Christmas Traditions

Looks like the world knows about my little corner of the blogosphere now. Thus far, its been all positive feedback, which is awesome. Should you find anything already written or things yet to come offensive or rude, I'm not all that concerned. However, if you want to have a good rational conversation, I'm game.

Now onto the real post...

Christmas traditions. We have none. Its weird. Growing up it was always Santa gifts on Christmas morning and then big family lunch at Granny & Pop's house. Then after they got older we started shifting the location between my parents house and my aunt's house. Pop passed away first and then Granny in 2007. Christmas of 2007 my immediate family (parents, brother, sis-in-law, and Berkeley) spent at a rented house just south of Myrtle Beach. Since then we've gone back and forth on spending Thanksgiving and Christmas either in Durham or in North Myrtle Beach.  Few things are solid in our traditions. One that is a must is being with family. The other one that I'd like to keep is opening adult presents on Christmas Eve so that Christmas morning is all about the kids. I know that as the kids get older (well that's just Parker right now), that will be more difficult and not as important because their gifts won't be as exhausting for the rest of us on Christmas day.

This year, Mom, Dad and I wore ourselves out. Because we have no solid traditions, we end up going wherever people ask. The three of us did our gifts to each other on the 23rd. Christmas Eve we got to go to the service at church, which is one of my favorites. Then we went to my brother's house. My sis-in-law had her sister and bro-in-law in town so our Christmas stuff all happened at their house. We did the adult gifts Christmas Eve with my nephew sneaking to look through the railing. Christmas morning we schlepped all of Parker's gifts to their house and spent time watching him open gifts. After breakfast we swung by our house and picked up food. I hate that Christmas was on Sunday and I didn't get a chance to go to the service at church. But my dad's family always does lunch so we had to rush there. After a slow lunch and gift opening session we left to head to our house and pack up for the beach.

What we didn't know was that my uncle, who had been a little sleepy and odd at lunch, was actually having a medical problem. My parents and I weren't far from our beach house (3 hours from home) when we got the call that he was headed to the hospital. After one night down there we headed back this morning. My uncle is doing better, but it certainly makes me appreciate that our family does make the tradition to see one another over the holidays. Its good to remember that no matter how much I enjoy the gift giving, the people that I'm giving them to are way more important.

The Celebration Barbie ornament for 2011 (I have a whole tree of Barbie ornaments)

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas (or whatever your holidays are) and you have a happy and safe New Year!

Jesus was single at 30...we can do this.

**Disclaimer**If you're offended by anything you read in this post, feel like your toes have been stepped on, or feel excluded...you'll survive. Trust me.**

Its a gift; God's preparing the perfect mate for you; it will be worth the wait; don't rush God's timing; its not how close you can come but how far away you can stay from the line; I know exactly how you feel;  you're always welcome to hang out with me and my spouse; can you watch our kid; let me communicate with my spouse...and the list goes on. As true as any of those statements may be, single people, especially females, get SUPER tired of hearing them. First, the ONLY people that should be making any statements like that are people who have ACTUALLY been anywhere near your shoes (or my pastor...and I mean MY pastor, Marc, that I trust, not just any pastor). Do not tell me its a gift or worth the wait if you got married at 20 or 21, crazy. Would you want someone coaching a baseball team who never made it beyond t-ball? No. So if you've never been my age and single, you may not be the best option for the person to teach me about how to live as a single adult.

Now that I'm off that soapbox, lets talk about Single Ministries or the lack of them at churches; which is basically just another one of my soapboxes =D. There are many churches, especially in large cities, that are made up mostly of people between 18 and 40, which lends them to a large group of singles. Which is great if you're wanting church to be a dating service. I have no issues with that, because it has to be better than using the bar for the same thing. However, I prefer a church with people of all ages for no reason other than I simply like the variety and the great interesting things you can learn from people who aren't your age. Therefore I tend to attend churches that have a good mix of all ages. The problem with that type of church is that, although all ages are represented, and the 20s-30s may also be very well represented, but with married people. So at a lot of the churches I've visited and my own, there are only about 10 people on any given Sunday who are post-college and pre-marriage. So, in my experience, this leaves me with two options for types of churches; an all young adult church with a dating service or a church with a variety of ages and no singles. This CAN'T be the only two options. There has to be an ability to have a thriving singles ministry at a church. I was in a church building not long ago that called the group of mixed young adults, Pairs & Spares, that is NOT the way to grow a ministry.

