I have been thoroughly enjoying Christmas break at home in Montgomery. My break started earlier than expected on Thursday when we were surprised with a half-day of work. Merry Christmas to us! I have been busy with getting things ready to move back next weekend, finishing up some last minute shopping, and spending time with family and friends I have missed so much.
Two of the roomies came to Montgomery to visit yesterday. Mallory is home from New York and was visiting family in Montgomery, so Laura decided to join us for some much needed quality time. We had a blast catching up, eating my mom's homemade pound cake (yumm!), and drinking hot chocolate.
Laura even surprised me with what is quite possibly the coolest gift she will ever give me.
Add a hot beverage...
...and you get a coffee mug any Harry Potter fan would approve of.
She knows me so well. I'm so fortunate to have friends who share my crazy obsession healthy love for all things Harry Potter.
{laura, nat, and me at the mid-night showing of deathly hallows part 1}
I am excited about spending the next few days celebrating with the people I love. The family and I will be heading to the Christmas Eve service at church in a few hours and will come home for our annual french toast breakfast-for-dinner. Maybe we will even watch a little Christmas Vacation or Elf to get us in the Christmas spirit. The Griswolds and Buddy the Elf have a way doing that.
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I realize it's been an extremely long time since I last posted. Life has seriously gotten in the way. With so much going on, I have found little time to dedicate to my blog.
I have so much to be thankful for and the month of November was full of blessings. I am reminded of one of my favorite hymns: Count your many blessings, name them one by one.
1. My sweet friend Suzanne came to Milledgeville to visit
2. I was accepted into the January 2012 Dietetic Internship class at Iowa State University!!
This is the big news I was referring to at the end of the last post. This internship is a distance program which means will go to Iowa for one week in January (brrrrr!!) and will come home to complete all of my rotations. That's right... I said home!! I'm sad to leave my friends and co-workers in Milledgeville, but could not be more excited to be back in Alabama and closer to my family and friends again. I also cannot wait to get started with my internship. While I know it will quite possibly be the hardest 6 months of my collegiate career (50 hours of clinicals weekly + grad school courses) I have never been more excited for school. I know this is God's plan for my life and I could not be happier!
3. My dad started a new job
This past year has taught my family to fully rely on God in every situation. I am thankful for parents who love the Lord and have taught my brother and I to trust in HIS provision.
4. I did not work a full week (in the clinic) the whole month of November
November holds two state holidays (Veterans Day and Thanksgiving) which means I got a bunch of days off! The way the schedule worked out, I worked no more than 4 days each week this month! Thank goodness for short work-weeks and long weekends...
5. I celebrated my 24th year of life
6. My little younger brother turned 18!!! Whoa.
7. My sweetest, prettiest, favoritest cousin turned 20 on the same day. Double woah.
8. Breaking Dawn Part 1 is now in theaters
I know it's silly to be thankful for this, but it's my blog and I'll be silly if I want to. Oh how I love the Twilight. I also spent the better part of the last two weeks re-reading all four books. Don't judge me.
9. Thanksgiving Day
Since we had a much smaller group this year (12 of the possible 23), we spent Thanksgiving Day at the lake. We still had all of the regular grub to munch on, but it was nice to have a change of scenery. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, ate delicous food, and played our usual rowdy game of Apples-to-Apples. It was a successful Thanksgiving Day in my book.
10. Iron Bowl 2011
I am well-aware of the fact that Auburn lost this football game. However, I'm always thankful to be in Auburn and show my school spirit. WAR EAGLE!
11. Black Friday
I have never been one to really participate in the Black Friday shopping festivities. While I was not up with you crazies at 5am, I did spend the whole day shopping with the madre and finished most of my Christmas shopping. We also took full advantage of the California Yogurt Kraze buy-one-get-one-free Black Friday special. Score!
12. I spent ALOT of quality time with friends and family
13. Friends are gettin' hitched
My high school friend turned freshman year roomate, Ashley Pavey, got engaged a few months ago. But I didn't have a blog then... so I'm thankful for it now! I cannot wait to stand by her side in April as she marries the man of her dreams.
Also, my life-long friend turned sorority sista, Jenna Brendle, got engaged the day before Thanksgiving. Thankful that she, too, will be marrying the man of her dreams very soon.
