My Little Thought Box

2011-12-30T22:46:00.000-08:00

I am fully aware that it's been 6 months since my last post, but in my defense, these past few months have been a WHIRLWIND of ups and downs and just plain craziness. So much has been going on (both good and bad) and free time to sit down and write all about it has been scarce. Lots of good things happened. My best friend and tons of other sweet friends got married this year. We loved being a part of all the celebrations! Later on in the year, I became a certified Zumba instructor, had a blast at Maywood (as usual), went to the beach and biggest of all-I BOUGHT A HOUSE!! My sister is living with me and we have been working on getting settled in. I will post pictures soon after the New Year. Or at least, I'll try. January is already jam-packed full of fun. We are going to New Orleans for a mini-vacation and the National Championship game!!!

Despite all the good things that have happened this year, there has been a lot of sadness and heartache. So many of my dear friends have had to say goodbye to some of their loved ones way, way, way too soon. Our church is so sad to no longer have our friends with us. After Mike died, we lost sweet Mr. Buddy, Bailey Robinson (a sweet, young girl in the BYG) Mr. Jim (my sweet friend, Jenna's dad), and many, many more. My heart hurts for these families who have lost their loved ones and it kills me that I can't do much-if anything-to make it better. All I know to do is pray for them and be there for them. Sometimes, that's all we can do, I guess.

Throughout all of this, I've learned many things. I've learned that life definitely is short and I have to take every opportunity to serve God and love others. I've learned that I'm so blessed to belong to such a great church family. While sitting in the hospital with Jenna and her family, Jenna made the comment "what do people who don't go to Beltline do during times like these?" I know every church is there for their members, but we at Beltline have become so much closer and have become stronger through these tragedies and I can't imagine being anywhere else right now. Most importantly, I've learned that in everything, God is in control and He knows exactly what He is doing with us and our lives. Finally, I've learned that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be right now. I've lived in denial for two years about having to move back to Decatur. I was doing everything to make things happen according to my plans, without trying to let God do His thing. When all the tragedy hit, I decided I needed to start doing better about letting God take control of my life. The way I saw it, I had two choices: I could continue to make myself miserable by trying to do things my way or I could choose to be happy in my current situation and let God lead me where He wants me to go. It didn't take long to decide which was the better choice. Life has been so much more enjoyable since I decided to let God call the shots.

I am so very ready to be out of 2011. I know that when the clock strikes 12 on January 1st that all the pain my friends are feeling won't just magically disappear and I know that all the problems I'm having at work or home will still be there as we move into 2012. However, I can at least take comfort in knowing that we are getting a chance to take a step forward and make any changes needed to better ourselves in every aspect of our lives. I'm excited to see what this new year has in store for me and while I pray it's all good, I know we will still face many struggles and challenges. I only hope that in all things, I can remember to turn to God.

Happy New Year! I hope it brings lots of joy and happiness to you all!

Missing Mike

2011-06-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

My grandfather died the day before my sophomore year classes were to start. I wanted to be home with my family so badly but I knew that I needed to at least go to my first two days of class to get the information needed for the semester and to let my professors know I'd be gone for a few days. My college roommate was in Africa and I didn't know my suitemates. I had never felt so alone. Mike was on campus the VERY next morning, with his sweet Natalie and Matthew Thomas to comfort me. While this wasn't the first lasting impression Mike left on my life, it is without a doubt the most meaningful.

That's just a part of who Mike was. Always there. Whent the tornados hit Jackson in 2008, he was there the next day to make sure all his Freed students, Betsy Hesselrode and myself were okay. He was notorious for just showing up on various college campuses where Beltline students attended. He just wanted to check up on us and take us to dinner and he didn't care how busy his week was or how far he had to drive to do it. He loved doing those kinds of things.

I recently went through a period in my life that was so dark that I didn't want anyone to care about me or be there for me. I went so far as to park at the end of the building so as to avoid talking to people and having to answer the same quesiton over and over again ("So, have you found a job yet?) I knew people meant well, but I was so bitter and hardened that, with the exception of my closest friends, I didn't want to discuss this struggle with anyone. However, if you knew Mike-even just a little bit-you know just how big his heart was. And if you know him really well, you know how persistant he was. He NEVER gave up caring about me. No matter how hard I tried to push him away, he always found a way to make sure I knew he loved me and cared about me. That kind of persistance and compassion is something you rarely find in a person. He never gave up on anyone who was struggling. He cared THAT much.

I said it the other day, and I'll say it again. The rest of us still living here on this Earth have a lot of work to do to make up for the amount of good we lost when Mike left us. The question everyone has been asking is "Why, Mike?" The truth is we'll never know the official "100%, A+ on that quiz," answer that only God knows, but I truly believe that we can find our own personal answer to the question "why?" For me, it came rather quickly. I know God is using this tragedy to show me just how uncertain life is and when He says to do something, He means it. I have a horrible habit of taking salvation and eternity for granted. I now fully understand just how serious He is about His kingdom and the work we are called to do. When He tells us to go out and preach the gospel, obey His commandments and do everything else we are supposed to do, we had better get busy doing it if we want a chance of spending eternity with Him. Mike was the most godly, Christ-like man I have ever known. It's up to us to continue his legacy and make sure we keep up the work of getting to Heaven and taking as many people as we possibly can with us. Am I at peace with the fact that Mike is no longer with us in person? Not one single bit. All I can do now is make sure I'm up there with him one sweet day with the rest of my Christian brothers and sisters.

My prayer today is that the pain and suffering we are experiencing will eventually subside and only good memories of the man we have all come to know and love will remain. I pray that Natalie and MaryLyn continue to find peace and comfort they need through their family and church family. I also pray that our lingering, tighter embraces and the increased love my Beltline family has for one another never stops.

I know Mike is so happy right now.

2011-05-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

Nothing makes your heart smile quite like a sweet 4 year old leading a song during worship.

April 27, 2011

2011-05-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while since I've updated. Life has been crazy with things like my best friend's wedding, a convention in Nashville, softball games and other various social obligations. Just when I thought things were calming down and my hectic schedule was thinning, my sweet home Alabama was ripped apart. Literally.

All my life, whenever we would have a tornado, or talk of severe weather, my parents would always mention the "Tornado Outbreak of April 1974." They would say, nothing could compare to that Wednesday night in which no one slept because "tornado after tornado after tornado," tore through North Alabama and then, they went three days without power (and no cell phones). It's true. For living right smack in the middle of tornado-land, we've never experienced something like that. I mean, we've had majorly catastrophic tornados in which loss of homes and life would occur, but we've never experienced a day where more than 2 or 3 tornados came through. However, I'm pretty sure April 27th, 2011 is my generation's April 3rd, 1974.

My family and I were blessed to have not suffered any damage to our home. However, you can drive about 5 minutes up the road to the highway and see about 8 homes that were completely destroyed. We went without power for 4 days, but that's nothing when you think about the people who lost their homes and those who lost their lives. My heart hurts for those who have lost everything they own and especially those who have lost loved ones. And, for those who still can't find some of their loved ones.

It's been 4 days since the storm and you can still find rubble and debris just about anywhere in the areas that were hit, the number of deaths is still climbing and people are still missing. It's sickening to see photos and video of the devastation. The upside to all this is that the number of people coming out to lend a hand to those who need it is so high, that organizations such as the Volunteer Center and the Red Cross are having to turn people away b/c there isn't work for them to do right now (right now, it's a lot of search and rescue and heavy manpower. Don't worry, more help will definitley be needed as the recovery and rebuilding process continues). Isn't that a great problem to have, though? We were blessed to have another congregation from the area worship with us this morning, since their building was still without electricity. The preacher from that church got up and said a few words. He was talking about how some city officials were commenting on the American spirit that was thriving among the people. The preacher disagreed and said that it's not the American spirit that is coming alive, but the Christian spirit coming alive in Americans during this time of tragedy. I couldn't agree more. It is such a blessing to have so many people wanting to serve in our communities when we need it the most.

Despite all the destruction and devastation that came with this storm, a lot of good things came along with it too. In fact, the power outage was probably one of the best things that could have happened for my family. We are 4 adults (with 4 dogs) living under one roof. We all have different schedules, different ways we do things and VERY different opinions on just about everything. Sometimes, things get a little tense and with us all having very active social schedules, we barely have time to spend time doing things as a family. When the city went dark, we were on a city-wide curfew. We had to be home and there was no television or internet to distract us from finally spending some time together just relaxing, enjoying the quiet (although eery at night) peacefulness, and just enjoying being with each other. We had a freezer FULL of thawing meat that we had to grill, so we actually ate dinner together several nights in a row. After dinner, we threw a log on the fire pit and sat outside until we were ready for bed. It was absolutely wonderful and exactly what we, as a family, needed. I know it wasn't just my family that benefited from this power outage. We could drive through neighborhoods and see parents outside playing with their kids. In a day and time where Wii, Playstation and Nintendo DS reign supreme, you just don't see that happening much anymore. I know God knew that we all needed to get back to the basics-God and family. I just hate that it always takes an eye-opening, catastrophic experience to make us see what's really important in life.

Continue to keep all those affected by this storm in your prayers. It's going to be a long rebuilding process. Keep those families who lost loved ones and still don't know where their loved ones are in your prayers. I hope they all can find their strength to move forward in God.

Live, From Destin, FL!

2011-03-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to send my love. From Sunny Florida! :)

Don't worry, I'll be nice and not post pictures. Until tomorrow..:)

Thanks for the confidence boost, 4 Year olds!

2011-01-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

My adventures in the Sunday Morning 4 year old class continue!

I was telling them that they needed to pay attention and listen to me while I was talking and, as usual, one of the little angels sassed back with a simple "why?" So, in my best teacher voice I replied "Because I'm an adult and your teacher, so you have to." I was not expecting the reply I got. "You're not an adult-you're not married!" As if that wasn't shocking enough to hear come out of a 4 YEAR OLD'S mouth, the same little darling began to chant "You don't have a boyfriend! You don't have a boyfriend!' over and over again while the rest of the class joined in. I mean, what do you do? I just laughed. It's a good thing I confidently rock my singleness! What a brutal little group of kids.

One of these days...

2011-01-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

...I'll be a cool blogger. Ya know, the kind that actually puts cool stuff on their blog and not meaningless ramblings like I tend to do. Who knows, maybe I'll even start giving away stuff or sharing some of my favorite recipes (I've got some good ones!). Or I could even share some of my favorite ideas/tips for events (something I'm actually good at). For now, I'm far too lazy for such things. Stay tuned though, I might get some sort of motivation to be cool.

P.S. Can someone please make this snow and ice go away? I'm about to take it to the beach for some warm sand and sun.

My very 1st White Christmas!

2011-01-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

Sure, we've had Christmas Day flurries, but that doesn't count. All my life, I've seen pictures of what Christmas is supposed to look like: white, snowy ground, ice-covered trees, a warm glow coming from the inside of snow-covered houses, etc. However, the only Christmas I've ever known are the ones where it looks a lot more like fall than winter-and that's how I like it. To be perfectly honest, I'm not even that big of a fan of snow. But, when I woke up on Christmas morning and saw nothing but white all around, I was almost moved to tears. It was just so beautiful. There was something so magical, almost, about it being a White Christmas for once. Although it was beautiful, it did mean that most of the family didn't get to come over for Christmas. I can't remember a Christmas without most of my family there. Even though there were just a handful of us here this year, we still had so much fun. There were no gifts, just food and family fun. It was low-key and we all had a blast playing outside in the snow. We even made snowmen that were ctually a legitimate height! Usually, they turn out to be a few inches tall and that's it-you're outta snow! I hope everyone enjoyed the snow as much as my family did!

I'm human, therefore, I err.

2011-01-01T17:59:00.001-08:00

However, I'm quite certain the 2 or 3 of you who actually keep up with my posts will forgive me. :)

New posts coming soon, I promise!

I promise, a new post is coming

2010-12-30T09:24:00.001-08:00

I promise I will update. I just haven't had time to sit down a recap the awesome Christmas we had this year. Plus, I want to have some pictures and I haven't uploaded them to my computer yet. Fret not, My Christmas/end of the year post will be here soon!

I promise, a new post is coming

2010-12-30T09:24:00.000-08:00

Well, Hello there, November?!?

2010-11-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

Is it seriously almost the end of November? Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that the holidays are here, but wow-time sure has flown by. I've been super busy lately, as pretty much everyone is these days. Between work, running endless errands and going to the gym, I barely have enough hours left in the day. I guess this is evident in my lack of posting lately. I won't bore you with meaningless updates. Instead, I want to take this time to share some things, in honor of Thanksgiving, that I'm, well, thankful for.

First and foremost, I'm thankful for a loving, compassionate, forgiving, love me like crazy God. Heaven knows I've been giving Him a hard time these past few months. But he's also given me the opportunity to grow as a person in so many different ways. Most of you don't know this, but I have the job I have right now ultimately because someone is, more than likely, dying. Yeah, you read correctly: dying. My heart hurts for this person and their family and they are in my prayers daily. Not a day goes by that I don't sit at that desk and think about this person and pray that God heals them. I pray for my co-workers daily too. Not only are they facing losing their friend and co-worker, they each have their own struggles that they have to deal with. One of my co-workers just lost her ex-husband (whom she still had a great relationship with) to a very short battle with cancer. Another co-worker has a father with serious health issues. All over the office people are dealing with troubles of their own and yet, they make it their number one priority to always be taking care of someone else's needs. They are inspirations to me and I thank God for putting them in my life to help me realize that we all have struggles and we have to help each other while leaning on Him for support and guidance.

Secondly, I'm thankful for my family. There is no point in me even trying to go into detail what all they have done for me. I would be up for days trying to type it all out. And I'll never be able to repay them. All I can do is constantly show them how thankful I am by doing my best to be helpful and make them proud in everything I do. Made-from-scratch baked goods and meals seem to help a little too. :)

I'm thankful for my friends. Like, my family, they've been through it all with me this past year and a half. They helped me land interviews, let me vent when I didn't get the job, cried with me when I was upset and rejoiced with me when I finally got that wonderful call back in September. They really are the best there is.

