Favorites Friday

Currently I am at work, sitting in the library while my kids watch Pocahantas. These second graders hate sitting down and watching a movie. They also hate playing outside and would rather play in the gym... crazy kids these days!

Even though I just went on a short vacation I am ready for the weekend! It's odd, you go away to relax and rest, but then still need to rest and get used to reality when you're back! Something isn't right about that. Anyways... Here are some things I have been enjoying lately! 

1. It has been nice relaxing the past two days, but once again I packed my bags and headed to visit Reese's family for the weekend. Always nice to get to spend time with them, and it should continue to be a nice relaxing weekend. 

2. I just got done watching Frozen for the first time all the way through. I watched it at work once but it was too hard to pay attention with all the kids singing. By the way, it was SO good and now I know what everyone is talking about. (Even Reese's dog was watching!) 

3. Reese and I are going to start running. And to help with that we are going to sign up for a 5k in June.. Any tips for a new runner?? 

Wish me luck.. 

4. I'm in the mood to travel. I just got back from the beach but I want to travel to places I have never been or other countries. So many people right now are in different countries, and I have to admit I am a bit jealous.. Hopefully I'll get to go to some places soon! 

5. And lastly, I am loving my new blog design. It is definitely me! And I am so happy that Victoria over at Happily Ever Strader was about to design it for me! If y'all haven't been over to here blog, go visit! She is so sweet and definitely inspiring. 

*Thank you so much, Victoria! It was exactly what I wanted!

That's about it that I have to share. Sorry this was posted so late, I had been working on it throughout the day. As you all can tell I am getting back into writing posts and hope to keep this up from now on! Hope everyone is doing well. 

Enjoy your long weekend. 

Eleven Questions

This morning I was reading a post from Life of the Lane's blog called "Eleven Questions." I found it really intriguing and decided that (even though I wasn't tagged) I wanted to do this post as well. I have yet to share basic information about myself and my life with you all and thought that this would be a great post to do so with! :) Here are the questions...

1. What or who inspires your most?

A lot of bloggers inspire me. The girls who are recently married and are pursuing Jesus along with their husbands and their careers. It makes me so excited to eventually get to take part in that lifestyle. (I've always wanted to be a wife, teacher, and mother... its just who I am!)

2. What is a personal accomplishment you are most proud of?

To be honest, they are many little things that I have accomplished that I am most proud of. These are just a few of them:

-Finishing 3 years of college. College is hard, and I am so proud of myself for working hard and giving it all I got and accomplishing 3 semesters on the Deans List.

-My relationship. I never thought that at such a young age I could be in a relationship with someone for almost 6 years (some of it long distance) and I have grown so much from it! I was a very impatient, "I want to see him all the time/I want it now" type of person and I have grown so much from all of that. 

3. Do you have summer travel plans?

I just got back (early this morning, actually) from a few days at the beach with my friends. This was such a great getaway and we learned a lot more about each other! It was also part of my 101 in 1001, 63. Take a spontaneous girls trip. There may be a possibility that I am going on vacation in July with my mom, partly for her birthday and also just to getaway. Then in August I am going to Colorado for my cousins wedding! I have really grown to love traveling. 

4. What is one thing you enjoy about blogging (your blog)?

I love that outlet it gives for my thoughts. It is hard to sometimes to keep what you are learning in but to be able to express it through blogging and realize that many other bloggers are going through the same thing is such a blessing!

5. What is your go-to comfort meal to cook?! (add link to recipe!)

I love spaghetti! I could eat it all the time. I don't have a specific recipe, just some noodles and marinara sauce. But I do add a lot of seasoning to the sauce to give it some extra flavor!

6. Mountains or beach vacation?

This is a hard one for me! Until this past week I hadn't really enjoyed the beach, but now I like it a little more and can relax on it. But I do love the mountains as well! It would probably depend on who I was with and what exactly we would be doing.

7. What is your favorite room (space) in your house and why?

I love my room (in my campus house) because it is my personal space and I have decorated it so that it exemplifies me. It is so calming and comfy, if I do say so myself. 

8. What book are you currently reading?

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Everyone has raved about this book and even though I just started it can understand why! I am also reading Crazy Love. I have two more chapters left and am ready to get it finished! I have had it in my possession trying to finish it for the past two years... YIKES!

