furry friend

i've heard the scratching in the walls for a couple weeks now, but it wasn't until tonight that i finally caught a glimpse of that creature that i believe is currently taking up residence in the wall.

guess we're calling in the experts in the morning.

party of 1

it's my last night in athens alone before super roomie lasarah comes back into town, so i decided to go all out, solo date night style.

it was a lot like that episode of friends where rachel learns to eat out alone and goes on a date with herself after turning down a date with a cute guy at the coffee shop. minus the cute guy part.

i sat down, enjoyed my coke and some mexican food and smiled over the fact that i didn't have to share the cheese dip. and i didn't feel like a loser.

my plan wasn't totally fool-proof though, as it turned out an old friend happened to work at this restaurant, spotted me and sat down to talk. he obviously thought i was a weirdo for eating by myself.

Guy: (in his head, after he sees Rachel) Yeah, you'll be talking to me never, because you're a freak who eats alone.

my friends are inspiring

my life is pretty boring, so i encourage you to check out some of my other friend's blogs. they are doing amazing things!

• my best friend Kristen is an interim nanny and future physical therapist. read her insights on life and funny stories about the kids she keeps in line everyday

• Holli lives more than halfway across the world in Mongolia where she serves the people there as a missionary
  

• Pray for Will- read more in this blog my friend Will's sister created for him

• Seth took time off from medical school to serve the people of Bolivia for 6 months- amazing. read about his time there doing medical missions.
  

fro yo

my prettiest yoforia creation yet:

i blame nick melton and sarah cornett for starting and supporting (respectively) my habit.

it's snowing in my dining room!

i got these sweet snowflakes playing yankeeeeeee swap last night at a christmas party. what a great gift idea!
speaking of christmas parties, let's all relive this hilarious office moment:




i am currently watching nbc dateline. how i love investigative journalism.

destination friday:

nighttime activity #476

the cold weather has kind of put a damper on my exercising plans, so around 2:02 am i decided i'd try this out.

i was motivated and optimistic in the beginning, excited that i found a new way to introduce some physical activity into my off-the-wall schedule.

it didn't take long for the frustration to set in. i am no dancer, and choreographed motion is not my strong point. as soon as i would begin to do a move right, those peppy sculpted robots would be doing something totally different. i was always a step behind and i doubt i was reaching any kind of target heart rate. and who smiles while they are exercising? no one.

not to mention i had none of the required equipment (dumbbells, step, medicine ball) so that required some improvisation (canned food, an upside down rubbermaid tub, and nothing). luckily i didn't hurt myself.

some midnight thoughts

it's about 3:49 am, 2 more hours until i go to sleep! here's a few random things that i have to share with the blogger world.

• to all the attractive males who read my blog (which might just be my boyfriend): i have a few amazing, beautiful, single friends. i am quite baffled as to why these ladies have not been snatched up by charming and prudent men. i want to provide solutions to their single woes, so i am calling out all the men out there who are looking for some awesome people to date. hit me up, and i will hook you up.
• why is your pie/chickfila/smoothie king not open at 4:03 am?
• here is where i am headed the day after christmas. this is what the weather forecast looks like. awesome.
• if you don't have new years plans, me and lasarah are cooking up some plans for a party.....more details to come!
  

we are having ourselves a merry little christmas, and you should too

2002 has decorated for christmas, and the results will definitely instill some holiday cheer! (unless you're the grinch)

owl ornaments! perfect for our first tree!


me and austin getting a little silly in santaland


merry christmas friends!

sweet harmony

i'm digging these boy-girl duos. you should too.

fire and dynamite::drew holcomb and the neighbors

poison and wine:: the civil wars

heaven's my home:: sam and ruby

war damn

it's a little difficult to live in the town of the bulldawgs being such a hardcore auburn fan. it's making me a little bitter. and obnoxious. hence this awesome video.

we going to the ship!

