HELP!

I am the world's worst at waking up in the morning. I could sleep through most anything, and probably have…. Storms (slept through one just this morning), fire alarms in a dorm (once in college the fire alarm went off in the early morning, and I incorporated it into my dream that my computer was making noises at me!), multiple alarm clocks, people in the room while I'm asleep… you get the picture.

So, this morning I slept through my cell phone alarm. I probably accidentally turned it off the first time it beeped. Unfortunately I didn't wake up until 9:20, which is about 30 minutes after I'm supposed to be at work. Uh oh. You can see why I need help… In my defense, I have been sinus-y and I took two Benadryl last night to help me stay asleep and not cough all night. They worked! The reason only my cell alarm was set was because last week in the middle of the night, while coughing, I reached for my water and knocked my alarm clock off and it broke. I'm in the market for a new one and am open to any suggestions! I told Stephen I need one that makes me run into the kitchen and make my coffee before it would shut off. Wouldn't that be genius?

Here is one alarm clock I am thinking about buying - http://www.clocky.net/ It's the cutest thing!

After you snooze once, it rolls off your bedside table and starts rolling around your room making noises until you turn it off. That alone, I may be able to sleep through. What would wake me up are my animals FREAKING OUT at the thing rolling around the room making noise!

If you have some other ideas… let me know. Like I said, I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks!

Just for fun – here are some of the random places I have fallen asleep:

-In the shower while standing up (which didn't last long)

-An Ole Miss Football game during half time.

-The Louvre in Paris.

-A Widespread Panic concert (I did NOT pass out, I went to sleep because I was tired after taking mid-term exams my freshman year in college).

Do I have Narcolepsy?

I’m feeling old… and also some funny “college non-necessities”!

I was on hold on a phone call a moment ago and while I was waiting I was going through my mail. I came across a Bed Bath & Beyond catalogue. It happened to be their "Back to College" edition. I remember how excited my mom and I were when we headed to Target or Bed Bath & Beyond to look at door room stuff for the first time. I couldn't get enough of it. Not only is it exciting that you're about to go off to college, but it also marks the beginning of being on your own, choosing for your self, and becoming an adult. It's hard to believe a twin sized comforter and some new picture frames can symbolize so much!

I think BB&B has gone a little overboard though. Here is a list of items (for sale in their catalogue) that I did NOT take to school with me my freshman year… or ever:

1. "Foldable Keyboard" – why would you want or need to FOLD your computer keyboard?
2. "Laptop Lock" to lock up your laptop or monitors… anchors to bed post - this is the present day equivalent of the pocket protector.
3. "Homedics SoundSpa Fusion Alarm Clock Radio" which plays nature sounds – If you've got your eyes closed and you're listening to nature sounds, it won't matter. You'll never be able to get past the dorm smell to pretend you're at a spa.
4. "Digital Coin Counting Money Jar" – I hate to tell you but any spare change you've got is going towards laundry.
5. "Snuggie" – do not get one if you plan on going through rush. You're 18, not 80.
6. "Moshi Interactive Voice Response Alarm Clock" which says "Hello Moshi, set alarm" and "Alarm is set to 6:30 am" – in the event that you're too drunk to read numbers (in which case you're not waking up at 6:30 am anyway).

Aside from those items… it made me miss going off to college & adventure that it is. I can't believe how fast it went by. EIGHT years ago I was getting ready to move to Jackson as a freshman at Millsaps. It really feels like that was only about 3 years ago. I spent so long looking forward to it then it was just gone in an instant and I was thrust into the REAL real world in what felt like a matter of minutes! Going from saying "I graduated last semester" to all of the sudden realizing "Did I really graduate 5 years ago?" makes you feel quite old!

At least I start grad school in the fall… maybe people will think I'm just 22 ; )

Organified

I'm sure I've said this before, but I'd love to start growing my own vegetables. My grandparents used to have a vegetable garden overflowing with squash, zucchini, tomatoes, new potatoes, lettuce etc. and there was nothing better than picking vegetables with my grandmamma during the day and having them for dinner that night. Even as a little girl, it just felt right and it tasted so good. Their refrigerator and freezer was always stocked full of fresh veggies, and they were able to give away so much food! We also had a plum tree growing in our backyard when I was little… it was huge and it produced so much fruit every summer! I can still remember the way it smelled in the backyard, sweet from the plums that fell and squished into the ground… mixed with the scent of honeysuckle. We'd be outside late, jumping on the trampoline, and it was still light out. When you got hungry you could just walk over to the plum tree and have a fresh plum. Our neighbors would come over and pick some to take home with them, too. Those memories bring a smile to my face!

I would just love to be that person that’s always giving away their tomatoes & squash… “we have too much, here, take some okra!” Plus, if you’re growing it, you know where it comes from and what’s in it. It would be great to be self sufficient in that area and be able to freeze vegetables for the winter as well. I’m pretty sure that’s what people did before Kroger and Sam’s came along… and I wish I could get back to that.

These pics are of the sunflowers (and a friendly grasshopper) I grew in my front yard this summer. I was so proud of them!

Sleepless in MS

I'm blogging from my bed, using my phone. So sleepy but somethings nagging at me. I needed a day off work today so bad... There's so much I need and want to do from reading more to taking care of some stuff around the house. I wanted to relax on the balcony, breathe, enjoy life - then I got to work and the phone didn't stop ringing. How can a device be so absolutly annoying? Each ring represents another question, another number on the to-do list, another complaint or request. It wears me out. My actual work doesn't bother me - I like it. Just that phone! Maybe it'll go out tomorrow :)
Nigh night...
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

The Book Deal

Just in case you're making out your summer reading list and finding it to be a little slim, I'll give you some of my favorite reads.

(author's note: I started this post June 3rd and didn't finish until June 16th, so I'm just going to stick to one book for now! More to follow as I have more time to write!)

1. Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore- This book was recommended to me by several different people and I think it is the best book I've ever read, hands down. It is life changing. http://www.samekindofdifferentasme.com/
Here are some things I've taken away from this book:

If God puts it on your heart to respond to a homeless person's request for money, then give them money and don't judge them for what they do with it...that's God's job and you will receive the blessing.

We have no idea where others are coming from and where they have been. I try so hard not to judge, but that's a reaction that comes much too easily for me. I am working on it...

We are given so many blessings - far too many to count. I look at everything I've been given, and I realize how much I hoard these things... the smallest of which could help another person out tremendously. I think God gives us so many opportunities to help others and we turn our heads and tell ourselves that someone else will do it. We are passing on so many things he's trying to show us.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the lease of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:35-40

I am often convicted by Christ's words in these verses...

"For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in. I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.

They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Matthew 25:42-45

Kind of makes you think about giving to the needy doesn't it...? Oh and don't forget to read the book!

Grad School

I found out yesterday that I got accepted to graduate school at Ole Miss. You can't see me right now, but I'm patting myself on the back. I'm pretty excited!

I'll be going back in the fall to get my Masters of Education in School Counseling. I'll still work full time and just take two afternoon classes every week for 3 years. It's a long time looking at it from this side, but I know it will be worth it.

This may seem like it's somewhat out of the blue, but I've wanted to go back to school for a while and every time I tried something just didn't work out. I heard about this program opening up at the DeSoto Center, and things fell into place one by one. I got my application submitted at the last minute, met one of the professors for an interview, then was able to schedule, study for, and take the GRE a few weeks later! I didn't talk about it much because I didn't want to get my hopes up. I just kept thinking, if this is God's will, it will work out. And as nervous as I am, I know that His will is the best path for me so even though these next few years will be challenging, He will be with me each step of the way! A challenging walk beside the Lord is better than trying to do anything "easy" on my own! (Please just remind me of this in 6 months or so!)

Firsts

It's June 1st! The Summer months are finally here, and I love it. Even though I am an "adult" without a summer break I still love the long daylight hours, sitting outside at on hot nights, baseball, getting together for cookouts, and of course, vacations. Speaking of, it's 26 days until ours, not that I'm counting down every second until it gets here or anything...

On Saturday night I experienced a first - boating on the Mississippi River. I've done the whole Riverboat ride thing before (and been to the casinos on the river of course) but had never been really boating on the river. It was much more fun than I expected! We ate pizza, watched a gorgeous sunset, and laughed as our men tried to fish by the light of Memphis. Stephen did manage to catch the boat windshield on his line but that was about it! I don't know what they planned on doing if they caught a 40 pound catfish, but luckily that didn't happen.

This is also our first summer in our new house. I now have my first yard to care for and my first front porch (actually 2 front porches, how much more southern can you get?!). I've enjoyed tending to the few flowers that have bloomed out front. Never having had a green thumb, this is a really big deal for me. At some point I want to be super adventurous and try to grow a vegetable garden, but I think I'll pace myself and save that first for next year...

(summer sunset views from our upstairs balcony)