I'm off to a dinner, but I couldn't help but post this...

From Marianne Williamson:

1. Recognize your Creator. This step makes you humble.
2. Seek opportunities to put more love into the world. This step makes you loving and lovable.
3. Set aside time each day to spend in spiritual reflection and contemplation. This step makes you strong.
4. Become more accepting. This step makes you gracious.
5. Forgive anyone you have not forgiven. This step makes you kind.
6. Recognize your mistakes. This step makes you responsible.
7. Try to see the good in others. This step makes you positive.
8. Take stock of your thoughts and behavior. This step makes you grow.
9. Bless the world. This step makes you beautiful.
10. Use each interaction to be the best, most powerful version of yourself. This step make’s you a conduit of God’s love.

words of wisdom.

Not much time today (because usually I have soooo much free time, right?) but thought these were good quotes/words of wisdom for today:

“Great leaders don’t produce followers. Great leaders produce other leaders.”


And then at lunch with a fantastic man, Bill Bracewell, he told me about a discussion with Dean Tate, whom he referred to as "the ole man" or something like that...


BB: (In facing some problem at the University) (In jestful exaggeration) "Why aren't you here when we need you?"
WT: "It's your turn now."


I don't know why, but that resonated somewhat with me.  Just interesting.


happy day. :)

one more thing...

Spring break is in 2 days.  Actually, ONE for me.  Yay for no class on Friday!  And yay for good books to read over the break!

thankful.

today, I am thankful for...


1. My incredibly low caffeine tolerance.  Thankfully, to survive being awake from 7am on Monday to 4:30pm on Tuesday, I only had 3 16 oz. cups of coffee and a cup of tea or two.  Incredible? Yes.


2. Incredible friends who buy me coffee for said all-nighters.


3. Flowery tasting tea.


5. Snow days that are called for NO reason, except to thankfully get me out of class.  Which leads me to the next one...


4. Spring time.


5. Chips and salsa.  Um, hello, heaven.


6. Crownies.  (Brownies with cookie dough baked in.  See above.  Hello, heaven.)


7. Quiet.


8. My bed.


9. Michael Buble on Pandora.  BEST. THING. EVER.


10. Most importantly, my friends.  Without going into detail, the past few weeks have been super busy, super stressful, and just not super happy.  But these friends have been there to drag me out of bed, make me smile, surprise me with books, take me on pointless errands to procrastinate, amaze me with kindness, give me bear hugs, help me survive the morning after a very fun night, buy me painkillers, put up with me, and most importantly... make me laugh.  Even if at my own expense.  :)  I have been blessed by unbelievably solid, caring, compassionate friends.  And I am amazed.


:)


happy day.

snow day.

What am I doing with my snow day?

-eating
-cleaning
-emails!
-work
-studying
-paper writing
-finallyyyyy running (at the gym.  snow running=disaster)
-packing for spring break!

Please notice that although I still haven't gone to bed yet (wooooo all-nighters!), I will not be sleeping on this snow day.

Oh well.  Spring break in... THREE DAYS.

ahfdajfkld;ajkf!!!!!! pure happiness.

Teach for America

Here's a little article my fellow CCC's and I wrote for the FINAL deadline (last Friday!)

Lent

So last Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent.  I know people giving up sweets, meat, facebook, Twitter, cursing, alcohol... you name it, someone's probably trying to give it up.  I've tried my hand at most of those, too. This year, though, I'm going to do something different.

I can't remember who first suggested this to me (although I'll bet you it was probably my mother...), but this year, I'll be adding something for Lent. (Here's an article about adding for Lent..)  It's something I used to do every single night, but I fell out of habit as the year became busier and busier.  Ironically, it was probably as I became most busy that I need it the most.  Every night, I'm going to write down the little blessings I come across throughout the day.  I love those little things, the things that seem like little notes from God saying, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you."  So for the next thirty-seven days, I'll be searching out those love notes, writing them down to remind me of His unfailing love, unending grace.

happy day :)

PS, anyone in Georgia, who else is happy that SPRING has given us a little preview?  Thank goodness for hitting the 60 degree mark!!

american honey.

Definitely my new favorite. Play count is heading to the mid-70s (although that's nothing to compare to Anne's play count for The Chain...)

In this life, we cannot do great things, only small things with great LOVE.
- Mother Theresa

James 5:10-11 (The Message)

Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.

grace.

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. II Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)

guilty pleasure throwback.

except I don't feel one ounce guilty about it...

Mornings like this.

Mornings like this fill me with anticipation, hope, gratitude.  Mornings like this that make me realize the opportunities just beyond my fingertips.  Mornings like this that reveal to me even the smallest blessings.  Mornings like this that my eyes are opened.  Mornings like this that make me feel as if I am about to burst with excitement for the unknown. Mornings like this.

new years resolutions

so I absolutely LOVE this time of the year, as I'm sure y'all all know :)  Halloween to January is the best time of the year.  Just in case you haven't heard this, I'll outline my reasoning.  Halloween: we dress up.  And get candy.  And it's Georgia-Florida.  Really?  What else do you need?  November brings my BIRTHDAY (21 this year--yay!) and Thanksgiving.  Oh Thanksgiving.  A no pressure holiday.  Bring food.  Eat food.  The end--no presents to worry about, thank you notes, just a great way to bring in the holiday season!

