This week was very quiet with Kelly gone. She left with a group of other staff/faculty members for JAM -- a Jenzebar conference. Thankfully the week turned out great! I was able to start workstudy in the Registrar's Office. What a treat it is to work up there with those ladies! I loved it! They are so friendly and upbeat--it was so nice to work with them all week! If I didn't have that job I have no idea what I would've done! Luckily, in the evenings Sharde and I were able to spend some time together! On Tuesday she and I watched, well began "The Little Mermaid" which we failed to finish because we were so busy talking--we literally talked over three hours and did not stop until after midnight! It was so great though, we were able to talk about life, what we felt, what our futures may hold, traveling, and other girl stuff. Wednesday I was able to catch up with my favorite Clarke family, whom I had not seen in over a week for they too were in Richmond, but they were visiting the Brackett family! On Wednesday & Thursday Sharde and I started going back to the gym. I'll admit it was a challenge at first, but it felt so good to not worry about time and just have a good workout. Unfortunately, the reason why the workout was more intense was becuase I discovered via my father (Mike) that I did not pass my worrisome Praxis II History test. I made a score of 152 and the state of Virginia requries a passing score of 161. Nine points can defeated me and my good day pretty quick. I was so mad and frustrated, but more importantly I didn't understand. I had studied as much as I could, and prayed before, during, and after the test. I know that God doesn't always give us what we want, but this time it would've been nice. That text costs $140 to take, so that was ultimately money down the drain. I hate that so much, but I know that I'll just have to try harder and trust harder next time. Angela called me on Friday and said, "Girl you've passed all the other tests, so God had to make you struggle and trust Him somewhere." Well if that's the case I surely hope that I pass this next time!
My week finally ended with a small trip back home. I went home on Friday because my mom was supposed to fly out to California, but her trip got cancelled, which ended up being a blessing because I got to spend more time with her and my father, too. It was weird coming home though because the house is a wreck from where my parents are tyring to fix things up so they can eventually sell the house and move closer to Roanoke. Our dog, Simon, was just as happy to see me as I was to see him, as was our cat Chanel who pranced around like a miss-priss all night/day. Sadly though, our oldest cat Sophie, whom I love, but still not too fond of was very different. She seemed to cling around the house more and layed around more so than ran or hunted. But I guess when you get older that's what you do. Just relax. Also I went home for one of my best friend Jessica's bridal shower (I'm actually in her wedding in less than 3 weeks)! The wedding shower was decorated with green and pink all over the place and with tons of gifts that her and Philip will need in their new house! Oh how wonderful God is to my friends. I am so thankful that they have been blessed and I am praying that they have a long and happy marriage which they each deserve!
Sadly I had to leave the shower a little early as I had already committed to spend some quality time with Amy Abs (who is about to leave for China on a month's mission trip), Miranda, and Amy's cousin Jamee (who was in from Florida)! We got all dolled up and went out to Macado's for a late dinner, then headed to Walmart to shop and get ice-cream which is ironic because we ended up not getting any ice-cream, and finally we spent the night at Miranda's and watched "The Wedding Planner" one of my all time favorites, then drifted off to sleep until the wet lick of a dog's tongue kissed my cheek the next morning! Church was amazing! Pastor Scott preached on "Giving" and it was wonderful! I am so blessed to go to a church that I love where I feel free to worship and be with believers that encourage and uplift me, but are also real and genuine and have gone through the same sort of struggles I have. Sunday ended up being lazy and good to get some Art homework done. All in all this was a wonderful weekend and I look forward to this upcoming week!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend
Thursday finally arrived! Kelly and I left Bluefield at 9:00am (I was very proud that I left on time and was not late)! We had been on the road no more than an hour when one of Kelly's cats, Fluffy--who isn't very fluffy--got the runs! Poor thing! Her stomach couldn't handle the jostling and motion of the car. After making a pit stop at a Food Lion in Christiansburg we were on our way again! Approximately thirty minutes later we arrived in Roanoke, where we had lunch with my mother (Berta) and brother (Nathan) at CiCi's Pizza at Towers Mall. It was so nice to see them! At that point it had been several months since I had seen my brother! Lunch was great, we all chit-chatted about random stuff in our lives, but had a wonderful time! After lunch Kelly and I began the rest of our trek east across this lovely state, and finally a few hours later arrived at her parent's house in Montpelier, VA! Her house was so cozy. It's tucked away in the woods right off the road and cats were everywhere! My favorites were a black pregnant cat that was about to pop, and another gray calico whom the family calls "Cinco." He's named that because he has one too many toes on each foot, but even though he has six, it's just a nickname for him. The rest of my day included Kelly's amazing parents taking me along to celebrate Kelly's brother's (Stephen's 30th) birthday with them Kelly, Stephen, and his wife Angie! I had ham with crab--it was a scrumptuous albeit expensive dinner from a local restaurant called "Tavern on the Rail." It was a great place, and I recommend it to anyone--it's in a crazy small town called Bumpass, VA--good luck with the pronunciation!
