Merry Christmas!

I've got a lot to catch you up on, friends. First of all, it's Christmas!!! Love it. Secondly, my family has had somewhat of a crisis. My uncle has been in ICU for two and a half weeks now. Tonight he got the liver transplant he needed to keep living! Praise God! Talk about a Christmas miracle. Seriously! I cannot begin to tell you how happy this makes me! I'm so thankful for God providing for us. I know for my uncle to live another person had to die. I've been on both sides of this situation. Five years ago my cousin was killed in a car wreck and his parents decided to donate his organs. And now, my uncle is a donor recipient. Full circle. Please do something for me. If you are reading this, please discuss this with your family. The decision to be an organ donor is a life-giving decision.

I know God has a plan for every day of my life. He orchestrates events and puts people in our lives to teach us and to shape us. He knew I would lose a cousin and I would have an uncle that needed an organ. Three days before my cousin died I signed the back of my driver's license saying I wanted to donate my organs. I had two of my closest friends witness it for me. It gives me chills thinking about how close those two events were. God knows. The greatest physical Christmas present my uncle will ever receive was the new liver they put in him tonight. A second chance at life for him. Please think about it. Donate LIFE.

Beachbody!

Today is Day One of Power 90 from www.beachbody.com. It's a 90 day boot camp for weight loss and muscle transformation. Hard work! I took before pictures but I'm not ready to post those yet. Maybe in a month.

It's also December 1st and the first day of my new work schedule. Now I have every morning free to exercise and run errands. Love it!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. I love seeing my family and eating all the good things they fix. You see now why I started Power 90. :o)

Holidays Already??

So I decided to put my tree up today. This is the first time I've ever decorated a tree by myself. This is my parent's tree. They decided to do a small tree this year. The reason I decided to decorate early is because Beth, my roommate, is having her family over to our apartment for a combined Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration on Thanksgiving Day. I wanted the apartment to be festive for them. So I decorated really early. I usually wait until the day after Thanksgiving.

I love Christmas trees. The ones at Macy's always make me smile. They're beautiful.

Fullness

It started last week when Kris and Jen got the call to go get their daughter in South Korea. Then this past Sunday night during worship at FSM (Fellowship Student Ministries). Then yesterday while watching the video of Kris and Jen meeting Molly Howell for the first time. My heart is full of thankfulness. Thankfulness that I am a part of something bigger than myself. God's hand and purpose has been so evident to me this week. God's bringing me back to Him every day. We talked Sunday night at FSM in small groups about how God is always there and we're the ones that drift. Like the prodigal son was welcomed back, we're welcomed back with open arms every single time. Thankfulness. I look at my relationship with Corey and I'm also thankful. I'm thankful God sent me such a good man, a thoughtful loving man. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of each year. I think we get so distracted during Christmas but during Thanksgiving most of us try to stop and remember what we're thankful for. This year I have much to be thankful for but not just on Thanksgiving.

I'm ENGAGED!

Corey proposed last night! Whoo-hoo! I'm gettin' married!

Cardinals!

Corey and I are going to a Cardinals game this weekend for his birthday. I can't wait! We went last year but we made the mistake of going in August. I thought I was melting! This year I thought we should go at the end of the season to avoid melting. I also just bought an AWESOME new camera so there will be pictures.


I'm trying out a new layout. I was inspired by Jen to update my layout and her new one is super cute.

Beth and I got fishies! Mine is red with black fins. I decided to name her Ruby. Very fitting. Plus it's my birthstone.

I'm going to Alaina's aerobics class tonight at Union. Should be tons of fun!

Scary

So several weeks ago I had a very scary experience. I was eating guacamole and started having a full-blown anaphalactic reaction. AKA allergic reaction. Throat closing, couldn't breath, freaking out. I ran to my car praying I had some Benadryl in my purse. The last two pills in the bottle saved me. I obviously wasn't thinking straight. I should have called 911. Anyway, the Benadryl kicked in and I was fine. Scared silly, but fine. So I will be getting tested for food allergies soon.

Otherwise things are fine. We're having a cookout tonight at the apartment for Beth's boyfriend's birthday. I love having people over and cooking. Beth baked a strawberry cake AND an apple pie for Shaun. I'm very impressed with her pie. Look at it! So proud. :o)









Last night I went over to the Howell's to watch gymnastics. I LOVE spending time with Jen, Kris and the boys. They are adopting a little girl from Korea. I cannot WAIT to hold Molly!!! Check out thenighthowells.blogspot.com

So July is FLYing by.