So here is my proposition on how to include singles in your church without having a church of all young adults and without telling the singles that they can participate in church by working in other ministries (children and youth are the most popular). Exclude people. That's the secret. Churches have to get over the fear of excluding married people, people over a certain age, or possibly even single people with children when it comes to programs/activities to bring in young single adults. Married people typically have several options of groups that they can spend time with at a church. People over 40 often have children (which means they fit with the next category) or adult women and adult men classes they can attend. People with children are often included with the married couples because they have similar lifestyles. However, single people who are post-college, pre-marriage, and in their 20s and 30s have nowhere to fit in. Sure, we're offered to work with the children/youth, sing in the choir, join the women's class, but when do we get to fellowship with people our own age? When do we get to talk about the things that affect our lives to one another? I do not want to only have married couples to talk to about what its like to try and live a godly single life at 28. The most popular responses are "it will happen in God's timing", "its worth the wait", "don't rush into anything", "use your singleness". We don't want to hear that all the time. We are in church, trying to be involved, clearly we know God, his timing, and his plan are important...let us discuss and complain to each other. If you want us to "use" our singleness, then let us minister together to the community. We constantly feel either excluded from activities or like we got the pity-invite because you know we have no where else to go. We want to be able to talk about our jobs/careers, grad school, and world travel with people who are doing the same things. I want to be able to discuss my nephew or my dog and get to hear about other peoples neices, nephews, and pets occassionally, but not talk about your kids all the time.

Not wanting to include everyone or not wanting to talk about PTA and school birthdays constantly may sound mean, but it isn't meant to be. Most of us work in a diverse environment where we can hear about that stuff any time. I like knowing what is going on in my coworkers lives, but I also like spending time with people who have lives like mine. People who spend their money on Kate Spade bags and trips to St. Lucia because we don't have a family to support. We are often made to feel like we're asking too much to have a singles class. That is crazy. We are asking to form our group of friends and peers with others who can share and strengthen our beliefs, we are asking to meet significant others among a group of Christians. Shouldn't our churches be encouraging that? Shouldn't they be asking how they can help? If we don't find friends and mates at church, we go elsewhere. That can, has, and will turn out poorly for some. Encourage the singles ministry, don't pity us or preach at us, don't send us couples who met at 19 and are still married at our ages to tell us how great married life is. Encourage us by helping form or grow our own ministry and not including us to work in yours. We are begging to be a part of church and to have our own notch to fit in. Don't assume you know what we want. Ask us. We may not be able to articulate how it should look, but we can tell you how we feel. Then together figure out a plan to make it happen in our own churches. We aren't youth or college kids, we don't need you to hold our hand, we just need you to support our efforts.

Giving Thanks...interrupted

I know A LOT of people attempting to write something they're thankful for every day in November. I don't have the discipline for that, so I thought I'd just put a list here for a Turkey Day post!
 - My parents: they have given me SO much, done SO much, and love SO much..they're awesome
 - My Brother: as much as he can drive me nuts (and I him), he's a good brother and I'd kill any of you for him =D
 - Grace: She married Brad. That's enough reason to be thankful. But I also think she's a great person and a fabulous mom to my next thing to be thankful for...
 - Parker: the most awesome nephew and kid in the world


Okay, so as you can see, this post started as my Thanksgiving post and I am VERY thankful for the ones mentioned as well as my friends who have meant so much to me (your names are below, just so you know I really do love you). Then I got the urge to write about what is possibly my biggest soapbox..Singleness. So stay tuned. This one may take a while to write, but I promise it will be an interesting read.