14. Christmas is a comin'
I really love everything about Christmas. The music, the decorations, the shopping, the gift giving, the cheery feel in the air... EVERYTHING. I have been listening to Christmas music since early November and put my wreath on my door before I left for Thanksgiving so that it would already be up when I returned. This really is the most wonderful time of the year!
I hope everyone had a blessed November and has as much to be thankful for as I do.
{hanging out in the cubby above the closet in our dorm room sophomore year}
She was my very first friend at Auburn Univeristy. We were in the same Pi Chi group for sorority rush and bonded instantly. Obviously we were meant to be friends because we both pledged Alpha Omicron Pi. The rest was history.
{at an auburn football game freshman year}
I've mentioned the Auburn roomies before and this special lady was one of the original fabulous four.
While we added others to the roomie club, the four of us have been thick as thieves since the new member retreat at Camp Ascca two weeks into our freshman year. The convo on the bunk beds went something like this:
Mallory: "We should all live together on the hall next year."
Natalie: "We could put all four beds in one room and use the other as a living room!"
Suzanne: "And we can be best friends forever!"
Me: "Done."
{me, suz, mal, and nat- before the redneck riviera swap/social freshman year}
Five years later we are all living in different states (Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and New York) and persuing lives of our own. But we will jump on any chance to spend time together and pretend like we are all still college roomies with no worries in the world.
Imagine my excitement when Suzanne told me she was coming to Milledgeville to visit this weekend! She was my first non-family/non-boyfriend guest and I couldn't have been happier to have someone to share this beautiful fall weekend with. Waiting for Friday afternoon was like waiting for Christmas morning. It couldn't get here quick enough.
Friday night we went to dinner at The Brick in downtown Milledgeville and split an appetizer that could have fed a small army. We went on a quick tour of the town, including a drive-by of the new Kroger that opened last week. It's supposedly the largest in the state and kind of a big deal. Oh the joys of living in a small town. We stayed up until 2am watching movies, eating cookies and pretzel M&Ms, and talking about everything under the sun.
Saturday morning we got a late start. We had our morning coffee and ate strawberry muffins for breakfast at 11am! Later, we went to Macon, GA for a Christmas craft show at the convention center. It was comparable to Holiday Market in Montgomery for all of my Alabama friends. We browsed all of the booths, tasted most of the dip, soup, and hot chocolate samples, and both purchased Auburn shaped cookie cutters.
We spent our evening eating crock-pot potato soup (will post recipe later) and watching the National Championship Bama v. LSU football game. I apologize to all of my Bama friends. I'm afraid that my actually wanting Alabama to win a football game was a kiss of death. I promise it will never happen again. Please forgive me.
We each caught the other up on our new favorite TV shows. Mine is Once Upon a Time and hers is Pan Am. They actually air back-to-back on ABC on Sunday nights. We stayed up until 2am for the second night in a row watching the previous episodes of both shows. If you're looking for a great way to spend your Sunday nights, I highly recommend tuning into ABC from 8pm-10pm (7pm-9pm for you Alabama folks).
We got up this morning, drank our coffee, and prepared Suz for her long journey back to Dothan, AL. She said her goal was to make it back in time to fill her mom in on Once Upon a Time and watch the new episodes of our shows tonight.
It was so nice to have company this weekend. While I enjoy my downtime and have learned to appreciate weekends alone in Milledgeville, it was so nice to spend this weekend with one of my best friends. I actually told her last night that I felt like she was still my roommate and that I was starting to forget that she didn't actually live here.
{tailgating in auburn a few weeks ago}
That's all for now. I'm off to pass the time while I eagerly await the big news I'll recieve tonight. Please pray that I am content with whatever answer I get. I am trusting in God's will for my life and know that my future is in his hands. Great things are on the horizon and I am excited to see what the future holds. I'll share more when I know more.
I celebrated Halloween a few days early this year. Funny thing is, I hadn't planned on celebrating at all. It just kind of happened. It seems like the weekends that "just kind of happen" turn out to be the most fun.
I decided to go to Auburn for the Ole Miss game and was invited to a Halloween party Friday night hosted by one of my former college roommates. As of Thursday I had given absolutely no thought to what I could possibly be for Halloween. I decided to dress up as a cowgirl. I know it's not super creative, but it was the best I could come up with last minute. I already had most of the items in my closet and knew it was a costume that would be cute and easily recognizable.
