Ahh graduations...

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! Heres some pictures from today...
Our assortment of Easter baskets for my little sisters and nice to choose from. I didn't realize we had this many from the previous years. My niece, Abbey and I after church and our egg hunt. My two little sisters, Allison and Alaina, and Abbey.

Updates

So many thing have been going on in the past week or two. I've updated a little, but not really that much. Do you know the feeling you get when something is just not right? I've had that for a while now, and I finally figured out why. I felt like I needed an adventure, so I went to Troy and hung out with Shelby and Matt T, had a great afternoon, and started back home. On my way home I just couldn't shake that feeling, and I knew exactly what to do about it. Break-ups are rough, but why do they have to be? I hadn't talked to Aaron since we ended things, and it was really bothering me more than I thought it was, so on my way home, I finally texted him and talked about a lot of the things that were bothering me. I felt like an idiot at first, but that quickly went away. I was honest with my thoughts, feelings and questions, and I feel like he was also. I know things aren't going to go back to how they were before, but I'm ok with that, we're speaking again, and I feel like we are going to be friends, which is what I really want.

I recently joined the Air National Guard, which is such a big deal to me! Pretty much my whole family is military, and I always said I was going to be the one who wasn't going to join, I always thought it wasn't for me, but boy was I wrong. My first drill was this past weekend, and I felt like I was where I needed to be, which is an amazing feeling. We had to do PT (physical training) on Sunday morning, and part of that was running a mile and a half. I haven't ran since my Junior year in High School, which was three years ago, but I was the first girl to finish, and I beat some of the guys too. The only downside to that is I now have shin splints, and my kickboxing class is today, hopefully I'll be ok to do everything.
I've also been downloading a lot of music in the past few days, (love love love music) and if you haven't heard the bands Live, or Default, you should seriously look them up. Any suggestions for music I need to hear?
A recent random adventure with some friends to an old broken bridge...

Spring break #2...

So I went to Colorado for my spring break, which was a big change from the beach trip we took for my best friend's spring break, but it was great, especially since it rained at home and the beach pretty much the whole break. After getting back from Colorado, I took a road trip to Savannah to visit my friend Matt, and all in all I can say it was a very good, much needed break! So here are some pictures from Colorado, most were taken at the airports or at Copper Mountain where we went skiing.

Could it get any better than this?

Here are a few pictures from our fun, and very random, beach trip... We were constantly eating, so Meredith, me and Shelby decided to take pictures with a bunch of food, I think they ended up being pretty funny :)
We had a bonfire on the beach one night, complete with singing, laughing, lots of pictures, and of course s'mores!
Is there anything better than taking random beach adventures, laying out on the dock with friends, listening to some amazing music and talking to the best sister ever? I don't think so, but I'll let you know if i find out!

High five's are still funny to me, especially on Keslee's grandparents awesome front porch before dinner!

Are you there? can you hear me?

So I've pretty much been a slacker with this for the past couple of weeks, but they have been crazy busy. I ended things with Aaron, I didn't feel like he cared about me, and what's a relationship with someone if they don't care? I'm behind in pretty much all of my classes as a result of being a slacker. I decided to go to Troy for college, I can't imagine two years away from my best friend and my family, and it's a lot cheaper than Bama is. I went to a 10 Years concert at La Vela with my sister Ashley and Matt Tuesday night, which was so good! We ended up getting back to Ashley's house in time for them to leave for work, and for me to take a nap before my first class. My nap lasted a few hours more than I intended and I didn't wake up until 11:30, and I missed both of my classes. Shelby called me later that night (which was a Wednesday btw) and we decided to leave for the beach a day early. We just got back today, and the trip was great. The first night we got down there, a bunch of us all ended up going to La Vela again, and danced until around two, came back to the bay house and crashed for the night. Shelby and I went to the beach the next day and layed out, and then we all hung out at the cottege. That night we all went to Keslee's grandparents house for dinner, games and exploring, wich was so much fun! Afterwards we had a bonfire on the beach and made smores and then went back to the cottege and then back to the bay house to sleep. Yesterday was pretty chill, a few of us went to Seaside and ate lunch, and then layed out on the dock and hung out at the bay house again. All in all I would say it was a pretty good early spring break.
I'm really not ready to go back to the real world of classes and work, but on the brighter side, my actual spring break is the week after this one, and I'm going to get to go to Colorado with my Bible study group for a week of snowboarding/skiiing. It is the complete opposite of the beach, but I knnow it's going to be an amazing trip as well.

