Saturday, March 31, 2012

I've got a MARATHON of a day tomorrow...

This time tomorrow (if all goes as planned) I'll no longer be just a runner. I'll be a marathoner! Goodness gracious. I honestly can't believe it's already here. We've trained so hard and spent so many weeks running. SO many hours. I am confident that we can do it. But the main emotion I'm feeling is extreme nervousness. Extreme.
It's so mental. I've said this a million times. I know it's going to be hard. So, so hard. But Abby and I have each other. And we have our friends. Our sweet, sweet friends who are planning on watching and cheering. And of course our families. Who support us in everything we do. And who are role models aka my baby brother, Drew, who is already a marathoner.
I've also said this a lot. There is NO way I even attempt to run this far without the Lord's strength. So before I even start or finish I want to make sure He is given full credit. This is beyond my ability.
So, some things I keep in mind as I run:


I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Unless you puke, faint, or die keep going. (Thank you for this one Jillian Michaels aka the scariest woman on the face of the planet)

"It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse."
- Ann Trason

"I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible." John Hanc

One day I won't be able to do this. Today is not that day.

Don't quit.




Just some pump up/ "don't you dare quit now" quotes.
I'm real big on encouragement. So if you see me cheer something nice really loud. I'll probably cry sometime tomorrow. Or maybe all day. Just a warning, folks.
It's really just putting one foot in front of the other for 26.2 miles. No biggie. I'm just putting out of my mind that the first guy to run one died. NIKE!
So here's to a good night of non-nervous sleep. And putting a 26.2 sticker on my car.
See ya on the flip side, Bloggies! 

Friday, March 30, 2012

YOLO aka SBXII

I was trying to see how long I could go without using actually words. Got the title. Nice.
So. Spring break. Awesome.
29 friends.
3 islands.
Unlimited laughs, jokes, stories, and SOFT SERVE!
3 flirty tables.
1 flippy dolphin.
Zero filters. 
Facing my biggest fear.
6 toe cats.
Absolutely nothing think about.
1 boat.
= spring break done right.

I'm sure everyone who reads this blog has seen way too many pictures of our trip (I've heard multiple times they are dominating everyone's news feeds). But just in case you missed them... :) You can scroll quickly.
I dare y'all to find better looking people.

Our pre-gaming spring break in Sanibel

She's funny. If you don't think so, you're wrong.

Biffle

Biggest fear caught on camera (more on this another time)

Sexy six (is that what we called ourselves?!)

Go Vols

Oh the story behind this picture too... one of my favs









Table flirty eight


"That's a really good group."
Y'all. Seriously. What a wonderful spring break I had. It is such a blessing to be able to call these people my friends. I love that we got to laugh and be silly and make fun and sing and dance and flirt and make so many great memories together. I'll have to dedicate a few more posts to specific moments from the break, but here's a nice overview to hold you over until then.
So glad I never have to give up spring break. Now I just have to convince all my friends to become wealthy teachers so we can take these trips together again.

Oh, and in case you think I forgot... DAY AFTER TOMORROW! Eep!

Monday, March 26, 2012

SBXII

Spring break rocked times a million.
No time to blog.
Still trying to catch up on sleep and homework.
But I'm just throwing this out there... it was awesome.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is my spring break was better than yours. (not really...but maybe)
There's so much I want to say about it, I really can't even get started right now.
So it'll have to wait 'till later in this week.
But here's so exciting news...
The day of the marathon is official on the 7 day weather calendar. Eeek!
There it is. 30% chance of rain. Praying it drops to 0%.
I'm already so nervous. But pumped!
26.2. Lehhgo!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year

I've said this multiple times today.
It really is the most wonderful time of the year.
I think I actually say this multiple times throughout the year.
But right now I mean it.
Why?
Well if you really must ask, you are clearly missing something.
1. MARCH MADNESS, BABY!
I LOVE this time of year.
I'm kinda always into sports.
But it really comes out in March.
This is when I impress (or majorly freak out) boys with my knowledge of basketball teams and everything going on in the tournament.
I'm super competitive.
I love winning.
So I am so confident in my bracket:)
But I do love the Cinderella stories.
Anyway....
In case you wanna see what a winning bracket looks like. Boom.



