the home stretch.

Well howdy there, Mr. Blog!

This is becoming my "Holy Crap I'm Graduating! Brain Dump Place." But I promise that I'll sprinkle in some other tidbits of news in here too.

I just planned out my next two weeks. This week is full of catch-up...both academically and socially. Mainly socially though. Because I'm a 4th Quarter Senior. And I don't do school work anymore. But get this: I HAVE 41 DAYS UNTIL GRADUATION. 41! 41 school, weekend, bummin' around school, and exam days left. In 41 days, I will be gradumatated. Praise the Lord!

I spent last weekend at Lee University signing up for classes. This was so surreal to me. I'm going to college. I'm signing up for classes that sculpt my future. I'm leaving home, and embarking on a new adventure. Hot dog! I absolutely cannot wait. From rooming with one of my best friends to discovering new cute coffeeshops to new friends and people to meet (read: boys), I am so excited!

This week was spring break. And boy howdy, was it needed! Here's some snippets of what I did...

< Raced shopping carts in parking lots...

Had Fake Fusion with the youth group, where we had great roomie boding time... ^

< and aided the Senior Boys in their fashion show at Target.
(Where we were stalked by an employee that kept giving us looks. We were just killing time before our movie!)

All in all, a great spring break. :]

In other news, high school consists of getting ready (and pumped!) for Prom '09, sending in final transcripts to our choice colleges, and eating lunch outside. :]

Summer holds: GRADUATION, Vacation Bible School, Youth Camp, AFRICA, return trip to Mexico, THE POOL, girl time, last memories with the Class of 09, Kid's Camp, a possible mission trip to NYC, a possible beach trip with the girls....and COLLEGE! Wooo hoo! Let's go!

and the countdown begins.

I am attempting procrastination. This will be an extremely random and ADD post...so beware! :]

I'm watching Little People Big World, on TLC. This show is growing on me. I think it's cute. So anyways. Molly, the daughter on the show, graduated from 8th grade on the episode I just watched. Now, I've been there. And it wasn't really that big of a deal. But it's what Molly and her friends did after the ceremony that got me.


They ran to each other and hugged each other's necks really tightly. And it hit me a little bit: I'M GRADUATING IN JUST OVER 80 DAYS. I will be a high school graduate. I will be going to college. When August rolls around, and everyone's buying school supplies and new clothes, I'll be going to Cleveland, TN for college at Lee. That is SO weird. That's uncharted waters, is what that is.



Freaky.

I'm counting down the minutes until the finale of The Bachelor. My mom and I watch the show every Monday, while we eat ice cream. It's our own little tradition...one that I will greatly miss next year. But I'm excited for the show. I know it's all hokey and television, but I still think Jason is totally cute. :]

I'M GOING BACK TO MALAWI. I will be in Malawi in a little over 3 months. Weird weird weird. We had our second team meeting yesterday...and I am so excited but also a jumble of other feelings. The idea that some of the girls and guys that went last year won't be there this year is weird to me. But it's exciting that there will be new faces and friends on this team. It's also weird to think that I'm going back. I'll be crawling in the dirt again. I'll have 6 little hands wrapped around my fingers, while we waddle back to the Adziwa village for lunch. I'll teach little guys how to play Frisbee, and play the "dancing game" with the girls. I'll be laughed at by the native workers that we work alongside with on the house. I'll be going home.

Prayer points for Malawi 09:
-peace in the journey before the journey
-protection for traveling mercies
-guidance in what to teach and how to teach it
-trust that the Lord will provide!
-blessings from the Lord in monetary and spiritual ways that only the Father can do!

Man, it's just so weird. But boy howdy...AM I STINKIN' EXCITED!!!

Countdown::
Graduation- 82 days until graduation. (includes weekends and Spring Break)
38 SCHOOL days until graduation.
Malawi- 109 days!

an ode to the things i love.

So I haven't updated this doo-hickey in a very long while. But I've got lotsa thoughts bouncin' around in my head...so here goes. :]

(That was a very Southern Slang sentence.)

