Moving Forward

A new year is coming upon us soon, and over the past few days I've taken time to reflect over the year 2012. I've also thought about what I would like 2013 to hold. I'm so excited for the new year, nothing better than a clean slate and starting absolutely fresh. Here is what I'm hoping 2013 holds for me

1. More pictures. 

I have totally failed in taking pictures. I wish I had more pictures of friends at events, doing silly things, and just every day life. I took plenty while on vacation, until my camera ya know died in the first two weeks.bummer. But I hardly took any during the fall semester, besides football games. So in 2013 here is to my camera being charge, and taking way more pictures to document all the wonderful things happening in life.

2. Having even more time with my friends. 

In 2012 I definitely spent more time with friends, and I want to continue this. This fall I made such a fun group of friends. We love going out together, and even staying in to play silly board games. There was even that one time I joined a flag football team. haha. This has added so much to my life and I look forward to continuing the good times we have been having. 

3. One beach trip.

Oh boy do I have summer on the brain. I love the heat. So I absolutely must make a beach trip happen this year. Sun, sand, ocean, & friends. Nothing can get any better. 

4. Celebrating.

I do love a good celebration party. And so much is going to be happening in 2013! From pretty much all of my friends graduating, kid you not I'll be attending ALL graduation ceremonies in the spring, to engagements. To birthdays, and friends going on to great great things after graduation. So much celebrating is about to take place next year and I'm so excited.

5. Working hard hard hard to that dream career.

Over the Christmas break I got to shadow pretty much what is close to my dream job. So now I'm motivated more than ever before to work for my dream career. 

2013 is sure to have its own bumps, but I know the ride will sure be worth it! 

So hang on, because I'm ready to make 2013 my year!!

2012 Recap

Oh boy was 2012 the year of major bumps. So much craziness has happened since January I'm still surprised I'm still standing. Lets look at some major highlights shall we?

January- went to Passion 2012

February- had a fun Valentines party with my friends.

May-June Got to fulfill my dream of studying abroad in London.

July- Taught some of the sweetest babies how to swim.

August- Traveled to Atlanta for the first game of season, and had my first Waffle House experience, and at 2 am no less.

September- played flag football with the most incredible group of friends. Clear eyes, full heart, can't loose.

October- the month full of fun. From being silly at football games, to my first race for the cure, to an internship with some inspiring kids. 

November- went out on a Monday night for the first time ever. And in return got to become chums with Greg Bates.

Can't forget I got to vote for the first time ever too!!

And then came December, when ya know I forgot to take pictures. But the month has been oh so much fun! From a fun work Christmas cruise, to a silly 90s Christmas party, to just going out with friends and getting to know new people. Life is just kicking up for me and I couldn't be in a happier place.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all! May your day be filled with laughter and family!

Monday Funday

Its almost hump day everyone, the weekend is getting closer!!

To kick off this week we had an all out Monday Funday kinda night. Greg Bates was playing at our local Tin Roof for FREE, so we decided to go check it out, and relax on a Monday night. 

The concert was small and intimate and oh so much fun! I met up with my girl sMb around 930 and we relaxed a bit at her beau's house before heading out. We managed to gather quite a posse, gotta love those roommates, the more the merrier! We had a great time dancing and singing along and I can't wait to Greg Bates returns to Knoxville. If you haven't heard any of his songs go listen to "I did it for the girl" right now!!

Best Monday funday yet!!

November Goals

November is upon us, and Thanksgiving is just days away! How time is flying by so fast this semester. I love setting up small manageable goals and I'm ready for the month of November. Lets see how I did for the month of October.

1. Contact RD at Children's Hospital

This unfolded so splendidly. When I had the intention of personally writing the RD myself, I actually networked and made a contact who formerly worked at Children's Hospital. This kind soul put in a reference for me, and I have now submitted my volunteer application to rock sweet NICU babies for the spring semester.

 

2. Contact a professor in research.

Check!

I submitted my application and resume to work in one of my favorite professors labs and will be starting research in January. I also get course credit for doing research so I'm really excited.

 

3. Finish Harry Potter #1.

Fail. I never even touched the book, except to put my ipad on top of it. Oops! Life is rolling too fast for reading, and honestly I'm not missing it that much. I enjoy filling my time reading other blogs, and informational posts than reading a book. Maybe over Christmas I'll pick up some books.

