Charmed Bliss.

My Route 44 Heart.

2015-06-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make... I have been unsatisfied. The word unsatisfied in the English Dictionary means,

a state of mind where our desires haven't been quenched by somethings or something

Which literally means, nothing is quenching my thirst. I have tried to solve the quench with relationships, new jobs, vacations, phone calls, weight loss... you name it - I've tried it. I feel like I have gone to Sonic, ordered a Route 44, but they brought me an empty cup. Being the independent Type A that I am, I decided I could fill it up, but 2 years into trying - still empty.
you know where I am going with this....
You can't fill up your own cup!

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

Have I not heard this story a million and a half times? Am I so stubborn and "self-sufficient" that I think I can solve the problem? Recently I sat down with some wise friends and I shared with them how the last 2 years have been really hard, and I am in a state of transition. I have been more alone, more upset, more dramatic, more up and down, more ashamed, more sad then I have ever been/felt in my life. So naturally, what does a logical person think to do (something I have not thought to do in 2 years - because again I tried to fill my cup)... we began to analyze why I felt these ways. We came up with 3 really good answers...

I was/am not involved (really involved - like serving involved) in a church.
I am not/was not/have not been constantly poured into by other like-minded believers.
I was trying to satisfy my quench with the world aka my career.*

*please do not read #3 and think I am saying you can't be full of Jesus and satisfied and have a career. I am saying that in my own personal life - I was focused on my career making me "happy" and "filling my Route 44" and not Jesus, if you are trying to rely on your career for your satisfaction and happiness in life - please read this.... IT WILL NOT WORK.

This got me thinking. I was trying to fill my life with everything BUT a relationship with Him. Now, I had a relationship with God, but it was your basic prayers - nothing deep and intimate, like my soul was longing for (little did I know). I felt like this and I KNOW GOD! I can't begin to imagine how people who don't KNOW Him and Know the wonderful peace and bliss He brings feel.

The lack of discipleship and community in my life with like-minded, encouraging believers was beginning to take a toll on my soul. I began to think about our world and what is going on right now. This was a heart issue for me. Bottom line: my heart was NOT in an intimate place with the Lord. The only one who can truly satisfy a human heart is the One who made it. Think about that for a minute.... Jesus is the only One who can truly fill my extra-large Route 44 heart.

What if the things going on in our world today - are not people deciding to turn away from God and follow the devil into eternity... but it is simply their way of crying out for a full Route 44. They are unsatisfied with life and searching desperately for satisfaction and so they turn to homosexuality, pornography, binge eating, gossip, sexual reassignment, shoplifting, the list could go on and on., but they are yearning for satisfaction and turning to all of these things hoping they can find some. It hurts my heart to hear people say "I'm doing this for my soul" or "This really makes me happy."

Because if they believe that the 10 second high that the world gives them is truly happy... they are missing out on the blissful life God can give them - and it is NEVER too late, He is a God who restores everything - Lamentations 3:23 "His mercies are new every morning."

Why not instead of focusing on the sin we begin to focus on the sinner. It is our job to show Christ to people, it is the Holy Spirit's job to convict and convert. Take the pressure off your shoulders, yes stand up for what you believe (Eccl. 3:7 - a time to tear, and a time to keep silent, and a time to speak...), but don't turn people away from the love and satisfaction of the Lord just because you want to prove a point.

Let them taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8)

Christine Caine said it best, "I've read the end of the book... We win. God wins. He prevails."

That's it. The end. It's over. You don't get to go back and rediscuss issues, or talk to that woman suffering in silence and unsatisfied with life. You get one chance to show love - to be encouraging and use your words to impact that person for eternity. We know they will hate us - that isn't a new concept for Christians - Matthew 10:22 "And you will be hated by everyone because of me, but stand firm to the end and I will save you." Think about it - you can effect someone's life for eternity... Will you help fill their Route 44?

[un]-controlled speech

2015-01-18T14:36:00.002-08:00

One of my friends at work was telling me a story the other day and after telling me she promptly asked my opinion. After asking my opinion, she stopped me and asked herself out loud...
"Will I be able to handle your answer?"
I was shocked. Not really shocked, but taken off guard. I pride myself in telling the truth. If you ask me a question, my opinion, anything... I will be unashamedly honest with you. Even if you don't agree - I am still telling you my opinion or answering your question and I believe with every ounce of my being that I am being honest with you.
I answered her question, I gave her my opinion and used several examples to support my opinion (what can I say, my dad is a lawyer - supporting your claims with evidence runs in my blood I guess...).
She was not happy. Not only was she not expecting my answer, her feelings were kind of hurt, not by what I said - but by what was being said about her.
I had to step back and ask myself if it was worth it. Was it worth sharing those things with her, knowing she might not take it well? Was it worth hurting my friend to tell the truth? I'll answer it for you. No.

God's WORD says:

"Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be encouragement to those who hear them." Eph. 4:29 GOD'S WORD
"Even a stubborn fool is thought to be wise if he keeps silent. He is considered intelligent if he keeps his lips sealed." Proverbs 17:29 GOD'S WORD

We need to be remembering to THINK before we speak.

Source: HomegrownHospitality.typepad.com

THINK. It's Simple. Is it Truthful, Helpful, Inspirational, Necessary, and Kind. I LOVE THIS. I loved it so much I wanted to share it with you because we all need little reminders sometime.

Prior to Ephesians 4:29, the WORD says "You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created God's likeness - righteous, holy, and true. And don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a might foothold to the Devil."

As humans we will sin. It's inevitable. But why do we sin? We sin because the Devil targets our mouth and our testimony. He tries to make you as unreliable as possible so that you don't spread the kingdom. Did you know that your mouth and your actions have that kind of impact?

You can expand Christ's Heavenly Kingdom with your words and actions.

WOW.
Can you tell Satan no? Can you control your tongue? James 3:5 says "The tongue is the smallest part of the body, but it can make the most damage." We have to learn to control our tongue, to be able to ask those 5 questions before speaking. If you can accomplish that, you can greatly influence Satan's hold on your life and in turn increase the Kingdom.

Sometimes it is more important to be KIND than RIGHT. We do not need to be an intelligent mind that speaks but a PATIENT heart that LISTENS.

Be encouraged today!

[un]-controlled chaos

2015-01-15T17:19:00.000-08:00

I want to share a prayer with you. One that I turn to when I feel hopeless, out of control, one that I should use more often. Don't just read this prayer. Pray it. Don't just hear this prayer. Feel it. And at the end of the prayer... be changed. Far too many times we pray prayers and we read texts that tell us to do one thing, and we do another. We become our own worst enemy and we make turn our fears into reality.
What do I want you to receive from reading this post? Peace. Pure Peace from the Protector, the Controller, your Lover - the One who desires you more than anyone else in this world.
Dear Heavenly Father, Just when we settle into a pattern, Things change far too quickly. One door opens; another closes. We rise, we eat, we sleep. We smile, we laugh, we cry. Even change itself is ever changing and Lord, if I'm truthful, I don't like change. Because I desire Control. Will you forgive my lack of understanding that Your creation is exquisite? Would you remind me that the back and forth of life Is rippled by Your gifts of love and laughter? And that life is measured by memories, not minutes? May these seasons challenge me to charge ahead Towards another beautiful season of Your blessings.
This is short. But I needed to pray this with someone - so thank you for praying with me.

Working Hard

2014-12-04T10:59:00.000-08:00

I've been working a lot lately. More than usual - well scratch that not more than usual. It's been overwhelming. I moved in May (if you didn't know that) to Birmingham Alabama and am currently working in the Athletic Department at Samford University. It has been a neat experience seeing the changes in the department over the last 6 months, but I won't lie to you it has been difficult. In the last several weeks it's been harder than I have ever imagined it being. Maybe it's because I'm dating, maybe it's because the holidays, maybe it's because I despise and loathe basketball season... but it has been hard.
I have been questioning if this is even what I want to do with my life. Anyone shocked reading this? I love my job. This is what I thought I was supposed to be doing - why am I hating it all of the sudden?
[insert Jesus.]
1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."
Can you say Thank you Jesus. Sometimes when I am falling apart, which lets face it - happens more often to me then most people, I reword Bible verses and substitute my words to speak to my current situation.
DISCLAIMER: I am not GOD, nor do I believe my words are better than GOD'S... however, I do believe the Holy Spirit is in me and thus helping me apply His Word to my life.
1 Corinthians 15:58 (AP Version [Abby's Paraphrased Version] hehe)
"Hold up, Abby, be strong, have patience, sit with the Lord, and always be enthusiastic in your work no matter your circumstances or your situations, but know that when you work with enthusiasm and an opposite Spirit - you are showing MY [Christ's] love to those around you. That work is not in vain and that work is what I have sent you to do, because when you are happy and when you LOVE others in your work - you are glorifying Me."
So not exactly paraphrased... Abby's Extended Paraphrased Version :)
Maybe you aren't going through this at work, but chances are there will be something in your life that comes up and will challenge you and you will want to quit. Remember - do it with joy! Show people how to work for the Lord in any profession!

