It's the last day of 2009. And be prepared, friends, this one's gonna get a little cheesy.


I guess everyone does it on New Year's Eve. We all reflect on what's happened in the past year, whether it was good or bad, and, hopefully, what it's taught us. This year's been filled with so many great things for me. It's also had its trials, too...but I think the purpose for my 2009 was to teach me even more of life's lessons.


I've learned that loving someone means work. You have to constantly work at keeping that love alive, and if you slip, it's in danger of crashing and burning. But....if you slip, and then fix it, you've got a road of hope in front of you.


I've learned that no matter how old I am, when I turn out the light, I'll still pray that God will keep me safe from the monster in the closet.


I've learned that paying bills is really not fun. Really, it's not.


I've learned that I'm pretty dang awesome. Not in the conceited kind of way, but in the "I'm worth it" kind of way.


I've learned that patience truly is a virtue. Virtue is defined as "moral excellence, goodness and righteousness." Who doesn't want to be good? I mean, just...good. It's so simple, but so hard. Waiting has never been my strong suit, but this year has taught me that sometimes I don't have a choice. So deal? Yeah....deal. Be virtuous. Be patient. Be good.


I've learned what it's like to start settling down and to be on my own. That one's a truly new experience for me....the adultworld. 2009 has been my first full year out of school, working, single (for the most part). Three huge hurdles that I hope I've successfully jumped.


Thank God for it all. I'm excited about the new day, the new month, the new year and the new decade that is to come tomorrow.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

For auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne

We'll take a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne

Puppies make the world brighter...

Well, I don't like the IRS. Can I get an amen? 

I almost let them ruin my morning, but then I saw this and I smiled. Pretty sure I'm the one on the left today. Steer clear...

I just want to start again,
And maybe you could show me how to try,
And maybe you could take me in,
Somewhere underneath your skin?

What do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,

What do you say?

Christmas Spirit

Elfin friend: The weather outside is frightful
Me: I know. It makes me want to sleep in heavenly peace
Elfin friend: I've only seen weather worse than this once in Royal David's City
Me: Did you see Good King Wenseslas there?
Elfin friend: Yes. He was hiding in the holly and the ivy and it was dark so I was like bring a torch Jeannette, Isabella.
Me: I assume Isabella said o holy night all I want for Christmas is  you.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

And so it goes...

Fabulous friend: You have to be uncomfortable. You have to be vulnerable. It's where the great things come from.

Best advice I've been given in a long time. Thank the Lord for trusted friends who care.

Because everyone that knows anything about me knows I'm an oldies lover.

Sing it, Cetera.

Best mood ever today...

Why?

Ha. NO idea.

I should feel so many things right now...guilt, nervousness, exhaustion, impatience, anticipation, etc.

But I don't. Not right now. Not this moment. Not today.

It's raining, yes. It's freezing cold, yes.

But I'm gonna finish out this work day, go home and make chicken taco soup, put my sweat pants on and just relax.

A girl deserves it every once in a while, no?

Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.  Let the rain sing you a lullaby.  ~Langston Hughes

I WILL have this soon. Please? 

I mean, come on, it has the quasi-word "re-grooved" on the cover.

Struggles...

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, 

but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 

Philippians 2:3 

Trying to remember the selfish ambition part, mostly. I've been on the fence about something pretty big in my life at the moment. It's a hugely tough decision because, no matter the road I take, I lose a little bit. I hurt others, too. Where does the point come where it's okay to be a little selfish for your own good? Should I always be so selfless as to forget what would make me happy and only be concerned with what makes everyone else around me content?

Sometimes I really wish God would just write me a letter telling me what to do and put it in my mailbox. Just about the important things, really. I can handle the small stuff. How do you make a decision and only hope for the best when it could change your entire life?

True love right here, everybody.

Feel that Fire...

He walks into the two-bedroom, single-wide trailer and notices that he can see his warm breath turning into clouds in front of his face. He automatically knows what's wrong with this picture. The furnace, once again, is broken.

Being a guy, he, along with the help of his roommate, has already figured out how to rig the furnace to make it work. Of course, they could have just called the landlord, but that would've been way too easy. His roommate is perched, indian-style in front of the furnace, unlit match in hand.

"Hey dude, I'm fixin' it, just cool out," he says. "Eh okay," he thinks, "guess I'll be keeping this coat on for a while."

The roommate starts the familiar ritual; smack the wall, hit the heater, strike a match and throw it in. Whoosh!

He turns around just in time to see a fan of flames engulf the roommate, for a half-second, and return cozily back into the furnace. Shock. Is he okay?


Strings of smoke are coming off his eyebrows, hair and even out of his nostrils. HA! The roommate's face says it all. He's fine, thankfully, but was that his life he just saw flash before his eyes? Probably so.

Went to church and lunch with the family yesterday. My dad, with a little bit of motivation (usually from me) frequently loves to reminisce about funny happenings of his past. Thought this one was worth sharing...


Hope everyone's Monday was full of sunshine and daisies :)

whycantieatlikethiseverydayandnotbe400lbs?

So I usually keep my blogging to one post a day, just so I'll actually get some work done, but this is just way too important.

Okay, let's talk about Thanksgiving.

Southern Thanksgivings put every other meal in the entire world to shame. It's a fact. KR asked me at work today what we have for Thanksgiving dinner every year. She said 'every year' because you know as well as I do that this meal does not differ. World War III could quite possibly erupt if Aunt Marge forgets her famous corn casserole.

Anyways, I quickly list off all my favorites - mac 'n cheese, turkey, dressing, giblet gravy, sweet potato casserole, green beans with ham hock - and my not-so-favorites (think rutabagas, green peas, etc.), and realize that not one thing that I've just named is even remotely good for me. After about 3 seconds of reflection, I also realize that
I. Don't. Care.

Do people eat healthy on Thanksgiving? Lord, let's hope not.

Do people get up and run before stuffing themselves with tiresome turkey? Please don't.

Work hard that week. Diet. Run your fanny off. Just enjoy the one day of the year when calories don't matter.

Eat, drink and be merry, folks. :)

Choo What?

Dear H & M,

Right now, I feel a mixture of love and hate for you. I love you because you are launching a new Jimmy Choo for H & M line of the most amazing clothes/accessories/shoes known to man. I hate you because this means that I'll be forced to spend money that I shouldn't spend. On take-my-breath-away shoes like these. Do me a favor, send coupons? Ha.

Until next time,

*C*

What a Week...

Life's been a little crazy this week. A whirlwind to be exact.

I've been doing a lot of "being the stable one" this week. Hospital visits, doctor visits, terrible work days, LIFE changes, relationship problems, gossip, bad terrible decisions, friendship turmoil...you name it, I've been there to listen to it. Don't get me wrong, I thank the Lord that I'm able to do this right now, because I know as well as anybody that the time will come when I'll need the people around me to hold me up.

The reason I'm writing, though, is because all of this has made me realize how blessed I am. We've all (yes, you included) been given more than we could ask for, and it's always nice to have some light shone on that fact every once in a while.

Have a happy Thursday, y'all.

It's almost the weekend, and I KNOW everyone can be thankful for that!

Fresh Start

So, I had to retire the Xanga site. I love it, but it was time to move onto bigger and better things. Enter Blogspot.

Real short entry today, basically because I should be (working). Whoops.

Beautiful day, fantastic weather. I always knew there was a reason that fall in the South is my favorite season.