Crazy Days

Today, I woke up bright and early to work on a response paper, got ready (considered skimping on getting ready but remembered I had a project presentation today), fixed breakfast (ate while packed my books), packed lunch, went to class, went to another class, went straight to the library (where I ate lunch), registered for next semester's classes, wrote a 7 page paper, wrote a 2 page paper, ran down stairs to print them, ran to class, presented a project, came home, fixed dinner, worked on schedule plans for next semester (since I didn't get 2 of the classes I wanted)... and I need to work on a 4 page exert for my senior history thesis that is due tomorrow...

Yesterday wasn't much different and neither is tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day, or the next week...

Today marks 2/3 of the semester... which means we have 5 weeks left of class. Don't get me wrong, I love my classes, really I do. But I am so ready for life to slow down a little. And I am so ready to sleep. I just can't get enough of it.

Oh, I am under the impression that I have a sweet blog reader who has a birthday today... Happy Birthday Ms. Lee! I hope your day was much more relaxing! :)

Talk to you next week... haha, unless I take a break from life to blog, which I might in order to keep my sanity :)

Until next time...

Here Comes the Bride...

Better late than never, eh?

I don't have any wedding pictures from Katherine & Eric's day (hey, I was busy doing bridesmaid-ly duties...) but here are some cute shots of the weekend...

The girls at the Bridesmaids' Brunch...

All of us at the Rehearsal - those are some sweet "Bow-quets" don't ya think?

And the first dance... so sweet :)

Update on Mom's Scans

A step in the right direction....

The tumors are still there, but have shrunk some more since the Gamma Knife. One tumor is the size of a garden pea, one is the size of 2 garden peas (both in the back), and the other two (in the front) have black centers which means they are decaying/dying. Her brain is a little swollen, but the doctor expected it to be and isn't too concerned about it. He says that the tumors will continue to shrink and in 4 weeks she will have another scan. Then the team of doctors (radiologist, neurosurgeon, and oncologist) will meet again and decide a plan of action - if need be... I'm believing that they'll be gone. She still can't drive until the next scan, which stinks because I think she's bored out of her mind.

So I think I would say that we were initially disappointed because we were hoping for them all to be gone. BUT, I know that God is taking care of it and His timing is way better than mine. And I completely trust Him. And I know that He knows that we are receiving His healing and we'll receive it for as long as it takes!

So to God, I say, "Amen!" I am humbled by Your greatness, Your glory, and Your honor. I am disappointed because my plan doesn't match yours, but I am so thankful that it is in Your hands because I know that You heal, not me, not doctors, not procedures - just You. So, Amen.

Your love, oh Lord, reaches to the heavens.

Your faithfulness stretches to the sky.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains.

Your justice flows like the ocean's tide.

I will lift my voice to worship you my King.

I will find my strength in the shadow of your wings.

Your love, oh Lord, reaches to the heavens.

Your faithfulness stretches to the sky.

Your rigteousness is like the mighty mountains.

Your justice flows like the ocean's tide.

I will lift my voice to worship you my King.

I will find my strength in the shadow of your wings.

--Third Day

Fall Break in 1 day!!

One more day of classes before I am officially on Fall Break!! Praise God!

I was going to give you a peak at pictures from Katherine & Eric's wedding, but blogger won't let me upload anything... it was a beautiful, sweet, God-honoring wedding and I am SO, SO, SO happy for them!

Tomorrow my mom gets a scan and results at a 10 am doctors appointment to see the success of the Gamma Knife so be thinking about us - I'll let you know the results ASAP.

Love y'all!

Happy Birthday Katherine!

Happy Birthday dear Katherine, Soon-to-be-Mrs. in 3 days!!!! Oh my gosh!! :) :) :)
Oddly enough, this picture was taken at our circle of friends' first birthday celebration - it was Lindsay's birthday night (remember her birthday was this past Tuesday) the first year we all met at UNC. These two love birds (Katherine & Eric, not me and Parker haha) are gettin' hitched on Sunday!!! After SIX AND A HALF YEARS of dating yall!

[Applause]
[Cheers]
[PRAISE THE LORD]

I believe this picture termed the four of us as the "Four Years" because we'd been dating for four years at the time. But, to Katherine & Eric's credit - they've dated half a year longer than Parker & I have... but it's a friendship made in heaven - our boys hit it off immediately, as soon as Parker noticed Eric's belt buckle the night that this picture was taken. Friends for a lifetime. HAHA!

And just to put it out there - I have no idea why Katherine & I have crazy eyes in this picture... oh well!