Disclaimer: There are many many many more things I love. But Grey's Anatomy comes on in an hour, and I cannot miss it.

1. Winter Retreat:

So we (my youth group) just got back from Winter Retreat. It was absolutely incredible. The Lord has brought us all back together in ways that we've been praying for for over a year. Man, what a great God!

Last night we had a Fusion (our Wednesday night youth service) and debriefed what Winter Retreat was for us. Needless to say, God moved again.

Winter Retreat WAS full of funny things, like skits, copious amounts of M&Ms, and LOTS of giggles. And scavenger hunts. Which the Group 2 owned FACE at.

2. The Senior Class of 2009:
I am 54ish school days away from being a graduate. This makes me excited beyond words. But that's not why I love the senior class. I love the senior class because we are FAMILY. Just like it says in Nehemiah, when one of us is missing from the group, there is a tangible hole. Each one of us brings something different to the table. (I'm sorta stealing this from Will...bare with me.)
We each have our own strengths and our own weaknesses. But we complete each other so perfectly, it can only happen through the Lord. In the class of 2009, or Kono, we have: leaders of all shapes and sizes, artists, lovers, dreamers, scholars, musicians, comedians, dancers, prayer warriors, risk takers, photographers, directors, actors, filmakers, teachers, missionaries, justice-seekers, optimists, and planners. We are by no stretch of the imagination perfect, but we love each other unconditionally nonetheless. We are clay in the Father's hands, going anyway He leads. How incredibly blessed I am to be in such a diverse and loving family.

3. Oil Paint:
Dear oil painting, how I love you. Actually, dear any type of painting, I love you. As soon as I have a brush in my hand, everything fades away (yes, I proudly stole this from The Notebook). But it really is true. I get in my own little world when I paint...just me and the canvas. Sometimes, I get stuck. I hit a "painter's block." But usually, with some thoughtful sketching and some great music, I can bust on through that dumb painter's block. I especially love the way oil paints smell. They just permeate my memory, and I know that whenever I smell that particular scent, it will bring me back to my adventure with my canvas. Some people say that they take their cars on adventures. Or their cameras. Or even their friends. But with a canvas, I can do anything.

4. Picnik:
Oh my lanta, I never knew photo editing could be so fun. Hello a new form of procrastination. But hey, it's creative!

5. Driving with my windows down:
Oh, the wind in my hair, the clouds in the sky... just kidding. But I really do like that. There's just such a feeling of freedom while driving with the windows down. Especially to good music.

6. Del Rio:
Not "of the river" in Spanish. Well, it is. But that's not what I mean. Del Rio is this really great narrow road that winds through the fields and "countryside" here in Franklin. I especially like it while driving with my windows down. There's not much traffic on it, so it's almost like the movie Elizabethtown, when Orlando Bloom is just crusin' along listening to some really great music. Yeah, I like it. :] Both Del Rio and the movie Elizabethtown.

7. Africa:
I'M GOING BACK THIS SUMMER! Praise the Almighty Father, I've been called to return back home. I've still got dirt from Malawi in my shoes, and not a day passes that I don't think about those precious children. Hopefully I can brush up on my soccer skills before I return...

A Random List of Things I Love, But I'm Not Going To Elaborate On Because I Want To Watch Grey's:
-throw pillows.
-travelling.
-acoustic guitar.
-love stories.
-Preds games. (Nashville's hockey team)
-football.
-sweet tea.
-the Art Girls. (I see them every morning. Without them, I wouldn't have anyone to share my embarassing stories with at 7:30 a.m.)
-my car.
-my car's sunroof.
-best friends.
-answered prayers.
-God moments.
-sisters from other misters. (Not literally. But I've got some great gals that surround me. And I'm pretty sure the Lord didn't put some of us in the same family because...well, I don't think there's a set of parents out there that could handle some of us in the same family. We're a bit goofy.)
-dance parties.
-senior boys that have Lumberjack day.

