Oh Twelve

So what will it be this year? Lose weight? Eat better? Get a job you hate less? Get a boyfriend? Do a cartwheel? Whatever your new years resolutions may be, I think this is your lucky year! How do I know that? I don't, I just have this feeling, for myself atleast. Maybe it's because 12 is my favorite number, but I have great feelings towards twenty twelve. I'll be 26! That's more than halfway to 50 and I start telling people who can't guess that I'm in my "upper 20's." So just incase you hated 2011 and can't wait to start over and plant that garden, I've supplied you with several reasons why 2012 will be the best year yet. Good luck.

1. Movies. Examples: Dark Knight Rises, the Avengers, the Great Gatsby, the Hunger Games
2. Pretty Little Liars. Premieres Monday January 2, 8:00pm
3. It's a leap year.
4. Summer Olympics. July 27-August 12 in London
5. Weddings. Amanda Mathis and Justin Bear get rings, I get a new black dress. June 8.
6. Technology. I don't know anything about this, but I predict the iphone 5, the ipad 3, and the kindle earth
7. Super Bowl XLVI. Can't wait to meet all the new Packers fans
8. March. Why are the Christmas decorations out?
9. The President. We get a new one
10. The World. Isn't it going to end one day this year? that's cool, more Jesus

quote of the day

Brittany: "I think this lady is going to die in a little bit."
Me and Grace: "Lady? What?"
Brittany: "LANE!"

Brittany: "I spent 3 hours on pinterest! #grownuplife! I burnt a candle and cooked dinner! #grownuplife!"

quote of the day

Laura: "He told me he was going to take me to Hardees for breakfast and we would watch the sunrise."
Me: "Wow. High School Musical called, they want their date back."

quote of the day

I love us.
















Erin: "I think we're going to Monticello, you know, Thomas Jefferson's house."
Me: "Oh I went there in 8th grade, it's really cool."
Erin: "Did I go to that? I know I went on that Civil War trip in high school."
Me: "Did Thomas Jefferson have anything to do with the Civil War?"
Erin: "I don't know."
Me: "Uhh Kesler, did Thomas Jefferson have anything to do with the Civil War?"
Kelser: "No."
Me: "Then no, you didn't go."
Erin: "Well he invented Virginia or something!"

quote of the day

Me: "That guy is still stalking Laura and she hasn't told him to back off."
Amanda: "Yea she's all like STALK ME!"

You Came Down

I miss my Mom the most at Christmas. Man, she was great at Christmas. She absolutely spoiled me and Scott and Dad with gifts and everything was wrapped perfectly. I loved coming home at Christmas because she had the house decorated perfectly, inside and out. She was always cooking, cleaning and getting everything perfect for whatever party she was throwing and for family to come over. Last year was really tough because it was the first one without her, and I'm sure this year will be a little better, but I think it took until the past couple of years for me to really GET Christmas. For 23 years, not only did I get exactly what I wanted from my parents, but really great things that are far beyond what I deserve. I hate that it's taken me so long, but I finally realize that Christmas isn't about what's on my list or what date the tree gets put up or the Christmas day schedule. All those things are great and I'll always appreciate gifts and family traditions but this beats it all:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." -Isaiah 9:6-7

I know my Christmas traditions will change throughout the rest of my years. Presents that I got just 5 years ago are already forgotten about (or chewed up thanks to the dog). But the greatness of what happened when Jesus came down for us, there is no end to that. When I give more attention to Jesus, other things matter less. And If I ever have kids (God help me) I can't wait to make Christmas as awesome and beautiful for them as Mom did for us. But more importantly, I can't wait to talk about Jesus with them at Christmas time and tell them the story of how He was born. It's a story I feel like I re-learn the weight of every year. Love it.

quote of the day

Me: "Maybe Justin will surprise you."
Amanda: "I hate surprises."
Me: "ok nevermind."
Amanda: "That's why I hate balloons."

quote of the day

Erica: "I like my black and white otter box. It's like me. Mixed. "

Friday Favorites

I think my favorite color is red. To be perfectly honest, I think it always has been. Not that I've had trouble accepting it or anything, it's just that blue has always kinda been the default color in my life. Blue is awesome, it's the color of the sky, it's why the Bluedevils are what they are. It looks good on people. Blue eyes are awesome. But red. Red is bright. It's one of the Christmas colors and everybody likes Christmas. Every time I wear my red TOMS out in public (I'm not kidding about this. Every time) someone positively comments on them. I didn't get them for that reason, I just got them because I didn't need any more black shoes and red shoes don't necessarily match anything and that's cool. I don't think I've gone my whole life not having a favorite color, I just think that maybe your tastes change over the years or that I was never really stressed out about it. But I've always, as far back as I can remember as a kid, been partial to red. Hmm. There's some self reflection for ya.

