What's Your Style?

So I know I don't own my own house right now, but I've been on a mad kick watching everything HGTV can produce. I dream of having my very own little bungalow to decorate and fill with happiness, love, and laughter. And for this reason I got online to "Find My Style."

I was very disappointed to see that the HGTV website had already taken down the quiz they were offering to find your style, so I set out on a google hunt. I came up with this:

My Style Quiz

I took the quiz and it told me my design type was traditional, meaning I like a mix of everything, from country to modern, as long as it is comfy and inviting to the family....pretty much-I like a homey house!

I already knew this about myself and set out to do a little more research and found exactly what I was looking for. My self-appointed decorating style is going to be a mix of traditional and ....drum roll please......

Shabby Chic

I found the best website with everything I would want to decorate my house with, Shabby Chic!! Take a look and see what you think!

I know everyone's decorating styles are different, so if you are interested in finding your style, click on the link above and get crackin' on that quiz! And if anyone has any tips or ideas about decorating that they would like to share, I would love to hear them!! I am looking for a new craft project and starting something I could use in my future abode would be lots of fun!

Happy Decorating!

Let the Games Begin!!

Happy Ash Wednesday!!

Since I was a wee one, I've always been in church and heard about Ash Wednesday and Lent in reference to Easter. But what exactly is the meaning of the two days and why are they so significant? What I know is this:

Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. All churches that have a continuous history extending before AD 1500 observe Lent. The ancient church that wrote, collected, canonized, and propagated the New Testament also observed Lent, believing it to be a commandment from the apostles.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, which lasts 46 days (forty days not counting Sundays) before Easter. It gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance.
To learn more about this event that occurs every year for Easter, I am doing a Lenten study at my church, Northland Church of Longwood, FL, with Justin's mom. I am really excited because we are using a book written by an Asbury graduate. If you don't know where Asbury is, it is located 20 minutes from my old stomping groung in Wilmore, KY. I was excited to hear someone from my neck of the woods would be helping with an event in my new church. I will keep you updated on how things are going and what I'm learning. This is the book we will be using and it is posted on the church website. If you would like to do the study with us, please join in online!



Click here for the link to the church website: Northland Church

Have a great day!

Running on Empty.

Oh my...has it been a day. I was so excited about my day because I had a job interview this afternoon. But as you can probably tell by my lack-luster blogging, that it didn't work out too well.

I'll start from the beginning...

I woke up bright and early at 8:30 this morning. I know that's sleeping in for most people, but since I don't have a job, I don't have a big reason to get up early each day. I got up and ate breakfast and had my morning coffee and decided to do a little more research on the company I was interviewing for; I won't name names, so we'll call the business Prospect 1. Well at Prospect 1 they told me they were looking for someone to fill a credit manager position. I don't have any experience in the finance department, but it was an entry-level position with training, so I didn't think that would play a huge role in the decision process.

I did my research and had all my ducks in a row. I had lunch and started getting ready. I was so excited to have something to do today. I fixed my hair and spent a little extra time than I normally do on my make-up. I dressed up in my business attire and was ready to go. I don't know about you all, but there's something about putting on business clothes that makes me feel powerful and sassy at the same time. I love it!

I got to the interview between 5 and 10 minutes early, walked in and asked for Mr. Sock. You'll find out in a bit why I decided to give him that name. I was instructed to sit in a closed office and wait for his return. A good 15 minutes later he sauntered in with folder in hand and sat down in front of me. The interview proceeded as he asked the typical interview questions.....why don't you tell me a little about yourself? What drew you to apply for this position? What kind of worker are you?

Blah. Blah. Blah.

In between questions Mr. Sock managed to tell me more about himself than I needed to know. I think I could probably write a book on him now. He made a point to let me know he was single with no kids, made good money, had a great credit score, and had season Orlando Magic tickets and has for years. Why would I want to know this?

The interview went on and I felt like I was on and episode of Charlie Brown and Mr. Sock was the teacher..... 1) absolutely no personality from this man....hence the name. 2) He tried to make me feel inferior by my inexperience in the financial field and kept defining every word he talked about...like he was my teacher. 3) All I was hearing come out of his mouth was Waw waw waw waw!! Just like the teacher from the show! I have never gone through an interview and been so uncomfortable and thought to myself, "I don't belong here. Maybe I should just get up and walk out."