I'm thankful for my gym and my new attitude towards working out. I used to be so intimidated by going to the gym, but I have found the best gym ever. No really, it's awesome! The classes are amazing and the instructors always make you feel welcome. The equipment is great too and I love that every piece of cardio equipment has its own TV! Working in a doctor's office really makes you appreciate good health a whole lot more. If you are lucky to be in good health, be thankful and do whatever it takes to stay that way! Thanks Bender's of Decatur! You are making me a better, healthier me!

This isn't all I'm thankful for, but if I kept going, I'd be here all night. I'll leave it at this for now. Happy Thanksgiving!

What did YOU learn about in Sunday school?

2010-09-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, I learned what color everyone's most recent "throw-up," was.

Thank you, 4 year olds. I really enjoyed that conversation...:/

Hooray for weekends!

2010-09-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

They have significance again! It has been so long since I was "living for the weekend," and I LOVE IT! I'm so happy to be back at work, but let me tell you, I am worn out! I hit the ground running on the first day! I have been busy learning ALL about medical records. It isn't too terribly hard-just very tedious. And quite nerve-wracking too. I mean, I'm responsible for maintaining thousands of people's medical records. Not exactly something you are allowed to screw up. No pressure, right? (It's a good thing I like those kinds of jobs). It is a fun job, though and so far I'm really enjoying it. It's a weird situation in that the position is currently more of a "temporary/fill in" position but depending on the situation, could become full-time. I would be so excited if it did become full-time. My co-workers are great, the surgeons are wonderful and it is definitley a "leave your work at the office," kind of job. Which is perfect for me, as it will allow me to really focus on building my event business, while making money.

Since I have been so busy learning the ropes, I don't have much else to update on. Dad took us out on a business dinner with a girl who had interviewed for a job at the hospital today. She is super sweet and smart. I hope she decides to take it! She is definitley someone I could see myself becoming good friends with.

This weekend is going to be busy. Soccer games, Hartselle Depot Days, scrub shopping and most importantly, football will consume my Saturday! Busy, yes. But in a good way!

519 Days later...

2010-09-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

...I'm going back to work! Woohoo! Granted, it's only temporary (for now), but who cares? Tomorrow, I get to get up, get dressed and re-gain control of my life by going into work. These past 17 month's haven't been the best of times, but I've made the best of what I was dealt. But let's face it, I was not meant to not work! I am soo ready to do something with myself again! I will be working in a doctor's office here in Decatur and I couldn't be happier!

Praise the Lord!

Shaking it like I like it!

2010-09-07T20:26:00.001-07:00

I've never been one who LOVES to workout. If you've seen me, you'd know just how true this is, haha! However, over the past year, I have come to really enjoy going into a gym and using all the machines and joining group fitness classes. I never thought I would be one of those people who could find a class that I would actually love going to and become such a fanatic for. One of the fitness classes I am absolutley in love with is Zumba. I have known about this fitness program for years, but never lived near a gym that offered Zumba classes. Being someone who took dance for many years, I knew I would enjoy it-I just didn't know how much I would enjoy it! I can't get enough of it. And for those of you who think this is a sissy class, you are sadly mistaken! The moves in each dance works so many different parts of your body-parts you didn't even know you could move! There are a lot moves that really work your abs and legs and a ton that give your arms a great workout. I've been going for only a few months and I can already see some great results!

Here's the best part, you don't have to be a great dancer to join a class! Some people are so intimidated by Zumba b/c of what they see online or in the infomercials. Don't be fooled, real life Zumba classes aren't always like that. I have taken classes in which I was the youngest person there! Also, if there are some moves you can't seem to do or aren't comfortable doing, most instructors give you freedom to move it like you want. As one instructor I know says, "sprinkle your own flavor on it." Don't be scared! I urge you to find a class in your area and give it try. You can visit their website (www.zumba.com) to find a class near you! Get up and shake it!

2010-09-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

Even though I am a Bama girl through and through, I still left several pieces of my heart in Tennessee when I moved away last year. Most of those pieces being some of the most amazing people I've ever met and 2 of my best friends from college. Today, I am really missing my roomie, Caley and our friend, Jess. I was scrolling through old pictures and came across this one. It's one of my favorites of the three of us. This was taken at Liberty park in Jackson during one of our girl's nights. Instead of eating at the restaurant, we took our Chik-fil-a to the park, before the weather got too cold. We had fun goofing off like we were back in college, not even caring what the other people in the park thought about our giddy, children-on-a-playground type of behavior. I love these girls and haven't seen either of them since...I can't even remember. That's how I know it's been too long. This must be fixed-soon!

Never a dull moment in the 4 year old class!

2010-08-31T08:42:00.001-07:00

While Reviewing the 10 Commandments:

Little Girl: What does adultry mean?

Me (choosing my words carefully): Well, it means that when we grow up and get married, God only wants us to love and be with our husband and no other man or our wife and no other woman.

Little Boy: Why? That's boring.

4 years old and his dating life is already looking pretty sketch.

Job news...or the lack thereof

2010-08-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Remember me mentioning about a job interview I had last week? Well I still haven't heard anything. I had another interview with another company this past week so I'm hoping I'll hear something from one of these places soon! I'm bored and need to work!

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!

Feeding my book addiction

2010-08-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

I'm going to the library today for the first time in YEARS and I'm pretty excited about it. Do they still have a limit on how many books you can check out at one time? If so, this could be a problem. Yes, I was that kid who always checked out as many books as I possibly could at one time. And yes, I would read them all. Sometimes in a single day or two. I remember in middle school, I would check out several Lurlene McDaniel books at one time and finish them in less than a week. I remember getting upset when I finished them all, too. Ha! In elementary school, I was addicted to Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew and The Babysitter's Club books. The book fairs were like my crack. I would pick out several books and beg my mom for money to buy them! The greatest thing she ever bought me from one of the book fairs was a subrscription to recieve the book series Babysitters Club: Little Sister through the mail. Once a month, I would get a package in the mail filled with 3 books fromt the spin-off book series featuring Kristi's (one of the babysitter's) little sister, Karen. The package also came with little goodies (friendship bracelets, cheap jewelry, etc) that had something to do with the storylines in the book.

I didn't read as much in high school or college. It mostly had to do with the fact that I didn't get to choose for myself which books I had to read. I was constantly given books by my teachers to read and had no freedom over what I got to read. Therefore, I somehow lost my passion for reading. Thank goodness I have rediscovered it and have even made it my mission to read all the books I "read" in high school that I didn't fully appreciate.

I can't wait to walk in the library and breathe in the smell of old books and pick out several to take home! I'm open to suggestions for books to read!

Okaloosa Island 2010

2010-08-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Can I please just move to Florida and be a beach bum forever? Oh to be rich and actually be able to live out my dream of lounging around on the sand or by the pool all day and sitting on my ocean-front deck and listen to the waves roll in at night. sigh....

Until then, I will just enjoy my beach vacations when I can get them! We just got back from yet another wonderful beach trip, even though it was a little shorter than usual. It was still very relaxing and we still had a lot of fun just being together. For the past several years, we have been staying in a secluded area called Okaloosa Island, near Fort Walton Beach. We really enjoy being on a less-crowded beach, but are still just a few minutes from all the good stuff in Destin. We left very early Wednesday morning and were at the condo by 11 am! Dad had a little mishap with a loose crown and had to take a trip to the local dentist, but was out on the sand by 2:45ish. We stayed out until 5 or so and then went grocery shopping and went to bed early since we had been up so early (except for me and Teri, who hadn't slept AT ALL the night before).

We spent the day lounging out by the sea and the pool all day Thursday and then went to eat at our all-time favorite place in Destin: A.J.'s Seafood and Oyster Bar in Destin. They have the best crab cakes ever! If you know me at all, you know that I am not a seafood eater. I don't like shrimp or fish of ANY kind, but I can throw down some crab cakes from A.J.'s!

Earlier that day, we had seen several airplanes with banner fly over the beach advertising all kinds of random things such as all you can eat shrimp at Floyd's and a foam party going on at the Swamp (a local night club). We saw one advertising fireworks on the beach at Harborwalk village. Harborwalk village is the super-cute area on the marina in Destin that has a huge building filled with apartments and condos. There are also several restaurants and shops. A.J.'s is also on the marina so after dinner we walked down to Harborwalk village to wait for the fireworks to start. As we were walking over, we saw 3 airplanes flying over putting on a mini air show. When we got to the entrance of the village, we saw some local war hero's being honored. Come to find out, all the fun activities were part of a weekend long event called the "Red,White and Blue celebration." We got to enjoy live music while were were walking through the village, which was really cool. After the fireworks show, we grabbed some gelato from one an ice-cream shop in the village and enjoyed some good, old-school "Tom and Jerry," cartoons being played on a large screen. Oh, we also got to have our picture taken with parrots on our heads and shoulders! It was one of those nights where you don't plan anything spectacular and you end up having a really good time!

We spent Friday and Saturday laying out during the day and eating good food and shopping at night! We took lots of fun pictures and had some great dessert on Saturday night at The Back Porch (another one of our favorite places to eat in Destin). On Sunday (the day we were leaving), we got quite the wake up call. Around 5:30 am the fire alarms went off. I was sleeping SO good so the fire alarm pretty much jerked me out of my sleep and I was a little disoriented and scatterbrained for a few minutes, but I still managed to grab a bra, my glasses, phone and new Coach bag. :) As it turns out, it was just a malfunction and nothing was on fire, thanfully. It was still pretty annoying...especially since our alarm clocks weren't set to go off for another two hours...grr

Teri wasn't too thrilled about being woken up so early. None of us were.

Here comes the fire trucks to our rescue!

After going back to bed for a couple of hours we packed up and headed north...:( Not before having one last look at the ocean, though!

The GREATEST place that I have ever been is....

2010-08-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

....Maywood Camp, Maywood, Maywood Camp!

Yep...another year of Maywood Christian Camp (Jackie Fox Week) is in the books. Despite the TRIPLE DIGIT weather some days, it was a perfect week! My sister and I were teamed up with Dana Patterson in Gilgal and it was so much fun! Dana is a great counselor and I loved being in the cabin with her and Teri! We had a great group of girls and there was NO DRAMA. ahhhh!! You just can't get much better than that! There was actually not a single problem this week with any of the campers. No one got in trouble and had to be sent home...all was great in our little Maywood world...:)

My birthday fell on the Friday of Maywood and my sister through me a surprise party with the help of my best friend, Cara, mom and the girls in my cabin. It was a princess party, and yes, I loved it! I don't care how old you are, you are never too old to be a princess!

Dad had a cake for me when I got home from camp. He got it from Simply Delicious (and indeed, it was)! My favorite-strawberry cake with strawberry icing. Made from scratch. yum.

Please ignore my gross, lack of sleep look I'm sporting here and focus on that amazingly delicious cake! YUM!

This week has been a pretty slow one. I didn't realize how little sleep I got until I got home and had the hardest time catching up on it. Now we are getting ready for the beach and I am very much ready to have my toes in the sand. However, I do have some good news (or at least I hope it turns into good news)! I have a job interview on Monday. A GREAT job interview. A job I really, really want. I am trying to not get too excited about it, though. It would be pretty nice to get a phone call and accept a job while I was lounging in the sand next week, though...;)...more details to come later about where the job is.

This will probably be my last entry until after I get home from vacation. Unless, of course, I hear about the job before I leave. Say a prayer for me please! Thanks!

Blake and Holly Beth are MARRIED!!

2010-07-31T19:08:00.001-07:00

I'm soo happy for one of my very dear friends and his beautiful bride, Holly Beth! They had a beautiful wedding and it was perfect in every way! I wish them all the happiness in the world. Love you both soo much!

Hartselle Dixie Darlings

2010-07-31T19:05:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before that all my little cousins are my favorite people in the entire world and I love bragging about them. Well, tonight is no different. As I type this, my 7 year old cousin Kelsey and the rest of her Hartselle Dixie Darling teammates are currently playing in the Softball World Series in Texas this week! They have already won one game and will be playing again tomorrow! Go Kelsey Bug!!

Weekly update

2010-07-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

This past week has been yet another one full of fun times and celebrations!

On Monday, I drove up to Nashville to spend the day with Terra and Jason! They came to visit for a mini vacation and I'm so glad they invited me up to spend time with them!

On Tuesday, the 20th, we had a surprise party at Applebee's for Mrs. Colleen! We had fun giving her such um, meaningful gifts (random items we had lying around our houses)!

On Friday and Saturday, I performed in Dreamweaver's Summer Sampler show! It was so much fun getting to know some great people and doing what we all love to do!

Briley's birthday party was also on Saturday so we celebrated with him at Sci-Quest! We even got to make little jitterbug robots! Mine was pretty awesome!

I know this is an extremely abbreviated version of my week, but I'm too tired to go into too many details. Just know it was an absolutely fabulous week!

Reason #2343 why I LOVE teaching 4 yr olds on Sunday Mornings:

2010-07-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

Me: You all remember Jacob right? Well, after he ran away he stopped for the night to rest. He had no pillow so he had to use a stone for a pillow and...

Boy #1: He coulda cracked his head open

Me: Why,yes, he could have...Well after he fell asleep, he had a dream. He dreamed about a big, beautiful staircase that reached all the way up to Heaven! And do you know what was walking up and down that staircase?

Boy #2: Horses?

Me: Nooo....these were kind of a type of people. They wear white and have wings

Girl #1 (same one who told us God made mermaids and Unicorns): FAIRIES?!?

No Spaghetti tonight, please

2010-07-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Dad said something about fixing spaghetti for dinner either last night or tonight, but the thougt of it did not sound appealing at all. Which is weird, b/c I typically like spaghetti. But then I remembered that I was fixing to eat spaghetti exactly one year ago today for supper when we got the phone call that made everyone's appetite go straight out the window.

