Wild Weather Week

This past week has been a funny week! I got back from a fun weekend in Knoxville to be welcomed back to crazy weather. I have said it before on this blog, but I hate severe weather. HATE IT! Usually severe weather season lasts from like March - May ish. Sadly, due to the spring like weather we have been having.... we have already had 2 tornado warnings this year! I spent the majority of Sunday night in my apartment's "safe spot." Random thought: I'm not sure how safe our "safe spot" is if we are still on the 3rd floor of our building. Anyway.... I slept a few short hours that night. What a way to start the week!

Here we are in our "safe spot" which happens to be my roommates bathroom. Awesome.

Times like these I think to myself "I should have been a weather girl" haha

Work was tough this week. Maybe it was the lack of sleep from tornado sirens, or maybe it is just hard work. I LOVE my job and am so thankful to have a job. But it was a tough week. But Friday at school we had a really fun day. The second grade classes always put on a Chinese New Year parade for the school, and they asked me to be in it! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! All the second grade classes made props for the parade and they threw out candy for the rest of the grades who came to watch! I seriously had the best time! I may have been quoted after the parade saying "it was the highlight of my week!" It was so much fun!

Finally, this weekend, I got my haircut. I never really LOVE getting my haircut because I don't know how to do it like they cut it. My friends from school set me up with an appointment at a new place and I really liked it! However, my hair looks a little pageant-y here. Haha. Beth Moore would be proud :)

Anna's big day!

This weekend was so much fun! I made the trip to Union City for Anna and Trell's wedding and it was a fabulous time! It was just so fun to be with all of my friends and to celebrate the happy couple! I kinda love the UC. Always a fun time!

Congrats Anna and Trell!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I wish I could be with my Dad today to celebrate his birthday today! I am so thankful for my Dad! Can't wait to celebrate him very soon!!

I love you Dad!

Transition

If I could sum up the year 2011 in one word, it would transition.

• Transition is a nice way of saying that I moved three times this year. I have lived in 4 different places in 2011 (but all in the Nashville area). I wish I was joking, but I never really unpacked at any place this year. I lived out of boxes and it was a little tough for me to feel settled. I am very happy to say that while most of my stuff is still in storage, I am unpacking my boxes in my new place with my new roommate.

• I graduated from grad school! And then I spent the summer waiting and stressing and looking for jobs. I found an old blog entry from this summer that I never posted on my thoughts on "waiting." This year was a year of waiting and God taught me so much through it. Hopefully I will get the nerve one day to post my entire blog entry on waiting. But the short version is the struggle made me dive deeper in my faith. At times I was so frustrated and mad that I didn't want to pray or read my bible. But Jesus brought me out of a tough situation, and closer to Him. What I learned was that this situation was not about me. The purpose of waiting is Jesus, and the work of waiting is worship (I read that once somewhere and I wish I could remember where and give them credit).

• I also had a transition of being a full time counselor at a school. I'm not sure I can accurately describe this change; it has to be experienced. People who work in a school have a common bond and a mutual understanding (It's kinda like how I didn't think the tv show "The Office" was funny until I worked in a business office). It was a little overwhelming and exhausting at first, but I never thought I would be able to love 600 kids so much! I am so thankful for my job and my school. I never thought I would meet such amazing co-workers who stay at school until 10:30pm on a Saturday night to help me bubble in TCAP scantrons. It was a huge change and a big transition this year for me!

• UT sports are going through lots of change and transition. That's really all I can say without getting too sad about all the changes. But I sure had some great times with Amy and Kory at UT functions in 2011!
Most people don't like change, but I learned this year that change may not always be bad. The changes and transitions of my life this year were really hard, but they taught me so much. Looking back on 2011, I am thankful for the one thing that is constant in my life. God is the same yesterday, today, forever. So here we are 2012. It's going to be a great year!

2011 in pictures

One of the reasons I have this blog, is to help me document memories from the year! I like to call this blog my virtual scrapbook! So I am so happy that I could look back over my blog and remember all the fun and not-so-fun times of 2011! So here are some of my favorite memories of 2011!!

1 - The trip of a lifetime!! This trip tops my 2011 and will be hard to beat for years to come! Best trip ever!

2 - Graduation from Grad School! Whew! So happy to be done with school! :) I wouldn't have made it without the support of my parents.

3- This year has brought some really tough times and I thank God for bringing some AMAZING people into my life. I love my friends so much and they have been there for me a lot this year..... and we have some fun too!

4- My newest BFF - Kaitlin! We love each other A LOT!

5- CMA awards. Yes, dream come true. You can mark that off my list of things to do. CHECK! I was a seat filler at the CMA awards! No cameras were allowed in the show, but my friend Daniel took this with his phone! I love award shows!! Thanks Lindsay!

And if you look closely to the picture below, you can see us to the left of the back-up guitar player! haha

So 2011, it's been....... a year. I am thankful for all of these fun, sweet memories!! Cheers!