Goodbye to 09.

Well, it's almost done. Over. Finito. Complete. Ah. Feels good!



I have had a great year! I think back to all my memories and cherish them all.



Now, it's time to put into practice the ritual of resolutions. However, I stumbled across this from a "Your Thoughts" column in Real Simple Mag and LOVE it.

What will you do diferently in 2010?:

"Nothing. I’ll continue to get serious about my diet starting Monday, then blow it the first time I have dinner with the girls. I’ll buy the shoes I don’t need, the dress I won’t wear, and the workout videos I won’t use. I’ll continue to drink too much coffee and eat too many French fries. I’ll live for today, forget the past, and make the same mistakes―and I will love every second of it, because my flaws make me me!"

So true and hilarious!

Once again, I give a big thumbs up for the message tonight. It's been a long time since I have relly buckled down on my faith and the way I live to really figure out which path I'm on. Last week I knew I had one hand opened and one hand closed. This meaning that I wanted to give it all to God, but there are things in my life I still want to cling to, things I am not ready to give up...and the even more scary thought: things I don't feel that bad about.
Tonight, it's time. Time to let my mentor in a little deeper about my struggles. Good grief, that's scary. I want to be ready to do it though.

This weekend is the Vine retreat! Ahhh, nervous/excited/scared/anxious. I have a car full of girls going late with me and I am soo pumped about that!

Baking, Pumpkins, and Fall!

If you know me, you already know this, but I love baking, cooking, and everything associated with it! I have been sick all last week and did nothing but sleep. So Saturday when I woke up and was feeling better, I decided to get a lot of things done that I had been putting off and didn't have the energy for.
Task #1: BAKING!! I made wassail and pumpkin muffins. Here are the muffins:

• 1 box yellow cake mix (plus the ingredients called for in the package directions)
• pumpkin pie spice
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
• 1 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cups confectioners’ sugar
• candy corn

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Prepare the cake mix as directed but with the following change: Add the pumpkin pie spice and substitute the can of pumpkin puree for the water called for in the package directions.{However, I used water. OOPS! They still turned out moist and yummy though!}
2. Bake cupcakes 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool.
3. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Spread on the cupcakes and top each with a piece of candy corn.{Annd I also added some spice to this frosting because it needed something extra}
   

While I LOOVEE baking, I feel bad because once I'm done, I eat one to make sure it's a good recipe and then the rest potentially could go to waste. {BUT Katelyn graciously took them to work for me :)} I try to give away the leftovers to any willing parties. It's just fun to bake, but let's face it, I don't want to pack on the pounds of my passion.

Now, the wassail:
2 1/4 cups of Pineapple Juice
2 cups of Orange Juice
2 quarts of Apple Juice
1 tsp whole cloves
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
let brew and boil over stove...and enjoy the smell!

I also met with my mentor Saturday morning and talked about my previous post. It was a really good chat and I got a lot of questions answered. We decided to challenge each other to wake up a few minutes earlier for some Jesus time and praying this week. I am not so good in the mornings lately, but I really hope I get use to this new routine.

So, I have a new TV show obsession: Castle! It's a show about a murder mystery writer who follows around a beautiful cop for inspiration. Soo good! Along with DH, Grey's, and Brothers & Sisters I have some busy evenings.

School is starting to pick up and test are starting to pile on, but I feel like I have a good handle on them so far...well, minus accounting. That may never happen. HA!

Those are my tidbits for now,

Lay 'Em Down

Lay 'Em Down {Honestly, you need to listen to this song}
Come down to the river
Come and let yourself in
Make good on a promise
To never hurt again
If you're lost and lonely

STOP. Ok that's where I am tonight. Lost without God and lonely without His promise confirming me in what I thought I believed and the Christian lifestyle I thought I was leading.
Tonight, I was sitting in the Vine {Second Baptist's college ministry} and Daniel was talking about personal relations with Christ and making it a point to actually be personal. Ok, here's where I went, "Whoa."
Then it only gets better. This girl who had grown up thinking she was a Christian SLAP come to find out, she was not. She told her amazing story and you could see the girl actually changing right there on stage from moment to moment. She used to party and use drugs and live that life that we are always hearing about. You know the one. The one that's "not pleasing to God." Only a few months ago did she actually get it, that she wasn't being the person God wanted her to be. "Whoa."
No longer is there a longing in my soul, no longer am I proud of my beliefs, no longer do I even claim God let alone proclaim God. I feel so fake. I have turned off all of my responsibilities as a Christian.

Broken down
Bring all of your troubles
And come lay 'em down

STOP. I am living that life. "The not pleasing to God" life. It has become even more apparent these past few days when all these youth workers from different places have approached me about becoming a leader. A leader? A leader of what? Of whom? I would be continuing a lie if I even remotely accepted that challenge thinking I could just pray my way through it. Pray? I only do that when something bad happens. How wrong is that?

All you sinners
{That's me...and you for that matter.}
And the weak at heart
{Check}
All the helpless
{Double check}
On the boulevards
Wherever you are now
{Laying with dogs on my feet and my sister beside me house-sitting}
Whatever evil you've found
{The lies I've been living}
Bring all of your troubles
And come lay 'em down

Here I am. Sitting in my parent's bed, surrounded by so many good things that have been provided by God {That deserves a thanks, God, I am so blessed by them} and I want to live a different live. The other one, the one that IS pleasing to God.

We're all tied to the same old failings
Finding shelter in things we know
We're all dirty like corrupted small towns

Ok, I do this. I say I'm sorry and fall back into the same old things that I shouldn't. See? Even now those thoughts are in my head. I do not want to be tied to these anymore.

We'll bring our troubles
We'll bring our troubles
Come lay 'em down

All you rich men
And the high above
All those with
And without love
{I want God's love to be enough. I need His love to be enough.}
All you burdened
And turned around
Bring all of your troubles
Come lay 'em down

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2-3

Thoughts.

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone- to have a soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God to a Christian says,

"No, not until you are satisfied and fulfilled and content with living loved by me alone. I love you, my child, and until you discover that only in me is your satisfaction to be found you will not be capable of the perfect relationship that I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with me. Exclusive of any other desires or longings. I want you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you- just keep watching me, expecting the greatest thing to keep experiencing that satisfaction knowing that I am. Keep learning and listening to the things I tell you..you must wait."

Back Where I Belong...

