A time to THINK

So, I got some of my laundry stolen from the laundromat yesterday. Lost my favorite pair of jeans, my favorite Michael Buble t-shirt and an embroidered towel that I got for graduation. I guess someone was in need of new clothes, but I did get really upset. REALLY upset.

But then God reminded me that I have been asking for spiritual humility lately. He sure has a way of answering prayers. I know that I don't really NEED those clothes (although they were some of my favorites to wear), and I do have other clothes to wear. So, I guess someone needed those jeans more than I did. :)

Another thing that's happened, I met with my mentor this week and she is a lovely woman. She's former teacher and now a stay at home mom with three kids. I really would love to be a stay at home mom, but my mentor pointed out that there's really no such thing as a part-time teacher. You either work, or you don't. So I got to thinking about that. THEN, in my "intro to special ed" class (as I like to call it), we talked about speech pathology. Speech pathologists can work with regularly developing children, children with disabilities, AND when the time comes to be a stay at home mom, I can do that, too! AND there are only 5 speech-schools in Mississippi, and one of them is in Columbus, just 20 minutes away (and where my best friend, Alyssa goes to school :))

So I have a lot to contemplate. But I'm relying solely on Jesus to lead my way! Lord, show me YOUR desire for my life send me some neon lights so I know I'm on the right path!

dunno

I'm sitting here at work, bored, tired, stressed, excited, and... well, blah. that's about the only way I can describe it. It has been raining here for 4 days, and it's only going to rain more, they tell me. I think the lack of sunshine is really starting to get to me. It doesn't help that I still have a cough from the last football game, almost 3 weeks ago.

I didn't go to bed until after 2 last night. I just couldn't sleep. And then, I started crying. For NO GOOD REASON! So I prayed that whatever was keeping me up at night, and cranky during the day, that God would take it and make it His. It was interesting.

I have 4 tests in the next 3 days, and I'm a little stressed. I took a geography test last night and am anxious for the results. Then I have Social Foundations, Psychology of Exceptional Children, Teaching Grammar, and Statistics. I'm not sure how prepared I am for any of these tests, but I'm doing my best to study for them.

I'm super excited that mom came to town, and that Alyssa is coming to town tonight and that we're ALL going out to eat in Starkville! It's gonna super fun. I'm also excited because I'm going to take mom to Walmart and see if she needs to buy (me) anything. :) it's gonna be a blast. I'm also excited because MSU is playing LSU this Saturday at home, and I can't wait to watch!! Go DAWGS.

I guess I'm just a great big ball of emotions this week, and it gets confusing sometimes. But I'll figure it out soon enough!

dreaming

I've been dreaming a lot in the past few nights. and if a dream is a wish your heart makes... I wanna learn to play the guitar, write a new song, and get it heard on the radio. I wanna live in my own apartment with lots of hamburger helper, CapriSun, and a dog. I wanna ring my cowbell for 6 hours straight without getting a headache or having sore muscles. I really wanna see Alyssa. And apparently, I really want to be a fish.

who knew?

Problems...

I guess I got really used to wearing my glasses at MSU; I never really wore my glasses before this semester. Now, I've left my glasses at home and I've had a headache for 2 days and it's making me nauseated. It's not so fun, especially since no one can find my glasses anymore. :(
Please, Lord, place your healing hands on my head and help us to find those stinkin glasses!

You all remember a year ago, when I changed my major to Elementary Education because God told me to, right? Right. Well, I was going strong on that path, confident that that's what God wanted for my life. And I was so happy about it. Well, I'm still happy about it, but now I feel that God is leading me down a slightly different path: still children, just chrildren with "special" needs. Now, though, my confidence in Elem Ed is turning into pride, and I really don't want to get in the way of God's will. At the same time, though, I don't want to make an emotional decision to head down this "special" path when it's NOT God's will. Please, Lord! Give me some flashing NEON lights here! A sign that is unmistakably from YOU!!

HOLY COW!!!!!!

Who knew August would pass so quickly? I realize it's been four months since my last post, but you have to realize how busy things have been in the last four months. I had CATS, finals, graduation, 3 weeks of nomad/bum life (which was fun, btw. I learned how to use a laundromat and live off of hotdogs!), then 6 weeks of Camp Lakeside (which, btw, was AMAZING!), then 2 weeks to prepare to move to college, 1 week of getting settled at college, and 2 weeks of classes. It's been busy, people!

Now let me tell you how amazing God is. So I moved into MSU a week before classes actually began. My roommate (one of my amazing co-counselors at camp) had band camp from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. during that entire week, and all the girls on my floor were "rushing" and junk. Needless to say, I was lonely. REALLY lonely. But that next weekend the BSU had something called basic training, and I signed up for it. I have to say, I was not looking forward to it. I don't like big crowds of people and I felt like a kindergartener on my first day of school. It was not good. But I sucked it up, put on my big girl panties, and went. IT WAS A BLAST!!!! We played games, and visited other churches in the community and ate (a LOT), and just had such a great time!