cool things in athens: part I

this tree owns itself.




pretty neat, right?

as i watched the guy behind the counter skillfully make my pizza last night at your pie, it got me thinking. we all have trades. we all have things we are good at and things we take pride in.

these things are so integral to who we are and give us a drive and purpose behind our lives daily.

even though i feel i am making so many mistakes, my sweet boyfriend gently reminded me yesterday: "I know that it has been frustrating sometimes with trying to do things and messing up. But thats what happens to everyone. No one is perfect.......I know you are called to becoming a nurse and God is smiling at you because of it. Notice I said Becoming. It will take a little time and I bet you have already learned so much since you've started."

I am in a state of becoming.

what is your trade? what do you take pride in? what are you still aspiring to become?

trial and (mostly) error

the 12 hour shift takes me through just about every emotion.

sleepy. awake. hungry. excited. exhausted. driven. frustrated. silly. emotional. confused. proud. talkative. knowledgeable. just plain dumb.

orienting means i'm in a constant state of learning. making mistakes and fixing them. i'm a student again. and at times, i'm just plain frustrated that i can't do it by myself yet. it's then that i resort to waitress nurse ellen and just bring people orange juice (bc it's the only thing i won't screw up).

then i give 10 meds, use some awesome critical thinking skills, and crack a funny joke, and i'm on top of the nursing world again.

i know this is what i'm supposed to be doing. there's an energy i feel at the end of the day that tells me i'm gonna get it right and it's gonna be awesome.

in other news, i boldy and awkwardly attempted to make friends at work by asking another new graduate nurse if she wanted to come to our party this weekend. she looked a little scared, so we'll see how that goes.

recent snapshots

the debut of bearren the sterile bear (get it?) at marsha's for halloween

gracie has buckteeth, hilarious



mom gave me her old coffeemaker for coffee with a vintage feel

just livin' the dream.

Luke 6:27-36

This week, I said something to a patient in simple conversation that I ended up thinking more about later.

I had taken care of an older woman for three days, and during that time she had been understanding, kind, and pleasant to deal with.

"Thank you so much, you are so kind to do this for me with your busy schedule," she said after she asked me to help her make some little adjustments in her room.

"No problem, it's very easy to do things for people who are sweet to me," I replied.

Duh, Ellen. But this is not what Jesus is asking of me. "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Luke 6: 46-48).

What He asks is a higher calling, the call to be perfect. The call to have the same understanding, compassion and helpfulness with this patient's oh-so irritating neighbor. Not just a change in actions but a true change in heart. This is the hard part for me: to not just pretend to love others, but truly love them.

Ugh. I'll keep trying.

funny how things work out.

i met sarah cornett summer of 2008 during the short month and a half i worked as a counselor at camp glisson. we shared a witty sense of humor and love of the Lord and quickly became friends. here is a lovely throwback so you can picture this:


during my short weeks there, sarah and i shared a lot of laughs, campers that tested our patience, and ultimately growth in our friendship. i was so sad to leave halfway through the summer. i felt as if leaving all the great people i had made at camp left me with unfinished relationships, seeing as i am horrible at keeping in touch with long distance friends.

i finished my last two years in auburn, doing a mostly bad job at keeping up with a few friends from camp. i didn't know where graduation and a new job would take me, but as the summer months creeped by, athens, ga looked like more and more of a possibility of where i would end up.

with no real prospects of where i would live and if i would even end up getting the job, i visited jonathan for his birthday in september. i met up with sarah at the wesley that night and during our brief catch-up i told her about my interview while she told me that she was living by herself and hating it, totally open to a new living situation.

after a couple (stressful) weeks of trusting the Lord to handle the details, we signed a lease on an adorable and affordable duplex and we are happy to finally be roomies! leaving glisson i felt as if me and sarah had true potential to be great friends, and now i know the Lord has given me an awesome living situation and a lifelong friend. what a blessing.

