solid

i have alot of catching up to do..so get ready. seriously, this one may be the size of a small novel.

my entire week last week was spent getting my scholarship application filled out (7 essays for one scholarship...seriously?!) , writing a take-home essay test for my political theory class, and....oh yeah. that's all. I did absolutely NOTHING the rest of the week except hang-out with some old (and new) friends, do lunch and dinner every night with different people, took ALOT of naps, and caught up on The Hills. (THANK GOODNESS IT'S BACK!) I realized, last week, that THIS was what a good majority of students in college do EVERY DAY. Just hang out. Not me...I have had a part-time job, numerous obligations to organizations, and taken at least 15 hours of school every semester. Until now. No more organizations, no more work (until I get bored of doing nothing all day, which is why I got a job in the first place), and WHO CARES about school...this is the worst case of senioritis I have ever even heard of. I couldn't tell you when my next test was in any class because I can't find my planner. Lost it today. THIS IS SO NOT LIKE ME. But you know, I am trying to embracing it and mellow me out a little before Law School starts back up hard core in the fall. I don't even want to think about it right now. Moving on. Let me fill you in on the weekend...it was a GOOD one.

Friday night: Carley and Cole's Engagement Party/Shower. We hosted the party at my parents house...it was supposed to be a "Patio Party" outside on our patio with big tents set up, but Friday brought some HARD rain all day long and the party had to be moved inside last minute. I wish I had taken pictures of our house...mom and Mrs. Hazel made it look SO cute. We still had the food on the front porch but moved all of the tables to eat on back inside. The party was so fun...we played the Newlywed game (Me and Harris were each other's dates...enough said) and I loved being back together with some of my old friends from high school/college.

Saturday: Slept in...went for a good run...spent most of the day packing some clothes/books/etc. up in my apartment to begin taking back to my parents house. We just found out that we can move out May 1st so I am trying to get as much as I can done before exams. Bo and Emily were in town for the weekend, so the fam went to eat at Doe's for dinner. (I was the fifth wheel...as usual. I REALLY miss Jack on nights like those) After dinner I met up with Carley and Harris at the Veranda to hang out...we stayed a long time and got caught up on everything that is going on in each other's lives...made me realize how much I MISS being around them and having them to talk to 24/7 about stuff. I don't know that I am a big fan of this whole "growing up" thing. After dinner, I went and met up with Jake downtown and we went to Whiskey Blues to see Bo and Em. Bo and Jake recently "bonded" one night at the bar and they have had a strange obsession with each other ever since. Can't say I didn't see that one coming. They are exactly alike.

Sunday: (spent the night Sat. night at the parents) I got woken up to the smell of bacon and coffee...I LOVE BEING HOME. Had a huge breakfast, went to church, mom cooked lunch at the house afterwards. Got to spend some QT with the parents all afternoon. Last but not least, I went to see JOEL OLSTEEN in Memphis last night! Completely random last-minute trip..but SO worth it. Now, I have had my Joel-doubts in the past, just like every other analytical Christian out there, but there has always been something about him that have like that I couldn't really put my finger on....so I wanted to go and find out for myself just what I thought about him. He did not disappoint. His message was full of hope and joy, biblically based, and complete with the message of salvation at the end. At times, I felt like I was at a spiritual pep-rally, but hey...who doesn't need a shot of JESUS every now and then? Joel's messages focus more on God's LOVE and redemption of His people than it is about turning from sin and remaining in a lifestyle of holiness. Don't get me wrong, I believe that BOTH of these principles should be preached, but often the message of God's unconditional LOVE and acceptance gets trumped along the way by the rules and doctrines of religion. That's why I have such a great respect for Joel's messages. Loved Victoria too..she loves her man, that's for sure. One thing he said last night was that he wakes up every morning and says, "Something GREAT is going to happen to me today." If you have ever seen this man on TV or in person, you can attest that he is SUPER happy all the time...I mean I guess I would be too if I said and whole-heartedly believed that promise every morning of my life!! He put alot of things that have been going on in my life in perspective last night, and whether he is the end-t0-all in preaching or not, God definitely used him to speak truth and hope into my situation. So that is that.

