Thanksgiving.

I guess it's been a little while since I've updated this, for those of you who enjoy reading my blog *if there's one out there*.. sorry. I've been so busy, its crazy. But I read someone's blog and it inspired me to do one of my own. Just to let you know, this is going to be long.

I have officially started my holiday season. It started off with Christmas Village this past weekend, and continued with The Rockettes last night. *an amazing show by the way, good for the WHOLE family!* The holiday season is always incredible, There are such happy spirits everywhere you look, and family is the big emphasis. For me, I'm a huge family girl, and this time of year is especially my favorite. I just have to stop and think of all that I really am thankful for. First of all, I'm hoping these people read this, because I never get a good chance to thank everyone for the inspiration and love they bring into my life. I'm going to start off with Pastor Rick and Jenny Morris. My youth pastors since sixth grade, and they have helped me through all of my crazy stages through out my school years. Frankie and Denise Chew, who showed me friendship, opening up their home countless times for poker and rice krispie night. Of course there's Emily Light and Heather Beamon, my best friends since middle school. We've definately had some rough patches, but always pushed through them. One thing I have learned is no matter what, friendship will always be there. and NO stupid fight is worth losing a best friend over. We're seperated all throughout the state now, and I miss them more than ever. To the Roberts family, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done. I remember when I was so scared to even call your house, and now I feel like I'm already a part of the family. To my better half, Joseph Roberts, you have shown me love, patience, guidance, and taught me more about myself than I would have ever known. I can't wait for the day when we have a family of our own. HSYM Youth, you have made me stronger than you could imagine, with the good and the bad. Mom and Dad, thank you for being behind me 100% in whatever I wanted to do, and where ever I wanted to go. Even though I don't tell you, I appreciate every time you've driven downtown at midnight to pick up Jo, or everytime you drove to Angela's house to pick me up in the middle of the night. To my older brother, Chuck, I am so proud of the man you've become. It was a long, tough road to get there, but I hope to be as good of a person as you have become. Tonya, Nathan, and Kevin, and Savannah-- I couldn't imagine life without you now. You boys keep me laughing whenever your around, and Savannah brings joy to my life. Tonya, you're the most incredible sister-in-law, and you're more like a sister I never had. I guess I should go ahead and end this for tonight, but I could think of so many more to type. You guys know who you are. I love all of you, and know that You are the reason I am where I am today.

School, Work, Life.

How about an update to Mandi's life?

We'll start with work. Unlike the other businesses in Streets, Brixx is still doing well. I love the job more than any other job i've had. I'm trying to get my cousin to apply there too, it would be fun to work with her. But since Brixx isn't making tops on tips right now, I'm thinking about getting another job. The YMCA is hiring for a school-age assistant, so i'm putting my application in tomorrow. Hopefully everything works out managing two jobs and school.

School is going good. I have made the decision to stay at Vol State until I graduate. I hate VSCC, but it's cheap. And if I get an associate's degree from there, I get a $3000 scholarship to any college in TN. That's a nice motivation. As I've said before, I'm now majoring in Communication Broadcasting for Radio/TV. Pretty exciting if you ask me. =) I'm very happy with the decisions I've made. We'll see if there is anymore decisions in the future.

For the first time in a while, life is calm... not stressful and crazy like it has been. Yes, sometimes I have dissapointments, hectic schedules, and arguments. But i've learned to embrace the bad with the good.

I'm going to the doc tomorrow about my back. I'm too young to have back troubles. =( Hopefully they can do something for me, without prescribing me muscle relaxers, cause I don't want them.

Until next time blog readers.

Have a safe and happy halloween, and speaking of halloween... come see me at work. =(

Life in College

The past couple days have been a blast. We'll start with last week, Emily came home. So I got to hang out with her. I was so excited to see her!! Friday, we went up to visit APSU. Contrary to what I thought, it's actually a nice college, with AMAZING dorms and rec center. Jo and I both really liked it, but we're still going to visit Western before we make the final decision. Our WKU visit is on Nov 15. Saturday, I rode to Knoxville with my dad and uncle. The ride wasn't that long, we made it to UT in under 3 hours. I stayed with heather while they got a hotel room. We went to the UT vs Miss St game that night. It was so much fun. Our seats were 2nd row of the student section. Not to mention, WE WON! So that made it so much more exciting. =) After the game, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings, and it was so dang packed. But we still got our food, and decent service, so all was good. We got back to her room and were gonna go out again but the guys we were gonna go out with didn't feel good, and we were both tired so we just hung out in her dorm. Then, she showed me some site that you can watch movies on, so we watched Eagle Eye and eventually fell asleep around like 2:30ish. Sunday we made it back home around 1, and I had to go to work at 4. Yesterday was pretty boring. Did nothing all day except work. Today, I officially changed my major. Instead of Education, I am now majoring in Communication- Broadcasting. Thats right, I'm going to be a radio dj. =) I realized I didn't want to major in edu anymore because my edu class bored me where as I was so much more interested in my comm class. And now I am in the process of writing my first speech. The topic I chose was the seven ancient wonders of the world. Buut i guess this might be all for now. Enjoy the beautiful weather!


<3 PEACE DAWGGGG.

What I Would Say to You.

Life's a funny thing. take it as it is or leave it. it will never be what you want it to be, and that's okay. maybe you don't know what you need, you just think you know. first and foremost, you do not need a member of the opposite sex to make you happy. get that thought out of your head now. you are a beautiful person, and possibly that person was just holding you back from shining your brightest. take risks. stand up for what you believe in. don't just conform to everyone's opinions, make your own. never forget where you came from. physical appearence means nothing, when you have a heart of gold. cherish the friendships you've had, but don't expect every friend to always be there. people will let you down, even the ones closest to you. no fight is worth losing your best friend over. things change as you get older, don't fret. it's a terrifying experience, but you'll make it through. think of life as a book, and every book has chapters. not everyone you know will make it to the next chapter of your life, there's a reason they don't. don't be afraid to leave your comfort zone. life's too short, live it large. make the most of every day. when you find something worth holding on to, never let go.

Mandi's new hobby. =)

I have decideded to take up a new hobby, cake decorating. I'm actually very excited, as you can do some coooool things with cakes. My first two projects must be done by Saturday. A my little pony cake for Gabby and a billiards cake for my brother. I'm super stoked, I think it will be fun. I have an algebra test tomorrow and then fall break! hallelujah. and i'm off of work until sunday night! oh my gosh i'm thrilled. Friday will be my cake making day. =) along with resting my butt off. and next weekend I'm going to KNOXVILLE!! My dad is going to the UT game so I'm riding up with him, and staying with Heather for the night. I'm so exicted about that too!! =) Well, this is all for now. peeeeeeeeeeace.