When I left Milledgeville Friday afternoon, I called Lee to find out if he had come up with anything to wear. At that point, he was still costumeless. I suggested going as a prep and wearing a pink polo shirt, khaki slacks, and a sweater around his neck. Again, not the most creative. But I knew he had all of those items in his closet and I assumed this was the final decision. Boy was I wrong.
When I got to Auburn I found out he had come up with a great costume idea that actually went with mine. "Cowboy?" you ask. Oh no... that would be too easy. Lee's imagination is far too great to settle for a cowboy.
That's right... he went as a RODEO CLOWN!!! Sadly, he also had all of this in his closet too. The green Dickey shorts were purchased for the Lambda Chi Alpha Bling Bling Fling in 2008. They are a size 40 (he wears a 32) and were held up by the rope-suspenders and a paper clip. The striped socks were from the co-ed intramural softball team we played on in Auburn Spring 2010. The other clothing items are pretty self-explanatory. He did a great job of putting together such a fantastic costume in virtually no time.
I had no idea he was such a fan of dressing up and going all out for Halloween. It's fun to still learn new things about each other even after 5 years. He was serious about that facepaint and kept telling me my costume wasn't "halloweeny" enough. He was by far the most elaborately costumed person at Jessica's party and waltzed around downtown Auburn like he owned the place. His confidence for new and potentially intimidating social situations truely amazes me.
The night started at Jessica's Halloween party. Let me just say, this girl knows how to throw a good theme party. I wish I had taken more pictures of the decorations and food.
The walkway leading to her front door was lined with light-up ghosts, a witch was hanging from the awning above her door, and a vibrating noise maker was stuck in the bushes beside her door. Inside was decorated with rubber eyeballs and spiders in glass jars, a Halloween themed tree in the center of the table, and hanging sparkly bats. She also had a bonfire out back with orange lights, more hanging bats, and a skeleton made from paper plates. I'm really not a fan of scary Halloween decor, but Jess knows exactly the right combination of cute and kinda disturbing to make for the perfect Halloween party.
The food was also perfect. She made the basic party foods including spinach dip, hashbrown casserole, chicken wings, hamburgers, ribs, and a cheeseball with crackers. She also had halloween cupcakes, a graveyard made from a chocolate dessert with Milano cookies reading "RIP" stuck in like headstones, and finger treats made from melted white chocolate, pretzels, and green food coloring.
Unfortunately this is the only picture I took at her party. It does show the food and some of the decorations though. She was dressed as Pebbles Fintstone. And yes, that is a real doggy bone in her hair. She does love "the Halloween." Those of you who know Jess know that she loves to put "the" in front of most proper nouns. It's one of those things we have all come to love about this crazy girl.
We ended the night in downtown Auburn along with most of the student body. My favorite costumes of the night were:
Smurfs- two guys wearing white shorts, white hats, and painted blue bodies
Easter Bunny- a guy wearing a mall-style Easter Bunny costume
Allstate Mayhem Guy- wearing a black suit, a butterfly bandage on his forehead, makeup for a shiner on his eye, and a pink sports-band on his head.
We had a great time at Quixotes dancing to the musical stylings of DJ Ozz including Michael Jackson's 'Thriller', N'Sync's 'Bye, Bye, Bye', and 'C'est La Vie' by B*Witched (see video below for more on that last one). He obviously played new songs too, but those weren't nearly as memorable.
Please tell me someone else remembers this song too. I think Disney Channel used to play this video circa 1998. I probably haven't heard this song, nor have a thought about it, since around 5th or 6th grade. But even 12 years later, I somehow remember every word. Maybe the video will help jog your memory.
{C'est La Vie by B*Witched}
I celebrated my 23rd Halloween with friends, food, and lots of fun. Hope your festivities were equally as refreshing.
I have a serious sweet tooth. It's kind of a problem. When I found this recipe on Pinterest, I knew it was one I had to try for myself. It's originally from this blog.
The great thing about this recipe is that it has only three ingredients: chocolate, peanut butter, and candy corn. You heard me right... CANDY CORN!
Apparently when melted candy corn and peanut butter are mixed together something magical happens.
Ingredients:
1 lb. candy corm
16 oz. peanut butter
16 oz. chocolate candy coating
Melt the candy corn in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir and heat again at 15 second intervals until completely melted.
