Fall [Break]

Well happy October! It has been raining the entire month which has been a huge disappointment because fall is my favorite time of the year. Two weekends ago I decided to get all our Halloween decorations out so that our house looked a little more festive and for the most part it went well! I even ventured to put the fake spider webs on the bushes and shutters outside. They looked GREAT but ever since then it has been raining, and they are looking pretty nasty right about now.

This year I am actually having to worry about working on the holidays. Not that I mind, but when I was in Jackson I automatically got all holidays off because I came home to Louisville during them but now I have to be all grown up, and it is not very fun. Haha well it's not too bad, but I am just waiting to see how to plan Thanksgiving and Christmas, etc.! Work is good! Nothing too interesting there!

School is getting really stressful right about now. It hasn't been bad AT ALL but for some reason I have many major projects and reports due tomorrow and Tuesday. I am going to lock myself in all day today to work on them. It is going to be no fun. :( Alex was here to visit this weekend as well, and I didn't get as much done as I wanted. We went to Industrial Nightmare last night with some friends, and it was SO fun. It's a haunted house over in Indiana, and we had a blast! I love haunted houses and being scared especially around Halloween. It just puts me in the spirit! :) We also saw The Stepfather on Friday night. It's a scary movie about this guy about to marry this woman and join her family with three kids. They show you in the beginning how he is a serial killer, and it just gets better from there! Twisted I know, but I just love it. :)

I got to spend fall break in Jackson, and it was THE BEST EVER. I loved hanging out with my old roommates and friends. We had a blast, and I am so glad that I went. It really made me miss Union a lot because I actually didn't miss it until I went. I also got to meet all the new Alpha Tau Omega pledges. They are the sweetest group of guys I have met, and I am so proud that Alex is their pledge dad. I guess if he is pledge dad that makes me pledge momma, so I made them brownies for their pledge meeting/test that they had last Tuesday. I'm guessing they liked them. Oh, and guess what? Alex is getting a LITTLE BROTHER!!! :) Not like an actual little brother, but an ATΩ little brother. He has had 4 before, and somehow every single year they end up dropping out or moving away. It's really sad, but I am so happy for him, and I know he is going to do such a great job. The pledges haven't found out who their big brother is yet, but I know. :) I can't wait because I know that Alex is so happy already and is going to be even happier once ***************** finds out that Alex is his big brother! :) Anyways, enough of that. Life is good. I don't really have much else to say. This week's weather is supposed to be getting a lot warmer, so hopefully it will start feeling like fall instead of winter!!

Peace & Blessings
Peace & Blessings
(haha girls who know what I'm talking about!)

- b-

P.S. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary on the 12th! Here are a couple pictures from the night! 

We had dinner at Amerigo's in Memphis! It was delicious!

Special thanks to Catherine, Jessica, Carrie and Katie for helping me dress for the occasion! I had no dress clothes to wear and they helped me pull something together! Thank you guys! 

September

Whew! It's been such a long time since I have updated! Life has just been so busy, but thankfully I had a weekend off work so that I was able to catch up on rest and just take a break from it all! The first month of school has been great! UofL is so different than I thought that it would be, but that is a good thing! I love all my classes and professors, and I am really learning a lot. They seem like they can actually teach, and that is something that as a future teacher, I am very thankful for. Right now here is what my school schedule looks like!

MWF 12:00-12:50 Intro to Pan-African Studies
MWF 1:00-1:50 Intro to Creative Writing
MW 3:00-4:40 Math for Elementary Teachers I
TR 9:30-10:45 Human Growth & Development
TR 11:00-12:15 American Literature II

This is such a random assortment of classes, but they all go towards my gen. ed. requirements and towards my teaching major! I really really love UofL and just being there has taught me so much about myself, where I've been in life and the direction that I want to go. This transfer from Union was THE BEST thing that I could have possibly done, and I am so grateful that I did it. Yes, I miss Alex and all my friends, but I wouldn't have done a single thing different. I AM going to get to visit everyone on my fall break at the beginning of October, so I am looking forward to that! :)

I get to have 3 field experiences this semester. They are fairly small in the amount of hours that I have to visit each place, but I am excited about getting to go to schools in Louisville. My first field experience is at Farnsley Middle School. It is really random, but I am going to be observing in a middle school orchestra classroom. I think that once I get into my major I will get to see more of what I actually want to teach (that being elementary school and middle school English), but for now I am looking forward to spending some mornings and afternoons listening to music & seeing how that classroom operates!