I don't know where July is going! Last thing I knew I was turning 26 on the 5th and now it's the 17th?? Holy cow! At least The Dark Knight is coming out tomorrow. Oh and I bought a bike. Should be nice taking rides out here where I live. I'll have to take a picture of my apartment and my bike so you can all see it.

I'm going to see Corey today. His parents are taking us out for my birthday to a place called Flamingo Row in Paducah. I hear it's a good place. We're also going to see The Dark Knight tomorrow. And we have to get sushi sometime while I'm up there. That's just a fact. If Corey and I are together we have to get sushi. It's pretty much the best food in the whole world.

Really that's it right now. Pretty sad. Maybe next time I'll have really really exciting news. Oh and Jenny, I'm cooking poppy seed chicken casserole as I type. Not too exciting but I am cooking. :o)

Moving on up

Wow, I just checked my comments for the first time in a month or so. I didn't think anyone read this. Anyway, ladies, you are right, time for an update. Almost two weeks ago I moved into an apartment in Jackson with my old college roommate. It's GREAT! It was time to move out of my parents house and be on my own. I love being in Jackson too. My friend Sarah lives above us. Did I say it's GREAT yet? :o) Work is going fine. I'm working a crazy shift but what's new, right? I like work though. I never thought I would enjoy working 3rd shift but I do. Plus I only work three days a week. Can't beat that!

I went grocery shopping today and I plan on cooking a LOT more now that I'm on my own. I love cooking but haven't had the chance/time in a while. Oh and I have cable now. That means Food Channel and Rachael Ray! Love it! Man I'm goofy. I'd love to hear from you guys!

Whoo Hoo!!!

I lost my first pound!!! I'm so excited if you can't tell! :o)

Hmm...

It's funny how passionate you can be about something one day and then just a few weeks later you don't even think about it. I'm referring to my last post about losing weight. A friend of mine gave me some Weight Watchers literature yesterday. I'm excited about trying again and trying to get in a routine.

In other news, I've adopted a pet. Her name is Cupcake and she's a White Terrier Webkinz dog. My buddies Zach, Keaton and Peyton helped me name her. Keaton taught me all about the Webkinz world. :o)

War on Fat

So it's 12:30am and I have to get up in 5 hours. I can't sleep so I thought I'd write.

I saw myself on video for the first time in a long time the other night and I was appalled. I know we all look heavier on tv but geesh. So today I joined the war on fat. I worked out for an hour today and I'm hoping to continue this healthy habit. I ran 6 days a week my senior year at Union and loved how I felt. Now I feel like a rolly poly and hate it. Corey and I were watching something on tv last week about a kid who has a physical handicap but still walks/jogs in races all the time. It made us both feel so lazy. This kid who has so much difficulty even walking does it. But we sat there eating our pizza and complaining about moving to get the remote. Wow. Talk about motivation.

So there it is. If you see me/talk to me/message me about it I'll be honest with you. If you want the challenge you can keep me accountable.

Ready to travel

I was just looking at a friends photo album on facebook. She's been to so many places. The most recent pictures are from her trip to Peru. I'm tired of always saying I want to travel but never traveling. There are so many places in this world that I want to experience. Actually there are places in this country that I've never seen. I want to visit New England, Oregon, California, Montana, Maine and the list goes on and on. Later this year my sister and I are planning are trip to Alaska to see my cousins. I guess I'm just feeling restless today.

Dogsitting

This is Roo. She's a white Boxer. She's also deaf. Her owners named her Roo because she literally jumps and hops around like a kangaroo. So cute!











This is Piper. She's older and wiser than Roo but still as playful. The two of them together are a handful.











Donald brought his two dogs over to his parents house while I was dogsitting a few weeks ago. This is a picture of him giving treats to all the dogs.

Changes...

They have changed my work schedule and now I work a crazy confusing schedule. The good part is I only work three days a week! Two of those days are 16 hour shifts though. But I'm really really going to enjoy my time off. I can see so many friends and family more now. The biggest plus is getting to see Corey more. So I just got off a little while ago and now I'm off for 6 days! What will I do with myself?!

It's about time

So I figured I would start using this since I told someone today that I had one.

This weekend was a good one. Some of you may know that I dogsit/housesit as a little side business. So I had a job this weekend dogsitting for two boxers. They were SOOO cute. I'll have to post a picture tomorrow. Today I went to Moe's with the Howells. I'm really enjoying getting to know them. Their boys are CUTE and SWEET and just so much fun. I'm super glad they moved to Jackson!

Today is sort of an anniversary for Corey and me. One year ago today Corey and I started communicating on eHarmony. Awwww! :o)