Trust.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 28:7

I'm sitting on the couch and just read today's devotional in one of my favorite devotional books Jesus Calling and came across this verse.

I love that part "my heart trusts in Him," like most college seniors I am constantly thinking about what will I be doing in this next stage of life? (You know the one after I graduate...) Thankfully I've got a city nailed down, Atlanta, which I am SO excited about because it means I can be closer to Houston (EEEK!), but I can't stop thinking about finding a job.

I've spent the last few months working on my resume on and off and having people look it over for me, and make more corrections, and I've finally started sending it to a few people the past week or two which is SO EXCITING to me, but also just makes me anxious. What happens now? Will anyone ever call me for an interview? Will I ever find a job? 

And I've realized that this is the devil creating all these anxious thoughts in my head. Worry and anxiousness is something I've struggled with, especially in college. I'm such a planner and I like to have my days scheduled and with a To Do list carefully in my planner. So as you would imagine, graduating in May is a little terrifying for me to think about since I'm not sure where I'll be working or living yet... but I'm learning to trust God in everything and know He has it figured out - and it just isn't my time to find out what that is quite yet.

For those of you that worry like I do, here are a few other great verses from the devotional today.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:15

I think this is something I will have to continue to work on - but for now I'm trying my best to enjoy my last semester and being proactive to find a job, while not letting it stress me out and trusting God to lead to me to where He wants me to be after college (yeah, that sounds like a good plan!)

-A

Fitness Update:

Went to pure barre 3 times this week so far and attempting to get to the gym sometime today for some cardio, but not sure if that'll happen with all the reading I have for homework and Step Sing practice. And super excited because last night was my first pure barre class I actually enjoyed because I can already tell I'm getting stronger and was able to do a lot more of the exercises! Woohoo:)

Step Sing Season begins...

In honor of Step Sing season beginning this weekend I thought I'd reflect on Chi Omega's shows the last three years while I've been at Samford. I was able to participate my freshman and sophomore years and now my final Step Sing memories (sentimental, I know!) will begin this weekend, and I could not be more excited!!!

For those of you who don't know what Step Sing is, let me explain the biggest production and show Samford puts on every year. You could say spring semester doesn't really begin until after President's Weekend. Nearly everyone participates in Step Sing and so on top of our busy school schedules and social calendars we manage to spare three hours almost every night for three weeks for Step Sing practices, tech rehearsals and three amazing performances to compete for the very coveted 

1st Place Sweepstakes!

I cannot wait to perform with my Chi Omega sisters for my final time next month! Well tonight is Banner Drop! Where all the participants meet in the gym to "reveal" our banners that reflect our theme. The key is to describe the name of your show without giving away the theme of it! 

Here are our shows the past three years!!

2010 - A Knight's Tale (Batman)

2011 - Imagine That (Toys)

2013 - Deliver Us Can't wait to show you our video in a few weeks!! Stay tuned:)

Fitness Update:

I joined Pure Barre yesterday and attended class yesterday and today with Juliann and Jaime! Pretty tough getting back into, but I know it'll be worth it! And Friday I went to the gym just do the elliptical for 20 minutes and some abs because I was so sore from Thursday! I'd say a pretty good start to my fitness goals!

Happy Step Sing season everyone!

-A

P.S. Oh yea, and my last semester of college starts tomorrow!! CRAZY! But so very excited for it to begin!

[POST UPDATE - 2013 Video posted]

I think we could all use a little pep talk...

Saw this on Facebook last night and had to share:) #awesomeyear

Another good pep talk. Yep, I can do anything good.

Almost the weekend folks!
-A

Gettin' Ready for Spring Break!

I know what you're thinking... 2 posts in 1 day?? Don't worry this probably won't happen very often.

I was just talking to Houston earlier today and told him that I really wanted to be more dedicated to healthier eating habits and workouts this semester. I want to have a healthier lifestyle and be more comfortable in my skin. He is amazing and tells me everyday that I am beautiful and is always so incredibly encouraging in my efforts to be healthy (when I try), but I am not thrilled with how I look and he is the BEST person to help me because he is so knowledgeable about health and fitness! So he told me that if I wanted him to, he would help me come up with a plan for my diet and fitness schedule! If you can't tell... I'm one very lucky gal:)

So after that great talk with Houston, my sweet friend Jaime had some of us girls over tonight to catch up now that we are all back in town (we start our final semester of college this Monday! Where has the time gone??) We were talking about how we all want to be in good shape for our Spring Break cruise, and decided we are all going to join our local Pure Barre, at least until Spring Break in March!!

Above is a video to help explain what a PB class looks like.