Paint Your Pet

2014-03-30T17:50:00.003-07:00

I've been wanting to do a painting class for a while now, and instead of waiting for a group of "friends" to go with me, I decided to be independent, because let's be honest when am I not?, and go by myself. I was hoping there would be a room full of people and I would just blend in, instead there was one other couple and then me… I stood out like a sore thumb. The best part, I talked to Baylor the entire time - they probably thought was a loon.
I heard about this place in town and they were doing a Paint your Pet day and you could bring your pet and you would paint a picture of them. Of course I couldn't get it off my mind and then I just HAD to do it. So last week I sent them one of my favorite pictures of Baylor and decided that no matter what I would go. When I got to Studio Cellar (the place here in town) there were 2 other people and they did not bring their pet. I walked in and seemed very awkward I am sure and asked if pets were allowed. How can anyone say no to Baylor, he is just so captivating upon first interaction.
They said "of course he can stay", I don't know if they were allowed or not - but Baylor stayed. They even gave him a dog treat and got him a water bowl :)
Below are the pictures of my progress. It was a mixture of emotions, painting this picture. Overwhelming, patience (technically not an emotion, but I don't care), frustration, excitement, happiness, and I had an absolute blast. Not going to say it wasn't challenging, but if you haven't done this - you need to do it!
The place has over 30 different paintings you can choose from and they range from realistic to abstract and there is always someone in there that can help you, so you don't have to be apart of a party or go at a specific time - which makes it a very fun, spontaneous activity! Definitely want to go back.

Baylor did so good, not on his leash! He just sat at my feet while I painted. The blank canvas had the sketch on it when I got there. It was really nice to have to outline done. All I had to do was basically paint by numbers. And the girl was really nice and helped me do a lot of shading (that is her favorite part of painting - I don't get it).

These are my progressions of painting. I think for the first time painting I did a pretty good job. Notice all of the pictures behind me in the last picture… those are the different paintings you can do.

The Original and the Painting… can you tell which one is which?

The normal stuff.

2014-03-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

Finally, it's Friday. The thing is - my week is JUST BEGINNING. You see in the world of sports - the weekend is the most hectic, busy, and overwhelming, which means, unlike 99% of the world, I look forward to Mondays. Quiet and evaluating. It's simple and I love it.
This week, however, has not been quiet and evaluating. It has been long and taxing. Everyday was filled with something after work and man, by the end of the week I am exhausted. Who cares right? I work in sports - and I have a "dream job". Fact. [sometimes]
Today it is imperative that I live out Nehemiah 8:10 [the verse my blog is named after], and not just figuratively, I must believe it with every muscle fiber in my body and literally live this out. I have no strength today to do anything and I am going to need all the energy I can get at 4:00 pm today when Tennis hosts Kids Day for dozens of kids, and I'm in charge. Oh. Boy.
So today - the JOY of the LORD is my STRENGTH! And I will live this out.
Last night I shared my "Story" with my lifegroup - it was so intimidating, at one point I was shaking. Anyways, I remembered most of the most important parts of my story - however I thought you would find it interesting that I left out these parts:
- Moving to Columbia - 2 ex-boyfriends - The job dilemma of the Spring of 2013 - My baptism. WOW - can't believe I forgot that one - The beginning of my mascot career at OBU and the last thing I can remember about forgetting: -mission trips, bible camps, etc.. that I attended that shaped me today.
Isn't it funny the things we forget in our story. My story is full of great things and I think last night I used my story to hit on my sin struggles and where I had repented in my life and how I had overcome those things, as encouragement to my fellow travelers. However, the best parts of my story are my birth into eternal life and full redemption throughout my life. Isn't it funny that even though joy and eternal life is a bi-product of the repentance process, I left those parts out, and only focused on the negative. Strange to think about.
Have a great day!

Top 10 Reasons I Work in Sports

2014-03-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Reasons I Work In Sports: 10. Keeps you on your toes - you never know what you will be doing! And I love it. Everyday I come to work with the expectation that I could be doing everything from scheduling tweets to running around town doing grassroots - and I love the unknown, however, some days it would be nice to just sit in the office.
9. The Atmosphere. I love being on the edge of games and actually feeling like you are a part of the game. We work so hard in marketing to create such a great environment to cheer on the team - that when we see a great crowd and an intense game, it's great to feel like you had a hand in that.

8. The Clothes. Not going to lie. We get hooked up! I love wearing my Gamecock stuff, and when I was a Baylor Bear I loved wearing my Baylor stuff. It is all about where your loyalty is at that moment - and currently mine is with South Carolina. So needless to say, when it is raining - I wear my jacket, when it is warm, I wear my vest, and when I am traveling I have 4 different travel bags to choose from. And its awesome.

7. Relocation. Now most of the time I say this is the worst part of sports, but let's consider the positive. How cool is it that by the age of 25, I have successfully lived in the great state of Texas AND on the east coast and traveled all over Texas and the Carolinas. Not many people can say that! [DISCLAIMER: Could not have done it without the love and support and $$$ help from my family]

6. It's just plain FUN. Yes, it's hard work and long hours [I don't think you understand long hours]. But it is so fun. The events are fun, working with coaches and sports are fun, and yah - the office might be super tense most of the time, I'm doing what I love.

5. Constantly Learning. If you know anything about me, I love sports. I also love learning - so much so that I gladly went to Grad School and would gladly go again! It's the mindset of increasing your knowledge in a topic and hopefully, becoming an expert on it. I am certainly not an expert on marketing or sports for that matter - but I am constantly learning, and that's what I love about it.

4. Its go Go GO. I am a fast paced person and that is something that I admire about myself. Apathy is not in my vocabulary. I do like my occasional lazy days and nights off watching Law and Order or NCIS, but I am most of the time running like a lady with her hair on fire. Everything ALWAYS works out, but needless to say its fast paced and a multi-tasking

3. Season Turnover. Everyone likes the seasons. It's change, it's new beginnings, it's refreshing. And its one of my favorite things about sports. I know that during Football, I have 8 home games [MAYBE] and then its over. Basketball gets a little longer, and then its my favorite time of year - Baseball! There is nothing better then after a LONG year of sports to know that you will end it on top, with Baseball.

2. Creativity/Grassroots - I know what you are probably thinking, what the heck is grassroots? It is a term coined for marketing to people in their everyday lives - door to door. It's taking posters and schedule cards to people at their work or standing in the middle of campus telling people about the upcoming games. It's interactive and I love it. The other part of this is you always have to have energy and creative new slogans/mini-campaigns. Which means, everyday you are trying to come up with the next best-most interactive thing! And I love that.

1. Sports Family. I love my coaches, coworkers, and interns. They make my days! Every sport dynamic is different, but everywhere I have worked there are people that surround you that are in the same busy hectic lifestyle you are... and that is where we find solace. And I love it!

Statistically - people that have birthdays, live longer.

2014-03-10T10:28:00.001-07:00

There goes another year. But I'm alive and healthy so that is a lot more than a lot of people at my age (especially if you've watched Dallas Buyers Club - I haven't seen it, but that's what I hear). Every year the day comes and the day passes. Already it's mid-afternoon and I'm wondering where my day has gone. My BIRTH DAY! I was born at 2:03 pm so I have a couple more hours until I am officially 25 years old, but the day is literally flying by.
Quarter of a century. WOW! And what do I have to show for it? I've completed a lot. High School, College, Grad School, My First Job, My first cross-country move, my first and second and third half-marathon, Lots of books, killed multiple iPhones, lots of boys. I haven't killed lots of boys... there have just been lots of boys. Just a lot has happened. So I want to make this year count. I didn't put a ton of thought into it - just made a list of things I can accomplish and some things that would be challenging and then others, I'll be lucky if I complete.
So many of the challenges in my 25th year are things I want to do in my life. So why not mark them off the list and replace them with better more challenging things. I have decided that #24 Journal Everyday - I will journal everyday about my life as a 25 year old. It might be cool. And it might be trash. We will see.
That is what this process is about - seeing how far I can push myself to do things out of the norm. Change it up a bit. 25 years is too long to live life the same. This next Quarter of a Century will definitely be interesting. Can you imagine what will happen....Okay, sidetracked! That is a whole other post. Follow me on Instagram here at Abby_Turner or on Twitter here at Abby_Turner or #25while25
It's going to be fun
So here we go. To a new year. To a new list. And to 25 challenging, fun, easy, and unpredictable moments to come!