2. SPRING BREAK!
or as like I like to call it... spr bre twe (insert very small number of people actually understanding this joke)
I've totally checked out. Fortunately my one class tomorrow doesn't have anything super intense. Colleen rocks. But that's another story. Because I can't even think about school when I'll be on my way to Florida in about 31 hours. Holla!
Get me on dat boat.

So if you see me walking around humming Christmas carols, don't be alarmed. That's just me celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.
Go Heels. 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Am I NUTS for wanting to teach?!

Today was my first day per-interning in Kindergarten.
This is what I learned:
  • It's officially "criss cross applesauce." The racist Native American references are no more. (I actually already knew this but still...)
  • 10:10 is an acceptable time to eat lunch
  • Kindergarteners are wittle bebes still
  • They like to hold hands
  • I feel like I could scoop them up and carry them on my hip
  • They weigh 90 pounds all of them combined together
  • They tell funny jokes:
    • Kid: "Hey, I know a joke!"
    • Me: "Oh, you do?!"
    • Kid: "Yeah! What is the difference between beer nuts and deer nuts?"
    • Me: "Umm..."
    • Kid: "Beer nuts are $1.48 and deer nuts are just under a buck!"
    • Me: (someone teach me the apporpriate response to this because I'm pretty sure laughing out loud isn't it. Whoops)

Kids are funny.
I like teaching.
I think I am nuts after all.

Monday, March 12, 2012

It's a List...

This post is mainly just to:
1. Help me procrastinate from studying a tiny bit longer
2. Give everyone else trying to procrastinate from studying another excuse
3. Show y'all these...
Those are blisters folks. And they are on BOTH hands
4. Encourage y'all to refrain from the bars and rope and rings at Premier. They look and seem so fun, but I am still so sore. And unable to wash my hands without pain. Oh the price we pay for a couple of hours of fun.
5. Courtney. Really, Ben? I don't need to say anymore.
6. IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK WE WILL ALL BE LAYING ON THE BEACH (or a boat)! Yayyyyy! Or at least we won't be in school. Holla balla (just fyi, "holla balla" is NOT actually a cool phrase to use. Learned that the hard way and I will never live it down)
7. Happy Monday (night)!! We can make it!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Kony 2012

I'm sure everyone has seen the Kony 2012 video by now. If not, you must be living under a rock, in which case I'm clueless as how you got to my blog... but sweet!
Anyway, this video is the most watched in the shortest amount of time ever... Or something like that. 

To recap, the organization Invisible Children is using social media to make this man, Kony, famous. Kony is the man responsible for kidnapping children and making them do horrible things, most notably become children soldiers. He's been doing this for 26 years and has yet to be stopped. Why? I don't really know. But from what I can gather, the world just doesn't really know, or doesn't really care. Hmm...
So this video's intent is to make Kony famous so he can't be ignored any longer. People have to start caring. The government has to be involved. Children have to be saved.

Of course, there are people speaking negatively about this tactic. I've recently learned there are always going to be people going against you when you try and do something good. Always.

So I'm saying I choose to side with the Kony 2012 movement.   

I choose to believe the best in people. Call it me being naive if you want. Maybe it's a curse? But anyway, I do. And I look at it as a blessing. So that is why I will not make this leap that some people have. They've turned Invisible Children and the Kony video into something bad. Are there two sides to every story? Yes, absolutely. But does that change the fact that there are people working the best they know how to fix a problem they see? No. At least they are trying to change the world. 
I can't figure out how bringing people together to care about something significant is a bad thing. Promoting knowledge about problems that need to be fixed can't be wrong. Unlike ever before people are unite over something and wanting to make it right. And Invisible Children (and all the people acting out-particularly through social media) are helping.
I'm glad they have not chosen to stay silent. I'm thankful there are people who see a problem in the world and do what they can to fix it.
We can't do anything apart from Jesus. But as people who claim to love Him and live as He did, we should be doing all we can to help the "least of these."
Which also leads me to the thought of what it would be like if we promoted and shared Jesus as much and as widely as and with as much enthusiasm to make Him famous as we've done with Kony...