And then we have December.  Let's just review: Christmas movies, Christmas carols, Christmas cookies, Christmas milkshakes.  Everything Christmas!  And everyone's in a great mood.  And everyone is loving and giving and just wonderful :) Haha.  Maybe a little overboard, but whatevs.

And New Years.  I love New Years, the opportunity to start over.  The hope of a new year.  Looking back on all of the wonderful things of the past year.  A few years ago, my mother began having us each set goals, and each month we "report" on our progress at a family dinner.  Yes, we all sigh and dread it sometimes, but I actually enjoy setting goals. Anticipating great changes and great possibilities.

Along that line, here's a great blog by Don Miller about the new year!

http://donmilleris.com/2010/01/01/living-a-good-story-an-alternative-to-new-years-resolutions/

Year in Review

This year has been... incredible.

JANUARY...

Ashley's mother's BEAUTIFUL wedding... after our road trip to Baton Rouge to see our Annie presented into society :)

Katie Gamble cut off her hair and donated it to locks of love...

We celebrated birthdays...

I spent most of FEBRUARY in FLORIDA...

Went to the ASJA conference for Judiciary, where I learned Patrick Dever is age-ist, sexist, and can't remember to lock his car doors.  Ever. :)

Then I headed to Jacksonville with Mama Goodwin and Grace to run my first MARATHON...

MARCH brought the SNOW!

Spent the night at Elyssa's house... our first roommate bonding experience :)

Travelled to the "mountains"... AKA South Korea, where we learned about Buddhism and food poisoning, and bonded more than any of us ever could have imagined!

And celebrated more birthdays in Athens...

(which may have ended in hot knees...)

Spent a weekend relaxing at the mountains...

Spent a lot of time lounging around and wasting time at the Pi...

May... Katie turned 20!

We moved out of the Pi :(

Spent some time playing around Athens before heading off to Ghana...

June - Spent a month in Ghana

Spent a three weeks in Peru (but my camera was lost... boo)

And now I'm bored so... To be continued. :)

happy endings.

I am an optimist.  It works for me.  I like happy things.  I'm not saying there isn't pain or sadness in the world, but I would just SO much more rather focus on the HAPPY. On the things that work out.

The rest of the world, unfortunately, has not gotten this memo.

Last night, I was admittedly in a not-so-hot mood.  Not in a terrible mood, just not in a great mood.  So when I headed to the movies with Michael, I was excited that we were seeing what I THOUGHT was going to be a feel good movie.  BEFORE you attack me, though, let me say this--it WAS great.  It WAS hilarious.  I WOULD see it again.  I probably would have liked it a lot more if I'd seen it when I wasn't upset about something.  It was just, at the end (and I'm SPOILING this for anyone who hasn't seen it), I wasn't ready for the "realistic"ending.

Throughout the movie, Ryan (George Clooney) develops a "relationship" with business woman Alex, who leads (at first glance) a similar, detached life on the road (or in flight).  Ryan's attraction brings the slightest warmth and humanity and even vulnerability to Ryan, as he realizes, with the help of Natalie (Anna Kendrick) that he needs SOME human connection.  Despite his backpack speech about how relationships hold one down, Ryan realizes, as he explains to his sister's uncertain fiance, that the most important parts of life occur not when one is alone, but when one is sharing life--the pain and happiness--with another person they care about.

This was actually my favorite part of the movie.  Ryan, who has publicly denounced marriage, committment, children, and everything that terrifies his sister's soon-to-be-husband, must convince this young man to take a plunge Ryan has yet to even slightly approach.  At first he acknowledges all of these fears, and flounders when he sees his older sister's disapproval and tries to get the fiance back on track.  But finally he finds his feet, and, like I said before, comes to the realization that as pointless and bleak as life sometimes may seem, it's better with someone else there.  "It's better with a copilot."

Ok.  So writing that and focusing on THAT message--against the isolation that seems to pervade every part of life (think about it--you can "communicate" and "reconnect" and see what others are thinking and develop relationship without even leaving your computer.)--redeems the movie somewhat in my eyes.  But still.  The end, when Ryan finds out that Alex has a husband with kids at home? Somewhat depressing.

All in all, a good movie.  Good humor.  Good message.  Just not a typical happy ending.

This WAS well directed, and here's a little clip about one of the most recognizable scenes:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/12/04/movies/20091204-upinTheAir.html

The NYTimes.com Review:
http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/movies/04upinair.html

best christmas commercials

I refuse to believe Christmas is over...
















merry, merry y'all!

2009...

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

So for an early Christmas present, my mother gave me an ORIGINAL framed movie poster for my FAVORITE movie (not JUST Christmas movie... ANY MOVIE!!!!).....


WHITE CHRISTMAS!!