Can I just say how good it feels to be back home? How good it feels that I'm where I belong? How good life just is?...*sigh*



I am one day away from having my first full week complete at MSU and it's been nothing but awesome {well, as awesome as school can get}. A few highlights:

~My very first experience with a professor was learning that she was a "Facebook lovin', Nelly singin' fool"

~I am actually interested in learning in all of my classes...I said learning, NOT all the homework and test associated with that...just wanted to clarify ;)

~I see people I actually know and can stop and have a little chat with on my way to and from classes

~I may have gotten lost the first day of classes in Glass, but I found my way to and from the Bookstore

~I didn't get called on in my BusLaw class...which was especially good considering I didn't read. Whoops!

~Heard the best pick-up line: "Is anyone sitting here? I have horrible eyes."



It may just be that today has been a really good day, but I don't care. I'm on top of the world and no one can make me fall.

I can finally breath again...

Oook. I messed up this one. Why did I move away from my life?!
Because I thought I wasn't content.
I was looking for more.
I feel like it was that whole "I was sent a car, a boat, and helicopter" joke. I was just looking for the bigger, better picture.
But I feel stuck. The transition from home to OSU wasn't easy, but it happened. I felt nothing but warmness and welcoming arms from all the girls and my friends in the house. My classes were quick and easy and the profs were funny. Yet, still I was not happy. I felt like a made a big mistake. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

So that's it. I'm moving forward and not looking back. And I feel the bricks lifted away!

I start MSU tomorrow annnnd I love my schedule I just hope all my classes and profs work out!

Fall Open House at Baglady is this weekend!!! I am soo excited :) I painted tables today and we rearranged the whole stinkin store, but it was worth it. It inspired me to redecorate my apartment and surprise my roommate when she returns...I really hope she likes it! I stained an entertainment shelf to match her dinning room set and added cream and toupe colored blocks with an iron grid in the middle...lots of fall folliage and some candles of course! I'll post pictures when I get it finished but it's super cute...in my mind :)

I guess I have a bedtime now that school's back...well at least I should get to bed at a decent hour. Maybe...

O-S-U...Cowboys!

Soo I am a Cowgirl...again! I can't believe I'm starting this process, but I have regretted not finishing what I started there almost everyday.

It all started Friday when my mom and I went for our 3 mile walk. A lot happens on these walks, they are sacred and refreshing...not to mention a total hiney kicker ;) We talk shop, life, love, family, dogs (we love our pups), and our dreams. Sometimes I slide in a request or two which is what I had intended on doing this particular time. I had seen this old wooden desk I wanted to restore and use in my room, but I needed a little support from mommy and daddy to make it until my next paycheck. Little did I know that when we returned from our walk not only would I not be getting this beautiful desk, but I was compiling a list of names and numbers to contact to re-enroll at Oklahoma State. I was...well, I was a lot of things. I was nervous about telling my roommate whom I've come to love and find a unique friendship with and my favorite teacher..I mean friend, HEATHER, that I was moving out and away. I was pumped to tell Hal, Shelby, and Kelsi I was BACK! I was super sad to leave my mom and the store that I practically run. Most of all I was scared and upset to be leaving my MSU family I had come to know and love this past year.

I would not change my time away in any way shape or form. I know that these friendships I am leaving for the time being will be here no matter what I am doing. These are my friends through the good and the bad, the near and the far. They have all proved that very fact to be by being here this last week I have and supporting me fully and inderstanding my decision. I do not want them to think I am leaving because I do not enjoy being in Springfield, because that is not the case at all! I need to do this for myself as selfish as that sounds, but who wants to live with a regret that's changable?

I honestly want and need to do this for myself, but I continuously was asking "Why would I uproot my perfect life here?" I had a job, babysitting families, a mentor, allllllllll my friends, my MOTHER, my family...the list goes on. But what I was missing was having that experience I wanted from OSU and being able to go back and succeed this time. God started opening doors Saturday morning so I went with my gut and pressed on.

I am still in the process of finalizing everything, but fingers crossed and heart in prayer I know that whatever is suppose to be will be...

1 month :(

Maybe give or take few, but in one month I will be back in school. Eck! I go back a week earlier for an intersession, but I have a new attitude about school. I want to be done. Like NOW. So, in order to make that happen and not overloading myself I'm keeping all my classes this semester, looking into a winter intersession, summer intersession, and summer school. Repeat. Then hopefully I will graduate in 2010 like I was suppose to before I decided that I needed a well rounded, well-traveled college education. Even though I've been to different schools, dabbled in different major variations, and had to say goodbye to new friends I wouldn't change it. Like any of my life experiences, they've helped me grow.



Music makes me so excited. Being one with very few emotions {that YOU SEE anyway}, music always gets to me. Francesca Battistelli's Behind the Scenes came on my iPod last night while I was running and it got me.

Sometimes I can’t see anything/Through the dark/Surrounding me/And at times I’m unsure/About the ground/Beneath my feet/If it’s safe and sound/When it’s hard to find hope in the unseen/I have peace in knowing it will find me

I never know what tomorrow may bring, but I know that whatever it does bring it's all a part of this journey God's taking me on. I have peace knowing it will find me.

Cites and Sites.

Have you ever been so inspired you can hardly function? That would be me today. I have fully designed out the new baglady website...SO PUMPEd!! Until I checked my email this morning and our hosting website DOES NOT ALLOW patterned backgrounds. REALLY!? After I spent hours and pour my creative soul into this?! Cool.

So, now I'm forced to figure it out otherwise. What a fun night I have ahead of me. Oh well, I think this could be a good thing in forcing me to deal with limitations and still be 100% creative! I really wish I knew more about htmls so I could just freelance a website. I remember something about it from high school, but not enough to jump in head first.

In 3 short days I will be on an airplane headed to AtlantaMart...OMG. Can you say retail HEAVEN?! 4 buildings, atleast 15 stories EACH, chalked full of pretty, unique, fun, funky, cute, tasteful, sweet, AMaZING finds for Baglady :) ...Did I mention I was excited ;) But it's now Tuesday night and I leave in less than 30 hours annnd packing is a mess! So much to do...

{yawn}

This title seems fitting after my weekend activities....and I am yawning as I think back.

Jerra's wedding festivities were this past weekend and although I was severely dreading it, surprisingly, I had a lot of fun! We had her bachelorette at kai and then off to the Rodeo for the night!