After the conclusion of the interview, I was very upset. I wanted so badly for this to work out and to have a job on the horizon. After talking with my mom and a few friends, I've come to the realization that this must have not been the right fit for me. That God has something different planned and this wasn't it. I know He has great things around the corner for me, I just need to quit being impatient.

So to Prospect 1 and Mr. Sock.....good luck and peace out!!

Now on to something that makes me happy....MAKE-UP!

If you didn't know, I worked at M.A.C. Cosmetics for about 2 years and I absolutely loved it. While working there I started booking freelance gigs where I would go out and do make-up for special events....weddings, proms, fashion shows, pageants. It was a blast.

I applied on Friday at a local counter, but I'm pretty sure the whole company is on a hiring freeze :( But I realized two things while I was looking at extravagant eyeshadows and luscious lipsticks:

1) The Hello Kitty line is a must have this season.

2) I am going to try and start up my freelance work down here in Florida. There are all kinds of people out there that will need my services....people won't stop getting married. And they have to look good! So I had my business cards re-printed so I could start distributing them to the bridal stores in town. My next project will be to put together my portfolio and start a blog for my make-up work! Here's what my cards will look like!





















If anyone is in need of a make-up artist in the Florida area, let me know! :)

And one last thing....in my last post I was requesting book ideas from all you great people! Well I received a message on my facebook from Miss A telling me about a really neat website where you can swap books with other readers and get new books to read for only the cost of shipping. If you're looking for a new way to get some new literature, check out this website:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php

As soon ask I get my books out of storage, this website will be my new best friend! Thanks Miss A!

I wish everyone the best week possible! Keep smiling, keep living, keep praying! God bless!

A Bit of Light Reading...

Hi all!! I hope you're weekends were wonderful (wow...that's a lot of W's). This is a quick post to ask for some advice. I am looking for some new reading material. I love going to the book store and purchasing a new book or two, but I am totally intimidated by the large selection of script! I don't have a particular style of book I enjoy to read....I read them all if they can keep my attention. My latest reading frenzy was Twilight......and the three books that followed.

I know this is considered a tween book series, just like Harry Potter, but I loved it. I read all four books in a week!

I am starting a new book this week by a man named, William P. Young. It is called The Shack. Justin's mom and dad got it for me for Christmas and I've heard great things about it.

I'm very excited to read the book, but I know how I am and I will have it read in two days, so that is why I am asking for some book recommendations. I am also looking for a devotional for young adults. I have started going to a church in Longwood, FL and I absolutely love it. Everything about the experience has made me feel closer to God and made me want to learn more. I am working hard to better my relationship with Christ and I'm looking for any material that will help me do so! Have a blessed night and I promise I will have some more fun stuff up soon!

A little Kentucky surprise!

I was outside studying earlier with my friend Kristin and a little friend flew in from KY to say hello....You can't see it that well because I'm not the best photographer, but it is a beautiful red cardinal, Kentucky's state bird :) It was a nice little treat, but Kristin and I needed to get back to studying....so I shook him out of the tree!

Happy Heart Day!

Happy late Valentine's Day to everyone! Its been a few days since my last post....I've been trying to get over the funk. I definitely didn't have it as bad as Justin and his sister did, but I wasn't feeling 100%. I'm feeling much better now and wanted to tell you all about my wonderful Valentine's weekend.

The morning of Valentine's Day I had class bright and early. I know you're thinking...class on Saturday morning?? Yup, every Saturday I start my day off with a biology class from 9-11:45! Class went the full 3 hours and I headed home to find Justin waiting. He told me to change into shorts, tank top, and flip-flops and meet him at the car. I didn't know what to think, so I did as he said. We got in the car and started out on our little Valentine's Day journey. The drive took about 45 minutes and the whole ride I had no clue where we were headed.

.....And then we were there! Justin took me to New Symrna Beach! I haven't been to the beach in a long time and we haven't had a chance to go together, so he decided it was time! I can't begin to describe how excited I was. I am a huge fan of unexpected sweet surprises and this tops my chart as the best surprise ever!!! The thought he put into our day made me feel so special. It means so much more than anything he could have bought me.

This was the first beach I'd been to that you could drive out on the beach. So we picked a spot, parked, and started to unload. Justin had packed a cooler for a picnic, blankets, chairs, sunblock....pretty much everything you need for a day at the beach! The weather was perfect....sun shining with very few clouds in sight. I couldn't have asked for more.

