p365: january 31

january 31: last day of january! the day actually went pretty quickly for a monday! after work came home and did some things around the apartment, then got ready and went to small group. i had mentioned the other day to bruce that i've been on a nirvana kick lately, so he lent me his unplugged cd to upload to my computer. i'm listening to it right now and i have to say, it's pretty sweet. small group was good, as always. the past two weeks bruce has challenged us to figure out what our passion is, that is what passion has God instilled in us. i'm still contemplating what mine is. you'd think that would be something that i know the answer to right away, but i don't.

Top 10 Places

I've been thinking about all of the places in the U.S. that I think it would be fun to live in. I've been feeling really restless lately, so this has been on my mind a lot. I like to make lists to clear my thoughts.

1. Chicago- I mean duh. If you know me you shouldn't really be surprised.
2. Nashville- I've never been, but for some reason this city has been on my mind a lot lately. I think I would totally dig the music scene.
3. Portland- I've been once, in 8th grade. I loved it, even has a kid. I want to go back and truly experience everything that the city has to offer. Plus, being a fan of Don Miller and reading his books, he talks up the city so much that it's no wonder that I'm a little bit obsessed.
4. Denver- Another place that I've never been, but I've heard it's beautiful. However, I think I would have to practice my bike riding skills. I've heard that Denverians are big into bike riding.
5. Raleigh/Durham- I've grouped these two cities together because I don't really have a preference of one over the other. I really like North Carolina, I'm just tired of living in the Triad area. I think I'd like to explore other areas of the state.
6. Wilmington- Another NC city, but really, the main appeal is the fact that it's a beach town, and who doesn't love the beach?
7. Boston- Never been, but I think I would fit right in. I've got enough attitude at least.
8. Philadelphia- If I had to move back to Pennsylvania, than I don't think I would mind living in Philly. It has it's pros and cons, but still, the city of brotherly love has a place in my heart.
9. Portland, ME- Another coastal town, but this time Northern. I know this is probably unrealistic, but I just imagine eating fresh lobster and relaxing in a hammock on the coast. Don't ask me why.
10. San Fransisco- I'm not a huge California fan, but that may be because I've only been to southern California. I think that I'd like to give San Fran a try.

Who knows if I'll ever live in any of these cities. Right now it's hard to determine what I'm going to be doing tomorrow! But I think I've finally reached a point in my life where I'm down to go wherever God is calling me! Hopefully...prayerfully it's one of these ten amazing U.S. cities!!!

p365: january 30

january 30: lazy sunday. went to church where it was "come and see" day. it was packed! after church went to lunch at panera with mcgee and sam which yummy and fun because i don't get to see them much anymore since they're both student teaching this semester.

came home and took a nap with olive. finally got up and decided to be productive which included cleaning my room and the kitchen, doing laundry, and making sausage balls. i'd say this weekend was a successfully relaxing and fun weekend.

p365: january 29

january 29: fun saturday! picked up balls and amy from campus and headed to burlington to go to all that jas. ordered some gifts there and bought myself this cool cup. went to olive garden for lunch and then headed to sephora.

came home and took a nap, then got ready and went over to bruce and becky's. we went out for dinner then went back to their house. me and becky made chocolate coconut macaroons. yum! after we were done baking we watched the boondock saints 2. it was actually pretty good, better than i had expected it to be. another fun day!

p365: january 28

january 28: friday friday friday!!!! after work i had dinner with jessie at mcallister's. it was a good chance to just chat and catch up. after that her, lauren, and kelly came over to hang out. we went to pick up lauren's mom from the airport, which was actually a lot of fun. good friday night.

i also got my laptop decal in the mail. it's called "rooted in earth."

p365: january 27

january 27: today was a good day. it's not like anything exciting happened, but i was in a good mood, which is a change of pace for me.

ate lunch with kerri on campus. i forgot how much i miss eating at the bakery and the point.

my night consisted of grocery shopping, the gym, and reading. exciting...i know.

i DID get my laptop case thing in the mail. i keep my computer by my bed and olive has been terrorizing it, so i figured i'd get something to protect it. fun fact: it matches my lunch box. :)

morning mash up

last night was not the best night for me. i finally exploded all of the emotion that i've been holding in for about the past 7 months. it was a little bit insane. however, afterwards i felt refreshed and new.  it was as if my body and my heart were forcing me to finally feel what it's been wanting me to feel for the longest time.


