Last Friday I was really dreading going to my photography class because at 7:30 in the morning I would rather be sleeping in my cozy bed. But I dragged myself out to class and when I got there I was told we were getting our second project back. I felt I did a pretty good job on it so I wasn't too worried about my grade. But I soon realized that my photograph was not in the stack of projects. And after getting a little concerned that something wrong happened with my project, I realized that my teacher chose my project to go in the display case in the Fine Arts building. I was so excited! Only eight out of maybe fifty people get their art in display cases in photography so it is a pretty awesome thing if you get your work displayed! That definitely made it all worth getting out of bed. I also got an "A" on it!

(Mine is the second one from the left, on top.)

My artwork

These are my projects from last semester:
These were done in my 2D design class







These were done in my Drawing 1 class:




These are my projects from this semester so far
Drawing 2:




3D Design:(I hated this project)


These are from Photography 1:

Things that I have done

First of all, James surprised me a couple weeks ago with a new digital camera (my old one broke and he knew I was saving for one). He said that since I have helped him so much with the church, I deserved to get some sort of reward since I am not getting paid. What a guy! It was a very sweet surprise! And by the end of this blog you will notice how much I like my new camera!

So I cleaned my room...this is the before shots:


And now it looks like this:


About a week ago I called James to tell him I was making dinner (got his voicemail) and left him a message not to eat on campus. I made a nice dinner and of course he didn't get the message and ate on campus anyways, so I ate my great dinner by myself! Here was my lovely set up:



Oh well!

This was the beautiful sky the other night:


And these were from the engagement party!

Alright, I finally have free time to write!

My summer was wonderful! Full of fun trips, happy times, and amazing memories!
This summer was all about going places! I went to North Carolina, Florida (twice), Indiana, California, and New York! Every place I went was beautiful and wonderful in so many ways! North Carolina was great because James and I were in the gorgeous mountains and got to visit his sweet grandmother. Florida was wonderful because the beach is the best place to be! Indiana is my home and my heart and gives me the best feeling in the world. And California and New York were places that I have wanted to go visit and I was blessed to go see both within weeks of each other and had a blast!

I also got engaged to my best friend and the love of my life! Everything was perfect about that night and I will never forget it! I look at my ring everyday and get excited!

My two best friends Jeremy and Kody got married this summer and I am so happy for them. It was a beautiful wedding and they are so happy together!

I turned 21 this summer which means nothing really...I celebrated with my mom, dad, James,and my grandmother at Olive Garden, so yummy!

James got a job with a church and is now the youth minister in Moultrie Georgia (You pronounce that with a twangy southern accent...they are so country!) Anyways, he is doing a great job...the kids are not very respectful at the moment probably because they are in middle school and are just hormonally imbalanced. Tolerance is mandatory! We took the youth to Universal Studios a couple of weeks ago and that was an experience! The youth didn’t want to wait in hour long lines for the rides so they decided they would rather just sit and look at the little ponds with fish in them. Needless to say we went to Universal Studios, but rode and did almost nothing. I am so glad I didn’t have to pay for that trip! Hopefully the youth will snap out of the whole attitude stage quick! With James’ job we have to be out of the house every Sunday morning by 7:30 AM to get to Moultire by around 8:20 AM. We then go to the early service at 9. Then James leads the youth Sunday school at 10. And at 11 we go to the 11 o’clock service where we then leave with the children’s church to help with that until noon. Then we go back to James’ office where we usually eat a sandwich or spaghettio’s for lunch. I usually work on school stuff/take naps/watch a movie and entertain myself while James works on homework and work for the church. We leave his office around5 PM, where we then go to the youth room and set up for the Sunday night youth service that starts at 6 PM. We usually get on the road to Valdosta around 8:30 and get home around 9:30 PM and that is our day!

So far school is going well. I rarely see my roommate(not complaining...she is a little different). Life is good. I am happy and all is well! I am now going to bed because my momma, daddy, and grandmother are coming in tomorrow and I have cleaned all day and I am pooped! Good night!

Wedding songs and hair cuts and kiddy pools...oh my!

This is the song that I will be singing at Kody's wedding. He sings this song so wonderful and amazing! I LOVE it! You should check out more of his videos on YouTube. He has some amazing worship songs! I hope I do the song justice!

Also running through my scattered brain is wanting to chop off my hair...it is driving me nuts and "I just want to run my fingers through it and go." So this is what I am thinking....