She even had it matted and framed BEAUTIFULLY.  Like I said, this is my favorite movie of ALL TIME.  I remember watching it for the first time when I was in elementary school.  We were on the way back from my dad's mother's house, and my mother sat in the back of our minivan with me as we watched White Christmas on the tiny 3 inch flat screen.  And I fell in love. I wanted to BE Vera Ellen!  I'm a sucker for the oldies--Bing Crosby melts my heart.  Seriously, if you haven't watched this movie, along with Holiday Inn and It's a Wonderful Life, take a few hours PLEASE watch! :)

I lied. THIS is the last one.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

one last quote for the night...

it is more important to know who you are than where you are going, for where you are going will change as the world around you changes.
-HBR

Why I read

"All books are alike in that they are truer than if they had happened, and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer." 

Ernest Hemingway

"we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. we do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place."
-president obama

"It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said, Do the best you can with these, they will have to do. And mostly, against all odds, they're enough."

~Anne Lamott
(Traveling Mercies) 

Yesterday, I told people on mystery google to send me cookies because my boyfriend and I just broke up. Today, I got an overnight UPS box. Dear mystery person, your snickerdoodles are delicious. MLIA

"In other words, let's face it: Life is basically unfair. But even in a situation that's unfair, I think it's possible to seek out a kind of fairness. Of course, that might take time and effort. And maybe it won't seem to be woth all that. It's up to each individual to decide whether or not it is."

~Haruki Murakami
(What I Talk About When I Talk About Running)

Holly Jolly Christmas!

So the one plus side to this cold, rainy weather is that it makes it perfectly acceptable to just curl up in bed and READ with a big mug of tea! And this break I'm most excited about getting to all the books I've been wanting to read this semester! Like...

1. Her Fearful Symmetry
2. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller
3. I am Charlotte Simmons
4. Remembering the Forgotten God, Francis Chan
5. Harry Potter (rereading my favorite parts... eeeek excited!)
6. The Lost Symbol (Just got it last night--I've heard great things about it... Has anyone read it?)
7. Nanny Returns (Haven't gotten it yet but planning on hitting up the library this afternoon... I haven't heard anything about it, though.  Any word?)
8. The 4:8 Principle
9. The Reason for God
10. The Freedom Writer's Diary
11. One Day, All Children, Wendy Kopp

Along with all of the other books laying around the house. I think one of my New Years resolutions might be to finally read all of the books I've collected over the years. Maybe.  Ha.

Any other fabulous suggestions?

Andrew, you missed out.

This is directed towards my brother.  Andrew, you missed out.  On more food than our kitchen has seen since we moved here, 5 years ago.  On mom attempting to use the thermometer, despite the fact that we lost the digital read out, you know, "for good measure."  On mom holding up a red onion and a lemon, not knowing what the heck to use either for, but knowing that at some point, she WAS supposed to use them.  (They're still sitting on the kitchen counter)  Just a warning, mom thinks this dinner will count for cooking for a year, so don't expect anything when you get home.  I suggest you stop by Qdoba or something for a good last meal.  Something to last you till we go to TN for Christmas, maybe.

All in all, though, Thanksgiving 2009=success.

Dysfunctional Family Thanksgiving

So for the second year in a row, a group of friends gathered for a potluck style Thanksgiving dinner.  After living with this group of 20 amazing, unique, awe-inspiring people, getting together with them is like coming home to a huge family celebration.  I can't even begin to explain what each of these people mean to me, except that when we get together, I feel like everything is right with the world.  These are the people I know will always, ALWAYS be there for me.  These are the people who saw me go crazy in Oxford, told me to run across that bridge in Barcelona, packed into a boat cabin like sardines, experienced the infamous S'Korea together, hiked the Inca Trail together, and so much more... They really do feel like a family.

The story behind the name: Spring Break our freshman year, a group of five of us was wandering around New York City--Bobby, Rachel, Alex, Aaron, and I.  Somehow, we assigned roles to each other.  Bobby and I were the parents, Aaron was our oldest son, Rachel was the middle child, and Alex was the youngest (I think).  Throughout the rest of the week, our family grew--we had mistresses, crack-babies, and illegitmate children until everyone joined the family.  One of the last nights in DC, we were out to eat and one of the desserts was called the "Dysfunctional Family Sundae."  And so we were named.

This year, I held the 2nd annual Dysfunctional Family Thanksgiving.  It was a night filled with sparkling cider, pies and stuffing galore, Matt's famous Turkey (which even the vegetarians admitted smelled VERY DELICIOUS!), Rock Band, and good friends.  Heavenly.

Happy Turkey Day :)

so thankful.

2 months later, quite a bit has happened.  Pictures to prove it:

Katie Kellogg and I went to Savannah... for a day.  What did we do?  Everything we could have done in Athens--we read, shopped, and ate.  A lot. But it was lovely. :)

Quote of the weekend:

"You know, I'm glad you have friends."

-My mother.  (Was she doubting this..?)

 

It was also Halloween at the Hardin House... Elyssa MIGHT kill me for putting these up.  But it's probably worth it...

  

We took many a trip to Sonic for late night tots.  Complete with headlamps when our work load was just too much. :)  (I told you those would come in handy...)

 

And Georgia-Florida.  (NOT FLORIDA-GEORGIA)  Wonderful time (did I mention I was sitting at the 50 yard line, 3 rows up?) despite the loss.