Early Friday morning {aka 6am} I headed up to my dad's office to surprise him with a 5-0 birthday theme in his office... he was surprised to say the least! After that I found out the hard way that on National it's 35 mph. Fun times. Then, Katelyn and I treated ourselves to mani/pedi's before heading to Branson for the rehearsal. We had to make a few stops before hand, poor Katelyn. Not even 5 minutes after we made our purchase, she completely lost hers! And it was for the wedding soo it was not a good start for either of us that morning.

The rehearsal was outside where the wedding was going to take place and it was hooottttt! But we survived. Then we headed to College of the Ozarks for the rehearsal...Mike's WHOLE family was there. {That's the groom and he has a huGE family...did I mention it was HUGE?} The boys went to PBar at the Landing while the girls went off in search of ice cream for the under aged bridal party..haha. We all stayed up talking late. It was so fun!

We were woken up the next morning around 9am for our brunch with the bride's grandma on the terrace of Chateau on the Lake in Branson. Beautiful! Then it was crunch time! We had favors to make. Jerra had gotten cellophane bags with twist ties to place initialed cookies in...I intercepted with the ribbon STAXX sent her and we escaped boring favors...I forgot to take a photo, but they were cute...and delicious!

We started getting ready around 2pm. It was fun watching her get ready and helping everyone else. We girls had a good time to say the least. I'll post pictures later. The wedding was hotter than blue blazes but breath-taking. Jerra and Mike are a perfect match and I felt blessed to be a part of it.

Soo after getting maybe 8 hours of sleep this past weekend I start Marketplace this week at 7am every morning. A friend of mine {Nikki} and I are in charge of leading worship and then I do the drama outside. I love Marketplace, but it's just so early! Not to mention having to get to work right after...which reminds me, I should probably get off here.....

"Ain't That the Way it Goes?"

It's father's day and where is mine to be found but at work. Go figure. Today is very bittersweet for me. I should count my lucky stars I have a dad who is alive and well. One who provides for our family and is loved by the community. One who has the ability to be the best father in the world. But I struggle with this last one almost daily.

Unfortunately, my dad's job required most of his time when we were younger and we mostly only spent Saturday mornings with him. The four of us would wait up as long as we could during the week to give our dad a hug before bed, but most of the time our eyes were closed when he walked in the door. I'm laughing thinking about this one time. We hadn't seen him in almost a week and my younger brother, Tucker, and I made a bet to see who would stay awake and actually see him. The next thing I remember was waking up in my bed: my dad had carried my brother and I's sleepy bodies off the stairs and to our beds.

We all cherished those Saturday mornings. There was an old-style McDonalds complete with storybook detailed pictures, brick walls, and game tables. We would always go there for breakfast just dad and us kids. Our whole Saturday mornings were spent there. I will always cherish those Saturday mornings.

His job has changed slightly over the last year to where he is never on-call anymore. This allows him to go to work and when he gets off, he's really off. But, when someone chooses work over other important things in life, it's hard to get to where you should be with those important things. He is making an effort, but when he's been absent most of my 20 years, it's hard to let him back in. We're getting there. Slowly but surely.

We just finished the tent sale at Baglady Saturday. SO TIRED! We did awesome though...lots of money for AtlantaMart! I am getting soo excited for AtlantaMart.

I finally got new music today...it makes me so happy! Here are a few running through the Chelsea Lifetrack:
How Far Do You Wanna Go? {Gloriana}
Diva {Beyonce}
I'm Letting Go {Francesca Battistelli}

I'm feeling very domestic...

this summer, but I like it. Making dinners, baking for showers, and making sure my "chiltens" eat healthy. haha

Where to begin. Well, how's about some photos? Everyone enjoys story telling through photos...right?

Jerra's personal shower is Wednesday so I have been baking and creating games and poems out the wazoo!

Strawberry and Lemon Cookies:
1 pkg lemon cake mix
1 pkg lemon pudding
oil
2 eggs
350 for 10 minutes
*for strawberry switch the cake mix and pudding to strawberry and vanilla
**for strawberry lemonade cookies intertwine batter after mixing separately

Bride and Groom Balls:
1 pkg oreos
1 pkg cream cheese
chocolate bark
Mix oreos and cream cheese into small balls and then dip
*add tsp of veggie oil to thin the chocolate

My parents have been married 24 years today and this is what my dad sent my mom. He scored.

My sister came to visit me at work and she looked cute so we snapped a few :)

Back to the shower...my friend and I went in on our gift and we got her a "panty line." It's the cutest most orginal idea I have seen for these type of things...and too cute not to share. It is a personal shower, so don't be shocked as you start reading...

We two gals have a secret to share
About our little blonde bride:
She's obsessed with underwear
And that we cannot hide

So for our little panty queen
We'll make her feel just fine
By working as a friendly team
To form a panty line.

Jerra these undies are to last you
All throughout your life
And Mike will be pleased to say
He has a sexy wife!

So listen up to hear about
Your lifelong panty plan
These underwear, we have no doubt
Will last your whole life span

The first are for your wedding day
Of course they are pure white
We know Mike will shout, "Hooray!"
When he sees you on that night

The next are for your honeymoon
They're sexy and all lace
We hope you'll leave your hotel room
'Cause Jamaica's a gorgeous place!

On Valentine's you'll wear this pair
Before you hit the bed
Cuz Cupid's arrow that's in the air
Shoots tushies that are red

After a year has passed you'll face
Anniversary number one
With these you'll surely have a blast
'Cuz leopard's so much fun!

Then when the time is right for you
And don't be saying, "Maybe"
You'll wear your little pink or blue
In honor of your baby

And when your years of wedding bliss
Become the big 2-5
Don't worry - you'll just slip this on
To keep the sparks alive

When finally you're old and gray
With these you can't go wrong
'Cuz sorry Jerra but at that age
You just can't wear a thong

We took out the baby part because, well, if you knew them you would too!

Our tent sale is this week....I am sooo ready to get rid of all this CRAP we store in the back! And we'll be making money to spend at AtlantaMart in July. So really, our customers are helping us buy new stuff for the store...isn't that "green" one way or the other?

Check out "These Walls" by Teddy Geiger. You will like.

"My Boyfriend's Back and You're Gonna Be in Trouble."

I went back to work yesterday. It was SO nice having a whole 5 days off! Well, I may have babysat a bit in there somewhere, but regardless it was still a nice break. Pool days, went to the lake, and wedding festivities! The results: a tanned and well-rested me!