this morning i woke up and actually wanted to get out of bed, unlike most days. and then (as cheesy and cliché as this is about to sound) i looked out of my window and saw the sun rise. it was beautiful. the colors were amazing. i wanted to go photograph it. but aside from that, the first thing that popped in my head was the lyrics, "...there may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning." as soon as i thought this it was immediately followed by, "into marvelous light i'm running..." so the whole morning while i was getting ready, i just kept playing both songs over and over in my head, but not individually, it was like a mash-up of both. for example:


"into marvelous light i'm running, out of darkness, out of shame. i know i still make mistakes, but you have new mercies for me everyday. your love never fails. lift my hands and spin around, see the light that i have found. there may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning..."


crazy. i know. if i was more musically inclined i might actually try to re-write both songs into one song or do one of those cool mash-up videos like dj earworm, but i am not that talented.


anyways, when you think about the message that is in both of those songs, it's not really hard to see how my mind confused and mashed them together. both talk about how Jesus is with us through all things, and how we just need to focus on Him and we won't lose hope or our way. 


i think that i have forgotten that for a little bit. at least my heart has forgotten that. in my head i know it's true, but it's been some time since my heart has felt it. lately i've been going through the routine and motions of living for Christ and believing it in my head, but my heart checked out a little bit ago. i think last night's little emotional episode was God's way of shaking me and getting both my head and my heart back on the same page. it wasn't fun. i don't like crying. i don't like sobbing. i don't like feeling weak and vulnerable. but last night was necessary. because "my dead heart now is beating" and i know that He will "make all things work together for my good."

p365: january 26

january 26: the crappy weather reflected my crappy mood. i've been in a funk lately. i'm diagnosing myself as having seasonal depression. ha.

i had a complete emotional breakdown tonight. everything that i've been holding in for the past few months just erupted, and once it started flowing, it wouldn't stop. i don't even know what triggered it. i was on the phone with my mom and the next thing i know i'm crying and sobbing hysterically. then i started crying  more because i didn't exactly know what was wrong and i couldn't make it stop. it was insane. i haven't cried like that in the LONGEST time. seriously, i can't even remember or name a time. i'm talking full on, shoulder shaking, hysterical crying. it was a mess, but now i feel a lot better. i'm really bad at holding things in.  i guess it was only a matter of time until i sprung a leak and a whole flood gushed out.

on a more positive note, i came home from work and had a package from my mom! it was one of my birthday presents. fun stuff from sephora. :) i also took this picture playing around with my fish eye adapter. pretty cool, huh?

p365: january 25

january 25: today seemed to drag on forever. i was exhausted for some reason...and my whole body was sore. went to the phi meeting tonight because i'm now the phi advisor. it was good. this will be an interesting journey. i got home and found out that olive had broken one of my wine glasses. this is the culprit. acting like a princess. she demands attention all of the time. i looked away for a moment and she sprawled herself across my computer...such a brat.

p365: january 24

january 24: i felt sick this morning, so i was worried that i was getting the plague like everyone on campus, but i felt better by the afternoon, so it was a false alarm. they had a cake for me at work, which was really nice, and it was red velvet which is delicious. i got home from work and had two birthday cards waiting for me. one from david and one from alicia. it made me smile a lot and pretty much made my day. went to the gym and then to small group, which was really good. i know i've mentioned it earlier, but i'm really excited about the study we're doing right now. i think it's going to challenge and grow me a lot. it's going to be tough, but good at the same time.

p365: january 23

january 23: birthday! went to church where bruce called me out for being late AND for it being my birthday. so embarrassing. haha. then went to get sushi for lunch with kerri. it was delicious. i came home and meant to only nap for an hour, but didn't wake up till 5:45. oops. i guess i was more tired than i thought. watched some of the nfl play-offs and then some friends came over for birthday cake. lemon chiffon with strawberries from the simple kneads bakery. so wonderful. it was a great birthday weekend.

p365: january 22

january 22: birthday celebration day!!! my actual birthday isn't until tomorrow, but since it's on a sunday and i like to relax on sunday's, i decided to celebrate it today.

slept in till 11:45...which is is really really really late for me, but it was glorious!!! went to the biscuit factory with kelly and lauren for lunch, then just came home and relaxed and read.

went downtown with eliza, amy, balls, and jen to mellow mushroom, cheesecakes by alex, and natty green's. it was great. a nice small group and no stress. it meant a lot to me that they came out with me and that eliza came down to celebrate with me. again, i'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends...truly.

p365: january 21

january 21: friday's are always happy days at work, mainly because i know that it's the weekend. my mom sent me really pretty flowers, african violets, that came in a planter so i can keep them on my desk! after work i picked up eliza and we went downtown to pick up my birthday cake. i also bought some granola, because it is fantastic from simple kneads. well, let's face it...everything is fantastic there. then i went to little tokoyo for dinner with rachel, jessie, caitlin, eliza, and cody. the food was DELICIOUS and it was such a good time. it was a nice reminder of how lucky i am to have such wonderful friends. i think i take that for granted too often...

