I'm a believer...

So, I bit the bullet....I recorded GLEE and I'm watching it as I type. I really, really like it! I had a feeling that I knew I would like it. How could I not like it??? I grew up doing Youth Music and Drama, and always loved doing musicals and plays. A lot of my friends were watching it, and I kept avoiding it, but now, yes, I can now say that 'I'm a believer'! I do feel a little behind not having watched Season 1, but I'm sure that I can catch up on it (in my 'free time').

The only problem with my new found TV fetish is that I have TOO many shows. And all of my other shows are just starting back.

Guilty Pleasure ALERT: So, what AM I watching??? Here we go, I will admit:

Keeping up with the Kardashians

Desperate Housewives

Army Wives

Private Practice

Grey's Anatomy

Amazing Race

Cougar Town

Modern Family

The Good Wife

I think that's it.....

There are a couple of shows that I have set to record on my DVR, yet have not partaken in yet. The first of the two is 'Dancing with the Stars', an American favorite, yet, i just dont know that I have 3 nights a week to dedicate to it (don't tell anyone that I had time to watch Big Brother 3 nights a week). The other of the two is 'Thinervention'. Has anyone watched this one? I'd like some opinions on this one.

So, with this said, what are you watching? What do you think about my show line-up?

I just can't do it all....

I am coming to the realization that I just can’t do it all. I have struggled with this concept for a long time, and just keep ignoring it. After one too many breakdowns and not enough time in a 24 hour day, I am (saying that I am) giving in.

Just to name a few titles I've held in my lifetime:

scrapbooker

daughter

dancer

artist

sister

gifted & talented

President

student recruiter

membership director

jewelry-maker

event planner

lifeguard

singer

volunteer

girlfriend

patient

actress

stamp collector

counselor

Student Life prefect

softball player

friend

t-shirt girl

cook

Vice President

student liaison

celebrity stalker

volleyball player

athletic trainer

orientation leader

marketing coordinator

Homecoming Queen

wife

season ticket holder

graduate

sorority member (AXO)

servant

work crew member

doll collector

shopoholic

baker

football fan

volunteer coordinator

I think it’s safe to say that my list is not near complete, but from this point forward, I will try my best to limit the number of titles that are added to this list. Currently, I feel like I am working 3 full-time jobs!

Those of you that know me well, please feel free to add some additional titles below.....

Work and Play

Tonight was a fun night.....we had a booth at an event that the hospital puts on for their Healthy Woman program. At our booth we offered information about what we do at Seasons, giveaways, and our massage therapist, Bethany, giving chair massages to the guests in attendance. Following the shopping extravaganza, was a 'Painting with a Twist' session. Sarah and I were able to participate: here are our lovely creations!!! We love our job!!!!

I am my Father's child...

My dad is a amazing person, whom I admire very much. I can only hope that I have assumed some of the many wonderful qualities that my dad has. He is completely selfless, and has been someone that I have always looked up to. I truly am a 'Daddy's girl'.

As many good traits that my dad has, I have, unfortunately inherited some not-so-wonderful things as well. One of those traits is making me miserable at this very moment; it's a MIGRAINE! I have had my fair share of headaches, but these migraines are brutal. My dad has struggled with these for years; I've just recently started getting ones that can just take me out!

Not only have I absorbed the migraines from my father, yet I have also obtained back problems. I have been diagnosed with 3 degenerative discs along with 2 disc protrusions. These issues have caused me pain, yet some of the most excruciating pain over the past year. The reason that I say that it comes from my daddy is because he was diagnosed with the EXACT same issues at my EXACT same age!

Is it coincidence? Or is it hereditary? I don't know if I will ever receive that answer.

But, I do know that I am truly my Father's child.....

One step ahead of the game.....

This morning, I woke up at 5:30. I am starting back up going to bootcamp and today was the day. Let's get this straight, I'm not a morning person, but when I get my workout over with before work, it seems to make the rest of my day a little more pleasant. My new friend and co-worker, Misty, has become my accountability partner. That, my friends, is another thing that you need to learn about me; I do not like doing things by myself (especially working out). I have got to have a partner - don't you know that I'm a 'people person'?