Mr. Golden Sun

Here's the top ten reasons I would really like the sun to come out:

1. Photo outings! Do you know how hard it is to take pictures in sub-40 degree temperature? Exactly. Frozen fingers!

2. Sundresses. Boy, do I miss my sundresses and skirts. Jeans get kinda old after awhile...

3. Going barefoot! I hate wearing shoes. I hate cold, it makes me wear shoes. I hate shoes. Wait. I love shoes, I am a girl. I love buying them, I love looking at them in store windows and drooling over the ones I can't afford. I hate WEARING shoes. Yeah, that's it. I hate the act of wearing them. I love shoes themselves.

4. Farmer's Market. So I've actually not been to the Farmer's Market in awhile. But I miss the colors, and the people. And now that I have Marty the Cannon Rebel, it will be more of an adventure.

5. The beach. So I was born in southern Alabama. On the Gulf. And I basically love the beach, and would totally live on the beach if I could. But because it's cold, I can't go to the beach. Warm weather, please come!

6. Driving with my windows down. So I do this now, but it's not nearly as fun. Because it gets really cold when you have all that wintery wind blowing into your car...

7. Days at the park. Man, I miss Pinkerton. I miss just going to camp out for the day and play Frisbee and eat snacks and swing.

8. River hopping. A branch of the Harpeth River is right behind my house. I live with a very adventurous dad and brother. We usually wind up in the river at least twice during the summer, doing all sorts of things from fishing to skipping stones to swimming. The dog usually gets roped into our adventures too. Great fun.

9. Fireworks. We do fireworks in the winter, but it's not quite the same. There's just something about sitting around on a hot July night eating watermelon and watching the fireworks. Or watching them after a baseball game.

10. Various Summer Activities. I miss Vacation Bible School (speaking of, isn't it about time to announce the theme?). I miss kid's camp, and playing in the pool with the 3rd grade girls. I miss youth camp and crawling through mud that smells like New Orleans, and eating Nutella and M&Ms on the back porch of our cabin.

It's a safe thing to say that I am not really a fan of the cold. It's almost like the cold makes me become a hermit. All I want to do is curl up with a warm blanket and a good book. And some hot chocolate.

So, dear summer, HURRY!

(And Mr. Groundhog, please don't see your shadow next week!)

first snow and ramblings.

It snowed tonight. On December 11th, in good ole Tennessee. Wow oh wow. :]

Here's 14 completely random things about me and my life right now:

1. I know I've said this 647 times, but Amos Lee is so incredible.

2. I always get struck with inspiration late at night or at inopportune moments during the day...

3. ...hence why I almost always have a sketchbook on me or near me.

4. I am currently craving a London Fog.

5. It snowed today.

6. I really want to watch Chicago.

7. One of my goals for winter break: make stir fry for at least 5 people.

8. I like Ebay. A lot.

9. When I see the Malawian Nativity scene on the coffee table, I smile.

10. Michael W. Smith's newest album, A New Hallelujah, is absolutely beautiful.

11. A purchase of flannel socks may be in my very near future. My feet stay cold in the winter.

12. I spend half of my school day, literally, in the art room...

13. ...usually with the other Studio kids, listening to music and talking (and occasionally working on a project). We are family.

14. If I could be anywhere in the world right now:

Mission-wise: Sitting with Aefe on the field watching the boys play soccer, feeling the wind blow, Daddy's presence, and practicing our letters.

Just because-wise: in a hammock with a book on the beach somewhere where it's 83 degrees and sunny.
Africa Girl's Nights (the girls that went on the team) are always lots of fun. Especially Christmas Extravaganza ones. Complete with a PJ pants swap and cookie-making. :]

I Need Africa

So my friends at Mocha Club have started a new project called, "I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me." I learned about it from BooMama, and thought, "Oh, why not. It sounds cool, and I do love me some Mocha Club..." So here we go.

Why I need Africa more than Africa needs me:

So, here I lay in my nice, warm bed in one of the most affluent counties in the nation: Williamson County in Middle Tennessee. I am typing this on the eve of Thanksgiving, possibly one of the most underrated holidays in our nation. Thanksgiving is looked over until you've been to a third-world country. Talk about a reality check. I ventured to Lilongwe, Malawi this past summer, and learned enough about thankfulness and blessing to last me a good long while.

I haven't always been crazy about Africa. When I was younger (like, oh say, 12...) the idea of missionaries in Africa freaked me out. There were elephants, and rhinos, and native people with spears in Africa. No thank you, Lord. I'm just fine doing missions in my nice, comfortable American Kid Bubble.

And then, my freshman year of high school, that was all turned on its head. I began to learn about the uprising of the LRA in Northern Uganda, and participated in a Global Night Commute with Invisible Children. From that night on, I'm positive that I've had an Africa-shaped hole in my heart.

Last spring, an opportunity to go to Africa arose. My youth group was traveling over to help build a house, teach school, and lead a Vacation Bible School with a village just outside of Lilongwe, Malawi. Now, Malawi is this teeny tiny sliver of a country sandwiched between Mozambique and Zambia. Malawi is where some of my best friends live.

I need Africa more than Africa needs me because I left my heart there. I met children that cannot comprehend going to school with a bookbag full of notebooks and pencils and textbooks. I met teenage girls that rather than spending their afternoons with girlfriends, they spend their afternoons caring for their baby brothers and sisters. I met men who provide for families on under one American dollar.

Just becase I lay my head down every night on a nice soft pillow in a nice warm bed, doesn't mean that some of my best friends do too. Some of my best friends dig old magazines out of trashcans to take their science notes on. Some of my best friends don't know what it's like to go to school and sit in a desk.

I need Africa because Africa taught me to dream on a whole new level. Africa taught me to laugh, and love, and learn. Africa taught me to be thankful, and to trust that the Lord will provide. Africa taught me to wave at strangers, and that a smile can make a world of difference.

I need Africa because the people are incredible, and they taught me so much while I was there. I went to Lilongwe, Malawi for two weeks the summer before my senior year expecting to serve the people there, but in return, I was blessed beyond words. The people of Africa are truly amazing, and blessed me in more ways than I can put into words. I need Africa.

hello there, blog.

i take pictures when i drive:

It's been awhile. Igot this idea from mollyis.com (totally worth checking out.).

eight things i'm obsessed with:

01. Football. We are in the 4th round semifinals. Woohoo! Celebrated a HUGE win over our rival on Friday. Praise the Lord!

02. London Fogs: The best drink ever at Starbucks. Perfect for overcast days. Or days with lots of studying.

03. Dave Barnes: Oh, beautiful. Beautiful voice. He's pretty beautiful himself. :]

04. Union University: I'm going! I've been accepted, and I'm currently waiting on a letter telling me how much money they'll award me. I'm super excited, and cannot wait for college.

05. Africa: Well, no shocker here. Invisible Children stuff (book drive) is going well. It's so cool watching how the Lord provides! We had our first Mission Meeting today. It was soley an interest meeting, but I can't wait to be back in Malawi. I miss my home.

06. Girlfriendies: Girl's Nights are the best. They're good for the soul. We laugh our heads off. They're pretty grand. No matter what The Man Clan says, Girl's Nights are WAY better than Man Nights.

07. Art: Also, no surprise. A few new projects coming up...getting excited!

08. Cold Weather Clothes: From scarves to gloves, I love them all. Way way way too much fun to play around with.

eight things i say:

01. blast

02. holey moley

03. bee-een. (pronounced B-eeen.)

04. theeeeeater.

05. geeze louise.

06. hilarous.

07. fantastic.

08. fab.

eight things i want:

01. 4 stretched canvases, ranging in size.

02. a london fog.

03. grey shrug boots.

04. pangea necklace

05. anthropologie dress.

06. nikon d60.

07. a mac book.

08. grey's anatomy season 4 on dvd.