Friday morning Kelly & I headed off to Richmond, VA to meet up with our friend Angela Turpin who attends VCU and lives in the heart of the city. Kelly's GPS on her new Blackberry was a bit confusing, but we finally made it to Angela & Dave's (her husband) apartment. It's a clean and modern apartment that suits the two of them and their two cats--Lucy & Texas. After chatting and catching up, we made our way to Primrose School where Angela works and then made our way over to Panera Bread, one of my favorite restaurants! The sandwiches and soups are yummy! After lunch we made our way over to the local mall where we shopped for a little while. I found a lovely white, green, and blue striped with silver lining dress from New York & Co. for $10! I actually wore this dress to Lindsey & Derrick's wedding! After shopping we stopped by the Cheesecake Factory where Kelly bought well of course, a piece of cheesecake. Before leaving the mall we made a pit stop in this store called "Not of this World" it's an amazing Christian store that just opened! The owner of the store even asked us before we left if he could specifically pray with us! It was so amazing! Oh how I pray and hope this store minister's to people that desperately need the Lord! Finally after our busy yet blissful afternoon we went back to Angela's where I indulged the ladies with pedicures! Since Kelly didn't live to far away she went back home, but Angela and I continued to have our girls' night--going out to dinner @ Tarants, watching "P.S. I Love You," eating ice-cream, and finally falling asleep after talking past midnight!
Saturday finally arrived! I got dressed in a hurry and Angela drove me over to JMitch's house to meet up with Kelly, JMitch, and Sarah for the drive down to Lindsey & Derrick's wedding in Chesapeake. The drive flew by and we made it to the wedding with an hour to spare! The wedding itself was in a gorgeous white Baptist church that shined brilliantly due to the wonderful warm sunshine. Inside the sanctuary was a light blue and the front set up for the wedding to take place. At exactly 2pm the bridal party was ushered in and the preacher began the ceremony of vows, exchange of rings, and of course, the kiss! The ceremony itself lasted about 20 minutes, while the reception lasted nearly if not close to 3 hours! What a reception! Two tables were actually taken up with students from Bluefield College. At this point I would love to post some pictures from the wedding, however my computer "crashed" and I lost the pictures I had and I had already deleted them from my camera. But Lindsey was absolutely stunning in a white A-line dress with a teal/turqouise ribbon tied around her waist. The bridesmaids had matching color dresses and the groomsmen had matching teal/turqouise vests and ties. The whole esemble was beautiful! Back to the reception, it included delicious food--chocolate fountains, a beautiful cake decorated with the colors that matched the bridal party and a silver "W" sitting at the top, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and an assortment of crackers, meats, and so on! Lindsey & Derrick danced together and then with their father and mother. Music that really defines who they are as individuals and as a couple was played and of course the cutting of the cake and tossing of the bride's bouquet was done as well. Unfortunately, a little 8 or 9 year old caught the thing; I'm afraid there's not much hope for the rest of us! ;-)
That evening as the wedding came to a close, we saw Lindsey & Derrick off with a car covered in saran wrap, and writing, along with three cans dragging behind as they made their way to Charlottesville for their honeymoon. After the wedding our car decided to help take back some of the gifts, as well as chip in for the $630 TV the couple had registered for but did not receive! (What a great surprise they would come back to in Bluefield!) As we made our way back to Richmond we ended up spending some time with our friends that were in town--Sara Hubble (who is in from South Africa), Kristen Clarke, Amy Montgomery, Brad Shockley, Amy Abshire, Sara's family, and JMitch. We all went out to Sara's favorite Chinese restaurant and had a relaxing and wonderful time. I can't remember laughing so much in my life! Kristen, Amy M, Brad, and Kelly kept cracking me up! I love good times like those! Oh how I love summer but do miss my friends :-( but I know that they are well and I pray and hope God blesses and takes care of them everyday they are not in my life.
Ok so now the blog is getting sad. But all good things must come to an end. Kelly and I left Mechanicsville and made it back to Montpelier a little after midnight. The next day we took our showers, got dressed, and went to Kelly's parents church. It was so adorable and cute! It's a gorgeous red brick Methodist church that took my breath away. The actual preacher was out on her honeymoon so they had a lay-speaker preach and his sermon was about "Serving the Lord." It was interesting to say the least. But after church we had subs at Subway and then made the long trek back to Bluefield leaving the cats and our friends behind.