I am so excited because I love PB! It's so much fun and I love the workout, and I am also much more likely to go if I have a friend with me (social butterfly, right here).

PB really helps me to tone up, but I get faster results for my stomach if I'm running. So what I've decided to do is do my cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays (I don't have class on TTh this semester - hallelujah!) and then I can go to PB classes with my girlfriends whenever they're free!

Now I'm posting about this so I can have a little more accountability. I'm not sure how many people actually read this (besides my sweet family and supportive friends), but this way I feel like I'm posting it out there for the world to see and I (hopefully) will be more diligent with my healthy living!

We (Juliann, Jaime, Courtney, Kristin and myself) are going to start our memberships this weekend at PB and I am so excited to get back! I haven't been in "Pure Barre shape," as I like to call it, in awhile so it might take me a few weeks! But here we go:)

Last thing --- Have y'all heard of this phone app called GroupMe?? I'm obsessed. My friends just showed it to me tonight and it operates how text messaging should on the iPhone (sorry Apple)! It's similar to WhatsApp if you've had that, but you can turn on a setting where you can receive them as text messages if you want, and you can also turn notifications off and/or take yourself out of the group message if you want to stop getting buzzed every 5 seconds... GENIUS! I love group texting, but sometimes it can drive me crazy if I'm out of town and can't hang out with my friends trying to make plans in the group text or my family loves to group message but sometimes I'm in the middle of things and can't respond, so this gives you the option to turn on the notifications! A highly recommend it!

Okay, sleep time! I have a business meeting in the morning! Eek:) I'll keep you posted on my newest entrepreneurship idea as it evolves!

-A

Fitness Update:
Juliann and I went to the gym at school today and I did:
10 minutes on the elliptical
10 mins sprint/walking on the treadmill
4 planks 30 seconds each
each side plank 30 seconds each
2 sets of 10 squats
2 sets of 10 lunges
3 sets of 30 rep "back dancing" (as PB calls it)
and 20 reps captain's chair leg raises

Lo & Sons Travel Bag

So as a continuation of my last travel post, I thought I'd share about this bag that I'm slightly obsessed over.... I've been dying for one of Lo & Sons The O.G. Bag, which stands for the "Overnight and Gym Bag." It's perfect for traveling (and for the gym - can't forget about my New Year's Resolutions!) and you can fit SO much in this bag!

As a college student, it is very much out of my price range for now, but they often do giveaways on some of my favorite blogs! I've tried entering a few times and I thought I'd let you all know about this giveaway on A Piece of Toast blog that ends tomorrow (Friday, Jan. 25th) at 5 p.m. CST if you'd like to enter too!

If I got picked I'd want the plum bag so it could match my black carry-on suitcase for my family vaca this summer!! (Destination: TBD)

This is a picture of me attempting to close my suitcase two summers ago in Italy. See what I mean... I would have loved the adorable O.G. Bag to help me carry all of my things! And probably pack a little more efficiently!

I went ahead and entered the contest, but wanted to share the love! Good luck everyone:)
-A

How To Pack Light

My family tries to take a trip once a year together and we've had some wonderful times and memories together!

Some of my favorites have been to Canada, Yellowstone National Park and two summers ago we traveled to Europe! We went to France and Italy and they were absolutely beautiful! There's something so intriguing about the mix of history and God's beautiful earth.

The thing I always struggle with though is packing light! A friend of mine pinned this on Pintrest and I found these tips to be really helpful and I wanted to share! So here are 10 great tips from marieclaire.com to help you pack lighter (and smarter) for your next trip!

We're currently discussing our next family vacation... any suggestions??

Here are a few pictures from our family vacation to Europe:

The Louvre

Castello Di Brolio - Tuscany winery and castle

Michael, Betsy and I in Cinque Terre.

Moon rising in Florence, Italy, on our final night of our trip.

I'd love your comments, questions, concerns and feedback anytime:)

-A

My Love Languages

So I thought I would help my readers get to know me a little bit by listing just a few of the many things and people I love:

I LOVE...

my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ

my parents, and siblings Betsy and Michael

my boyfriend, Houston

my incredible friends God has blessed me with throughout my 21 years

creating things - whether it is my newest entrepreneurial idea, crafts or food, I love to create!

the sunshine (with that also comes laying out)

long talks with my best friend and roommate, Juliann and discussing our newest life plans

the beach and the lake (still undecided as to which I prefer)

traveling (I hope to go abroad again soon!!)

watching college football

Paris

polka dots

Lilly Pulitzer

sparklers

walks on the beach

cooking & baking

Penguins, only second to my favorite animal... Dogs!

tomato and mozzarella salads

green smoothies - my Aunt Lori just got me hooked! I'll write you the recipe soon!