Today marks the 1 year anniversary since my cousin, Dylan, was diagnosed with leukemia. I can't believe it has been a year already. He is still going through chemo and other treatments and still has a couple years left. He is doing remarkably well, though. He is still the same old funny Dylan we know and love. I'm so proud of Keith and Robbie. I know it's been really hard having to see their child go through this, but they are amazing parents and have done so much to help make this process as easy as possible for Dylan. I pray for them and Dylan daily and hope that the rest of the treatment phase goes smoothly.

thanks be to God for all that he has done this past year. Also, thanks to the teams at St. Jude in Memphis and Huntsville for making sure our Dylan gets better!

Not a whole lot going on these days

2010-07-16T10:41:00.001-07:00

Nothing special has gone on this week. Mostly, I spent the week doing what I usually do, working out in the mornings and applying for jobs the rest of the day. I did have a good fun day this week, though! Whit, Cara, Kristen, Jackson and myself had a good old-fashioned girls day out at Point Mallard. It was pretty crowded but we enjoyed floating around in the wave pool like we were in 8th grade again. Most of all, we enjoyed each other's company and just having a day where nothing else mattered.

Next week is show week and it's going to be a good show! You should come out to the Hartselle Fine Arts center next Friday or Saturday (or both, if you really love me...;)...) and support local talent and Dreamweaver's Children's Theatre. This is a fundraiser event for a great organization! You can buy tickets from me or any other cast member ahead of time, or you can get them at the door. Tickets are $10 and the shows are at 7 each night.

OH! I started Zumba last week and I am in love! The teacher is actually a friend of mine from high school. We twirled together in the band. It's a lot of fun and she is a great teacher! There is also another girl that comes to the class that I graduated with. I'm going to try and get my sister to come with me next week.

Well, I'm already done recapping the week. See, I told you there wasn't much to report on this week. I'm hoping next week will be more eventful (I'm supposed to hear back from a couple of job interviews). If not, I'll make something fun up...:).

Celebrations

2010-07-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

This past week has been full of various celebrations. On Wednesday, we went to a surprise engagement party for Kelli Harris and Zach Starnes. They are such a beautiful couple and I am so happy and excited for them! I'm also pretty giddy about knowing a "real-life" couple named Zach and Kelli...:)..."Saved by the Bell," fans anyone?

Surprise! Kelli's reaction when she first got to the house

The happy couple!

Kelli showing her dad the ring

Cara recently got her cast off and is in a boot, so on Thursday we celebrated by swimming! It has been a long, slow healing process for her and I'm so thankful that she finally got out of that cast!

Finally, Sunday was the 234th birthday of our amazing country. I am so blessed to live in a free country. Thanks to all those who have fought and are still fighting for my freedom!

Happy 4th of July!

Why yes, I AM that behind on updating!

2010-06-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

And I apologize. There's been a lot going on since I last posted. I'll try to keep it short and sweet and just give breif updates.

Oklahoma! (The musical)
Auditions for the Dreamweaver's production of Oklahoma! were held at the end of May and I was cast as Ellen-one of Laurey's friends. Rehearsals began and we were having a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the show is being postponed for a year due to insufficient funds. However, we are still doing a show the same weekend we had planned to do Oklahoma. It will be a showcase featuring the cast of Oklahoma, in which we will all be showcasing our various talents. There will be group numbers, solos, duets, monologues and even a preview of Oklahoma! The show will be on July 23rd and 24th at the Hartselle Fine Arts Center. Tickets will be $5 a person and will benefit Dreamweaver's Children's Theatre! PLEASE come out and support Dreamweaver's!

CMT Video Awards Show
I am constantly checking my twitter and since I follow more celebrities than I should admit, I'm always seeing various events being promoted and whatnot. Well, one of the new, hot country groups that I'm following had a contest going on. They were giving away free tickets to the CMT video awards and to qualify, all you had to do was re-tweet their post. So I did and as a result, the Zac Brown Band picked me to win the tickets! I took Teri (of course) and we had a blast. The best part was that a few days before the show, ZBB's marketing company emailed me saying they had 2 other tickets and asked me if I knew anyone that would like them. So, I asked my friend, Kristen, who lives in Nashville if she wanted them. She brought her friend Brittany and we all got to sit together. The best part of the night for me? Being in the same room as Maksim C from Dancing With the Stars....he is HOT!

Carrie Underwood Concert
Mom was soo nice and bought me and Teri tickets to the Carrie Underwood show in Birmingham on June 12th. I was a little unsure as to how good of a show it was going to be. She's an incredible singer but I didn't know if she was an outstanding performer or not. Well, she definitely surprised us! She is an AMAZING performer! It was, by far, one of the best concerts I have ever been to. She was so theatrical, had a great wardrobe and her graphic designer and set designer did a great job making all the props and backdrops look incredible!

Beauty and the Beast
Cindy Cook suggested we go see Beauty and the Beast at the TPAC in Nashville. She, myself, mom, Teri, Caroline and Beverly had a great time and the show was pretty good. Personally, I was dissappointed in the set design. It was so minimal that it took away from the show. My favorite musical number was "Gaston." The choreography was really great in it! Even though it wasn't the best musical I'd seen, I still had a great night with "The Mom's" and "The Daughters!"

As you can see, I've been immersed in the arts this summer and it has been fabulous! I'm very much ready to be on stage in July. The first 2 weeks of July were jam packed with various travels and shows and while it was a ton of fun, the past two weeks of downtime have been really nice.

Last weekend we celebrated with the Knox family at Jackson's wedding. I'm just now getting to know Jonathan, but from what little time I've spent with him (at play practices) I can tell he is a great guy. I'm so excited for their new life together and enjoyed celebrating with them on their big day!

I love the river. I love my friends. And I love relaxing. Last night was the perfect combination of all 3! Cara, Kristin and myself packed a cooler and headed out to the campground for an evening of doing absolutely nothing but roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and enjoying each other's company. However, our girls night got off to a rocky start. We had originally planned to leave around 6:30, but after a minor crisis, we didn't leave until 9ish. We were excited to finally pull into the campground until we got to the entrance and realized that after a certain, we needed a campground-issued card to swipe in order to get in. Since we thought we were going to get there before 9, the card was left at home. So we park the car, Cara and Kristin climb through the fence and set out to find a kind soul to lend us their entry card. After several minutes, they found someone who let us in and we finally got to the camper, got the AC going , cooled off, and got the fire started. Once we finally got settled we enjoyed a wonderful, moonlit evening on the banks of the Tennessee river. The moon was so bright and was shining beautifully on the water. I'm convinced that's how life should be 24/7.

And that brings us to today. Not much went on that's worth writing about. Hopefully it won't be too long before I update next!

Not so bad afterall

2010-05-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

The day I have been dreading for the past several weeks has come and gone! I am terrified of the dentist, so having to go to the oral surgeon was causing me extra anxiety. I had my wisdom teeth out yesterday and despite a few little problems, it hasn't been that bad so far. Granted, I'm taking my pain pills and sleeping a lot so, that helps. The worst part of it all was probably when I woke up during the procedure. Yep. I have a small jaw and they were having trouble getting to one of my teeth and so they were being (in my opinion) a little rough with it. rough enough that I felt it and it was AWFUL! When I came home, I was still numb so, despite being really sleepy, I felt find enough to walk around and attempt to do things for myself. However, once the numbness started to wear off, I decided to lounge for a while. The top half of my mouth wore off first so I decided to go ahead and take something for the pain. I should have waited b/c the numbness on the bottom half of my mouth wore off shortly thereafter and it was very very painful and too early to take another pain pill. I also had some nausea but had a prescription for phenergan thankfully! Anyhoo, that's been about the worst of it though. The pain I do feel isn't actually in my mouth where the teeth were removed. my jaw is what hurts the worst, but the medicine takes care of that...ha! I do have to be careful, though. When I take the pain medicine, I feel absolutely no pain and tend to over do things and end up feeling it later. Anyhoo, that's about it. It really wasn't that bad and I may even attempt to go to church tonight. We'll see how the rest of the day goes. :)

Slacker

2010-04-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

I am very behind on updating! But, let's be honest. I'm usually a few days late on updates anyway! There hasn't been a whole lot going on since my last post, but here are a few highlights from the past couple of weeks:

We had a shower for Blake and Holly Beth at the Sexton Building by the river. It was such a fun shower and we all had a great time. It is so much fun to celebrate with lifelong friends!

During Decatur City Schools' Spring Break, Teri and I had a fun day with Briley! We hadn't had the chance to do this in a long time and really missed our buddy so we went to lunch, played at Rhodes Ferry Park and then went and saw "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." It was such a fun day and the movie was cute! I didn't even freak out when the train came by while we were at the park!

This past week has been pretty busy. I had an interview on Monday, (will disclose more info, later, if anything comes of it). I did get to have supper with my Caley, so overall, it was a pretty fabulous day! Tuesday was a chilly, rainy, windy day. And to top it all off, I had to go get a consult and schedule my widsom teeth surgery. Now, I am TERRIFIED of the dentist, so you can imagine the horror and anxiety I am going through as I wait for May 11th to arrive. I know it's not bad at all, but that doesn't make me any less terrified of anything dental-related. ha!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Cara and I had an old-school spend the night party complete with pizza and a movie last Saturday night while her parents were gone on a trip. Teri even came and joined us for a bit. The following Sunday, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Dot's (you must go if you haven't been!) with our favorite red-head, Blake!

The past several weeks have been filled with all kinds of fun events (wedding showers, mini-reunions, and sleepovers) and I have been reminded of just how blessed my life is. I have the best family, friends and group of supporters who love me and are always there to keep me going!

I'm looking forward to another great week. Lunch with Memaw/Pepaw, hoping to hear from a company in Birmingham regarding a potential job opportunity, spending time at the ballfields and celebrating with all those who will be graduating from high school and college this month! Life is beautiful!

Play Ball!

2010-04-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I love about spring, but one of my favorite things about it is Baseball Season! I love going out to the local ball parks and supporting all my little cousins and other kiddos from our church. We have had some absolutely GORGEOUS weather this week so we spent both Monday and Tuesday evening watching some of our favorite little ones play ball. Here are some pictures from this week's games:

L2L 2010

2010-04-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

Lads to Leaders 2010 was so much fun! I am so proud of all the young people who participated, especially those from the BYG! This is such a great program and my life has been blessed by being able to participate in it growing up and now by helping lead in the program. My sister and I teamed up this year and coached the youngest beltline puppet group! I am so proud of them! They have learned a lifelong talent that they can use to glorify God with throughout the rest of their lives. They took their skit to the convention and brought home a 3rd Place trophy! They did great and we were so blessed to be able to work with these kids! Here is a picture of our group. Please notice that even the shortest kid has less than a foot to go before he reaches my height...sigh...the Crowe Sisters just weren't blessed with the height gene. Ha!

Our team: Sam Olinger, Kade Sinclair, Josh Gann, David Strunk, Colton Sandlin, Emma Kate Garrett, Dejanae, Logan Truitt, Ashleigh Wallace and Ivy Gwin

Meeting #28

2010-04-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

On occasion, Parkway Place Mall in Huntsville has members of the Alabama football team visit to sign autographs and pictures. Me and mom went shopping one Saturday and got to meet Javier Arenas! He was really nice! I also got a small Daniel Moore print and had him sign it. It is the Rocky Block one that we got dad for Christmas...Beautiful!

Makin Music

2010-04-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

After much deliberation (with myself) I broke down and decided to go to Makin Music this year. I had sworn I wasn't going to go back to campus until I had another job lined up so that when former co-workers asked the dreaded questions (what was I doing and had I found a job yet) I could say, "Why yes. I am a rockstar at my new kick-butt job where I'm getting paid three times as much as I was here." Okay, maybe not all that, but I sure would have liked for my answer to have been "yes," so that I would feel somewhat successful. However, last week, I passed the 1 year mark since the day I lost my job and to be perfectly honest, I was pretty bummed. Even two days before Makin' Music, I still had no plans whatsoever to attend. It wasn't until my college roommate, Caley, gave me the link to look at videos online of Makin' Music preparations and sneak peeks that I began to feel nostalgic and realize that despite how hurt, upset and frustrated I am over the whole job situation, I'm still an alumni of the university, I still wanted to support my social club and I still love makin' music (though not to the extreme that some alumni do...geez!). I'm glad I made the decision to go, mostly b/c we had a couple of extra tickets so Caley and Jonathan came. I also enjoyed the show and got to see a lot of friends and former classmates. Did I have to answer some of those dreaded questions? Yep. Was it hard to see some of the wonderful people I use to work and go to church with? Definitley. Was all the awkward conversation and running into the president of the school worth getting to see my roomie and watch XBX rock the stage AND take home the 1st place trophy? You bet it was! In my (slightly biased) opinion, the 3 shows that placed were definitley the top 3. The show that came in 3rd had a good show until they brought out their version of the overly-done Thriller dance. I have seen enough of Thriller. Let it rest in peace with Mr. Jackson, please. Of course I was proud of my former club for winning 1st and was glad to see the new club do so well and take home 2nd. Their show was super cute!
In the end, it turned out to be a pretty good evening and I am so glad I made the decision to go!

Praise be to GOD!!

2010-04-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

"Cara and Mrs. Sherry have been in a bad wreck. They're hurt, but ok."

This was the first thing I was told as I sat down to worship last night at church. Needless to say, my focus was centered around finding out exactly what had happened to my best friend and dear sweet Mrs. Sherry during worship service. I'm not ashamed (go ahead, judge me) that I texted everyone I possibly could throughout church trying to find out if they truly were "ok." I mean, a loaded sentence like that absolutely needs to come with a few more details than that. Throughout the night, I recieved updates that they were, in fact, going to be okay despite the bumps, bruises and broken bones. Thanks be to God for no life-threatening injuries. He definitley had His angels watching over Mrs. Sherry and Cara yesterday! It is always scary to hear about people you know being involved in serious accidents, but when it's someone you are really close to, it brings you to a whole new level of fear and uncertainty. Fortunately, I serve a God who listens to His people and so I spent the entire night praying for these two special people as did so many others who love them. I know it is because of these prayers that they are already home and beginning the recovery process. Please pray that they are able to fully recover and heal as quickly as possible! And if you haven't, go ahead and offer up a prayer of praise. Even if you haven't the slightest clue who I'm talking about, I'm sure God has done something in your life worth praising Him for. I know lately I haven't been praising Him enough.

