Quick

The door of my fridge is becoming full of these (YAY for upcoming weddings!)

                                                                        invite from here

And my head and heart are full of praises to God for all of these that were born healthy in the last month (Tallahassee had quite the baby boom!) and more who will be born before 2011 wraps up:)

It's as Simple as....Frozen Yogurt

                                                                 www.tcby.com

The frozen yogurt craze that is hitting America is right up my alley. Now that I have discovered the absolute amazingness of Menchies frozen yogurt.....I am a happy girl. The Georgia Peach mixed with Cake Batter is my favorite.....even though it sounds like something someone who is pregnant would also enjoy;)

Of course frozen yogurt is delicious, and the summer is the absolute best time for this sweet, cold dessert. But, I have a little stronger tie to frozen yogurt.

You see, back in the day, early 90's to be exact, I had some dear and precious family memories at TCBY. Only those of a certain age will remember TCBY. Sadly, many of them closed down nationwide.

But before that TCBY was our families special treat location. Every so often after a good report card my parents would take us to TCBY. And the big, big deal to young Sabrina and Melanie was that we could get a parfait....and pick our own toppings! I don't even think adults understand how much the freedom of choice means to kiddies.

I almost always got vanilla yogurt, and then layers of gummi bears, rainbow sprinkles.....and cookie dough! YUM!

These simple times of laughter, conversation, yogurt, and love stand out to me years later. I am not a parent or anything.....but these yogurt memories, simple yogurt memories remind me that we don't have to try that hard. That being with family and simple enjoyments of life, those stand the test of time even longer than flash in the pan trends. Here's to yogurt and a summer of simple gatherings, laughter, and dessert:)

HGTV

Oh Home and Gardens Television.....where have you been all of my life?

It really is SO funny to me how we start to recognize different things in different times in our lives. Because I had never had much interest in design and buying a house....I never flipped to HGTV. Food Network was my TV best friend. But I have branched out because I do see a house in my future....and HGTV is giving me all types of inspiration.

SOOOO many shows that just inspire me to buy, revamp, or completely remodel a house. Here are a few of my favorite ideas for my one day home.

                                             Window seat that doubles as storage.

                                                                           www.rentbits.com

                                                                           Double sinks!

                                                                      www.costco.com

                                           and glass panels on my kitchen cabinets

                                                                  www.decorpad.com

FRIDAY!

It was a hard week this week. Trying to be there for family and a tremendous school load was close to unbearable.  Goodness....I was just running to catch up and I know now that I hate that feeling. (I also didn't make any phone calls to friends....so that is a sign that life was crazy!)

I do NOT want to be that woman.....she is not connected, she is not healthy, she forgets too many things, she does not talk to God daily.

Nope, nope....this week reminded me that I can work hard and work a lot but when I get overwhelmed everything just seems kind of dim. I don't feel like I have any power...in fact I feel depleted.

I want the vibrant life! The active, content, life that I have time to savor. I need the simple life, the living life that is close to God and close to growth.

Tomorrow is FRIDAY and I can smell its sweetness already:)

Not to be too repetitive....but there was this story....

A catch phrase lately has been the concept of the "story".

Live your story, your life is a story so be real, your story is you and you are your story, etc. In church, in books, with friends.....stories are everywhere and they are inspiring and exciting.

So, I am torn because I love to read, read, read....so stories play a large part in my life. However, what if we are so focused on the story of others that we are leaving pages of our own book blank? What if you write a sentence in your book and then edit it to fit in with the stories of others in your life? That is a little troubling to me.

If you believe that your life is a story then it needs to be an original! 


I mean the last time I checked Snow White was not wanting to be Ariel. Elizabeth Bennett did not care about the opinions of others around her and would not have wanted to be Beth March. I see it this way. Have a story for your life. Let it ring true with the facts about you. What you wanted to do....and then what you actually did. Where you were able to go. How you served and loved and grew. Let your story be so unique that you don't even care if others want to read it or not....because in your gut you know it's a fabulous tale! And that is hard....because we want approval. We are humans after all. I mean I will check this blog post later to see if I get any comments. So, I understand that I am going on about something that is not that simple.

However, having a story, that is a powerful tool. Don't let anyone take your pen and start writing sections without your permission. Don't give careless, or hurtful people your pen and let them write. Be careful as you write....stories have regrets sometimes but that is never a good theme for a whole book. Be awake to the plot twists, character changes, and developments that appear in your story each and every day. If your life is your story make it the best story you can possibly write:)

Father's Day....kind of

As with most people these days I randomly click on interesting links that pop up on my homepage news feed throughout the day. Sometimes you get a dud.....like a story about a woman who for medical reasons can only wear the color pink (I am making that up)!

However, I stumbled across this sports article and the best part of it is it just happens to coincide with Father's Day which is coming up this week. If you scroll about halfway down, the article shows a truly moving, almost too real moment of emotion for Michael Jordan when he and the Bulls won the NBA Championship in 1996. The final game was played and won on Father's Day and he obviously had the loss of his father on his mind and heart that day.

