My Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve, I am home researching my favorite subject. 

Europe

I have been constantly studying, planning, and dreaming of the places I will see since I was a child. And in just a few months, I plan to be in Europe armed with my trusty Rick Steve's guidebook, an obsessive love of ancient history, and a romanticized ideal of European culture (along with a quite depleted savings account.) 

Have I set myself for disappointment?  I am sure there will be some along the way, but still I cannot wait until I am standing before the Colesseum, strolling down the Champs-Elysees, or gliding along the Grand Canal.  There will be tons of photos and fun stories, but nothing will match the feeling of accomplishment and memories I will have when this finally happens.

Stay Tuned...

random is quite right

Thanksgiving break has barely begun and I am already stir crazy.  This could be bad especially for my wallet... But on the good side, I now have the newest Taylor Swift album, as well as a couple of other random singles, and a bio about Marie Antoinette. Happiness.  Random is so lovely - sitting here the last few hours have made me think about a lot of stuff, and I just had to share a few. Hopefully they will entertain you as much as they do me.

• I wish we still spoke like they did in Jane Austen's time. It sounds so much more elegant.
• The ridiculous Bieber "oh baby" song get stucks in my head every time I hear it, and that is awful. 
• NKOTB/BSB going on tour together makes me revert to 16. I will be seeing this if they will come to Texas.
• Some people are "book smart but street stupid" and that drives me insane sometimes.  
• I still raise my hand when I have something to say.
• Men should not weather sparkly pants. NEVER EVER.
• I can read "the Illuminati" 1343 times and never get sick of it. It's not even relevant but I still enjoy it.
• Modern Family is the only thing mine and Rachel's sense of humor can agree on. (Shy Ronnie vs Iran So Far.)
• I will not let my love is not influenced by a DJ.
• October is automatically boot and legging season, no matter the weather, deal with it.
• Veins in a chicken make me want to be a vegetarian.
• I am the best gee ever. 

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Go Big Blue!

 

Someone asked me the other day, 

"Ten years ago, could you imagine yourself as a cheer sponsor working in Athletics?"                             

My answer, "Nooo!" 

But regardless... I am working in an athletic department and I am the cheer sponsor.  And I love it. Absolutely LOVE it.  

One of my first duties as cheer sponsor was to plan a Pee Wee Clinic for girls from 4K - 4th grade.  (Total signed up = 50!)  We had a two hour clinic with all of the Middle and Upper School cheerleaders (almost 30 of them.) After a week delay due to rain, we had a pee wee performance at halftime last night.  Almost 80 cheerleaders, their parents, plus 40 pee wee football players, made for an INSANELY fun halftime show.  We survived, they were adorable, and I think it was a huge success.  I have to say I am pretty proud of myself. 

Life

Life is just insane right now. Hence the lameness of my blog as of late.

Perhaps after this week of insanity passes I can find fun things to share... Such as stories of survival of Pee Wee Clinics and my first pep rally as Cheer Sponsor.

Sooo now to sleep and more insanity tomorrow!

Building Cities in the Leaves

"It is almost fall. It is almost fall." If I keep saying it, it will be here soon.

I love fall for many reasons...
cool weather,
pretty leaves,
football season,
and my BIRTHDAY (October 14!!!)

I realized today that August is almost over and around the corner autumn waits patiently for its turn.  I am sure anyone living around Texas this time of year must be as happy about cooler weather as me.  With fall comes a fun memory. 

Soooo I have 7 siblings-four brothers, three sisters. Growing up was a blast, even now is a blast.  Our family get togethers are pure insane bundles of energy and noise.  Part of growing up was entertaining ourselves and with 8 kids under the age of 18 under 1 roof, we grew up playing outside-Obviously.  Every once in awhile my parents will ask us random questions, and recently Dad asked me, "What was your favorite memory growing up?"  I have an instant answer, and it turns out that most of my siblings share the same one...
(Sadly it is not dressing Joel and Jere up in jewelry and make up-if only I could find those pictures)

The favored memory for us... building cities in the leaves.

We lived in our "blue house" which had a massive back yard perfect for a herd of children with imaginations running wild.  We designed intricate cities, houses, rooms, and streets out of leaves and dirt with rakes and shovels.  In these make believe places, we rode our bikes, pulled our wagons, and played for hours. 

I, honestly, cannot remember details of what we did for those hours upon hours, but I do remember spending forever on bikes riding around the "streets" visiting other "houses".  I am sure with my brothers hilarious sense of humor and imaginative storytelling, we must have had some hysterical stories and laughter.