I want to wait until after the wedding but I might not be able to hold out that long!
We'll see!

We also got our pool today so tomorrow after slaving away at the garage we are going to relax and cool down in our, brand new, luxurious, fancy, 18 inch deep, 8 feet long swimming hole!

Summer Stuff!

Well once again I am doing my diet... and some how I woke up this morning and weighed myself, ate breakfast and weighed myself again (lost 2 ounces) and then ate lunch and weighed myself again (and had lost 8 more ounces). So as the day went on I ate and lost a pound! This is starting off great! Hopefully this won't be another failure.

Mom and I have been doing major house work. The past two days we have been cleaning out the basement. Thursday we plan to attack the garage! Tomorrow however we are dropping things off at Goodwill and going shoe shopping.

James is in Memphis for the week with the youth choir so I am missing him but getting stuff done which is good.

So far I have really enjoyed my summer. I have been able to relax and do a lot of fun things. And the great news is, is that I have another two months of this!

This is what I see when I think of summer:

What's Goin' On?

I haven't been on here that much because I have been spending my time doing other productive things? Like sleeping in, and watching t.v. HAHA! And since I am using my dads computer to access the Internet....I don't get a lot of time to blog. I have done a couple of things so far this summer. James and I have taken our doggies to the park twice and both trips lasted 2 hours! That is a lot of walking! I wish I could take Maggie but she is crazy in public and can't walk for too long. James and I also went out for his sister's 25Th birthday. It was our first "bar" experience and we actually had a lot of fun. There was a great Mexican band and we danced our toes off! It was great! James and I of course didn't drink but everyone knows we don't need alcohol to have a great time. It was so much fun!
I am also back on the diet. After much celebration of being home and eating wonderful food...I have gained 6 pounds and I have to get into my bridesmaid dress that I ordered a little snug! Oh the joy of hunger and pain(from working out). My two least favorite words!
In other news, James is in the middle of possibly getting a part time youth minister job that would start in August.
The Pros:
1)Most importantly James and I both feel that it would be a great opportunity to share the love of God and feel that this is something we are both ready for and excited for.
2)It is a job that pays $800-$1,000 a month equaling to around $10,000 a year. (it would be a year-round job) This would be a great help to our future since he would be able to save most of what he earns.
3)I could possibly get paid for helping him!
4)It is great experience for both James and I.
5)James would only work on weekends. There would be someone else working during the week. All of the youth activities are done on weekends though.

The Cons:
1)It is a tremendous responsibility and a lot of work to balance with school and coming home.
2)It is a year-round job so James' summers would be spent in Valdosta a lot.
3)It is a 40 minute drive from Valdosta.

James and I have a lot of great ideas for what we feel God would want for this church if James does get the job. It seems like it is almost for sure that he will have the job. We are just praying that it is what is best for everyone.

That is about it on what's been happening lately. Mom and I are going down to Valdosta on Friday to meet my new roommate. I have met her before but she wanted to get into the apartment and show it to her mom. And we are planing to go to the beach for a day or two while we are down there!

YAY summer!

Hmmmm........

I am sitting at home (alone) and it is POURING rain! There is no thunder or lightning and I am seriously contemplating on going out to play it....by my self. Or I might just stay in.

Waiting

Yesterday my finals got done at 1 and today my LAST final is not until 7:15 PM so I am now just waiting for that time to come...it is kind of frustrating because I really don't start my summer break until that last final is done. Anyways, here is what I do when there isn't anything else to do.

The ABC's
A - Age: almost 21...for some reason 21 sounds older than 20.

B - Bed size: double

C - Chore you hate: sweeping...it is a never ending process

D - Dog's name: Gage and Maggie :)

E - Essential start your day item: piece of gum HA!

F - Favorite color: pink

G - Gold or Silver: silver

H - Height: 5'4

I - Instruments you play(ed): my vocal chords? I tried playing the guitar and piano for like a day!

J - Job title: student

K - Kid(s): Can't wait! But I have to have an even number of kids...it's a weird "me" thing

L - Living arrangements: My ghetto fabulous apartment and losing my best friend roomie! :(

M - Mom's name: Leasa

N - Nicknames: Linz

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: none of that!

P - Pet Peeve: people not putting their turn signals on and then turning when I could have turned way earlier!

