Hey guys! Again, sorry for the silence on the airwaves these past couple of days. It's not that I don't have something to write about, it's more that there are SO many thoughts going in and out of my head that I'm overwhelmed and don't know what to write down to share. The Lord has been putting something on my heart lately. Let's just say it has something to do with renewal and restoration and a 20 day fast from social media. More details on that either later today or sometime this weekend.
Have you checked out my new series, "Twenties Answer", that I started a couple weeks ago? I've noticed bigger hits on these posts, so I would LOVE for you guys to comment and share your own answers. You can e-mail me or comment directly on the post. And I LOVE reading your comments and getting to reply to you all.
If you haven't checked them out yet and are interested the links are below! Question & Answer #1 Question & Answer #2
Five Minute Friday is a wonderful community full of writers that write for 5 unrestricted minutes. Then, you share your real and raw words and link up with Lisa-Jo and the rest of the community. Join us!
GO.
Worship. Oh, how I have been in dire need of some pure, uninterrupted worship. Worship where I'm surrounded by my brothers and sisters, singing our hearts out with arms outstretched, yet it feels like it's only me and God in the room. Worship where every lyric cried out is the exact, perfect word of prayer that describes my heart at that moment. Worship. Oh, how I've been in desperate need of worship that is just me and God. Alone. No distractions. Just me, Him, and His creation all around. The lovely sounds of His creation surrounding me and refreshing me. Giving me a new breath of life that takes away the worries of the past week. Worship. Oh, how I have so many words that need to be poured out to Him. Words that He already knows. But, words that I need to see. Words of worship that bring me back to Him. Words of worship that He has given me that are calling me back and giving my new life. Worship. Oh, how I need that fire to be set down in my soul. A fire that I can't contain. A fire that I can't control. Worship. Oh, because I want more of Him. Beautiful worship. STOP. Follow Me :)
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Welcome to Twenties Answer!
This is a new series that was inspired by Paul Angone and his 11 Questions That Every Twenty Something Needs to Answer! For the next 11 weeks, every Tuesday, I'm going to be answering these questions. Send me an email or comment below your answers if you're a twenty something. Or, if you are past your twenties, how would you answer the question or what would you have done differently back in your 20s. Us twenty somethings, we love advice! Will you join me? Click "read more" below! Find Question #1 and my answer here.
Sunday morning I woke up with this really odd desire to read the Sunday paper. Maybe it was just for the comics, I don't know, but nevertheless I really wanted a Sunday paper. So, I drove to the gas station to pick one up. Only to realize that the price had jumped up to $2.00! As a recent college graduate, I know how precious quarters are. I was a little reluctant to give so many away shiny coins, but I gave in for a Sunday paper. I think I got my two dollars worth, seeing as I read every page. Except the Real Estate page, it was full of listings of houses that I can't afford. Getting on with it today's post. Here are some articles that were interesting to me that I wanted to pass along to you. Enjoy!
All articles are taken from the Mobile Press-Register and links are to al.com unless otherwise noted
MISCELLANEOUS // STATE // LIFE
IN DEPTH // HISTORY // LIVING // EDUCATION
OPINION
SPORTS
That's all for this ODDS & ENDS.
Check back tomorrow for the next installment of Twenties Answer.
Click here for question #1 and my answer. Follow Me :)
Please excuse the silence on the airwaves the past couple of days. No, nothing exciting has been going on, I just haven't really felt like writing anything.
So, if you guys go and check out the FITNESS page, you might notice something missing. That's right, I deleted those dreadful "August Challenges". Let's face it, guys. I wasn't doing those challenges. Nope. Not. At. All. Most of the time I would forget about them and then "adjust" the dates to fit the remaining days of the month. I thought that would encourage me to keep at it. Ha.