The image of this strong, man's man, on the floor.... literally unable to stand, overcome by his joy and his grief gripped my heart hours ago and just won't let go. I really think it is because in our society we don't like raw emotions, especially grief. And we definitely don't know what to do with that deep grief when it is being expressed by a man. I love my father SO much and things like this remind me that he one of the best blessings in my life and I am blessed to still have him with me!!!

Summer

I keep on discovering more unique parts of creating a Wordle. This time I played around with mixing colors. I wish I could make my new summer Wordle into a T-shirt. Since I can't right now.....it will just have to be my screen saver. I think it would be a super cute shirt though, or tote bag!

My Fall Wordle can be found here. I like this cheery, bright summer one much better!

Love, Love, Love

It is both easy and hard to love. In many ways love is difficult yet worthwhile. And that is why people (including me) struggle with it. That is why the term love is used in situations where no real love exists. Because it is SO multifaceted. Because it is SO ingrained in our beings as humans. Because we love the notion of love.

Oh, all the different types of love. Passionate, enduring, forgiving, gentle. The list could go on and on and on. Love is an action word. It is an action because I believe it is something you do. It would be easier to think that love happens to us. But that is the reason so many people give up and stop trying to love. Because they feel like they have no real part in it. That when the rubber meets the road they don't have any buy in, into this love they are supposed to feel for others. But when you choose to be love.....that right there will change your life. It will bring both sorrow and joy and yet you will endure because of the basic and powerful love you choose to act out day in and day out.

Complex, though it may seem. Love is rewarding. For myself as a Christian, when I love others I am getting the closest to the God in them. And at 26 I now know that what is lovable in me is God....the smile, the kindness...the consideration. That is all him and I am SO grateful.

 Trials, mistakes, fears. Love goes to battle with all of these things and more.....and the big secret is that it always wins. True love, abiding love, faithful love always wins.
But love masked as jealousy, violent love, fake, wishy-washy love.......when that love goes to battle it fails time and again because it is an illusion. And yet each day we look around at people grasping desperatly for the illusion of love. There are voids both deep and wide in people and they want to be filled. And the illusion of love will seem to be fulfilling. It is powerful and it will trick you.....but when the test comes, and this I know full well....the tests will come.....it will vanish in your hand like smoke. And as humans we all know people who are still confused about how the "love" in their life disappeared. When the reality is it was never there. That fake love is the biggest mind game of all. And it saddens me to see and hear people doing all that they can to get the illusionary love. Selling their bodies, souls, earthy possessions and minds  for moments of "love" in their life.

Deep thoughts for a Sunday! I hope that everyone who reads this has found real love in their life. That we would all have the wisdom to tell the difference. To not put fake love out into the world, nor accept it from others. I hope that we all are doing our very best to be love to others. That in a world of flattering words and broken promises, we stand up for action and helping and loving and the joy it will bring into our lives.

Because it's Friday

Because it's Friday and I am in graduate school.....
I will take a spur of the moment road trip to see my lovely sister....and not return to "life" until Monday.

Because it's Friday and I am in graduate school.....
I will eat 2 homemade,warm from the oven cherry tarts and a glass of cold refreshing milk.

Because it's Friday and I am in graduate school.....
I will finally get around to washing the dishes that have been staring at me for a day or two.

Because it's Friday and I am in graduate school.....
I will update my blog and then read over the blogs of friends and take time to comment on them:)

Because it's Friday and I am in graduate school.....
I will take some extra moments to primp today.....hahahaha and not just fly out the door.
* Primping for me is using mascara and eyeshadow.....sorry world, that is the best I got;)

Because it's Friday and I am in graduate school.....
I might try to hit up the gym for an hour!

Have a WONDERFUL weekend everyone:)

Ladies/Girl's/Women's Prayer Group: 2

When I think back to my second Prayer Group experience in Tallahassee I think back to how God worked SO mightily. I mean, he really did and because we met together and shared we were able to rejoice and mourn with each other as needed. It was a time of growth for us all. The funny thing is the numbers never were huge. They also were not always consistent. But that did not in any way lessen the effect. Again it reminded me that God blesses small home grown initiatives and gargantuan groups. Even though I could argue that a gargantuan group might not always be the best.

Babies, adoptions, faith, health, jobs, moving, life.... we bought it all to God weekly and he was SO faithful to us all. I had matured this second time around. We started this group up during my 2nd year of teaching at Roberts. So it was different....but in a good way. It was what taught me that anytime you get a group together you are going to have a different experience, even if the purpose is the exact same as before.

Again our group would last late into the evening, sprinkled with prayer, sharing, food, music and laughter. Again I am thankful for that time in my life and the women I met who still are on my prayer list to this day.

Words that Encouraged: 1

When I was a teacher I had the following words of wisdom compiled on a document in my office. I often peeked at them when the days got particularly difficult or stressful. I added the extra pizzazz recently:)

"Take a DEEP BREATH!" my mama

                                                                        peace from  here

"Never give up, never give up, never ever give up!" Winston Churchill
The Special Olympics seemed like the perfect match for this  inspiring quote.