Our day was spent lounging, dipping our toes in the icy water, and just enjoying our time together. Justin was brave and ventured out into the water, but I was without a swimsuit and not feeling the cold water. I was content with being a bystander and taking pictures. I couldn't help but smile the whole time.....to think, I have someone that cares about me so much and a best friend that knows so much about me, that I get to spend a glorious day like this with him! I am so blessed <3 style="text-align: left;">

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. ~Victor Borge

It is bad luck to fall out of a thirteenth story window on Friday!

Its Friday the 13th and all life couldn't be better! I don't have the best track records with days like these, even though I'm not a superstitious girl. A couple years ago I had a nice little car wreck on Friday the 13th and its made me anxious ever since.

I hope everyone is having a great day. I have been working on getting Justin's Valentine's Day gift together and let me tell you, its been a challenge. Neither one of us have jobs right now so we decided to go light on the gift giving. I decided I would much rather make him something than to buy him something he'll never use. Justin has been helping his aunt paint her house, so I had planned on him being out of the house today and I would have plenty of room and time to get creative.....well his aunt said he could take the day off and he's been everywhere I need to be. It has been extremely hard to try and keep everything a secret and actually get my work done!! But it will all work out :)

This is going to be a quick entry today, but I just wanted to thank God for everything that he has done for me. I have been a little stressed lately about not working and school and money and He has reassured me that everything is going to be ok by surrounding me with wonderful people and giving me a family that is supportive and caring. Yesterday when I was having a pretty tough day and had been doing a lot of thinking, I received 3 cards in the mail, all from family members!! It lifted my spirits to know that they were all thinking about me and keeping me in their prayers. I ask you, if you have a little space on your prayer list today to add my family in there. Thank you and have a blessed day!

I wanna be where the people are, I wanna see, wanna see them dancing....

So, its been a tough couple of days. Its finally warm and I've been sitting outside all day long....but everyone is sick! Justin and his little sister have had the funk for a few days now and I'm doing my best to not to contract the epizoodie! The warm weather today has made a world of difference :) Hopefully it will stay like this for a while!

The whole time I've been outside, I have been applying for jobs and trying to think of anything I could possibly do for work. I ended up turning down the job offer at the country radio station due to the fact that I wouldn't be able to attend school. School is going so well right now and I wouldn't want to jeopardize it! Speaking of school, it has always been a tradition in my family to take a first day of school picture....so Mom this one is for you!!

It was freezing outside and I was just trying to stay warm! Who woulda thunk?

Justin and I have really been trying to get out and experience some of Florida together. In the first couple of weeks I was down here, Justin and I met up with his friend Justin....we'll call him Omega....for a concert in downtown Disney. It was an experience to say the least! I was so excited to find out that there was a Cirque De Soleil venue.


I absolutely love their shows and hopefully we'll be able to afford some tickets. But back to the real reason we were there.....we saw a local band called Junkie Rush at the House of Blues. This was the first time I'd really been out in Orlando and let me tell you.....culture shock! I didn't think it was going to be that much different and maybe it was the location I was in, but the people there for the concert were so much more laid back than the people in Lexington. If I was out in Lexington for a night on the town, you wouldn't catch me with out my high heels! I could count on two fingers how many people I saw with shoes other than flats. The trend seemed to be painted on jeans for guys and girls and scarves (not the long ones you wrap around your neck during winter to stay warm, but the ones that are about the size of a hankie) tied around their necks. They looked like they were about to declare a duel and shoot to the death, like they did in the wild wild west!

Besides the trendy attire, the show was great. I just enjoyed being out and about. Below is the only picture I got of Justin and myself before my camera was confiscated.


On to another adventure.... For Christmas I purchased a pair of tickets to Justin's favorite band, in hopes that we would get to do a little exploring (the concert was in Jacksonville Beach, about 2 hours away from Lake Mary). Justin and I we able to take a day and travel up to St. Augustine to be tourists and visit the old historical town and wonder the shops until time for our concert. The town was beautiful to say the least.....would have been even better if it wasn't in the 30's when we were walking the streets! St. George is the go-see street in St. Augustine. We definitely went and saw!!