Like everyone, I get bored in my workout routine VERY quickly. I have to do different things or else I'm not going to look forward to working out. (Did I just imply that I like working out?? Whoa.) Which can easily explain why I haven't set one foot on that darn elliptical machine in the next room. Well that, and I haven't found a new hour long show to watch while I'm on it. Any suggestions for something on NetFlix??
So, the challenges are gone. Maybe not forever, but right now I'm bored of them, so they are outta here. I've recently gotten obssessed with watching NetFlix on the big screen in the living room. And then I discovered that I could browse YouTube on this big screen as well. Well, this has to be helpful in some way, right? Yes. Let me tell you how. Besides the hours upon hours of music videos, clips from ELLEN, and videos of giraffes being born and elephants and pandas sneezing. (You're welcome.) There are TONS of free workouts on our beloved YouTube. This week I've been discovering some new channels that have many different workouts. One day this week, I combined four different 10 minute workouts for a full 40 minute workout. I got in cardio, abs, legs, and arms. Very nice and not boring at all. Yesterday, I did a Jillian Michaels workout. For more details and the videos, check out the FITNESS page. Okay, so I have a love-hate relationship with Jillian. She is one of those people that either you like or you can't stand her. Well, I love her. But, towards the middle of workouts there is little love to be found. Especially when she "promises" you that you aren't going to die. I beg to differ Jillian, but I dare not tell you that, because it will cost me 30 more of everything. I'll just breath and push through the pain. Or lay on the floor. Most likely the latter. Well, since I've been on this good streak of working out this week and not being bored with it, I decided to keep it going for today. And I thought another Jillian video would be fun and challenging. This time her Yoga Meltdown video, which I have done before. Well, it was challenging, but there was no fun to be found. Honesty time? I started the video ready to conquer 25 minutes of some yoga. After the warm-up and maybe 2 minutes of the actual workout I stopped the video and said not today! There are different reasons for this. I'll only give you a couple. One, I'm still feeling the workout from yesterday. (Yes, I realize I'm supposed to and this makes me sound like a wimp.) Also, I had already weighed-in and measured for the morning. Now usually, this wouldn't affect my workout. But, seeing as there was little to no good change, I was already upset that I hadn't reached my goal for the week. And immediately I knew why I didn't reach my goals. Yes, I did the workouts. But, did I stick to my eating plan? Nope. Again, the struggle of learning to exercise AND eat right at. the. same. time. Let's hope I learn this one soon. I was immediately reminded of all the things I had eaten this week. My philosophy is I have to eat it, to get it out of the house, so I won't eat it. Makes sense right? Flawed, you say? Please, don't harsh my mellow. Speaking of candy (let's be even more honest, it's what I was eating). Who is playing this Candy Crush?? I SWORE that I WOULD NOT get into this game. That I WOULD NOT download it. That I WOULD NOT get obsessed. Who can guess what happened? Hello, my name is Jessica and I'm a Candy Crush addict.
Thanks to this game, I now have a love-hate relationship with candy. I'm either loving it and crushing right along, which makes me want to eat more delicious candy. Or, I'm stuck on a level trying to run away from deadly chocolates, which makes me want to go to Wal-Mart, find the candy aisle, and destroy it so NO ONE can enjoy the evil deliciousness.
At the end of it all, I'm just going to choose to believe that the reason I didn't reach my goal this week is because I instead gained muscle, thanks to Jillian. Now, I'm going to celebrate by playing Candy Crush while I finish some Peanut M&Ms...or throw them out the window. Whichever comes first.
Happy Friday! :) Follow Me :)
Hey Guys!
It's been quite awhile since I've joined the Five Minute Friday party! Can't wait to jump back in! Here's the deal: 5 minutes, raw and real writing. No edits. Oh and there is community. Great stuff! For more info go here. Today's word? LAST. Also, just because today is Friday and I've been a bad blogger the past two days, check back later for another new post! :)
GO.