Praise be to God for all the good and wonderful things He has done!

Weekend Trip to the Beach? Yes, Please!!

2010-03-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

We don't have jobs (well, full time jobs, anyway). We don't have much money. We are sick of the cold weather. We need to get away from the reality of our lives for a few days. So what do we do?

We head south to the beach, that's what!

Cara's grandparents rent out a beach house in Gulf Shores every year and we were invited to come spend a few days with them! It was so nice of them to let us come down there and enjoy a few days in the warm sun!

We left super early on a Thursday morning and were out in the sun by that afternoon. Even though it was a little windy, the sun kept us pretty warm. We spent the evenings reading and knitting and playing games with Cara's grandparents. It was sooo relaxing! On Friday we visited the super cute town of Fairhope, AL. You should go visit. It has an adorable little downtown district with a lot of specialty shops (including a fabulous yarn shop) and unique places to eat. We took he advice of one of the store owners and had lunch at Sandra's Place. Cara had the chicken salad sandwich, I had the salad tri which included their chicken salad, fruit salad and a scoop of pasta salad. YUM!! Kristin had a very yummy grilled cheese. Cara and I then spotted a chocolate cake and decided to split it. It was really good, but extremely rich. Kristin had given up chocolate for Lent so she went with a slice of coconut cake...It was by far the best dessert (and you know how I feel about chocolate)!! All the food was delicious and the sweet ladies that worked there were an absolute HOOT! We were the only ones there so we got to talk to them a good bit. When we were finished, they told us that the chocolate cake we had just eaten was in Southern Livings "100 Best Places to Eat in Alabama." Then they went on to tell us that Southern Living had just left earlier that afternoon (before we came in to eat) to do a feature article on their chicken salad and coconut cake. How cool is that? Everything we had there has been or will be featured in Southern Living. Maybe we live uneventful, mediocre lives, but we thought it was cool...:)

We really enjoyed our day of shopping in Fairhope, but we were definitley worn out and decided to head back to the beach house. We spent the rest of the weekend laying, reading, knitting, playing games and watching movies. We finished out the trip by stopping in Birmingham to eat dinner with Charles, Blakers and Holly-Beth! It was such a nice, little, mini-vacation!

Change can be okay, sometimes

2010-02-27T11:47:00.001-08:00

I recently rearranged my room and put my desk in front of my window. I am much happier to sit and search for jobs for countless hours now. Just as long as the blinds are open, my music is blaring and Chandler is sweetly nestled on the bottom shelf of my desk.

Happy Saturday!

My Name is Jennifer and I'm a Shoe-aholic

2010-02-21T10:04:00.001-08:00

I have a bad shoe addiction. More specifically, a Target shoe addiction.

Curse of the 2nd Stall from the right

2010-02-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, I left my pew at church to make a quick run to the restroom. I went right into the second stall and when I tried to get out, I discovered that the lock was jammed. After several failed attempts, I couldn't get the lock to budge. I was the only one in the bathroom at the moment so there wasn't anyone I could ask to help me out. I considered calling my mom out of services but since her phone was on silent and in her purse, she probably wouldn't have seen the call until after church was over. So, I gave it another try and after several minutes, was finally able to escape.

Well, tonight upon entering the bathroom, I immediately remembered that the 2nd stall was still jamming up on people (a women had to be rescued just this morning) and chose to go in the 3rd stall. It was too late before I realized there was no toilet paper. Again, I was the only one in there and this time, I had left my phone in my coat pocket on the church pew so there was no way for me to contact my mom to come to my rescue. I sat there for a couple of minutes, weighing out my options, which were few. Fortunately for me, someone else came in and I was able to ask for some TP.

This must be God's way of telling me to stop leaving worship services to go potty.

I'm Getting LOST tonight!

2010-02-02T17:10:00.001-08:00

Yep. The beginning of the end starts tonight! In a way, I'm sad...but I'm really kinda ready to just know everything!

Winter blues

2010-01-29T11:59:00.001-08:00

It's snowing in West TN and freezing rain here in Decatur and the roads in between here and there have iced over. Fantastic. So instead of going to celebrate sweet Collin's first birthday, I will be staying here in Alabama this weekend. Bummer. OH well, in the grand scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal and I still want to wish the handsome little man a happy birthday!

Here is a 1 year ago!

Happy Birthday little man! You're gift for you time capsule is in the mail!

Glitter! (no, not the horrible movie)

2010-01-24T20:43:00.000-08:00

Today I re-discovered my love/hate relationship with glitter. My sister and I are puppet leaders this year for Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes and I'm really excited! Part of our responsibility is to help make puppet props and since we had early church services, some of the puppet leaders got together to get a head start on puppet props. After proving that I was not very good with a pair of scissors, I was put on glitter duty. I was excited, because I'm a girl and sparkly is always fun. However, as I was getting ready for bed tonight, I found lots of glitter in places that were not exposed when working with the glitter earlier today. I also had glitter stuck to my jeans...thank goodness we were only using Elmer's glue!

I have a feeling this is going to be a good week. I don't have much planned for the first part of the week-just the same old schedule: gym in the morning and job hunting during the day. I'm going to try and go see the play at Austin on Thursday or Friday. On Saturday, I'll be celebrating sweet baby Collin's 1st birthday in Jackson! I can't believe he is already a year old! I plan on spending the night in Jackson and going to worship at Skyline on Sunday.

I've got to figure out what to serve with dinner tomorrow night. I'm making baked porkchops in an onion and mushroom gravy but I'm not sure what to fix to go with it...maybe rice and steamed broccoli?

Anyhoo, that's about it. Time for bed-gotta get up bright and early.

Hurry Back, Conan!

2010-01-22T21:43:00.001-08:00

He's a good guy and he's funny. I can't wait to see where his career takes him next!

Next step: Obedience school?

2010-01-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

It all started when my family decided to watch Madagascar 2 one night. My parents, sister and I, as well as all 4 dogs snuggled in for a family movie night. It was going great until the penguins came on the screen. Joey, my mom's dog, went absolutely crazy! He was convinced that there were animals dancing on the mantle and wantd to know where they came from and was determined to get rid of them. Ever since then, he would get upset when anytime an animal came on the screen. He really had a fit when we watched Bolt (Joey is a white dog and closely resembles Bolt). It got much worse when we were watching "America's Funniest Videos." Over the past few months, the barking has gotten much worse as he will pretty much bark at anything! Sometimes, he'll bark at the tv when it is off! No matter how much we swat him with the fly-swatter (it doesn't hurt, just startles him) and tell him no, he continues to do it. So mom and dad got the bright idea to try a dog whistle. So off to PetSmart we went to purchase a dog whistle. These aren't the silent kind, so humans can hear them, but they are supposed to be effective. However, these whistles do not phase Joey one bit. Dad still has hope that they will eventually work. Until then, I'm going to have to start wearing ear plugs b/c they sure do hurt my ears!!

Kids these days are pretty stinking funny!

2010-01-15T16:55:00.000-08:00

I always have funny stories to tell about my little cousins. They are always doing and saying the funniest things! My cousin Dylan is only 7 years old but is quite the character. He is known for his quick wit and funny personality. While perusing through facebook, I came across a note that my uncle posted. Here is a link to the that note:

Dylan's To Do List

According to my aunt, he also has a master plan to run St. Jude out of business. Ha! He thinks the doctors don't work hard enough and that they should take their own medicine and see how they like it! Haha! On one end of the spectrum, it makes my heart hurt that he's having to go through this and take all these medications, but I can't help but laugh at his master plan! At least he's being pro-active and coming up with a solution to his problem, right? Robbie doesn't seem to think he'll be featured in any of St. Jude's commercials anytime soon (and ironically, one is currently playing on tv as I type this)!

Anyhoo, that's your latest installment from the Tales of the Crazy Crowe's! Stay tuned for more stories starring the loveable little ones in my life!

Ramblings

2010-01-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'm known for my random thoughts. There are times when my head is stuffed full of random little thoughts and none of them really connect. Tonight is one of those nights so there is no flow whatsoever to this entry. It's all just a bunch of randomness. I'm warning you now, this is going to be a crazy ride through my head.

My heart hurts for those in Haiti right now. I don't even know what to say. Thousands of people are now homeless, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives and hundreds of people are burried beneath rubble fighting for their lives while their families search for them, not knowing if they'll find them. It's a horrible and tragic situation and I feel helpless. All I know I can do is pray and even though that's the best thing I can do right now, it still doesn't seem like enough.

I auditioned to sing with a bunch of Broadway has-beens at a show here in Decatur. I wasn't chosen and at first, I wasn't okay with that. Then I remembered how trivial it really was in the grand scheme of things.

I'm going through a really bad "I miss my Jackson friends and church family" phase and wondering I will have those kind of connections again.

My sister had a wreck today. She was rear-ended by a girl who wasn't paying attention and hit the gas without looking to see if there was a car in front of her. She and my sister are both fine, but it was Teri's first wreck and she was a little shook up. I'm so glad it wasn't worse than it was.

I can't wait to have my own place again.

My sweet cousin, Dylan is still undergoing treatment for cancer. He's had some good days and some bad days, but he is a trooper! His numbers have been down and he had to go back on his special, low-bacteria diet, but as of this afternoon he was able to come back home from Memphis and was taken off his diet. He even invited us to eat Mexican food (his favorite) with him sometime this week.

My family is incredible. We're crazy, but we're really awesome!

I'm making it my personal goal to be a better, more compassionate, less self-induldged person. I'm going to be better about putting the needs of others before mine. I want to live more Christ-like.

And there you have it, the random ramblings of Jen. Told ya it was going to be crazy!

Being a Bama fan is awesome....

2010-01-07T23:06:00.000-08:00

....and it's even more awesome when our boys win the National Championship! The Longhorns put up a great fight, and I'm sad for Colt McCoy and wish him well! Overall, it was a great game and a great season! Congrats boys! As always, I'm proud to be a Bama gal!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has had a wonderful 2010 so far! Teri and I had a wonderful time throwing a party and ringing in the new year with some awesome friends!

In other news, it is waay too cold this week. I'm just not a fan of the cold weather. They are calling for snow this week and I'm really hoping it doesn't get too bad. Mostly because I don't want it to interfere with my plans to drive to Henderson on Thursday to watch the game with my college roomie, Caley! We spent many weekends watching Alabama football in the dorm and cheering them on and throwing hard objects at the wall when the game didn't go the way we wanted. Just so you know, we were the only girls on campus who had University of Alabama bedding while we lived in the dorms. Yep, we're hardcore. Anyhoo, after many years of loving our boys despite the fact that they weren't very good, Bama finally gets another chance at a national title!! I'm way pumped and am hoping for a win, but no matter the outcome, I'm still a proud Bama gal!

Anyhoo, I don't really make New Year's resolutions, as I don't really see the point. However, I did decide that I am going to try and update this thing more often. We'll see how that goes!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

Hello! I just wanted to update really quick before I went into complete NYE party mode! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and got to enjoy spending time with your families. Santa was good to us at the Crowe house! I wish each and every 2 of you who actually read this a happy new year! Good Riddance 2009!!

Happy New Year!

What's the best way to get out of a funk?

2009-12-11T21:41:00.001-08:00

Spending time with some of you favorite girls, of course!

See, I've been in a bit of funk lately. Between the job hunt not going so well, not having a work christmas party to go to, not having my own place to decorate for the holidays and not being able to buy my friends and family what I would like to for Christmas, I've been feeling a little blue. This is crazy since it's supposed to be the happiest time of the year! I also feel a little guilty for being so bummed when there are people far worse off than I currently am. In fact, if I didn't actually have the desire to work, one would think I might be living the ideal life. Anyhoo, I decided that I needed some time with my roomie and Jess. When we were all living close together we would get together every month for a girls night. We almost always went to Chick-fil-A and stayed until they were locking up! We spend time catching up and venting about everything and it's always great. I was in need of some serious socializing so when Caley told me via Skype that she and Jess were planning a girls night the following evening, I decided I was going to be there and nothing-not even the torrential downpours all along my drive-was going to stop me!

We (almost) always met for supper at Chick-fil-a at 5:30 and I assumed that's when Caley and Jess were going to be there so I made plans to arrive at around 6:15ish. I had it all planned out and was even going to be cheesy/cute and send them a text that said "boo" or "surprise!" However I had a small panic attack when I pulled up into the parking lot and couldn't find their cars! I thought that maybe they just decided to meet a little later so I tried calling Caley's husband but when I couldn't reach him I had to give in and call Caley. Turns out they were doing some Christmas shopping at Target. They were still surprised, we had fun and I'm glad I got to spend time with them. I have missed them dearly. I felt a little guilty showing up needing a place to stay un-announced but oh well-I promise it won't happen again!

The next day Caley and I had lunch with Betsy and even ran into a couple of other former co-workers. It was really nice catching upwith Betsy and I'm glad we got to chat for a while.

I'm feeling much better after that trip-even though it was a short one, it really lifted my spirits and has put me back in the Christmas spirit. Now I'm ready for Cara to be home and all will be even grander! Hooray for Cara by the way who is DONE with photography school!! YAY!

Now on to getting ready for all the upcoming Holiday festivities. I finished my Christmas shopping and am in the process of getting everything wrapped. Once that's finished, I can fully enjoy the rest of the holiday festivities!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday season!