Makeover, Happy Birthday Lindsay, Still Sick

Welcome to my new blog background! You may have noticed that I've been playing around with font changes and a few other updates, all while preparing for the new fall look. I love my old background, but it was very spring/summer-ish, and it was time for a change. I hope you like it! I used some pattern paper from a fellow blogger, Amanda of Fonts For Peas. I might throw a few more changes in later... it's a work in progress. Let me know if you want tips for your own blog.

Update on the sick front... well, I'm still sick. In fact, I feel worse today than I have been feeling. I went to the doctor this morning and slept all day just about. My throat is on fire! Suggestions anyone??

Happy Birthday to my sweet friend & neighbor, Lindsay! Hope you enjoyed your 2 cakes today! :D

Coming up this week: Late Night with Roy on Friday night (Carolina basketball people, get on it already!), and KATHERINE & ERIC ARE GETTING MARRIED this weekend!!!!!!!!

So, self... It is time to feel better!

Not Me Monday!

Is it already Monday again? I guess so... Welcome to "Not Me" Monday, a blog carnival started by Mckmama. Tell all the embarassing things you did not do this week and go to her blog to check out what everyone else is not doing.

I am not doing "Not Me" Monday this week just so I can enter in a contest to win a canvas from GeeZees.

I have not tried every remedy I can think of to get rid of this cold. I did not gargle warm salt water, drink hot water, smother myself with a warm wet wash cloth, drink hot tea, inhale Vick's Vapor Rub, suck on an entire bag of cough drops....

I also did not eat Chicken Noodle Soup for breakfast yesterday because of a sore throat from said cold.

I did not, at last, borrow some prescription strength good ol' medicine from a roomate (that works like a charm) to help my said sore throat feel much, much better.

I mean... do you have any suggestions??

I also did not hit Parker with the Wii controller on Saturnday night at Candice & Jacob's... (I mean, it was my first time playing Wii... I got a little excited and he was too close, haha)

What did you not do?

Wanting What We Can't Have....

... can be so darn funny!

My friend/roomate/bridesmaid Roman told me about this study... and these kids are so funny. I laughed out loud. In the Undergraduate Library. People Looked. I was hysterical. Crying even. It was So. Worth. It. Watch and see.... http://funnyvideos.todaysbigthing.com/2009/09/15.

Hey Mom, You're On TV!

Guess who got interviewed at Physcians East's Cancer Vigil last night? My mom! Check it out:

http://www2.wnct.com/nct/news/local/article/physicians_east_arlington_cancer_vigil/60567/
She told me not to look at her "fat-round-head" but I think she looked cute in her straw hat.

I also want to share my text messages that she sent me this morning... I got a kick out of it and I hope you do to:

"You are my true blessing and i love you have wonderful day love you, mom"

and she followed it up with:

"By the way please bring mixer back"

Hahaha!

Words from the Wise....

Because I'm not feeling well (but no more fever!), and have A LOT to do this week (2 exams to study for, 3 books to read, and lots of research to tackle...), I decided to share the following forward that my future-mother-in-law emailed to me. Enjoy!

Words from the Wise:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants & has to be killed, bled, cured, aged, smoked, fried, or frozen
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games. Feed the birds. Plant flowers or vegetables-even in a pot.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile & notice your surroundings, changes in nature every day, & listen to the birds.
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Each person has their place in the scheme of life.
12. Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment - do what you can to make the world around you better.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits. Physically, spiritually,financially or emotionally. Be humble.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. Don't blame your parents for every problem you have. That will ruin your present . We choose actions & reactions when we become adults.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others. It's easier to understand & move on.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present. Yesterday is gone, & you have a limited number of tomorrows.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. It's your choice to feel happy or miserable, anger or joy, frustration or acceptance, jealousy or peace, shame or pride.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Happy October! I have to be honest, I am sad to see summer leave. I like fall alright, but I'm not a big fan of the cool weather... or the cold weather that follows.

Anyways, I can't believe its October already!

I have big plans (not) to celebrate the first day of October... you wanna hear? Do absolutely nothing. Today I had a Holocaust exam, letter of intent for my senior history research, annotated bibliography for my research so far (including being in the university archives - post about that to come soon), a book to read, a response paper on the book, seminar readings, and responses to those readings.... All. do. today. So, after busting my butt this week, particularly yesterday.... I plan to do nothing. nada. zilch. tonight.

In fact, I think I'll dive into these:

Yes! My sweet friend Katherine who is getting married in 2 weeks (!!!!!) brought these to me when I got engaged! How sweet is she? And... look at what's on top:
"The Bride's Book of Lists!" Does she know me good or what? I love her so much!

What are you doing tonight?