Q - Quote from a movie: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough." The Notebook

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: one brother

T - Time you wake up: with school finally out hopefully no earlier than 9!

U- Underwear: Is always good to have!

V - Vegetable you dislike: celery, carrots, coualieflower...basically anything you would dip in ranch dip...except cucumbers!

W - Ways you run late: t.v., Internet, sleeping

X - X-rays you've had: Just my mouth I think

Y - Yummy food you make: I love my Cream Cheese Deliciousness but no one seems to like it but James and I

Z - Zoo favorite: The Monkeys!!!!

Well that wasted a good ten minutes!

The Good Old Days!

When I think about growing up these are the images that come to my mind....

This was one of the first barbies I remember playing with.

I remember shows like Salute Your Shorts, Hey Dude, What Would You Do?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Double Dare, Ready Or Not, Flash Forward, and The Babysitters Club.

I still love all of these artists!

I just remember loving Hulk Hogan!

Other things that I remember and are nostalgic about:
-Sliced hot dogs and mac and cheese on colored divided plastic plates.
-Sneaking down stairs after being put to bed and sitting next to dad on the floor watching Married...With Children and eating peanuts (never understanding the jokes)
-Every time I eat a gumball I automatically go back to the Christmas that Chad got a gumball machine.
-I can still smell Grandma and Grandpa's camper.
-Summers in Indiana playing in apple trees, playing house with Mal, and playing store in the upstairs at the farm.
-Doing gymnastics in the house( hand stands on the door and one handed cart wheels with a burrito in one hand)

I miss the "magic" of Christmas, and the weird feeling of getting out of school early. (Whenever I would get checked out of school I always thought, "So this is what is going on while I'm at school?" HA!) I miss begging for toys rather than groceries (when Momma comes to town!)

I am very happy with who I am and my age right now....I just sometimes want to be a kid again and my biggest concern for the day would be whether to play house or school!

Procrastination

On my agenda for the weekend I HAVE to get done the following 1)my art history paper (due this Monday-haven't started) 2)my teaching strategies PowerPoint (due this Monday-haven't started) 3)my 2D project (it is due this Thursday and although I have already started it, it has a long way to go! and 4) I have to draw one of my shoes and a piece of my underwear (???) for my Drawing one class (due this Monday).

Here are my problems....
1. It is a BEAUTIFUL day today and I quote from a great movie, Ferris Bueller:

"How can I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?"

So instead of doing homework I went and laid by the pool and read a book. It was wonderful!
2. My other problem is that my Drawing one teacher requested an assignment that I feel is a little inappropriate and he requested to present our assignment on special paper that I have looked for at Hobby Lobby and Michael's and cannot find! And in Valdosta if it ain't at those two places you can just give up because there is no where else to look.
3. And I guess my third problem is that I just plain out don't want to do anything. But of course this time tomorrow I will be so mad at myself for not doing anything today so I am going to go try to talk myself into doing something productive...
I just keep telling myself, one more week of school, one more week of school.

This is my boyfriend...

I am completely in love with this man......




And I couldn't be happier!

Oh Rainy Nights!

It has been raining a lot lately in Valdosta so James and I decided to go out and play!

The Sun is Shinning!

I am begining to see the light at the end of the tunnel! I have 1 more week of school left and I am loving it. And I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders so I am in a much better mood. I still have two powerpoint presentations (TO START) and 3 papers to write, plus study for all of my exams and finish my final project for 2D which is barely underway, but I am going to stay clam.
Poor James. Friday morning we walked in and I was crying because of the stress of school and the shower and wanting to go home. I was so upset because I had to get all of my shopping and shower stuff done in one day and my apratment was a disater area. I mean it was horrible. James calmed me down enough to go to class. Then from there I was out doing my errands and with two trips to the mall, 3 trips to Walmart, Khol's, Ross, Target, Publix, and a 40 minute converstaion with the bank trying to get a new debit card because I lost mine...even though I had used it 2 hours earlier at The Dollar Tree, I was on my way back to the apratment to go out to eat with my future roomate that was in town. But when I walked in to my apratment, it was spotless. James had cleaned up all the clutter and mess and made my bed and put everything away! I started balling as he walked out saying, "I did this so you wouldn't cry." I mean I was crying hard! You know the ugly cry. That meant more to me than anything he could have ever given me.

And the shower went great...a couple of people didn't show up but I think Kody had a good time!




Her gift from me: