Worry.

So the stress continues, and the worry builds. How silly am I to worry? I know I have a Great God who is in control and loves me so much. He's my Provider, He will provide.

So I may have gone into spring break hoping to come back to school with easy sailing till graduation. I now laugh at the thought! I have no doubt that I will love and enjoy every day till May 14th, but those days will include some stress. Some stress I kind of enjoy- I like knowing that I have a design due tomorrow with the urgency of having to get it done. I do not, however, enjoy being told or thought of as being a slacker because I'm not. I promise that if I tell you I will get something done, I will! I don't like those stresses.

I did have some fun last night. I played coed intermural softball with my team, The Horties. Considering I have hardly picked up a bat or glove since 3rd grade slow pitch- I was pleasantly surprised with two hits, and one score! Woohoo! It was so fun just playing a stress free game. We like to win, but our team will have fun even if we don't. We're there to have FUN.

So catch up time (real quick!) The end of spring break was a blast! Dad took his favorite girls out to The Melting Pot. Mmm, it was delicious! We went for a celebration. I would go into more detail about the specifics of the celebration but that wouldn't be nice. Ask me in person if you would like to know :) haha

I also got to spend some time with my sweet friends from high school! I love to catch up with these girls! Me and Taylor get to see each other at college but Megan accidentally decided to go to that other school so any time we are at home we try hard to get together! We had a lunch date to Rosies and then went walking at Indian Creek! It was a beautiful day! Mmm, so much fun- I love them both!

Just a request: Pray for me. I need to not worry.

"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives" -Francis Chan

"And Then There Was Sight"

Whew, so many things to catch up on.

First: Pre-spring break, my one new meal for last week was Chicken Katherine, homemade mashed potatoes, and broccoli. All went pretty well, but it hasn't been one of my favorite creations. I wasn't feeling all that great that night so maybe my taste buds were a little off. Robyn ate with me and Matthew and she said the mashed potatoes were delicious. Woohoo, progress :)

Now on to Spring break! Me and Matthew headed to the beach Friday afternoon to meet Mammaw in Destin and later to be joined by Robyn and Greg! The beach was fun, a little chilly, and a lot windy. I didn't even put my swim suit on! Sunday mom, dad, Liz, and Tori came to join us. We all had a good time of shopping, eating, games, and lots of laughing! No doubt to say Mammaw kept us entertained the WHOLE time!

Me and Matthew had a fun time leaving the beach nice and early on Tuesday morning. 7 oclock to be exact! Eck! That's too early on spring break! We were off on our LONG journey to Atlanta. But to say the least, it was worth it! Stayed the night after that at Matthew's in Birmingham. We filled out our "Big Dance" brackets and I'm already quite into it, and routing for my teams!

Finally made it home last night- first time this whole semester! Wow, it's been too long! Trying my best to enjoy every second of this break. It's my last one! I know I have a little school to get done and stuff, but besides that RELAXATION!

Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.

Tonight was the last basketball game to be played at Beard-Eaves. We actually won, so it was super great to end on a good note! After the game they had a "closing ceremony" that was all sentimental. I just think its funny because I'll be in there again for gymnastics on Friday (the official last sporting event) and graduation in May. So basically there are many more memories to come!!

Yay, another meal under my belt. Instead of doing the chicken and dumplings like I said (I didn't have enough time for that) I made a pot roast with veggies tonight! It was another success! We had our engaged friends Lauren and Kyle over so I was a little nervous to serve something I had never cooked before but it turned out just fine! I realize the pictures don't look too appetizing... just take my word for it! I'm not sure what next weeks meal will be yet. I guess I'll let Matthew go through the cookbook and pick one :)

So, Im not sure why but lately I've been in meltdown mode. I don't really know where this silly girl came from because I used to know how to keep it all together! Anyways, the most recent meltdown was due to the pressures of figuring out everything after graduation and my job and such. Going through that is such a good reminder that I'm not in control, thankfully, and to put my total trust in God. He holds my future and I'm so happy to know that. Lately I've been reading through 1st Samuel about David- and Saul's pursuit of him. David trusted in God so much. So many times (I've read about two so far) he had the opportunity to kill Saul and get out of the danger he was in. But he knew that Saul was anointed and wasn't to be messed with. He let God hold his future and everything that was to come for him- when he could have so easily taken it into his own hands. So often I need to be reminded to be more like David and let God be in complete control and take comfort in knowing He is in control!