The lake was so much fun. It makes me miss our old lake house a lot. I still go to our dock from time to time. It's so peaceful. Carrie and I drove down Saturday morning and skied (Ok, I attempted but failed), extreme tubed, and layed out. It was amazing and beautiful and the weather was perfect! They cooked on the campfire that night (my favorite smell) and we played only the best games ever: Truth or Dare: The Book and Name the Song. Lots of laughs :) It rained Sunday morning, but turned out to be another nice day. I spent most of it in the shade...I was too burnt from the day before ha! I read a lot of The Shack. I didn't agree with it at first but then I went back and re-read it and it's turning out to be a pretty good book. I am learning something which surprised me, but then again we're talking about me here.

Monday I went to get my bridesmaid dress altered with the other girls...I have 3 things working against me for this wedding:
1. long dress - outside summer wedding
2. hair down - outside summer wedding
3. short - we are wearing flats
haha, it makes me laugh, but doing a bunch of wedding stuff that day made me excited for the actual wedding weekend. It will be fun!

Katelyn (My new roomie who I LOVE!!) helped me plan the personal shower for next Wednesday. I will be baking my life away all Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday I released my inner soccer mom and now am the owner of a child's car seat. The little boy I am watching this summer, Avery, is 5 and is a hoot and a half. We had a lot of fun on our first official day together. He started to tell me his mom was pregnant and had her baby last night (being Monday night). I knew his mom reallly well. She would kill him if she knew he said that. Avery reassured me it was just a "joke." Over the course of the afternoon he told several more "jokes." Little boys and their over-active imaginations.

Wednesday night=Vine night. I actually went to post-game this week with a few friends and SHOCkEr: didn't drive! That made me very happy and more willing to go! We played putt-putt. Needless to say that I was in the running for highest putter. Carrie and I tried to get Daniel (Vine Pastor) to think that I beat him by one point...and he did until Carrie started laughing!

Not really sure why I just gave a run-down of my last few days, but there it is.

I am playing golf for the 3rd time tomorrow morning and hope it does not get rained out! I have a feeling I'm going to need as much practice as I can get.

"Listen to the beat of your heart. Once you find the beat you will always walk in tune."

Summer Sun, Somthing's Begun...

I hope my "followers" are satisfied that I have a new post now...

You know what I absolutely love? Coming home, lighting some candles, propping my feet up, and settling into a good book. My favorite way to end the day most definitely. I'm reading The Shack right now and I like it so far. I don't want to get my hopes up because of all the hype everyone has put on it, but I'm hopeful it's gonna be a good one.

I have been working hard on many new projects with PSE. I have created a blog layout, edited baglady's site, made an invitation, created t-shirts, and much more! It's soo fun and I learn something new everytime I start working on a creation. My latest and greatest is an invite for my friend's personal shower...check it out:

Ok, this is what I started with in PSE as my original document:

This is what I ended up with as my final project:

annd then I dabbled a bit in creating a blog background and came up with this:

But I canNOT for the life of me figure it out! I have the instructions right in front of me but nothin, I will get it eventually.

I read my first book of the summer! Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber. LOVED it! I am currently working on my own 20 wishes. A few on the list are...
1.) Go to Nashville, TN (Country Music Central...hello!)
2.) See a Broadway musical
3.) Audition for Idol...again
4.) Open Rings&Rattles
It's not much, but they are my wishes so I get to do as I please.

I am going camping at the lake this weekend and I am soo excited! I am going with my friend and her family plus another family plus their foster child. We are staying in her camper...not gonna lie; I was kinda excited about the tent, oh well, that's for another weekend this summer!

Sweet Home [battlefield park]

I am all moved in! And never want to see a packing box again!...at least for a very long time. I now understand why people stay put for so long. I'm exhausted!

We started around 10 this morning because the boys wanted to sleep in and I figured I should grant them that since they were helping me for free. Casey and Stuart are 2 boys I've kinda grown up with in church and they graciously offered to help. I might have threatened their life, but that's beside the point. They dubbed themselves 2 Men & A Truck charging $60/hr. I bought them Taco Bell as compensation. Same thing, right?
Madge, my sister, helped me too. She is AWESOME at moving! Gets in and out quick. Everything is hung up and put away in its spot :) I feel soo at home here! Love my roommate, love my new digs, love life!

We got new Young Essence at Baglady today...I took a piece...and I'm soo excited to wear it Friday! I would have linked the site's New Arrivals here but for some reason their site is down so I will have to post some pictures later along with my new home.

CUTE NEW PURSES! Big Buddah $69 www.bagladyboutique.com


Young Essence Dress that looks super cute with jean leggings www.bagladyboutique.com


We have GREEK stuff and it's super cute! www.bagladyboutique.com
Alpha Chi, Zeta, Pi Phi, ADPi, Theta, KD, SigKap, and TriDelt



And a few from my new digs...ok maybe just one :)...there are still boxes in my room, but you know my cuteness doesn't quit at the bathroom.

Bathroom...I'm a fan of the green and black, thank you Target :) The black mirrored box is courtesy of antique shopping in Kansas City last summer.



Peace out, girlscout.

"Hollar if You're Ready for Summer Nights"

Finito! I am done with my semester from hell. And with Drury. :( Kinda sad about leaving because I've made some great friends in my department and love my professors! But I will stay in touch with the important ones because they've asked me to nanny for them this summer. I met their kids Thursday night when I did a "test run" to see if they liked me. Of course they liked me, what kid doesn't!? Avery is the oldest and Rowan is the youngest. Both are adorable boys and smarter than you would think. Avery loves babysitters (yay for me) and while his mom was trying to tell me things about the house he kept interrupting her. "Miss Chelsea, come here!" or "Miss Chelsea, I wanna show you something!" It was adorable, I haven't been called "Miss Chelsea" since my CrossTraining days...

So that's one thing I will be up to this summer. Another job I will have this summer is Baglady. Duh. I will be in charge of the website and inventory more than anything. Mom is enrolling me in a webdesign class and I'm going to try and create this vision I have in my head for the site.

My best friend from high school is getting married to the love of her life June 27, 2009 and I will be a bridesmaid. She is 4 days younger than me born on my expected due date of November 4th. We always say that is why we are friends, haha. My new roommate (more on that below) and I are throwing her a personal shower in a few weeks at our new place. I am soo excited! I love planning parties, cooking for people, and girls nights! Check. Then we get to throw her a bacholorette party...which is going down in the books as the greatest night ever. Check.