Good Times, Great Oldies

Imma bout to get all sentimental up in here. It’s just that I listened to an old podcast of the Gratie McClock Radio Hour the other night. 2 of the best friends a gal could ask for, Katie Brock and Grace McClellan had their own radio show in college. They had a contest promising that whoever could prove they were their biggest fan would be a guest on their show. Of course I accepted the challenge and wrote them a song. I hope to God that song can only be accessible through a strong Government agency or only on that particular podcast which I will not be sharing with anyone. Being the only entry into the contest (and because I re-did a Beatles song) I won and got to be a guest on the show. That show was so much fun to be on and now to go back and listen to. Topics that were discussed included: Ktb’s expectations of seminary, the existence of a UniHorse, Brittany’s live trip to Target, the female doctor, and Joe calling in while on the road home to Maryland to go to the Doctor. After listening to all of our goofy ridiculous comments and what we thought drama was, it made me miss all of my Winthrop crew so much. It also blew me away to think about how much has changed since then, since I was a senior in college. Ktb is a REAL pastor, 4 of the 6 Casa-mates are married, 2 friends have a BABY, Brittany is a teacher, I lost my Mom, Grace and Brooke and Maggie and Brandy all moved away (and I still talk to all of them regularly. whaddup!), I got a dog and a Master’s degree, my dog cost me more than my Master’s degree, and Winthrop now has a Starbucks on campus. I couldn’t be more proud of the Nancers, really. Some of us have had (or are having) really hard years since then. Some of us love our jobs, some of us don’t love our jobs. All of us have moved a lot of boxes. But not only did every single one of them help me grow in Jesus, but they made me laugh SO much. In college, God really showed me what it meant to mature, not by the world’s definition of the word, but actually seeking maturity as He defines it. Turns out there’s a gigantic difference. Anyone that ever went to college will say that college was the best years of their life and they talk about all the crazy times they had with their friends. The only difference between me and those everyone else’s is that my college friends actually are the best AND we actually remember all of our crazy times together. So all this is to say, good job on growing up, my dear friends. Let’s keep doing it in style.

quote of the day

Laura: "He texts me everything. It's like an AIM away message."

Best Friends

So I was really interested in the latest issue of Garden & Gun magazine because it had a picture of a Black Lab on the front. This magazine is really cool because it mostly highlights southern things from southern foods to party decorations to hand-made knives and in this latest issue, a unique dog kennel in Oxford, Mississippi. This kennel breeds hunting and adventure labs, and it really is amazing how the guy trains them. I mean these pups are the definition of a companion. They come when you tell them, they run after things when you tell them, they swim across fast-moving rivers, are comfortable in boats, and the kennel trains them all before they are a year old. Oh and they cost over a thousand dollars. The reason you might pay that much for an animal is dumb to a lot of people. But the reason this article caught my attention is the same reason I got a dog. They are amazing little things. They can learn things so fast, they are the most loyal creatures EVER, they're fun to play with, and they're cute too. Some people get dogs just so they can carry them around in purses and buy them pink collars and get them to lay on their feet when they get cold. I guess Cali is good for all that stuff too (except she won't fit in a purse). Getting Cali was the best decision ever, even if sometimes I'm too busy to play with her. The only thing she hunts is acorns and the occasional squirrel she thinks she can catch, but she really is a best friend. She follows me around the house constantly, except of course when I'm at my Dad's house because she follows him around. And her favorite outside toys are the frisbee and the soccer ball, just like Mom. I guess I just don't understand people who aren't "dog people." It's true, Cali is likely to jump up on everyone with muddy paws as they walk through the door and that's annoying. But it's only because she missed you. And the mud washes off.

Black and Gold Blues

For those of you who would like to see the entire world of sports come to an end, I thought today was your lucky day. I was working at ChristmasVille for a good chunk of the day, so I was unaware of everything that was crashing down around me. The one that hurt the most was my hometown Gaffney Indians losing in the state championship. That's no big deal except they were a perfect 14-0, had beat Byrnes in the regular season, and hadn't allowed more than 27 points against them all season. With that kind of record, I would've just given them the ring without even having to play the game. So then, when I finally got home to my cable, I find that Georgia is beating LSU in the SEC championship game. LSU is undefeated, #1 in the nation, and had TOTAL 12 yards of offense in the first half. LSU ended up winning big, but 12 yards? That's about the length of my living room. Also Houston (who was undefeated) got beat in their conference championship by Southern Miss. Who is Southern Miss? exactly. I'm currently watching the acc championship game being amazed at how bad Virginia Tech is playing. And there are more penalty flags than fans at the game. It's funny how sports can make or break your day. Atleast my Rock Hill team, South Pointe, won their championship today. Now let's just hope whatever is in the air will help out the Panthers tomorrow, because getting a win for them really is an upset.