10 things you need to know about the SEC Network

2014-03-03T19:30:00.002-08:00

10. It's a GREAT thing for everyone… even if it is uncomfortable right now! 9. The SEC Network will not have High School Games, no plans to show bowl games, and will not host the coach's shows of any SEC member institution. 8. There will be SEC Sports and sports-related programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, just like SEC Nation, and come August, SEC TV will no longer exist. 7. This is a conference-wide network. The goal is to provide equitable exposure for each of the SEC member institutions. The SEC Network will achieve this goal without each school having its own block of time to program. 6. The digital network (the 1,000 games from 4.) will be just like WatchEPSN. You must have the cable provider login in order to watch the programs (meaning you must have AT&T U-Verse or DISH). 5. The first game on the SECNETWORK is Texas A&M at South Carolina on August 28th, 2014. 4. Over 1,000 games will be produced for the network and digital site. 450 of those 1,000 will be live on television. There will be about 45 football games, over 100 MBB games, 60 WBB games, 75 Baseball, 50 softball, and 120 Olympic sport events will be live on the network. 3. If a game is on the SEC Network - the ONLY way to watch that game is to have a cable provider that has the SEC-Network. As of today AT&T U-VERSE and DISH are the only 2 providers that have bought the SEC Network for their subscribers. Click here for the story. 2. YOU CAN NOT BUY SEC-NETWORK GAMES ANYWHERE. It's AT&T U-Verse, DISH, or LIVE in stadium. 1. Want the SEC Network on your Cable Provider. You can pressure your cable provider at GETSECNETWORK.com. Click now and tell them you want it! Have any more questions? Leave a comment and I will answer them! Oh and the best part about the SEC Network… guess who will be a host? This guy… Tim Tebow!

the importance of color

2014-03-02T20:37:00.002-08:00

Since I have decided to pause my blog life and blog about things to effect me, here it goes, these first ones might be a little rough.
Color is everywhere around us and is one of the most important things to consider when branding your product. Take for instance Big Blue and, depending on where you are from, you immediately think of schools like Duke or Kentucky. Maybe you see Green and Yellow and immediately think of the Green Bay Packers or Oregon (probably not going to think Baylor - but maybe…). It's important when branding that you consider a specific color - a specific shade. North Carolina isn't just blue - they are Tar Heel Blue (or a sky blue to general public).
One of the most used sports colors is RED. Think about some poplar teams - Cardinals, Braves, Redsocks, Redskins, and Bucs - just to name a few… But then think about the SEC alone and all of the shades of red. Alabama is Crimson, but is it that much different then the Razorback, Ole Miss, or Georgia Red and even the South Carolina "Garnet"? Then you have the maroon shades in Texas A&M and Mississippi State. Just take a look at all of the colors:

Brands communicate meanings with the language of color. It is comparable to say "A color is worth a thousand words." A single color can convey a lot of information in just a first glance. Depending on what state you are from Red could be Texas A&M (or Texas Tech - but lets stay with the SEC thing), Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State… But why have so many schools chosen red? Think about it what is the SEC known for? WINNING. a POWER house, IMPORTANCE, RELEVANCE… and what does the RED color convey in general? All of those things. It is a natural way to associate with the SEC Culture.
In the News: Arkansas has announced they are changing their color from PMS 200 to PMS 202. Look above in the chart… Texas A&M uses PMS 281 which is a much more purple red than its counterparts. Much to my surprise Mississippi State (which looks Maroon everywhere but the branding guide) uses PMS 202 - which is the same as the South Carolina Garnet and the new Arkansas Red. Interesting Right? Because they call it Maroon (Commonly thought as PMS 281).

I mean these colors are basically the same right? Needless to say it is important to think about your color when creating a brand because the color will supersede anything you can do as a sports biz professional. Half of why you change your color (over time) is that your uniforms might not specifically match you "official" color. Just think about about it. There are no longer 7 different types of red in the SEC. There are basically 3 - the Maroon, the Garnet (Arkansas, South Carolina, and Miss St), and then the Red (Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss). Interesting thought that schools are changing colors to match uniforms. What does that tell you about the power of the apparel companies and the power of the schools? Under Armour, Adidas, and Nike have decided to cut costs and create only a few uniform colors, and it is the schools that are now adapting to what the companies give them to work with. This fascinates me! I love color because it is so essential to everything marketing is. I hope you found this just half as interesting.

It's not just about ordering a uniform in a specific color or saying it is Razorback Red. There is a lot more that goes into it - and it must look the same on every publication that is produced, because in marketing your brand. is. everything.

How this effects you:

You are your brand. Which means just like the color must stay the same and be consistent to convey the brand, we must strive for the same consistency in our life to convey the correct brand. It doesn't help if at work sometimes I use Razorback Red and sometimes I use Carolina Garnet. People will become confused and look at our publications as unreliable and unprofessional. We must remain consistent. Sometimes life is hard and sometimes we don't always put our best foot forward, but we need to STRIVE to always remember that people are watching us and that we are our own brand every second of every day - whether we are at the Oscars or in the grocery store. Think about it.

Hope you enjoyed my NEW post - let me know what you think!

Wanna know what I think...

2014-02-24T16:32:00.000-08:00

I guess I already know the answer to my own question. If you are reading this, you do want to know what I think - and I think that is a pretty cool thought. I read a lot of blogs and a lot of blogs lately have been advertising things and girls have been writing about products or companies they use and they flat out say I'm getting paid for this post - and most of the time we don't even need you to tell us - we know. Then there are those bloggers who link up every which way to big name bloggers just to get people to read their blog and to "feel popular" (I feel sorry for those girls). I could are less - 18 or 118 people reading my blog, I think it's pretty interesting. But that isn't what this post is about.
This post is about what I like. And yes, I like boys and weight loss, pageants, and cupcakes - which is kind of a contradiction. But one of my first loves is….SPORTS. And I want to start writing more of that. I know a lot of you are probably friends and family and might be confused about my job, or why I am in sports - or that there is even a sports industry just as big as an accounting industry or a law industry… it's huge! And I want to start commenting on them. Who knows… you might learn something :)
Before I start posting about sports, I will let you know how I am doing on my challenges. The challenge I am probably the most proud about is my challenge to learn the guitar - I have learned. I am as good as probably I want to be, but I am still going to lessons because you can't ever learn too much.
The challenge I am doing the worst on is probably everything else. I am failing miserably. But that is why they are challenges and not resolutions. Because I can always continue to challenge myself! And that is what I am doing. So let me flat out say it: I am failing to lose weight (which I cannot afford to fail at any longer because I MUST fit into the size dress that I have ordered on a specific date). I am failing at abstaining from everything love related (Valentine's Day was HARD - or coming off of Valentine's Day). I am failing at not eating sweets (again Valentine's Day was hard and one of my very best friend's the other day reminded me that Starburst Jelly Beans are now IN SEASON).
Let me just pause. I could write an entire blog post on Starburst Jelly Beans.
I am failing at… wait - did I cover everything? Yes. ha. I am just failing.
But I am going to challenge myself ONE DAY AT A TIME to do better.
Enough of that.
I would love to hear from the few of you that read my blog about different sports topics you might be interested in. In the super near future, I am going to blog on topics such as sports teams asking people to turn off cell phones in arenas, the importance of a human factor in sports, my love for the olympics and AMERICA, and is there a need to better technology in sports. Do you have any topics? Are you interested? Maybe you aren't. I don't care. I want to write about this and it's my blog. Get over it :)
Enjoy your week! Be back soon

February 14th

2014-02-15T19:21:00.006-08:00

This dreaded day, also happens to be my favorite holiday. I know exactly what you are thinking… WHY! is this most overrated, dramatic, and stupidly expensive holiday your favorite? Because those three words describe me to a tee. I mean a tee.
But you really want to know why… because I LOVE LOVE. Dugh. But as a single girl it can be hard, but my day wasn't really that bad. Most of the day, I spent day-dreaming and living vicariously through my married, engaged, and in-love counterparts on various social media outlets (social media is the perfect way to live vicariously through someone.
Before you send me a message saying "you fell off the wagon!!!"… (in regards to my 6 months of romantic abstinence) I thought it would only be fair that I not exclude myself from the holiday altogether - but moreover I immerse myself in the holiday and practice self-control and MIND-control.
One thing I really struggle with is being a FRIEND to guys. I am constantly asking myself "is he the one" "could I see myself with him… what about him" "is he cute?" "Oh, I could work with that" DUMB DUMB DUMB!
Recently, I have been noticing that those questions are not what pops to my head. Recently, I haven't cared. Recently, I have just been able to be friends with guys. It's amazing! How after only 50 days (almost) on this "cleanse" I am noticing a change.
So yesterday was a test. I was testing myself to see if I could watch a romantic comedy and not immediately go to my cell and text my sister and bash love or romance or wonder, why isn't that me.
And guess what… I didn't! In fact, I text one of my good friends and discussed the reality of a fairytale love. Most of the Hallmark movies are based around women who are 28 or older. None are 24 and trying to find a career. Most are older, already several years in their career and living alone.
Guess what… that is me in a couple of years. Living alone and working hard in my career.
It WILL happen to me. One day. And I can't wait.
So Valentine's Day was great! I still love love, but am working on waiting. :)

Oh, and no I will not be watching anymore rom coms! I am going back to my Law and Order:SVU and NCIS reruns… but for the time being - I'm watching the OLYMPICS!!!!

Writing my story.

2014-01-15T21:11:00.001-08:00

Before I go any further… if you have not heard, downloaded, loved, or appreciated Francesca Battistelli's new song "Write Your Story" I have included a link here so that you can listen to it! It is so great! Most importantly, in my case, is that this exactly what I have been praying.
I have gotten some flack in the past week about my "romantic abstinence". I have heard things like:
"You won't be able to do that" "Why, would you give up love, doesn't that defeat the purpose of being a Christian." "Since you can't find a boy, you are going to just give up?" "This is absolutely ridiculous and way too dramatic."
I have heard this from a handful of people, like 7 to be exact. The perfect number right? That is what I thought :) My point is getting across, maybe not my reasoning, but my point is definitely getting across. If you don't want to listen to that song, shame on you - but I'll put the lyrics below (and the youtube clip of the song): I'm an empty page
I'm an open book
Write Your story on my heart
Come on and make Your mark

Author of my hope
Maker of the stars
Let me be Your work of art
Won't You write Your story on my heart
Aren't these lyrics powerful. You see, I am not trying to give up on love, or give up loving people - but I became consumed with making sure I was doing the right things in order to get the end result I wanted, when this whole time God has been tugging at my heart saying let ME write your story… Let ME do it, Abby! And guess what, I have finally done that.
My Jesus wants to write my story - so I will let Him, why? Because I know that my Jesus will write the perfect story because He is just like Francesca said, the Author of my Hope and the Maker of the Stars.
Powerful.