Awesome people: Melanie, Alexis, Erin, Tommy, Tate, Kara, Mert, Katy, Jaaaaaan, Rae. This is not an exhaustive list, but its all the awesome people that I think may actually see this.

Blessings and Stress

Great news to update my last post...my aunt had her surgery for a brain tumor and has now been discharged! It was brain surgery, so she had to be awake for everything except the opening and closing of her skull. Towards the end she started struggling with her speech and post surgery she is still having a hard time occasionally to come up with the right word to use. But in the grand scheme, they got most of the tumor and she's doing fairly well. Hopefully after some radiation she will be cancer free! (This pic is my aunt and uncle with their granddaughter/my 2nd cousin)


On to what is totally stressing me out...school. You would think in these tough economic times people would JUMP at the offer of free help. All I want is to work counseling kids for the next semester/summer. Then I'll graduate with my masters and never do school again. I may be a lifelong student, but not officially. I look forward to reading endless books and not having to write any papers or take any tests. So I've put my name in with our public school system and tonight I drafted one of the teachers I know to also drop my name with her school's counselors. Maybe, just maybe, I'll make this stupid practicum happen and I'll still be on track to walk in May and graduate in August. Oh how I hope so!!!

One more blessing is that my brother got a new job! Not only is it a better work environment with people who seem to be better supervisors, but it is also at one of my FAVORITE eating establishments. I'm not going to name any names but I'm guessing its pretty obvious. Having already visited him twice at work I should learn to pace myself. But the family is hoping to get a nugget tray for Thanksgiving! =D




Tune in soon to hear my soap box about dating Jesus!!

Fall-tastic!

Slacker again..ooops.


Okay, here it is: had a reunion/birthday weekend, ditched a dude who didn't treat me well, working on getting a practicum (stressing me out), went to the UNC game at Clemson, celebrated a friend finishing the Avon Walk, painted my face like a sugar skull for Halloween, my aunt had brain tumor surgery today, two other family members have had biopsies this week, working in Concord Saturday morning, super busy at work next week, Charlotte for the PANTHERS next weekend, first chance volunteering with Cancer Patient support that next Monday, workshop in Wilmington Wednesday and Thursday that week, beach that weekend, Rockettes Sunday night, short work week, Thanksgiving here and then to the beach for the weekend and then its December. This is why I haven't written an entry lately. Don't hate me, I love all three of you that read this.

Ryder Brown

"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" - When Harry Met Sally.

I would just like to state that if I were only allowed to watch 5 movies for the rest of my life, that movie would CERTAINLY be on the list!

Its been a month and MAN have I missed you! =D My life has been pretty much the same, work, workout, and DIY craziness. Today, I'll post about Ryder. He is the 10 month son of one of my best friends and had open heart surgery last week. Ryder's parents, Erin and Tate, knew before he was born that at some point he would need to have surgery to repair a hole in his heart and possibly another surgery to repair other portions of his heart. Little R held on until 10 months without needing the surgery, but October 3 was his big day. Because we girls love to plan a party, its always nice to get together with friends, and a happy occasion is WAY better than focusing on surgery...we had the Pulmonary PowWow! While Erin planned food and the guest list with her family, Melanie and I went to town on DIY projects to use as decorations. Long story short? The Pulmonary Pow Wow was a huge success and even more importantly so was surgery the next day!! That handsome little fella made it through quickly and with everything going as well as it could. I spent that day with family and friends in the hospital and got to see sweet Ryder post surgery. His mom let me know tonight that he's healing really well. He's SO stinkin' cute!!!

Next up? My bday this weekend as well as my 10 year high school reunion, the state fair at some point, Clemson, SC for the UNC/Clemson game....crazy time! I'll try to keep up with pics!!!

September 11, 2001

Where were you when 9/11 happened? Like JFK for our parents and the Challenger for some of us, we'll all remember where we were when the attacks on September 11, 2001 happened. Well here is my story...

