1-29-2011.

i am 24. weird. sadly, with a new camera and all, i did not take any pics from the weekend! it actually makes me REALLY sad. i am a huge fan of pics, and just did not have the sense to get out my camera this past weekend.
for my birthday, my wonderful parents came in town and we went to eat at a local italian place. YUM! we watched a movie at my cozy apartment, and i opened presents! i didn't really ask for anything...and the things i asked for were pretty random.
what did i get, you ask?
this duvet cover from pottery barn.

(aparmenttherapy.com)
this jacket from patagonia in gray:

(cp1.kaboodle.com)
a journal and some nike running clothes :)
a WONDERFUL birthday. i am so thankful for my family and friends.
michael came saturday and we went to see the fighter, so good but horrible language! for that reason, i wouldn't recommend it. we ate at a restaurant called cantina laredo in the gulch. so good. and yesterday, i caught up on laundry and went to get dessert at cheesecake fact. PERFECT ending to a perfect weekend. now for a week of workkkkkkkk and studying! BOO!
bachelor, bible study, and spaghetti tonight!

1 corinthians 13

when i think about unconditional love, i think of Christ's love for His church, for His people, for me, for His creation. when i think of marital love, i like to think about Christ's love for his church, but even more tangible on this earth- the husband's love for his wife. and the wedding day- the bride getting all ready and beautiful and dressed in something pure to walk down the aisle to her anxiously awaiting smiley-face groom whose face lights up the second the big doors open to the sanctuary and the congregation turns to see her. and how beautiful that sacred love is. and THEN i hear stories like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbDqtLZD6pk
and i can only help but think of all of those things. this is the sweetest love story, and what a glorious picture of love and humiliation and selflessness. i pretty much was bawling at the end of this.

cece's bachelorette weekend!

can i just say that asheville, NC is beautiful? the mountains, scenery, shops, downtown, EVERYTHING is beautiful. this past weekend was my good friend's bachelorette weekend. and WHAT a perfect weekend for her...a cabin in the mountains, relaxing, chilling, walking around asheville/exploring, lingerie...haha. EVERYTHING cece would imagine for that weekend. oh, and a game called fishbowl...which my memphis friends call something else :)
in downtown asheville, we shopped around and ate at a recommended place for lunch called tupelo honey. VERY yummy. we think they're famous for their breakfast. milo and i got HOT CHOCOLATE!! isn't it beautiful?

the super cool double decker bus downtown that served COFFEE!! yummy!!

walking around downtown...


saturday night, we prepared a mexican meal and cece opened her goods!!

and sunday morning, we sadly had to leave the serenity of the mountains and our beautiful cabin...this was the sunrise sunday morning:

what a WONDERFUL weekend to celebrate cece and her marriage to lee!! DEFINITELY getting excited for march 26!
and NOW back to the reality of work and a long week. but looking forward to my rents & michael visiting this weekend for my BDAY!
read james 1:1-3.

john piper nuggets...

read this now!!!
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/consider-loving-someone-into-lovability#

struggling w/studying

i am having a hard time keeping my eyes focused on studying for the gre. i think it's because there is so much information and i am going to have to re-learn and learn for the first time all of the info in the study book!
last night was pretty exciting, i went to my first nashville area dental hygiene association meeting. i'm REALLY excited because legislation and how laws/rules affect our field interests me. i love learning about different laws and how our voice matters. i officially became a member of our national organization online last night after the meeting and am very much looking forward to what there is to learn!!
also...next wk is a big number in my life. 24. no, not the numbers in that famous tv show with a man who is invincible and never dies, not the number of hours in a day, BUT the number of the age i will be turning. i don't think i'm ready to be 24.
(picture from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnA-GsEclEicvGILromB-FL3TPS3qc3QsJNBtEuRpiNNLy067cQq6x-AQSDnQPY6YwIcqjROS-Jxt_4ycjsuevj7Ybao0vLPrqcQORlHH1aZWRAVIYaG25DlhVlPXU1-RTofRhZzqNLeU/s1600/benefits_of_studying_by_savethemuzika.jpeg)

currently...

this is my glorious morning routine and why i wake up over an hour early before work. yes, i am a morning person, and would not be sane if i didn't keep my routine.
i flip on the news- definitely channel 2. although, the channel 4 people are less awkward.

i get my coffee ready, and my cereal---new cereal for the wk: special k red berries.


