons, flowers, and all sorts of goodies :) The directors had decorated my office just for the occasion! It was totally a surprise and it just made my heart happy. They are too good to me, seriously. It 's always encouraging to hear that you are doing a good job and that you are contributing to the team, but in all honestly, I have been more than supported in my job and I know that is a HUGE factor in why I am able to get things done.

This is as I walked in the door....

...and this is my desk (check out the fancy streamer job)

See what I mean, spoiled!Handcrafted my Meredith Cox herself. "It's green, because you like green" :)

I wonder who might have been the creator of this work of art?

And of course, the BEAUTIFUL flowers. So pretty I had to go home and take pictures :)

Day Nine:

1. I think it goes without saying, the opportunity to have the job I do and work with the people that I do and all the kindness they bestow on me.
2. That the state licensing people were not scary or mean and were willing to help me understand what I need to do to meet compliance.
3. Classic Rock-n-Roll music and the boogie woogie piano.
4. That I am going to the Pickle Festival with my bff on Saturday.
5. That the best costume I saw today was put together by a little girl and her daddy :)
   

The written word

I will take the written word over the spoken word any day-- for a couple reasons.

One, I am a much better writer than I am a speaker. I can look over something I have written and give myself a pat on the back; but if I have to watch myself speaking publicly or hear myself recorded, I want to cringe and back into a corner. And while I can eloquently present something to a group if I want (usually after writing everything out) and there are times when I know the Lord gives me the words to carry on good conversations, on the whole, I wouldn't say expressing myself verbally is a strong suit.

Second, I love the tangibility of the written word. You can have a good conversation with someone, and you might remember a significant phrase verbatim or you can recall the gist of what they were saying, but if you receive a really good letter, that's yours to keep and you can revisit it whenever you want. That's what is so amazing about Scripture; it is a letter from God that we can just read over and over again until the binding gets tattered or we've written all over the page or whatever :) It's a tangible tool from God.

Also, I like to be cautious with the words that I say and I get frustrated when I don't feel like I have adequately communicated what I want to say, so the written word allows me to get everything out the way I want it to be without getting sidetracked.

Now, I am by no means undermining the importance of face to face contact or the necessity of verbal communication, I just know what I like better. And I think the Lord has given me a gift and a passion for writing, and lately I feel like He has been calling me to use it to encourage others. I think that is part of why I have been so excited about blogging more consistently this past week or so--I like writing for an audience (even if it is a small one), especially if it's something I think the Lord can use to encourage them. So, I hope that is what this blog is doing. Yes, the challenge has been good for me personally, but I want it to reach further than my own growth and walk with the Lord.

Day Eight:

1. My Summit small group. I have been really blessed to get plugged in with such a great group of ladies and I am excited and hopeful that the Lord will continue to grow our group and our relationships.
2. That today half of my day consisted of playing on a playground with kids.
3. That all those years of watching professional wrestling paid off by having something "cool" to talk about with a 5th grade boy
4. For the Chic-fil-A on Six Forks...Obviously I love their food and their sweet tea (and I probably eat there more than I should), but I am thankful for the staff who work there and for their having such a great environment. I spend many a lunch break there and I feel quite welcome to sit and read or write while I'm eating my kids meal :) The people watching is great too.
5. That my friends Brandon and Ansley are pregnant. I CANNOT WAIT to see their baby girl.
   

Self Control

Overall, I would say I exhibit a pretty good measure of self-control in my life, and I think people who know me would say the same. I don't usually let my emotions get the best of me, I can hold my tongue (usually), I can wait for something I want to go on sale, I understand and chose to live in a way that I feel glorifies to Lord, even if it means on missing out on something in the here and now. BUT one area where I exhibit significantly less self-control is when I crave something specific to eat. And mind you, these cravings can be absurd and strange combinations (corn on the cob and donut holes; milkshakes and burritos for example). I don't mean it in a gluttonous way, or as in I just eat whatever (if that was the case my butt would be on The Biggest Loser), but it's like once I get my mind set on something specific, nothing else just quite satisfies.

It's this very craving-driven determiniation that binds my friend Katie and I together. I can always count on her not only sympathizing with but partaking in the strange quests for whatever we happen to be craving at the time. Perhaps one of our first bonding moments was sometime, I guess freshman year, when I came into her room proclaiming "OMG I need a cheeseburger!!" and we immediately had to go to Jack in the Box :)

I tell that story for two reasons.