Tats.

well. i must not be very political-conscious of run-off voters in mississippi, because i def picked two unsuccessful candidates. i am very dissapointed in the turn-out of the election, but i can rest in the fact that the two candidates i was supporting are both very strong in their faith and have expressed that they know there is a reason for the way things turned out. I am now supporting Gregg Harper for district 3 in the general election that I will be voting...absentee, of course...in November. I was very impressed with Harper during the congressional debates, but I had no personal ties to him or his campaign staff which is why I went with Charlie Ross instead, but I do fully support Gregg Harper at this point...after all, the people have spoken, and he is the Republican candidate. Red or dead, that's what I say.

On a completely different subject, I have been contemplating getting a tattoo for a few years now. I have ended up talking myself out of it everytime because its just so....permenant. I thought about waiting until I was married or something until I got one, because I mean my hubby is going to have live with seeing it everyday...now dont get any bad thoughts about me in your head...i want it on my FOOT. but still. but then, i thought...do i even WANT to marry someone that wouldn't be open to me having a tiny tatoo on my foot?? i know all you married girls are probably rolling your eyes at me, but these are thoughts that float through my head on a daily..no, hourly...basis as a single girl. So I am back to square one. I want one, but am I going to regret it? But if I dont get one, am I always going to wish I had one?

What I want is a small cross or something very small that is meaningful about my relationship with God on my foot. I read this verse to one of my friends (who already has one on her foot) last night, which is I guess why it has sparked my interest so strongly again.

"And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" -Romans 10:15

What is ridiculously cool about this verse is that last night in class, I was bored, as usual, and I drew (with a sharpie) on my wrist the numbers of a verse that has become really special to me, 1 Corinthians 15:10, and I accidentally wrote the numbers..."10:15" instead. Later that night, I was telling my friend about it, and that conversation led to another one about her tattoo on her foot and as I looked up the verse I was trying to remember about having beautiful feet (which the one I was originally thinking about was Isaiah 52:7 and I had never even read this other one) I saw that it was in Romans 10:15!!!! Coincidence?? I dont think so! So...I am still considering getting the tat, but I want to be SURE it is what I want since the thing is going to be with me for a LONG time...

Any thoughts? Opinions? Regrets?

mississippi run-off

If you live in the 1st or 3rd district in Mississippi, don't forget to VOTE today in the run-off election!! Voting is liberty and a duty that we have as citizens in America, and it really ticks me off when people don't vote because they actually think that their vote won't matter. Seriously? That is a main component of Democracy...one person, one vote! Ok, I'm getting off my soap box and putting my campaign hat on...I am actively supporting Charlie Ross for the 3rd district (my district) and Glenn McCullough for the 1st district. I have done alot of personal research on all of the candidates and have met with most of them personally during various debates I have organized, and these two men are by far the most qualified to represent our State in Congress.