In Lexington, two quarters would get you two hours of parking. Not in St. Augustine!! This is me paying an outrageous amount to park downtown. I had to raid my pink Ms. Piggy Bank in the front seat of my car to pay the hefty $5.50 fee to park for less than two hours! Whew! The price we pay to have a little fun :)


While we were walking the streets of St. Augustine, we discovered a store very dear to both our hearts....the candy store. things were pretty normal inside, everything you would expect from a store for your sweet tooth. But then we saw a jar that displayed a very disturbing sign....DO NOT MICROWAVE!!! Justin and I had just been talking about the show Myth Busters on the drive and this is one of the myths they were trying to figure out! All I could do was laugh....I wonder if there was a sign by the Pop Rocks that said....DO NOT EAT AND DRINK SODA AT THE SAME TIME!!!


After the candy stores we walked up to the shore and checked out the old fort. We were not surprised to find out they were charging to enter the fort so we enjoyed ourselves from the outside! We decided we would save the inside for another day and time. Here are a few pictures from the rest of the trip around St. Augustine, before we headed to Jacksonville Beach for the show:

I tried to take as many pictures as possible, I'm not going to put all of them up because they are definitely tourist pictures!

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I wish everyone the best of weeks!!! Let the sun shine on your life and even better shine your light on someone else's life!

Just an update....

February 3......I can't believe its already February. What happened to January? Today is my official 1 month anniversary of being a Floridian!!! I thought I would upload some pictures and let everyone know a little about what has been going on. First and foremost, the job interview went really well yesterday and I wish that was a good thing. One of the main reasons I moved down here, besides to be with Justin, was to start back school and get a second bachelors in nursing. I feel God pulling me to do that so I have made all my plans for the next two and a half years based on school. The job at a local radio station that I have been interviewing for will demand a majority of my time, leaving mere hours for school and studying. The general manager told me I should be prepared for a terrible first year...I think her exact word were, "Your first year is going to SUCK...really bad"....and not much free time. I know the economy is terrible right now and I should be excited that I am getting a job offer, but I don't want to give up school; not when I just started!!! So I don't know what to do. I'm torn between taking the position, having money, with no school and not taking the job, having no money, and possibly not finding a job for a while to continue school. I just keep telling myself that everything will work out the way God wants it to and that it's not just going to be a walk in the park.

Since I've been down here the weather has definitely been unexpected. I was hoping for warm breezes and sunny skies and that is all I packed for....sun dresses, flip flops, tank tops and shorts!!! Everything else is in storage. Well, I was definitely wrong. I will not have a future in meteorology! I have had the privilege to experience the coldest temperatures in Florida since the 80's. Temperatures have been in the 50's and 60's on a good day and get down below freezing at night. Every one's grass and plants have killed over and its looking pretty brown. I had to go get my jeans and fuzzy boots out of storage just to stay warm! I feel bad for complaining because I know in my home state of Kentucky, the weather is terrible! Ice and snow and no power!! I found out yesterday that an old neighbor in Madisonville was impaled by a falling tree and is in the hospital. It is hard for me to believe that something as beautiful as snow can harm so many people. Please keep the Purdy family and everyone in Kentucky in your prayers. May the weather warm up soon and life get back to normal.

Ok, enough of the venting...now on to my adventures in Florida. Here are a few pictures from around town and my trip to Lake Okeechobee to see my grandfather.

Justin in his new pullover from Christmas, driving to Okeechobee.

My grandfather, Papaw, and his lady friend on the boat.

Lookin' for gators!
The only gator brave enough to fair the cold weather!

Trying to stay warm!

That's definitely enough pictures for right now. I will save a few for later dates! I hope everyone is enjoying the shortest month of the year and remember Valentine's Day is 11 days away.... <3>

The Real World...Lake Mary

Hello all! This is my first official blog and I'm not sure what all I want to talk about! As most of you know I have recently moved down to Florida to be with my boyfriend, Justin and let me tell you, it has been one heck of a change. I have been without a job since the end of December, started back to school, and am trying to get adjusted to my new life. I have been so thankful for everything that has happen during my transition because it is allowing me to grow and making me a better person. In the month that I've been here I have learned so much about myself and how the real life works....its not all fun and games and there are a lot more responsibilities involved.

This is a short and sweet note....I have to go get ready for my fourth....that's right 4th.....interview with a country radio station in Orlando. Wish me luck!!