One, I got it in my head last night that I really wanted chili cheese fries and thus I made a trip to the grocery store after work (and working out) to get all the ingredients, and I thus enjoyed a wonderful dinner.

Second, I have to laugh at myself for the reality of how single-mindedly focused I can be sometimes on such silly (and maybe some not so silly) things, not just random cravings, but a lot of other little fixations in my life. If I would just take half the time I spend planning for or thinking about those things and direct that craving and driveness towards pursuing Christ, imagine the doors He could open and the things He could do through me. Jesus is better than a burrito flavored cheeseburger with a side of donut holes and a milkshake to drink, and He deserves Lordship over my entire life as silly and ridiculous as I may be.

Something JD said in his sermon yesterday was, "If Jesus is not Lord of all of your life, then He's not Lord at all." Heavy. Perhaps I went around my elbow to get to my butt to get to this point, but why is it that I am so willing to submit my will in some areas and so unwilling in others?

Ahh, the things the Lord can reveal through chili fries :)

Day Seven:

1. BIG hugs from little children I haven't seen in twelve weeks :)
2. That my mom loves to send things in the mail
3. When rainy mornings end up in beautiful afternoons
4. That I get to share in the excitement and joy of the upcoming weddings of some of my dear friends
5. That the Lord likes to give me "projects" when I'm trying to fall asleep
   

Do the Freddie

One of the things that I love most about being out of college is that weekends are actually weekends. In school, Sundays were very rarely a day of rest. Sure we would take a long, leisurely lunch after church and sometimes we would make a trip to the lake, but ultimately Sunday's were bogged down with wrapping up (or starting) all the work I had put off until then and meetings for various things. So, it's nice to have that real separation of work and rest and to enjoy relaxing.

And even though today might have been a relaxing day, I accomplished plenty of worthwhile things. I went to church and JD preached a sermon that I still need to do some unpacking and reflecting on because it was pretty heavy (there will probably be more on it, once I've got my thoughts together). When I got home I made a delicious small stack of banana and chocolate chip pancakes and took parenting notes from the Duggers :) Their total lack of television watching naturally inspired me to reminisce about all of the things that I most enjoyed watching on TV as a child, which resulted in watching Troop Beverly Hills and a variety of clips on YouTube (where would we be without YouTube?). Lastly but definitely not least, I created a Pandora station for Freddie and the Dreamers, the creators of this little gem. It's the little things friend :)

Day Six:

1. The diversity in the choir at church. Black, white, young, old--a little bit of everyone represented and it's a little glimpse into what heaven will be like.
2. Color--life would be so boring without it.
3. That we always seemed to have music on when we were kids.
4. For my dear friend Katie Simmons and her reminding me about our Eat-vangelism seminar...those were the days :)
5. Reopened doors of communication with family members I haven't talked to in years.
   

Summer will be here soon enough

I love warm, sunshiney spring days like today because they allow us to enjoy a sense of carefree-ness and relaxation often associated with summer amidst the business of wrapping up the end of another school year and whatnot. Plus, in the spring the sunshine is still new and exciting after the winter and people aren't quite ready to complain about the heat, sweat and humidity :)

On a day like today I do miss being at Winthrop simply because it would have been an absolutely perfect day for sitting by the lake and reading a good book with friends, and I quite miss the tulips all over campus. Oh how I love tulips.

Today was a perfectly lovely day in Raleigh however. It was a wonderful day for driving with the sunroof open and the tunes cranking, and fortunately for me I had a reason to drive out to Wendell for a cookout with some track out folks. Burgers, baby, potatoes guns, and passing on the punching food game. Good day.

Day Five:

1. The crickets chirrping outside my window
2. Getting to hold and play with a beautiful baby boy today
3. Homemade pizza
4. Freshly painted fingers and toes :)
5. The Moody's hospitality in letting us come over and enjoy time together
   

Friday--Day Four

The past two days have been blessed with good conversation. I will admit that initiating and carrying on conversations is not always my strength, but I love to see when the Lord really allows conversations to flow freely, whether it's in the form of encouraging, teaching, or just catching up with a friend. It's nice.

I felt like I accomplished a lot today (even if I didn't get everything done that I wanted to), and that is a good feeling to be able to check things off of a list and see things slowly coming together. And while this track has not been bad by any means and I have seen a great deal of growth in our team, I am glad to see it go and for a new group of kids to come in on Monday. It will just be nice for things to settle down for a bit.