Sorry I haven't written all week, I am alive - just super busy! Tennis is this weekend and students are back in session… I got spoiled over the break with days off, half days, and no students and now I am like what is this madness… how did I live in this all last fall??? Blessings!

Baby Sister!!

2014-01-09T13:00:00.002-08:00

it feels like one of those nights….
I must start out by giving my baby sister a shout out on her birthday!! She is 22 and is growing up so fast. MollyAnne is my best friend, my confident, and so sweet that she could probably never hurt a fly. Her advice is always un-dramatic and her sense of humor is dry and natural. Being with her is a breath of fresh air from the highly over dramatized life that I live.

Molly Anne is so creative and I would like to give her credit for the creativity that I incorporate in my work/life. I am constantly asking Molly Anne how to do creative things - she has the right answer for everything. Where I always have an answer... Molly Anne always has the RIGHT answer! Love it!

During my guitar lessons the other night I learned 5 chords: C, G, D, A, and Em. I have since taught myself Bm (which I'm soooo bad at) and G7. I learned Bm for a song I would to play (lead me to the cross) and G7 so I could learn Happy birthday. Well, I learned it and was able to play Happy birthday for her last night!!!! Yay!! I hate being so far away, but at least FaceTime allows us to be "closer" and not feel as far away.

I tried to post my guitar video so you could see me play... Anybody have any suggestions on how to do that?? If so, let me know in a comment!! Thanks!

Wanted to share a passage with you that I read the other day.....

Abbie poses the question: if loneliness and aloneness are true emotions - don't the represent even more of a whole person then when a person is lacking those?

"If we desire comfort and ease and the romantic high of an illusion, we should avoid being truly alone at all costs. But if we desire the truth of our selves and the honest state of our soul, we must wholly embrace who we are and we we are not, we must seek solitude and wait for holy union."

I love that!!! So much truth in what she writes. I must begin to EMBRACE exactly where I am and WAIT for the Holy union. Not any union, holy union - God-ordained, not Abby-endorsed! I love words and the meaning of words so I did some research on EMBRACE - what does that mean and HOW do I embrace something, especially wholly embrace. This is what I found:

embrace[ em-breys ]

verb (used with object) [em·braced, em·brac·ing.]

1. to take or clasp in the arms; press to the bosom; hug.

2. to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly: to embrace an idea.

3. to avail oneself of: to embrace an opportunity.

It's that second definition that stands out to me. To receive gladly or eagerly. I cannot tell you the last time, if ever I thought I would receive eagerly my singleness, my distance from home, or my work schedule. However, if I want to truly be okay with myself and my life and to live that life to the fullest - I must completely receive my circumstances gladly.

My life with Baylor:

It's been cold lately so instead of sleeping under the covers, Baylor sleeps on top of my back in front of my space heater that blows hot air (which is positioned right next to my bed above) he is literally 6 inches from it the entire night!! Such a mess!

In other news, Happy Epiphany (12 days after Christmas when the wise men found baby Jesus)!! My decorations are officially down! Woo hoo! Parents out there, I don't know how you do it with kids!!

I tried to post my guitar video so you could see me play... Anybody have any suggestions on how to do that?? If so, let me know in a comment!! Thanks guys!!

Giving up on LOVE

2014-01-08T08:34:00.003-08:00

At first glance, reading the title of my post today might seem depressing, dramatic, and even down right dumb. Everyone needs love in their life right? Absolutely! That is the point. Some days I am so consumed with it that I forget to love on those around me. Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic. But I do find myself obsessing over the boy I just passed or the fairy tale wedding that just never seems to come, especially with the laundry list of weddings I am involved in over the course of the next 6 months. Daily, I battle the thoughts of patience, persistence, contentment, loneliness, happiness... etc I have been raised with an incredible support system of family and friends that remind me consistently that God is just waiting to give me something great. Yes, I understand that and to a degree I believe it. To a degree. There is the problem. I believe it with my heart, but when I begin to think about it, I decide that God is just waiting on me to make the move - to open up opportunities.
Like the God of the Universe NEEDS ME to do something.
As I write that sentence it is like daggers in my heart. Since when has Sunday School and church taught me that God needs me? Since when do I doubt God and not have complete faith in His timing and His will? I mean a girl's favorite verse is Psalm 37:4 right? Delight yourself in the Will of the Lord and He will give you the Desires of your heart. Pretty sure my desires are straight forward... Love, Husband, Baby (in that order). However, God seems to be taking His sweet precious time - and I am "fed" up with it.
After having this way of thinking for a little bit (it's been like years - don't judge), I began to really believe that I had a part to play in orchestrating my love story. I'll give you 3 guesses on what comes next. If you guessed eHarmony, Match.com, and of course gotta throw God in there - ChristianMingle. You guessed correctly. I did them. Because in some facet of the imagination I thought I could control my love story.
Flash forward to present day.
I've said it before, but moving to South Carolina has both challenged and strengthened my walk with Jesus. I mean the whole dependence thing and happiness thing, not to mention the big L (loneliness) have been affected in such a positive way. I think the best thing for me is the little Jesus Calling desk calendar that my mom sent me back in August. It is a constant reminder that God is bigger then any issue I have. At the beginning of November I started going to a LifeGroup and inadvertently these girls began to challenge me and so I wanted to do something to challenge myself spiritually, kind of like lent, but during the winter - oh of course advent... what was I thinking - God already created it. So during the time of Thanksgiving and Christmas I wanted to give something up. However, my selfishness got in the way and so those 30 days instead of giving up something, I wrestled with the idea of giving something up - until it was too late.
The thought I wanted to give up was LOVE. Who gives up love during one of the loveliest seasons of the year? Yah, this girl. There was no way I could do this - in fact, I had no idea what this would even look like. I said yes one moment and said heck no! the next. The girls in my lifegroup were all for it and very encouraging and then I would go home and say there is no way that I can give this up. Really? I can't give something worldly up? What does that sound like? The definition of an IDOL. Then it hit me, I had made marriage, love, boys - an idol. So what is the easiest way to change? Stop thinking about it - stop associating yourself with it - it is a complete and total retraining of the mind.
I came across several books (mainly because my life group leader Ty gave them to me), but I read a little of them and decided that they would help me in my challenge. They are Abbie Smith's Celibate Sex, Packer's Knowing God, and Piper's Desiring God. I am really enjoying my first two - Celibate Sex and Desiring God.
I know exactly what you are thinking: a book called Celibate Sex? Isn't that an oxymoron? You can't be celibate and have sex.... The book (the first several chapters anyway) are about loneliness, singleness, contentment. All of those words I described above are discussed in this book and so far it is a really encouraging and eye-opening book. Several books I have read in the past include Dating While Waiting, I kissed Dating Goodbye, Captivated, When God Writes Your Love Story. And if you asked me what those books taught me they are all the same: "Don't be lonely or sad while you are single - be in love with God, He is your real prince charming. God has a man for you - just wait." While that mantra is correct and I wholeheartedly believe that. I don't need someone to tell me that, I want someone raw, someone telling me that singleness sucks and that God understands singleness and wants to hear about it. Abbie does that in this book. She allows me to journal about my feelings - however selfish they might be, because that's apart of the process - understanding that the place I am at right now in life is the place God wants me to be.
I have told several of you about the first chapter, which was encouraging even today, a week later. The chapter was entitled Fig Leaves. Abbie asks you to journal about the "fig leaves" in your life. What are the masks that you put on or that you tell yourself why you aren't dating or married. They can be a number of things - I had 11. She goes on to write that these fig leaves are inhibiting your ability to see that God is in control of those things and He wouldn't have made you that way if He didn't want you to be that way. What a thought. I am outgoing, loud, vivacious, curvy, happy, and sometimes inapproachable because GOD MADE ME THAT WAY and GOD WANTS ME THAT WAY. I hadn't thought about it that way.
I have begun approaching life in a totally different way. The first week has been hard. But it has been worth it. I am not necessarily giving up on love, but maybe more in my dependence on love. Love is a great thing, but with anything too much of a great thing can be dangerously idyllic - that is the part that I am changing. My hopes in journaling with you, is not only to maintain accountability, but that you would be encouraged by the stuff I am going through and maybe even use my story to help someone else. My story doesn't do anything if it just sits here floating in the web space, but if you share it, you are allowing God to work through it and with it in someone else's life.
Here are some BASIC guidelines for my challenge: -No chick flicks -No romantic comedies -No TV Shows that include love (only shoot-em-ups :)) -No Match.com/ChristianMingle (not like I would - but occasionally I get on there) -No Boyfriends/Dates
An update on the rest of my challenges: 1. I am still losing weight and on track to that wedding (however, I broke down and bought the next size up as well - so I have a little bit of lee way). 2. It has been a solid week since I have had sweets of any kind. If it weren't for coffee and my Nature Valley Granola Bars I would be toast right now. 3. This whole 6 months without boys is hard... I am constantly relying on the Lord to take thoughts out of my mind - however, I have not watched a chick-flick, not checked match or ChristianMingle 4. My first guitar lesson was last night, I can officially play Happy Birthday! (Check in tomorrow for a video) 5. I haven't traveled any place cool yet :(

A Resolution…. Scratch that!