9. How did you celebrate your last birthday?

My last birthday was my 21st birthday, and every year my birthday is always during midterms (fun, I know!) So this year I got to spend my birthday in class from 8 am to 9 pm with work in between. I also had a test, paper, and presentation on my birthday! I know how to celebrate!

But then I got home from an exhausted day, and my boyfriend and roommate had surprised me at the house with a few of my friends over and we just hung out and played games! Such a great night :)

10. What is on your bedside table?

Currently on my bedside table- lamp, clock, fan remote, headphones, hair tie, bible, journal, The Fault in Our Stars, and Crazy Love.

11. What are you most grateful for today/this week?

For being able to come home. I love going on trips and experiencing new things, but at the end of the day I just love being able to come home, whether it be my aunts house or my house on campus. I am definitely a homebody!

Hopefully y'all learned a little bit more about me! I need to do more of these type of posts so that you all can get to know me as the blogger over here. :) Have a great rest of your week!

There's No Place Like Home.

Currently I am laying on my aunt and uncles couch because this is my bed for the night. My other aunt is in town visiting & is sleeping in my bed. I was going back to my campus house, but when I got there I was the only one there and I didn't want to sleep in a house by myself, so I got the stuff I needed and came back to my aunt and uncles house, a.k.a home.

I have been staying here for the past week because I wanted to visit and the roommate I am closest to was out of town. Before last week I hadn't realized how much I loved being here, with my aunt and uncle. It is such a special place for me and I feel so comfortable here. 

So I just thought I would share with you all my random thoughts tonight. Never feel like you are too old to go home, because no age is too old. 

Goodnight, from the couch.

A Joyful Life

On Sunday's I go to church at nighttime. The service is called 608, and yes, it does start at 6:08. For the past 3 or so years it has been a place very close to my heart. It was where I found Jesus, gave my life to Him, and spend every Sunday worshipping our glorious Lord. I cannot explain to you all how big of a part my church has been in my life during the past 3 years. Having a place of comfort, where I can go and worship and continue to grow as a christian is much needed in this world that we live in.

Tonight the message was about living a joyful life. Even though this topic is often talked about, it is always a good reminder of how important it is to living such a lifestyle. Growing up I was not necessarily always around the most positive people and I did not grow up having a relationship with Jesus. Even nowadays I am not always surrounded by positive people, which can make being positive and joyful a bit harder. Tonight the message was from Philippians 4:4, simple but so sweet and filled with so much truth.

Our pastor said a few things that really stuck with me tonight... 

Joy is a command, along with a choice.

In the scripture pictured aboved God tells us twice that we should rejoice in Him. He commands us to rejoice because he knows that it is something that can benefit our lives and that we have every reason to rejoice. But He also makes it a choice for us. He wants us to choose joy because it means that we are rejoicing in Him and letting Him take our life into His hands. He wants us to live this way because he knows that it is best for us and will only bring us closer to Him.

It's not joy that makes us grateful, its gratitude that makes us joyful.

I've heard this before, but it continues to be such great truth in my life. If I am living a life full of gratitude how can I go around being anything but joyful. My pastor said tonight, "Joy grows in soil that has been cultivated in humility and fertilized with gratitude." Meaning we have to humble ourselves so that we can become more grateful for what we have. If we are constantly thinking we are better than everyone else we cannot have true joy in our lives because we will never be truly grateful. 

Tonights message made me want to check my own life. Over the next year a lot will be changing and I want to make sure I rejoice in everything that the Lord does in and through me, no matter good or bad. Reminding myself that life can be better if I am only grateful is such a great way to start this last year of college I have. I want to cherish every moment of it and the only way to do that is to be truly grateful in what I am given and then I can rejoice in it! Friends, this is probably one of the toughest things to be able to do, especially when those around you are experiencing and getting things that you may have been longing for in life, but let me tell you... Once you are grateful for what you do have, and you are able to rejoice in Christ Jesus, He truly will bless you in areas you never knew He could. Join me in being grateful, so that I can rejoice in the Lord. It may not be easy but Paul said in Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And He definitely can strengthen us, more than we know. 

Have a joyful week, my friends.

