Summer Reading

I absolutely LOVE to read!!! But I'm actually pretty disappointed in myself this summer because it is almost August and I am only on my second (and probably last) book of the summer. I've been watching a lot of TV before I go to bed every night when I usually spend it reading. Most summers I can read up to 7 or 8 books. I've read almost all of Nicholas Sparks' books over the last couple of years. He is definitely my favorite author. As you may know, most of his books have been made into movies (i.e., The Notebook & A Walk to Remember). This book, The Last Song, is the latest one to become a movie, so I need to read the book before I watch it! One of my hobbies is reading books and then watching the movie and comparing them. In most cases, the book is way better except of The Notebook. I guess my hobby started in grade school when it was our assignment to read a book as a class and then we watched the movie. The one that I remember the most is reading "Where the Red Fern Grows". It was so good! But I am excited to start another book before it is time to hit the textbooks (not that I thoroughly read them). Since I'm almost done with Nicholas Sparks, do you have any suggestions for good authors or books? I would love to know!!!

Changing Lives One Pair at a Time

I just applied to be a campus rep at OC this coming semester with TOMS Shoes. If you don't know who they are, you're really missing out. It was founded by a guy named Blake Mycoskie a few years ago after he went on a trip to Argentina and noticed that a lot of children were not wearing any shoes. When he got back to the United States, he started designing these shoes. Now, every time someone buys a pair of TOMS Shoes, another pair is given to a child in need. So, even though they may be a bit more expensive than a regular pair of shoes would cost you, think about the fact you are actually buying 2 pairs of shoes! I really cool thing I like about this company is they don't just send the shoes to where they need to go. They actually get a team together and go to different countries and put the shoes on the child's feet. How rewarding would that be?!

Ever since I went to Honduras back in 2005, I have been praying for another opportunity for me to do more mission work in other parts of the world. This could very well be the answer to those prayers (I hope)! This internship includes getting your school involved with TOMS. I would be planning parties, fundraisers, and events and selling shoes (of course!) to help promote and raise money for the organization. I have a few ideas already, which I'm pretty excited about! I've realized that I really do want to go into non-profit work after graduation, so this could really help me get my foot in the door. I do not when I find out if I got the internship, so if you could say a prayer for me I would really appreciate it!

Silence is NOT Golden

My mom and great Aunt Sue came down from Michigan to spend the week with me. We went to Arkansas for a family reunion and to introduce my mom to family she had never met. When we got back to Oklahoma, we did a lot of shopping and eating (I'm not complaining)! But they left this morning to head back home. First of all, I hate goodbyes with a passion. I have never been good at them (then again, I don't know many people who are). I usually do not look the person I am saying goodbye to in the eye, give them a quick hug and an "I love you" and then leave the scene as quickly as possible. In my family, crying is a chain reaction. Once one person starts, that's the end of it!

Another thing I do not like is silence. I understand we need it every once in a while, but when you're around people 24/7 for 5 days, the quietness after they leave can be sad and sometimes even creepy. So, here I am once again, in a quiet house by myself trying to think of things to do. Now I know I could never live by myself after I graduate. Just having no one to talk to would drive me crazy! Do you like being in a house full of noise or do you enjoy the silence of an empty room? Do you think silence is golden? I definitely don't!

Tattoo Debate

I have been thinking about getting a tattoo for a few months now. I used to be totally against them, but now I think they're pretty cool. One of my tweets says "Back to thinking about getting a tattoo..." The people that have had a most questions and comments about it is my family and, don't get me wrong, I do respect their opinions.

The tattoo I want would look similar to this picture and be in the same place, but it would say, "Blessed Be Your Name". It is the title of one of my favorite songs that we sing a lot in church. Its reminds me that even when things are going to horribly wrong, we need to continue to praise God. So it would be a visible, constant reminder to me to praise Him at all times, no matter what is going on in life.

Here are my pros and cons to getting a tattoo:

Cons:

• It will hurt like crazy
• What if it looks like one big black blog when I'm older?
• It costs quite a bit of money

Pros:

• I like the way it looks
• I'm still young, so why not live it up?
• It's a phrase I need to be reminded of everyday
• I'll have a story to tell my grandchildren!

Car Troubles

I have a love/hate relationship with cars. One of my hobbies is driving and when I don't drive for a certain amount of time, I actually go through withdrawals. But I tend to have the worst luck with cars and I know nothing about them or how to fix them. My 1994 Chevy Corsica broke down on me in the middle of I-44 on my way from Oklahoma to Michigan. In a matter of about 30 minutes, I no longer had a car. My next (and current) car is my great grandma's 1997 Saturn, which I love, but it's had some problems too. I actually just got it out of the shop today after my parents spent a lot of money to have it fixed. Part of my felt like it was time to say goodbye to Flora (yes, I named my car after my great grandma), but we decided to try to get one more year out of her. I've only driven a couple of times today, but Flora is now feeling much better. Do you have any good car stories ending in buying a new car or having a lot of work done to it???

Cooking

I enjoy cooking, but I don't always have the time or money to spend on cooking. Lately, I've been trying to collect different recipes from friends and friends' blogs (Katy King) and I've gotten a few good ones. I made chicken salad for lunch today and it will be waiting for me to eat it again when I get home from work tonight. It wasn't bad, if I do say so myself! It is kind of difficult cooking for only one and not always knowing how much time I will have before or after work to cook something up. Do you have any good, easy, quick, and cheap recipes that can be made for one person and that is also good left over??? Let me know!