Life in Technicolor

Yes, I have started a SECOND blog, notice SECOND. That means I will still keep up with this one for everyday stuff. No worries J. Crowe.

A few frustrations from this past week.

Why do guys insist on wearing those gym shirts with HUGE cut out arm holes. Really. I don't want to see what all is going on in there. Are those necessary? Especially when you're walking on campus with books in your hand. I've seen the same guy multiple times on different occasions. Where is "What Not To Wear" when you need them?

BTW, I love that show. Sometimes when I'm shopping or out somewhere, and I'm dressed really horrible (as in the normal lacksadaisical approach I have with my outfits), I look for Stacey and Clinton to pop out at me. And then I practice reactions in my head, like will I be shocked? Totally cool and calm? Happy? Mad?

Who am I kidding? I'll give them the ugly cry face of joy and put on my shrilly voice (Re: Phil Fulmer story).

Another frustration for the week...not being able to find any images on google that match what I'm talking about. Too many options for "gym shirt arm hole cutout" search.

I also thought about deal breakers today. You know, deal breakers. Things that end the possibility of liking someone new. For me, I realized that a major deal breaker would be if the guy had his name inscribed on his driver's side window. I saw a guy in Maryville today with Derald (written in cursive) branded on his driver's side window. I just don't think I could date someone who has these sort of tendencies. Do you forget who you are and need to be constantly reminded when getting in your car? Or maybe you're just promoting reading while driving...or think that someone will see it and go "Oh yeah, that's Derald. I know that guy."

Maybe I'm too picky (hence the singlehood at 27), or maybe I just want to keep my name written on paper, not etched in glass.

What's a dealbreaker for you?

New Blog

I started my new blog...

READ IT HERE.

I might as well face it, I'm addicted to blogging.

I have found a new love. Blogging.

Not so much my blogging, as much as reading other people's blogs. I yearn to be as raw, thoughtful, and open as some people are with their lives and feelings. And to relate it to others, in a way that makes you feel at home.

I want to write as if I'm talking to my best friend of 20 years. I want to find more joy in my daily life. I want to be satisfied with everything around me and share it with the world.

If you have never read nienie's blog, you must start doing so now. She is one of the most inspirational people ever, and her life looks like a realsimple magazine ad. It kinda makes me envious. She was in a plane crash with her husband a year ago, and her blog chronicles her life before and after that. Pretty amazing stuff. Thanks to Bridget and J. Crowe for hooking me on that.

Blogging just opens up a new world. People's lives unearthed. New ways of thinking. New sentences to read. New ideas to ponder. I LOVE IT.

Thursdays are for Thanksgiving 2.0

Yo.

So I'm going to start a second blog this weekend. I can't tell you the name yet, that would ruin the surprise. But it's going to be different from this one and I think I'll enjoy writing it and hope someone can benefit from reading it. Let's hope people read it.

I've officially been in school for a week. I'm thankful I haven't given up.

Other thanksgivings:

Excess Financial Aid (finally!)-and yes, those three words are important enough to capitalize each of them for no reason.

Beautiful mornings and gorgeous sunsets.

New friends, old friends, and random strangers who wear such crazy outfits that they make me want to be their friend.

My iPod shuffle (in pink) that Mrs. Kathy, Mrs. Joyce, and Mrs. Diane gave me for my birthday, it has provided an awesome soundtrack for my ears (added plus: it can also serve as unsuspecting runway music for said individuals who wear the funky clothing while walking on campus).

The courage to start my new blog.

The most comfortable bed in the world. Nothing special, it's just that comfy.

Target. The end of that statement.

Belly laughs from the "traveling kitties" story at the CSC lunch today. Don't ask for repeats...it will probably never be that funny again.

The rediscovery of my book "The Lost Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey upon unpacking.

Being blessed.

Who Wants Anti-Bacterial Steak?

Who Wants Anti-Bacterial Steak?