2014-01-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

It is a new year so that means we are all trying to do something better, change something about ourselves, and of course everyone wants to lose weight…. As I began to think about things in my life and the things I wanted to change - it was hard. This year I have been blessed with so many things - I great job in South Carolina, a wonderful apartment, another fun year with Baylor, a prayerful family who is always there for me, great coworkers, a graduate degree, and so many exciting memories. I figured - nobody ever keeps their new years resolutions anyways why waste my time and I put down the idea.
I came back to it several times thinking I've got to at least participate in the whole New Years Resolution thing… So I tried to think harder - and the more I thought - the more I figured I was blessed enough and I didn't want to change anything about myself. What a thought! Hah! I am so "perfect" nothing needs to be changed. Well, I knew that wasn't true so I went to God - if there was nothing worldy I wanted to change - maybe the Man upstairs wanted to change something about me.
That is the way to go about things right - first consult the world and then consult the Lord… lol - there is item numero uno on my list - focus on God. (not kidding)
As I began to think about it over the course of the last month, I came up with several very interesting and challenging resolutions - except I'm not calling them resolutions, I'm calling them challenges.
I've always been stubborn that way, ask my mom and my sisters, you tell me not to and I most likely will. I don't know why I do, I just do. That is why I am calling them challenges - because I'm not resolving to do anything, I am challenging myself to make a lifestyle change. Here are my challenges:
1. Many of you know my cousin(s) are getting married this summer - 3 of them. Meg is first in April and I am a bridesmaid. Trey is next in June and Jill is last in July. GUess what that means - too many family pictures and I refuse to feel self conscious in them, I want to be proud and happy of the way that I look. So yes, maybe one of my "new years resolutions" is to lose weight - but the real challenge is that I have already bought the bridesmaid dress for my friend's wedding in which I am a bridesmaid in (May 17). Needless-to-say, I have to stay on track until May 17 or else I WILL NOT fit into the dress and the size that I bought. I have to consistently lose about 10-12 pounds a month for the next 4 months to get there. And even then I'm praying it fits - so I have to remain good. More of an ultimatum right?
2. Now I know that a lot of you read my blog and know that I can not wait to get married… I LOVE LOVE. But it has recently become more of an idol in my life. So for the next 6 months (Yes, I said 6 months) I am going to be romantically abstinent. (there will be a blog later this week on what that means). I am very hopeful that this retraining of my brain and my emotions will evolve into a very healthy lifelong mentality.
3. I am going to challenge myself to learn the guitar. There are several nights a week I need something new in my life besides work - so I have enrolled in the Columbia Arts Academy and will be taking a 30 minute lesson every week! :) I'm probably most excited about this one.
4. I am also going to challenge myself to visit Charleston, Charlotte, Augusta, and Savannah while I am living here in Columbia and stay in a bed and breakfast. I have always wanted to do that too!
5. Lastly, and MOST CERTAINLY the bottom of my list - I am going to challenge myself to give up sweets for an entire year. Yes, we have ALL tried it… But I am going to do it! I am challenging myself to give up all sweets. I am not counting peppermints and sweet drinks like sweet tea and my beloved Diet Cranberry Sprite (or jolly ranchers).
I will keep you updated, but as of 10pm on my 2nd day - I have been very strong with all 5 of my challenges. We will see how far I get.
Blessings!

COME ON IN!!!

2013-10-14T19:56:00.001-07:00

It has been long enough, so I thought I would invited you into my apartment. I have decorated and added to my furniture collection and think I have finally become comfortable and am ready for my sister to come and visit next weekend!!! The only thing I have left is to get some mums and pumpkins for the back porch and my home will fill like a home.

The first thing you will come to is my front door. Now when it is not a holiday I have this cute Welcome Mat and Welcome Wreath! So fun and happy! However, right now my Welcome Owl is on the front door. My cousin Janet will be happy about that Owl! But every Game Day (whether it's Equestrian or Football) - my Game Day Gamecock is on the door! Talk about Grassroots Marketing.

Below are some Before and After pictures... let me know what you think!! When I first got to Columbia I was super frustrated. In fact, when my mom was here I kind of went off on her because I was so frustrated. I think all in all my home has turned out lovely. I have decorated with roosters (or Gamecocks depending on where you are from). I guess I am kind of like my mom in that regard. If you have ever been in my mom's house she has rooster's everywhere! Like mother like daughter, or so I've heard. When I first got in the apartment the living room was so large. It is a 16' by 20' room and so overwhelming to decorate when you first walk in. I think the most intimidating part was that my living room and my kitchen are one area and there is no break. As you can see from the picture (bottom left) I tried different rugs. It was really hard to figure out which direction to go. I ended up starting with my red couch and my brown pillows. From there I decided to bring in some gold and off-white tones. The lazy-boy was my mom's that I brought from her house and I have since added a buffet (that my tv stands on) and my two side-tables and my coffee table - both which I got from Ashley's. The thing I like about Ashley's is that they deliver and it is put together! YAY!

Boy my red couch sure does have a lot of memories. From Oxford Park in Waco to Austin Avenue Flats and now to The Gates in Columbia SC! Baylor hair is all over it - but I love this couch and many a night have we shared. Many times I am so exhausted after a game, instead of being smart and going to bed, I lay on this couch with my little cuddle bunny and we fall asleep until I get too uncomfortable - man growing up really stinks! (You can't sleep anywhere). This, to the right, is my favorite piece - my buffet. even though it is supposed to hold wine - it holds my TV! It's the perfect piece for right there!

This is my corner area in the living room (above it is where that ladder looking thing is). It started out slow but thanks to Target, Big Lots, Lowe's, and Pier One I think it has come together nicely. Please excuse the witches I have already begun to decorate for Halloween!! My red chair is from Ashley's and I got that several years ago when I moved to Baylor. If you can see the picture in the back on the wall. That is a painting/collage that Molly Anne made me! She is so talented and it says "Love the Person you are today." It is great!

One of the reasons that I got a 2 bedroom apartment is so that if I needed I could host friends at my place. I am hoping that in my time here in South Carolina I have several visitors. My first visitor (besides mom and dad coming earlier) is Molly Anne! She is bringing 3 of her friends and I have already sent her a gift box of goodies to get them ready for the ride here! I am so thrilled they are coming. It has also been a big motivator to decorate my home. So here it is my guest bedroom before and after. The bedroom is a blue/green/grey -ish color tone and the bed is a silver iron cast bed. I like this room because I was able to use a lot of my shabby chic furniture from my apartment at Baylor in this room, including the white buffet which was home to my tv in my living room in Texas. You can see that I have carried the rooster theme into this bedroom with the blue iron rooster. Then I have a blue peacock type plate and candelabra on the other side of the TV. If I had a boy I would mount the TV on the wall and put some books or a couple of boxes under it. But for now I think it is okay. Above the bed I have added 2 iron ceiling tiles that are blue. I thought I would need 3 - but 2 seemed to work great! There is more I would like to do with this room, but I don't have enough $$$ for that haha.

This is what is on one of the walls in the Guest Room. Over in the back corner is a picture of the Old Mill in North Little Rock. GrandMolly gave that to me when I graduated from Grad School. I am so glad that I have a piece of history of my hometown in my apartment in South Carolina. I am also shocked how much of this color scheme I had in my decorations box. I guess deep down I like blues and browns? Who knew?!?!

The next picture is the picture of the Guest Bathroom and the bathroom that is used by guests when they come over. This is what my mom helped me on and I was so overwhelmed I could hardly stand it! Mom was so patient with me though. I love her so much. Is the curtain not so cute!??! That was all her idea and the cute brown and blue towel set above the toilet... ALL HER! Cute huh? I get so many complements on it.
Last but not least - my guest bathroom "Come Visit Me" closet! I am ready for Molly Anne and anyone else that wants to come visit!

Next is my entry table. I really like how it turned out! A lot of the stuff is from Kirklands and Pier One. I like how it is just enough to take up space but not bulky! I hate bulky! And do you spot it? The Rooster in the back is a chalk rooster and I can write things on it - right now it says Welcome Friends! And it's crowded on the table because of my Halloween stuff but usually it's quite simple.

Speaking of Halloween stuff - GrandMolly got my started with Witches a few years ago when I started living in my own place. And I have added a few things this year... Including the candy tray! My Candy Tray has bananas in it - yes I am trying to stay healthy :) I have named my witches and so those are the names next to my witches and what I call them!

Last but not least is my bedroom! My bedroom is massive so it doesn't look very complete but trust me I am only in there to sleep so it is fine with me. I will show you my bathroom first. I wasn't quite sure how I liked the his and hers sinks (kind of sad - and you all know how badly I want a his in my life) lol.

As you can see I was a mess when I first moved in. And now I have stuck with my browns and reds and have decorated nicely. The red beads on the sticks kind of get in the way in front of the sinks... but I like the center piece to much to care. My favorite part of my bathroom is probably the decorative towels I got at World Market. Are they not the cutest design? I mean seriously I can use them with any tone - purples, reds, blues, greens, and especially brown!!! I love the brown! I am not super crazy about the shower/tub combo, the tub is really tall so it is always a slippery balancing act getting in and out. Oh well!