Disney 2009 Recap

2009-12-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in an earlier post, our family recently took a trip to Disney World during the week of Thanksgiving. We had a great time and while we missed being with our extended families on Thanksgiving, we did have a great time being together as just the four of us. I promise to include a link to pictures at some point, but I still don't have them all organized yet! I mean, I only took about 800 pictures-ha! Anyhoo, here is a brief overview of the week:

Sunday-We arrived at our resort, the Grand Floridian, at about 10 a.m. and checked in. Our room wasn't going to be ready until later that afternoon so we hopped on the boat and headed on over to Magic Kingdom. All of WDW had put most of their decorations up and the ones at MK were absolutely beautiful! We decided that we were going to try and do most of the things we missed on our first trip back in 2008. We would have loved to do everything, but there is just no way to do every possible thing in all the parks in a week's time! This year, Disney ran a special where the Disney Dining Plan was free so we got to do several character meals during the week. We ate in the castle our first day there. It was so much fun! Once we were seated our waiter brought me and my sister wands and addressed us as Princess for the rest of the evening....I can't seem to get people back home to do that...ha! We were like little girls meeting Cinderella's mice and the fairy Godmother (as well as every other character in every park/parade) but don't judge us. We were 18 and 22 the first time we ever came to WDW so we didn't get to meet our favorite princesses and characters as little girls-which is fine. I've decided my children will also be adults before I take them to WDW! haha! Anyhoo, after dinner we went outside to the front of the castle for the "Lighting of the Castle" ceremony. Let me just say that the castle is beautiful without the lights, but is sooo much prettier with the christmas lights! We hung out in the park the rest of the night until afer "Wishes," the fireworks show, was over and then made our way to the hotel.

Monday-I have a list of things to do before I die that I made several, several years ago. One of the items on my list is to sing on a stage at Disney World so when I heard back in 2008 that in January 2009 the American Idol Experience was opening in Hollywood Studios, I knew that I had to do it!! I had read up on the attraction and knew that it was going to be crowded Thanksgiving week so I got up really early on Monday morning so that I could get ready and get to the park before it opened so that I could be in the front of the audition line. Much to my surprise, it wasn't that crowded before the park opened so when the producers and audition team of the production came out to hold auditions before the gates opened, I was one of the first people in line. I auditioned and was immediatley chosen to get to enter the park (before it opened) and go sing for a "producer." After picking my song and singing for the "producer," I was picked to sing in one of the preliminary shows-victory! They even had a video crew come and take me all over the park and filmed me for a video blurb that was played before I sang. I had a blast! The whole experience was indeed just like being on the show (I assume). They even sent all the contestants through hair and make-up and voice-coaching and rehearsal on the stage. Our families were given the "V.I.P" treatment. Now Disney is a big place, so you can imagine my shock when random people would stop me throughout the day, as well as the next day in a totally different park, and ask me if "I was that girl who sang yesterday." Pretty cool, eh? Especially since about 30 people are chosen to do the show every day! It was all just really fun. I get more endorphins from singing and performing on stage than I do from exercising so I was walking on air the rest of the day. We spent the rest of the day hanging out in Hollywood Studios. We watching the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights (youtube it) and then hopped on a bus to Epcot to watch "Illuminations," their laser/fireworks show and then went back to the hotel.

Tuesday was spent in Animal Kingdom. The weather there was so much better this time than it was last time we were there. We did a lot of things that we didn't do the last time, including the "Festival of the Lion King," show. It is a must see if you go!! They have an awesome roller coaster called "Expedition Everest," that is really good. We waited in line for a long time, but it was worth it because we were able to score the front two rows! We went back to the hotel after the afternoon parade to rest for a bit and shower before our 9:30 dinner reservations at O'Hana's in the Polynesian. We highly recommend this restaraunt but I must warn you, they bring you waaaayy too much food! After dinner we went out to the beach to watch the fireworks over the castle. You don't realize how big the bursts are until you see them from across the lagoon.

Wednesday was a rainy day so we decided to use this as our rest and re-group day. We went to Epcot early that morning to eat breakfast with the Princesses and ride Soarin' (a hang-gliderish ride) and then came back to the hotel to do laundry and hide from the rain. Later that evening we went to Hollywood Studios to watch "Fantasmic." this show is also a must see!

We spent Thursday in Magic Kingdom, We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and while it was very yummy, we stilled missed dad's fried turkey, Grandmother Crowe's dressing and potato salad and all the other yummy "Crowe" foods!

On Friday morning mom and I did some souvenier shopping while Dad and Teri went to Animal Kingdom and took advantage of the single rider line at "Expedition Everest." We all met back at the hotel to watch the Bama/Auburn game before going to dinner. We spent our last night in Magic Kingdom. One of my friends from college works at Disney during various seasons/holiday and she happened to be there this week so I went over to see her at work! After the fireworks, we made our way back to the hotel to pack for our departure the next day.

I wish I could list everything we did but there's just soo much to write about! We had a blast and it was good to escape reality and spend a week in the "most magical place on earth," during the holidays!

To My Dear Non-Bama Fan Friends

2009-12-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

Please let us enjoy our win. Your negative comments on various public forums are just as tacky as you say Bama fans are being. We're excited. Our boys played hard and won. For that, we deserve to be happy and say (almost) whatever we want. You don't have to be happy for us or with us, but please stop making it so hard for some of us to enjoy the victory. Thank you and Roll Tide...:)

I've been terrible at this whole blogging thing lately

2009-11-30T21:02:00.001-08:00

I did it again. I almost forgot to blog again. I'm not sure why I don't do this more often-it's not like I have much going on! haha! Anyhoo, sooo much has gone on this month that I just can't get to it right now. I just got back from a Disney trip and it was amazing! I will write on that more later and include links to pictures.

So as you may know, I had planned on doing a half marathon this weekend, but due to the lack of funds raised and a sinus infection invading my body, I'm going to have to postpone that for now. I know, I know. This makes the 2nd athletic event that I've bailed on, but I really suck at fundraising and I know everybody has to be careful with how they spend their money. Since I can't afford to pay for these things out of pocket, I have to attempt these types of things some other time. It worked out well this weekend though, I'm going to be spending it with my 3 favorite Gwin kids! I baby-sat them when they were little and have watched them grow up. Their parents have to go out of town for a Christmas party so I will be spending the night with them. We'll have a lot of fun!

This weekend is the SEC Championship and I'm nervous, as usual. Bama always plays in a way that nearly gives me a heart attack each week...but I don't think I'd have it any other way. Blow-out games aren't nearly as fun as the hard-core, nerve-wracking ones!

I'm still looking for a job-preferably in the Birmingham area, but at this point, I'm open to (almost) anything. *By almost, I mean, I'd really like to move somewhere besides Decatur...nothing against it (it is my home, afterall), I just need something different.

Dylan is doing pretty well. He's been doing his treatments and will be going back to Memphis in the next few weeks. Keep praying for him, I know they are working!

I suppose that's about it for now...I will be writing a lot later on my disney trip and other happenings. Tomorrow, my sister and I will be going over to bake cookies with Memaw. We traditionally do it the day after Thanksgiving, but since we were out of town we had to postpone it a couple of days. We always have a lot of fun, but eat waay to much cookie dough! Oh well, that's what the gym is for! Ha!

I almost let another month slip by without a blog entry!

2009-10-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

I'm slightly disappointed in myself for not blogging as much lately. It feels weird saying that I've been busy these past few weeks since I don't have a job, but I've still had a lot going on! I'll just do a quick update on what I've been up to lately!

1st of all, I've been working out a lot and getting ready for my first ever half-marathon! I'm going to be participating in the Memphis Marathon Weekend as a St. Jude Hero and I'm really excited about it! I'm not looking to make a great time (truth be told-I'll probably walk some and run some...I'm just doing it for the kids of St. Jude!) I'm trying to raise $1000 and could really use some help. If you'd like to donate to St. Jude you can visit my personal site (www.mystjudeheroes.org/jenpaige85) and click "Donate Now." It would really help me reach my goal and help the children of St. Jude!

I had to back out of the 3day walk this year. I hated it and really regret it, but I had to uncommit to something, and since I already had something else I needed to be at that weekend, the 3day got the boot. I'm definitley going to try again next year.

My family and I took a trip to the beach a couple of weeks ago and I'm pretty sure that beach trips in October are the best idea ever! Even though it was unusually chilly for October, the weather was still perfectly clear and we were able to spend hours laying out soaking up the sun and enjoying the fresh ocean air! The water was extremely calm while we were there which added to the relaxation. It was a much needed escape from reality. You can click on the link below to view some of the pictures from our vacation.

Beach Pictures

Last Saturday we had the annual Crowe Family breakfast at our house. We have this event every year on the day Alabama plays TN. We always have a lot of fun and eat a ton of food and this year was no exception. We started off with a big country breakfast and by half-time of the game, we were chowing down on Dad's hot wings and barbeque! Yum-Yum!

Finally, last night Mom, Teri, Ethan and I spent the evening carving pumpkins. I hadn't carved a pumpkin in forever! We had a lot of fun and they turned out great!

Below is a link to view the pictures from my October adventures!

Family Breakfast and other October Adventures!

Today is Halloween (my least favorite holiday, by the way) so I will most likely be putting Chandler in ihis Halloween tee and taking him up with me to pass out candy at Trunk-or-Treat at Beltline this afternoon and then coming back to hand out candy to trick or treaters at the house. This is my first Halloween in this house so I'm not sure how many trick or treaters we'll have. Mom says we don't usually have that many...bummer! Oh well, I know one thing is for sure, I will be avoiding all scary movies and masks.

Happy Halloween!

Rule # 5234: I do not allow myself to See movies that were adapted from books unless I've read the book first

2009-09-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

So I have a loooot of catching up to do and I'm just now finally getting around to it. It's been a long time since I've read something that was just a story and not something that I needed to retain vital information from for a test or something. I used to love reading so much and when it became something that I was forced to do I(for school), I lost my zeal for it (mostly because I'm stubborn and don't like to be told that I have to do something so that I can be graded on it). Anyhoo, all that to say that I've recently begun diving back into books...all kinds. I went to Books-a-Million on Monday night and bought several books that have been reccomended and just so happen to have been adapted into movies (which makes me glad, b/c I really need to see them). I started My Sister's Keeper on Tuesday night and was done with it by Wednesday night. It was a great book, despite the tough topic it covered. It was a very deep and moving story and they way the author lays it out made it even more interesting. Normally, I can predict that outcome of the story, but this one actually took me by surprise. I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to actually see the movie. I have my own images of what I think everyone/everything looks like in the story and I'm not a big fan of Hollywood changing those images for me. Also, sometimes the movie seems to "outdo" the book or change/leave out details and I really don't appreciate that. Anyhoo, I'm sure I'll end up seeing at somepoint, but I think I'll wait for now. Next, I'll be reading The Notebook. Yes, this means that I have not seen the movie yet (which probably means I'm the only girl who has yet to see it). I'm a little bitter about my book cover though...it's not the original. BAM was out of the copies with the author's original cover, therefore, I'm stuck with the cover that has a picture of the actors who played the characters in the movie.

Oh well, maybe it won't affect my own visual creation of how I see each detail...:)

Time to put my on my Jesus hands and feet

2009-09-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

I'm reading this incredible book (which I highly reccommend you reading) called "The Irresistable Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical," by Shane Claiborne. I'm only 4 chapters into the book and it has already inspired me to take a look at myself and what/who I've become. One thing he keeps making reference to is being the hands and feet of Jesus. I am disturbed and ashamed at how distant I am from grasping this concept and actually being the hands and feet of Jesus. Yesterday marked my 5th month of unemployment. I've spent 5 long months being bitter against people who still have their jobs. 5 months being angry about having to move away from my friends and move back in with my parents. 5 months being frustrated because I haven't had any luck finding a job. And finally, 5 months being worried if I'll ever find another job that I love as much as the one I had last. 5 months is way too long to be bitter, angry, frustrated and worried about being put in a situation that was beyond my control. I am disgusted at how much time I've wasted wallowing in self-pity while my Christianity deteriorated. There are so many things I could have been doing as the hands and feet of Jesus while continuing to search for a job. Afterall, my resume says I am a great multi-tasker. However, I spent what little time I didn't occupy with the filling out of applications and scrolling through online job searches watching TV, lounging around and feeling sorry for myself. I didn't stop going to church, but I didn't really make the effort to connect with God and give Him the glory and worship He is due. It's quite sad, really.

It is my personal goal to put on my Jesus hands and feet and do something more productive with my time. It's time I quit thinking of all this free time as an inconvienance and instead, consider it a blessing and use it as a ministry for my God.

It's only 3 hours into the day, and it's already pretty stinking awesome!

2009-08-29T00:41:00.000-07:00

So, it's about 2:45 a.m. on Saturday, August 29th and I've already begun my day (actually, I haven't been to sleep yet, I watching tv until it was time for me to get up). I hopped in the shower at about 2 a.m. and will be getting ready shortly so that we can take Pepaw to the airport for his Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.!!!! He is so excited and we are so excited for him! For those of you who don't know what Honor Flight is, it is a program that provides a way for WWII veterans to go to Washington, D.C. to see their memorials. It is a one day trip and is completely FREE to the veterans. It was started by a group of people who were concerned because so many WWII veterans are passing away and many of them never had the chance to visit their memorial. There is about 150 of them leaving this morning from the Huntsville/Decatur area and they will return this evening. They will get to visit the WWII memorials as well as Arlington cemetary. They will return around 9ish tonight and we will be welcoming them back and have a big hoorah for all of them! My Pepaw has wanted to go visit D.C. for quite some time but we never could get it all worked out so this is truly a blessing! I'm sure that it will be a great trip for them, but I'm sure it will be an emotional one as well as they remember their fellow soldiers who couldn't be with them today. I'll be "interviewing" Pepaw later about his experience and will post it later. Anyhoo, I need to go get my sister out of bed so she can get ready.

Oh yeah, one more thing.....DYLAN IS IN REMISSION!!!!!!!!!! Even though he will still be underging treatments, it is a blessing to know that ALL THE CANCER IS GONE!!!!! thank you to everyone who has kept our sweet boy in your prayers! Please continue to pray for him as he continues treatments and that the cancer stays away!!

I've been around for 2 Dozen years!