I was able to share some ideas for Camp Rock tonight with some friends and I just get more excited each time I start brainstorming and trying to plan things out. I haven't really "done" anything yet, but I truly believe the Lord is going to bless this camp this summer and I'm anxious to see what that will look like.

Day Four

1. SUNSHINE and Flip Flops :)
2. Seeing growth and improvement in some of our kids from the start of the track to the end
3. Having dinner with Jordan and Lukas
4. For excitement about the summer
5. Thinking about middle school and how thankful I am to have grown up since then
   

I suck at going to bed at a decent hour

Today was an eventful day at Track Out. I go on my lunch break at 11:30 and I come back and I see one of our campers being carried out to her car (rolled ankle--don't get too worried) and my co-worker filling out not one but TWO incident reports. It was a year round early release day, so between 11:30 and 12:45 we had extra children show up and all of the normal directors were off at their after school sites, and I had more than one child visit my office for a variety of issues ranging from being tired, to needing a break, to not listening, to having ripped an impressive and quite large hole in his/her pants. Not to mention the normal day to day tasks of getting bus rosters ready and fielding phone calls and whatnot. I wouldn't put it down as a bad day, just eventful. Oh, then at around 3:40 I realized I had a credit card log due at 3 that I completely had in my head was due tomorrow and I had not even started on it! Yay!

Despite the craziness of the day, I came home completely satisfied with it. It's one of those nights where it just all the sudden became much later than I thought and I'm not particularly tired and I am just sort of in the mood to socialize (I'm sure I will feel it in the morning--oh well). Needless to say, today is a day that I am thankful for, partially due to the following things:

Day Three

1. Compliments from friends about something small that you wouldn't expect them to notice.
2. A night full of multiple good conversations with both co-workers and roommates and thusly the bonding/relationship development that goes with it
3. An opportunity to build up someone else
4. A gospel song that definitely had a hook from "Beat It" (yes, the Michael Jackson song) in it
5. A day without TV
   

I Win

I like to make up games. Usually they are games I play with myself just for a chuckle and sometimes I invite others to join. Some of my favorite are: Guess What Someone is Going to Order from a Restaurant (are they a burger person? chicken person? Lemon or no lemon in their tea?), If You Had a Theme Song That Would Play Every Time You Entered a Room What Would It Be? (Bootylicious, hands down); and If Money Was Not on Issue, What Luxuries Would You Pay For?(someone to stretch me out daily). This is what I do with my time and today---I won. I actually got one of the things from my game to happen.

I have recently signed up for Personal Training with one of the trainers at the Y. And while I am not the least physically fit person around, I could use some shaping up and getting into a good routine, so I thought this would be good motivation. For a first session I think it went pretty well. We did mostly weights and while I'm not paralyzed from muscle soreness, I have a nice little post-workout burn. So after hopping on machine after machine working all the different muscles, my trainer was like, "Lay down on the mat so I can stretch you out." It was glorious. Totally worth the work.

Five Things I am Thankful For Today:

1. The five little girls who were dressed in head to toe cheetah attire, who crawled around the floor and for the little boy who "hunted" them.
2. Warm showers for sore muscles :)
3. A gradually recovering immune system
   
4. Chocolate chip pancakes for dinner
5. The song "Video" by India.Arie
   

An afterthought about thankfulness

After I posted my entry last night, I was thinking about how I need to make a concerted effort to be more aware of the blessings in my life--that if I want to live Easter everyday, that I need to find the reasons to rejoice everyday, something that I don't always do.

So, I decided to give myself a personal challenge in being more aware and thankful for things in my life. I am hoping that if I set an actual goal for myself, and commit to updating it on here, that I might actually go through with one of my many plans to step up my walk with the Lord rather than letting it fall to the side and sit there.

The challenge is this...for the next 30 days I will post five specific things that I am thankful for and I am not allowed to say anything more than once. If I can't find at least five new things a day to be thankful for, I have bigger issues.

So there it is and here it goes.

Day One:

1. People who are willing to be honest.
2. The little boy who waved goodbye to me at the Y even though he doesn't know me.
   
3. Kids who get really into the games that I make up.
4. That I am able to live with my best friend.
5. The fact that I get to think up a safari outfit to wear to work tomorrow :)
   

"So long you wages of sin, so long don't you come back again"

I know that it probably makes me a little bit of a traitor to America to say this...but Easter is my favorite holiday.