sbw update: everything i thought it would be. the weekend started off great with the spirit of state reception, where i got to meet and hang with several of my friends' parents..it is so weird to see us becoming so much like our parents, it scares me sometimes even! Friday night was Pig-Fest, a Starkville SBW tradition, and me and Rachael Kirk met my parents and some of our family friends for some BBQ and Bops at the tailgates before the baseball game...so good. The game was SO fun Friday night (not that i watched any of the ACTUAL game except for the very end...which I later found out was the only good part of the whole series) and I ended up running into Senator Cochran's DC staff, who were all in town on official visit. Brought back some summer memories, for sure. Me and Rachael turned bums after the game and decided to go home and eat pizza and talk for HOURS instead of going out. I felt like a freshman again, only without the buzz that usually led to a late-night pizza fest. There was more freshman-like behavior that followed on Saturday...I spent the ENTIRE day at the Kappa Sig house for South Seas...eating crawfish, dancing like a fool (again, without the buzz that I would have been sporting my freshman year), and hanging out in various rooms in the frat house listening to music and throwing water balloons out the windows at innocent people. WOW...seriously? Am I graduating in a month and still doing this?? Whatev. It was worth it for one last TRUE college experience before I hit the semi-real world in the fall. Being the senior that I am, I spent all of the energy that I had saved up all week on South Seas, and by the time everyone started hitting the bar, I was ready to hit the sack. I was worn out! Harris managed to get me out for about an hour that night, but after we had caught up on everything major in our lives...I jetted. Sunday was MUCH more relaxing...church, a picnic at the church property (a favorite past-time of mine from childhood that we have thankfully started back up again at my church), and a NAP that lasted ALL AFTERNOON. Forget the baseball game that I was originally planning on going to...as soon as my head hit my pillow, I was out. A perfect ending to a great weekend.

left field lounge..best place on earth
my south seas partners-in-crime

a SUPER bulldog weekend!

it's my favorite weekend of the year....SUPER BULLDOG WEEKEND! A weekend at MSU dedicated to baseball, cook-outs in left field lounge, tons of alumni and friends in town. This weekend truly embodies what makes Mississippi State so great. I have throughly enjoyed SBW every year since I was in seventh grade. (All through high school, cheerleader try-outs were the same time as this weekend, and relishing in the glory of being selected was what the weekend was known for....GAY, i know. The weekend also meant staying with sorority girls so that we could officially go to Frat parties...ALSO GAY.) As I got to college, it turned into a whole new experience for me...best friends from out of town coming for the big weekend, hanging out all weekend on the porches of my houses on 108 Raymond St. and A1..both PRIME locations for a big weekend such as this, and cooking out in left field lounge while watching my friends on the baseball team play. I am planning on spending the weekend getting as much hang-time as possible with as MANY friends as possible, and I am pretty freaking excited about HARRIS coming too!!!

I can't describe how good life is right now. My favorite time of the year in my favorite place in the world and (almost) all of my best friends in town to share it with. All i can say is...GO DAWGS!

VA is for Lovers??

Just got back from my trip to Virginia....it was GREAT. However, the 14+ hours spent in the car driving up there...not so great. It actually went by alot faster than I thought it would, and the drive was worth it to be able to have our car with us once we got to Virginia Beach. Now, first of all...I couldn't ever and still can't figure out why "Virginia is for Lovers." There was nothing extra-loving about the State or the people, and it's not like there are 24-hr. wedding joints all over the place, or even really nice honeymoon resorts or anything. Weird. Moving on. I did, however "fall in love" I guess you could say, with Virginia Beach for several reasons:

1. I LOVED the Law School. Regent's campus was beautiful...it looked like something out of a history book...the buildings were all brick and had huge white columns with manicured lawns and flower beds all over campus (kinda like State since Doc's arrival, actually). Everyone I met at the school was super friendly and helpful..once again, I felt like I was still in Mississippi...at State. I sat in on a Contracts class, and I learned more in that one class than I think I learned in a whole semester of Business Law in undergrad. SO much information...but it was actually really interesting. (If you need to know anything about entering into an independent or dependent agreement with another party, just ask me....next year.) All of the buildings are super nice and clean inside, and there are little hidden study spots all over campus, which will be great for all the studying i am going to be learning how to do next year!! One major difference between State's campus and Regent's....Regent still has DAFFODILS everywhere!! Being one of my favorite flowers(tied for first with tulips), this was definitely a good sign.

