Look What I Won!!

I entered a contest on heart to Heart with Holley and won! I'm so excited because I really like this Dayspring line!

Officially On A Break

I have, after much deliberation (seriously, since February), decided to take at least a month long hiatus from Facebook and Twitter. It has truly become a crutch, and a leach on my time. I come home from work, sit in front of the t.v. with my laptop and play on facebook while watching what's on Tivo. This has become increasingly true since finishing my masters almost a year ago. At least before, I had no choice but to put Facebook aside to do something intellectual. But now, I don't have to, and it's an addiction I have fallen to easily into.

Additionally, my 25th Birthday is in less than a month and I have found myself thinking a lot about what that means. Besides the fact I, hopefully, will start feeling like an adult (I can rent a car without paying extra now after all), I feel like 25 marks the beginning of a new era. I really want to go into year 25 intentionally. I want to have a list of things I want to say I am or have done by 30. I really think I need to take a break from vegging out in order to get a clearer grasp on what that means and where I think God is calling me to with the next quarter century of my life.

With that said, no more facebook, no more twitter. Instead I'll:

read. write. post the things I write on here in some cases. have real conversations with friends. be silent. enjoy more time outside with my dog. finally finish a week of my Beth Moore study more than 20 minutes before I am supposed to be there. iron my clothes instead of wearing the same couple of skirts that don't need ironing. decorate my apartment. pick my apartment up every day rather than waiting until it's a disaster to clean. work out more. stop comparing myself to others as much. quit over analyzing everything around me. learn to have the gift of presence. allow the Holy Spirit to develop a quiet spirit within me.

I think the list could go on and on. The point is- there are so many better uses of my time than my Facebook/Twitter Obsession. So, at least until June, I will be saying adios to Facebook and Twitter. Who knows, I may decide to quit permanently! Freedom has never felt so exciting!

Perspective

New Template, Shout Out to Mom, Swine Flu, Among Other Things

I recently (i.e. earlier this week) entered an "updating" phase of life. One of the things I updated was the layout of my blog! Gone are the dark and dreary days of old. I also have some fun background music now! These changes elicited the following email from my dear mother:

Hi Daughter,
What have you done to your blog????? I think I like the colors it sure is bright..and I think suits you better. Oh. The music that starts up when I click on it is nice too. I have left it on in the back ground.
Love you sweetie,
Mom

It first I thought she was mad, but then I realized I think she likes it better than the old drab blog. Hi Mom. Glad you like it! Maybe next time I'm home I'll teach you how to leave comments! Love you!


As you may have heard, there's a bit of a flu going around. . . of the swine variety. This particular strand has been a bit lethal in Mexico and has officially claimed one life in Texas. (I will point out, that New York has had more confirmed cases than Texas, so don't freak out too much). Baylor's staying on top of it, and we have a webpage dedicated to it, just in case it hits Waco (which it hasn't).

This of course isn't helping the fact that I have been feeling a little under the weather the last couple of days. Yesterday I nearly choked on my own breath during a VP Candidate presentation and made quite the scene. Today I woke up with a splitting headache. Don't worry though- no fever, or other flu symptoms. Stay away little piggies.

It's really hard to believe that my first full academic year at Baylor is coming to a close. This week marks the last full week of class. Last week we had Diadeloso (Day of the Bear in Spanish). The next to last Thursday of Spring Classes Baylor cancels class, let's employees off at noon and there is a huge party. It was a blast! It was sunny, 80-90 degrees outside and a perfect day for concerts, dog shows, huge Tug-o-War competitions (seriously. HUGE). I entered Tuck in the Dia Dog Show and we had a great time. He kind of did a trick on the stage, but got distracted by another dog and the crowd simultaneously saying, "ahhhh" at him. He didn't win, but I am convinced that next year is our year! (Yes, I am a dog-show parent, but he doesn't mind!)



Spending all day outside I got a lot of sun (and of course, I didn't wear sunscreen. Oops). But, This one hasn't peeled, so I think I might actually get a bit of a tan this year! That will be quite the first. This summer I plan to spend quality time by the pool with friends, Tuck and a good book. I just have to find a swim suit first.

Before I get there though, I have to make it through the rest of the year. It seems that life picks up a bit between now and next week, and then for closing of course. Today's my last day with my CL Leadership Class- Having them has been a blast. I'm baking some cookies to celebrate our semester and looking forward to our time together. It's actually about time to head out to class! Enjoy the bright colors and background music!

Oh How I Needed This:

Today I ran across this paragraph while preparing for my final Captivating book study with my girls.

...And the world simply uses people, then spits them out when they are worn out and no longer "on top of their game." Our Enemy despises relationship, hates love in any form, fears its redemptive power. This is why God sent Eve. Women are needed to protect relationships, bring them back to center stage where they belong. You might at times feel like the only one who cares. But as women we must hang onto this- that because of the Trinity, relationship is the most important thing in the universe. Let us not give way or yield our intuitive sense of the importance of relationship for anything...

You have an irreplaceable role in your relationships. No one can be to the people in your life who you can be to them. No one can offer what you can offer. There are many things God calls us to do, but loving well always comes first. And don't your relationships feel opposed? Of course. They must be fought for... You have been sent by the Trinity on behalf of love, of relationships. Fight for them.
-Captivating, pp 209-210

No wonder I’m emotionally exhausted.