Shared via AddThis

I read this off of the man in a van project website, which happens to be an interesting blog about a guy traveling around America, who lets people affected by the recession share their story on his van, as Art. His blog tells their stories and some of the experiences he faces along the way. Very good stuff.

What I'm Meditating on Today.

I have great thoughts. I even ponder these thoughts in well-formed, poetic sentences. Somehow, these thoughts never translate to the written word quite like I want them to. I'm working on that.

Today something great happened. I discovered J. Crowe's rediscovery of the blogging world. She is amazing.

I've meditated on the fact, that as of yesterday, my fbook is OFFICIALLY gone. Deleted. Not just deactivated. Deleted. Over 1200 pictures, numerous notes, 300 plus friends gone. I guess I'll have to crawl into a hole and die now. How will life ever go on?

Well, so far...so good.

Other meditations from today:

I wish I had hours to immerse myself in anything and everything spiritual. But even when given just an hour I don't always take advantage of it. It's always..."When I have more time."

I'm reading a book called Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. It's about a woman's beauty and rediscovering the beautiful soul that God intended us to have. It's pretty stinkin' amazing (as Amelia would say) and I'm excited that the girls' Mustard Seed Bible Study group at the CSC is studying it this fall.

Every woman has a beauty to unveil.
Every woman.
Because she bears the image of God. She doesn't have to conjure it, go get it from a salon, have plastic surgery or breast implants. No, beauty is an essence that is given to every woman at her creation.

(Chapter 2 "What Eve Alone Can Tell")

It's hard to remind myself of that while looking at my puffy eyes and swollen cheeks at 6 a.m. Or when wearing the same old tshirt, jeans, and flipflops next to the vogue-esqe girls in class. Or on frizzy, flat hair days. But God made me beautiful. God made all of us beautiful.

My secret sister at Greenback last fall gave me a daily flip calendar that I keep by my mirror. It's 365 secrets of beauty (from a Christian perspective). It's full of quotes, scripture, thoughts, etc.

I really liked yesterday's thought: If we are truly living for the Lord, we should have a special way about us--something totally different from the world.

That's my thought to ponder this week. Having a special way about me that's different from those I see everday. An inner beauty unparallel to those of the world. God gave it to me, it's about time I use it.

Ok, It's Alright With Me.

Tonight I'm starting a LOST!? marathon at the CSC here at UT. I'm so excited to go back and watch all the episodes starting at season 1. Additional excitement because I'm organizing something again. I miss those days from FH.

I started school last Wednesday, and it's going to be a tough semester. I've been in Gen Ed classes pretty much for the past 8 years of my college career. Now I'm getting into the specifics. I declared my major as Speech Language Pathology in the Spring, and this semester I began my first classes in that field.

My schedule for the Fall:

Language Development
Communication Disorders
Intro to Hearing Science
Clinical Phonetics
Portuguese 211

Yikes. I've always just done easy things like History or Tolkien class. Now I have classes which are actually going to challenge me, and teach me things I never knew existed. But, I'm excited and up for the challenge. Bring on the A's!

I'm finishing unpacking the last of my boxes today, putting up the last of my stuff into the nooks and crannies of my apartment. You'd be amazed at how good I am at ratpacking things.

Last, but not least, pray for my Papaw as he had to go to the hospital on Wednesday after having his knee give out while getting ready for work. He didn't have to stay overnight, and the tests showed he wasn't suffering from a bloodclot. The doctor gave him a cortizone shot Friday and thinks it wasn't due to any major problems.

Thursdays are for Thanksgiving

Thursdays ARE for Thanksgiving (technically). However, Thursdays are also for giving thanks.

Today I'm thankful for a multitude of things.

1. I'm thankful for a downhill walk TO class, so I can save up all my sweatiness and red-faced flushed cheeks for the hilly trek back to my car.

2. I'm thankful for free parking at the CSC. The $600 I spent on my parking pass last year for Vol Hall is all the parking money I plan to spend in these years at Tennessee.

3. J-Phil's return this weekend.

4. Amelia's sunglasses that she left in Knox, that way I had a way to shield my eyes from the sunny glare on an early morning drive.