So for me, seeing that fall is almost here, once I see the leaves start changing, this will be the thing that continues to come to mind. I cannot wait to run kick a pile of leaves and remember the fun times in the cities with my family.

Summer is Over

I LOVE my job, but knowing the school year is starting back is y u c k! I finished up the summer the best way possible... pack in as much stuff as possible to have a blast.
I got my hair done, dinner with my work bff, girls night out at a Cowboys Preseason game, Dallas and Denton with the fam, and a tea with cheerleaders and their moms.  Talk about a seriously hectic long weekend but I had so much fun.

we had killer seats.

Me and my newly graduated bro!

Hannah and I

Me, Jenny, and Debra at the game

me and my presh nephew

Who Ya Gonna Call

I have always thought I do not believe in ghostly things, or at least I should say I haven't ever had any encounters to make me think about them.  My sis, Beks, is pretty hardcore into ghostly shows and the like, so she is the closest thing I have to an expert. I usually get too freaked out (overactive imagination) to handle even the tamest of ghost shows and stories... give me zombies, vampires, or gory war movies any day over ghosts.

So I was recently asked to house sit for a couple of months.  It's a super nice place, but is a pretty huge spread.  So from the first nights I was here, strange stuff kept happening.   I would hear voices around the house-sometimes multiple people having conversations, other times just a man's voice.  At first I thought it was the computer in the office having issues with pop-up ads or something, so I muted the sound.  This seemed to help, but then the voices came back! Most of the time it's just a loud booming man's voice, but sometimes he brings friends. 

Before you say "This is just your overactive imagination", other people have experienced the stuff I am talking about while they have been at the house so I have witnesses.


Other random strange things that happen, and they sometimes happen at the same time with the voices.

• Doors opening and shutting-plus knocking on doors.
• Shower turns itself off, on multiple occasions.
• Sinks turning on and off, over and over.
• Internal intercom systems makes clicking buzzing sounds (even though its off!)
• Lights turning on and off in different parts of the house.

Don't get me wrong-this is weird stuff, but I am NOT scared by whatever it is. Just fascinated and I want answers!!! (Plus this makes a great addition to Beks ghost story collection.)
I thought I would just put this out there. Everyone I tell about it is always wants more details so I will update as stuff goes on OR if we find an answer.

 "We came, we saw, we kicked its butt!"

seven twenty five

Many times I cannot recall exact memories or stories from when I was younger, I just don't have that kind of recall. So when people tell stories about something from when they were younger or about some long past memory, I usually strain to think of what I might have been doing about that time in my life.

Even important dates don't always stick in the right spot on the memory timeline. My previous birthdays have begun to run together. Oh some stand outs do pop up ... A costume party, a race car cake, and the like.
I guess my brain is so filled with trival facts that it has done a disk cleanup on dates and memories.
However I know of one very important date that sticks in my mind...

July 25, 2007.

I can tell you what i did this day in great detail. My future sister in law Kelley had spent the night and we got up super early. We got dresses in our matching tshirts-one of the few tunes I would willingly abd proudly wear a tshirt. We jumped in the car and headed across town. It was still dark when we arrived at our destination.
Now the big event wasn't even scheduled for hours but I was acting like a manical crazed teenager about to see my favorite movie star or singer. I wanted to be there before any of the action started, I wanted to get my seat and not miss a minute. Do I sound obsessed? Yes I'm sure I do. And I am okay with that.
Sooo other people start arriving... Friends, family, food deliveries. We all camped out in the waiting area awaiting the big moment. Hours pass and time moves so slow. We try playing cards, which I have no patience for on a normal day, and as always with my family, we eat, tell stories, and laugh.

Finally a little after 3pm, we hear it's time!!!

We line up like cattle down the hallway. Of course, MD (mom & dad) get to go first, but quickly it's my turn. I think I may have run down that hallway into the room. Finally the time has arrived and I have added another piece to who I am.
Daughter. Sister. Friend.

This one I've waited for since I was a small child. It's been my biggest dream for as long as I can remember. I didn't want to be a doctor, lawyer, astronaut, or the like.
I am an AUNT!!!

I have never experienced a feeling quite like the first moment I saw Garrett. Talk about love at first sight.
(My poor sister had just given birth and I don't think I spoke to her for the first few minutes I was in the room.)
I cannot describe how amazing and fun the last three years have been watching this child grow and cannot wait to be there the rest of my life.
And today my amazing, hysterically funny, full of life, beautiful nephew turns 3! Gee loves you more than you'll ever know.

Happy birthday, Garrett Keith!

