Practicum Week One: Vampire Bats

One of my majors is Child and Youth Development, which is basically Education. I am not seeking my license to teach, but I still have to do a Practicum in an elementary school in order to receive this degree.

If your not a teacher and wondering what a Practicum is, it is basically a mini student teaching. Instead of spending all day everyday there I only have to complete 90 hours in the classroom. I will teach some lessons and I am there to help the teacher with whatever she needs help with.

My placement is in a 4th grade Reading/Language Arts classroom and I am LOVING it! The kids are great (all 40 of them!), the teacher is great, and I really feel at home there. They have been so welcoming and the teacher has been so sweet to help me with anything and everything.

Another great thing about this classroom and teacher is that she was taught at Milligan as well and her classroom reflects that. It is seriously so cool to see everything I have been learning really put into action. Even better is that the kids LOVE how she does things!

Let me tell you a few things about these kids, who already have my whole heart and hence forth will be known as my kids. There are two deaf boys in one of the classes. And guys they have the SWEETEST hearts. They came right up to me and signed for me. I cannot wait to learn more signs with them! We also have some students who slower learners, but yesterday they really showed off their stuff for me! I would have never guessed who they were if I had not been told.

And here are some things I learned from these little lovelies.
"Vampire bats don't eat humans, they eat animals only." Good to know guys!
"One time I told my sister she was too fat to be a princess." Guess I shouldn't tell her I am one...
"I like your shirt" I was wearing a dress...
"What's HER name again?" Ms. Hardin, Hey teacher, Hey you will all work

Seriously loving this class and I cannot wait to spend more time with them and actually teach a lesson or two!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I have been loving quite a few things lately, so I thought I would join this link-up and share them all with you!

1. Natural Peanut Butter with Coconut Oil
I put this on an english muffin the other morning and loved it. Super yummy and I hear it is not all that bad for you!

2. That this song came on my Pandora yesterday.

Confession: I love Shaggy. Don't even know why but his songs are amazing and I could listen to him all day:)

3. Our Shower Board

Apparently Pitch Perfect is our new favorite movie to quote. Got any good ones for us to add?

4.  Amazing emails from blog friends telling me they have been praying for me!  Seriously Amy, thank you.  Your amazing and I am SO grateful to have you as a friend!

Getting Healthy Update

It has been a little while since I have posted an update about my weight loss. I have been going strong for almost 8 months now and I still have a long way ahead of me!

I did put on some Holiday weight and was not too happy about that. I still have about 3 pounds to go till I get back to where I was before then. Hopefully that will be happening very very soon. It's all about diet for me so I need to get back on eating right.

I also have a new goal coming up that I need to reach. By Spring break I want to be out of the 180's. So I have about 10 pounds to go in the next month and a half. And I know I can do this!

Now how am I going to do this? Like I said before, I really need to focus on my diet. I need to eat more clean and really focus on drinking water. No matter if I have to pee 500 times in one hour.

The other thing I need to do is make sure I am working out on a regular basis. But I am running into the problem of finding time to really go to the gym. So new solution. 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. I have already been doing this for a week and love it! I am anxious to see if it realy does work for me!

So friends heres to working out, eating right, and lots of prayer to help me reach that goal of mine!

Weekend Recap!

1. Friday morning I went over to Lauren's apartment to hang out.  Loved being there with a warm cup of coffee, some apples and peanut butter, and an awesome friend.

2. Brought Lauren her gift for winning my giveaway.  Love her heart for feeling bad for winning and wanting to give it away to someone else.  I had to make her take it!

3.  Before I could even make it to Lauren's I had to scrape my car.  It was an ice cube.  This definitely made me miss home!

4.  Went and got a gel mani.  I was uber disappointed when they told me I had to do a color because my nails were too tiny for a french.  

1.  Saturday night made a yummy dinner with Jessi and Becky.  Chicken marsala casserole, mashed potatoes, and a yummy green salad.

