A Very Lucky Girl

Just one, actually. A new one! I am an officially employed member of the Sandy Beaches team. I quit my position at Fuzzy's because I decided life is too short to work until 4 in the morning every weekend.  I was looking for nearly a month before I found a great new challenge in Sandy Beaches. I've never worked at a tanning salon before so I constantly feel a little mentally slow when trying to finagle the computer and speak the lingo. Low, bronze, premium, and 360 beds were all the same to me until I started a week ago. Now I can tell you how long you should spend in each bed, the difference between a maximizer and a bronzer, and sign you up for a monthly membership (only after five phone calls to another coworker to make sure I'm typing in the correct codes, of course).  I was terrified to close by myself the first time, but I managed and feel more confident now since the initial lone shift is complete!  I'm looking forward to camaraderie with new people and steady p

I'm sure many of you know of my fellow blogger, Miranda or Life Measured in Coffee Spoons , but you probably don't know our history. I met Miranda in sixth grade at St. David's School. She was (and still is) one of a kind. And also one of the smartest people I know! We passed notes all through middle school. These were not your average crinkled scraps of paper haphazardly stuffed into lockers...we caught the writing bug early. We would fill pages and pages of real notebooks and pass them back and forth in between class, detailing our experiences with our peers and our intense crush on Fibi. We planned to perform in the middle school talent show together and practiced everyday after school in her mom's van. Hilary Duff serenaded us with "Someone's Watching Over Me" and we followed along with our respective solos and subsequent duet. We were pretty impressive, not going to lie. And then...I chickened out. I gave up and broke down and went against everythin

Conflicts are not my forte; I don't like feeling at odds with another human being. But I've learned through the years that relationships grow through disagreement. I found a journal entry from about a year ago documenting one of my first fights with Tyler. After all was said and done, I ended with, "I love solving problems with him." Because I do love the aftermath of a good fight. Whether with a significant other or a friend, conflict makes for furthered communication. LifeChurch taught on disagreement during their marriage series last summer and I took away a big lesson from it, despite being unmarried. I should never fight to WIN, I should fight to RESOLVE. I should fight for a relationship, not for the upper hand. Pride often makes me want to be RIGHT. But being right isn't the point, being reconciled is a far greater goal.  Conflict is healthy. It indicates growth and personality. I am never, ever going to agree with everyone about everything. It's just

I've been listening to one of the greatest musical albums of all time for the past week. Backstreet's Back, FOR REAL THIS TIME. "In A World Like This" is lyrical genius. I'm especially fond of the following lines: In a world like this where some back down I know we're gonna make it. In a time like this where love comes 'round I know we gotta take it. In a world like this where people fall apart In a time like this where nothing comes from the heart In a world like this, I've got you.  The world mega sucked on Monday. The mailbox held some terrible surprises, just in time to stress me out in an already stressful week crammed with academia and employment woes. But I was reminded of the people who have me in a world like this. Grace perfectly timed a note to counter the awful mail, reminding me of those that care who aren't even in my same state. Tyler endured my ugly crying (what a trooper, so much snot) and the two Amys I recently

I saw one of the most uninformed and ignorant tweets on my feed last Monday afternoon. It honestly made my blood boil and I had to refrain from going off on the boy's literal DUMB ass. The gist of the tweet was: America should just do away with all pills in general and rely solely on the use of medical marijuana and natural remedies because it's much safer.  Excuse me?  For me, personally, the idea is ludicrous. The manufactured drugs I take multiple times daily honestly keep. me. alive. Unfortunately, getting high isn't going to prolong anyone's life span when they are seriously ill. While medical marijuana may have pain killing benefits for those suffering from diseases like cancer, I'm no medical expert, but I think chemotherapy and radiation are far more adept at combatting the root of such illness.  I'm not sure where his thoughtless tweet stems from, but it's certainly not from a place of knowledge or experience. A Very Lucky Girl will continue to t

I wholeheartedly blame BayLeaf Baptist Church for ruining all other places of worship. I loved BayLeaf. I still love BayLeaf. If I could fly back every Sunday to attend, I would. It's the most genuine place I've ever been. It's small enough for people to know your name and, when I was growing up, it had the best youth program. I can't speak for it now that Justin is no longer there, but I'm sure it's still pretty fantastic.  And now I'm older and have gone to several churches since leaving the safety and comfort of BayLeaf, but I still am looking for the environment I felt when I walked into the red-carpeted sanctuary.  So when I visited my dad in Houston, I opted out of going to First Baptist with him. I don't want to get lost in another church. So I decided Joel Osteen's pad was the place for me! Just kidding, I actually can't stand him. We can talk about that issue another time.  Instead, I attended New Song Fellowship on an invitation from