 

4. Do my daily devotional.

Pass/Fail

I started off so well, but then we go to the end of the study, and I missed weeks. Yeah, weeks. Oops!! But as of today I'm back on track. I've started getting my devotional sent to my email daily so I see it, and read it every morning.

 

5. Go to a pumpkin patch.

Fail. As time has it I never managed to go. With friends not having any interest (boo on you friends) I didn't want to go alone. I even failed at decorating my own pumpkin. Oh well, there's always next year!

 

Now for the month of November.

 

1. Daily Devotional.

2. Workout at least once a week.

{Starting small here}

3. Check three more people off my Christmas list.

4. Pray more often for friends, family, & our nation.

5. Make three new recipes.

 

Cheers to a new month, and celebrating the holidays!!

My tree is going up tonight, since I have limited time at school to enjoy it. 

Girls Weekend Getaway!

Finally, FRIDAY!!

I'm so happy for the weekend.

Although I've done absolutely nothing this pass week. Monday I had a HUGE exam, and well once that was over I've been re-watching The Hills on Netflix every single day. Don't judge, I have to start studying for finals next week. 

Anyways, last weekend my dear friend Jordan, my mother, & myself gallivanted off to Charlotte for a little girls weekend. We left on Saturday bright and early, waaaay before the sun was up. Rising so early demanded an iced coffee and biscuit from Micky Ds before hitting the road. We jammed the whole way with a seriously awesome playlist. Once we arrived we hit the mall. South Park mall in Charlotte has to be one of my absolute favorites. 

one of my new favorites from resort collection

After a day full of shopping we checked in to our hotel, quickly changed, and went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, my favorite! 

Then it was time to venture downtown, the whole reason for coming to Charlotte. We were headed to the Hunter Hayes & Carrie Underwood concert! We had so much fun.

It was really great to kick back, relax, and jam out to some great music! 

Lets just say after the concert I had some serious hair envy of Carrie.

On Sunday we took the day pretty easy. We enjoyed our extra hour of sleep before heading out for the day. We spent our morning in the Bass Pro shop, and then hopped over to IKEA. 

I can't leave Ikea without making a few purchases, its impossible.

Sadly we had to head home as I had to study and return back to school. 

Such a perfect weekend away.

Have a great weekend!

October Goals

For the month of October I'm going to set some mini goals for myself.

I once read a quote that successful people set goals for themselves. Usually lots of smalls ones that lead to a bigger thing that can be achieved. So here it goes!

1. Contact Children's hospital RD

The hardest step is the first in securing that dream internship

2. Contact a professor on research.

I've recently had a major epiphany that I want to work with children and mothers. Specifically mothers going through pregnancy and children 5 and under.

3. Finish reading the first Harry Potter. 

I started it back in August and haven't read since then. oops...

4. Remember to do my daily devotional every day!

I currently lead a small group and we are studying the book of James through Beth Moore's James: Mercy Triumphs. I always manage to finish the homework before every meeting, but I wish to be more consistent on every day studying the Word.

5. Go to a pumpkin patch.

I'm dying to go to a pumpkin patch, welcome the great pumpkin, and pick out the most perfect pumpkin to decorate.

What are some things you have been working on? I'm always looking for new ideas!

xoxo

Gamedays

We now officially have three game days under belt our belts here. No matter how the outcome of the game we still always manage to have fun! So this what the past few Saturdays have looked like for me!

some of the girls

 

being silly

love working together

Roomies!

Front row and endzone!

and the many Smokeys

This pass week we played Akron, which is our last game at home until Alabama :( But we had oh so much fun! Our tailgate was Mexican themed & oh boy was it deeelicious. We also tried to make some friends with our Romney stickers, some people didn't take to it too well, haha. Oh well! I can't wait for our next home game though, Vineyard Vines is stopping for their tour! Yay!

Step Back. . .

Sometimes, you need to just step back.

Go for a run.

Jam out to some upbeat music.

Light some candles.

Peruse your pinterest.

Take a hot shower.

Make some clarifying lists.

Snuggle in a large sweatshirt.

I may have done all of these today.

:)

Happy Tuesday!

Back on The Hill

Now that we've got the first three days of classes under our belts, I can say I've settled back here on the Hill Top. And oh the things I've been missing this summer!! For instance, going out for walks with my sweet friends. There is a great neighborhood not far from campus that has the best walking trail, not to mention the homes are gorgie!! I've missed my job here. I absolutely adore the people I work & interact with. They just make me smile continuously. Mexican food. Yep, better and more options for Mexican food now that I'm back!! And oh, a couple of goodies I've loved using!!