All of that said, it was a BEAUTIFUL morning....the weather was perfect! It felt like FALL - it was 62 degrees. So, I got home, and when I went to get ready, and put on my khaki pants and my cute new sweater that my mother-in-law bought me. Yes, I said 'sweater'. It is September, isn't it? Well, it turned out to be a 94 degree day.....I guess Fall is not here yet.

I'm so ready to pull out my Fall wardrobe......wear my fun coats, riding boots, comfy UGG's, and my sassy scarves! Hopefully the weather will continue to cool off.

Guess I was one step ahead of the game.....

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Fall is my favorite time of year. Not only is it the changing of the weather and the ever-so-fashionable Fall clothes, but football is a pretty big influence on my favoritism toward the season. Our small town has both a NCAA Division 1 team and a LHSAA 4A team (Ruston High School)....we have season tickets to both. Needless to say, when September rolls around, we have plenty to do. Our weekends are filled with tailgating, reuniting with friends, and watching the good ole' pigskin get thrown around.

It's kinda funny...I'm a girl, a 'girly girl' that is, yet, I absolutely LOVE football. I think I've just always enjoyed supporting and feeling like part of a team!

I'm very lucky that I have a husband that loves the sport just as much as I do....and loves Louisiana Tech just as much as I do. This is our past-time - something that we enjoy doing together. During pre-season, we enjoy going out to practice together, and watching scrimmages. And when game-day rolls around, we enjoy going to games together....home and away.

This weekend we had a great time piling in a bus with 10 other Tech fans on our trip to College Station. Even though the bus was not as comfy as 'Misty the Malibu', it was fun to enjoy the company of friends (new and old). I look forward to many more Tech road-trips! Wishing it would work out to be able to make the Boise game this year, even though it's on a Tuesday night. We'll see.....you never know what unexpected circumstances come up; and I'm a spontaneous type of girl.

Watch out world!

On the Road Again.....

So, once again, I'm on the road. This time, back to the lovely state of Texas. We are heading to College Station, going to cheer on the DAWGS! Last time I was at Kyle Field to watch the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, we had a 2 hour rain delay....and what a light show we got! The lightning was pretty intense, but we lucked out having seats under the overhang.....the entire stadium cleared except the the 'chosen few' that had prime seats.

As much as I am a LOUISIANA TECH fan, I do have to give some props to the Aggies....I have mad respect for their traditions. When I worked at Pine Cove Christian Camps in Tyler, TX, most of my friends had a "whoop" or some secret hand signal that that expressed (multiple times) throughout the summer. I learned to love my A&M friends.....I love that group of people and their traditions.

Something special about this weekend is that we will remember the anniversary of September 11th, 2001; one of the most monumental days in American history, a day that I will always remember. Sitting in Coach Turner's Advanced Math class, finding out that a plane flew into

the World Trade Center. At first, I knew it was something horrible, something awful, but I didn't know what lasting affects it would have on "my Country". Students somberly shuffled to their next class period. Settling into Mrs. Neal's World History class, we gathering in our desks around the television that she had on. And then it happened, we saw it happen.....Flight 175 flew straight into the South Tower. It is a day that I will never forget.

In honor of September 11th, I've thought about making a stop by the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum while in College Station this weekend. Whatever else we decide to do tomorrow (other than attending the football game), I know that I will take a moment to remember what happened 9 years ago. I will say a prayer for the families that lost loved ones that day, and I will thank God that I live in a nation founded on FREEDOM.

"I'm proud to be an American!"

Go DAWGS!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Back at work after a very emotional weekend,...trying to get back into a routine. Let's make this clear, I love my job, I love what I do and the people that I work with. It's just hard to jump right back in with a wandering mind and a broken heart.

We have been so blessed by having such a wonderful support system. Not only were we completely taken care of in Baton Rouge, but my small-town home has really stepped up to the plate. Our Sunday School class has done above and beyond what I could've imagined. We have had meals prepared for us since we've gotten back, and the calls and texts haven't stopped.