Now don't get me wrong, I like Christmas alright (even if I might come off as the Christmas movie/music nazi prior to Thanksgiving), the festivities are fun, people are cheery, it is perfectly acceptable to watch Love Actually and Elf multiple times, and Jesus was born, so it's important, but Easter is amazing. It is the single, history altering event upon which my entire faith is based! Everyone is born (and I don't mean that to say Jesus' birth wasn't extraordinary) but NOT everyone comes back from the dead. I'm all about a good celebration, and there is nothing more worthy of a blow out celebration than the resurrection. I kind of hate that it doesn't get more attention and that it doesn't get celebrated as it should (and similarly a little disappointed the Easter service I went to was a little drab).

One thing I really like about the Catholic tradition (and some other churches as well) is the season of Lent prior to Easter (and I don't just mean giving up chocolate as a spiritual way of dieting to look good for the summer), but really giving up and giving something to really remind you of and pull you to the cross. We should prepare for Easter and take the time to think about what Jesus' death really was and really means. Easter isn't just a one day thing, it's the reality of our life in Christ. I could use more practice in remembering this.

I'll admit, I have a pretty active imagination when I think about what it will be like when Jesus comes back (usually involving Jesus strutting in with his posse and throwing punches at the bad guys) and to think about what the scene was like when Jesus kicked back that stone and said "Boo-yah Death!" is almost too much, but as I was driving home on Easter, I pulled up an old favorite on the pod and it captures it perfectly.

High Noon by Andrew Peterson

High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the deep of the valley was bright
When the mouth of the tomb shouted,
"Glory, the groom is alive"
So long, you wages of sin go on,
Don't you come back again
I've been raised and redeemed;
You've lost all your sting
To the victor of the battle at
High noon in the valley
In the valley of the shadow

And the demons, they danced in the darkness
When that last ragged breath left his lungs
And they reveled and howled
At the war that they thought they had won

But then, in the dark of the grave
The stone rolled away
In the still of the dawn on the greatest of days

High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the shadows were shot through with light
When Jesus took in that breath
And shattered all death with his life
Be gone, you wages of sin
Go on, don't you come back again
I've been raised and redeemed
You've lost all your sting
To the victor of the battle
High noon in the valley of the shadow

Let the people rejoice
Let the heavens resound
Let the name of Jesus, who sought us
And freed us forever ring out

All praise to the fighter of the night
Who rides on the light
Whose gun is the grace of the God of the sky

High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the shadows were shot through with light
When the mouth of the tomb
Shouted, "Glory, the Groom is alive"
Be gone, you wages of sin
Go on, don't you come back again
I've been raised and redeemed
All praise to the king
The victor of the battle
High noon in the valley
In the valley of the shadow

Happy Easter.

Sometimes God answers prayers with the ipod shuffle

For the Moments I Feel Faint--Relient K

Am I at the point of no improvement?
What of the death I still dwell in?
I try to excel, but I feel no movement.
Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?

[Chorus:]
Never underestimate my Jesus.
You're telling me that there's no hope.
I'm telling you you're wrong.

Never underestimate my Jesus
When the world around you crumbles
He will be strong, He will be strong

I throw up my hands
"Oh, the impossibilities"
Frustrated and tired
Where do I go from here?
Now I'm searching for the confidence I've lost so willingly
Overcoming these obstacles is overcoming my fear

[Chorus]

I think I can't, I think I can't
But I think you can, I think you can
I think I can't, I think I can't
But I think you can, I think you can
Gather my insufficiencies and
place them in your hands, place them in your hands, place them in your hands

This song echoed the very cry of my heart tonight as I was talking to the Lord. God is good. He watches out for His children.

Sabotage (Part 1)--Fear of Man

A lot of nights, the last moments before I go to sleep are stressful (rather than restful) because my brain won't shut off and my mind runs in about thousand different directions. I normally try to pray during this time, to bring peace to my head (and heart), but some nights I just can't make it slow down.

I feel like this time very vulnerable because as the rest of my body is shutting off and I am confined to my bed and the darkness with just my brain left to wander, and I think it is the prime time for either God to reveal things or for the devil to plant things, raise questions, and bring forth emotions that I otherwise wouldn't give much thought to.