2009-08-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yep. I'm 24...I don't feel any older though. Granted, 24 doesn't really classify as old in my book. Old age, in my opinion, begins when you start considering yourself "old." Therefore, I'll never be old! I have a feeling I'll always be a kid at heart. Life is more fun that way! I celebrated my birthday last Thursday by job hunting, making cupcakes, having lunch with Memaw and dinner with mom, dad and my sister. It was an easy-going, laid back day. I enjoyed it very much!

I spent all day Friday looking for jobs/job fairs and preparing for a fun night out with Cara and Kristin. We had a great time at the Princess watching Encore, and enjoyed chit-chatting at Steak and Shake afterwards (after paying a cover charge to get into Maria Bonita to satisfy our craving for chips and salsa. They failed to mention it to us at the door that the kitchen was closed-you fail, MB). It was ok though. We still had a lovely evening! Girls nights are always the best!

This weekend was the tax-free holiday. I woke up with a headache so I did not feel like taking advantage of the tax-free goodness (actually, it was the crowds I did not want to put up with). However, Academy Sports just opened and I was in dire need of new running shoes. After the headached subsided, I trekked out to Academy and braved the crowds in an effort to find some new kicks. I was pleased with the store. It is very big, open and airy (there were still waaay too many people there). Getting through the shoe aisles were a pain in my rear! Fortunately, people seemed to crowd the aisles in waves so I would hang back, wait for an aisle to temporarily clear out and then make my move. I went through and grabbed every shoe in my size that I could and then went to the open area where the benches were and tried them. I did this with every aisle. I must have tried on at least 20 pairs of shoes (if not more). I asked some of my runner friends what shoes they wore/preferred but didn't hear back until after I made my purchase. I decided to go with the Nike+ Air Pegasus. I LOVE them! What makes it even better is that after I made my purchase, I eventually heard back from a couple of friends and they also wear Nike+ so I felt my decision was a good one! I went and tried them out that night and even though my sock slipped down and I got "new show blisters," I still liked them a lot.

Sunday was pretty normal. Morning worship, lunch (an awesome farmer's market lunch, actually), Sunday afternoon nap, followed by evening worship.

I don't have much on the agenda today except to find a freakin job. I'm soo incredibly bored!

I'll also be saying lots of prayers for Dylan. He has a big day at the hospital today including a bone marrow biopsy. Keith says it will probably be a couple of days before we get all the results, but we are hoping for 0% as always. If you get a chance, send some thoughts/prayers up on Dylan's behalf. Also, keep praying for his parents.

Well, I suppose that's about it. I will keep everyone posted on Dylan as results come in.

I'm baaaacckkk!

2009-08-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

I know you missed me! I've bee gone for a week at "the greatest place that I have ever been," Maywood!! We had a great time! The worship was great, the Bible classes were great, seeing my camp friends was great and the weather was cooler than usual, so all in all, it was a good week. I was blessed to be in one of the 3 new girls cabins (which has been nick-named "the spa") and I really enjoyed it. It's a nice building with awesome AC! haha! We had many who were restored this week and several who were baptized which is always great! I LOVED my co-counselor, Kristy. She was so much fun to be with and we got along great. I'm not sure if I've completely caught up on my sleep yet, but I'm sure with a couple more solid nights of rockstar sleeping, I'll be good to go. I'm doing my best to get back into the daily job hunt. The past two weeks have been extremely crazy and all things not pertaining to family and Maywood took the backseat. However, I'm back in the swing of things and hopefully will find something soon (before I go crazy from boredom)!

On Sunday we had a surprise birthday party for my aunt who just turned 60! She was very much surprised and we all had a good time. Dad made barbecue and we had cake and ice-cream (not exactly what I needed after last weeks nightly bowl of home-made ice-cream). Keith later called on skype and the whole family got to video chat with Keith, Robbie and Dylan for a few minutes. It was great seeing all the "little" cousins talk to Dylan and see for themselves that he was in good spirits. I'm so thankful for technology that allows us all to be somewhat "together," even though sometimes some of us have to be far away.

Speaking of that cute kid, Dylan is doing ok. His ANC levels (the stuff he needs to fight infections) have been very low, so he's been getting a lot of antibiotics and I think he ended up only having one chemo treatment last week. He had a big day at the hospital today. He had a bone marrow biopsy today and before he went in, he told Keith and Robbie that he wanted his menu ready when he woke up. The first thing he said when he woke up was "got my food?" This is very much how my Granddaddy Crowe was! haha! They saw Dr. Pui this mornig and he was dissappointed with his numbers so they will have to continue the antibiotics. He also had a chemo treatment today and will probably be losing his hair in the next couple of days. They haven't gotten all of the results from today back yet, so please keep all 3 of them in your prayers as they wait and recover from the long day they had. Thanks!

I'm sorry this is so short. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm still not caught up on sleep and am getting kinda tired. I will try and post more tomorrow!

I'm still afraid of clowns, but I do respect Ronald McDonald and his house

2009-07-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT visit with Keith, Robbie and Dylan yesterday!! We went and visited them at the Ronald McDonald House and had such a good time! Dylan had us laughing allll day long! It was great seeing where they will be staying for the next few weeks and seeing that they are all 3 being taken care of. I posted some pictures on facebook and will post some more on here when I get back from MAYWOOD!! I will be leaving ASAP once I get through tying up some loose ends here.

That's really all I have to say, just wanted to give a little update! He has more chemo starting tomorrow, so keep him in your prayers!

Thanks!

I am at a loss for a cool title for this one-sorry

2009-07-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

This week has been quite busy-which is good since I've been so bored the past few months! I've been busy packing, washing clothes, job hunting, and getting ready for next week-MAYWOOD!! Quite possibly my most favorite week of the entire year! This will be my 7th year to be a counselor and I'm really excited. I will be in Ashdod (part of the new 3-cabin building, yay!) again this year. The new cabin also has a bathroom connected to it, so no more bath-house! woot! Anyhoo, I probably won't be doing any updating on the blog next week, since I'll be at camp.

I do want to give you an update on Dylan. It has been a full week since he was diagnosed with ALL. He has had 2 rounds of chemo, both of which have had some incredible results. When he was first diagnosed, his bone marrow was 90% leukemia cells. As of this afternoon, they were down to 19%!!! That, my friends, is in large part, due to the medicine. However I firmly believe that even more of those results come directly from God hearing all the prayers that have been offered up in Dylans behalf! Prayer is powerful and amazing and I'm so thankful God has heard everyone's prayers and has placed his healing hand on Dylan! He has been in good spirits the past couple of days-especially today. He was dismissed from the hospital yesterday and is now moved into the Ronald McDonald house. Dad, Teri, Grandmother and I are going to Memphis tomorrow to visit with Keith, Robbie and Dylan. I am very excited! I do have to say this about little Dylan. According to Keith, earlier this afternoon he and Robbie were laying down and resting while Dylan was watching Harry Potter. Except, while he watched it, Dylan made 'get well' cards for Keith and Robbie and made them gifts (a bowl of Frosted Flakes for his mommy). He also had Keith say a prayer for Robbie b/c she was so tired. If that doesn't melt your heart, I don't know what will! He is so precious and I'm glad he has been feeling well today!

Anyhoo, that's about all I've got for now. I need to finish up some laundry and get to bed so I can get up and go visit that sweet boy! Peace dudes!

It's getting closer....!!!

2009-07-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

Just so ya know, Maywood is 5 days away!!

God is listening!

2009-07-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

First, I want to thank everyone who reads this for all your prayers and comments. It is so incredible to hear about all the prayers that are being sent up on Dylan's behalf. There are prayers as far west as Colorado and as far south as Florida! God is listening and has placed His healing hand on Dylan. His leukemia and white blood cell counts have come down tremendously since Friday and his attitude/personality has been overall great, all things considered. Dad and Teri went up to visit Keith, Robbie and Dylan yesterday and they said he was being typical Dylan and cracking everyone up. He got to go outside for a little bit and ride in a wagon. After running into a door or something, Teri was banned from pushing him. ha! Today he had surgery to install the port that will be used for his chemo treatment. The surgery went well and I believe chemo will start today as well. Please continue to pray as Dylan begins this long road and that he feels as little pain as possible. Also, please pray for peace, strength and comfort to come to Keith and Robbie as they take care of Dylan.

I want to say a special prayer for the young ones in my family. I think Emily is old enough to fully understand what Dylan will be going through, and obviously, Brady and Blakeleigh are too young to understand what is going on. However, two more of my cousins (Kelsey and Briley) are really close to Dylan's age and while they may understand that he is sick, they may not fully understand what he has to go through as far as treatments and such. I pray that understand enough to pray for him daily, but to not get scared about everything. Does that make sense? It does in my head, haha.

Anyhoo, I'll keep everyone posted on Dylan and his progress. I cannot begin to express how thankful I am for the friends I have who have called, sent emails, skyped and what not to check on my family. It is such a great feeling to feel so much love from so many people!

I'll be getting ready for Camp Maywood this week! Hooray! Depending on how things go and if they think it's okay, I may make a trip to Memphis, but I'm not pushing it. Keeping Dylan as healthy and comfortable as possible is my number one concern.

Again, thanks so much to my inredible and awesome friends. Your friendship and support means so much to me!

Update on Dylan

2009-07-18T21:52:00.001-07:00

We found out earlier this afternoon that Dylan has Acute Lymphatic Leukemia type B. This is apparently the most treatable, but his is very aggressive. He had a regular doctor's check up about 3 weeks ago and the bloodwork came back normal so that just tells you how quickly this developed. He will be undergoing treatments at St. Jude for the next 6 weeks and will then hopefully return home and continue treatments in Huntsville. While they are at St. Jude, they will be living at the Ronald McDonald house, which is a great blessing. He has about a 200 week treatment plan right now. His doctor at St. Jude is the head of the department and his credentials are endless so we know he is in good hands. Not to mention it's all in God's hands. It's so easy to say when this happens to someone outside your family, but can be a very hard thing to truly believe when it happens to someone you love dearly. Fortunatley we are a family of deep, strong faith and I am confident that b/c of our faith and all the prayers being sent up on Dylan's behalf, God will bring him through this. My heart is aching over the fact that my aunt and uncle are haivng to go through this, but I'm praying that God watches over them throughout the next several weeks.

Anyhoo, that's about all I've got for now. I'm going to try and get some sleep!

Man Down! I repeat, Man Down!

2009-07-18T09:16:00.001-07:00

Many of you who know me, know that I love with every fiber of my being all my 'little' cousins (who are growing up WAY too fast) and think they are the worlds greatest and craziest kids! If not, you should know that I love all of them more than words can describe and would never want to see anything bad happen to a single one of them. They are all very unique and have their own personalities, but one I want to tell you about is Dylan. Dylan is 7 years old and is one of the funniest kids I have ever met in my life. Ever since he could walk/talk he has been obsessed with all things army. He used to pretend to hand you something and say "here hold this" and then inform you that he had just given you a grenade and it was going to explode in your hand. He also spent one Easter dressed in his camo perched in a tree with a fake rifle pretending to snipe the other kids who were huning for eggs. He is so smart and his imagination is unreal. He is also quite the prankster. I remember one Christmas where I came out of my room and looked down at the end of the hall and spotted Dylan placing thumbtacks in floor at the entrance to the playroom with the sharp side pointed up. I said "Dylan, What are you doing?" He replied 'making a trap for the girls." Of course I had to inform his parents of his scheme and they said "yeah, we let him watch Home Alone last night." Apparently, immediately after the movie was over, he went into the bathroom, sprayed the floor down with water and called his dad in there in hopes that he would slip and fall. (I'm guessing he got that idea from the ice on the front steps scene) Anyhoo, all that to just give you an idea of what a little character our sweet Dylan is.

I am asking for your prayers for our little army man now. We have a man down! I repeat, Man down! (get it? army man reference? Whatever, you know it's funny). It all started when Robbie (my aunt and Dylan's mom) noticed that he had a fever for a couple of days and then got a bloody nose. They were packed up and getting ready to go on a trip and didn't want Dylan to be sick while they were on vacation so she took him to the doctor to have it checked out. About 5 or so that afternoon, we got a phone call from my uncle letting us know that Dylan had been diagnosed with Leukemia and that he was going to be transferred to St. Jude that night. The doctors first admitted him to Huntsville Hospital so he could receive some platelets. Mom and Dad immediately went to the hopsital while my sister and I stayed home and contacted the rest of the family. Uncle Henry and Aunt Vicki also went over to see Keith, Robbie and Dylan while they waited for the ambulance from St. Jude to get there.
They arrived in Memphis around 2:30 this morning and did tests and confirmed that it was form of leukemia that is (according to my uncle) most treatable. However, his white blood cell count is 5 times higher than the avg. patient so the doctor says it is very aggressive. He has already had a bone marrow aspiration this morning and did fine. He will start chemo later today. Uncle Keith says that despite all that has gone on the past 24 hours with little sleep and having nothing to eat, Dylan is still being "Dylan," which is good to hear.
I think that it is a great blessing that no matter where Dylan has been the past 24 hours, he has been surrounded by his family that loves him. Not only does he have family here in north AL but he also has family in the Memphis/Corinth, MS area that was waiting for him with hugs and love when he arrived in Memphis.
I think a lot of us are still in a state of shock as this all happened so fast. I don't think many of the Crowe/Hinton families got very much sleep last night b/c we were up thinking about a sweet boy and his parents that we love so much. Keith and Robbie, if you see this, please know that you 3 are constantly in my thoughts and prayers and I hope that Dylan kicks this quickly!

Anyhoo, I ask all who read this to please pray for our sweet boy! We love him and want him to come home soon! Here are some pictures of Dylan!

My "little" cousins. they are growing up too fast! Dylan is the one with a tie on.

Teri and Dylan at one of the annual Crowe Family Breakfasts (takes place every year on the day Alabama plays TN)

Me and Dylan

Burying 'land mines' in our backyard

Please keep praying for this sweet, sweet boy!

funerals and birthdays and weddings oh my!