New York City

@CuteEmergency - if you don't follow them on Twitter, you need to! It can brighten ANY day!

Taylor Swift's music (my INCREDIBLE boyfriend is taking me to see her in ATL in April!!!! Best boyfriend ever... YES!)

my mom's chocolate cake

the color yellow

driving with the windows down and blaring music (preferably with friends in the car with me)

monograms

Pintrest
seersucker

J.Crew

Atlanta (my future home --- EEEK!)

What are some of your favorite things?? Your favorite city? Food? Place to shop? Or thing to do?

And if you like any of these things too and want me to elaborate, let me know and I can dedicate a post to some of the things listed above!

xoxo,

A

Snow Day!!

When I woke up this morning, I had the lovely surprise of SNOW falling outside my window! (Pretty exciting for a Florida girl!) I had heard rumor that there might be snow today, but the weatherman lied to me a few times last year so I didn't want to get my hopes up.

I was so excited and began taking pictures and videos and sending them to my boyfriend, Houston, and my family so I could have some people to share in my excitement (my roommate, Juliann, is home for a few days so I had the apartment all to myself).

I quickly made a bagel and my coffee and sat down on the floor to look in amazement at the snow falling out the window of our porch. Rare moments like these allow me to wonder in amazement at God's beautiful creation and how He dreamed this all up for us to enjoy. Here are a few pictures from my lonely, but still very exciting snow day!

Bagel, coffee, snow and my quiet time

What is this on my windshield??

I had to run an errand up to school and took a selfie to text around:) I was

obviously very exciting about the snow!

The "Mr. Beeson" statue at school is a famous landmark - captured him bearing the cold!

A little snow stuck on the ground outside my apartment.

The trees were covered after it snowed several hours, unfortunately it has stopped and

now all of the snow is gone. Hopefully we can get some more before winter

is over. My feelings are... if it's going to be this cold, it might

as well snow!

Have any of you had a snow day yet? What are some of your favorite activities to do in the snow?? I'm still a newbie at this stuff!

My parents flew in town tonight and my brother and I took them to dinner at a yummy place called Five in Lakeview area. They only serve 5 appetizers, 5 entrées, 5 drink specials, 5 white wines and 5 red wines... you get the picture. I had only been once before when they first opened and it had been very packed and loud, so I enjoyed it much more tonight when it was a smaller crowd and the food was 

AH-mazing (as my sister, Betsy likes to say!) Can't wait to go back! You've gotta get the white chocolate bread pudding for dessert - it's their only dessert because no one would order the other 4, so you know it's good!

Goodnight everyone:)

-A

New Year's Resolutions

The great thing about a new year is the ability to "start fresh." Even though we have the ability to do that everyday, something about a fresh year makes it easier.

I actually took the time to write out my New Year's Resolutions and would like to share them with you:

1. Spend more time reading Scripture - I often get caught up in reading devotionals or Christian books, but forget to read the most important Book of all... my Bible!

2. Find a job! - I graduate in May and I find it very important that I find employment this year, despite the poor job market these days.
Mini Goals:
-I would like to have two interviews scheduled by February 1st (informational or actual).
-Send my resume to at least 10 people or companies by February 1st.
-Find a job by Spring Break!

3. Take advantage of my last semester at Samford - I have special friendships that I want to be sure I devote time to and step away from any friendships that seem to be surrounded with any type of "drama."
- I especially want to take advantage of living in the same city as my big brother, Michael, and hope to meet him for lunch or dinner maybe once a week since I know I'll be moving a state away after graduation.
-My Chi Omega family is very special to me and I want to be sure and invest in those beautiful women while I'm in Birmingham.
-Last but certainly not least, the majority of my best friends are women I've met in college and I want to devote special amounts of time to them. I certainly feel that school is important, and have always put school first, but I don't want to look back on my last semester of college and regret missing out on any fun times with these ladies!

4. Start a blog... CHECK! And I hope to write at least once a week this year!

5. Read two books - I'm not much of a reader (this is why I have set the bar pretty low with only two) and I'd like to spend more time reading and less time on social media. Any recommendations??

6. Love my body! Thankfully, I haven't had much of a problem loving my body (Although it was certainly easier when I cheered in high school and worked out at least 4 times a week, but since being in college it has become a little harder to carve out time to stay active and I've never been a huge health nut! But I'm hoping that I can begin cooking more (I'm taking a Food Prep 101 class this semester that I'm REALLY excited about!) and find fun ways to stay diligent in a healthy lifestyle!

What are some of YOUR goals for 2013??

Well that's it for my first blog post ever! I'd love your comments, questions, concerns and feedback anytime:)

-A