September 11th was a Tuesday and I was in my freshman year of college at Gardner-Webb University, a private christian university. Every Tuesday we held a chapel called Dimensions in the LYCC (our sports arena) at 9:15am. I didn't have an 8am class on Tuesdays, so I was able to take my time getting ready for Dimensions because my dorm was next door to the LYCC. For any of my readers that know me well, you won't be shocked to learn that even in college I watched the news, specifically Good Morning America, every day as I got ready. Laura C was a dorm-mate of mine (who I lived with during the next Spring semester) who also watched the news in the morning. She and I had seen the first reports and met in her room to finish getting ready. We were both watching the screen as the second plane hit the World Trade Center and fears of an attack were confirmed. Neither of us knew anyone that might be in New York City that day, but we were both in a state of shock and terror that our nation that had always felt safe to us was now vulnerable.
In many ways I didn't want to leave our dorm that morning. The other girls who knew Laura and I would know what was happening had come into the room with us. As much as we all wanted to stay to be there and know what else would happen that morning, we also wanted to be in Dimensions. I wanted to be somewhere that I thought I might find some sense of peace. That morning solidified my decision to attend a Christian school. Dimensions only had to be attended 10 times each semester, but I'm not sure anyone missed that morning. We prayed, we cried, we learned of the first collapse, we prayed and cried more. The decision was made not to hold classes the rest of the day and a prayer service on the quad was announced for that evening. After Dimensions we went back to our dorm and were there in time to see the second tower collapse and to learn more about what had really happened, not only in New York, but also in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon.
Once there was no more breaking news, no more planes crashing or buildings falling it became a "What now?" In my life, when major tragedies happened, which for me was always a natural disaster, I had always been part of a team that took on a project. We had made meals for people, cleaned up flood ravaged towns, or collected needed items. But 9/11 was unlike any other thing that had happened in my life time. It felt like so much help was needed, but that I was unable to provide any of it. I'm not sure how I passed the time that day outside of watching the news. There were friends at school who were concerned about loved ones back home. There were friends in the town who were first responders that had been put on alert as they were all over the nation. That night I attended the prayer service on the quad with hundreds of my fellow Bulldogs.
It was a day like no other in my life. And that day changed my life forever. Not only did it change my life practically in the effect it had on the way America functions, but it also changed me personally. I believe that September 11th was another encouragement in my life to want to be a counselor to people in crisis. If I had been offered the chance to be at ground zero, at the Pentagon, or with the families of those lost in the field in PA, I would have gone without a second thought. To that moment I knew that I had a heart for victims of natural disasters, but I had no idea that I would have the same draw to victims of man made disaster. One and half years later I switched my major to Psychology.
That is my 9/11 story. Please feel free to share yours in a comment below! In some ways it helps me to honor the victims of that day and to keep that day in the forefront of my mind when I tell my story. This is my way to Never Forget.

Happy Birthday Melanie!!

First, Blogger has a new interface and I like it a lot more!

Okay, now on to life. Work is work. Same crap, different day. My supervisor moved out of state, but has stayed on as staff and is working remotely. I know that it can work having people do that. However, when it switches from in house to remote there are a LOT of changes. We're trying to adjust, but it is seeming like she does a lot less, I do a lot more, and our salaries didn't change. Its annoying.

On to happier things...today is my best friend's birthday. The awesome Melanie has caught up to me (for the next 1.5 months) and we're both 27. She is awesome. I know she'll see this and her parents have both posted tear-jerker blurbs about her online in honor of her birthday. So rather than make her cry more, I'll just say that she is one of the best people I know and one of the best friends I have ever had. Her only fault is that she's 2 hours away. If she were around we would take over the city! I love you Mel!

This long three day weekend doesn't have a ton planned out. Tomorrow night might involve a late afternoon workout and a little happy hour. Saturday might include a workout, the Farmers Market, and mowing the grass early in the day. That night will be spent celebrating Mel!!!! (PS: Mert is coming with her and we'll be hanging out with Erin...GOOD TIMES!) As for Sunday and Monday...I've got no idea what I'll do. If the weather is like today I'll certainly be doing something outside!