The last time I was here was never. I feel like I'm in such a new place that it absolutely scares me. Yeah, honesty time. I really never thought about life after college. I kinda had this notion while in school that it was somehow going to last forever. Stupid. I never thought of the next step. Of actually finding a job that had to last. Of having to find a place to live. A life to start that was all my own. And now here I am. Out of school, fresh back from the West Coast, where I was pretty much living a 10 month vacation that included watching and teaching children. Now, I'm back home with my parents. Who I dearly love. Please hear nothing other than that. But, I've lived on my own. I miss it. I didn't cherish those moments as much as I should have. The past few weekends I've spend with friends and I've felt like I was back in those days. Living up life like there was no tomorow. I was surrounded by friends and community that I miss dearly. We never thought it would be the last time for us to all be together. But that time came. Life is happening. We are moving on. We are dating. (Some of us.) We are moving cities. We are becoming adults. This was the last place I expected to be so suddenly. It's scary. There are so many unknowns. But, I can't help but think that something beautiful is right around the corner. Here's to finding it. STOP. Don't forget to check back later for the other post! :) Follow Me :)
Welcome to Twenties Answer!
This is a new series that was inspired by Paul Angone and his 11 Questions That Every Twenty Something Needs to Answer! For the next 11 weeks, every Tuesday, I'm going to be answering these questions. Send me an email or comment below your answers if you're a twenty something. Or, if you are past your twenties, how would you answer the question or what you would have done differently back in your 20s. Us twenty somethings, we love advice! Will you join me? Click "read more" below!
Oh, hey guys! Why do I feel like it has been forever since I've been in blog world? One reason may be because this past weekend I realized just how old I'm getting. Last Friday, I drove to northern Alabama to spend the weekend with one of my college friends and help out with a lock-in her church was having. We ended up having 53 kids! And in true lock-in fashion, no one fell asleep!
When we got back to my friend's house Saturday morning, we both crashed as FRIENDS played in the background. We woke up about 3 hours later, went to Sonic, drove around, and then crashed again at her place. This pretty much repeated all the rest of Saturday. Now, I'm back home and have a great desire to get back into my daily routine. So, get ready for the rest of this boring, life update known as Random Post #256.
FITNESS // WEIGHT LOSS // HEALTH // NUTRITION // LIFESTYLE
Guys, I feel like it has been forever since I have worked out. And I know that first workout back is going to be rough. But, I'm feeling the effects of not working out. Mainly, my energy level is WAY down. That is the one thing that I'm missing the most.
When it comes to eating, I've been pretty good in sticking with it. Despite going out of town these past few weekends, I've been surprised at myself with the things I've refrained from. Now, I must admit, there was some fast food consumed this weekend and maybe a Sonic Blast. Yet, not nearly close to the amount I used to eat all the time. And when eating "real" meals, I've still gotten my fruits and veggies in. I also only had 2 soft drinks this past weekend. Guys, that was a first in a long time! I've cut out all soda and I must say, they weren't as good as I remembered. Goals for this week: Some form of exercise everyday and record all meals in MyFitnessPal. Get back to the August challenges. (revamped to fit the remaining days)
JOB UPDATE // INCOME // FINANCIAL STATUS // MONEY
Still a no-go on jobs. I applied for a job in my town 2 weeks ago and never heard anything back. So, I'm back to searching around and praying something opens up quickly. I have a part-time job lined up for later in the Fall, but I need something right now. And part-time or full-time doesn't matter to me. I just need some money coming in.
My students loans recently got switched to another company and they are starting back up again this month. Thankfully, the amount is reasonable for me, but I still need a way to keep paying them! Needless to say, I am VERY stressed when it comes to thinking about money, student loans, bills, savings. Goals for this week: Apply, apply, apply. Pray, pray, pray.
BLOG WORLD
Starting tomorrow, on Tuesdays, I'm going to be featuring blog posts that answer 11 Questions Every Twenty-Something Needs to Answer. These are questions asked by Paul Angone. For more information about this series, check out this post!