Tonight I'm reaching out to the stars...

This weekend has been pretty amazing, and I only say amazing because I can't think of any other words to adequately describe it. I spent the night with my sister and got to hang out with my niece Thursday night, and Friday I got to spend some time with her. I went to visit Shelby in Troy Friday night. We went to the baseball game and to eat with a few friends up there, it was fun, but the highlight of the night was defiantly right before we all left. We were all sitting in the car listening/singing Framing Hanley songs. Saturday started off normal, cleaning and such. Then Shelby came over and we got ready to go to Panama City. Forty outfits and a pile of clothes later, we were ready to go. We dropped my niece off at my dads house and drove down to PC. The ride down was fun, lots of singing, picture taking and talking about everything that has happened in our lives since we last got the chance to really talk. Once we got down there we decided to go shopping in the new shopping center. After looking in what felt like every store, Shelby ended up with a new shirt and I got a new North Face jacket for my upcoming Colorado ski trip. We then decided it was time for ice cream, and stopped by Coldstone, which was expensive, but very yummy. After a WalMart trip, another outfit change and a quick dinner (where we decided it was Shelby's birthday) we went over to La Vela for the concert. Luckily we got there early enough to get a spot in the middle and in the second row. The first band, The Veer Union, was awesome, I will defiantly be listening to them again. The second band that played was pretty good. But then Framing Hanley came on stage and it was amazing. The energy from the crowd was great, and since we were so close to the stage we got some amazing pictures and videos. Their songs are some of my absolute favorites, their lyrics have meaning, and hearing them live just made it even better. I can say it was one of my favorite concerts, only competing with the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus concert after the March 1st 2007 tornado. After they finished Lollipop, we waited for the underage kids to leave so we could actually move without running into someone. I got a t-shirt, and then met one of the guitarists for Framing Hanley. It was cool to joke around with him and realize the screaming fans haven't made them think they are better than everyone else, the fact that he was hot didn't hurt either. We left shortly after that and hit up the local McDonalds for some tasty food. The ride home was pretty good, it rained on and off the whole way back, and we listened to more Framing Hanley and talked about how awesome the concert was and how cool it would be to go to the one in Mississippi when they play with Hinder and Theory of a Deadman. We finally got home aroud three, and attempted to upload and edit all the pictures, but we realized we didn't have the energy for it and went to sleep around 4. All in all I must say it was a weekend that I will remember for the rest of my life, with a couple of awesome friends.

BAMA BOUND!

I am now officially BAMA bound! I got my acceptance letter yesterday, a very exciting moment for me I might add! My family and I went and ate at Mexican Connection, and mom just casually says "Oh you got some mail today". I figured it was some more info on the school or something, but when we got back home i saw four envelopes with my name on them, three from Alabama and one from Troy. Yay for being accepted to both colleges that I applied to!
So Brook and I are going up to Tuscaloosa to look at houses next weekend, and I can't wait! It still hasn't really sunk in yet, but I'm sure it will when we go house shopping!
Aaron's little brothers surgery went well, he came home two days after and is doing fine, he's very happy to be home, and we are all happy he's back!
Classes are going pretty good. I made a 96 on a Music Appreciation test, a big approvement from my last one that was a 70, and an 80 on my online Pshchology class test.

Never let me go

I just love music, a good song can completely change my day, and I must say I love Matt Nathanson's voice. It is amazing and calming, you should give him a listen, I recommend Come on Get Higher and Car Crash, they're both really good.
So I had a Music Appreciation test today, and I think I did pretty good. I actually studied, (I figure if I want to go to Alabama I need to actually buckle down and focus on school work) and I understood pretty much everything on the test. Speaking of Alabama, I've been looking at houses and apartments up there and I'm extremely excited to go up there at the end of this month and figure out where I'm going to be living!
I feel a little scattered, there are so many things going on at once, I can barely keep up with it all! I'm going up to Birmingham with Aaron and his sister Wednesday for their little brother's surgery, and I pray everything goes well! I got a new job last Thursday with H&R Block as a marketing representative, which is awesome because I'm majoring in marketing and I get to work with Brook, and there's never a dull moment when she's involved!