I'll leave you guys with some pics of my last few weeks. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

The Awesome Mel is taking me to a game for my birthday later this fall. Couldn't go without the gear so this is my shirt!

Last Monday morning. 7:15am on the beach.

The nephew in his new safari hat with his new dinosaur. Spoiled much? =D

I went to the Bulls final regular season home game and they won! Check out those perfectly worn short pants with tall socks. They should make that a law in baseball

Is it Fall Yet?

I'm SO ready for football season! High school games on Fridays, college games on Saturdays, NFL on Sundays and occasionally they throw in a game on Mondays and Thursdays. Not sure I'll feel that way when football is still going after New Years, but whatever.

For the last two weeks I've had a tough time with sickness. A trip to Urgent Care two weekends ago determined it was an Upper Respiratory Infection. The dingbat doc gave me good drugs but put me on a weird plan. I followed it and it didn't work so I tweaked it and it started working. Now I have a cough left over, but I can deal with that WAY easier than the sinus pressure and headaches.

Mr.X met the family last weekend!! He went out with me, the parents, brother, sis-in-law, and nephew to dinner. Then my brother, sis-in-law, Mr. X, and I all went to a nearby restaurant to have a couple drinks and chat. It went really well. Of course my parents want more time with him, but everyone seemed to have a great time and Mr. X loved them. Glad that's behind us...maybe my mom won't bug me as much about getting to see him? Probably not though.

On a news note: What is with all the crazy people?! Man and woman kill his babies' mama, dismember her body, drive it to TX with the kids and dispose of her in a creek. Man kills a woman half his age and has plans of cooking her body and feeding it to animals but her body is discovered before he can do it. A man is killed by police (may have been the wrong thing to do, maybe not) and a nation is on edge from riots that have burned businesses and residence of completely innocent people. I just don't get it.

Working out, getting in shape update: I did a 24 day challenge on a the Advocare system (https://www.advocare.com/11061060/ is my friends' page). After 24 days of eating "clean" foods, taking their supplements, and keeping up my normal workout schedule I lost 10 pounds and 16 inches!! I'm in the "bust my ass" phase of preparation for my 10 year high school reunion and that was a GREAT boost. Typically I work out 4 days each week, mostly mornings before work. Its early, but then its done for the rest of the day and by the time I start my day at work I feel like I've already accomplished so much. No, I never wake up thinking "Oh I can't wait to roll off this bed and head to the gym!". But the success is that I do it anyway regardless of how I feel. Then when its done I feel awesome (except right now because I stepped up the workout today and my legs are killing me). I'll write more about working out next time!

Have a great end to your week everyone!!

Dang its hot!!

Most of July has been over 95 and most of the last week has been over 100. Ick! It is miserable! Since we last chatted not a whole lot is happening....beach, Mr. X, beach, Mr. X...oh yea, and work. My parents and I took my nephew to the beach one weekend and it was EXHAUSTING! But of course the beach is always awesome. I also got one weekend at the beach alone. Nothing but sunshine, water, and golf cart rides! This weekend I have the house here in NC to myself and that's pretty awesome too! I cherish alone time because it doesn't happen very often.

Mr. X's mom had surgery for cancer this week and although it lasted almost 3 times longer than scheduled she did get a little happy news and that has been great for all involved. Love good news! We may be doing some "meeting the families" in the next few weeks...exciting and scary.

October 3rd. I know it is still more than 2 months away, but its a big day. One of my best friends will be taking her son, who will be a week shy of 10 months old, in for open heart surgery that day. I'm excited that he will be having his heart repaired and nervous for the process and for his parents. In an effort to support and prepare, my best friend Mel and I are working with R's parents (mostly mom) to put together a pre-surgery party! We're using our most recent addiction to Pinterest to help us plan...so much fun!

I'll gladly post pictures of events with Mr.X (when both of us get over being sick) and I'll keep you updated on Ryder's party. After we give gifts I'll share those too...they are SUPER cute!

I've been bad...