{in case you were wondering, this is what melted candy corn looks like. interesting...}
Stir in peanut butter. I'll warn you; this part takes some elbow grease. I found it helped to mix as much as I could, put in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, then mix again.
{don't let the appearance fool you. it's delish}
Now the recipe said to spread the mixture in a 8x8 dish covered in parchment paper. However, I found it easier to use a rolling pin on wax paper and flatten it out sugar cookie style.
Let cool completely. I stuck mine in the refrigerator for a few minutes to speed up the cooling process. Cut into squares.
Dip each square into melted chocolate. I used Baker's Dipping Chocolate because it's super easy for dippin' stuffs in it.
{i never said it wasn't messy.}
I have no idea how to cover the whole square in chocolate. In order to make sure there is a bit-o-chocolate in every bite, I drizzled extra chocolate over each piece. Big grin, eyebrow wiggle.
I did this by filling a ziploc bag with melted chocolate, cutting the corner out, and going to town. If you're fancy you could use a piping bag. But I'm not fancy.
TA-DAAA!!
I'll be taking these to work tomorrow to prevent scarfing down the whole batch myself.
If you've been around for any period of time you know that Lee Rambo is a fan of the self-portrait. My camera has captured many a head-shot documenting formals, beach trips, and nights with friends. I love loading pictures onto my computer and finding a self-portrait of Lee cheesin' that I didn't know existed. Over the years, these pictures have become some of my favorites and only add to the long list of reasons I love spending time with this boy.
I think this tradition started at my Alpha Omicron Pi pledge formal Fall 2006. I have a self-portrait to document almost every formal we attended in college. These are some of my favorites...
{the one that started it all}
{bus trip to columbus, ga spring 2008}
{he was obviously slacking on his date/boyfriend duties by neglecting to take a picture of me and my lovely friends. instead we got this.}
{10 points for creativity}
{handsome devil.}
Our many beach trips were not left out of the self-portrait club...
{diggin' the hat, dude}
{spring break 2009. not sure who the peace sign photo bomb belongs to.}
...Nor were the Auburn games. WAR EAGLE!!!
{unfortunate finger placement}
{nice job capturing some of our unexpecting tailgate guests}
{8 points for artistic use of space}
Sometimes friends join in on the self-portrait sessions.
{lee and carlie. there are no words.}
And while this last photo isn't technically a self-portrait, I think you'll agree with me on my decision to include it in this post.
{i'm unbelievably happy this picture is in existence. it really does my heart good}
I hope you enjoyed my selection of self-portraits from the one and only Lee Rambo. There are more where these came from and I can assure you there will be more to come. I'm pretty sure Lee has never read my blog, but I hope he knows how happy these pictures make me.
One of my favorite cold-weather meals is my mom's corn chowder. It has a warmth that's good for the soul and a thickness that sticks to the bones. I needed a taste of home on this chilly Sunday in October, and decided corn chowder was just the ticket.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped onion
4 Tbsp margarine
1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups milk
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 pkg little smokies sausages, sliced
4 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
Saute onion in margarine until tender, but not brown.
Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.
Add milk.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly.
Stir in cheese, sausage, and corn.
Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
This is a very easy recipe and took a total of 30 minutes to prepare. I actually used turkey sausage little smokies this time and it turned out great. I guess that's the nutritionist in me coming out!
Sometimes we all need words of encouragement; other times we are presented with the opportunity to offer these encouraging words.
As a recent college grad, I often feel like I need encouragement more than I am able to provide it. Like many others, my college graduation brought major transitions and high stress situations. Upon moving away and starting a new job, every day felt like a battle for survival. Just when I would start to relax, I realized I had to wake up and start it all over again the next day. In addition to feeling like an incompetent fool at my first big-girl job, I also struggled with feelings of sadness and loneliness over leaving my friends and family.
Some of the most encouraging words came from my sweet friend, Mallory. While all of my friends offered me support, most were still living in Auburn when I moved to Milledgeville. Mallory, on the other hand, had recently moved to New York City. I was able to confide in her and found such comfort knowing that these feelings were not out of the ordinary. She was able to offer me affirmation and helped me realize that eventually things would get easier...
...and they did.
Over the past few months, other friends have graduated, moved away, started jobs, and started grad school. They have come to me with some of the same concerns I took to Mallory. I find joy in being able to help them through their insecurities by offering them encouragement and hope.