Three D

Am I the only one who cannot see anything cool when watching 3D movies?I wear the glasses, try sitting in different spots, but never can see an extra dimension?!
Sorta annoying to have to pay that extra fee for glasses and never see stuff cool like the other peeps.
Ahhh well Despicable Me was cute and very funny regardless.

The cuteness that is my nephew must be shared. :)

Garrett and Gee (me) at Cherokee Trace Drive Thru Safari

Same Page ... New Start

Well I have been meaning to restart my blogging, but never actually sat down to do it until today! Finally, slacker no more...As always there are many random thoughts popping through my mind but I am going to try to wrangle it in until I get my blogging skills back.

My Top Five Thoughts Today 

(thus far)

1. Why do people, who live on a volcanic mountain that is about to explode, leave their children at home to go discuss the said volcano blowing??? Really... Is that wise parenting?

2. Can some people really not separate fact from fiction?  There are intelligent well documented historical books  and then there are books that are complete figments of imagination, but all in all there is one I would allow to affect my life and choices... Don't base your life on the wrong thing.

3. Any ideas on how to make hair grow faster? I want my long hair back and it is not getting there as fast as I would like.  I guess I could go ahead and fake it with extensions...

4. How does me having tattoos qualify as a Rebel?  Webster's definition of a Rebel is "a : opposing or taking arms against a government or ruler b : of or relating to rebels : disobedient, rebellious"  Sure does not sound like me at all... Ahh well cultivating a new side of my personality, I guess.

5.  I just finished Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and LOVED it.  It was very thought provoking, entertaining, and fun. Plus now I have I must live in Europe at some point...  Here is a quote from the book which I identified with a lot.

"Traveling is the great true love of my life. 

I have always felt...that to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.  

I am loyal and constant in my love for travel, as I have not always been love and constant in my other loves. I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feel about her impossible, colicky, retless newborn baby-I just don't care what it puts me throught. Because I adore it.  Because it's mine.  Because it looks exactly like me.  It can barf all over me if it wants to-I just don't care."

Taking a nap messes up regularly scheduled sleep time

Wow busy busy week. So random note for readers out there.
Psych is so hilarious, it cracks me up every time. Check it out on hulu.com for a good life.

Waiting on the Hair to Grow Back

So here's to new beginnings...
All in one summer. New Job, New House, 2 New Sisters, New Haircut... Just need a New Tattoo to round this all out... ;)
One of my new sisters said its time for me to revive the blog so here we go. I haven't really decided how this will work on the new go round, but check in occasionally to see.

I was listening to a Mark Driscoll sermon on my way back from Denton this last Sunday, and he was preaching out of 1 Peter. I resisted the urge to yank out the iPhone and look it up it in the Holy Bible app until I got home. So I read through 1 Peter once i was safely home. And 1 Peter 1:17 keep popping out at me.
'Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially,
live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.'
Ironically Kelley and I had just been discussing the word "fear" and all the different meanings it can be used for in the Bible... (Since English majorly lacks in the beautiful imaginative word usage department) Have you ever just stopped and pondered this verse?? I sure haven't, but now I am.
Dr Constable says of this passage. "Live your life pursuing God, we aren't here forever.
We are just on a brief sojourn."
Sojourn-French word? of course not English- to stay or dwell for a time.
Definitely a verse to ponder.

life

Life is officially insane. haha
I have never been this busy ever and I can't seem to find a balance to keep everything going right just yet. So the blog is suffering because of that. But once I find a balance I will do better! I promise :)

times they are a changing... i mean transitioning lol

Im moving!!!!! In just mere weeks I will be living back in good ole Lindale!
:) YAYY

im a kite, Christ is the hurricane. who am i to boast that i can fly in the wind?

Life is such a learning experience and learning is never easy.
I tend to wake up slowly and my mind usually takes hours to finally click on, but today was different. I woke up way early and was instantly awake-and I woke up with something burdening my heart. Right away I started talking to God and just pouring out all my frustrations, anxieties, and fears concerning this burden, so by the time my alarms started going off I was already deep in prayer. As I got up and started getting ready for work, the answer came to me.
God has put people in my life to pour into me, teaching me, guiding me, and loving me. These people have given me advice and because I am prideful I choose to ignore or pick & choose what I want to hear. I expect that because they love me they should want me to have what I want, when I should be pursuing what God wants in my life.
Is this pursuit something that God has laid out for me or is it something I expect to receive in my prideful/selfish spirit??? and I already know the answer.