This is my bedroom. I haven't really done anything with my decorations besides the lamps - those are new. But this is my same set up that I have had for the past several years and I am completely happy with it. I guess the familiarity of it is comforting. The pillows, the colors, the side tables, I love all of it. And so does Baylor :) I am trying to show you how big my room is with all of the different angles. My curtains are from Pier One and are a cute red/orange/yellow mix and so they match perfectly! Over in the back corner is my mirror that holds my jewelry - or some of it.

This is my my desk/work area which never gets used because by the time I get home - I want to do nothing. NOTHING. I really sit and play with Baylor - there is no part of my that wants to work or even look at a computer. Oh and I just added that chair from Target! I found a 40% off coupon of one item - so I bought the $150 chair that matches my yellow pillows! It just looks great and complements everything in the room. This is my closet - Yes I know it is huge and I am even embarrassed to show you because, it is no where near organized. I have added several shelving units. I will say that it was so big I actually fit my chest in there! WOW! So big.

So there it is: my apartment. DONT ASK ME ABOUT THAT TABLE!!! IT IS THE DEATH OF ME. I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of the apartment and where I spend the few hours that I am not at the office or an athletic event! If you want to come visit - just say the word!

Oh and this is my favorite rooster:

And you can't have Halloween without Ghost Cookies. And if you are single and live alone and like to host people - you need this miniature cake/cookie pan. I got it for $15 at Pier One! Its so cute and the PERFECT SIZE!!!!

I am back!!!!

2013-09-25T19:36:00.002-07:00

I feel like I say this all too often. But. I am back. I have actually been putting this off because I know that I have a lot to catch you up on. Less then a week after I posted my last post my grandfather, who had been battling ill health for the past several months went to be with Jesus. I know that he is so happy and he had such a healthy and full life, but I still find myself thinking about him or looking at pictures of him only to remember that this Thanksgiving and this Christmas he won't be with us. That is the hard part. Never again will I be able to hear him tell us stories of growing up in the city I grew up in, or funny stories about my mom as a little girl, but something I am blessed about - I knew my Papa Doc for 24 years and in those 24 years I saw how he fathered his kids, how he loved children, and how he led his family with the Lord in the center. I pray that my husband is a Papa Doc one day. That he has all of the characteristics that my papa had. I love him very much and miss him still.

The reunion of my family was a great way to celebrate my papa's passing, but the 12 hour drive was looming in front of me the next day. Thankfully, I have the BEST mom ever and she drove with me. We stopped at my uncle's favorite stop in Birmingham, Milo's. I don't see the point of the gross onion burger - but my mom wanted to try it. When we finally got to Columbia I had the Monday off to get things settled in my apartment. It was so much fun to have my mom there with me for two days. I started work on that Tuesday and before I went to work I had to take mom to the airport at 5 am. She is such a great mom because I know she was exhausted at this point. (What is even better is Laura Leigh, my little sister, started school that Monday and she started her junior year without her mommy there.. best little sister ever)

I remember dropping my mom off and for the next 3 hours until I got to work, I balled like a little baby. I mean balled. I couldn't even put my make up on because tears were streaming down my face. It was so hard to leave my mom, know that I was moving thousands of miles away, and that I might not see her again for months. WOW. I was so lonely in that moment.

Thankfully, God gave me an awesome place to work so that lonely feeling was filled with Gamecocks and sports and lots of work. Not to mention I have the cutest puppy ever who was not happy about his new outfit (see below).

After being here a month - I absolutely love my job! Holy Cow... How have I not been here doing this forever my entire life. It's great. I work 12+ hour days and I can not imagine NOT doing this. Right now I am trying to juggle work, Baylor, and maintaining all of my friendships from Arkansas and Texas. Being intentional in texting, calling, contacting, and loving those friends is important and I need to do better especially since those relationships have helped get me to this point.

Most people have asked me what my job consists of, so I want to try and answer that question with a few pictures.

My day starts around 5 am when I get up and work out (usually running with Baylor can't wait for the CrossFit gym to open down the road from me!). After that I get to work around 8:30 and usually have staff meetings at 9. Every other Wednesday/Thursday we do our Grassroots marketing efforts and go out to Greene Street (the main street that runs through campus). On Greene Street we give out everything from posters to sunglasses to koozies and of course flyers with the upcoming events on them.

Back at the office I am in charge of what we call Student Reward Points. Students get points for going to every athletic event and it is my job to put it all into a spreadsheet and send it to Ticketmaster to update the student's accounts. The more points they have the better their seats will be at Football games, in fact only the top third of students (with points) get tickets to football games and you have about 24 hours to request tickets or you can't get them either. Athletics has introduced another reward aspect this year. Instead of just getting football seats - you can also rack up reward points for Under Armour Gear. We are giving out Water Bottles, fleece pants, duffle bags, jackets, and polos... all donated by Under Armour!

Most of the time in the office, when I am not working on a sport or something for a game, I am working on Student Rewards. I make sure all of our social media stays informative and up to date. In fact, you should follow "us" (me) @GamecockRewards on Twitter and Instagram and our Page is Gamecock Student Rewards. This is so much fun and I love being able to attach my name to something.

At first on Greene Street all we had was a table, but then we decided to add a huge stand behind frame! You can see in the picture this is what he designed. Students flood our table for the 4 hours we are out there - we don't even have a chance to sit down, go to the bathroom, or grab lunch or something to drink.

At our games, the marketing staff does everything. We basically run the games. You could almost refer to us as the directors of the game. We run the video board, on field presentations, national anthem, half-time, contests, and all pa announcements (we write the script).

It is so much fun. I have really bonded with the two girls that I work with as Marketing Assistants, Amber and Heather. Heather actually played Volleyball at Arkansas and is from the Dallas area and small world, she knows several of my friends from Arkansas. Then Amber is from Maryland and is so funny - we get each other into trouble a lot because we laugh at everything and we both get so tickled. Amber is also my kind of girl, we go to the nail salon alot! (she likes to get her nails done quite regularly) I have found that I can pay $10 for a hot water soak and a 10 minute foot/leg rub. While she does her nails I get my legs rubbed... haha it's the MOST relaxing thing ever!

This is a picture of us at the first football game of the season. We were so happy/pumped/excited/stoked to be working a Gamecock Football game. The scripts, on-field presentations, etc.. were just so much fun and so high-energy!

We had such a fun time, and we are all so great together and really work as a team and help each other out as it comes along because we are all learning the ropes together. The picture to the top left is a picture from the field of our first game. It was College Gameday and Lou Holtz was there... like right in front of us! It was incredible.

We had an off week the weekend after our UNC game, so Heather and I went over to Athens on the staff bus, yes! that's right the staff bus. We just walked up to these people's tent and started tailgating when we got there. It was a blast! Even though we didn't win it was a great memory and a wonderful bonding opportunity for my new friend Heather and I.

Sorry some of these pictures are poor quality! Just trying to get all of my thoughts down so that I can maybe go back and look through them some day. And maybe I'll get better at keeping up with this thing. Haha here is to hoping. A lot more has happened, but I am currently trying to watch Nashville and type up my thoughts and it is getting kind of difficult. So I will stop right here and let you know that I am alive, having a great time in Columbia, and at some point soon will put up pictures of my cute little bungalow! Hope you enjoyed hearing about my first several weeks in Columbia!

The Porch Potty

2013-08-13T20:10:00.003-07:00

When I move to South Carolina later this week - I will be moving to the fourth floor. You might be thinking wow! that will be a hassle. And I did to, until I learned that there was a four story parking garage and my parking spot was near my apartment, so I am in fact going to be going less distance then if I were on the first floor. The only bad part? Baylor will need to go to the bathroom and that IS a hassle. So I decided to build a porch potty for mornings that I am just running too behind to take Baylor 4 floors down to use the potty. I think Baylor really liked it and I hope that it will work.

I went to Lowe's to get all of my materials and the most expensive part was making sure I had the correct equipment. I met the nicest Lowe's employee, Anthony, and he helped me with everything! I told him that I didn't know anything and he became my personal shopper. I built everything in my storage unit, which was the best decision I could have ever made. At the end of the project, I took my porch potty with me, swept the floor, and was done with it.

Not that ANY of you are interested in the porch potty... but I thought I would share with you my experience anyways if you are ever interested in building one. This is my shopping cart before I bought the wood... nice fact to know about Lowe's - they WILL saw your wood down to the correct size. This is a nice aspect because a good saw can become quite expensive. As you can see I bought a staple gun (love this thing! A drill, and you definitely get what you pay for, mine was the cheapest $29 Black and Decker drill and it charged overnight and held the charge for maybe 30 minutes of continuous drilling. BLAH. So frustrating! I also got a wood stain, a paintbrush, and a finish.

This was my shopping list as you can see everything that I needed. They ended up cutting the fake grass, plywood, and vinyl matting. You will see that my list includes bread crates - this was used in the original plans I was looking at, but decided to use stiff chicken wire instead. The point of this layer was to create a gap between the grass and the vinyl matting so the potty stuff doesn't just sit on the vinyl and begin to stink. We will see if this really works. I am a little skeptical. The stain I got is Rust-Oleum and is a oil based stain that is dark walnut. I almost got mahogany, but they had too much purple/red in it for me. There was definitely a need for the stain - it just completed the project and now I have it for the table I am working on. I will give you a little hint: the paint will not just come out of the brush by itself with water, you MUST USE ACETONE. The acetone breaks up the oil and allows the brush to separate from the paint.