2009-07-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was packed full of all kinds of events-a funeral, a birthday party and a wedding. On Friday we said goodbye to one of the sweetest, most wonderful Christian ladies I have ever known. Sweet Mrs. Chris Cagle went to be with our Lord last week and she is greatly missed. She was the reason I never understood why lunch ladies got such a bad reputation. While everyone had horror stories about their lunch ladies, my lunch lady (Mrs. Chris) greeted me by name with a smile each time I walked through the cafeteria in elementary school. She was loved so very much by everyone she knew-especially her husband. I wasn't able to attend the funeral but mom caught the first little bit of it and told me how Mr. Buddy (her husband) wanted to close the casket himself. Before he closed it, he bent down twice to kiss his bride one last time before saying goodbye. It breaks my heart to picture that scene in my head and even as I type this I'm sqwualling like a baby. I hope to find someone who loves me as much as Mr. Buddy loved Mrs. Chris one day.

On a much lighter note, Blakeleigh (my cousin) turned one year old on Saturday! It was an...interesting...occasion. I'll spare you the details unless you are just absolutely dying to know what all went on during the party. Anyhoo, she had fun opening presents, eating cake and crashing into a sugar coma in her high chair!

Later that evening, I attended the Voss/Reynolds affair. It was a beautiful wedding and the bride was beautiful! It was fun and the cakes/food and the reception were delicious! I had to hit up the gym later that night since I had both birthday cake and wedding cake all in one day!

Sunday was pretty normal-church, lunch, nap, church, dinner, bed. And by "bed" I mean I laid awake alllll night long and finally fell asleep at 6 am and slept till noonish. Hopefully I'll get a better night's sleep tonight!

I suppose that's about it for now. Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Blakeleigh, the birthday girl with her new car

Teri and Me with the birthday girl

Enjoying her cake

Sugar Crash!

Mark and Marcy saying their vows

They're married! Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds!
Me, Cara and Whitney at the reception...little black dresses were the deal that night, apparently. haha!

I'm going against my own principles on this one

2009-07-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Dad brought home some amaaaaazing strawberries this week. They are California strawberries and are by far the best strawberries we've had all summer. Now, normally I prefer to support local farmers and buy locally, but the strawberry crop around here hasn't been up to par this summer. Sorry Alabama, California won this round!

The perfect summer snack!

Dad bought 8 cartons of these jokers!

Woah. Hello July.

2009-07-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

I find it very odd that while it feels like the past few months have gone by really slowly, I still can't believe it is already July! I have been living with my parents for a month now and we have pretty much gotten used to all being under one roof together. Are there still frequently unpleasant moments? Yes. Do I search day in and day out for a job so that I can get back to living on my own again? Yes. However, am I uber glad to have an awesome family and amazing parents who actually let me come back home? HECK YES! There are tons of people in my same situation who don't have parents like mine that they can go home to. I am truly blessed.

Anyhoo, I still haven't had much luck in the job area. I've had more feedback from various event companies, but not exactly a job offer. At least my name is getting out there! I'm still looking and would love to find a job in Huntsville, Birmingham, or Nashville. I'm still open to anything and everything though! I just know it would mean a lot to both my immediate family and extended family if I were a little closer than I had been (3 hours away). And I would love to be closer as well.

Other than joining a gym and job hunting, the past couple of weeks haven't been too eventful. I did get to take a day trip to Jackson and see some Jackson friends as well as have a girl night with Caley and Jess. It was a blessing to hear all about Tom and Vanessa's trip to Cambodia and enjoy time with my girls. Even though the main reason I made the trip to Jackson was to get a couple of cavities filled, the day was still wonderful! I'm getting excited about Maywood coming up in a few weeks! I know being with my Maywood family will make me feel a lot better. I'm still struggling with living away from some of my closest friends and not having them available to hang out with. I'm super pumped that my friend Betsy and her baby Collin will be here next week!! I miss them dearly and will be so happy to see them!

Well folks, that's about all I've got for now! I just wanted to give all my readers (however few there may be) an update! Happy Hump Day!

First Roadtrip of the Summer

2009-06-17T22:03:00.000-07:00

Me and Teri took a roadtrip to Nashville this past weekend. My best, Cara's roomie sold her 3 Thursday night tickets to me, Teri and Caroline. Even though the show was interrupted (for over 2 hours) we still had a good time. It was past midnight before the show started back up and we didn't get home until about 3 a.m. We got to see Brooks and Dunn (my favorite), Reba (well, 2 songs-her set was interrupted by the storm and she didn't come back and finish her set), Darious Rucker (hootie), Dierks Bently and Brad Paisley. I was a little bitter about Rascal Flatts and Julianne Hough having to leave, but it was still a good show and we had a lot of fun. The next day, Kristin (Cara's roomie) went and picked up her sister and cousin and all 7 of us (Me, Teri, Caroline, Cara, Kristin, Jenny and Renae) went to Loveless for Brunch and then went and had manicures and pedicures. It was my first time to do that b/c I have VERY ticklish feet and I do not like people to touch them. But let me tell you this: I am a changed woman! It was so nice to be pampered and it really wasn't all that bad. There was one part of the pedicure where I just about came out of the nice massaging chair, but other than that, it was all very relaxing! And I came out with very pretty, touchable feet! Even I couldn't stop touching my feet!! After being pampered, we went to this place called Las Palettas. It is a popsicle joint owned by the Paz sisters. They are homemade everyday and they carry unique flavors such as strawberry blackberry, mango, rose petal, chocolate banana and even hibiscus! They also have normal flavors for those of you who don't like to try new things (including myself). I played it safe with a chocolate banana popsicle but we were all sampling each other's and I would have enjoyed the lime one, myself! What makes this place even more unique is that they were featured on the Food Network. My favorite chef, Bobby Flay, came down and challenged the Paz sisters to a popsicle throwdown for his show , "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." The Paz sisters took the win in the throwdown! I highly recommend this place if you are ever in the Nashville area!

That night, Teri and Caroline went their separate ways while me, Cara, Kristin, Jenny and Renae put on our "going out" clothes and took ourselves to the Stage. They always have a decent band playing and is usually packed with lots of fun people. We finally got in about 3 a.m. or so and went to bed around 4ish. Teri and I left Saturday around lunchtime for Decatur. The weekend was such a nice getaway and we had loads of fun hanging out with the girls. We have hit that age where we can finally enjoy doing the same things together. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

On our way to Nashville for the weekend

Waiting for the show to start

Brooks and Dunn

Reba

A little (okay, a LOT) bitter about the show being interrupted by the weather and having to wait 2 hours to go back to our seats

Happy that the show was about to start back up again!!

Darius Rucker

Dierks Bentley

Brad Paisley me, Jenny, Kristin, Renae and Cara at the Loveless
Happy Feet!

Some days are a tad un-lucky

2009-06-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

I think we all have days where we have a run of bad luck. Mine usually involve me falling and getting hurt or losing my job or as was the case a couple of years ago-both in the same day! ha! Monday of this week was one of those "unlucky" days for me. First of all, I have got to be the most clumsy person alive. I have a long history of falling down stairs, off trampolines, tripping in potholes, and most commonly over my own feet. So, when I told my mom I had taken another spill on Monday, she was not surprised. It was a classic "Jen" style fall. As I was filling up my car with gas, I made an effort to step over the hose so that I could get to my front seat to put my card back in my wallet. I was not successful in my attempt. I ended up breaking the buckle on my right shoe, (which actually left a nasty cut in my foot), followed by smashing my left knee into the concrete(still bruised and swollen) and finished it off by catching myself with my left shoulder (which bruised up the next morning). I was on my way to take a clerical aide test and was hoping this fall wasn't any indication as to how the rest of the day was going to go. Fortunately, I did fine on the test and minus a little pain in the knee and sore shoulder still, I recovered quickly. The rest of the afternoon went well. I applied for a few jobs and waited to hear back for my results. I was certain my bad luck had passed...

...False. Later that evening we had a really bad thunderstorm that produced some pretty nasty hail. My parent's have a 3-car garage and my parents have two of the spots and the third is filled with workout equipment and boxes and such. So, that left my poor, brand new car out in the storm. My sister was gone so her car wasn't out there. Well, the hail came and the only thing we could do was sit there and wince as piece are piece of hail hammered my car. Poor thing was beaten and battered. It was sickening to just sit there and watch and not be able to do anything about it. On Tuesday, I took it in to have the damage estimated. Along with all the dents (including a nasty one in the door shell and roof racks), the windsheild was cracked, a taillight was busted out in the corner, and the sun room sustained some type of damage. It totaled to about $4223. OUCH! Thank goodness for insurance!

I spent most of the day Tuesday going from the auto body shop and insurance company and making sure everything was taken care of. Nothing really eventful to report. Tonight was the first night of VBS at Beltline. I signed up to help with crafts and while it was fun, it was quite hectic at the same time! We had a great turnout and the kids were all really good. Looking forward to the rest of the week.

Another tid-bit of info. I have a dentist appointment on Monday and I'm actually excited about it, but only because it's in Jackson!!! I'm soo incredibly excited to see my friends! I had planned on going up early enough on Sunday for church, but since it's Father's Day, I'm going to spend it with my dad. I will get up there for church one sunday, gosh darn it! Anyhoo, I am excited about (hopefully) seeing Tom and Vannessa and hearing all about their Cambodian adventure! AAANND I'm ready to see my college roomie!

Well, I suppose that's about it for now. Just wanted to update anyone who might read this on what's been going on lately!

Minor injuries sustained from my gas pump stumble

A wonderful evening with my favorites

2009-06-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you combine a riverfront park, a cool summer evening and a free movie? In my opinion, it is the perfect summer evening. My mom, sister and I went out to Rhodes Ferry Park (which, by the way, is the site of my future wedding-groom and date TBD) and enjoyed a free showing of The Music Man, starring Matthew Broderick and Kristen Chenoweth. I'm pretty sure it must be one of mom's favorite musicals b/c she knew more of the songs than I did! Before the movie started there was a free concert featuring the Sophisticated Swingers and another men's chorus-type group. We got there a little early and were able to enjoy a beautiful riverside sunset. Shortly before the movie began, we were joined by one of our sweet church friends, Ms. Vicki Linley. She's pretty much awesome and she knows everybody! She introduced us to the 80-something year old lady who will be leading the conga line at next week's Rhodes Ferry gathering. Yep. You can bet I'll be there next Monday night! I mean, who doesn't love a good conga line?

I did take a couple of random pictures, but can't find the box that my camera cord is in, so they may or may not get posted at a later time. Anyhoo, that's about all I have for now. I really need to wash my car, go to Bender's and set up my gym membership and run a few more random errands, but I really don't feel like doing any of those things. We'll see how much of that I actually get done. ha!

Rhodes Ferry Park. These are some townhouses and the bridge behind. I would love to live in a place on the river.

Me, Mom and Teri waiting for the movie to startThe wonderful and lovely Vicki Linley joined us as well!

The giant blow-up screen that the movie was shown on

Little by little, decisions are being made

2009-06-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been almost a full week since I moved back in with my parents and I must say, it hasn't been all that bad. In fact, it's been pretty good. There were a few tense moments, but we are all adjusting being back under one roof together, so it's expected.

This week, for me, has been a battle of putting pieces together. I have plans to go back to school, whether it be for a whole new degree or to get my master's degree. I have been battling a possible career change and until today, I was ready to embrace the possibility of becoming a teacher. I mean, nothing sounds better than having 2 weeks off at Christmas, 3 days and Thanksgiving and the entire summer off. But then, I began to think about the actual teaching part. It just isn't for me. It takes a very special person to be a teacher, and I definitley do not have what it takes. I love kids, but do not want the pressure of teaching them and making sure they are learning all the things they need to learn. Also, the thought of having to control more than 15 kids at one time, by myself, absolutely frightens me! haha. I enjoy teaching Bible class, but I always insist on team-teaching. Also, that's an hour of classroom time as opposed to the 7 hours I'd be teaching during the day. Plus, when I think about what I really, truly want to do, PR (all aspects of it) reign supreme. I love doing events and at my last job, I was able to do a ton of them, but there is so much to PR that I learned about in college (and would have loved to do) but never got the chance to do. At my last job, we had a whole PR department, so for the most part, it was pretty much out of my hands. Not that it was a bad thing, it was nice to have someone to take care of that while I took care of the "details" part. But truth be told, I wanna do it all!

I think a lot of my insecurities I've developed lately stem from that very fact. I've forgotton (or at least it feels that way, I'm sure it would come back to me) things that I learned in college that I never got to apply. Also, I did sell myself a little short. I was in such a hurry to graduate that instead of finishing my journalism minor (I was one class from getting it) or emphasizing in PR, I just did what I had to do to get a degree. There's nothing wrong with my degree, I just know that if I'd worked a little harder and finished one of the two minors, I might be in a little better situation then I am currently in. It's okay, though. You live, you learne and you make up for it later. It may mean having to get another undergrad degree before getting my master's, but whatever I decide to do, I know I will do exactly what is best, and not sell myself short.

Anyhoo, so that's basically what's going on in my life right now. I'm trying to do better about keeping this updated, I promise! It's not like I don't have the time right now...haha...see, I can joke about unemployment now...that is, as long as the checks keep coming...;)

It feels good to be a Bama Girl again

2009-06-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back in Alabama and actually enjoying it. In fact, I'd be lying if I said I missed West TN. As a region, I wasn't a fan, but I stayed b/c of the friendships and church families I had there. I do love the way home feels, but of course I am missing my friends back in Jackson greatly! There are so many people I didn't get to see or say bye to, but I do plan on coming back to visit a lot! And who knows, maybe I'll end up back there one day! It was a blessing to be able to sing with the praise team one last time last Sunday. I'm so thankful for the songs that were chosen, in particular, "Lay Your Burden Down." I love singing about the "love He brings," being "here in this place," because it is so very true. I was only at Skyline for a very short amount of time, but the way everyone showed their love to me made me feel like I had been there for years. After I was laid off I had free time and attended two Women's Faith Builders Bible studies on Wednesday mornings. I recieved a very sweet card with so many wonderful words of encouragement. I really appreciate it! It feels so good to be loved. I had so many friends outside of Skyline as well and I miss you all terribly, but I know our friendship isn't over. You are all special to me!