Talk about smoothing out your face! This stuff is just wonderful. Love love love it!!

This bad boy. I bought this a few weeks ago at my local Ulta and this has changed what I think about straightening my hair. I already have pretty straight hair plus its super thin. So I don't need something heavy duty as a thick headed person (although I'm jealous of you all). With the built in heat sensor and keratin, this actually smooths and softens my hair as I straighten! It's wonderful. And after a few weeks of use I wouldn't want to use anything else!

My new LU sweatshirt. Even though I don't go there, I still have to support my boy's school. Plus orange does not look good with my fair skin and lite hair. Just sayin'. The navy works much better, plus this thing is oh so comfy!!

Well happy Friday dear friends!! I'm off to tackle a small list before my next class. :)

No Back out Option

Well here I am, fall semester officially kicked off today & there is no turning back.

So this year I've piled my plate up high, to the point it was terrifying and daunting at first. But after going to my classes today, and spending some time in the word I think I'll be okay. Here's my crazy line up for the fall semester

• 14 hours.. this is the easy part
• Women's ministry & college girls go between
• Community group leader
• Lifeguarding at the YMCA {my fave!!}
• Interning at the Boys & Girls club 3-4 days a week
• Hospitality leader at church

Yeah, terrifying. But I think I'm going to be a-okay. Cause here's the thing, I have no back out option. For the past three years of college I've enjoyed having a back out option, I didn't have that in high school. I was always 110% committed to everything, sports, band, academics, you name it! But somewhere along the way, I didn't want to be tied down to anything in college. I enjoyed having freedom to workout, watch movies, and doing homework on MY time instead of shuffling from one thing to another. But now I know its time to get real. Time to prepare for the big girl world. Because you see, I'll be graduating in 2 years and then its on to bigger and way better things. So here's to a year with no backing out. To smiling and NOT complaining. Being there for my friends, and myself. I'm so excited about this and don't know why it took me so long to realize what I was doing. But hello fall semester, I am here and ready!!

Cuteness Alert

Check out this oh so adorable scrunched up face. How could you not love it?!?!

Now go on over to Cute Roulette to watch more precious furbabies.

Its OK..Thursday!

So, thought I'd do the little link up this week...

Its ok...That I'm writing a Thursday post with only a little over an hour left in the day

Its ok..that my beau & I use the share screen feature on skype so we can watch a movie rental together..tonight were watching LOL. yes the Miley Cyrus movie. :) (my man is so sweet for renting this for me)

Its ok.. that speaking of my man, he'll be in TEN days!!

Its ok.. I'm sorta ready for fall, only because I love trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Its ok.. that tomorrow is Friday & its payday..REALLY okay with that

And lastly, its ok.. that I'm terrible at making popcorn. I can't always seem to get the majority of kernels to pop without over popping. 

Happy Thursday night readers!!

Mexican Night

Happy Tuesday!!

Last night Mom and I were in a very Mexican mood for dinner. We originally were going to head to a great place here in town, but weren't hungry while we were out shopping. And since we needed to pick up some ingredients at the grocery store we decided to make our own enchiladas!

I was so excited as I''ve had a pinterest recipe pinned for a year now.

Here is the recipe I tried.

And my finished product. :)

We also made some queso blanco and Mexican rice to go with. 

Ay yay yay!!

Birthday

Happy Monday!!

Things never seem to be slowing down around here and now its already been a week since my birthday. 

I won't bore you with a recap of my birthday but just some pictures from the weekend. 

the people at the restaurant added candles for me

one of my favorite homes on the battery

all dressed up with a bow!

A Starbucks bike

so relaxing

best omelet I've ever had at Toast

isn't this the most darling dressing room?!

 Cheers to a happy Monday readers!!

xoxo

Fruit of the Spirit

 

Happy Sunday!!! :)

26

Easter '12

I'm jumping for JOY!!

WHY?!

Because that smiling face is coming home in 26 days.

Now a little bit of background for the #26.

It happens to be my FAVORITE number.

For one, we started dating August 26, 2007.

Yup best day of my life, thus far.

I can NOT wait to see him.

So far its been 2 looooong months since I've seen him.

Last saw that cutie on May 12 ..

before departing to London

so sad.

But when he comes home we will have approx. FIVE glorious days together to fill up 

with summer fun before going separately (le sigh) back to our schools.

But meanwhile I'm becoming so stinkin' excited to see him!!

last summers July 4