New York Trip

For spring break this year  went back to the big apple with CSF! Last year the trip was split in half, a few days in Washington DC and a few days in New York City, so we weren't able to cross everything off our to-do list!

This years trip was a lot more relaxed and we actually had time to do the things we wanted. Throughout the week we did a lot of shopping/window shopping... surprisingly I didn't buy much while I was there, definitely a good thing!! 

I got my fill of Pinkberry in, even though I still crave it everyday. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at night... Still not sure how I feel about that. We went to the stop of Rockefeller Center. We even decided to be crazy and wake up at 4:30 in the morning to go to The Today Show! Definitely one of the best moments of the trip! I'm not much on a museum person, so if you all are looking for what museums I went to and what I saw, you won't find that here! We did go to Central Park Zoo though. It was small, but I really enjoyed it! I also got to visit the Freedom Tower and the memorial site for the Twin Towers.

Needless to say it was a really good trip with lots of site seeing and adventuring. I am so blessed to have been able to go to New York twice, and with all of my best friends. Definitely memories that I will cherish and have for a lifetime! Here are some of the pictures from the trip... Enjoy!

May Goals

Hello, sweet friends! The semester is almost over and since I knew that after next week I would have an abundance of time, I wanted to get back in gear with my blog. I know I have definitely slacked the last two months but so much has gone on! I will be updating y'all on my life in a soon post, but today I want to share with you guys my May Goals!

2. Finishing reading Crazy Love. 

I also have another book that isn't a Christian book that I started as well...
The Fault in Our Stars. 

5. Memorize a verse for May. 

I didn't for March or April, but that is okay!

63. Take a spontaneous girls trip. 

Two of my friends and I are going to Myrtle Beach in a few weeks!! 

Can't wait to get away for a few days :)

72. Try running.

77. Organize my iPhoto.

78. Print out my Haiti pictures.

79. Print out pictures I want to keep.

80. Go through clothes at the end of fall/winter. 

Since I am moving back home in June this is definitely a must!

I can't wait for summer and to see what it brings to me! It has been a great school year, but I am definitely ready for a long summer before my insanely busy school year starts next year (YAY for Practicum and Student Teaching semesters!) Only two tests left and then it is officially summer for this practicum student!! Hope everyone is doing well.

A Quick Hello.

Since I have some time today, because of schools having a snow day which means no work for me, I decided that I would post a short little update for you all!

-This semester we have had so much snow. Like saying that 30-35ish degrees is warm is crazy! That means we are way too used to these cold temperatures. Public schools where I live haven't had any but one full week (possibly two) of school since winter break. I am not a summer person... but needless to say I can't wait for summer. Reese and I did get a warmer day where we went on a nice Sunday hike.

-My birthday is TOMORROW! Like where did these past 21 years go?!? I seriously am baffled that I will be turning 21, and that even it is March. I am so excited for another year and cannot wait to see what God has planned for me. I pray that these year I grow even deeper in my relationship with Christ.

-Next friday I leave for New York City on spring break. I cannot wait to go back to this amazing city for an entire week with my best friends. We are already planning what we want to do so that we don't waste any time. Praise Him for a year of new friends that have blessed my life so much. I cannot wait to share with everyone what all we do while in New York. 

-Reese and I have been going on simple, but sweet coffee dates before our classes each week. I cannot tell you how much it warms my heart to get to spend some sweet time with this special guy. I have grown to respect him more than I ever have before and this makes me love him even more. I am so grateful for such an amazing guy.

-I get to check off something on my 101 in 1001! About two weeks ago my friend found a GroupOn for $60 a night at a hotel in Myrtle Beach. So we booked it in less than 30 minutes. I have never done anything like that and cannot wait to take a short trip to the beach with my friends in May. 

-I have been going to my placement at an elementary school for about 3 weeks now. I really am loving being in the schools and around kids even more. I am, although, very stressed about everything I must do with lesson planning but I know that God will bring me through all of this. It is so exciting to know that I am so close to being in my dream career, but it is also so scary. I am so excited to see how I grow in the next year and how God continues to prepare my heart for teaching.

Thats all I really have for you all. I'm pretty busy before I head off to NYC next week, but I am planning to post my March goals for you all this weekend. I pray that everyone is doing well and staying warm during this never-ending winter.