Anyhoo, I just wanted to update everyone on the move and say some thank you's to some special people! No news on the jobfront yet, but I'm hopeful something will come along soon!

Peace dude

2009-05-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated...I've been pretty busy trying to find a job and while I haven't found one yet, something that I have found is a bit of peace. Actually, tonight's the first night I have really felt a sense of peace. I came to a rather disturbing realization last Wednesday morning during the Women's Faith Builders bible study I've been attending. The realization was this: Instead of putting my trust in God and letting Him lead me, I've been trying to conform His plan to fit the one I have for myself. Obviously, this hasn't been working out well for me.

So I knew what I was going to share with my small group tonight during our prayer session. Every 3rd Sunday our small group has a special prayer session. We share what's going on in our lives and the things that are on our hearts. Then the person seated to our left offers up a prayer to God on our behalf praying specifically for the things we mentioned. Tonight I shared my desire to be able to fully trust God and have faith in His plan for me, even if it means making certain changes that I don't neccessarily want to make. After sharing my thoughts, my sweet friend Vanessa offered up a prayer on my behalf. One thing she specifically asked God to do was to give me peace to help me cope with my current situation. Peace is exactly what I need right now. I need the peace to know that no matter what I try to do, God is going to lead me where He wants me to go. And the sooner I accept that fact, the better off I'll be in the long run. I still have the responsibility and am still aggressivly searching and trying to find a job, but it's no longer a burden that is weighing me down because I know that no matter what, I'm letting go and letting God do the rest for me. It truly is a peaceful, easy feeling. (yeah, yeah, I know. that was cheesy, but oh so true!)

It's FINALLY warm!!!

2009-04-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while enjoying a beautiful, but chilly, day with Bethany and Vanessa, I expressed my desire for warm weather so that I could wear a fun sundress. I LOVE light, flowy dresses-they are so comfortable and fun! Anyhoo, this morning I woke up to a beautiful, warm, sundress-worthy day! Praise!!

I was not meant to not work

2009-04-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a little over 2 weeks since what I can only refer to as "the event" and it is still hard to say out loud. I still get choked up and sometimes shed a few tears when I'm explaining to people the situation I'm in. I didn't realize how much I really enjoyed and loved my job until I wasn't doing it anymore. I miss my co-workers and doing what I do, eh, did. It's hard to sit here day after day searching for a new job, when I know that there are people who are only there for a paycheck and they still have their jobs. To me, (for the most part) it was more than a paycheck. I still have a lot of bitter and resentment built up inside, but I'm getting better about hiding it. I have constant up and down moments and I have a feeling that until I'm back in a steady job, those feelings won't go away.

Currently, I'm battling on where to go from here. A really big part of me doesn't want to leave the life I have here. I have an amazing church family and am involved in a ministry there that is hard to come by at other churches. I love my church here and I just don't know if I'll be able to find anything like it elsewhere. It's a big deal to me. Another thing is that I have so many friends here and some them are relativley new friends and I'm not ready to leave them yet.
But for those of you that know me, you know how much I miss Alabama. This is a chance for me to move back to my homestate, but like I said, my church home/family and friends are a big deal to me, and I just don't think I'm at a point in my life where I'm ready to leave them.

Another dilemma I'm facing is finding out exactly what it is that I want to do. I love being an event planner. However, I feel like I could use a career change. Part of me wants a job where I can got to work in the morning and leave it all there at the end of the day and not have to worry about anything until the next morning. I feel like I'm missing out on so many important things in life by having to worry about work, outside of work. I know that I can accomplish so much more if I didn't have the stresses of a job that required my time outside of the normal daily work hours. Also, if I had a job that didn't require my time outside of normal work hours, I could focus more of my "after hours" time building my own event planning business, my ultimate career dream and goal.

So basically, I'm a mess. I have no clue where I'm headed and what I'll be doing. I do know that I'm going absolutely crazy by not working. I was not meant to be at home all day with nothing to do. I'm thankful for Vanessa, who invited me and Bethany over for lunch today which turned into an afternoon of good company and conversation. I'm thankful for monthly girls nights with Caley and Jess. We spent nearly 4 hours in CFA last night talking (mostly me and Caley venting while Jess patiently listened). And I'm thankful for all my other friends and especially my parents who are constantly providing support throughout this trying time.

With all that being said, I guess I'd better get busy. I've got a lot of praying...and job hunting...to do.

Some days just suck

2009-04-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

I really just wanted to write this in an effort to avoid any crazy rumors that I'm sure are flying around right now (it is Freed, afterall, ha!). There was another round of lay-offs yesterday and unfortunately, I wasn't able to escape them this time. It's okay though, I've been through it before and know that it's all going to be just fine. I'm not angry or bitter-a little sad that I don't get to work with my super fun co-workers, but other than that, it's not anything that I can't make it through. Nor do I have to go through it alone. I have the biggest and best support system and am so thankful for all the kind words and prayers. I can't lie and say that yesterday didn't suck, because it did..in a major way. But it's all a part of life. Crap happens-you just have to suck it up and get over it and move on!

I quit

2009-03-30T10:10:00.001-07:00

I've decided to quit the whole "take a picture everyday" thing. While I do take a lot of pictures, I don't always take one every single day. Sometimes I just don't remember to take one unless there's some event or gathering of some sort where I actually remember to bring my camera. I'm too busy to try and update on a daily basis and b/c of that I've already forgotton which pictures I took on which day. Anyhoo, I'll still add pictures on here, just not every single day. So sorry!

Anyhoo, I do have a picture I want to add today! It's my new apartment that I will be moving into on May 30th! Yay! It is a 2-story loft style place with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. I'm very excited to be getting something a little more spacious than what I'm living in right now. It's an end unit and faces the inside of the complex. I couldn't have asked for better!

I'm very excited and can't wait to move in! Isn't it cute! If you look to the right of the big window, you can see the front door. The big window on the lower level is the living room and then the other little window that looks out onto the patio is the downstairs bedroom. The window on the upper level is the upstairs bedroom. It has it's own private balcony! I can't decide if I want the upstairs room or the downstairs room. There is a loft area upstairs that will be my little office.

So, packing and getting things ready to move will be on my agenda for the next two months. That and along with everything else I've got going on should keep me busy!

Ain't No Cure for the End of Winter Blues

2009-03-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

Yes, I admit the title of this blog is a terrible pun of a terrible country song, but it perfectly describes how I'm feeling lately. The End of Winter Blues is a widespread epidemic that sweeps the nation during the final weeks of winter. It's the time of year where all you can think about is the warmth of the sun, flowers, green grass and leaves on trees. Your cute winter wardrobe that made you feel like a cute snow bunny during Christmas and that mountain vacation now make you feel frumpy and gross. Everything around you seems dark and soggy. Now you long for the bright colors of your favorite t-shirts and blouses and flowy skirts and cute sundresses. You wish for a warm, sunny, colorful day. And if you live where I live, where the weather can never seem to make up it's mind, then you know that how dissappointing it is when one week you are enjoying what seems to be the first signs of spring and then a week later, you're staring at 8-10 inches of snow. Okay, maybe the snow thing doesn't happen all that often, but the rising and falling of the temperature is quite common.

I get struck by the End of Winter Blues every year and there is always one day where I reach a breaking point. It's the point where my mood and thoughts and actions are affected by the cold weather, lifeless trees and grass and overall gloominess that is characteristic of winter. Today was that day. I was in a crummy mood all day long. No reason other than the fact that I had a terrible case of the end of winter blues (and an hour and a half long budget meeting).

Fortunately, it is Tuesday and tonight, I was able to go relieve stress by going to line dancing class. Thank goodness for endorphins-natures built-in pick me up. Not only did I get to have a fun, carefree evening, I also got to spend it with my sister, which is always nice.

Well, I would love to go on, but I have an attention-starved puppy who is threatening to delete my post by walking over my computer, that would inevitibly lead to the pressing some key that would result in the loss of this post.

Therefore, I'm done. Looking forward to having a better day tomorrow.

February 22, 2009

2009-02-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

Mom met Colin for the first time on Sunday! He has grown since the last time I saw him. He is so cute and sweet!

February 21, 2009

2009-02-23T07:44:00.000-08:00

Mom came to stay with Chandler while I was out of town this weekend. I got back Saturday and we were getting ready for bed. Mom had already dozed off and was snoring. Chandler was confused by the sound coming from her and finally decided that in an effort to make the sound stop, he would sit on her head. You can't tell, but mom is under the blanket. It is the only thing separating her face from his butt.

February 20, 2009

2009-02-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

I had a meeting with the folks with the Diamond Jaxx on Friday. While I was gone, Chandler decided to relocate his pen from the kitchen to the den. Once he relocated himself, he proceeded to pull the sleeve of one of my jackets through the little holes in his pen. This fuzzball is CRAZY!

February 19, 2009

2009-02-23T07:40:00.000-08:00

Sooo....before last November, the last time I had been to the dentist was in high school. Which meant my chances of having cavaties were pretty high. I had to get some fillings done on the 19th. I got a shot (or few) in my mouth for the first time ever..ick. I was sure to brush and floss really good before I went in that afternoon.

February 18, 2009

2009-02-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

Chandler the Destructor strikes again. This time he tore apart one of the gifts I brought back for him from Disney World. Poor Mickey.

February 17, 2009

2009-02-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

Tuesdays are line dancing class nights! Some girls from church get together at the Rockabily Hall of Fame downtown and do this every week. It is soo much fun!

February 16, 2009

2009-02-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

I forgot to take a real picture this day. Fortunately, I had been messing around with my camera and had 1 picture on the camera from the 16th. This is in my office.

February 15, 2009

2009-02-23T07:34:00.001-08:00

Joey watching us leave after spending the weekend with him.

February 14, 2009

2009-02-23T07:32:00.000-08:00

I was at my parent's house and went to get a drink from the fridge in the garage and found Teri's flowers from last year's prom.

February 13, 2009

2009-02-23T07:31:00.001-08:00

Mmmm...Carrabba's! Yummy chicken with tomatoes and goat cheese and garlic mashed potatoes.

February 12, 2009

2009-02-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

I had a picture on my camera from this day-but I accidentally deleted it!!! grrrr

February 11, 2009

2009-02-23T07:17:00.000-08:00

I finally got some sleep thanks to my little friend, nighttime sinus medicine!

February 10, 2009

2009-02-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday!! Today was Abby's birthday and Vanessa made this absolutely delicious Key-Lime cake. It was sooo yummy!

February 9, 2009

2009-02-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

It is February right? I mean, unless someone turned the big wheel in the Orchid and sent me back to December, then someone isn't doing their job. In case you can't read the first one it says "Be Merry" and the other one says "Be Bright." Both have snowflakes all over them. I'm pretty sure these banners need to come down!

February 8, 2009

2009-02-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

Yay for green things to start poking through the dead grass! I'm soo ready for spring to be here!

What I've been up to lately

2009-02-07T17:27:00.001-08:00

What's been going on in my life, you ask? The more appropriate question would be, what hasn't been going on?? I've been soo busy with work and apartment hunting that I've barely had time (until today, that is) to just sit down and relax. I hit the ground running immediately upon returning from the Christmas break. I went with the college and career class to Gulf Coast Getaway in Panama City and we had a blast! It was an amazing weekend! Once I got back from that I had to put the finishing touches on the 2nd Annual Chili Bowl. It went really well considering we had to compete with an "ice storm of doom." While I still believe it was over dramaticized, the ice and snow did get me a day of working from the comfort of my home! I want to take a minute and give a big thanks to Dad who came up and helped out that day! I have the best parents and sister in the world who come to rescue whenever I need them!

Oh guess what happened on the day of the chili bowl? Collin Blake Hesselrode made his entrance into the world! He is such a cute little eeker!

Anyhoo, now that Chili Bowl is over, I'm working on AAEC retreat stuff. I'll be in Nashville for that on the 20th-21st of February for the retreat. I am also picking up the chapters and am currently trying to sort out what was being done with those before Christmas break. It'll be a challenge, but I'm more than willing to accept! I'm really excited about the possibilities.

When I'm not working, I'm on a constant apartment hunt. Right now, I'm leaning towards a 2 BR/2 BA loft at Post House North-the place where my very first apartment was! I'm so ready to be out of this cursed apartment. I've enjoyed my time in Cherry Grove, but this particular apartment has given me more trouble than any other place I've ever lived! Anyhoo, so I'm constantly making sure the apartment is clean and trying to start getting things together for packing. I figure if I start now, it'll be less stressful once May rolls around.

Life is really good right now. I still get really homesick and miss my family a lot, but it's getting better. You'd think after living on my own for over 2 years now, I would have gotten used to it. However, I think that the longer I'm away, the more and more I miss home and my family. Fortunately, I'm very happy where I am and with what I'm doing with my life.

I guess that's about it for now. I think it's movie time! Yay for Netflix!

February 7, 2009

2009-02-07T17:18:00.000-08:00

Such a pretty day!! Yes, another picture of Chandler...get used to it! This is him waiting in his harness for me to get ready to go back outside. We spent most of our day outside because it was soo beautiful!! We even went over to the pond so he could chase the ducks. When we weren't outside, he sat by the open windows and enjoyed the lovely breeze coming in!

February 6, 2009

2009-02-06T20:19:00.001-08:00

Remember a few weeks ago when my picture of the day was my defective dishwasher? Well this is my wretched washing machine. Basically, it was one load of laundry away from exploding! I did a load Wednesday night and came home to sopping wet carpet! Apparrently, the motor was burning out. Excellent. My apartment hates me. 3 more months, 3 more months...

February 5, 2009

2009-02-06T07:15:00.002-08:00

mmmmm....LP! All the FHU Beltliner's got together with Mike and Mr. Gregg for supper at Los Portales in Henderson. As usual, it was yummy! Teri took this picture for me!