I know it's been forever but I'll write a blog later this week!! Sorry yall!!

Happy Birthday America!!!

The Fourth of July is my FAVORITE holiday. It is nothing but happy and everyone simply has a good time. SO...last year our entire family was together and I talked my brother into wearing an Uncle Sam costume, riding around in the golf cart, and singing patriotic music. I won't lie, I was a little sad to find out that my brother wouldn't be there this year to do a repeat. Then, on July 3rd, my parents and I were joking around about the costume and a supposed golf cart parade that was happening nearby. My dad disappears into his bedroom and then comes out wearing it and saying he'd ride in the parade. I was elated! I wasn't sure he'd follow through, but he wore it which was a big step. Then the next morning I convinced him to at least put it on and go have breakfast at Huddle House.
The owner of Huddle House even snapped dad's pic and put it on their facebook page.


Sorry its sideways. We stopped by CVS and Uncle Sam decided to walk up and down Highway 17 waving to people.
We stumbled on the line of golf carts waiting for the parade. There ended up being 90 carts!!! Among those in attendance? Uncle Sam, the Queen of Windy Hill, and the Statue of Liberty!That was the line of carts behind us even though you can only see a few. We were about 25 carts back but obviously there were a lot behind us! It was a great trip that included all of this plus beach time, pool time, fireworks, shopping, and of course house work. Hope all of you had a great Fourth!!!!

Stress, School, and the Queen City

Stress and School go hand in hand. Timelines and deadlines are not lining up and it is beginning to feel like I'll never finish. On top of that I have to resign from my job in the hopes that I actually get a practicum for this fall. It makes me want throw up...or maybe just quit. I could work and make money instead of spending thousands more on school and never getting the degree. UGH!

OK. Done with that.

This weekend I had the pleasure of going to visit one of my BEST friends, Mel, and other friends Mert, Jess, Salli, and others. Friday night we inadvertently celebrate MJ's 2nd anniversary of his death by grilling out and then partying on the Wii doing the MJ experience. Dancing to the Wii and watching others do it is a GREAT way to pass the time! Saturday, after Starbucks and Brueggers, Mel and I picked out some fruit for a tasty fruit salad to take over to a get together. A little time by the pool and grilling on the roof were topped off with a trip to do some karaoke. Sunday morning was brunch at the Crepe Cellar and it was delicious. All in all it was an awesome weekend with friends and I'm so glad I got to go!

Up next, my FAVORITE holiday...The Fourth!!! No clue what's in store, but I'm sure it will be fun! Sorry for the rushed blog tonight, but I'm off in the storms to go the movies with Mr. X. Happy Tuesday Y'all!

His Blog Debut!

I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy...he won't be mad about that right? Ok, maybe well just call him Mr. X. So I met this guy and I'm a huge fan! In some ways, as my friend Mel pointed out, he's exactly my type. In other ways he's something completely new that keeps me on my toes and maybe even jumping out of a plane someday. Mr. X and I have been dating for a little while and last Tuesday night I had the opportunity to spend an evening at his house and let him cook for me. He's a GREAT cook! After our tasty dinner we got to snuggle up and watch some guy-movie that I pretty much paid no attention to except when he said "Oh, watch, you'll actually like this part". Then Saturday night he met the friends. I've been looking forward to this because it really allows him to be a bigger part of my life and see what my life is like away from him. We had dinner and then played a round of miniature golf with Mel, Erin & Tate. Then Erin and Tate had to get home to their sweet little baby so Mel, Mr. X, and I headed to Starbucks for a late night latte and conversation.

I had a great time and I'm hoping my guy and my friends did too. The most awkward part of it all is that I'm super comfortable with Mr. X and the normal level of appropriate PDA, but that's new for my friends. Although we've been friends through other boys, they've never really been around to experience me with a guy. Hopefully Mr. X and I eased them into it. He was very sweet to help me out on working everyone up to it. We didn't really act like our normal selves, but pretty close.