5. New music=new memories.

6. The settled feeling I have after moving into my new apartment. I feel like I have real roots in Knoxville now.

7. Being 27...after watching all these 20 year olds in class, I appreciate the way I've grown in the past few years.

8. Speaking of growing, I'm thankful for being able to embrace a new yearning for adulthood and the strength God has given me to finally "retire" my Pink Chicks shirt. (This requires a special blog entry but I'm just helping you transition to the idea).

9. Walking on campus and bumping into old friends.

10. God giving me special moments in my life right when I need them.

Meditation Monday: Transformed

Ezekiel 36:26-27
(26) And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
(27) And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Yesterday, Jacob (preacher at Gback) talked about being transformed upon becoming a Christian.

He pointed out that our transformation should be
1) Radical--The Bible doesn't say you've been tweaked or improved upon salvation, you've been transformed or made new.
2) Gradual--This change doesn't happen overnight. Don't give up on yourself if you still struggle with things of this world, rely on God to help you transform over time.
3) Internal--It's from the inside out. Once your mind and heart are focused on God, the rest of your life will follow.
4) Supernatural/Providential--We have to rely on God to change us if we are willing. We can't do it alone.

Your will above all else, my purpose remains

The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades

Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control

Consume me from the inside out Lord

And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise

From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out

Desperately Wanting

Just saw our first big roach tonight, I think technically it was a water bug. Either way it was GROSS! Tiffany (my roommate) and I did the "I'm so grossed out I can't walk" jig across the kitchen while yelling. Nothing a little BIGSEXY hairspray, some screaming, and my flipflop couldn't handle though. I hate the heebie jeebies you get after killing one of those, my skin was crawling.

I'm thinking about making my blog a journal entry for my spiritual life, seekings, readings, etc. A daily scripture, good thought, etc. Don't we all need encouragement? I know it would help me.

My precious J-Phil comes home from Costa Rica in less than 2 weeks. I'm so excited to talk to her again, emails just don't cut it when you haven't talked to one of your best friends in almost 2 months. After our girls' weekend (with Amelia and Bridget), I realized I take my friends for granted far too often. Not everybody is blessed to have such great Christian friends like I do, and I need to appreciate them more. They are amazing! There are too many to name, but I'm so grateful to know I have the support system that I do. People who are real, who care, who pray for me when I am weak. Don't take these friends for granted! Write them a note or give them a call to tell them thanks for being there.

I'll post pictures of my apartment, bath products, and such soon. I am trying to still get everything organized.

1500 Miles and a new place to call HOME

Between Thursday and Monday, I drove over 1500 miles, traveling from Memphis, through 4 states, and back home to Knoxville. Thankfully, my back brakes waited to go out on me until my last leg back home.

I had the best girls' weekend with Bridget and Amelia, showing them Knox, road tripping to Charlotte for the coldplay concert, crying, laughing, hugging, and making memories to last a lifetime. I love those girls. Bridget is turning 26 today, big BIRTHDAY shoutout!

It's good to be in my new apt. in Knox. I love it. It feels good to have a more permanent place for all my things (bath products included!). School starts a week from today, 2 more years and I'll have an undergraduate degree in Speech Path! Woo hoo!

I've officially deleted fbook. Jules says I'll be back, I say I won't.
I think I'll win.

Packin' it up.

One day I'll find a man who loves me, and all my bath products.

When I was visiting Bridget in July, she commented that I had more bath products than anyone she knew...and that was only my travel bag. Yesterday while packing up all my things for my move to Knox, I spent an hour in the bathroom packing lotions, creams, soaps, shampoos, scrubs, etc. And I'm still not done. I admit it--I may have a problem.

Maybe I just like to smell good. Maybe I just like bath products. Maybe I need help.

Number 14 on my list of 28 things to do before I'm 28-
"Do not spend any more money on bath products until all current products are used."

Having to make that a life goal might be a little sad.

3 days until Knox, Coldplay, and girls weekend.