Mom and I are going back to Atlanta for market!! Annnnd we are staying at the Ritz Carlton downtown!! I am sooo excited to go back :) Starbucks a block away and the market 2 blocks away. I don't know what it is about places that you can walk everywhere, nice people greeting you every 10 steps, and beautiful scenery, but I'm in love with it all. When we went to Breck this past winter it was the same way. I think it's a sneak peak of where I will live someday...with Rings&Rattles 2 blocks away.

I banked on selling my books back this year...it might have been because I had 20 to sell back, but who's keeping track? Anyway, most of it I applied to my car loan, but another hunk of it is going to be spent at bookstores :) My Summer Reading list...I am such a nerd, but one of my favorite things about summer is grabbing a book, curling up at my parents in the screened in porch, and getting lost in another world. The Shack, 20 Wishes, Above the Line, This Side of Heaven, and a few more that I know my friend, Pummill, will throw my way.

I move out and in Wednesday! I am SO excited to move in with Katelyn! I have a few of my favorite boys I get to boss around Wednesday when they help me move. :)

For now I will leave you with a few good tunes:
Breakeven
First in Line
Summer Nights

Almost Done!

"I am ready to sail this ship into the shore and throw away the ores forever."
*Bonus points to whoever can name that tune

In so many ways I agree with those lyrics, but I'll just share one. Finished my Global paper, 2 pages into my Ethics paper, and the Spanish final will, by the grace of God, be good if I get some studying in for that. Oh, 11:59 pm Thursday is coming way too fast, but I'm ready to sail that ship into the shore.



I just want to thank all my friends who have listen to me gripe and moan this week about my papers and such. You know who you are, you are all great friends and I am lucky to have you...even though you may not feel the same way after this week, haha.

FFF...Freaky Final Friday

Drury may have their own F3, but I like mine better...especially since it was a freaky morning! Wake-up calls from mothers are always a nice way to start your day. It stormed like CRAZY this morning. 80mph winds and hard rain. My friend's house in Rogersville now has a new piece of yard decor...an uprooted tree.

I love my grandparents, but sometimes they ask for more trouble than they want. My grandparents and their friends went out to my parents because they have no basement. When the storms cleared and they went back home, Mo Iba, my grandparents friend and famous basketball coach, found his car under fallen branches. My grandma and Mo decided to pick the branches off the car to find any damage, but they didn't pick up branches. No, he picked up an electrical cord! Thank the LORD they had lost electricity. But the worst thing was my grandma proceeded to touch Mo WITH the cord still in his hand! Ahh! Thankfully, they are all fine...and confined to their house per my mother's instructions. It's too busy of a weekend for them to spend time in the E.R.

Busy, busy weekend! My little brother, Tucker, graduates tomorrow! OMG I feel so weird about that! But he's had fun in these last few weeks and I am so excited for his new adventures in college! Here's a pic of us before his prom...beware, his tux is a little out there. His friends decided to get the Dumb and Dumber tuxes for prom!

1 final, 4-page paper, 15-page paper.....and FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cinco de Mayo

First of all, HAPPY CINCO de MAYO! Wahoo! We had the best day at the shop :) ...lots of people who have never been in are coming in and seeing the store for the first time. ANND it's during an event which is awesome because everything is super clean and fresh!

Second of all, weirdest day EVER. Wow. Ok, so to start the day off I was doing really well. Made my bed (which if you know me, then you know my room's a mess and bed is never made..not anymore!), went to the gym with Katelyn, and made it back in one piece. THAT is where it all went downhill.

I went to the wrong class, in the wrong building, on the wrong floor...and when I walked in the correct class everyone knew what had happened...very embarrassing. BUT we did nothing in class...no writing, no assignments, no talking about the book, nothing! So that was cool.

Mom shattered the margarita machine last night :( I told her I didn't think I could talk to her anymore that night. Then she sliced her pinky open so I felt bad and forgave her. She forgot to send out Cinco emails and forgot to have signs made. And was having a little bad luck spell to say the least. So after my class, I offered to bring her and Emily lunch at Baglady. Walked in Planet Sub to pick up their order. No wallet. Thankfully, the guy let me verbally tell him my CC# so that worked out. BUT it took them 20 freakin minutes to make 3 sandwiches. Now, my class got out at 10:50 and I took National to the half-way point to Republic where I picked up the sandwiches leaving at 11:30 and still needing to drive to the other side of town and then back again for a class at 12. Needless to say I was 10 minutes late to it.

Oh no, I'm still not done.

I get to Shewmaker and sit down to frantically study for this next test when I get a text from my friend saying it was an oral exam the whole class gets to take together...I should have seen that coming considering we ALWAYS have open note exams. So we're all sitting and chatting downstairs waiting for class and this little girl walks up. She chats with us for a bit and then we all get up to go to class. She follows us and promptly sits upfront and tells the prof SHE wanted to take this quiz we had been telling her about. He told her she didn't want to and she probably wanted to leave because someone was getting ready to get in trouble. Hold the phone. WHAT?
When she leaves, he proceeded to "let us have it." We were all sooo confused! We had no idea what he was talking about, and I still don't know what was wrong. My brain hurt so bad after leaving that class today.

Oh, and one of my finals was canceled today. Wahoo! So I have a quiz Thursday, paper due next Thursday and Final and then Friday my last paper!! So 1 and 1/2 weeks and HELLO SUMMER :)

She's Beautiful, in Her Simple Little Ways...

Tonight I made dinner for one of my closest friends as we planned Jerra's Bach party (which she thinks isn't happening...hahaha). It was soo good to forget school and work and the hustle of everyday life for a few hours and enjoy good friends and food (well, I hope they liked the food. I would like to think that I am a decent chef). Not that I can disclose of many details, but what I can say is that this fiesta will go down in the books :)

Less than 48 hours and I will be back in Stilly reunited with my lovely Theta sisters! I am BEYOND EXCITED! I have missed them all so so much and am in dire need of some red dirt roads and a good ol' country escape. Thus the title and song quote at the end. Miranda Lambert. Amazing :)

"Everybody dies famous in a small town."

Cherish These Moments

Today at my internship my adviser approached me about a situation that had come up at the hospital the past few days. It was unsettling as she told me about the baseball player who got hit in the head Tuesday afternoon. As I replay that conversation and the news clips that were played tonight announcing that he was brain dead and would be donating his organs tomorrow, I can't help but have my heart go out to his family and his friends.
A few years ago, my cousin, Chase, was pitching at Conner's College and the hitter swung the ball directly back towards Chase's head. He was hit and blacked out as he fell to the ground. Chase was admitted to the hospital and immediately was rushed into brain surgery. He made it through everything smoothly, thank the Lord. Chase stills plays baseball to this day, but pitches with a special helmet to protect his metal plate they had to put in his head.