Just to see what people see

Let me just start by saying I live an amazingly blessed life. This past week has been crazy and so many big things have happened!
I have lived in a small town pretty much my whole life. I graduated with 48 people, and I had known most of them since I was 6 years old. After I graduated I decided to go to a community college that's only 15 minutes away, and is also small. I was planning to transfer this fall to Troy University, but this week I decided I want something different. I applied to the university of Alabama, which is something I've never even considered doing. I feel like I need something different, I want to go somewhere that is big! I want to get out of my small town, because I know eventually I will move back to this area. Troy is not completely out of the picture yet though, I'm still considering all of my options.

Last night was homecoming, and it was way better than I thought it would be. I ended up borrowing a suit from my friend Malory, and even though she is at least 5 inches taller than I am, it fit perfectly. After getting ready, Aaron and I went up to the school, and stood around mingling with the Alumni and talking to the other nominees. Brook came by between her classes and saw us too! After the game, and finding out I was part of the Homecoming Court, we went out to the tent for the concert and met the LoCash Cowboys, and then went to eat at Mellow Mushroom (it's a tradition) with Ali and Justin. All in all I think it was a pretty great night, full of surprises, fun and friends. I'll most likely add more pictures as I get them, these are pretty much the only ones I have for now.

Healing with time, is like watching paint dry

This past week has been pretty good, even with the bad things that have happened. I guess you can call me an optimist, but I tend to see the good things in a situation before I will even acknowledge the bad things. Aaron's little brother got put in the hospital last week, and this past Tuesday they moved him up to Birmingham to see if they could figure out what's going on up there. So Tuesday after school Aaron, his dad and I all drove up to see him and his mom. Despite how the situation seems, I think it could be a positive thing. They are more equipped to work with kids there, and since he's only 10, they are more likely to figure out what's wrong. They are also going to try to take him off of some of his medications, so maybe he wont have to take 20 a day.
In other news, I did lose my job, and I'm not at all sorry about it. Yes, the money was good, but I was miserable there, and my punishment for not going in on Sunday was to work doubles every Sunday in February, not ask off any shifts, or trade any shifts. This didn't seem fair, and there is too much going on this month for me to not ask any days off, so I quit/got fired. Hopefully a better job will come along, that doesn't involve food, but with the economy the way it is, it's not likely to happen.
My grandfather's 89th birthday was yesterday, and we had a party for him. He is the most amazing person I have ever meet, and my favorite person in the world. He, along with Aaron's little brother, is my hero. Even though he is 89, he still is in great health, and driving. He was a carpenter for years, and is always talking to the contractors working on our house, making sure they do a good job. I love him more than I can ever hope to express, and he is such and inspiration to me.

Homecoming is next Thursday, and I still haven't found a suit for Homecoming Court. I really need to get on that...

Could it get any better than this?

So the past 5 or so days have been pretty interesting. I've gotten sick, worked, gone on a great weekend trip to the beach and almost (not sure yet) lost my job.
I think I'll start from the beginning, because I believe that's always a good place to start. Thursday as I was talking to my mom about the upcoming beach trip, I started feeling really hot and nauseous, I tried to finish getting ready to go to class, but it didn't work. I ended up spending some quality time with my couch and the tv, unable to get up except when absolutely necessary, until I had to work at 5:30. Work, to say the least was not good, thankfully I got to leave early. Friday I was still feeling bad, so I took some medicine and went to work yet again. Aaron came over after and we watched tv and planned out the rest of the beach trip and made reservations for the rooms. Saturday I yet again went to work, made a little money, and then went to the beach with Aaron, my best friend Shelby, and her boyfriend Quinn. We ended up going to eat, making a couple Wal-Mart trips, going to the hot tub and the beach. After one last trip to Wal-Mart for ice cream and popsicles we called it a night. Sunday morning we all got breakfast and packed up and checked out of the rooms. While I was supposto be at work, we went to the beach, took a few really cute pictures, and Shelby and I collected some awesome shells, and some broken shells too, lol. After some window shopping and playing in the As Seen on TV store, we went to the diner for lunch. Shelby and Quinn went back to Troy, and Aaron and I headed to Dothan to visit Adam while he's in the hospital and then went and hung out at his house. Today I went to class, then to lunch with Kate, Katelynn and Brooke, and then Kate and I went shopping at Rue 21. I ended up with a few cute basic shirts, and some awesome black and white polka dot rainboots, with red accents, now if it would just rain I'd be good. On my way in my house, I got a phone call from one of my managers from work asking why I didn't come to work yesterday, I told him I was at the beach, and my car broke down and my call phone was dead, and he said he would have to talk to the main manager and he would let me know if I still have a job. I'm honestly not too upset about it, I really like most of the people I work with, but I know it's not something I want to do for the rest of my life, so if i lose it, I'm possibly better off. I won't have as much money, but I'll be happier.
Anyway, here are a couple pictures from the trip, the first is Aaron and I, and the second is Shelby and I.