Although my roots are in Baton Rouge and it will always be home to me; my small town world has become my home. Four long hours between my two homes. Even though I am 'home'.....I still yearn for for more.....something more. Something outside my comfort zone. I hope and pray that this will be revealed to me clearly. I need some direction.

Celebration of Life

Today has been a day full of many emotions.

Today is the day that we celebrate the end of life of Nanny - a life well-lived. Nanny surely did live life to the fullest and always taught me to cherish every moment. She brought joy to the lives of many. She was a a motherly figure, a mentor, and a friend. She was truly a 'woman of God'.....one that taught me a lot about Jesus just by the way she lived. She, undoubtedly was 'salt and light' to all that stepped into her path.

Although it has been very hard to accept the fact that Nanny will no longer be with us on this Earth; I know that she has been given a flawless celestial body to enter the gates of heaven and reunite with her husband, Carter and live eternally in the presence of Abba Father. May her spirit live on in our hearts from this day forward.

Today is the day that we celebrate the beginning of the life of Richard "Hayes" Frith. What a beautiful gift to my dear friends Lu and Garrett. Hayes has some big shoes to fill. Such a sweet little baby with a huge life ahead of him. I pray that this baby boy will grow up to be a 'man of God'; one that loves Jesus and and is salt and light to others. May others see Jesus through him.

As Hayes begins his earthly life and Nanny begins her heavenly life - I am reminded of God's love and His compassion towards us. His joy comes in the mourning. How sweet of a reminder of how precious life is, and the ever-so-important reminder that He is the One that gives and takes life.

May we all be reminded today, September 6th, 2010, of how cherished life really is. And remember, 'How Deep the Father's Love for Us' that He sent His Son to give His life.....how precious that life was and is.

Today, we celebrate LIFE!

Save the Gulf Coast

We had the opportunity to go to Orange Beach on a family vacation during the last week in June. It was a wonderful trip, J. and I celebrated four years of marriage, and we got to spend so great time with family.

Unfortunately, the BP Oil Spill affected our trip. There was a water hazard in affect which wouldn’t allow anyone in the Gulf. Here is a short compilation of some of what we saw while we were there.

Nanny & Me

There is a lot of pressure being the oldest grandchild as well as the only girl. Not only is there pressure, but there's also privileges. After all, I have always been the favorite,....well, ‘favorite grand-daughter’.

I take pride in that.

It truly is a blessing to have a family that is as loving and Christ-centered as mine. Nanny has been a rock for me, a prayer warrior, a friend, and the most wonderful Nanny a girl could have. I realize that I must cherish the times that I have spent with her, and when I think about it....it’s all good memories.

I can recall the days of climbing up into her lap in ‘her chair’ and digging through her ‘nest’ with her to find things like “nose medicine”, sewing kits, real paper dolls, the stamp collection she started for me, and more. Washing my mouth out with a bar of soap when I decided to talk-back, then climbing up into her brass four-poster bed to have her to read Mother Goose stories from the red Child’s Craft Encyclopedia to me.

I have learned how precious life is and that, and as someone wise once said, “don’t take life for granted.” The last time that I came in town Nanny seemed to be in great shape and wanted to go out to eat, at Zea’s of course. She was in great spirits, we visited over Thai Pork Ribs and Corn Grits, and lastly indulged in Cheesecake and Coffee for dessert. We went back to her apartment riding in style in 'Lucy', her CR-V. After making ourselves comfortable in the living room, she proceeded to ask me for something that she could pray for me for. And I told her, because she told me that “God answers anything that she prays”, and certainly I wanted my prayer to be answered. My only hope is that she will live to see that prayer answered.

I love my Nanny and I know that she loves me. Rubbing her weak extremities during visiting hours in MICU Room 6, made it so much clearer to me of how much someone really means to you, and it’s so disheartening when you feel like you can’t let them know.

At this point, I am taking each day with a glimpse of hope. Knowing that when the Lord decides to take her to heaven, that she will receive all of the rewards that she deserves (which is a LOT). She will get to see her husband, that she has yearned to be with for the past 28 years, and her sweet feline, Sheba, that she lost within the past couple of years.

May the Lord’s will be done. May He be glorified through the story of her life. May we all be thankful for the example of Christ that she has lived out every day of her life.