I have loved everything about working at the hospital up until this point. I was scared spittless when my adviser sat me down. I had no idea she was going to lay that one on me. It was so sad to have to hear about everything the media team had gone through the past two days to help the family dodge news crews. Thankfully, they all respected the family's situation. Hearing about this gets me thinking: I could be working and someone close to me could be admitted and given the threat of not making it through the week. Patrick woke up Tuesday morning as a normal kid probably dreading a test before gearing up for what was his last baseball game.

In saying all this, I guess I just wanted to say something that's been said many many times before. Cherish these moments, hold dear to the ones you love, and make the most of every second of every day.

Rambles and Mumbles.

Oh goodness, where to start? I have felt incredibly blessed these past few days. I don't want to think/talk/acknowledge it because usually when I acknowledge good things they usually go in the opposite direction within a week. But this is just too much of a good thing to keep bottled up!

It seems like right when life starts to get really busy is when my social life begins to boom again. And I can't say no. If I say no, then I usually get the rep. of never available for anything, so I say yes...always. I love saying yes, it's like my favorite word. Sometime it's good, others it's bad. Recently, it's been amazing! I am having the time of my life and finally understand what people are saying when they say college is the time of your life! Family, friends, life...it's all wonderful!

Singing. I love a good jam session with or without people. It's very soothing to me. Saturday night, well Friday night to begin with a few of my friends got me to sing for them (which rarely just *snap* happens). It wasn't so bad...I even got a "You have a beautiful voice." which is always nice to hear when you are so insecure about it. It got me thinking about American Idol and my audition from last year...I need to be smarter about my song choice and find my voice's perfect match for a genre. Then Saturday night another one of my friends found out I sang for the others and wanted to sing with me...so we hid out and sang to YouTube videos. It was hilarious. He wasn't very confident in his voice and I had no idea what to tell him because I hadn't heard his voice. Finally, I got him to "belch" it. (Sidenote: He thought it was "belch it out" instead of "belt it out" ahahahaha, love it!) Great voice. Great voice. It was so fun to be able to sing like that again. I have missed it.

My sister's club team qualified for nationals Sunday. It's in Miami, FL. Guess who will be missing that trip? Yep, me. My friend, Jerra, is getting married and I'm in the wedding and it's the exact same date...go figure. Oh well, this wedding is going to be so much fun with all my girls! Now all I need to do is get myself a date since most of my single guy friends will be at my other friend, Eric's, wedding that exact same day. Ironic, huh?

So I got PSE and here's my work in progress for my Mother's day card...
I started with this picture of a cute card we sell at Baglady...
I need to figure out how to make my photo B&W and then I am going to frame it and add some glass glitter. Possibly add more detail with a stenciled eraser, but I still haven't mastered how to do that. We'll see what master piece I can pull out of this.

Out with the old and in with the new...

It has become apparent to me lately that there is truth behind that old saying as unfortunate as it is. I have always had wonderful friends. Always. I love them all each in their own, unique ways. However, recently I've been getting the calls.

"Are you alive?"

"Oh, you do still remember me!"

"Well, when you can fit me in your busy life just call."

To some of you I'm sorry. Sorry I have a busy schedule full of things I have to do (school, work, etc). I know that I should be a better friend and stay in contact, but I do the best I can. I am not wonder woman, so do not expect me to be.
I really miss all of my friends whom I've not been able to stay in touch with. For real, there was a reason we became friends, and it's the same reason that we will be able to jump right back to where we were!

For others who understand that springtime is just a busy time of the year, I love you that much more for understanding. There are 4 weeks left until we will have nothing in the way between you, me, and some great memories!!


On a lighter note, I got the call tonight I had been waiting for and it looks like I have a place to live this summer! YAYAY! Exciting :) Not that I wouldn't mind being at my home that I love! But it will just be easier living in Springfield and being close to work and friends and not outside of town...but still be able to escape out to my lovely country home for quality family time...oh, and the pool! Can't forget the POOL!!!

"I Should Be Sleepin'..."

I found my new favorite spot. I get so much accomplished and feel very productive after leaving this new found place of mine. It's the MSU lib. One of my friends has been getting me acquainted with it for next year and we have the best spot you can find in a lib. Until tonight, but thankfully I only had Baglady stuff to work on.


Speaking of...I can hardly contain myself I'm just so excited! My dream to have my own shop may be just around the corner! A few of my mom's knitting buddies are wanting to take on a business venture in Rogersville AND it has living quarters above it. Not so crazy about that, but I am very much interested in testing the waters for a year to see if a second Baglady and Rings&Rattles would survive in Rog. The girls want me to be the one in charge of the website/shopping cart and also do marketing (your business is all about how you market yourself!)...ah, can you say dream job?! Fingers crossed.


"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perserverance." James 1:2-3
I love that verse! Over and over it speaks to me in so many different ways. My life right now is at such a high! Great friends, love my family, I have a solid job, lots of new friends, and wonderful breaks on the weekend! SO much more...but I'm sure you wouldn't want to read this for another hour. But I am grounded, I know the downfall is coming and because of this verse I am prepared. That sounds so backwards that I am prepared for the bad, but I think that those times when Jesus brings the "rain" so to speak, it puts you back level with the world. I love it and I hate it. But mostly I enjoy being put in my place because it truly makes you thankful.


I will step off my soapbox now. Goodnight.

Once again...

I find myself waiting until the last minute to write a paper. This time around I had every intention of starting sooner, and kinda did. I read the entire section...and then figured out it was the wrong one. Figures. Then I took off work last night early to finish and get a good start on the introduction, but my friend had asked me to come to a concert with her and I knew it would be a good study break so I agreed...That's when all hell broke loose and another one of my friend's whole world came falling down. Her boyfriend of 3 years walked out with no warning. Slapped her in the face (figuratively speaking) and made her doubt everything. I felt bad for her, but she is such a strong person that I know she is going to be alright, especially since not even 5 minutes into the conversation she said she was at peace with the decision...she just needs closure. So I spent the night with her and made sure she was alright.

Now, it's almost 1pm....19 hours away from the deadline. It's doable, but I am just so not in the mood. 5 WEEKS!


Gold Star Items of the Week:
I am making a lot of new friends at MSU and I love them! They are all so fun, and I know will be people I can ask to help me out on campus next fall.