One more step and you're falling through

So I was watching The Notebook yesterday and it got me thinking about a lot of things. The first one was, I wish I was alive in the 1940's. Things were so different then, much more simple, and people were more straightforward about everything. And the style was awesome, can't forget that one. It also got me thinking about love, and true love, and the decisions we make because of it. I want to find that true love, the one person I know I would be with forever. I believe fully in true love, and that there is one person that God has put on this earth for you that you are meant to be with, but I also believe that we are compatible with many people, and that we can love them as well, but that they are not the person we are meant to be with. I'm not always honest about my feelings, growing up that wasn't really something I was taught, and I'm really good at not letting anyone know if something is wrong. I've always handled things on my own, and been the one that other people come to with their problems asking for advice. While I love to talk to other people and help them with their problems, sometimes it drives me crazy how petty their worries are. Not that some of them are real and very serious, it's just some are not. Anyways, I've never really been able to express how I feel about someone, weather a boyfriend or just telling my best friend how much she means to me and how blessed I am to have her in my life. With all that being said, I want a love like the one in The Notebook, and yes that sounds cheesy, but it's true. I want someone who would wait for me, love me unconditionally, be real with me, and really want to know how I feel and what I love. I think that relationships now are mostly fake and for show. They're empty and void of any real meaning, and sadly I've been in that kind of relationship. These kinds of relationships only end in hurt, and it's kind of like practicing divorce. You start dating one person, you get close to them, then you realize you don't want to be with them for one reason or another, so you break up, and move on to the next person. If you get into the habit of bailing when things get difficult, what do you think you're going to do after you get married and things are rough? You're going to bail, because that's what you're used to, and sadly that happens more often than not, and I know how that is firsthand. My parents were married to each other and divorced three times, and my older sister has been divorced twice. This terrifies me, and it makes me hold back my feelings, which may be a good thing most of the time. If we took our relationships more seriously and didn't just "jump into things" with someone, there would be so many less broken hearts. And if you think about it, we are going to marry someone that we date, so shouldn't we really be more thoughtful about who we date to begin with?

tonight i'm reaching out to the stars

So I started back to school and classes on Monday, and by Wednesday I needed some excitement to spice things up, and Shelby came to my rescue with a simple text message that pretty much said to come to Troy. I didn't need much convincing. So after a quick trip home and an outfit change I drove as quickly as I could to her house. We ended up eating a quick dinner and then went walking at the track, in shorts, in forty degree weather. It wasn't too bad though, we got to catch up a lot and talk about literally everything. I love conversations with actual meaning, and Shelby and I always seem to have the best ones. As the sun went down and it got too cold to keep walking, we decided to go shopping about an hour away in Dothan. The best part is we only buy from the sale or clearance racks, and are always completely honest if something does not look good, what are friends for right? On our way back to Troy we went to the always awesome Target, and after buying a new Converse bag and a random jump rope we took some super cute pictures:



On a completely random topic, my kickboxing class started yesterday, and I'm definitely feeling the effects of it, hopefully I won't be so sore after the next one!

...and these are a few of my favorite things

I think a good way to start off is to list a few things I can't live without, or would just rather not.

My best friend Shelby, she is one of the most amazing people I have ever known.
Sunsets have and always will capture my full attention, I am always in awe of how beautiful and different each one is.
Sour patch kids, the red ones are the best
Giraffes are one of my favorite animals.
I would rather be at the beach than anywhere else on any given day.

Rainy days make me smile and want to snuggle up and read all day.
Hot rocker boys (like Mr. Nixon from Framing Hanley) with tattoos and piercings, and the awesome music they play/sing, need I say more?

More to come later...