Sunday Happenings

It was a long week but a great weekend to rest and relax. I completely updated the template of my blog, hope you like it! Still working out some kinks, but will hopefully get those fixed soon.

Here are my Sunday Happenings this week.

Kelly Clarkson's emotional performance on American Idol
If you haven't seen this yet, get your tissues ready. Kelly Clarkson was a guest judge this week on American Idol and at the end she performed her song Piece by Piece. She wrote it when she was pregnant with her little girl and now she's pregnant with her son. The song is about how her husband loves and cares for her, and how she didn't have that growing up. Sadly, her dad left her family when she was a little girl. It's a very touching song and reminds me how thankful I am for my amazing husband and dad.

Sleep Cycle

I felt like I hadn't been sleeping as well lately, no idea if it's true or not but I've heard how waking up in the middle of a REM cycle can cause you to feel tired. So I recently downloaded an app called Sleep Cycle to see if it would help me feel more rested. I set what time I want to wake up and it'll wake me up within 15 minutes of that time. So if I want to wake up at 7:15, my alarm will go off between 7:00 and 7:15. I've done it for about the last 3 weeks and I think it's really making a difference. Pretty neat and it will show me trends, etc. after I had been using it for a few weeks.

Comparison Trap

My bible study is going through a book by Sandra Stanley (her husband Andy Stanley is the pastor of our church, Buckhead Church) called The Comparison Trap. It's easy to get caught up in comparing myself to others around me, especially with social media being everywhere now. Here's a word of encouragement from the book this week. 

MacKenzie Bourg

I'm obsessed with the song Hallelujah and I've heard some really beautiful covers of this song. MacKenzie Bourg who is currently in the top 10 of American Idol's final season performed Hallelujah on his YouTube channel. 

Wine + Girl Scout Cookies

Houston and I have bought wine from a website called Club W for several years. They are private label wines getting you nice wines at a discount, typically between $13-18. Their blog posted this last week and I thought it was truly fabulous - they paired their wines with Girl Scout Cookies. GENIUS.

See the full blog post here

Hope everyone has a great week!

xx, A

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:)

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