On the actual "Memorial Day" Kelly prepared for her trip to Nashville and I relaxed and enjoyed reminiscing about the veterans in this country, as well as tagging along for TLC's "John & Kate plus 8" show. Our day ended with a miniature cookout attended by me, Kelly, Michael Gullion, and Rachel Russo--but having a small group to entertain and feed was splendid. When dinner was finished I found myself meandering around campus and eventually received a phone call from a good friend of mine, Brad, whom I was able to talk to for a while. It was nice to just catch up and sit outside before the sun went down. All in all it was a great weekend, and I'm so thankful I was able to see my friends, and I'm so happy for Lindsey & Derrick. I say bring on the blessings Lord :-)
Friday morning Kelly & I headed off to Richmond, VA to meet up with our friend Angela Turpin who attends VCU and lives in the heart of the city. Kelly's GPS on her new Blackberry was a bit confusing, but we finally made it to Angela & Dave's (her husband) apartment. It's a clean and modern apartment that suits the two of them and their two cats--Lucy & Texas. After chatting and catching up, we made our way to Primrose School where Angela works and then made our way over to Panera Bread, one of my favorite restaurants! The sandwiches and soups are yummy! After lunch we made our way over to the local mall where we shopped for a little while. I found a lovely white, green, and blue striped with silver lining dress from New York & Co. for $10! I actually wore this dress to Lindsey & Derrick's wedding! After shopping we stopped by the Cheesecake Factory where Kelly bought well of course, a piece of cheesecake. Before leaving the mall we made a pit stop in this store called "Not of this World" it's an amazing Christian store that just opened! The owner of the store even asked us before we left if he could specifically pray with us! It was so amazing! Oh how I pray and hope this store minister's to people that desperately need the Lord! Finally after our busy yet blissful afternoon we went back to Angela's where I indulged the ladies with pedicures! Since Kelly didn't live to far away she went back home, but Angela and I continued to have our girls' night--going out to dinner @ Tarants, watching "P.S. I Love You," eating ice-cream, and finally falling asleep after talking past midnight!
Saturday finally arrived! I got dressed in a hurry and Angela drove me over to JMitch's house to meet up with Kelly, JMitch, and Sarah for the drive down to Lindsey & Derrick's wedding in Chesapeake. The drive flew by and we made it to the wedding with an hour to spare! The wedding itself was in a gorgeous white Baptist church that shined brilliantly due to the wonderful warm sunshine. Inside the sanctuary was a light blue and the front set up for the wedding to take place. At exactly 2pm the bridal party was ushered in and the preacher began the ceremony of vows, exchange of rings, and of course, the kiss! The ceremony itself lasted about 20 minutes, while the reception lasted nearly if not close to 3 hours! What a reception! Two tables were actually taken up with students from Bluefield College. At this point I would love to post some pictures from the wedding, however my computer "crashed" and I lost the pictures I had and I had already deleted them from my camera. But Lindsey was absolutely stunning in a white A-line dress with a teal/turqouise ribbon tied around her waist. The bridesmaids had matching color dresses and the groomsmen had matching teal/turqouise vests and ties. The whole esemble was beautiful! Back to the reception, it included delicious food--chocolate fountains, a beautiful cake decorated with the colors that matched the bridal party and a silver "W" sitting at the top, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and an assortment of crackers, meats, and so on! Lindsey & Derrick danced together and then with their father and mother. Music that really defines who they are as individuals and as a couple was played and of course the cutting of the cake and tossing of the bride's bouquet was done as well. Unfortunately, a little 8 or 9 year old caught the thing; I'm afraid there's not much hope for the rest of us! ;-)
That evening as the wedding came to a close, we saw Lindsey & Derrick off with a car covered in saran wrap, and writing, along with three cans dragging behind as they made their way to Charlottesville for their honeymoon. After the wedding our car decided to help take back some of the gifts, as well as chip in for the $630 TV the couple had registered for but did not receive! (What a great surprise they would come back to in Bluefield!) As we made our way back to Richmond we ended up spending some time with our friends that were in town--Sara Hubble (who is in from South Africa), Kristen Clarke, Amy Montgomery, Brad Shockley, Amy Abshire, Sara's family, and JMitch. We all went out to Sara's favorite Chinese restaurant and had a relaxing and wonderful time. I can't remember laughing so much in my life! Kristen, Amy M, Brad, and Kelly kept cracking me up! I love good times like those! Oh how I love summer but do miss my friends :-( but I know that they are well and I pray and hope God blesses and takes care of them everyday they are not in my life.
Ok so now the blog is getting sad. But all good things must come to an end. Kelly and I left Mechanicsville and made it back to Montpelier a little after midnight. The next day we took our showers, got dressed, and went to Kelly's parents church. It was so adorable and cute! It's a gorgeous red brick Methodist church that took my breath away. The actual preacher was out on her honeymoon so they had a lay-speaker preach and his sermon was about "Serving the Lord." It was interesting to say the least. But after church we had subs at Subway and then made the long trek back to Bluefield leaving the cats and our friends behind.