p365: january 20

january 20: i was a grump at work all day. i don't know what my problem was, but it's like i was determined to not have a good day. i hate when i get like that, but once i'm in a funk...i'm in a funk.  i tried cooking something new tonight, chicken breaded in panko bread crumbs. it actually turned out pretty good! i went to small group (yes, again) and i'm really glad i did, especially after the mood i was in all day. we're doing a study by mark batterson called primal. i'm really enjoying it so far. tonight we talked about the great commandment and how people get so caught up in "religion" that they loose the relationship part. the study is all about getting down to the roots of Christianity. i'm really excited to see where it's going, but sad that i'm going to miss most of it because of phonathon. i think i'm going to buy the book so i can keep up!

p365: january 19

january 19: i changed gyms this past weekend. my new gym has classes and zumba! i'm so excited! i went to my first class tonight with amy. it was a lot of fun. i was a little worried at first, but it wasn't bad. i forgot how much i like zumba, and how much it works you out! also, alicia and i accomplished an epic prank on david today. :)

p365: january 18

january 18: slow day at work. went to feeney's with kelly, lauren, and alyssa. after that came home and watched a lot of 30 rock. i am now on season 4. exciting day...i know.

p365: january 17

january 17: mlk jr. day. hpu faculty and students had the day off, but staff didn't. however, i woke up this morning exhausted and having sinus malfunctions, so i called in sick. i ended up sleeping until 11, which was unexpected, but apparently my body needed it. took sinus medicine and did some errands, including picking up vitamins to boost my immunity during this death plague season (gummy ones of course). hung out with amy a little and went to small group. nothing too exciting, but i think that's exactly what i needed.

p365: january 16

january 16: there was a guest pastor at church today, who gave an encouraging word. after went out to lunch with a big group, which is always fun. came home and got things ready for becky's surprise birthday party! the party was lots of fun and becky was so surprised!!! this weekend was really exhausting, but fun.

p365: january 15

january 15: BID DAY!!!! even though i'm an alum, i was so excited about bid day! phi mu did AMAZING and i'm soooo excited about all of the new phi's! i'm so proud to be a phi mu and i'm excited to see the direction that the chapter is going in. eliza came down for the day and we went out for lunch with some of the sisters. after lunch i hung out the rest of the night with amy.  i was supposed to go out with some of the alum who were in town, but when i got home i fell asleep. it was a crazy day!

p365: january 14

january 14: had the all staff meeting in the morning. nothing too exciting. after work i went to help out at final pref night. i mainly hung out with the reference committee. this is rachel and caitlin who were extremely sleep deprived, but were still smiling and doing and AWESOME job. i watched the party and i was so proud of my sisters.

p365: january 13

january 13: today was really kind of boring. i did go to lunch with kelly, which was nice. but going off campus for lunch or leaving roberts hall is always a bad idea, because i never want to go back to work afterwards. i picked up a package from the leasing office this morning and it was my two new skirts from loft that i got on sale! i can never pass up good/cheap work/professional clothes. went to recruitment again tonight to help and hang out with the girls. it's so good spending time with them. i miss phi mu a lot.

p365: january 12

january 12: my car was acting funny this morning. i think a chunk of ice got caught in my wheel and was dragging against my tire. after driving around the parking lot for a little, it came out and i made it to work. after work went to help at recruitment again with kerri. tonight started skit night. balls stopped by. she's selling these awesome bracelets as a fund raiser for her world race trip. they're from threads of hope and women in the Philippines made them and they get half of the profit. balls will actually get to go to the philippines and meet the women who make them. how awesome is that?! i'm so excited for/jealous of her.

p365: january 11

 january 11: went in to work late because of the weather. on the way to work i stopped in the leasing office to get two packages and one of them was my new camera bag! yaaay! i love it. i can't wait to take it out for a spin!

p365: january 10

january 10: i woke up extremely disappointed. there was this HUGE blizzard scare, so i was thinking that i may get the day off from work, but i awoke to no white, powdery goodness on the ground. so to work i went. recruitment started tonight, so after work i went with kerri to wish the girls good luck and check everything out. i'm so proud of them! the decorations looked great, the power point was wonderful, and everything was flowing so smoothly! it's so strange to be on the other side of things! after the first two parties though i left because it was snowing and i didn't want to get stranded there. i came home and watched "up in the air." it's kind of depressing, but i really liked it. i've come to the conclusion that george clooney will always be a b.a. and beautiful.