I am dominating Baglady's website and we are looking to add our shopping cart by May 16!!


I am no where further with Hampton House, but it's still not been bought :)


I love my family. A lot. I am truly blessed :)




We went to Second Baptist today as a whole family for the first time and I loved being in church with them. It was a good feeling. We sang a few old hymns I remember from my childhood going to my grandma's church in Oklahoma. Here's part of a verse of one of my favorites. I tried to find a youtube video to post with it, but I couldn't find a good sound bite of it...maybe I will stumble across one.


"Because He lives I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives."


Happy Easter!!

Hump Day.

I spent practically my entire afternoon and part of my morning working on the Baglady website and even though the changes are minor to the average eye, I am very very pleased with it! I don't have photoshop, but we bought psE as a business expense and I used that. It's quite easy to follow if you know your way around ps. I think I might have to buy it for my mac since ps and the whole dang creative suite is so freakin expensive!


I have been blogging now for almost 3 months...wait 2 months. Oh, since February (I'm horrid with dates, locations, and directions). Anywho, I finally got my first follower...it may be one of my friends, but still, I will feel the love from the blogging community...eventually. I have been looking through other blogs and it makes me wonder why I even blog myself. But reading though other people's advice, stories, ideas...I don't know. There's something about it that inspires me. So I continue...who knows? Maybe someone gets something from mine...ha, yea, right.


5 and a half more weeks!...not that I'm counting or anything.


Word to the wise: Don't be wishy washy. It's annoying.

Procrastination at its Best.

A
- Available: or Taken?
- Age: 20
- Annoyance: Wishy-washy people
- Animal: My puppies :)

B
- Beer: bellies are not attractive.
- Birthday: Halloween
-Body Part on opposite sex: the eyes get me everytime
- Best feeling in the world: Music/concerts/singing/music...
- Blind or Deaf: Blind
- Been in Love: I have loved but never been in love.
- Been on stage : Many times
- Believe in Magic: What girl doesn't?
- Believe in Santa: Of course!

C
- Candy: ice cream
- Color: green/purple
- Chocolate/Vanilla: Dove Chocolate Dark
- Chinese/Mexican Food: My mom makes the best mexican meals ever!
- Cake or pie: neither
- Continent to visit: Australia
- Cheese: please?

D
- Day or Night: Sunny days and starry nights
- Dancing in the rain: Never done it

E
- Eyes: Deep brown
- Everyone's got: a secret.
- Ever failed a class?: Nope! :)

F
- First thoughts waking up: ...I wish my dogs could let themselves out.
- Food: cereal

G
- Greatest Fear: being hurt
- Goals: to open Rings&Rattles
- Gum: always!
- Get along with your parents? My mom is my best friend and my dad is getting there

H
- Hair Color: dark brown. NOT black.
- Height: 5'2"
- Happy: Palm Sunday!
- Holiday: Christmas
- How do you want to die: with no regrets

I
- Ice Cream: mint chocolate chip
- Instrument: piano/guitar

J
- Jewelry: rings and necklaces
- Job: BAGLADY!

K
- Kids: oldest of 4
- Kickboxing or karate: kick boxing DEFINITELY
- Keep a journal? Of quotes and lyrics and verses

L
- Love: beautiful days
- Letter: y
- Laughed so hard you cried: last night!

M
- Milk flavor: skim
- Movies: He's Just Not That in to You..it spoke to me
- Motion sickness? not really
- McD’s or BK: eww.

N
- Number: not really.

O
- One wish: to be a professional singer...preferably country

P
- Perfect Pizza: pineapple and thick crust
- Pepsi/Coke: neither

Q
- Quality: Loyal

R
- Reason to cry: school
- Reality T.V.: Real World...I want to audition
- Radio Station: 94.7 or 96.5 or 88.3
- Roll your tongue in a circle: sure?
-Ring size: 7-8

S
- Song: Never Alone -Lady A
- Shoe size: between a 7-8.5 (weird I know)
- Salad Dressing: vinaigrettes
- Sushi: kissy kissy!
- Skinny dipped?: Yes
- In the shower: Doesn't everyone skinny dip in the shower?
- Strawberries/Blueberries: both


T
- Tattoos?: nope. never
- Time for bed: When I have nothing else to do.
-Thunderstorms: at night


U
- Unpredictable: Ask my friends

V
- Vacation spot(s): Colorado

W
- Weakness: blonde-haired boys :)
- Which one of your friends acts the most like you: Danielle
- Who makes you laugh the most: Carrie
- Worst feeling: loneliness
-Wanted to be a model: ha, no.
- Worst Weather?: rainy days

X
- X-Rays: (knock on wood) no


Y
- Year it is now: 2009
- Yellow: Theta Theta Kappa Alpha Theta

Z
- Zoo animal : ............

Dumpster Noses and Stuffed Diving...wait..

That's how most of my week has been. Confused and backwards. Now, don't get me wrong, sharing is a very important part of sisterhood, but not when it comes to illnesses. Me, being the loving sister I am, asked Madge to come stay the night with me last weekend when I knew she was bored to tears but couldn't do anything because she'd been sick all week. I think she breathed the last of her nasty germs throughout my humble abode. I wasn't too bad until the baseball game in the cold and windy weather Tuesday night...but then again that was totally worth getting sick for.
Anywho, I have 3 papers, 1 make-up quiz, and a video project looming over my head on top of all the snotty mess. UGH! No fun. Thankfully, our top employee has agreed to come relieve me so I can rest and get some work done this afternoon.


House Update: I have the name and place where the house is being managed. Get this. I called last week to find out more information and the place it's being managed has been disconnected. Yet another dead end.


I cannot wait until this semester is OVER! It will be bittersweet with it being my last at Drury, but at the same time I am so over this schedule! 6 more weeks! Freedom! I will be enjoying my summer fully this time around. I never really appreciated my summers, but after this semester I think I will. Definitely.


"I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you." -Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop

"I wanna dance with somebody!"

My iPod got a fair share of play time this weekend on the trip to KC and back...Beyonce, Whitney, and a new friend named Matt Wertz made guest apperances.


Friday a couple of my girlfriends and I braved the cold and rain and drive to KC for shopping and a birthday outing! It was the first road trip I had gotten to take in the new wheels and I was PUMPED! Here's a few pics we had our paparazzi take :)
Brittni, Me, & Carrie


Shopping fun!


Car dancing on the way home!

A blast! We only got lost once, but thank goodness for them boys we let come with us!