Post Secret

Managing school and work isn't getting any easier. Especially cause my schedule at work changes week to week. I'm so worn out, and feel like I never have time to rest anymore. It's so crazy. But I have learned that I probably won't have a job while I'm away at school. If i do, i'll work minimum hours. Speaking of school, I'm going to Austin Peay to visit next friday. I'm really excited cause it looks like a really good school. =) Hopefully Jo and I will transfer next fall. I can't wait to transfer schools. I'm so excited to move out on my own too. Yeeeuuuhhh. Well, i guess there isn't much to say. I might go to Cleveland on thursday to visit ms. emily light. I'm not positive tho, cause it depends on what Ms. heather beamon does. Friday night is the Post Secret event at Vanderbilt. I can't wait to go! This is on my list of things to do before I die. if you've never heard of post secret.. you should look it up. Be warned that its not as clean as it should be, so i'd say "viewer descretion advised" It's this thing where people write their secrets on postcards anonymously and send them to this guy, who posts a select view on a website. He also has published books of the secrets he has sent to him. Its really neat, and makes you feel closer to everyone around you. Since its anonymous, the person sitting next to you could be the one who sent in a secret. I really like the program, and am very excited about friday night. =)

well i guess that's all for now.

Check out the website: www.postsecret.com

=) bye for now.

Life, Love, and The Persuit of Happyness.

I've just noticed how amazing life truely is lately. The feeling of talking to a best friend who lives 3 hours away. The feeling of your 2 year old niece running up to give you a hug. The feeling of looking into the eyes of the one you love, and hearing them love you back and you know its true. Life's little joys. What use is there to being sad or upset? What use is there in holding grudges or unforgiveness? There is none. Life is too short. Love. It's the scariest feeling. The scariest, but the most rewarding. Its crazy what people will do for love. I consider myself very lucky. I found my high school sweetheart, and I was smart enough to realize what I had, and to hold on tight. Now after everything that has happened between us, I cherish this relationship more than ever. Three years together, but it already feels like a lifetime. The feeling is unimaginable, unexplainable. I'm just very... happy tonight. =) I love it. I love life.



Its a little late but, Happy Anniversary Babyyyy.
<3

It's Football Time in Fantasy Land. =)

I have come to love football now. wooahhh, why you ask? Fantasy Football. =) I'm in two leagues now, One with a bunch of people I don't know; One with Jo, Dad, Mom, Jon, Jared, Ty, and some other people. I love it. One of my teams is 1-1 now. And i'm supposed to win this week. yay. uhmm, What else? Oh, So i went to chuck-e-cheee's last night for Sarah's birthday, and they have this game that like you hit this thing with a mallot and try to make the ball go around the amount of times for the target score. It took me 10 times but finally I did it, and I got the bonus! 100 tickets. It was so exciting! =) Of course, years ago the bonus would have been a lot more, but its okay. I was so proud of myself. Tomorrow is Lisa's birthday, so Happy Birthday Lisa! I've started to look at colleges to transfer to. Emily your really gonna kill me now. =) I've thought about LEE and UT, but i think i have decided to go to a school closer to home. Like possibly, Belmont, Austin Peay, Western Kentucky, or one of the others. I would loveeeee to go to Vanderbilt. But i don't think i'd get in. =) hah, that is considered a very smart school. Well i guess thats all for now. Goooodbye Everyone.

A new twist on things.

Lately, everything has been so chaotic and crazy around here. I'm still getting used to school and work, and having something to do every moment of every day. But today I finally had a time of rest and relfection. I just layed on my oh so comfortable bed and chilled while listening to music and just enjoying time alone. I don't get that a lot anymore, so its nice to have it every now and then. The one thing I noticed today is I never take time to just enjoy the little things of life anymore. I thought now that I'm an "adult", I don't have time for that anymore. But I was so wrong. If you don't stop and smell the roses every now and then, you get sucked into the life routine. You get up, go to school/work, come home, go to church on wednesdays and sundays, go to sleep just to do it all over again the next day. But life isn't supposed to be boring and bland to where you feel like your getting no where. Life is supposed to be an exciting journey, where each day leads to more steps in your path. Yes, there are obstacles in your way.. that's part of the excitement. to overcome an obstacle gives you such a feeling of accomplishment. So, just stop and take a break every once in a while, a break from everything. A time of self reflection really makes you have a new perspective of life and your purpose.
On to other things, I'm really excited about the college ministry. I just hope I'm able to be at most, if not all the meetings. I really hope this is a chance for the older students of first assembly to really bond and unite as one. Wednesday night youth services are great and Pastor Rick does an amazing job, but this group is more focused to where the older ones are in life, compared to the school ages the youth group targets. I pray that this ministry starts to grow in a way that we could never imagine. And with God behind it, I have no doubt that it will. And how cool would it be to spend SPRING BREAK in Colorado! =) =) =)

in the words of Porky the Pig, that's all folks.
<3

a short update.

This week has been pretty routine. School is going good, work is going good. life is going good. =) I really like working at Brixx, and i make pretty decent money considering I mostly work just lunch shifts. Yesterday, Laci's mom, sister, brother, and Libby came in to eat. It was nice to catch up with them. I would like to get together and hang out with Laci again, so maybe we can do that. I'm getting more used to my schedule for school. Its tough to adjust, because it definately ain't high school anymore. I guess that's really all, the only big subject there is to talk about is politics. and I'm not going to discuss my political views on blogger. =) I would definately get some responses if i did. Not that I actually believe in them, but my horoscope says something big is in the air for this month...like a proposal or a promotion.....






hmm. interesting.

BRIXXXXX

Friday night, I went to applebee's with Emily to talk and catch up and stuff cause she's home for the weekend. It was fun, and she got dissed! haha. =) And i got to have the most amazing dessert ever, the triple chocolate meltdown. ohhhh it's so good. Yesterday, I finally got to sleep in. It was wonderful. I didn't sleep in too long, I ended up waking up at 11:30. But it was still nice. Then, I went to Nathan's football game. They lost, again. lol but the boys have fun so that's all the counts. Last Night, I met jo at his work and we ate at the hotel's restuarant. They had the best spinach and artichoke dip. It was so good. We also went to see College. Thanks to Jonathan, I almost got a huge reckless driving ticket. (ahem, for the record, i was not on the road.. it was in the parking lot. it did not mean i was a bad driver!) Just ask if you want to know the story, its too much to type out. =) Anyhow, today i had really bad cramps. ughhh. it wasn't fun. but we did take lauren, gabby, nathan, and savannah out to kids party jumps. They loved it, and so did Jo and I. I'm totally worn out though. hah. Early in the morning, I'm meeting my dad and brother when they get off work along with my sister-in-law and the kids for a breakfast at Ihop. This will be around six in the morning, might I add. Tomorrow is also my first day as a server, and not just training. =) I work lunch shift, and i BETTER make good tips. So, to all of you reading this, if your hungry.. come see me. We open at 11, and are pretty decently priced, so it's all good. This week, I work tomorrow's lunch, tuesday dinner, wednesday lunch, friday dinner, and saturday lunch and dinner. =) After work, my fam is having a cookout for labor day, so that will be fun. I always enjoy spending time with my family. Well i guess that's all for tonight. I just took a shower and stuff so that makes me tired. To everyone going to lazerquest, good luck and your welcome for the coupons. =) <3

Peace out everyyyone.