My job is going well, and I am loving it. During the school year I work anywhere from 17-28 hours per week at the hotel. The people are so nice, and I am glad to be a part of the Homewood family! And every now and then I pick up a shift at Steak 'n Shake to just put a little cash in my pockets. :) Life is busy but so great!

Hmm... I am trying to think if anything interesting has happened since I last posted! I'll put a few pictures up from the Keith Urban concert on August 22nd. It was at the State Fair, and I loved spending that last weekend of summer with Alex. <3



Oh! I almost forgot! I just started volunteering as a Lift Group leader on Wednesday nights for a 6th grade girls group! I absolutely love it, and my girls are precious. We are going to be volunteering at one of the Boys & Girls Clubs in town on October 7th with our Purple Family! I am really looking forward to that, and I am looking for a service opportunity for us as a group later in the semester. I just remember how much my small group leaders and even the leaders that I didn't have one-on-one contact with made a huge difference in my life, and I just want God to use me in that same way. Pray for me & my girls as we meet this year. God is going to do great things, I just know it!

Hopefully I will be able to update a little more than I have been, but we'll see what life brings! :) Have a great beginning of Fall!!!

- b -

I just don't want to.

Do you ever have those things that you need to do, but you just can't seem to make yourself do them? I have been needing to give Colby a bath all week, and I kept giving myself excuses and putting it off until I made myself do it this morning. I mean, it's not something that was hard to do or something that would take a lot of time. He stands still in the sink and doesn't move until I am done. I always feel like I have those things to do and finally end up doing them to realize that it wasn't that bad after all. Do any of you have those things?? I'm curious! Let me know! Happy Saturday! :)

- b -

Trips to Office Max make me want to...

BE ORGANIZED!! & the funny thing is that I already am organized! No, I am not always CLEAN, but I like everything to have it's specific place so that I will always know where to go when I am looking for it. So tonight I decided to get all my school stuff together. This included putting all my binders and folders together, 3 hole punching all the papers that I have accumulated over the week, organize those papers and putting everything away in its proper place. THEN I had to get my desk completely together so that I feel prepared to take on my 2nd week at UofL! (Which I LOVE by the way) :) I have all my books but one (estimated arrival date= Sept. 2) and they are all neatly lined up in the right corner of my desk. All my pencils are sharpened and markers are full of ink! There is no clutter in my drawers, and everything has it's perfect place! I don't know why this makes me so happy, but I feel the need to share this accomplishment with the world. :) The only thing that I am looking for right now is a box to put an already completed scrapbook in. I went to Michael's, & they didn't have any. Neither did Meijer. Does anybody know where I can get one?? It is one of the larger scrapbooks. I am not sure of the exact dimensions, but it looks like a "normal" scrapbook to me. I'll post a pic so that you can get an estimate of the size. If any of you other scrapbookers know where I can find a box for it just let me know! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! It is our last of August 2009! :) Welcome Fall!!!!



- b -

P.S. I went to the movies tonight with my sister, and we saw Julie & Julia. I don't go to the movies hardly ever, but I LOVED this movie. It was so funny yet so serious at the same time. It is based on 2 true stories, and those are the kinds I love the most! I highly recommend it!

"I want to worship Jesus."

I saw this video about 5 minutes ago on one of my Facebook friend's status. Please take 6 minutes to watch this. It is the powerful story of a 17 year old girl who converted from Islam to Christianity. She ran away, and now they are wanting to send her back to per parents, but she insists that she will be killed for her faith if she goes back. Listen to her story. She was an inspiration to me just from this short clip.