Last night was one of these nights and I could practically feel anxiety rising up in my chest. I was all over the place -- What do I really want to do with my life? I think I want to really get into community development and outreach. I think I want to work with girls and women. But what about always wanting to work with kids? I should go to grad school. I think I want to go for counseling. I really want a vacation. Friday at work was chaos. Hawaii sounds great. I really wish I felt like I was growing in my faith. I miss my friends from college. I hate when I feel like I've failed. Will I get married? Why do I care if I do? I'm not ready to get married. Why am I even thinking about this? I need to find more satisfaction in my walk with the Lord. I'm hungry. I have to wake up early and I can't fall asleep. I wish I had some music on but I'm too tired to get up. I think I want a new ipod. How early do I need to wake up so I can get to church on time?....and so on.

Needless to say, I was getting frustrated because I really just wanted to fall asleep. But the Lord really responded to that time of mental attack last night because this morning at church JD started a new series called Sabotage, and it is going to address the different things in our life that keep us from being who we really want to be. Which right off the bat really resonated with me because I feel like I always have this desire to grow and change but it doesn't seem to ever come to fruition.

The series is going to be going through the book of Proverbs and the first sabotage JD address was the Fear of Man. And throughout his sermon he managed to hit on just about every issue that was running through my mind.

God is good.

" Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe."
Proverbs 29:25

In order to really understand this particular threat in our lives, we have to understand what is really means, and as JD pointed out, in this instance the word "fear" is not referring to being afraid of something but rather "adding weight to" something. Just like we talk about fear of the Lord as having a respect and a sense of awe for God, we are adding weight to his opinion. When we fear man, we are giving value to the opinion of man. Our concern with man's perception of us rather than God's can stifle a life in so many ways.

But how do we know if we have a fear of man? JD provided a good list of questions that I wanted to share because I realized I answered "yes" to a lot of them and it makes sense why I have a lot of the anxieties that I do. I am hoping this will be a good jumping off point for growing closer to the person the Lord wants me to become, and I hope it is helpful for you as well.

• Do you have the need to self promote, name drop, and bring up your accomplishments?
• Is social rejection among your most painful childhood memories?
• Is the thought of social rejection still a fear?
• Was peer pressure a big influence in your life?
• Does the thought of failure mortify you?
• Are you always competing with others?
• Do you love thinking about what people think of you?
• Are you easily embarrassed or really shy?
• Do you have to be the center of attention?
• Do you fear exposure?
• Does what people say or do towards you affect your self-esteem?
• Do you generally avoid people as to not get too close or hurt?
• Do you have a problem lying (especially little white lies)?
  
• Are you constantly over-committed?
• Do you have trouble disagree who you perceive as important or in power?
• Do you second guess your decisions?
• Do you pride yourself on not caring what people think?
• Does exposure of your generosity motivate you to give more?
• Do you fear being single?
• Why do you diet?
• Have you been been too intimidated to share your faith?

To be perfectly honest, I answered yes much more often than I answered no, which doesn't suprise me. I have known for a long time that I am a people pleaser and a perfectionist, but it did raise my awareness of the real root of the issue--I am giving people more weight than I am giving God and I am not fully embracing or aware of God's true stance towards me. He loves me. He loves you. And that love is neverending. I long for satisfaction in Jesus, and God promises that trusting in him is a safety and a guard for my heart. I need to learn to trust God more.

...And I have to admit my eyes teared up just a little

This past weekend, a (almost) lifelong dream of mine came true (although the couple next to me said I am too young to have wanted it "for a long time" pshh)...

I FREAKING SAW BILLY JOEL LIVE!!!

I think just about anyone who knows me knows that I love Billy Joel. It's a love affair that started young and that has stuck with me all my life. I have wanted to see him live for a long time, and finally I can check that one off the life's to-d0 list (although hopefully I will check it multiple times). As cheesy as it sounds, I don't have enough words to explain just how exciting the whole show was.

The arena was just full with excitement. People (of all ages) just absorbed in a world of music put on by two of music's legends (oh, Elton John was there too). And while part of me wanted to be right up there front dancing along and screaming my heart out, another part of me really just wanted to sit and watch in disbelief that it was real. It was so fun. And

as if I needed more reasons to love Billy Joel, he is entirely silly, which makes me so happy. I would like for him to know Jesus so we can hang out in heaven.