Well, that is all for now, guys. Hope you guys come back tomorrow to check out the new series! :) Now, I'm going to go start working on these goals! Follow Me :)
Don't you love how commercials lead you to discover new artists and bands? I do! And that is exactly how I came upon this group!
The Hunts are 7 brothers and sisters from Chesapeake, Virginia that combine stringed instruments and beautiful harmonies for some incredible indie-folk sounds. Plus, look how cute they all are! AND, they have done mission work in Haiti! I could definitely be friends with these guys. Have a listen below! Check out their website here. Follow them on Twitter here. Like them on Facebook here. Subscribe to their YouTube channel here. Spread their music all around!!
The song that I first heard by The Hunts: Make This Leap
An incredible Bon Iver cover by The Hunts: Flume.
Happy Listening!
Follow Me :) If you aren't a Pretty Little Liars fan, don't continue. This inspiration for this post came from another I saw not too long ago. I can't remember who and as soon as I do, I will give credit where it is due. Pretty much, while I watched Pretty Little Liars I wrote down random thoughts that came to me. If you are a Pretty Little Liars fan, keep reading so we can discuss and hopefully you can laugh. If you aren't, well this post might be a little boring for you. Also, you should start watching PLL on Netflix. Go. Right Now. Please. Now for my thoughts on PLL in real time! THOUGHTS ON PRETTY LITTLE LIARS -- Episode 04x10
THOUGHTS ON PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE
As I had mentioned on Friday, I spent my weekend in Tuscaloosa. Here's the recap complete with photos! (sorry for the quality of some) A trip to Tuscaloosa is not official until you visit Bryant-Denny Stadium. Can't wait to head up again this Fall for game days! 18 days until kick-off! Roll Tide, everyone! :) Food. An important part of any weekend! Almost every place I tried this weekend was new to me. Tuscaloosa has changed so much in just a year. A friend and I were talking that one day we are going to come back and the city is going to be completely different, so much that we won't really know it anymore. Just another reason why we keep visiting our beloved college town. Friends. The most important part of any weekend! It literally has been a year since I have seen these people. I graduated in the spring of 2012 and moved to California that fall, so the last time I saw most of them was last summer before I left. The weekend kept getting better and better as more friends came into town. It was great catching up and learning what everyone was up too. Now for the food and friends! || FRIDAY NIGHT || Hokkaido. I never got to eat at the old Hokkaido (destroyed in the tornado). We sat at the grill and the food was super yummy. I even caught a piece of chicken in my mouth thrown by our chef...on the first try! After dinner: We went back to my friend's house for good old fashioned sleepover. We hung out around the pool and the hot tub, stayed up late talking, and slept in late the next morning. || SATURDAY || Chick-fil-a. This place is definitely not new to me. But, it had been too long since I had one of those delicious chicken sandwiches and sweet tea.
DePalma's. Saturday night we had a girl's night where we got dressed up and fancy for a night out. This was another place I hadn't been before. I started off with a Caesar salad. Then, I got Pasta Primavera: sauteed zucchini, squash, roasted red peppers, and red onions topped with alfredo sauce and served on a bed of spinach fettuccine (with garlic bread of course). Also, some of the girls and I split a bottle of wine. Delicious! what i'm wearing: dress by Rhapsody (found at Ross) // shoes from lower east side || SUNDAY || The day started out with church that morning where I got to see a couple more friends and my college minister and his wife who are expecting another baby! I met up with one of my friends that I lived with in New Orleans and we had some great Thai food! That night a friend and I went to see one of our friends lead worship at a new church he goes too. Later, we all hung out with some of the guys at their apartment followed by a Sonic run for tater tots and half-priced milkshakes. The night ended with saying goodbyes and see you later's and me back on my friend's couch for one more night until I headed back home Monday morning. And that concludes my weekend recap! Hope you all had a great weekend. Follow Me :) |
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