Anyway, that's all the thoughts I have for now.

Knoy 2012. Let's make him famous. Let's get him stopped. 

Friday, March 9, 2012

Video Blog

I gots some videos for y'all to watch. I'm sure you've all seen the second one. But just in case, I had to put it up.
And the first video. Watch it too. So good!

More about both of them to come. I'm building suspense.





Recap of T-Mo

So, that's T-Mo for y'all. In all his glory.
You're welcome friends.

Now, a couple of things need to be addressed regarding his post...
1. The whole "Chelcie wins" thing is total garbage. T-Mo is the one that thought up this wonderful idea of guest posting. Duh. Don't let him even try to fool you.
2. I love Chipotle. So much so, I have blogged about it before. Gift from the North. Whateve.
3. Now, it's true I do like Chick-fil-A and ice cream probably more than anything in the world, they are not all I like. See, T-Mo has been in the unfortunate position of seeing me when I am being most selective about what to eat (I use the word "selective" because I am totally NOT picky)
4. The Bachelor bit. We all know who the truth here.
5. He really is the (very distant) heir to the throne of Jordan. So I've officially had royalty post on the blog. Check that off the list. (I hope he doesn't come back to read this. Wouldn't want the 86th in line to the throne of Jordan to get too big a head...)
6. He really is funny. Glad the humor crosses to the world wide web as well.
7. Once he started he couldn't stop.
8. He loves the blog. He can't wait to post again. Fact.

And he's now had 3 posts in a row dedicated to him. Wow.
But next time I promise something other than T-Mo. Sheesh.
Over and out!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

T-Mo's Guest Post

Ok shoot....here we go. Chelcie wins. My maiden blog voyage has begun. I have no idea how I got caught up in this. I have no idea how blogging even works or what to blog about, but here I am! 


I think this all started during a tasty little dinner at Chipotle a few weeks ago. (You are welcome for this gift from the North). Considering the fact that the only two foods Chelcie likes are Chick-Fil-A nuggets and ice cream, I'm not really sure why she was there? However she was, and I opened my big mouth about being a guest blogger. Let's just be honest, I had every intention of avoiding the actual blogging, but our turtle-loving friend Bubs was persistent. She really backed me into a corner with the whole introduction post yesterday, so I decided against hanging her out to dry and decided to come up with something. 


That being said, I have no idea what to share with you all in this space over the coming weeks, so I guess I can start by expanding on Chelcie's intro. 


In his own words...
"He loves stories, smooching, and the bachelor and he's about to tell you all about them."



Lies. I don't know why she would attribute this statement to me. Luckily for her, I do enjoy a good story and a good smooch. However, never in my entire life have I ever watched the Bachelor because I watch wrestling at that exact time every Monday. That being said, I may have based the following opinions on "things I have heard from people who do watch the show:"


-Courtney is absolutely insane and needs a young life leader like Kyle Bisese, but the girls were way too hard on her last night. They all made themselves look terrible. 
-However, Emily is still wonderful and should have won. I'm open to dating her if she happens to read this blog.
-How did Ben become the Bachelor and woo that many women?
-Is it the hair? Is that in? Next time I go to Frank's, I'll ask for the "Ben the Bachelor."
-But seriously, how did he become the bachelor? We've got hope fellas.


Anyways, that could all be wrong since I've never watched the show. Just a few thoughts from random "things I've heard."


But I digress... so what else? Other than a large supply of awkward photos that imply Chelcie spent way too much time on my facebook, there wasn't much in my intro that would tell ya where these Tuesday's will take us. Let's see....


I do happen to have my fair share of stories, real friends that closely resemble Seinfeld characters, a small claim to the throne of Jordan, the best cornbread recipe east of the Mississippi and a couple theories, observations and lessons on this thing called life. So...I suppose thats a start. I'm sure we can find something of value amidst that jumble. Hopefully I can provide some laughs, maybe I can throw a serious thought or two out? Maybe you all can help me figure out what to write about? Do blogs work like that? Who am I even writing this to by the way? I feel like I'm writing as if every person I have ever met is reading. However, I have this sneaky suspicion that the only people reading this are the eight girls I watched the bachelor...errr I mean wrestling....with last night. Either way I'm excited.