Steady Friends

Almost daily I discover things about myself that indicate that there is a good chance I was born in the wrong generation. Whether it's music and movie tastes, fashion choices, or phrases that I think should make a come back, I sometimes just have to chuckle at myself when I stumble upon these little quirks in my personality.

For example, I really like the phrase "going steady" in reference to when people are dating pretty seriously. The term definitely doesn't get used by anyone in my generation, but I just think it's fun. This past summer I was sharing this tid-bit of information with Jenn in the office at camp and we decided that we would start "going steady" as friends. Obviously, Jordan and Ms. Jacque had to be steady friends too, and thus we started our our steady friends group :)

Well, this weekend we celebrated the birth of perhaps the classiest of the steady friends, Ms. Jacque, with a day full of distraction and deception as Jenn, Jordan and I had the job of entertaining Ms. Jacque while her husband got the house ready for her surprise birthday party. It was amazing. I'm so thankful for such wonderful ladies in my life.

What I Do With My Free Time

When my roommates are lounging around in the evening...they watch shows like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. You know, shows that, while catering to the 55+ club, at least offer some form of intellectual stimulation.

What do I watch in the evenings? Not just re-runs of all three episodes of the current season of The Real World: Brooklyn, but the web exclusive daily clips--one right after the other. That or episodes of Bug Juice on Youtube. I'm sorry but you can't watch this and not crack up. What can I say, people fascinate me, and this season's cast has got me hooked like I haven't been since Back to New York.

"Remember the time we realized 'Thriller' was our favorite song?"

Sigh.

I do believe that there will always be a part of me that is attracted to tattooed and pierced punk rock guys (which i think usually surprises people, although i don't think it should). And similarly, I think there will always be a teenage version of myself wanting to be the girl in the punk rock songs those tattooed and pierced boys sing.

all of that to let you know that i have recently decided to revisit some bands that i used to listen to (like MxPx and Blink-182) and the truth is, i still love them. and i figure that if i loved them when i was 12, and i love them when i am 22, i am pretty confident that i will be an 80 year old woman who still loves them...

and that makes me happy.

and also makes me wonder what my kids will turn out like when their musical influences growing up will be billy joel and new found glory :)

and just for fun, here is another tattooed man that i love--although he is not a punk rocker.

poem

I don't think I have written a poem since like 8th grade when I had to create a poetry anthology for an English project, but for some reason, this came to me as I was trying to go to sleep Sunday night, so I thought I would do something with it.

Good Try Baltimore...

...but you just couldn't pull it out.

So pull out your Terrible Towels everybody because THE STEELERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!

08/09

So, the time of year has come when one is compelled to reflect on the previous year and make lofty goals for the new year. As I am one to willingly give into compulsions, I will do just that in this post.

In the year 2008 I (in no particular order):

• Prayed in the New Year and danced the night away afterwards
  
• Kicked off my last semester at Winthrop
• Was part of an amazing Bible study
• Developed a fascination with prenatal development
• Wrote a thesis
• Presented research
• Ate tacos every Tuesday with Charlotte
• Lived off of Diet Coke and Cheddar Chex mix for several weeks
• Saw the full moon rise out of the ocean :)
  
• Laughed a lot
• Experienced my first pedicure
  
• Saw lots of friends get engaged and others get married
  
• Graduated with a 4.0
• said a lot of goodbyes
• worked my last summer at Rockfish
• Kayaked in the Pacific ocean
• lived on an island for a week
• cried a lot
• Got a car
  
• Go-karted in a dress and pearls
• Finally got to go to The Melting Pot
  
• Saw Moving Out
• Saw The Rockettes in NYC
• Watched 4 entire seasons of 4 separate reality TV shows
• Moved in Raleigh
• Got a job
• Got a promotion
• Went to my first state fair
  
• Painted my fingernails black
• Chopped off my hair
• Ran for homecoming queen
• Made it to the final three
• Bought a new camera
• Started reading for fun
  
• Dabbled in bellydancing
• Bought an amazing pair of tennis shoes
• Watched a lot of movies

In 2009 I will:

• See Billy Joel and Elton John LIVE!!!
• Road trip to Birmingham to see Wicked!
• Put forth more effort to cook
  
• Make a noble attempt to work out regularly
• Find a church to get plugged into
• Take a stab at budgeting my money
• UPDATE: Finally submit an audition tape for The Real World.
  

Feel free to add to either list as you see fit.