"Your attitude speaks so loudly. I can't hear what you are saying!" Peter Drucker

                                                               Old School from here

Ladies/Girl's/Women's Prayer Group 1

One of the pivotal growth points during my Christian life has been girl's Prayer Group. Started in Tallahassee during my FSU undergrad years by a rag tag group of girls...we met to share, pray, talk, and eat. Prayer Group was known to last hours....and looking back I count those precious times as some of the best times of my life as a Christian woman. I call our first endeavors Prayer Group 1. Today through God's grace and his gifts in me I started Prayer Group 3 in Athens and it has already been a good thing:) I also was blessed to be involved with Prayer Group 2 in Tallahassee during my working years. More on those later.

Prayer Group 1 showed me so many things. It helped me see that I am an integral part of my faith. Faith does not happen to you, with you just riding along. No, the faith and truth I discovered with others girls who were growing in grace.....that was a process where I had to show up. I had to come and make the time, and soon it was not even hard to make the time because it was the place I wanted to be! I saw that the differences in our life were not anything compared to an almighty God who created us all. Who cared for us all and who gave us words so that we could talk to him.

Prayer Group 1 was our little mission. Our church was large (to me) but our group was the perfect small size. Small enough to share, small enough to have accountability. A small home grown movement that was just what we needed. And because we were all Southern we ate a lot during those times:) Today....years later, that first group has grown up and moved on. I still pray for my ladies. I still cherish them dearly. The diversity of our group continues to grow and yet our hearts connected years ago and that type of thing is something that is lifelong.

I know that I would not crave time in prayer with other women now if I had not had such a profound experience early in my adulthood. I like to think now that God bought the Prayer Group to us. That he smiled when he heard out voices lifted in prayer, thanksgiving, concern, and more.

Musical Delight

I have played this song over and over since I stumbled across it this evening. I love, love, love it. Mr. Peter Lee Johnson you are amazingly talented! You definitely have an ear for music:)

                                                                             Enjoy!
 It also helps that I like the song Show Goes On by Lupe Fiasco. It is the perfect summer jam to get me dancing around in my car! Now I will admit that parts of the chorus sound like another song I heard recently.....but I can't exactly put my finger on which song....or who sang it. Sad I know.

Marriage vs. Wedding

                                                                    sweets from here

I am learning all of the time. In the classroom and out. There are lessons being taught all around us.....in the moments. Most recently a few good friends have gotten engaged. I am so happy for them! And through thinking about their weddings and the fun of talking "shop" about the weddings I learned some things.

The main, number 1 lesson was that in my little life I have only thought about weddings a small bit. And I have not thought about marriage that much at all. I know more about what I would like for my one day, maybe, future wedding than my one day, maybe, future marriage. And that was not a lesson I liked learning.

I am a romantic at heart and I have had a God blessed marriage as an example in front of me for 30+ years. But I have been busy, you know! School, faith, friends, and life usually take up all of my time. So sitting around thinking about marriage was not a priority. However, at 26, I am starting to think I do need to spend a tad bit more time considering the notion. The notion being a marriage not just a wedding. Because you see, I would love to get married one day.....but as of now I am not ready. And I will admit I could, maybe, possibly, not let my mind wander to marriage because it makes me nervous.

Spending the rest of your life with someone. Combining two families. Learning more about trust and my lack thereof. Having faith and the true everlasting love that make marriages last lifetimes. Meshing interests. Sharing opinions....sharing everything. SIGH.....I guess I can admit it, those things make me want to kick off my flip flops and run for the hills. And many things in life do not make me feel that way.

A crack in my armour.....quite possibly. An area in my life that needs growth... definitely. The random ramblings of a nut....surely! hahahaha j/k. There is no clean way to end this because I have no answers....this whole thing is a work in progress I guess. But at least I am aware of it now. To Be Continued!

Teach&Read&Cook&Learn

Being an elementary teacher, I was well aware and used to the good ol' food pyramid.

Well move over pyramid.....the USDA is introducing the food plate and I for one think it is a fantastic upgrade!

You can see and read more about it here.

Here's to a summer of healthy eating. With the fruits and vegetables that thrive naturally in this season. I am kind of getting onto the bandwagon on eating seasonally which also means trying to eat locally. Baby steps mind you.....but at least I want to be more aware of where my food is coming from and what season it "naturally" grows. Example, not many peaches are in top shape in December. How did I even get this idea in my head you may wonder.....this great book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I would recommended you check it out!

                                                      http://www.kingsolver.com/books/

Exhausted

Whew.....I LOVE to travel.....if you know me then you know that;)

However, since this time last week I have been in 5 cities. That trip has spanned 3 states! I know!!

And this travel queen is dog tired. However, seeing my grandma, being there for a momentous graduation, court dates, lake trips, and UGA were all calling my name in the same week.

Whew....these old bones won't be trying a trip like that again soon I imagine. If you need me, please feel free to come up to UGA.....because I don't plan on leaving for a while:)

PS- Now in all honestly I might be going with my aunt to drop my cousin off at Hampton University in Virginia but that is in 2 weeks and family always breaks my self-imposed rules and regulations.