A break down of my day.

so, i guess i'm officially a college student now.
my schedule has been kind of crazy. i went from 4 classes on tuesday/thursday and one online class to 3 classes on tuesday/thursday, 1 on monday/wednesday/friday, and no online courses. I think i like my schedule better now than before. But here's what my classes and my daily schedule is like:


MONDAY/WEDNESDAY/FRIDAY:

8:00-8:55--> Survey of American History II. (HIST 2020)
Today was my first day of this class, since I just changed my classes yesterday. But the teacher seems really good. The class is more of a discussion class that moves really fast through the 1860's and concentrates more on the 1900's. We don't use a book, everything we read are online postings. We only have the two major tests, a midterm and a final. I'm actually somewhat excited and think it will be very interesting.

TUESDAY/THURSDAY:

8:00-9:35--> Fund of Speech. (COM 100)
This class actually seems fun. The teacher is pretty cool too. We have to write and present 2 speeches later on during the semester. I know a few people in this class from school, so that's always good.

9:45-11:00--> Intermediate Algebra
Also known as, Mandi didn't want to take College Algebra, so got the minimum math class for her major. =) I haven't been to this class yet, so I can't tell you anything about it.

11:00-12:45--> LUNCH BREAK.

12:45-2:10--> Intro to Education.
I'm very excited about this class. In addition to our work, we have to do 10 observation hours inside a classroom. Since my major is Elementary, I have 5 hours in K-3, and 5 hours in middle school. We also have to attend a PTO meeting, and have 3 hours of documented reading time to a small group. One of our final grades is putting together a portfolio that will actually help us in the future when we apply for jobs. =)

Well, that's all for now. I've been home from school now for about an hour, but since I had an 8:00 class, I'm super tired. goodnight guys.

I start work tonight, so I'll let you know how that goes.
I'm hoping I get off in time to go to church. =)

Back to real life.

So, I am officially not on vacation anymore. We've been home since friday night. A part of me is happy to be home, and a part of me wishes we were still at the beach. I was so excited to see Nathan, Kevin, and Savannah! We went to eat friday night and when Savannah saw us walking up she started waving really big and smiling. It was so cuteee. Friday night, I just hung out at my brother's house for a while, and then headed home to get some much needed rest. Saturday, Nathan had his first real football game in Mt. Juliet. They lost, but they had fun. hah. It was so darn hot outside, I hate the heat. After the game, my dad decided to go look at laptops, and found one at best buy. But of course, they didn't have the one that he wanted at our best buy, just the one back in mt. juliet. so we drove all the way out there again to get the laptop. last night, we went to see tropic thunder. it was so dumb, a waste of my two hours. its definately a guy movie to say the least. today, i was so tired, i couldn't even get out of bed until 2. then i took a shower, and tonight we're taking jo's parents out to KABUTOS for their anniversary, so that should be fun. My classes haven't even started yet, and I already have assignments that have been posted online. I have 2 chapters for history, a chapter for communications, and an assignment for algebra to do. ughhhh, i don't want my classes to start. booo. well i guess this is all for now, peace out cub scout.

Vacation- Wish it would never end.

Well, it is now Thursday night, and sadly our last night here in myrtle beach. I have to say, the weather has been INCREDIBLE! I have had an amazing trip with the family. Our hotel was directly on the beach. The beach is so pretty. =) We've done a lot just in the three days/four nights we've been here. The first night, we just relaxed and played a little spades in the room. Spades became our nightly tradition. Me and Jo against Mom and Dad. Tuesday was our beach day. We just hung out here on the beach and in the pools. Our hotel even had a small lazy river! We went out to eat at a Chinese buffet, and it wasn't bad. I just don't know if I'd go back. Then we came home, and me and Jo DOMINATED at spades. =) Wednesday was fun, and i discovered I have a liking for the game of blackjack. ;) Wednesday night we ate at Hamburger Joe's. I don't know why, but it seems the name Joe is very popular down here. There was Joe's Crab Shack, Anything Joe's, Hamburger Joe's and tons more. We stayed across the street from a outlet mall called Barefoot Landing. It was where we spent most of our evenings just walking around and going in some of the shops. Thursday *today* was super fun. We woke up a little earlier than the other days and went to an amusement park. It was the Hard Rock Park. All the rides and attractions were themed around music and decades. It was like they took Hard Rock Cafe, and added a few roller coasters. The park was a blast, unlike anything else I've ever been to. We saw a couple shows, played a couple games, and rode a couple rides. My favorite ride was Knights in White Satin, The Trip. It was a slow 3-d ride through, but the 3-d was very... trippy. I guess that's what it feels like to be on shrooms or something? (which I do not support, even after saying I like the ride) It was a lot of fun though. Tonight we ate at a restaurant way different than any other. It was called Dick's Last Resort. Thinking it had a funny name, I figured it would be a fun place to eat. Well it was a lot of fun, and made me feel very uncomfortable at times since I was with my parents. But I won't type all the details out, if you want to know.. Just ask me in person. lol All in all, it has been a very good trip. We got lots of souvenirs for everyone. =) I'm not looking forward to the 9 hour drive tomorrow, boooo. Well, I guess I should get some sleep. Goodnight all. <3

Dive Right In

so they say when you go through a big change in life, you clean and organize. i guess that's true because tonight i took 2 hours to clean, and go through everything in my room. it started because dad said i needed to clean, but i didn't know how in depth i would go. people say you do this in significance of cleaning out your life to make room for new changes. the last time i cleaned my room like this was right before i left for camp. of course, camp was a huge change. and now, EVERYTHING is changing. My friends, my job, my school. It's so overwhelming. I discovered I don't handle change very well. As bad as it is, when things start to change, i stop my normal habits. I don't eat as much without me even knowing, and it made me very sick for the past week. So, as some advice, don't stop eating for a week. It isn't fun. anyways, i talked to emily tonight. so that was good. i'm glad she is happy at lee. I almost regret not going, but i guess I have to do what I felt was right for me. In 3-4 hours, I leave for myrtle beach! I can't explain how happy I am to get away from everything. Vacation couldn't have come at a better time. After vacation, I'm going to be slammed. My job and school start one day after rhe other. I'm going to work atleast 30 hours a week, and have school 2 days a week, plus have to have time for my assignments and studying. so it will be crazy. I have to learn to balance school, work, church, family, and jo. =) I guess this is the "real world". but before all that begins......


i have one week in my own little paradise.
=) be back friday night.

i love you guys.