Poppy Seed Chicken.

This weekend has seemed to drag on and on, thankfully! I guess it helped that mine pretty much started on Thursday when mom and dad came for a quick visit. And then I got to head to Bham Friday for "equipment day" and play on all the big pieces of equipment!

Anyways, the poppy seed chicken was a success and very yummy! I love that its so easy and only takes 30 minutes to cook, with like 20 minutes of prep time. If you would like the recipe I would love to pass it on to you! Just let me know!

(This picture doesn't even give it justice... haha!)

Next up on the list: Mimmie's Chicken and Dumplins. Whew, I'm a little nervous about that one so we will see how it goes!

The Olympics are over, and Im so sad. I guess I'll have to start getting back into the Food Network at night. Mmm, favorite olympic moments: Shaun White dominating the half pipe in snowboarding, Evan Lysacek in figure skating, two of our men getting 1st and 2nd in the Nordic combined, and our first place 4-man bobsled team! Of course it was all great, and Im sure I forgot some good ones, but those were pretty good! Can't wait for summer 2012 olympics in London!

New Ideas.

I've come up with a new idea, or a goal maybe. I want to cook a new meal that I've never cooked EVERY week! Ahh, it will be hard and it will be expensive but it will definitely help me on my road to domestication! I'm going to start with recipes out of the cookbook Matthew made for me (It has recipes from my mom, grandmother, mammaw, and mimmie and his mom and grandmother). I'm so excited to start filling up my cabinet with different spices and ingredients. If you have any good (fairly easy- but I do enjoy a challenge) recipes I would love some ideas! Friday I'm cooking Poppy Seed Chicken, although that won't be a first- but it's one of me and Matthew's favorites! So, look out for updates about FOOD in the near future. I'll be sharing my failures and triumphs! :)

On a lighter note, the Olympics are almost over. Closing Ceremonies are on Sunday night :( I'm trying to soak it all in before then! Dad told

me he was glad it would be ending soon, and I asked why. He said, "So then I won't have to watch it!" Am I my father's daughter or what?!

Hmm, just real quick... Scott showed us this in sunday school this past week and I thought it was so funny. You know the saying "a little birdie told me?" Well, that actually came from the Bible. In Ecclesiastes 10:20 it says

"Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,

or curse the rich in your bedroom,

because a bird of the air may carry your words,

and a bird on the wing may report what you say."

(This picture is from a bird cage at a couples house I stayed at for Venture last year.)

(And this is me and Elizabeth in the cage. Yeah, you could say they liked birds.)

Warrrrrr Eagle, hey.

Whew, the weekends already practically over. It went by too fast, but it was fun! Mmm, I feel like I haven't updated in forever, I miss it! Well to start off, on Thursday my sailing lab got cancelled due to cold weather :) Since I was already up and moving I went ahead and picked up some Chickfila breakfast to surprise Matthew and take him to class! It was a good Thursday, just jam packed- I had to tutor, and then go to my never ending PLANET meeting.

Friday I decided to venture out of my comfort zone a little bit. I talked to Kacey Shaver the night before on facebook about coming to her "Madly In Love With Me Sleepover" (haha) I decided I would go and not spend the night, it would be good to have some good quality girl time! So Friday night came around and me and Matthew went to our favorite with Mammaw, Loredos! And then off I went to Holly's house (where the sleepover was at!) Well to say the least Im so glad I went. We played Loaded Questions, and I got to know some good girls! Well around 10 I headed out because Matthew and I had finally found some time to go hang out with our engaged friends, Kyle and Lauren. We ended up just sitting around talking and watch Curling on tv.

