30 Day Blog Challenge: day 30

day 30

a picture

Day 30...that seemed like a long time a short 30 days ago.  I have loved every single day of the journey.  And love ending it simply with a picture.  And of course by a, I mean more than one...you know me - the more pictures, the better.

*lyrics from my new music friend Alli Rogers

Thanks to Katie for coming up with creative topics for each of these 30 posts!

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 29

day 29

3 wishes

I wish... 

{one} every moment of my life was concentrated on the glory of God.  but then...I wouldn't be a sinner & wouldn't need Him...

{two} I could meet the physical needs of so many in the world who are suffering, & that through that they would recognize their own spiritual need & accept the Father that loves them unconditionally.

{three} to be used for something extraordinary.

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 28

day 28

something that stresses you out

when someone has a problem & I can't fix it.

when I have a decision to make & don't feel that I've been given enough information to make an informed decision.

when I'm given too much freedom in something at work & I'm afraid of screwing something up.

money, money, & money.  or a lack thereof.

job search.

not knowing what kind of job I'm looking for.

when I have to make a choice about something & known that whatever I choose, someone is going to be let down or hurt or angry.

not feeling prepared.  finishing something at the last minute so I don't have any slack time to really mull it over.  [in school, I always had to have a paper finished at least a day before it was due so I had time to put it aside & think about it before really having to turn it in.]

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 27

day 27

pets

Jeffrey

 

aka, the love of my life.  I have never been much of an animal person, & especially not a cat person.  I like to look at animals, pet them if they're mine, & then immediately wash my hands because I can't stand smelling like an animal.  Not so with this boy.  [Plus, he doesn't smell...he takes baths & smells like a baby.]  We'd never had an inside pet before until him...& he wasn't intended to be inside, but he was so little when we got him, we couldn't leave him outside, & then he just ended up staying.  My brother was even allergic to cats, & I think I am a little, too...but we just had to get over it.  People think I'm crazy because of how much I love him, but I don't even care.

Sydney

Syd is about the happiest dog I've ever seen.  She loves to frolic & have all your attention.  She does not love baths (she eventually just gives in), or when my dad cuts her hair...because he does a terrible job at it & she gets embarrassed.

 

Minnie

We recently inherited Minnie from my grandparents.  She's really old & so sweet.  I worry about her because it's getting cold at night now & she is so tiny & old, she just shivers & makes me sad.  I made her a bed though, & that seems to have helped some.

 

Jerry-Jessie

First things first: we did not name her.  We needed an outside cat, but couldn't get a kitten because it would end up inside, too.  So we found someone with a grown up cat that they couldn't keep anymore.  She's named Jerry because their other one was named Tom.  But still...Jerry is a horrible name & she's a girl!  So we decided to gradually phase her out of that name & into another (like cats know their names, right...?  Except for Jeffrey really does.  Honest.).  So my mom picked a name that "sounded like Jerry" (?), told our Jessie friend that she was named after her, & started "transitioning."  That's about as far as the transition got...she is now a double-named kitty.  And she sleeps right next to Minnie...I think because she wants to be a friend & keep her warm.

 

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 26

day 26

picture of your family

There are 4 people in my family.

They're all old enough that no one needs to dance or act crazy to make them smile.

I take pictures all the time.

So I should have TONS of family pictures, right?

Negative.  I get maybe 2 a year.  One for our Christmas cards...& a fight always ensues.  And maybe one on vacation.  Maybe.  And even then...there's usually a fight.  If you know my family, you can probably look at their faces & tell that some of us the boys (more specifically my dad) have fake smiles & look like they're about to explode.

With that preamble (that's right, I preambled...), here is our Christmas card picture from last year.  

Even after I finally got a half-decent picture that everyone would somewhat agree on... [my dad never looked at it, my mom doesn't like this picture of her, Ben surprisingly thinks he looks like a model, & I was mad because Syd was in the picture & Jeffrey didn't get to be because Mama wouldn't allow him outdoors]...I decided to make my own card instead of one of the boring ones on the Wal-Mart machine.  I used Photoshop, made a great card, went to print it at Wal-Mart, &...