Untitled.

Well, thank goodness that I'm finally feeling better after a week of feeling queasy and blahhh. =) I didn't go to church last night because I was sick. and then of course last night, i hardly got any sleep. It wasn't a fun night. But anyways, i'm now feeling better and ready to embrace the day. So tonight, i get to go and see my two best friends for probably the last time before they leave for college. I'm not really looking forward to telling them goodbye. Some parts of me wish that I too was leaving to go off to college. But it was just more sensible for me to stay here this semester and attend vol state. I feel like i'm missing out on something that everyone else is taking a part of. I guess when you look at the big picture, college is college. I've had another job offer come up. A retail store wants me to come in for an interview tomorrow. At first, i wasn't going to go, but after talking to my mom she made me see that my Brixx job hasn't started yet, so might as well keep my options open. I guess this is just another one of those choices that I get to make. Lots of things are changing around here. Its like I'm scared to death, but excited at the same time. The past two weeks feel like a whirlwind around me. I'm sure these next two weeks won't be any different. The good part is I get to have a vacation next week. A week at the beach. =) That sounds so good right now, I can't wait. As soon as we get back from the beach, I get thrown into the middle of everything. Which ever job I chose and my classes start as soon as I get back. Well i guess that's all my rambling for now.


getting ready to go to emily's now. peace out.
<3

Oh My My My, How Time Flies.

Well, reality has really set in the past couple days. The reality of growing up. First, I have a job now! YAYAYAY! I'm working as a server at the new pizza resturant by the movie theater. ((PROMO: BRIXX wood-fired pizza is the name. We have amazing pizzas, and they aren't your ordinary pizzas either. Good prices too. Not only pizza, but sandwiches and great salads too. =)) I'm excited for that to start. I hope I make good money. My first day will be somewhere around the 25th. The next exciting thing I have coming up is VACATION! Halleluah! My parents, Jo, and I will be going to Myrtle Beach the week of Aug 18-22. Oh man, I can't wait! We're staying right on the beach. =) Just two weeks away! So, its crazy how fast the summer has gone. Summer is almost over. =( This week, my two best friends that I've known since elementary school are moving away. HOLY CRAP! What in the world am I going to do?! Even tho we don't really talk that much, still.. they were always just a phone call and a "hey, lets hang out" away. So, now I have to find new girls to hang around. Any takers?! lol. No, but seriously. I got really upset the other night. Just thinking about all the memories we've made since middle school. Both girls are like my sisters. I could start crying now just thinking of it. This is the first time I've ever really had to deal with a close friend moving. Its going to be really different without them around. Thankfully, they'll both be in Tennessee. One in Cleveland, One in Knoxville. I was talking to an old friend last night for a while. Reminicing and talking about how different our lives are now then when we were in middle school/freshman year. I found out some interesting information, that was really weird to hear. AHHH, speaking of that, I need to talk to Emily about what I found out.. lol. Everyone has changed so much. Everyone is growing older, and going their own seperate ways. I remember like it was just yesterday when Me, Emily, and Heather made the cheerleading squad. We were so excited! And then when Me and Emily were laying in my floor listening to "You got it bad" and she exclamed she "had it bad" for Brix! hahaha. And the three of us used to have a sleepover at Emilys house the night before the first day of school. It was our tradition. I remember when Heather got her first camera phone and we were all jealous. haha. Man, I love those girls like family. Both of them. I'll miss them so much when their gone to school.


I guess I better stop now, and leave the rest for a later date.
Its shower time now.

<3 Bye guys.

Fruity Cheerios

So i just thought i'd try really hard to keep this blog updated. =) Lets see, yesterday was wednesday. I babysat emma and jamin. When i was done, I headed home to get ready for church. Church was nice, it was the first time I have been to service since may. Our youth group has really had a blow in size, but that's okay. The worship was lead by Jared, and he did a good job. Chris Andrews gave the message, and I thought it went good. It was themed around Star Wars and talked about the fall of Anakin Skywalker. This gave jo the idea to watch all the star wars movies starting with number one last night, and continuing throughout the weekend. lol. After church, I headed to the house with jo and his sisters. He stayed after they went home, and Jonathan and Jared came over at like 11. I finally got to sleep around 1. I got up this morning around 8:30, and Emma and Jamin got here around 9:30, I do like babysitting at my house better. The first reason is so that I don't have to get up before the chickens and make a 30 minute drive to their house. For someone with no money, that takes a lot of gas. and a lot of gas equals a lot of money. I'm not sure of the plan tonight, I'm sure it will have something to do with Jo. Tomorrow is my last day of babysitting the children. And tomorrow night I'm going off with my mom and jo's parents, cause Jo's working. Well that should be fun. And now i'm going to see if I can get Jamin to lay down for a nap. =) Goodbye everyone.


P.s.. I'll be in myrtle beaaaaccchhh in 3 weeks! =) CAN'T WAITTTT!!!!

Just walkin around on cloud nine. =)

So today has been a very good day. =) I woke up early to go to Pastor Ben's house to babysit Emma and Jamin. I had a lot of fun, and they're really good kids so the job was easy. I'll be over there tomorrow, thursday, and friday. Its an easy way to earn some cashhh. =) Which i'll need because vacation is 2 weeks away. When I got done there, I headed home to change clothes and then headed to nashville. I met jo at work and we had a nice dinner at the hotel. It was a fun little date. After dinner, He had to go back to work so I headed home and hung out with my niece, nephews, mom, and sister-in-law. My oldest nephew is in his first year of playing football, and when I got home he ran up to me and said, "i think the coach likes me because he told me good job AND padded my helmet with his fist!" It was so adorable cause he was so excited. I can't wait to watch his first game, I'm hoping I get to go! My sister-in-law and I decided against the black and white theme for my room, mainly because of my blue carpet. *my sis-in-law is a decorating freak, she won't let me do anything that will clash. lol So we have decided to do a chocolate brown and light blue theme. It will still look good, but unfortunately.. the zebra striped pillow that I was so excited to find won't match. =( I was so sad. On a better note, This probably won't mean anything to anyone else, but it does to me.. I have ended conflict that has been going on for a while now. And i'm so glad to have it all over with. It just felt immature to keep it going, so a little myspace message cured all. But that's not the only thing I reconciled in my mind, I came to a lot of realizations to help out mine and jo's relationship. =) So I have had a very productive and good day. Hope everyone else had a good day too! Tomorrow is church, and i'm really excited. Although it could possibly be my last youth service for a while. I have been asked to work with the 3 and 4 year olds on wednesday nights. But i think i'm just going to ask if I can start out with every other week, that way I'm still involved in Youth. I can't wait until CONVENTION! I know its still a couple months away, but i don't care. Reggie Dabbs is going to be there. INCREDIBLE!!!



<3 See you soon.

I never knew they had cell phones in animes.

well, the weekend is officially over, and it has been a pretty good one. friday night we went to kentucky with my mom and dad, saturday i got a new bed. =) its so sweeeeeet, and it came with a pillowtop serta matress. yay. its even a full size, which right now im sleeping on a twin, so i'm sure it will make a big difference. starting tomorrow and continuing through the weekend that we leave for myrtle beach, the plan is to re-do my room. I want a more contemporary and simple yet sophisticated style. black and white are my main themes, and i have a wonderful creative sister-in-law, so i'm sure the finished product will look beautiful. continuing with my saturday, we went to eat at fulins with my parents and niece, went to see Stepbrothers with jon, melissa and her boyfriend. It was a decent movie plot, but the movie itself was very awkward and provocative at times. Which i didn't know it would be as bad as it was. After the movie, jo took me for ice cream =) and then we headed back to his house. Today, i got up and picked up jo for church, then after church me, him, jared, matt, and stacy went to cici's for lunch. it was good, but not like it normally is. after lunch we rested up and then hung out with the fam. so it was a good weekend. this week i'll be busy babysitting. i'm babysitting for pastor ben and ginny tuesday-friday. it's a fun way to make some money, so i'm good. well i guess thats all for tonight. school starts soon, and my myrtle beach vacation is coming closer every day. =) can't wait!!

teddy bears and popsickles.

well i was going to type an entry, but don't really know what to type. Uhmm, for those of you wondering about my job interview.. it went good, but the other candidates were older and more expeirenced so i won't be devastated if i don't get the job. i applied at two other places, francesca's and justice, in streets of indian lake, so hopefully one of those will work out. i had lunch with ms. heather beamon yesterday, so that was fun. =) It was nice catching up on things before she heads off to college. I'm all ready to start school now with the exception of one book. i'm somewhat excited too. a little nervous. you know, all of those good feelings. three weeks from today i'll be in myrtle beach with my parents and boyfriend. i can't wait, it will be so fun! I'm gonna go see Stepbrothers tonight with jo. so that'll be fun. I heard it was really good. and tomorrow we're going to some car show in nashville that he wants to go to. i guess i'll have to go and find me some girls to hang out with over the school year while emilys not here. =( gah, i don't know what i'm going to do. i wish i could've been at church on wednesday, i miss it. i guess i'll just have to wait until sunday. well i'm pretty hungry so i think i'm gonna go find me some food. goodbye everyone.

I have a dinosaur for my cursor. =)

I have no idea what to name my blogs. I think that part is the hardest part of writing. lol. All my blogs are pretty random... and this one isn't any different. So here we go... Onto the life of Mandi...

Well, picking up where my last post left off, We saw The Dark Knight. It was INCREDIBLE! although, i do have to agree that it is definately not a movie for kids. Its very dark, and i don't know about you.. but if i was a kid, i would have nightmares about the Joker. But for you older ones, go see it. it's so worth the money. What else is new? I went and got me a new computer today. A Toshiba Satellite. And its soooo cool. Its bluueeee and has 4 gig of memory and a webcam and i bought it all by myself. I was proud. lol. I filled out an application for a chiropractic assistant and got called back for an interview, so thats exciting. The job pays between 10-12 an hour, so it would be really good. I go in the morning at SEVEN in the morning. ughhhhhhhh. I think thats all I'm going to write for tonight cause its almost 1 in the morning and I have to get up at 6. booo. Have a good life kids. Cant wait until church tomorrow. It will be the first time I see most of you since camp. =) Goodnight children.

Home for good. =)

Finally, after seven and a half long weeks of work.. camp season is done. I'm home for good. The summer has gone by super fast. Camp was indescribable, like it always is. I love all my crunk brothers and sisters (and boyfriend) lol. Now, I'm finally having my summer vacation while I look for a job to get me by during school. The third week of august is my true vacation... MYRTLE BEACH!! I can't wait. My parents are taking me and jo and we're staying on the beach. I'm so excited. It's right over mine and jo's anniversary too. =) So that will be fun. and we're gonna try to see his g-pa who lives in sc, so that will be fun. I'm getting a new laptop on the tax-free weekend. yaaay. and i'm saving up some moola to get the new iphone and to redo my bedroom. I want more of a sophisticated older look. I applied to a job for a receptionist that would be perfect, so I'm praying I get called about it. My oldest nephew starts football on Monday. I'm really excited to be able to watch him and cheer him on during his games. I won't see my youngest nephew for 2 weeks cause he's with his dad. =( I miss him. Banana is as cute as ever, and a bigger mess than ever before. But i love her, and missed her like crazy. Real life hasn't set in yet, I'm still on camp life. Wednesday will be my first youth service since May 30. wow. that's crazy. It will be good tho, I'm looking forward to it. Hm.. well i guess thats all for now. I'm going to see The Dark Knight with jo, emily, and dane tonight. yay. peace out for now guys.


oh, and wouldn't it be so cool to be proposed to on the beach? hmm.. i think so...


;)

3 1/2 weeks down, 4 to go.

This is officially our second weekend home from camp, and i believe we get to come home every weekend from now until july 18. but anyhow, let me tell you a little about camp. Week 1's speaker was Jacob Jester. He was pretty good, reminded me of a King James senior pastor type. The band for the week was Johnathan Lee and they were incredible on and off stage. We had a lot of fun with them over the week. We did however have some accidents happen, one of which was quite scary. But i'm glad to say, Prayer works. and the murse is home and improving more every day. Week 2's speaker was Reggie Dabbs. If you don't know that name, i'm sure you will soon. He and week 3 were probably my favorite speakers. Reggie just has a way of connecting to the youth. For one of the altar calls, he did this three part thing. He called all the female leaders to the front of the room to represent "moms" and the male leaders to the back to represent "dads". He made several calls to the altar, for kids dealing with drugs and whatnot, to kids being abused. the moms had to sort through the crowd at the altar and hug every child for about 5 seconds. after time was up, Reggie would say "move" and the moms would move to another child. the dads went to the ones still in their seats and did the same thing. After every child was hugged in that room, Reggie made a call to continue the altar call in their cabins, and meet back in the tabernasium in 30 minutes. That night was incredible, probably one of the most unique altar calls i've seen. Week 3 was Allen Griffin, also very talented in reaching young people. He has his own style, asking for a "face-melting guitar solo" in the middle of praise and worship, and getting students to dance their way to the offering buckets. But it was so much fun, and I can't believe camp is half way over. The crew is getting along pretty good. We have about 7 people who didn't work last year, but 2 of those worked previous years. so we have a good mix of veterans and newbies. But by this week, you could no longer tell who was a veteran and who was a newbie. This upcoming week will be week 4, and first assembly will be attending. I'm really excited. The speakers are Justin and Kari Romero, and praise and worship will be done by Beaver *aka, Steve Morgan* Well, i guess that's all I have for you today. I picked my classes yesterday for school. That was exciting too. and hopefully, with in the next couple months, I'll have some really really good news for you? =) heh.


oh, and congrats to aaron and lexie for finally being official. haha.
Peace Out Guysssss.