- b -

My Mix

I just made a new mix CD of all my favorite Christian worship songs right now. Just thought I would share what is on my playlist right now!

What Life Would Be Like --> Big Daddy Weave
The Motions --> Matthew West
Slow Fade --> Casting Crowns
The Stand --> Hillsong United
Point of Difference --> Hillsong United
Give Me Your Eyes --> Brandon Heath
Closer to Love --> Matt Kearney
I Will Rise --> Chris Tomlin
Cannons --> Phil Wickham
Revelation Song --> Kari Jobe
The Lost Get Found --> Britt Nicole
Whatever You're Doing --> Sanctus Real
Came to My Rescue --> Hillsong United
While I'm Waiting --> John Waller

Enjoy!
- b -

"For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 100:5

New job!

So a lot has been going on since I last posted!! My little cousin, Austin, is doing pretty good! He lost some weight after his birth (as expected), and he has almost gained it all back! :) Continue to keep him & his family in your prayers, but I am sure that he is going to be just fine.

I got a new job!! I am now a front desk agent at Hilton's Homewood Suites- Louisville East & I love it there! It is a lot more slow paced than the Doubletree which is a good thing & a bad thing. I miss having things to do all the time, but I do love the more relaxed setting & getting to know our extended stay guests. If you are ever looking for a hotel in Louisville then I recommend that you stay with us! All our rooms are suites with a kitchenette, bedroom, living room and bathroom. They are very spacious and we also have some great amenities. We serve a complimentary breakfast each morning & we also serve a complimentary Homewood Suites DINNER each Monday-Thursday. We also have people that will take your grocery list & go get all your groceries while you are away. We have an outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, and sport court as well as a 24 hr. business & fitness center! AND we have a laundry facility & complimentary guest passes to Urban Active fitness center. Here are a few pictures of my new home!!



Right now I am currently in Paducah, Ky. My great Aunt Betty died last week & her funeral was today. She had surgery last Friday and developed pneumonia afterwards, and she passed away on Wednesday, July 29. Alex drove up here to meet my family and attend the funeral with me, and for that I am very thankful. He is so precious, and it was actually the first time for him to meet most of my extended family! So that was great despite the circumstances. We are going to head back to Louisville tomorrow, and I can't wait to be home!

School starts in 22 days!! I have really been struggling with trying to figure out ways to get involved on campus. It would be SO EXTREMELY EASY for me to just go to school & then come home every day without making a ton of new friends or participating in activities. I saw so many people at Union do that, and from what I could tell, it made them feel left out and not a part of campus life. So to fix this problem, I have been looking on their website at the different clubs and activities that they have going on. I'm thinking about looking into their Big Brother/Big Sister program or some other community service organizations on campus. I also have come to realize that besides like 5 friends, I really don't know anybody at UofL that I could really say that I am close to. I really do want to meet some new friends, and even though it is a public school I know that I can be a light for Christ even in a setting that I am very unfamiliar with. It's not like this is my first year of college. I know what it's like, and I know who I am. I know what I want to get involved in, and I know the things that I want to stay away from. I was researching Greek life at UofL, and I was really impressed by some of the things I read. I had thought about going through rush at the closing of the school year, but I decided against it. I'm not sure why, but yesterday I registered because if I make just 1 good friend in the whole process (& I am sure that I will make many) then it is worth it to me. I have my true friends, but I know that there are many other girls, just like me, out there & I thought rush would be a good outlet to meet many of them & possibly join a sisterhood & make many friends! We'll see how it works out, and I am honestly just curious about Greek life at a public school vs. Greek life at a private one. UofL doesn't seem like very much of a "party school" like UK or some of the others I've heard about. Maybe I'm wrong, but I guess that's what I'll find out about in a few weeks! :) I really am excited about school, and I am trying to make a conscious effort to participate in campus life even though I won't actually be living on campus. I'm taking it as though I'm at college for the first time, and I can't wait to see what experiences it brings. Well, that is really all that is going on right now! I am off to sleep so that I am well rested to make the trip home tomorrow! Goodnight!

- b -