Saturday. Mmm, I love my lazy days. I slept in, yeah... I needed it. Did a little bit of school in the afternoon and thats it. I was so excited because my aunt Tina and our friend Ken from China were coming in town! So we ate dinner with them two and Grandmother and Grandaddy. Although they disagree but Village Wok ain't got nothing on Pandas :) After we hurried off to the AU vs. Ark basketball game. We went planning on losing- like I've said before... I've come to expect a loss. Not good I know, but thats just how it is. Anyways, we surprised me and we won!! War Eagle, hey! Actually they passed out those signs that you can pull apart to show a message at the game! They said War Eagle on them! So everytime we did a War Eagle I would slowly pull it apart and then close it right before the "hey" to open it again real quick! I have to find ways to entertain myself in the second half of games. I typically enjoy the first half and then it gets a little too mundane for me!

After the game we stopped by Krogers to pick up some cookie dough, yeah it was one of those nights! And we headed to Matthew's to watch The Time Travelers Wife. After hearing it wasn't too good (and also that it was good) I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it. It was a little on the weird side so I doubt I would watch it again, but enjoyable to say the least!

I was so excited to go to church this morning because I feel like I haven't been in forever. We haven't been able to make it to Wednesday night in forever, due to school and such! So I was excited to hear Curtis and Bro. Al bring The Word. In sunday school were still going through Genesis and I learn so much every week. We were on chapter 37 this week about Joseph being sold into slavery. Curtis brought up some verses that I really needed to hear, and some things have already started to change. In the service Bro. Al started by telling us he was going to interupt the sermon series he's in the middle of to talk about something else. I knew then it was going to be on all the lottery/gambling stuff going on in Alabama. Surely enough it was, and Im so glad I was there to hear it- I was one of those people that I really just thought if thats how those stupid people want to spend their money than thats fine. Wrong. Gambling is wrong and we should not support it in any way. Gambling isn't wise (1 Timothy 6:10), it isn't loving (Romans 13:8-10), and it doesn't glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Gambling is a parasite to our country, don't support it! The only people who "win" are those who run the casinos!

All artsied out.

Whew, is it only Wednesday? I'm completely worn out! This week as certainly been the craziest school week I've had in a while. But it wasn't a whole lot of studying per say, more like artsy projects! Those things wear me out! I had to make two posters, one with 3d features... these created two nights of staying up really late.

This makes me think about how much I've changed from Freshman year. I used to stay out til sometimes 3 am back then! Now getting in at 12 is late! I must be getting old, and getting ready for the real world of having to get up early and work 8 hours a day! (yikes!)

Last night I ventured out of my comfort zone and went to Robyns Church of the Highlands bible study with her! I've been needing one, and the one at Lakeview doesn't really fit my schedule. But anyways, it was really good and I'm glad I went! They're talking about the Fruits of the Spirit so I know that will be great to get into to!

Okay so now to continue on with my addiction. As I sit here I'm watching the olympics. I just can not explain to you how much I love it and want to watch it all night long! My absolute favorite is the speed skating (Apolo Anton Ohno). I love his individual events and also the relays. My next favorite is the snowboarding (Shuan White), while curling comes in for a close third. (mmm, maybe not!) Yesterday I saw our USA snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis compete in her event (like the snowboarding cross) and she completely busted and was disqualified. This is after last olympics when she won a silver medal. Yes, that sounds good- except for the fact that she had a major lead and did a trick on the last jump and fell and barely got silver! Think about how much criticism she has had to deal with for the past four years! I was rooting for her, so sad it didn't work out! She definitely still had a positive attitude after though! Hope I'm not totally boring you with this- but if you haven't tuned into it yet... I recommend it! It will really bring out your patriotism! (3 golds today... keeps me cheering, USA! USA! USA!)

To continue my journey of becoming domesticated- I cooked dinner tonight! I decided I would make it Taco Wednesday (maybe Tuesday would have been better! haha) They turned out good, but this time around I used Great Value brand taco seasoning instead of like El Paso, I think I'll splurge and spend the 25 extra cents for now on! Oh well, another successful meal: my number just keeps growing!