The first pool day of summer..

yes. today, i put aside my fears and got in the pool. it was FREEZING COLD. i didn't get all the way in, just about up to my neck and then decided it was better to hang out by the side *even tho i did put my feet in. =)* this was an accomplishment for me. for those who know me well, they know i hardly use my pool. but today i did get me some sun, thank goodness. so let me tell you a little of my week. this has been the first week i've had absolutely nothing to do. aka.. AN OFFICIAL SUMMER BREAK. and it has been wonderful. my nephew, kevin, graduated kindergarten on monday. it was so cute. i dont even remember what i did tuesday. wednesday, we went up to vol state to finalize everything. sometime in the next couple weeks i'll register. even tho its just vol state, it still feels pretty cool. last night i went to church, and found out chris andrews and the mclaughlins are moving. i had no idea. so that was upsetting, and not to mention that last night was our last service for the summer. it was a good service tho. at midnight last night, me and jo went with ty and lisa to see indiana jones. it was a good movie. i haven't seen any of the other films, so i didn't know much of the story line.. but the action was pretty cool. in a week, we leave for camp. i'm pumped and absolutely cannot wait. =) and i'm reading a new book my cousin told me about. its called The Shack and its really good so far. i'll give a review when i'm done with it. =)


until next time..

<3

Competition

Competition is something i have never really believed in, but it seems as if you have to compete for everything in life. I'm not the competitive type, but it forces you to feel this way when you feel left out, like you're just not quite good enough as someone else. and of course i've heard the speech, "who you are is good enough, you're an amazing person..." about a million times. but it gets hard to believe when you're hurt. i guess the most recent time i felt like this was graduation. I found out several people who I consider very close went to other graduation parties, but didn't come to mine. This hit on the day after and I got really upset about it. Then i watched as people just became buddy/buddy and follow each other around, hardly talking to me. Thank you to those who did show friday night, whether it was because you were just making the rounds or you really cared. You helped make a night I'll never forget. This fall things are going to change. And even tho some changes might be difficult, I think most will be for the better. It's time for a change, right? Well i'm making this short today, just somewhat of how i've been feeling for the past couple of days. Its my dad's birthday today and we went out at 6 AM to ihop when he got off work. Then i came home, fell back asleep and slept completely through church, whooops. didn't mean to do that. but now its lunch time, and i'm pretty hungry.


I can't wait to go to camp.
It's like a whole different world.
Goodbye Hendersonville drama, Hello CAMP JACKSON!
=)

Just a quick post;;

So, here's an update of my life..

hm. we'll start with friday. senior assembly was so sad. the senior video was amazing and huggggge kudos to the guys and girl who created it. friday was my last official day of school. =) then saturday, we went to jo's house for lauren's 2nd birthday party. we got her the CUTEST little sandals and a pink polka dot dress. adorable. sunday was mother's day, so i hung out with mom. and at 2, the baccalaurate service was at first baptist. it was so sad. they had an open mic and me and emily got up and thanked our friends and our parents. i don't know why, but i just couldnt cry. poor emily tho, she bawled. hmmm. then today i worked and stuff and did the usual. some guy jo met on xbox live is sponsoring me through his business for my pageant. that's such a relief, since i had no idea how i was gonna raise over $400. =) tomorrow i go into work at 11. boooo. the house remodling is going great. it all should be done by friday, so our house will look wayyy different when everyone comes over after graduation. =) well, i guess this about ends it for tonight. if any of you are wondering, im sitting on my couch in the kitchen. yes, we have couches in our kitchen. lol. well my throats starting to hurt so im praying i don't get strep. that would be baddddd. 16 days until i leave for camp!!!!! halleluah. wednesday is my mom's birthday, sunday is my dad's birthday. AND wednesday is SENIOR NIGHT at church. =) can't wait for that one. My nephew graduates kindergarten a week from today. that will be so cute. my little neice just decided to join me on the couch. so i guess i'll see you guys soon.


byeeeee.

DDFFVCDE <---- from savannah banana.

Holy Crap.. I'M GRADUATING!

Isn't it crazy how you wait so long for something, but when it gets here.. you just want it all to slow down? For the past 13 years, i've been counting down the days until graduation.. and in 8 days, that day will be here. and suddenly, i don't think i'm so ready. I got my senior annual today, and its just starting to hit that this is the end. It was cool to see the colored drape picture in the senior section, sad.. but exciting to see our senior ad, and meaningful to see my parent ad.. but what really hit.. was emily's signature. now, i know you're thinking, a yearbook signature.. how is that so important? but i've just now started to realize that everything i've known for the past 17 years is all about to change. the little girls i've grown up with, have now transformed into beautiful women. i just can't believe it. in the fall, my two best friends since middle school are moving to two totally different places. they won't be with me anymore. we'll all move on and have our completely seperate lives. but like all best friends, we've made promises to keep in touch. and of course, with emily, we've made our promise to be each others maide of honor in our weddings. =) but i wonder how much of that will stay true. how much will we really talk in the future. i know those of you who are younger have heard everyone say your senior year will fly past you, so make the most of it. but its hard to believe until you've lived it. well, i'm gonna get emotional if i type on that any longer, so on to some happier things. For those of you who don't know, my mom was in the hospital because of an asthma attack from monday until today. she got out tonight, so we went to eat and just spent time together with my family. it's so different without her here, so i'm glad to have her home. I went to an open call on this past sunday for a pageant and i'm so excited to announce that i have been chosen as a State Finalist for 2008 Miss Tennessee Teen. =) My pageant is in August, and I can't wait!! I also got my schedule for camp today. i can't wait to go back to camp jack. it's like a whole new world there. and jo's working with me, so that makes everything better. =) We're remodeling our house. so far we have painted the living room and put a new floor in the kitchen. but there is so much else to come. i took some pictures of the process, so i'll try and post them soon. well, i guess that's all for tonight. love you guys. =)

Just a small quote..