Anyway, it was great having some of my favorite people all together and I hope it can happen more often! I'll keep the blog world updated on Mr. X as things move along. Next up, what to do for The Fourth?!

Coming Soon!

So, assuming things go as planned, I'll be having an event Tuesday night and a related event Saturday that may warrant blogging. And SUPER exciting is that Mel is coming in town and gets to be a big part of Saturday night. Since this good stuff has to wait, the blog is a short one tonight.

Just got back today from another weekend at Therapy (the beach house). It was an excellent day Saturday to lay out and I got in about 3.5 hours and then another 2.5 at the pool today! Operation Tantastic is in full effect. Now to spend the week working, working out, and having fun. Have a great Monday y'all!!!

My Pets Named Peeve: 1st Edition

Okay...just a few things I'd like to tell anyone who is listening. They are only my opinions, but I'm fond of them.

1. DO NOT air your relationship's dirty laundry on the internet. It helps NO ONE!

2. DO NOT post your new relationship information on the internet if you are going to have a new one every month. You look insane, needy, and dependent (and for some of you, slutty).

3. Don't fly down a lane you know is ending just to jerk your in front of mine and cut me off.

4. If you are enough of a jerk to cut someone off expect the middle finger and hit your gas pedal, don't slow down!

5. When someone gives you a compliment, do your best just to say "thank you" and accept it. You probably deserved it.

6. If a woman doesn't take a compliment well, give them to her anyway...she still loves it.

7. If you have NO concept of major historical events (ie: the holocaust), don't see a movie that is set in that era. The fact that the people being abused and killed are Jews should NOT come as shock when a concentration camp is shown.

Okay, I think thats enough for this post. =D

PS: I've had a REALLY good last few days and I think the next few are going to be pretty great too!! They include several fun events and one of them is Starbucks with Erin tomorrow night!

Summer slacker-ness!

Well Memorial Day has come and gone and summer is here!! Which means not only will I be a slacker in life, I'll possibly be a slacker on this blog. So prepare for disappointment..lol. You're going to get a lot stories that I've been to the beach and I'm going to brag about it so be ready for it.

Speaking of that...I went to the beach for Memorial Day weekend. That weekend is always Atlantic Beach Bike Fest (AKA: Black Bike Week) and it happens just a few blocks from our neighborhood. This means that we can pull up to the main road in our golf cart, order up some ice cream, and watch the festivities. There are some beautiful bikes and some nasty outfits; it never fails to entertain! One big issue we had this year was that the barricade that blocks part of the road was extended and it blocked out golf cart access to the beach. Although I was SUPER annoyed Friday morning, we eventually figured out a way (albeit slightly illegal) to get to the beach and back on the golf cart.

Okay, this blog has been in process for about 4 hours and isn't getting far. I've got something happening this Thursday so I'll come back and tell you all about it!

Summer Reading

Hi, my name is Melissa and I'm addicted to reading books for fun on my Nook.

I've spent so much of the last few years forcing myself NOT to read for fun because I have had so many school books to read. NO MORE! I will still read psych related books, but I have quite the summer list racking up and it seems like more are added weekly.

I started out with one that I wanted to read first before I saw the movie, Water For Elephants. It was a great book and I can't wait to see the movie version.


Next, I read a book about a story I already knew well. The Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com/) is a mom, blogger, wife of a hot cowboy who decided to write her love story and it is an awesome one. So I was more than happy to re-read it in its new book form!

Now I'm on to another pre-movie book as a quick read and it turns out that these types of books are great for working out. I read a ton of pages before I notice I've been working out for 25 minutes. Fun book.
This book is a little more serious; 1960s, black woman, working as "the help". It was suggested by several coworkers so it may make an appearance on the Nook this summer.
This book was also one suggested at work. Its not going to be a light read, but there is a group at work using it as a tool for work. So it may get read also.
There are others and more get added constantly. I can't wait to spend Memorial Day weekend at Therapy laying out and reading!! I LOVE not having assignments to stress over! Hope y'all have a great weekend getting ready for next weekend and that you all get a day off.