The BSU divided all the incoming Freshmen and Transfer students into "family groups," and I absolutely ADORE mine! We've only known each other for 2 weeks now and I already feel like I have some best friends! God has been so good introducing me to these people. Last night we had our first Bible study together, and we're studying the book of Acts. It's gonna be great. Everyone laughs when we get together. Last night, I laughed so hard I almost couldn't breathe, and then, of course, in typical Mabry fashion, I accidentally snorted and the laughter started back up again! It's so much fun and I love those people.

God has really provided me financially as well. I have a job working in an office on campus, and it's great. I answer phones and do homework the whole time, so it really fits into my tight schedule. Also, I'm volunteering at Suddeth Elementary School, working with a kindergarten class for one hour per week. I'm really excited to work with those kids! They're just so cute :)

God has also provided me with some pretty easy classes. I think the hardest one I'm taking right now is Statistics, and it's not so bad. I made a 100 on my first test today! The other night, I was in my Geography class (which, I don't like), and I got so bored that I decided to write Pete a letter using my LEFT HAND. GOOD GRIEF! how bored do you have to be to write a letter to your brother with your left hand? it was ridiculous. but i found it funny that even with my left hand, my handwriting is better than his! :)

Anyway, that's all I have time for right now. Maybe I'll post some pics soon!

better than strippin

Okay, so I have this brilliant idea for a little extra scholarship money, and I'm thinking if I can just get some attention on this, it might work.

I'm going to paint a picture and list it on ebay, along with a little sob story about how I'm a broke college kid in need of some schoolin'. Then, hopefully, it will get bid on for lots of money (all of which will go straight to my MSU fund) and I'll be a little closer to my apartment. :)

Am I genius or what?

ROAD TRIP!!! woot woot!

So I was in Walmart yesterday doing mom's weekly shopping. I really hate Walmart (though I don't mind buying her groceries because I get mine for free!) and I really strongly dislike some of the people who go there. People are often rude, inconsiderate, and either don't walk fast enough, or try to run you over. It's awfuL!

Needless to say, I was ready to get out of walmart and get back home. So while waiting in the line, trying to get checked out, I started thinking (not good when I'm bored.). I have 21 days from the time I graduate until the time Camp Lakeside starts back. That's THREE weeks for those of you who can't count. Frankly (and no offense to mom or dad) I don't want to be stuck at home for those three weeks. So it occured to me... I'm getting out.

That's right! I'm meticulously planning a spontaneous 3 week road trip to some place not in Misssissippi, Alabama, or Arkansas. Great idea, right?!

Here's how I see it. I've pretty much got school covered right now with different scholarships and such, so the money I have saved up right now, I'll use to blow on my road trip. So money's covered-- i don't have to worry about that. But now I'm having issues figuring out where to go...

Should I go to Chicago and stop in St. Louis and visit the Great Lakes? Or head east toward Philadelphia, D.C., and New York? Or perhaps I should make like the old pioneers and head west toward California. I dunno yet. Why don't you give me your opinion?!?!
****NOTE: to anyone who thinks this is a bad idea, I don't wanna hear it. LOL

Wish me luck!!! Oh, P.S. I have a solo (ok, so it's actually a duet) in the NWCC Singers Concert this Thursday! Pray for me!

Choir Trip '09

We had such a fun time on the coast for our Mass Choir trip this year. Everyone complimented us on how well we knew the songs we had to learn and how put together and professional our choir sounded. I was very proud! We got home at 4:00 this morning and i am exhausted! But we definitely had a ball!

My lovely friend, Josh. He has a beautiful voice and last night he played his guitar and sang on the beach. it was wonderful!

The Biloxi Lighthouse. The only working lighthouse in America! COOL!



We went to Ocean Springs, also. It's really a beautiful little town. All sorts of shops and restaurants. There was a Walter Anderson Museum, which was absolutely beautiful! I love his work. We stopped to take a photo op by the pretty flowers.

Then we found this CANDY SHOP! Hallelujah, praise the Lord! It was delicious! That was probably my favorite part of the whole trip! lol

Free at Last!!!

CATS is over!! Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, I'm done with this show! Don't get me wrong, I had a really fun time, but I'm so grateful that it's over! Praise GOD!

It went really well, all 8 shows, and I'm thuroughly exhausted... and apparently so was my roommate, Sarah. This is what Alyssa and I did to celebrate.

My Poor Mother...

HAS NO LIFE!

I was on facebook today and this poor woman, bless her soul, has filled out surveys and every chain letter thing you can think of...

And bless her heart, she apparently thinks I have no life either. THREE unread e-mails from her, a few instant messages, and I'm sure there was a comment or something in there. Poor thing. :)

love you, mom!