"Only one life, 'twill soon be past.
Only what's done for Christ will last"


i read that quote in the book i got from jo's mom, and its stayed with me ever since. think about it. it's true. besides the quote, the only other thing on my mind, besides how tired i am right now, is the yardsale on saturday, boooooo to getting up early and working it.

and if your bored, try this game:
http://levelgame.net/

(warning: very addictive and very challenging.)


goodnight. =)

french toast and graduation invitations.

that pretty much sums up my day. lol. i woke up this morning and just couldn't get out of bed so me.. being the lover of school that i am.. decided not to go. me and the boy went to 2 country to get some food. it was pretty good, since they moved to the new place it looks a lot bigger inside too. and its no longer just go up and order your food, now its a full sit down resturant. we hung out at his house for a while after breakfast. i printed out my camp application and we talked jared into sending one in too. i hope we all get to work, that would be fuuuuuuun. i finished all my graduation invitations, and even if i dont have enough invitations to personally invite everyone *invitations are pretty expensive these days* i'm still passing out little party invites to everyone, just not this week. the book i read was really good. it had the theme of forgiveness and it was just amazing to see how the amish village showed such forgiveness and compassion to the family of the man who killed their children. i finished it all in one day, which is good for someone who doesn't read very often. well church is tomorrow and 94.1 the FISH will be there. We have the honor of being church of the week. =) so that should be pretty cool. oh, and i'm letting my hair go curly. we'll see how that works out in the morning. well goodnight everyone.


p.s.. i officially have set my last day of daycare. its May 15! =) annnnnd we're having a yard sale at my house on saturday so come on by! peace.

My Senior Prom =)

Its crazy to think my senior prom that i've waited for so long is now over. man, but i had a blast. and here's a run through of my friday/saturday. i got up friday at like 10, went to miccy d's to get some food and then got my nails done and a pedicure, and picked up the flowers for prom. i went home, took a nap, and played guitar hero until my hair appt. i got my hair done, and absolutely loved the way it turned out. after this, me and mom went to walmart to get a disposable camera and eye lashes. then i went over to my brothers house where my sister-in-law did my make up. i went back to my house to get ready, and jo got ready. we took lots of pictures and then went to jo's house to take more pics and see his parents. my sister-in-law took me and jo downtown in my bro's 300. We went to Mariott at Vanderbilt to eat, the food was amazing.. but i could barely eat cause my dress was so dang tight around my stomach! after dinner, we headed to prom. it was sort of boring until everyone else got there. we got our pictures done, and jo walked me for the senior walk. then we danced and just had fun until it was over. we danced for like two slow songs. lol, but it was nice. i dont think i've slow danced with jo since like last year's prom. after prom, the plan was to meet at ihop.. but half of the group went to steak-n-shake instead. so we headed to s-n-s and hung out there for a while. it was fun. then i got home around 2 and went to bed around 3. then this morning i got up and went to fine arts. saw a few people, watched the awards ceremony, and then left and met up with everyone at back yard burger. thennnn went to my house and cleaned out our entire house with my sis-in-law and mom for a yard sale next weekend. i dominated at some more guitar hero and then went to jo's house for dinner. jo grilled steaks while me and his sister finished up everything else. and let me tell you, jo's steaks were AMAZINGGGGGGG. they were so good. then just hung at his hosue for a while and now i'm at home, and im finishing this very fast cause i am sooooo tired. oh, i got a book from jo's mom to read. its about the amish kids who got killed, or something like that. she said it was really good, and super hard to put down.. so i'm hoping to read it tomorrow. maybe while jo's playing basketball would be a good time? idk.. but i'll be sure to tell you about it. congrats to everyone who advanced to nationals today, and great job to everyone who competed. it felt a little weird not competing in anything, but it was a lot less stressful. well, i'll add some pics tomorrow. goodnight loves.

I'm goin back to good ole CAMP JACK!

So, wanna know how my day went? It went amazing. First, I went to school and filled out my final transcript (finally) request and then just sat and did pretty much what i normally do.. play on the computer and talk to a few people. inbetween school and work, i ordered my corsage and jo's boutineere. i used white orchids instead of roses with teal ribbon that matched my dress exactly. my corsage has pearls added into it to match my jewelry. i was pretty relieved to get them ordered. now all i have to do is get a tiara and pick up my shoes and clutch, which im doing tomorrow. for lunch, i had an amazing turkey and ham wrap. yummmmm. then i went to work. it was okay today, still had some problems with some kids, but not as bad as i usually do. then i got me and jo arbys for dinner and we headed to church. it was our fine arts night. it felt weird not doing anything for fine arts, but i just didn't have the time to get anything in. everyone did an amazing job tonight, i was proud. lol. after church, we went to wendys with jo's fam. then i came home and pastor terry called. he asked me if i wanted a job for the summer, so i accepted and now i'll be working at camp again. i'm pretty excited, especially since jo's most likely working too!!! =) so my post is kinda short tonight.. but its okay. tomorrow and friday are going to be very hectic, so i'm not quite sure i'll get to post. but until i post again, goodnight friends.

Happy Monday!

hey, so far i've done good at keeping this little guy updated. =) today was Monday, my least favorite day of the week. Atleast today was a good day tho. i've decided to pass the time in my 2 classes at school by coloring in a coloring book. 3 hours of coloring. lol. you're probably thinking.. man, what a dork.. and i'm agreeing with you. it just gives me something to do. =) I had chinese for lunch, it was amazing as always. Work was good except i kept getting rocks thrown at me. grrr. My cap and gown pics that i ordered came in today. i'm so excited. GRADUATION IS ONLY 24 DAYS AWAY! wowwwzers. Prom is friday. i'm pretty excited, tho i'm sort of unprepared. i have yet to figure out how i want my hair, get the tiara, order the corsage and boutinerre, and prom day plans are still scattered all around. it all depends on who does what and when. i did get my shoes and clutch tho. it'll all work out, i'm not worried. i just need to figure out how to get tan in 4 days. lol i guess that's all for tonight. sorry it wasn't that interesting. maybe tomorrow will be better? peeeeeace.

I'm pooooped.

So, today i went to visit Long Hollow Baptist with my family who goes there. They had a special speaker by the name of Tony Nolan (awesome speaker by the way) and praise and worship by Chris White? I think that was his name atleast. The service was a salvation message titled, Be Prepared. Tony did an amazing message, it was so powerful. As awesome as the service was, the best part had to have been the altar call. Tony did a "church prayer" as i like to call it, you know the "repeat this prayer after me" kind where everyone in the building says the prayer, and then to take this a step further, he invited everyone who prayed that prayer and meant it to go down to the front. And i am so thankful to God that my brother, my brother who doesn't go to church, and who was lost as all get out, responded and not only teared up during prayer, but had enough courage to walk down to the altar. That was the most powerful part of the message. Seeing my older brother give his life to Christ. Of course, being as emotional as i (and my cousin, Amber) are we both started tearing up. But i just give God all the glory for that opportunity to get my brother into a church, and showing himself to my brother in such an awesome way. It was amazing. To continue with my day, me, jo, mom, and dad went to eat at Chili's, where my cousin and family showed up. Then we went to Matt's social get together. (we... is me and jo, if you haven't figured that out) I left pretty soon after i got there and got Keva Juice. oh, it was amazingggg! after Matt's house, my family all ate at my brothers house. then we came home and me and jo went to walmart and bought me the Brad Paisley cd *sorry, i'm a huge country music fan!!* lol, a coloring book and crayons, sunglasses, a card book thing for him, and some yu-gi-oh cards cause my boyfriend is so cool to like yu-gi-oh. haha. =) love you dear! but anyhow, that's how my day went. it was a good day. it'll be interesting when everyone at school see's my hair tomorrow. lol. i'm still kinda getting used to it, but i do like it. prom is friday! i'm so excited. =) well.. goodnight guys. <3

It's Finally Saturday!