2. I found a Church! Not just any church either....It's a HILLSONG church!! The Church is called "The Wave" Church, and the pastor is from Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia...complete with a THICK aussie accent and all! The worship was AMAZING, of course. (I imagine this church to be a mini-version of what Margaret is at in Sydney?) It was exactly the kind of atmosphere I was looking for, and we even found some old friends RANDOMLY the morning we went to church there that used to go to New Covenant in Starkville (during their undergrad at MSU), which was totally a God-thing. (We call those meetings "divine appointments" in our family) They told me that they were really involved in the young-adult ministry at The Wave, and that there was a HUGE group of 18-30 year olds in the area that were in the church. potential new friends...SCORE.

3. It's on the BEACH! I was slightly disappointed to see not-s0-bluish green water on the East Coast like there is in Mexico or even Destin, which I have been used to my whole life, but nonetheless....it's the OCEAN, and who can complain about living near the Ocean!? I do especially like one thing about the East Coast that the gulf doesn't have, and that is the Boardwalks right on the beach. There are wooden walkways that line the beach (right off the sand) that you can walk, run, or bike down as far as you can see. I am pretty pumped about being able to ride my bike or take a jog down the beach without acutally having to be in the sand the whole time...and although it wasn't very busy while we were there (due to the FREEZING weather), I heard that in the summer, the beach has a really eclectic feel to it and there are people all over the place shopping, eating, walking around, etc. That's my kind of beach. I can't wait.

It's "Big", but not too big. I have always lived in Starkville, MS...population SMALL. (esp. in the summer when school is out), so I have wanted to move to a bigGER city after graduation. BUT...I am beyond horrible with directions, maps, etc. and I know that living in a big city could be disastrous for me in that aspect. HOWEVER, Virginia Beach just may solve all of my problems. I don't really know what to compare the size to, but maybe like the size of Jackson, MS? There are a LOT of people that live in VB, but for some reason, it doesn't feel THAT big. There are several different areas of the city and they are all pretty spread out so maybe that is why it doesn't feel too big. More lanes for driving than I am used to, but I can get over that. Another good thing is that the apartment (which is LEGIT) I found to live in is right on the campus of Regent, so at least for a little while when I first move, I won't have to stray TOO far from my new comfort zone!

I am so excited about the changes I am about to make, especially since this will really be the first time I will have moved away from Starkville, which has always been HOME. I am nervous about making friends and adjusting to a new school and a new city, but I know that God will be with me and will direct me towards encouraging people, just like he has done over and over for me in the past. I am so grateful for a good visit this weekend to the school and the area, because it was confirmation to me that God really has called me to Regent for school and he has a big plan for my life that includes my living in VB for at least 3 years. That's right..I officially ENROLLED while I was there! I can't wait...and I will definitely try to keep everyone updated via my blog about life in law school!

More Pics from the Trip:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2109912&l=14d51&id=26501294

Spring Break Extended?

This week has been a joke. Seriously. Whoever planned Spring Break and Easter Weekend almost overlapping had to be smoking something. Not that I mind of course...I am loving the extended amount of time away from school, especially now that my seniorities/spring fever is kicking in full force. My teachers have been ridiculous this week (and by ridiculous i mean AWESOME). One teacher canceled all of our classes for the week...she's out with the "flu"....and the rest of the teachers have come to class fully expecting either no one to be there, or if they are, to not have read or done any of the assignments that were given out before the break. thank goodness, because I SURE didn't take any books with me on Spring Break! Tomorrow is our last day of school before Easter...and lucky me, I will be in Virginia Beach until NEXT WEDNESDAY! Am I even going to still enrolled in school when i get back?? This semester is becoming an all out joke. Not that I didn't plan on it being an easy one for my last semester, but it's just gotten unreal. I couldn't tell you anything that is going on in at least 2 of my classes. But the good news is that there is less than two months left of school, and I am extremely good at procrastination and then jamming a semester's worth of knowledge into a few days to study for finals..so I am not too worried, its almost become the norm for me...good ole' Political Science. gotta love it. But don't hate me too much if you are reading this and your major is kicking your butt...because I am almost 100% sure I will be beginning Law School in the fall and kicking MYSELF in the butt for not being more studious in college. Oh well, I gotta learn sometime!