Because really, it shouldn't ever be forgotten. No matter what calendar day it is. 12 years ago I was in the fourth grade in Mrs. Robertson's class. My biggest fear was the cafeteria running out of cupcakes on cupcake day. But on this day, the carpool line for school pick-up was a little bit more frantic. On this day, my parents were more somber. I remember gathering in the living room of our white-painted Raleigh home, and hearing two announcements. First, our Tennessee home had finally sold and, as promised, we were going out to celebrate. Second, some bad people had crashed into important buildings in NYC and were attacking the government of the United States of America. I listened, not fully understanding (do I even understand now?), and innocently asked, "But our house is white like The White House, are they going to crash into our house?"  I was honored to be a part of the Sigma Alpha Lambda flag project on the South Oval yesterday. We pressed flags into the g

Orange is the New Black. Let's all thank Netflix for this beautiful show they offer.  *moment of silence* Seriously, I started watching this show one Friday evening this semester and finished it the immediate following Saturday evening. I watched 13 one hour episodes in a 24 hour period. Part of the beauty of this series is the real-ness of the women. I don't think anyone was asked to "slim down" for this role. I think the actresses came into filming, just as they are, and were chosen because of who they are. Because that's how you get to prison. Because of how you're behaving. Or because of how the justice system has failed. Prison is an imperfect place filled with imperfect people. And the world itself is an imperfect place with imperfect people who commit crimes against humanity daily. They just aren't illegal. Pride, envy, gluttony--those are some of mine. But my talent doesn't come from me, though I'd like to think so. I have wonderful ble

I seriously have not been unstressed since 2012. I have felt lately like I cannot catch a break ever. I can't remember the last time my face was zit free, because I'm constantly anxious about everything.  On the way to Houston last Friday, I stopped in Madisonville at Bucee's to fill up Carson's gas tank. For those of you uninformed, Carson is my Toyota Matrix, aptly named because "he's a car, son!" *insert gangster hand signs here*. I was about an hour and a half from Houston, and I distractedly locked my wallet, phone, and keys in the car. So I wasted an hour hanging out near Texas' cleanest restrooms with some very nice people, waiting on AAA and my grimy locksmith savior.  Once in Houston, several instances went south. The Wifi didn't work as it was supposed to, my blinds came crashing down, just missing my head, when I tried to adjust the sunlight blazing through my window, the angle of the garage was a little tight and as I tried to miss t

I have a new address. A new place with which to answer the question, "So, where are you from?" Houston is my new home.  My dad and I moved into the new house over the Labor Day weekend. It's in a great location, close to countless yummy places to eat (I think I gained 10 pounds in 3 days), and also near a great running park (in order to counteract those yummy eateries).  Houston is only about an hour and a half away from Beaumont, so I'm looking forward to being so close to Moriah over Christmas break and summer. My elementary school friend, Nick (except now he's Mathison and I keep getting it wrong!), will graduate from Rice in May and he introduced me to a great new church I'm looking forward to attending more often when I come home.  There's a lot of looking forward going on. I can't change the events that brought me to Houston. They are in the past. But over the years and moves, I've become a pro at making the most of where I am, physically

I took a chance a few months ago when I saw @CollegeTownLife advertising for freelance writers on Twitter. I responded to their plea for articles and sent one in. I never heard back. So, I am not good enough. Yet.  I wrote about the epedimic of campus preachers that ignites when springtime starts.  What you can find at an on-campus crazy preacher gathering Springtime is in the air. With its gentle breezes comes the smell of free snow cones, the sweat of students tanning studying for finals on the lawn, and the harsh rants of a Bible-thumping preacher ignoring all rules of the bike lane. Chances are, Brother Jed or Pastor Micah has made an appearance on your campus already and you’ve been privy to the three typical scenes provided for your study-break pleasure. 1.      The focus on sex: For a religious activist, the guy is excessively focused on sexual sin. Bedazzled with anti-homo pins and “no porn!” buttons, he shouts at the ladies with shorter shorts, reminding

I might be jumping the gun considering it's still high 90s in Oklahoma (and Houston) and September has barely begun, but the season of autumn is near and dear to my heart. As are the other three seasons. They all have wonderful things to offer; moments I forget about until I remember why I hate the current season (summer is too hot and I'm sick of sweating in my cute clothes). But FALL. Fall is full of promise. At least for now. Candy corn. I snuck some into my cart at Walmart the other day. It was actually still August when this occurred. But it's never too soon to sink your teeth into a waxy corn substitute, amiright? October 3rd, National Mean Girls Day, is only weeks away. If you ask me what day it is you can't sit with us.  The trees rain crunchy leaves that snap satisfyingly underneath my Uggs. I seriously will never stop wearing Uggs no matter how much of a fashion faux pas it makes me. IT'S LIKE WEARING SOCKS WITH SOLES. Halloween approaches rapidly. St