Saturday. my favorite day of the week. =) sleeping in.. (even tho i didn't get to do that today), staying up late.. (which i never do anymore. its only 11 and i'm pooped.), and knowing there's no school or work tomrrow.. (that's the best feeling of all.) oh, how i love saturdays. but lets start with where my last post left off, and tell you about my friday. nothing amazing or special happened. i went to school. i worked. i got my shoes and clutch for prom and they are being dyed to compliment my dress. =) then, we had a quelf and poker night at the house with my brother, sister-in-law, brother's friend and friend's girlfriend, my parents and of course, jo. i made the best homemade rice krispie treats eveer. (i guess frankie and denise are rubbing off on me, lol) this morning i got up at 7:30. earrrrrrllyyyy. went to mcdonalds with mom, and then went to get my hair done. now my hair is darker then before, and i have bangs. it makes me look older, or atleast i think so. after getting my hair done, me and jo went to jimmy johns and to see a movie. i guess you could call it a "day" date. my cousin Amber goes to Beech and her prom was tonight so we went to her house while she got ready and took pictures. she looked so pretty!! i can't wait for my prom on friday. i'm STOKED. =) after we stopped by jo's house on the way back, we headed to my house for some grilled turkey burgers (the best burger in the world.. try them) and tonya did a straightening kit thing on my mom's hair. amazingly, it really worked. my mom's hair looks so much better and straight and all she did was blow dry it. if you've seen mine or my mom's hair, you'd know that getting our hair straight was a miracle in itself with a straightening iron.. but her hair looked better than it ever had with the straightener. i'm hooked. and will be putting this kit on my hair in the weeks to come. =) well now its just me, jo went home.. so i'm chillin and relaxing by myself. enjoying some good ole "me" time. well i guess this is enough for tonight. tomorrow i'm going to Long Hollow Baptist with the rest of my family to watch a special speaker and band. i'm excited that we got my brother and sister-in-law to go with us. i'm praying God will show himself to both of them during tomorrow's service. but i have faith that God will do a mighty work in their life. well until tomorrow..

peace.

New Title, New Look and Feel.

Sorry i haven't written in a while. I've been surprisingly busy, busy, busy. anyhow. i decided to go and get a layout and change all the stuff around in my blog. *notice the HSYM Blogs section* it's getting late so i'll do a quick wrap up of what's going on in my life. last night was church, which might i add felt quite odd without jo there.. felt like i was missing a whole nother part of me. but it was the 10th anniversary of HSYM. Happy Birthday HSYM! it's crazy to think that its already been what... 6 years? since I joined the youth group. man, how time flies. Chris Andrews gave a heartwarming speech, then Pastor Rick delivered an awesome message on World Changers, and then we wrapped it all up with cake! After church, we headed to taco bell for some food. I guess it would've been better if me and emily were cool, because the whole time i'm around her now it's like this wall has been put up and i'm, i guess you could say.. scared?, to talk to her. Speaking of that situation, I just can't seem to find the right words. I mean, I don't want to lose her as a friend. Even if we aren't close enough to have the "best friend" title, I'd hate to graduate and go thru prom and stuff not being friends. She was pretty much my only girl friend i had left besides family. So, every day I sit in kilby's class trying to think of the right words to say, and so far.. nothing. I'm not so good at confrontation, or apologizing in person, but hopefully one day I can suck up my fear to possibly save a friendship. enough about that for tonight, so work. man, work has gotten so stressful lately. this one child, *for whom's protection i shall not repeat his name* is driving me, and the other teachers CRAZY. like, honestly, i didn't know how bad kids could be until I worked in a daycare. It's just taught me i want to wait a LONG time before i have any little rugrats of my own. but never the less i love kids just the same. its just something about hearing the funny things they say, or seeing the random things they do that brings joy to my life. the best feeling is when they run up to you and say, "i love you ms. amandi." (cause for some reason four year olds can't pronouce Mandi. lol) and give you a giant hug when theyre about to leave. kids man... its true.. they do say the darndest things. =)

its late. i need some sleep. we're going to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall tomorrow if jo doesn't work a double, so i'll try to post a review tomorrow night. until then...


peace out.

and Pastor Rick, Yes. Waffle House was amazing like always. =)

[p.s... did we not have the most beautiful day ever today? If you can't think of another reason to give God praise.. which I can't imagine.. atleast thank God for giving us such a gorgeous day!!]

Leatherheads.

so, we went to see this movie tonight at the NCG theater. It was the most boring movie i've seen in a long time. so my review for this movie is.. don't go see it. =) even the football buff Jo didn't like it. Thats all for tonight. short post, i know. oh and in third block today the power randomly cut off. it was pretty funny. it was only out for like 2 minutes, if that.. but it was funny. & we get our graduation invitations tomorrow!! yessssssss. and i just found out i'm going to breakfast with my lovely boyfriend and mother at 6:00 in the morning. wow, for someone who doesn't get up until like 9 now. that's early. but as long as its waffle house, i'm good.


goodnight guys.

Rob Bell, one amazing man.

so i guess i'll say this is my first official post. time to kick it up and get the ball rollin. anyhow, so tonight was connections. and we watched this REALLY GOOD Rob Bell video that talked about prayer. and there were two things that really stood out to me that were said in the video. the first quote that isn't really a quote, "how can we pray to God asking to bless someone else, when we have plenty to give ourselves, and aren't giving?" what i got out of this is maybe when we pray to God, we don't realize that we are the answer to our own prayer. You might pray for a friend and say God, just comfort this friend and help her through this issue. But if you really listen closely to what God says he's saying back to you, You are the answer I have sent, YOU are the comfort she needs. The second thing that really stood out to me was the fact that the world is an unfinished product. creation didn't just end at Genesis, it continues today. God made humans and gave them the power to create more, just as he gave animals and plants the same power. I don't have very much to say on that, just thought it was a cool thought, it made me have a new perspective. Moving on with my night, Sunday nights equal game night at Frankie and Denise's house. which is something that me, jo, and jared have come to look forward to and joke about Frankie's sunday night sermons. but its nice to have someone that will be real with you about the issues and that we can bring up questions to about our faith and beliefs. the sunday night sermon is just a talking session with the four of us. we started off tonight going around and telling what God was dealing with us about in our own personal lives. we ended up tonight going about an hour and a half. wow, almost like a whole church service. lol.. but we just talked about worship and ministry and its a great way to begin, or end a great week. so i leave you tonight with a simple scripture of the day, or couple days depending on when i write =):


"The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever."
- Isaiah 40:8