p365: january 9

january 9: went to church and heard a good word from pastor keith. came home and made some delicious cliantro brown rice, but then passed out for a good two hours. woke up in time for the game...which was disappointing. i don't want to talk about it. had dinner with balls and picked alyssa up from the airport. liz was also driving back down to florida, so she spent the night. it was a pretty eventful sunday!

p365: january 8

january 8: best friend day with eliza!!! thankfully the weather held off and she could make the trip.

she gave me my christmas present. my favorite thing was a scarf that was made in ethiopia. the organization fashionABLE helps women in africa find jobs making scarfs to make money. your scarf comes with a thank you note from the woman who made it. mine was made by a woman named dember. so cool, right?

today was great. we had lunch at pf changs, then did some shopping in friendly center. i took her to experience red mango, which was delicious. attempted to go to simple kneads downtown to get some bread, but they closed at 5. kind of bummed, but it was okay. it was awesome spending time with her and just catching up.

p365: january 7

january 7: friday friday friday!!!! today's my mom's birthday! i wish i was home to celebrate with her. :( we had a cake before i came back down though...so that was our celebration i guess.

hung out with bruce, becky, and catie hammond. tried to go to ten thousand villages, but it closed at 6. bummer. grabbed dinner at buffalo's then took c. hamm to charming charlie's so she could experience the store's wonderfulness. i got a headband, earrings, and two hair clips. i love that store. you always find something new and it's so affordable! after cc's we went to red mango for some fro yo. yummm. so good!

tomorrow i'm spending quality bff time with eliza. i. can't. wait.

p365: january 6

 january 6: i know, i know. but i couldn't just pick one picture!!! work again, actually, you know what? i'm going to stop putting that...you can just assume monday-friday...i'm at work. woot.

after work went to have coffee with ashely. we went to the green bean in greensboro. stopped at simple kneads bakery to get some yummy treats. this is the alley where the bakery is.

<--alley. pretty lights. me attempting bokeh and failing...

 the simple kneads sign and me again, attempting bokeh and this time being mildly successful. --->

i got tropical green tea at the green bean and a yummy coconut cookie from simple kneads. i really liked the mug they gave me my tea in and contemplated putting it in my bag afterwards for a hot second, however i did not give in to the temptation to steal.

<-- cool mug and delicious cookie!


when we were leaving we saw this awesome VW van across the street! so of course i had to stop and take a picture. i tried to make it look all vintage and cool. i don't think i was very successful with this...

p365: january 5

january 5: blogger was throwing a temper tantrum last night and wouldn't let me upload, but now everything's kosher again. work work work. left work early to go help at the alumni event at wake forest. we had a pre-game thing then went to the game. both teams were awful. i mean, it was so painful to watch...

inspiration

this was on the toms website and i liked it a lot, so i thought i would share. i've been having a rough time at work and this helped me to realize that life is short, and i need to appreciate what i have, while i have it. it also motivates me to continue pursing graduate school and ultimately my phd. life's too short to do things that truly make me unhappy.

p365: january 4

january 4: um. work. totally not exciting. although we did get a gift box from the great harvest bread company. it was sent by mcneil lehman who does a lot of our graphic design work. so i guess that was kind of exciting? i got to see bruce and becky tonight which is always exciting! i haven't seen them since i left for christmas, so it was good to catch up! this is daisy, one of their dogs. played around more with editing. obviously it's black and white and i messed around with dodging and burning...

p365: january 3

january 3: first day back to work. apathetic towards that. we did have a new woman start today, which is good! hopefully i won't be as slammed with work, especially since phonathon is starting up again. went grocery shopping after work with kerri which was actually fun. doesn't sound exciting, i know, but i haaate grocery shopping, so having her to keep me company helped me to forget how much i hate it. spent a relaxing night in watching "date night." i tried to mess around with editing this photo. i basically just played with the hue/saturation. nothing too crazy yet.

p365: january 2

january 2- spent most of the day driving back to north carolina. not very eventful. it was really warm when i got back. it felt like i was returning from spring break, not christmas break.

i hung my new calendar for 2011. it's ansel adams. i love is work and i love black & white photography. it's actually the first thing i've hung on my bedroom walls (i've lived here for 7 months now). i figured it had to be documented.

work tomorrow. blech.

p365: january 1

project 365 2011 commences!!! hopefully i'll be more dedicated to it this year than i was last year. i also hope to mess around with editing my photos more, i'm just lazy with these first two.

january 1, 2011- haaaappy new year!!! i didn't do much since i had to drive back down to nc the next day. did laundry and packed and watched a movie with my mom. then i went over to liz's to say good bye to her and her family. olive was passed out the whole day!