I've got a little life left in my fingers, so I guess we've got time to finish with a small story. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, you have probably heard of "The Formal." Essentially, three springs ago, a few close friends and I hatched a plan to throw a formal in our house. The idea kind of sprung up out of nowhere. In typical T-Mo and Kev (Kevin Harris) fashion, we decided to take it way too far. There are many glorious details that I will save for another post, but in short....it was a major success. There were zero expectations and it ended up being one of the most legendary events ever. Everybody demanded that we have a repeat formal the following spring. To this day, a somewhat modified form of "The Formal" still takes place. We still reminisce often about that magical first formal. 


So, what does that have to do with this blog? Well, the formal was just one of many half-brained schemes and ideas that we worked up sitting on the porch at 839 Deery St. That one worked, in fact it exploded. However, I've got a long list of ideas and schemes that never made it far off the porch. For example, five days after that formal, we launched our plan to ride the momentum and throw the greatest Cinco De Mayo party the state of Tennessee had ever seen. Kevin wrote the entire Facebook invite in Spanish. The only event we had planned was Karaoke. (That wasn't even really planned, we really just didn't want to take the sound system from the formal back and had been having Karaoke every single night since.) We had like three bags of chips and a little bit of salsa.  It's safe to say it wasn't quite as big as The Formal. That didn't stop us from throwing the same party the next year. Once again, not quite as big a hit. There's a reason you haven't heard as much about the Cinco De Mayo party. It was certainly no "Formal." In fact, those who were there may even remember it as a little bit of a disaster. But you know what's funny, when we all sit around reminisce, we all love to talk about that stupid Cinco De Mayo party almost as much as the formal. 


Two semi-dumb ideas with no expectations. One turned into a life-long legend, the other is barely talked about. But Both are just as sweet in my mind when I think about the great memories of college. So that's how I am looking at this little blog appearance I will be making here and there over the never few months. Maybe it will turn out like the formal? Maybe I will find out I have this secret blogging talent that hundreds of people will just have to follow and tune in to. Not likely. It's more likely that my blog posts will be like the Cinco De Mayo party. But you know what, that's great. I'm excited about that. Just like I call up Kev every once and a while and say "Hey man, you remember that Cinco De Mayo party we tried to throw? Man that was awesome..." I will hopefully say to Chelcie, "Hey remember when I used to randomly write on your blog? That was a lot of fun." 


I hope that's how it plays out. I hope it's worth somebody else's time too. I'll do my best to provide at least one laugh or piece of worthy advice. Isn't that what you do in blogs? If not, I may have just wasted a good 45 minutes of my life. Oh well, that's what they said about the Cinco De Mayo party too....


Hasta Luego,
T-Mo

Monday, March 5, 2012

Gues(s)T What?!

Where have I been? Well. Really this is the only way to describe my life these days is the first 27 seconds of The Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get it Started in Here."
But really.
I don't have an excuse for not blogging. I guess it's just been a combo of unfortunate events- storms, no internet, a little bit of running, too busy hanging out with friends, blah, blah, blah.

But I do have some very exciting news... FIRST EVER GUEST BLOGGER ON DA BLOG!
You read that right, Bloggies.
Guest blogger on this blog.
I know you are so very curious who it is.
So without further adieu, allow me to introduce....












Tyler Morris.
I had to do a little FB digging for these gems. You're welcome.
So Tyler Morris, better know as T-Mo. (in fact, if you ever said something about "Tyler" I would think of at least 82 Tylers before I got to him)
Now you're asking... Who is this guy?

...the best storyteller I know.
...the last person to stop using AIM
...the person FNL was written for
...the token Northerner
...the ower of a milkshake (hint, hint)
...The ultimate legend

In his own words...
"He loves stories, smooching, and the bachelor and he's about to tell you all about them."
This is how he told me to "introduce" him on the blog. I couldn't make this up, folks.

Seriously, he's hilarious. It's an honor to have him have his FIRST ever blogging experience be here. So check back soon, 'cause you're in for a real treat!
T-Mo Tuesday up next. Whoop, whoop!