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Philippians 2:1-5

life

wow its been forever since i posted. i killed my laptop awhile back and it was in the shop for a while, then it came home, and crashed again, so back to the hospital it went and now its home and The Passion Play is over and I have a semi normal life again.
First day back to normalcy sucked hardcore. there really arent any other words to describe this monday... BLAH but i guess the bad days make you appreciate the good ones all the more. soo bring on the good ones for a bit please!!!!

One thing I am so not good at dealing with is confrontations of any kind. I hate, avoid, and stress about having to talk to people about anything that might cause an embarrassment, scene, or dust up. And the new me keeps having moments where I have to talk about EVERYTHING I'm feeling or thinking or explain myself-I guess thats part of being social and around people. Blah its super hard for me and every time it happens I just want to sit and cry rather than have to talk it out. So far I've done good at expressing my thoughts without losing it but still I am finding it super rough. Being an adult is nothing like I thought it would be. They really should teach a class in school on what to expect when you grow up. Prayer is appreciated!

So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Romans 7:14-25

zooboomafou

i love the zoo!
seriously i love the zoo.

i got to spend a few hours with my family at the zoo and i had a blast. (got to run in the rain for part of it but thats fun too)

Check out the pics:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30263&l=7b288&id=662806722

silence is golden-or torture-depends on your perspective.

new things learned today:
*i now understand what a recession is, haa, i sorta had an idea bout it before but after hearing about it for the 1,000,000 time today. i thought id educate myself about it, since i like learning new things. Quite interesting stuff-especially in light of the fact that good ole Uncle Sam is making bank off taking taxes from my poor paycheck, which is really not that valuable i have learned this week, and to top it off I gotta fork over more mula to Uncle Sam now cuz he didnt get enough to start with. Blah Uncle Sam seems a bit greedy to me...i kid i kid. i appreciate the fact that i live in america and am blessed to be free and such-esp if i have to fork over the cash it makes me a bit more appreciative of my previously mentioned freedom.
Wow that sorta became a long winded-slightly run on sentence of my thoughts on recessions and govt! HAAA
*i also learned that i will not fall over dead if i dont spend my day constantly texting... strange cuz i really thought id at least get light headed or something... crazzy.

yay that beks and jake are going to be in town for a lil bit...

it brings a smile to my face

Im starting a list of things that bring me joy and Im going to keep adding to it as I think of new things, so when the grind of daily stresses and life get to me I can check out my list and remember that there are good things, and simple things, that make it okay.

~THINGS THAT BRING ME JOY~

-Garrett eskimo kisses, his zoolander face, and his funny smiles
-"bears beets battlestar galatica"
-singing along with the music at the top of my lungs

-that peace from God when I need it most
-reading the illuminati for the 500th time
-that quiet moment right before i fall asleep when all feels right with the world
-driving with the windows down on a cool day
-sleep cuz sleep is a serious business to me
-iron chef america (LOL)
-talking to my best friends cuz i dont have to explain what i mean-they just get me
-watching pride & prejudice (the miniseries version) again...and again...and again
-falling asleep to the breeze from my fan &"a thousands summers" by tim janis playing
-swinging on the hammock in the yard
-when something truly entertains me and i can laugh really loud

-bear hugs from Hannah

-getting a random funny text from a friend

-seeing new pictures of Gavin

-having someone ask my thoughts and really listen to me

......more to come......

a series of blurs like i never occurred

wow. okay i got online when i got home just now and realized a few things:
1-it has been almost a week since i even posted on here. (blah what happened to my commitment!? life would be the best guess because i didnt even see my room over this last weekend. i think i need to move my room closer to where ive been living my life so this doesnt happen as often anymore)
2-its been a month of NO DR PEPPERS. wow. major cause for celebration. & i have survived some very scarry no sleep situations during that month all with just water! (and the random sweet tea!-sweet tea must be said with a deep Texas drawl-otherwise whats the point.)
3-i had another major champion loser of a day (yes champion loser is a slight condtradiction but im trying to make a point of how awful the last couple of days have been.) but i survived!!!!
4-i like to number things off when i make a point... why do i do this? well who can understand the mind of me-cuz i sure dont get it and it belongs to me.
anyways.
thats all i have to share for now.

major important birthday!!!!!!!!

H A P P Y

B I R T H D A Y

A M B E R!

Its Amber's birthday! YAYYY

I am totally beyond words blessed to have Amber (and in turn her entire family) in my life. I seriously had nooo idea that when we met the first time years ago that we would become such amazing friends or that I would get to know the entire family so well. I count myself very fortunate to call her as my friend, and not just any friend-my florida bestie!!!

Happpppy Birthday!!!