I don't think we ever outgrow needing help from our family and friends. For every good day, there is sure to be a hard day in the future. But the encouragement we receive in the hard times helps us to offer the same comfort to others.
I leave you with this email I recently received entitled "just a little enouragement":
Hey bestiepants.
This is my personal stash of encouragement. I have it in hard copy and carry it in a folder with me everywhere.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity and fear but a spirit of power love and self discipline.
Psalm 37:4 delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Isaiah 40:31 they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
2 Corinthians 12:9 my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Colossians 3:23-24 whatever I do, I must work at it with all my heart. I am working for the Lord, not for men. I know that I will receive an inheritance from the Lord as my reward. It is the Lord Christ I am serving.
Philippians 3:13-14 but one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.
2 corinthians 4:17-18 for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. so we fic our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Best friend- print this out and meditate on it daily. These verses are my go to when I'm blue. Trust in His goodness even when things feel dark.
Love you. Mal
This little guy makes my coffee yummy and puts a smile on my face every morning.
I first saw him on Pioneer Woman and thought he was just the cutest thing. My sweet mom surprised me with a cow creamer of my very own! She found them at Pier One Imports on sale for $3.99! I know what all my friends are getting for Christmas this year.
I'm just glad the cream pours out of the front-end if ya get my drift.
Two days after I started blogging, my computer bit the dust. I'm talking no power what-so-ever. Good news is I now have a plethora of posts filed away in the blog portion of my brain and I'm not anticipating another hiatus any time soon. I'm here to stay.
Over the past couple of weeks I have had constant reminders of my need to rely on God's perfect timing. I tend to try to plan out every detail of my life and get disappointed when things don't go according to my plan. While it's healthy to set goals and look to the future, obsessing over how and when events in my life will transpire can be detrimental. I was served a rather large piece of humble pie recently that reminded me that only God knows what the future holds. I am working on surrendering my worry and trusting in God's perfect timing.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
On a completely unrelated note, I'm really diggin' this tunage. I think the lyrics are kinda genius and the chorus is just so darn catchy. My fondness for this song may or may not have something to do with Adam Levine. Holla.
Today was one of those days where it would have been easy to have a bad case of the Mondays. It was back to reality after a fun, three-day weekend. However, I decided to be thankful for a great weekend instead of dwelling on the fact that it's over now. Let's recap:
Friends--
Friday night included a road trip to Birmingham for Mallory's birthday celebration. Everyone has a great time talking, laughing, and catching up. We don't get to see each other nearly as frequently as we would like, so we make the most of our time together.
{auburn friends: cooper, mal, me, laura, nat, and claire}
{taleeda court roomies; suz, jess, and kristi were greatly missed}
SIDE NOTE: I had the best roommates a girl could ever wish for. They will forever be known as the Auburn "roomies". More on these amazing ladies to come in later posts.
We relocated to a restaurant in downtown Mountain Brook. The laughter and hilarity were in no short supply.
That wall looks like cheese. -Lee Rambo
Lee and I also got to spend some time with our dear friends Jospeh and Carlie. We couldn't be more excited as these two prepare to get hitched in May 2012.
{lee, me, carlie, joseph}
Family--
Before the game Saturday, I spent some time at the Auburn cheerleader tailgate visting my cousin, Mary Catherine. I'm pretty sure she's the CUTEST.THING.EVER.
{auburn cousins}
I also spent some much needed QT with this lovely lady this weekend. Our hour-long coffee date Sunday afternoon was far too short. I do believe we could talk oursleves hoarse if there were enough hours in the day. Sweet cousin- You're the best.
{sarah katherine and me}
Football--
To say I love Auburn football is a vast understatement. That actually goes for anything Auburn. I love being part of the Auburn family and wouldn't trade it for anything. Win or lose... I believe in Auburn and LOVE IT!
I leave you with this...
My dear friend Natalie and I share a Primetime television addiction, but her confession Friday night may warrrant some therapy on her part. She disclosed her frequent inclination to pray for the characters of her favorite TV shows.
"Like when Izzie had cancer on Grey's Anatomy."
Oh sweet Natalie, it gives me such comfort to know that if you are inclined to pray for fictional characters, you most definitely 'got my back.'
"Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tounge with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, 'The LORD has done great things for them.'" Psalm 126:2