my graceful entry into the real world.

you guys know me. i am anything but graceful. and that's how the past couple weeks have been. kind of a clumsy start.

as i was sitting eating a candlelight dinner in the dark alone in my apartment on wednesday night, all i could do was smile to myself. i had just arrived home after a 14 hour shift with to realize the power was out, adding to already a long list of problems in our new home. no internet, no gas, and now no power, and i still needed to eat and shower before going to sleep and waking up to do it all over again.

things never quite go according to planned. but the Lord is always here watching, protecting, helping us be thankful for the blessings we don't always realize.

so when i return to my dark home exhausted and hungry and my mother has texted me the spanish georgia power number instead of the english one, i have to remember all of the things He has provided for me over the past six months. great relationships, great experiences, and finally the provision of the perfect job after long months of searching. thank you, Lord.

update:

• i am writing this post in the comfort of my new home, meaning we have internet!
  
• i was able to bake a cake and cook some mac and cheese this week, yay for a working oven and stove!
• just got done with my first full week on the floor. interesting patients that tested my patience. ha!
  
• thanks to mom and dad for the gift of a new dehumidifier. joy.
  
• i almost tripped into a doctor today on the floor. a graceful entrance, indeed.
  

on the next installment of "love in action": meet roomie sarah!

comfort food

today, me and kristen collectively decided we were craving some shrimp and grits. using this recipe from the food network, we made it happen. it was oh so delicious.


Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup stone-ground grits
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1 large clove garlic, minced

Directions

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese.

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes.

Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp mixture and mix well. Serve immediately.

orange and blue

auburn bliss this weekend. if you were wondering how it feels to be 8-0, number one in the bcs poll, and the only unbeaten in the sec, ask an auburn fan. i think they'll tell you it feels pretty dang good.

it was also so good to see these fabulous ladies that i don't get to see very often.

aren't they cute?

i love auburn, forever.

welcome home

i moved in this week! still no internet or gas, which meant microwaving our food, wearing sweatshirts, entertaining ourselves with gilmore girls seasons, and a brief blog hiatus.

let me show you around:

our cozy living room


not a fully functional kitchen yet

the creepy basement, don't go down without a buddy (i spilled water on the floor from the dehumidifier, people)
my bedroom, where a lot of my sleeping is done
AND our fun guest room, ready for you to come stay a night or two!


more details later, possibly a virtual tour......

my dog is smarter (and cuter) than yours

i am obsessed with our new puppy, gracie. obsessed being an understatement.

for my first trick, i will get gracie to lay down:

now that i'm moving to athens i think i'll miss her more than my mom. seriously.

furniture facelift

it's no secret, i love antique furniture. i've also had a little time on my hands recently. i got a little creative and gave some old furniture a new look.

i wish i had some before and after pictures, because these knobs from anthropologie are 100 times cuter than the brass ones that were on the dresser before. ta da!

my next project was a tad more difficult. i had a picture in my mind of what i wanted it to look like, but making it happen in real life somewhat of a challenge. i started by painting the panel inside the door robin's egg blue. the antique metal ceiling tiles are from an antique store. after cleaning them off a bit and coating them with a brown stain, i used tin shears (carefully) to trim them to the size i wanted. then came the hard part: drilling the screws to attach the tiles to the door. lightly brushing the tiles with robin's egg blue made my project complete!



more pictures of to come of my new bedroom (complete with face-lifted furniture!)

you're reading this, so it must be true!

if you're just tuning in now, let's review:

1. new city
2. new job
3. new house and roomie!

for LC, that meant her own tv show. for me, it means my life may be finally interesting enough to start a blog, hooray!

my mission as a blogger:

to recognize: people in my life, places and things i think are really cool, and experiences that shape me into who i am

to create: hopefully this project will inspire other projects and stretch me

to inspire: i am blessed to be a blessing, and i want all the good things that i may do point back to the Creator

let's get started!