...got in a fight with the lady at Wal-Mart.  

*little known fact: the few times in my life that I've almost gotten angry in public have all occurred because of Wal-Mart employees.  This is why my town needs a Target.  Among many other reasons that can all be found in the clothing, jewelry, & shoe departments.

Note: not a real fight, but I was having it out with her in my head...& maybe a little in real life.  Just what Christmas should be about, right?  Not one of my proudest moments.  

I know it sounds crazy, but I got so mad at her.  All because she didn't care that the machine was cutting off my card so the quotation at the end of the verse I put on it wasn't there.  She said quotations didn't matter.  That's what  really threw me over the edge.  [She clearly did not know who she was talking to or she would never have uttered those words.]

#1: she had no respect for the rules of grammar & punctuation.  

#2: she had the nerve to tell an obviously frustrated me that it was fine the way it was.

#3: she made me pay for the ones that the machine screwed up.  not like it was even more than a few dollars, but it's the principle of the matter, people...

So I marched myself across the street to Eckerd only to find that their photo machine didn't have a USB port.  You can imagine my frustration.  I almost gave up right then & there.

I don't even remember how I printed those cards.  But good news - Christmas did still happen, Jesus' birth was still celebrated, & somehow people got Christmas cards from my family (no thanks to Wal-Mart girl who I still avoid).

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 25

day 25

put your iPod on shuffle...first ten songs

{one} Letters to the President by Hawk Nelson

{two} Holy, Holy, Holy by Phil Wickham

{three} All That I Can Do by Bethany Dillon

{four} I Keep On Lovin' You by Reba McEntire

{five} These Are the Special Times by Celine Dion (I just put my favorite Christmas music on!)

{six} The Winner Takes it All by Merryl Streep

{seven} The Wizard & I by Carole Shelley & Idina Menzel

{eight} You Tell Me So by JJ Heller

{nine} Love Ain't Like That by Faith Hill

{ten} Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 24

day 24

something you've learned

I've learned...

...spending time with people is more important than most other things on your to-do list.

...spending time with God is more important than anything on your list.

...everyone needs an inner circle who really knows them, prays for & with them, & encourages them.

...giving more than you think you can is always okay.

...the more music in your life, the better.

...spending a day in a book isn't really a wasted day.

...Mexican food should be eaten at least once a week.

...the people that tell you the things you don't want to hear are the ones you need in your life.

...high heels & lipstick make everything look better.

...to take more pictures than you people really think you need to.

...when God puts Scripture on your heart, you need to memorize it...not just read it.

...sometimes you need to ignore housework & curl up with a good book or movie.

...you always need to spend time with people older than you & younger than you.

...a good bubble bath can do a world of good.

...leggings & a sweatshirt can cure many ills.

...you're not going to wake up one day & be the person you want to be...you have to strive to be that person everyday.

...you're not here to enjoy life - you're here to bring glory to God...enjoyment will come from that.

...joy is not dependent upon circumstances.

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 23

day 23

favorite vacation

I love any vacation with these people...

 

 ...or these girls.

 

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 22

day 22

favorite city

how about favorite city for now?  because there are so many places on list that I need to go to & one of them could very easily be my favorite.

first of all, home always has to be a favorite.  Madison, Georgia may not be much...but it's where I've lived for most of my 23 years & is where half of my family lives.

but other than that...

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I really do.

I first fell in love with it before I ever went...thanks to movies like You've Got Mail...you can't watch the very beginning when they're talking about New York in the fall & not want to go.

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these are the things I love about New York:

lights.

people watching.

restaurants.

Starbucks on every corner.

Brooooadddwayyy!

waiting at stage doors.

Central Park hot dogs.

Central Park in general.

the Met.

sitting on the steps of the Met.

feeling brave when I ride in a cab by myself.

how it's so big, but pretty easy to navigate.

shopping. duh.

the churches right downtown. 

seeing all the places they show on my favorite movies & shows.

some favorite NY photos:

 

summer 2008

day trip to the city while visiting my Chloe Friend

 

Winter 2009

Central Park - can't really tell...but it's snowing here!  my first time being in NY when it snowed!