WOOHOO!!!

WE WON!!! The Allie Awards were this past Friday night and I had so much fun. I wasn't nominated for anything specific, but a few of the shows I participated in were! I had two dates: Drew and Casey, some of my best friends from school. Musical Comedy Murders won for best comedy, and Guys and Dolls was nominated for best musical. It was great to walk up on that stage and accept my (OUR) award!

AND

My beautiful, talented (favorite) roommate FINALLY won her Allie Award. In fact, she won two! I was so proud of her! GO Alyssa!!! She was so shocked to win the first one and she didn't think she had a chance with the second one, so when they announced her name as the winner, she turned to us all in absolute SHOCK! It was hillarious!

Jamison also won an Allie for his stunning performance in Hedda Gabbler. I was very proud of him, also. We had such a good time :)

MORE EXCITING NEWS!!!!

I'M IN!!

It's official! I've been accepted to Mississippi State University! woot! Only 6 more months until I move to Starkville!

Exciting!!!!

THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!

I'm sooo excited for my some of my best friends! I know they'll be so happy together!

They met at Camp Lakeside, he proposed at Camp Lakeside, and they're getting married this July at Camp Lakeside. So sweet! And I'm so excited for them!

another small update

Life still won't slow down any. Now I have a job to worry about and school is actually starting to pick up. I'm struggling to keep up with my homework and it's tough at times. Luckily though, my job as a tutor is pretty laid back and most of the time I can use the time I spend there on my own homework. It's lovely. It gives me an excuse to calm down and breathe every once in a while. :)

The play is a big fat pain in my behind and if I didn't care so much about my cast and how they would be affected, I'd quit. I come to rehearsal to sit on the stage, and watch everyone else dance and sing. and then I get yelled at for something that I didn't do and it's embarrassing and dumb. That's really all I can say about that. I was doing really well saving money (except some dorm expenses I wasn't expecting to pay, but when you run out of TP and you're the only one in the dorm, you make sacrifices--financial sacrifices). But I've spent more money on this show than I have ANYTHING else. It's incredibly ridiculous.

I'm so excited about camp this summer. I know it's still almost 5 months away, but interviews and suggestions for this summer are already underway and I can't wait. God is going to work so BIG in that place! Just thinking about it makes me happy.

Mom comes home today with her new body! I'm excited for her; she deserves to have the body she's worked so hard to get. I'm so proud! I cleaned her house today and let me just say that scrubbing bathtubs and floors is a great work-out. my back and abs haven't hurt so much since... well since tuesday when i got out of pilates. :)

anyway, that's it for today I think. I still have to go to class until one, work until four thirty, and rehearsal at six!!

first post of the year..

And I'm already stressed out to the max. It's funny how easily stressed out I can get. I'm so thankful for those 30 minute massages Santa gave me! Here's the deal:

I'm trying to lose weight. how many calories can i eat, how many have I already had, how many calories are in this or that, and can i still have my mtn dews, cafeteria food is too gross, healthy food is too expensive, did i work out today, does walking to class count, or should i do another richard simmons dvd? did i burn enough calories today, did i get enough protein, am i going to have enough energy to get up and do it all tomorrow?

School. i have to make good grades this semester so i can get good scholarships at MS State. I have to get into State, transcript requests, scholarship applications, student loan? fastweb, essays, not to mention homework at the school i'm in now. homework, ugh, up late studying, up early to class, all the rest of time with the play. ugh the play, no costume, lots of solos, little dancing, makeup, shoes, accent, stress, 6 am call on opening day for a sold out audience, better get an award for this.

awards. the allies are coming up. am i nominated, is my company nominated, are my friends nominated? do i have a date, do I WANT a date, will date even show up if i ask him? tickets, gotta pay for tickets, do i pay for my date, is my family paying, do i even want to GO?

Starkville, MSU, application, scholarship, apartment? apartment, furnishing apartment, paying for utilities, rent, cable, phone, water... roommate? who knows? not spending a penny until i can pay for my apartment, furnish my apartment, afford to eat in my apartment. no money. broke. not paying for haircuts, makeup, clothes, jewelry, breaking habits are hard. earning money, allowance, extra money, work study, Lord, I hope.

Camp. Lakeside, great, fun, love that place! Riverview, more pay, unfamiliar, unknown, scary. God's will? pray He'll speak up so I can hear it. Lakeside, things to do, dances, powerpoints, fundraisers, games, bookmarks, t-shirts, 53 things on the list... so far. Plan Plan Plan

This is why I don't sleep. I haven't been able to sleep for 2 weeks now without a sleeping aid of some kind. Its frustrating because this is all I think of anymore. If I had to think of anything else, I'd explode. Pray that I'll be able to prioritize these things and get my life a lot less frantic!!