THEN i open up my Bible...and currently reading ISAIAH. yummy nuggets.

i'm a little bit nervous about the work wk and how busy we will be especially today with it being mlk day and kids are out of school. and not that i'm excited, but i am counting down the days until the dreaded 24 years old. AH. VERY old.
this past wkend i felt really old. the girl i used to drive to school (sort of for fun, sort of to just drive her and her brother) got hitched! she was a beautiful bride and it was a beautiful ceremony with amazing music. i also purchased a coffee table. it's black and simple. here's a pic: (http://s7d3.scene7.com/is/image/AshleyFurniture/T381-20-KO?$WEB-AFHS-PRODUCTDETAIL$)

i also did the horrible long run on the treadmill and also found out my dad did his on a treadmill in alaska. BLAHHH!!!!
and lastly, a verse to close everything out, revelation 19
"hallelujah! for the Lord God Almighty reigns. let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready."

auburn bcs champs, & i love cam newton!

i have no words. what an amazing team and leader!
war eagle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT-8b9Zn-U8

a magical day!

yes, today was a magical day of snow, laziness, and not having to work. i didn't think i would get a snow day as a dental hygienist! haha, it was my dream come true for sure!! i have done some studying, experimented with some cooking, went to walk around the neighborhood to see how much snow was accumulated- about 4.5 inches. and NOW i have just inhaled a taco salad meal and am anxiously awaiting my TIGERS to play in the BCS national championship bowl. i can't express how proud i am to be an auburn tiger. it is GREAT to BE an AUBURN TIGER. i am so excited!!!!
i only wish i could be in glendale cheering them on, but my apartment covered in snow will have to do. and back to work tomorrow...but delayed a couple of hours, yay!

the weekend, joy!!!

i am ecstatic that it is the weekend, and i am relaxing. about to study, looking up some sermons, and i have man v food playing in the background. i just stumbled across this article by john piper when i was looking through his website for some good sermons. i love john piper, he writes so well and the things he says are so easy to relate to, yet they are deeper than elementary-type teaching. here is a link for an article on the Will of God. http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/what-is-the-will-of-god-and-how-do-we-know-it
i feel lately that i have not been leaning on the Lord and on His Scriptures when it comes to dealing with knowing what to do in life. yes, i have a job, a place to live, etc., but i have so many things up in the air that i KNOW i need to go to him for. however, either i'm too stubborn and too worrisome or i think for certain that i can do everything and figure out everything on my own, which is definitely not true.
this weekend i'm watching football, catching up on cleaning my apartment, going antique/coffee table browsing, and maybe spending my christmas gift cards. and studying. yayyyyy weekend!!!!

happy new year!

well, this new year's was different than usual. i decided kindof last minute to come home for the weekend...and it was a lot of fun but different. michael's extended fam ended up being in town and we went to eat dinner with them and played nerts! OMG am i obsessed with nerts or what? i was the only one standing the whole game, and of course i screamed and yelled. the other players, however, remained calm. we also watched the ball drop...at 11, and i was exhausted from the work week. then saturday, per my new year's resolution to get a better time in my marathon, i did my long run. it was an interesting run, too, because a dog followed me from one street all the way back to my street. i wanted to keep it but it had a collar! i also made a trip to anthropologie and sheffields, one of my favorite places. then saturday night i watched inception with michael and some friends for the 3rd time...and i have discovered that it is REALITY. can i just tell you that that rung in the new year for me in a very positive way. because i was so frustrated with that movie the 2 times i've seen it because i didn't understand half of what was going on.
today was church and lunch and the good ol' journey back to the real world.
also, in the pictures, i'm sharing with you a new-found recipe. maybe you've tried it before, maybe you haven't. to me, it is new-found. and quite yummy. and all you need are ritz crackers, pb, white chocolate, and if you're feeling adventurous, SPRINKLES.





enjoy! :) and happy 2011. cheers to a new year! and a good one!
and a GREAT start- michael passed his engineering EXAM! YAY!