On the actual "Memorial Day" Kelly prepared for her trip to Nashville and I relaxed and enjoyed reminiscing about the veterans in this country, as well as tagging along for TLC's "John & Kate plus 8" show. Our day ended with a miniature cookout attended by me, Kelly, Michael Gullion, and Rachel Russo--but having a small group to entertain and feed was splendid. When dinner was finished I found myself meandering around campus and eventually received a phone call from a good friend of mine, Brad, whom I was able to talk to for a while. It was nice to just catch up and sit outside before the sun went down. All in all it was a great weekend, and I'm so thankful I was able to see my friends, and I'm so happy for Lindsey & Derrick. I say bring on the blessings Lord :-)
Monday, May 26, 2008
Before Memorial Day Weekend
Last week was absolutely wonderful! One of my bestests, Lindsey Hazelwood, came up on Monday and we were able to hang out until Wednesday (well at least until I left for Richmond/Chesapeake on Thursday). Lindsey was such a blessing because I was working on my hall theme for the summer, which happens to be "Penguins at the Beach," and desperately needed some help so it was such a help for her to be here! While she was in we went bowling with some of the greatest people I know: Leah, Jacob, & Joe Woodrum, Kelly Somers, Michael Gullion, and Miranda Linkous :-)
On Tuesday Lindsey and I worked on the hall theme all day. Around 4pm Lindsey left for the Clarke's and an hour later, Kelly & I left with Adam McAllister to go on the local television station, WVVA, for the announcement of the winners of the Fitness Challenge. Much to our surprise, we met Jared from the Subway advertisements, who by the way was nice, but not very friendly--we all felt that this was just another thing he had to do. It was during the live broadcast that we learned we won 2nd place in the competition! Yay! We won $1500 so that spans out to $300 each! It was a little awkward being on television because we were given no direction or instructions as to what to do, so our team just stood there, smiling every now and again. After the broadcast we went to the Clarke house, where Lindsey was busy making tater cakes--and they were delicious! We stayed for their Bible study time, in which we learned about John the Baptist, and our consciences, then ate some warm chocolate chip cookies (whcih are the BEST ever!) and finally headed out around 11pm.
On Wednesday Lindsey and I continued to work on the hall theme, and when we finished Kelly helped us put it all up! Boy does this hallway look good! After getting the hall theme up, we went to mall, where I picked up my bridesmaid shoes at JCPenney's. After picking up the shoes we meandered over to the food court where we met up wtih Jacob & Leah who had just got off work. After talking with them the three of us headed over to Chili's for dinner! It was such a treat because Lindsey treated me, and after dinner we made a pit-stop at Starbucks and Kelly treated both Lindsey and me to White Chocolate Mochas! Hmmm....good! Finally to finish off the night we went back to Rish, where Jacob, Leah, and Sarah met up with us and watched "Steel Magnolias." Well the girls watched what they could before they left, but Jacob tuned in to the Spurs vs. Lakers game. All in all up to this point the week was wonderful!
On Tuesday Lindsey and I worked on the hall theme all day. Around 4pm Lindsey left for the Clarke's and an hour later, Kelly & I left with Adam McAllister to go on the local television station, WVVA, for the announcement of the winners of the Fitness Challenge. Much to our surprise, we met Jared from the Subway advertisements, who by the way was nice, but not very friendly--we all felt that this was just another thing he had to do. It was during the live broadcast that we learned we won 2nd place in the competition! Yay! We won $1500 so that spans out to $300 each! It was a little awkward being on television because we were given no direction or instructions as to what to do, so our team just stood there, smiling every now and again. After the broadcast we went to the Clarke house, where Lindsey was busy making tater cakes--and they were delicious! We stayed for their Bible study time, in which we learned about John the Baptist, and our consciences, then ate some warm chocolate chip cookies (whcih are the BEST ever!) and finally headed out around 11pm.
On Wednesday Lindsey and I continued to work on the hall theme, and when we finished Kelly helped us put it all up! Boy does this hallway look good! After getting the hall theme up, we went to mall, where I picked up my bridesmaid shoes at JCPenney's. After picking up the shoes we meandered over to the food court where we met up wtih Jacob & Leah who had just got off work. After talking with them the three of us headed over to Chili's for dinner! It was such a treat because Lindsey treated me, and after dinner we made a pit-stop at Starbucks and Kelly treated both Lindsey and me to White Chocolate Mochas! Hmmm....good! Finally to finish off the night we went back to Rish, where Jacob, Leah, and Sarah met up with us and watched "Steel Magnolias." Well the girls watched what they could before they left, but Jacob tuned in to the Spurs vs. Lakers game. All in all up to this point the week was wonderful!
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