 

me & Jess with our favorite "Broadway bouncer"

FREEZING waiting in line to try to get tickets for Wicked.  which we didn't.  I cried.  partially because I really wanted to see it, & partially because we waited for hours & the person in front of us got tickets.  don't worry...I've seen it since, so my heart is no longer broken.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Central Park - my mom was making fun of me taking pictures directly into the sun, but I think it turned out pretty cool...

reflection of the building across the street :)

again with Chloe :)

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 21

day 21

picture of yourself

I'm the lone grown-up in the middle...though E is quickly catching up with me, at least in height...

many more pics of these cuties (& the other 5) in their costumes as soon as I finish editing!

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 20

day 20

nicknames

Well...the obvious one, Linds.  This is what I am to most of my friends.

WARNING: the rest of these may make you question our friendship.  Or make you think I'm a crazy person...which is a real possibility.

LC to high school friends.  It started out with my flagline girls.  There was a Lindsay, so I became LC.  And then most of my high school friends ended up calling me that.

Idz to my dad.  Apparently I couldn't say Lindsey when I was little & said "Idzey."

Bucket to my mom.  Or Bucket Head.  Don't even know why.

Windsey/Windsley to kids I babysat.  And now they're in middle & high school.  And still call me those names sometimes, as do their parents.

Ted to my best friend from childhood.  She calls me that still to this day.  For some reason, I went through a stage when I was about 3 when I told people my name was Ted.  Those reasons still remain unknown...

Sometimes Monkey to Michelle.  She likes to make me climb to high shelves at work to get stuff.

Lindsey Friend to my Chloe Friend.  Don't even remember how this started.  Probably out of sheer exhaustion after spending all day every day with rambunctious kids.  Probably in one of those afternoons when we'd share one set of headphones & listen to "Bad Day" & make up our own lyrics.

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 19

day 19

something you miss

{one} living in the same city as pretty much all my friends.

{two} my college Bible study at my little apartment with my beloved Michelle Pope Funk & quite a few of my favorite girls.

{three} always having people over at my apartment & having friends to play with. :)

{four} being around mountains.

{five} the sisters of Alpha Gamma Delta.

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 18

day 18

something you regret

I'm sure there are things that I look back on & part of me wishes I hadn't done them or said them.  Even more so are the situations I look back on & wish I had done or said something.

However, I can't change any of that.  And I've learned & am still learning from each situation.  And that is way more important to me then spending time on regrets.

 

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 17

day 17

something you're looking forward to

Well, there are lots of big things I'm looking forward to.  I mean, I'm 23, a basically unemployed college graduate, & single...you can guess some of the major ones.  But I'm not going to go there.  I'm naturally a planner - too much so.  I like to know what's happening way ahead of time & have every hour planned out.  And that's not how God wants us to live.  He has a much bigger plan for us than we could imagine & we have to depend on Him to clue us in to that plan moment by moment...though lots of times I wish He'd just give me a 5-year plan at least.

So instead, I'm only focusing on little things in the near future.

I'm looking forward to...

Bible Study tonight.  I love spending time with those girls.

Game night on Friday.

Seeing all of my little cousins in their costumes this weekend.

Breaking ground on our church building really soon!

Date with the TSFs.

Christmas shopping.

Wrapping lots of Christmas presents at Mulberry.

Thanksgiving.

Christmas.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you a hope & a future.'"
Jeremiah 29:11

"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."
Proverbs 16:9

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 16

day 16

your dream house

Hm...this is difficult.  

I only know a bunch of random things I want.  

But here are a few:

exposed beams

a fireplace in the master bedroom

a big front porch where I can read

funky colors & fabrics

a brick floor in my kitchen

a window seat somewhere in the house (I've just always wanted one)

a room where I can hang my photographs of old movie stars & posters from Broadway shows

enough yard to play in, but not so much that it's a chore to take care of

a tree big enough for a tire swing & a good place for a hammock

a craft room

Ok, so I'm sort of getting away from the actual house.  I really don't have preferences for the outside of the house...just the yard & then inside.  And lucky for you, when I see things I like online, I save them all in a special folder so I'll remember them when I have a house!  :)

Here are a few things I like:

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