I sent out my press release today at my internship! Fingers crossed it gets good coverage! I am really getting into writing for the hospital. Every day there's something new and different going on. It's fun to come in a learn what's going on and how it's helping the community.


House update: I have my friend's brother-in-law who is a former realtor working on digging up some dirt and after all the phone calls I made today I finally got somewhere. I'm going to the recorder's office tomorrow afternoon to see what I can find there on the house. My parents are 100% behind me on this one so I'm really hoping I get somewhere with it!

7 weeks til:
FREEDOM! Friends :) Trips! Sunshine! NO SCHOOL!

can't wait.

Suggestions among others...

I'm a big fan of paying it forward. Lately it's mostly been just simple things like book titles and music but both can go along way, especially to those who feel the music deep in their soul and use books as their "vacation" from the real world. So here's a few titles you should more than likely check out...
I Run to You
Never Alone
Free to Be Me
Heart Like Memphis
Like the Last Time

Debbie Macomber and Teri Blackstock are beginning to capture most of my reading attention. They write about everyday topics you can identify with and that really touch you. Blackstock is more of the mystery writer while Macomber is a novelist. Her most popular series is about a woman who has been through a lot and decides to open her own shop, a knitting shop. After reading this series (the 4th one due out the end of april!!) it makes me want my own shop even more! Who know, maybe r&r will be opening sooner that I thought?

Ah, the living situation. Ugh, lease is up at the end of May and there's so many options, but nothing solid. Until today I had pretty much come to the conclusion I would be at home next year. I have been stalking this house in Springfield. Literally. It's sad, but I love this little cottage and all it's potential! It was taken off the market a few months ago and so I got up the courage to call the realtor and ask what happened to the house. It's been foreclosed on soooo our loan officer at the bank is investigating to see what he can come up with in terms of what will happen to the house. Fingers crossed, heart in prayer! It would be the first dream of mine to come true :)

"Lucky to have been where I have been, lucky to be coming home again." --Jason Mraz

Going Solo...

I did my first press release from start to finish Friday!! I was so proud :) And I got to interview my dad for it and was able to understand all the medical terminology I had to include! If you know me then you know I have trouble spitting words out, let alone knowing what they mean, so this was a pretty big deal for me. My internship adviser was very pleased with me and got really excited about turning it into a news story! Maybe you'll be watching it on the 5 o'clock soon...

Ah, it's the week before Spring Break and not a closed book or document in sight. The students were fretting with all of their might. The professors were piling the workload higher and higher in hopes that students would return and not fly by.

I've always wanted to be a poet like my mother, and that is far from it! She has this "little black book of poems," she calls it. They are hilarious. I'll have to post a few sometime.

I have a MAJOR case of..

SPRING FEVER! It has been so beautiful outside these past few days! And I was stuck inside working. Ugh. My schedule this semester leaves me with maybe 30 minutes of daylight at the end of the day...I cannot wait for summer! Summertime is really my favorite time of year. Fall is the most beautiful, but summer all around is where I would love to be stuck. I only have to worry about work. No papers, no professors, no 8am classes...summer, hurry up.

Hump Day.

Ending day 3 of playing "Momma Cogdill" I still have 4 alive kids and only one dead shrimp. That's pretty good odds if you ask me. Nothing too major has happened and really they haven't fought that much. If anything, they've been overly excited about me being here and even more helpful than normal which I greatly appreciate :)

It's tough balancing school, work, and 4 kids for a week. Let alone having to do this 24/7. I was telling my mom last night on the phone how much more I respected her after having this experience this week. Still, the boys let me do my homework and keep themselves busy. I took them out to eat tonight and let them go to church so I know they at least had fun tonight.

Mother of 4.

Parents leave 4 boys with sleep-deprived college girl.

Headline that will probably be followed by my death announcement sometime next week. A family I've known my whole life asked me to house/babysit a week and a half while they are scuba diving in Mexico. I love these boys so of course I said yes! They are 7, 10, 16, and 19. As soon as I got here the littlest one was fast asleep claiming "sick" which we all know what he was really claiming...he missed his momma. Poor thing. I feel bad for the little man because he truly is his momma's boy. I reminded him of wrestling tomorrow and I made breakfast for dinner soo I think he's perking up a bit. He might have cracked a smile when I read his bedtime story, but that's to be determined :)

He's so darn cute when he's happy!

Anywho, the reason I started with that headline was because of this 6am wake-up call I was threatened with. When I put them to bed, I asked what time they needed to be waken-up and they informed me they'd be up with the cows. Ugh, I need my sleep! Welcome to motherhood.

This week I have a paper, two quizes, and an exam...and I'm blogging. Go figure.

Nice to blog you.

I did it. I jumped on the bandwagon. I have my reasons for doing so, one being a newly acquired internship (insert HUGE smile).
After all my moving around college campuses and thinking about majors I think I have finally settled on the major for me. And I kinda think I know what I would like to do with the rest of my life. Hopefully.

Back to the internship: it's at St. John's. We will be working with the Media Relations department. We will be helping create a heart video, working with the Sunshine Run, and writing press releases (YAY!) among many other things with those being the most important. Thus the blog. One of my professors told my class last semester that the best way to constantly improve your writing was blogging. I did not get this at first and still am a bit weary, but I'm willing to give it a shot. So in hopes of improving my writing skills here goes nothing.

I say we when referring to my internship because THANKFULLY another girl from Drury got an internship also! I was very excited when I found this out because we had to sit through the physician's and nurse's orientation...so having someone else in the same boat as you and to know was very comforting. I found this out on my way to STL with Drury's DCN last Thursday. SGA and Drury's Alum office made it possible for 11 of us to travel there, eat at a very nice restaurant while networking with STL's finest and stay at the Drury Plaza for FREE! Ah, the perks of Drury! We also visited several angencies the next day to see possible internships available. I can't remember the last time I was stuck with that many women for two whole days. It was the best time! We all had so much fun and I met a lot of new girls that formed into new friendships :).

I can't believe how many references to school and professors in this post I've made! Anyone who knows me, knows I am very skeptical about being a Drury student, but I'm starting to change my mind. It's actually not so bad...but anyway, here's another professor reference. Another one I had last semester always assigned papers ending with this: Never leave a paper without a psychological closer. As basic as that sounds, I had never heard it put that way. It stays with me for every paper I write now. But this is no paper...so I get to break the rules and leave you with a quote instead...

Write it on your heart that today is the best day in the year. -RWE