Okay here it goes the list of things to do:

1. If you didn't get them to cut your wood. Cut the wood in the dimensions you want. I wanted to do a two square foot box. Well I shouldn't have cut 4 2 foot boards because then they didn't all fit. So I ended up having to go back and cut the plywood, but it was a learning experience :)

2. After I cut the wood and nailed it together, I cut 4 scrap pieces of wood and nailed them into the wood so that when I put the plywood into the box it landed on an angle. (it's on an angle so the potty stuff will drain out)

3. After I put the plywood in I cut the vinyl and stuck that through. As you can see the vinyl fit through the hole at the low end of the box. The board at the low end was cut in half so that 'everything' could drain out and I just stapled those in with my fancy smancy new staple gun.

4. Next you are going to cut the wire of your choice (just make sure it is sturdy enough to raise the grass off of the vinyl), the length and width of your box. I chose chicken wire and folded it in half and stapled it in, the stable gun makes things so easy to place and put together. I love it!

5. Lastly, before you stain the wood (which I might do before next time so you don't stain the grass...), cut the fake grass and place it in the box. I cut my a little longer on all sides, stapled it in, and then used my box cutter to cut the extra on all of the edges.

6. Finally, I stained it - just once and I didn't put a varnish or coating on it. By this point I was just ready to be finished with it! I put Baylor on it and he stayed just long enough to smile and take a picture, but he wasn't too fond of it. It will be something he needs to get used to... I might even go by a couple of squares of real grass to set on top of it?? Not sure, but I will be glad to have it, I am sure.

My Favorite App

2013-08-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

I have just recently bought an iPad Mini. I heard a lot of reviews and for the most part I heard DO NOT GET IT. But I was determined to get it, take it with me everywhere, take notes on it, and read books. If you know anything about me - you know that when I am determined... I am determined. I bought it and began immediately downloading apps in order to make the most out of my purchase. I also bought this nifty portfolio thing that has a keyboard installed in it sot hat I can type on my iPad mini and on the other side of the portfolio it has a legal pad. I took it with me to my conference in June and loved using it.

Then I began reading books off of my iPad Mini. That is a blog for another day... but my count is up to 3! And I began another one yesterday - they just go by so fast.

The best part of my iPad Mini though is this new app that I found, and maybe y'all have found it too, but it is new to me. Powered by Feedly.com, it is called NEWSIFY. I got on my computer, because it was easy to maneuver and add blogs that way, but I never get on the website anymore... solely just my app. So I began adding all of these blogs to my reading list (another perk - it uses the blogs you already follow if you are a blogger on blogspot), and putting them into categories. Because I am moving to South Carolina, I have been following several news and local blogs from Columbia, which I obviously put in the Columbia category. Side note: One of the blogs, I believe it is powered by the Visitor's Center in Columbia, but every Wednesday the blogs about the top 5 things to do in Columbia the next weekend. Let's just say that I can NOT wait to get to Columbia, man it's like a cookie jar, I can't wait to try some of these things that are going on there.

Here are some bullet points of the app:

Front page has both content, pictures, and title
After you read the story - it turns grey to show that you have already read that blog
It is the perfect collaboration between Google Reader and Flipboard
At the bottom of each blog page there are arrows, so that you can skip and go to the next story, a star so you can star the blog, a share button that connects you with different social media outlets on your device, and an unread/read button to mark each blog manually if you want.
It automatically syncs when you load the page and I have not had any trouble with it.

When I first downloaded apps to try for blog reading, I tried Feedly, Google Reader, and Flipboard. None were as user friendly and as compatible with what I was looking for as Newsify is. With NEWSIFY's home page, I can scan for topics that I really want to read and it is easy! There are so many items that can fit on one page (much like my walls at home, I can fit so many different pictures and decor on them :) I like a lot going on, it's "creative" to me. This snapshot on the left is from my friend Kati's blog over at Kati's Get Away. I love reading all of her stuff and I love most of all seeing these pictures. As you can see, her blog is in my "favorites" group, much like all of you are! If you click on her title - it opens in Safari and will take you to the actual blog page. This is definitely the greatest app ever. Oh and one more thing, it's kind of like mail, or messaging, it has the number of new blog posts that you follow as it updates. As of 20 minutes ago, I had 153! AHHH Thank the Lord for skimming and the "Mark as Read" button. I urge all of the bloggers out there to get to know the NEWSFIY app! You won't regret it.

I HATE NEW HAIR STYLISTS

I have a hair stylist in Conway, Arkansas that I love. Her name is Robin Moore at Harrington and Co off of Oak Street. If you are in Conway - use her. If you are in Little Rock, use her. and If you are in South Carolina... use her ( I know I will!) I have tried, several times in several locations, to try and find a new hair stylist - each time... I end up calling Robin and setting up an immediate appointment to fix my hair catastrophes. Today... is the worst by far.

I have gotten perty darn good at knowing exactly what I need/want. I like my hair more platinum, but not white - usually a 10 (with a purple or blue base) works wonders to break my base. I NEVER have other people hi light my hair, just because my hair is so light anyway a base breaker is usually all I need. Well home girl today didn't know what she was doing and this is what happened. Yes, you are seeing that correctly. My hair is lemon yellow. Her excuse, well you said you didn't want it white. Well, I didn't say I wanted it yellow. Who wants yellow hair? I looked like one of those crazy high schoolers who is trying to get Barbie hair and uses an at home kit, and it comes out looking like too much lemon juice. Gosh it was terrible. She has fixed it a little - Now it just looks like I have Strawberry Blonde hair which totally messes with my whole skin tone and coloration, but on Wednesday night (yes on my way to South Carolina), I will be stopping in Conway to get this hair fixed. "A'int nobody got time for dis!"

I thought I would leave you with my little nugget of joy. My sweet Baylor will be 2 years old on Thursday. I can't believe this little one has had my heart for 2 years already. I love him so much, I don't know what I am going to do with a kids one day, let a lone a husband (if that ever happens). haha

Oh and I am looking for some fun link-ups to do. So if any of you have some to recommend, I would love the advice.

Thanks!

The Big Move.

2013-07-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

It is official. I am graduating and moving to Columbia, South Carolina in a few short weeks. I will be making the 18 hour trek with my dad next weekend and am moving into a gorgeous condo overlooking the William-Brice Stadium in a beautiful part of town. Last weekend, I took an adventure out to the east coast just to see for myself what I was getting into. Saying that I loved it would be the biggest under statement of the year. Just look at it:

This first one is Finlay Park. I love that it has a ton of water throughout the park because guess what... Baylor will love it and love his new home. It will definitely be a great place to go on a nice Saturday, oh wait! I will most likely work every Saturday... So maybe Sunday afternoons?
The next picture is Main Street, and you can see the capital and the end of the street. When I went to Columbia last week, I had breakfast at the cutest little very modern restaurant. It was called Roll Call. And the breakfast was kind of bland and not the best... but the people were so nice, and that's when I knew it - not only was I in the south, but I was somewhere where I knew at some point I would be able to call home.

These next several pictures are of the neighborhoods of Shandon. It is placed beautifully between the campus (downtown) and Fort Jackson to the east. The rolling hills and old majestic trees make the 15 sq.blocks of the neighborhood homey and so inviting. It is just the place I would love to live and if you have half a million to put on a 2,000 sq foot 2bd/2ba home - then go ahead, but finding one of these gorgeous homes for rent and one that is in beautiful condition was just not going to happen. So I went to my favorite place on earth - the stadium. No matter what sport or team, stadiums represent the essence of the game - where the rules, the fans, and the players get to take part in the outcome. It's the best - and that is where I found my condo. It's a gorgeous 2br/2ba so if you ever want to visit - I have an open room!

Switching gears: The reason I am moving to Columbia and not staying at the beloved Baylor. Back in June my boss had let me know that there would not be a job for me upon my graduation. I took that as a sign to find a job - wouldn't we all? I decided that it would be in my best interest to go to the NACMA (National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators) Conference. So I made travel arrangements for Molly Anne and I. We went down to Orlando and stayed for 6 days and it was absolutely amazing. I learned so much from sitting through so many different lectures that week, so eye-opening.

The best part about the conference is that everyone communicated via Twitter. So I created a professional twitter before I went @ATurnerSports, along with business cards, a Linked In profile etc... and when I got there I started tweeting to every major school that I could think of and adding EVERYONE. Every sit down I got with the schools ( I had maybe 15) I would ask them for a job. A lot of no's, a lot of polite (let me look and get back with you) no's, and 2 let's talk next week. Iowa State and South Carolina.

The best part of this story is that back in April I worked the National Collegiate Equestrian Championships and met the Media Relations guy at South Carolina. I kept in touch with this guy and he ended up getting me in touch with the girl at South Carolina who ended up helping me get this job. I mean WOW! Can you believe it. How many people did God use to put me where I am now.

I am going to South Carolina as a Marketing Assistant in the athletic department and will basically be helping create the 'event'. The event is everything from script writing to sponsorship fulfillment, and basic game-day promotions; but the end goal - selling tickets and being sold out.

I guess I can say this without being vulgar? I am officially a Cock - Gamecock that is! But to be honesty, it is really hard for me to get used to that being on everything from shirts to hats to billboards. Guess it will come with the territory. But I am really excited, excited to start a new chapter in my life, a new adventure, and in a NEW place!!

[ramblings]

2013-07-09T23:44:00.002-07:00

I thought I might catch you up on what is new in my life. As my graduate career comes to a close in a few short weeks, I have been looking for the next adventure to tackle. I have considered traveling, (I was super jealous of the trip my sister had this semester to Europe) but that wasn't a feasible option $$$, I have considered getting married, but the lack of prospects in my life make that option un-feasible... so finally I decided I should probably get a job. (because that was the most OBVIOUS choice after spending thousands of dollars on two educations - might as well, right?)
I went to Orlando recently to a conference (NACDA - National Assoc of College Directors of Athletics) and I learned so much. In fact, I have pages of notes typed up on my computer and I have loved looking back over them and enjoying the lessons all over again. At the conference, I met with a lot of people from all over the United States and the ones that really made an impact were from Iowa State and South Carolina.
I decided that I should broaden my horizons, after a less-then-adequate interview (in my mind) at the University of Texas and no luck on the home front at either Baylor or Arkansas with jobs, it was time that I moved out of my comfort zone and branched out - traveled. In short, interview at schools hundreds of MORE miles away from my family.
And you know how I feel about that. (the whole leaving the family behind thing is not my forte)
If you can remember back that far - about two years ago on this blog I was crying about leaving home, and a lover "that I was GOING TO MARRY" (oh how I chuckle at the thought of marrying him - or anyone at this point in my life), and how my first few months in Waco were treacherous. Now, on top of everything, I am going to travel further away from my family - the family I cried I would "never leave again!". I must be bonkers, fallen off my rocker, plain flat out crazy.... well, the answer might normally be yes to those phrases, but in this moment my journey seems perfectly reasonable, and a blessing, to be quite honest.
I will be joining the staff at the University of South Carolina in the marketing department. Now, I don't really know what that entails and I will be visiting in a couple of weeks to figure that minor part out... but I am excited and ready to hit the ground running. Columbia seems like a great city with lots to offer and I am excited about a new adventure. However, today was the first day that I felt a little knot in my throat and began to cry on my short 3 minute drive to work. I wondered what it would be like to drive to work in Columbia, would I find a church home?, and what about friends - will there be friends there for me?
I have a peace that all of these questions have a joyful answer, but my humanity keeps fretting. That is probably why it is 1:35 in the morning, I have taken 3 Benadryl, and am still wide-awake, at this point, I am really just trying to stay up for my 5:30 am workout.
But please be excited! Because I am and I know that in a few weeks when I fly out to Columbia to sign a lease and get familiar with the city for a few days I will be less stressed and the sleep-less nights will be over. I pray that much.
At least for now, all is well. My sweet baby boy, Baylor (a dog!), is sleeping soundly next to me, or is having patience as I proof read this post out loud. It's a great time to be in my shoes - and a fun adventure I have ahead of me.

Copy-Cat Cookies

2013-07-02T13:12:00.002-07:00

If you have been following my blog for long you know that my favorite flavor is lemon. I love the sweet yet tangy-ness of how the acid in the lemon fills up the entire dish of whatever you are cooking. Well, for a while I have been wanting to learn a good lemon cookie recipe. One of my favorite restaurants in the entire world, Cross Creek Sandwich Shop, makes lemon cookies that are absolutely to die for. So what did I have to do? I had to try and replicate it. With the help of some friends and a key ingredient (lemon cake mix) I think I have almost perfected my copy-cat cookie.

They are so easy to make and, if done perfectly, you will eat the entire batch. Don't say I didn't warn you!!

What you will need:

Cookie Mix (makes 12):

One box Lemon Cake Mix

One egg

One stick of butter

Vanilla - to taste

Frosting Mix (will frost 48 cookies):

One bag of powdered sugar

One box (8 oz) of cream cheese

One stick of butter

Vanilla (to taste)

The Process:
Literally all you have to do is mix it all up! The most important step is to make the ball big enough. These need to be about 2 inches across by 1.5 inch thick. (yes it is a science) The cookies in the end, if you made the ball big enough, should end up being the size of a coaster. You must make sure that you let the fully cool because the hotter the icing gets, the runnier and messier it will get.

FROSTING:

I usually freeze my frosting (and it will stay good forever - just make your frosting, put it in a container, and keep it until your next lemon cookie experience!). Therefore, when I put it on the cookie it is a lot easier to work with. it might take you a couple of cookies to figure out how much icing to use because it will spread and run. I usually put a dap on the top of all of the cookies and let it melt and spread itself!

Enjoy! Let me know if you like them!

Guilty Pleasure

2013-06-25T15:51:00.003-07:00

Disclaimer: I know that, as a Christian, I should not indulge in such terrible shows per Phil 4:8

However, I cannot get over the lives on these four women on the new ABC hit show... Mistresses. The show documents the lives of four best friends Savi, her sister Jocelyn, Karen, and April. Savi is a very important and career oriented lawyer as well as focused and driven - her husband - could not be more different. Then there is her sister Jocelyn who sleeps with everything that walks (and in the newest episode - she drives down both sides of the street). Needless to say - Joss and Savi are super different. Then there is April, a widower with a daughter who has recently found out her husband, Paul, had an alternate life with another child. Lastly, Karen, a psychiatrist who fell in love with her patient and then he died, leaving unresolved issues with his hormonal teenage son.

In some way, in every episode all 4 women end up sleeping with some man. I am more shocked and intrigued at such a different lifestyle then mine. There is no way that I would want to live in their shoes. In my opinion, this tv show is an excellent depiction of how immoral society is and how many problems it creates in your life.

My favorite problem: Savi - the lawyer, was having problems getting pregnant with her husband and one night she sleeps with her colleague at the firm one late night at the firm.

PROBLEM NUMERO UNO: This is not directed to men or women: but in this case - it is the woman who makes the mistake. It is always Always ALWAYS a bad idea for a man and a woman to work late nights on something together... I don't care how much you trust them - it is always a bad idea... case in point.

PROBLEM NUMERO DOS: The most sure-fire way to make your relationships and life harder... have sex with another man (or woman) other than your husband (or wife) and guess what... she will most likely get pregnant. In fact, just accept it as fact and that when you have sex... she will become pregnant. I don't care how "careful" you are. YOU WILL BE THE EXCEPTION!

If you haven't watched the show - it's a good one. We can all learn some lessons about how NOT TO BEHAVE IN A RELATIONSHIP!

Freckled Key Photography

2013-06-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

Coming home from my long trip in Orlando last week, I sat next to the sweetest couple from Houston on my final leg of the flight. Hannah and her husband were so kind and we began talking about weddings. I mean why would we not? Not only is it wedding season, but who is obsessed with love and weddings? This girl!

We started talking about the wedding both of us had attended the night before. I had attended Allison Waldrip Bragg's wedding, and boy was it elegant, and Hannah had attended a wedding in Searcy. She told me that they were photographers on the side as a hobby, but that they had a solid business going! I wish I was artistic and creative like them. She is currently a Speech Pathologist, so with my entire Turner family being Speech Pathologists (Aunt Nancy, Emilee, and now Mallory :)) I could relate semi to what she was talking about.

The entire trip we discussed her "ideal" set up for a wedding and how they photograph weddings. Man do they have it down. I was super impressed with how much they had taught themselves and how open and flexible they were when it comes down to the actual wedding. They understand that it takes no less then 8 hours and that things WILL change on your wedding day. They also will take pictures with no less then 2 photographers (I might need several)! ha.

When I got home I immediately followed their blog because of how impressed I was and how personable they were. Hannah blew my mind with her love of photography and that it is a side job - so when she photographs portraits or weddings or events - she is doing it because she LOVES it. She loves her real job (speech pathology), but she loves her hobby. Being the romantic that I am.. I just thought it was adorable how they do it together! I hope that one day my husband and I are as cute as they were and are able to have a hobby and do something together. Makes me happy to see couples really living the dream of being best friends and being in love! I guess they are in the business of recreating love through pictures - so their love has to be spot on.

She captures the natural beauty. Some photographers make their clients, pose and force emotions - but Hannah makes everything look effortless. Take this bride above for example - does that smile or laugh look fake or rehearsed. No! That just shows me that Hannah knows what she is doing and just like she made me feel comfortable and our conversation easy - she does that behind a camera too! I was so impressed!

Looking through their blog, which I encourage everyone reading this to do, made me really appreciate her touch to things. She incorporates so much of nature into her work which I absolutely love! I think that God's love is shown through the intricacies of nature.

He didn't have to create beautiful sunrises or gorgeous fields filled with wild flowers... but He did. I would like to believe He did this to show us how much He loves us. And because of that truth - Nature represents God and His love for us...

So why would you not want your bridals or your portraits outside surrounded by the beauty God created for you?

Even if that is not WHY Hannah does photography the way she does - it's a good thought... And for me - it makes me appreciate her work even more. I hope that you can admire her work and find something you love about it to. Go like her Facebook page (click there and LIKE) and share this with a friend.

Remember, life is all about who you know - and because I took the time to introduce myself to a stranger sitting next to me on a 48 minute flight, I was able to create a bond, make a memory - a memory that might even land her my wedding portraits one day.

Who knows.

Check it out and make a new friend today!