2.  I was in major need of some pants that I can teach in since I start my Practicum today (my other pants no longer fit).  Also found a cute new top!

3.  Made mini pizzas on english muffins for dinner Sunday night.  Easy and healthier way to fix my pizza craving.

4.  Tried this make your own pore strips. NOT MY BEST IDEA! I totes forgot about that whole thing where I have really sensitive skin.  It hurt like no other peeling it off.  Imagine waxing your whole face.  Future reference only do the areas in need.  At least my face is smooth as a babies bottom?

GIVEAWAY WINNER!!

First and foremost I want to say thank you to all who entered the giveaway! Thank you for tweeting about it and telling all your friends, because I have definitely gained some new followers since Monday!!

So now onto the fun part! I was so excited to see who would win.  And I promise I did not rig this, it was all rafflecopter!

And the winner is...... LAUREN ALBRECHT!! My best friend in real life!! But go check out her blog! Love I am so glad you were the winner and that I can run all your goodies over to you this morning when I come see you:)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's Definitely Senior Year

Confession: I am an over achiever to the max. Especially when it comes school. Take 18 hours every semester? Don't mind if I do. But not this year and especially not this semester!

Freshman year on the left, Senior year on the right

13 hours? Now that sounds more like it! Not only am I only taking 13 hours, but some of those classes....are rather on the interesting why am I taking this side.

Folk Dancing and Rhythmic Activities. Yes you read that one right. And I HAVE to take this class for one of my majors. No joke. And Tuesday we danced for the first time. Another confession: I don't dance. At all. So I just laughed my way through it. Especially when I I had to booty bump my best friends boyfriend. We're besties now.

Alexander Technique: Learning how to use your body the best way you can. Aka...learning how to sit and stand slowly and properly. Also laying down and getting up. And of course we cannot forget the using your ears as nobs to move your head. I just laugh and try to go with it.

The best thing about this semester: no classes or anything on Fridays! Oh praise The Lord. Not one thing I HAVE to do on Friday's now. It feels so nice knowing I have those days to sleep in and maybe get some homework done if I would like to!

I never thought I would get here, but I am.  Only months away from Graduation.  Seriously these 4 years have flown by.  I can still remember the first day of moving in.  And now I will be moving out.

Ok now I must go before I get too sentimental here:)

Facts of Me

I saw this link-up late last night and thought I would participate! I have gotten quite a few new followers around here so I figured this would be a great time for them to really get to know me better!


Fact: I hate the cold weather. It makes my skin dry, my nose run, and I am just plain miserable in it. I am a Florida girl...I don't do snow.

Fact: I love telling people I am a double major in Child Development and Psychology. It makes me feel smart, and I need all the help I can get in that department!

Fact: I cannot wait to have my own apartment. I currently still live in a dorm with three of my friends. Now while I love them so much, I really need to live alone. And hopefully that will be happening soon!

Fact: When I get said apartment I am getting an itsy bitsy little kitty fur baby. I cannot wait. Don't worry I already have some good names picked out :)

Fact: I love wearing bows in my hair. Yes I am 5. They just look so cute and headbands hurt my head so I wear bows.

Fact: I have had my hair all different lengths. It has been down past my boobs, and currently is now up past my ears. I like all of the different lengths so I change it up all the time.

Fact: I have been loving getting into the word a whole lot more lately. Every time I do I love it. I get to know God more and I feel better when I do. Currently I am working on a She Reads Truth devotion on Galatians. You should check it out.

Fact: I am a TV junkie. No joke. I have both Netflix and Hulu and live off both of them. I am always watching something no matter what I am doing.

Fact: Since last May I have lost 20 pounds and counting. My goal is that by Spring Break I will be down 30 pounds...got me some work to do!

Fact: I am a momma's girl through in through. We talk on the phone at least 2-3 times a week and honestly that is not enough for me.

Fact: I think I have given you lots of facts. If you want to know more just ask!

Also don't forget to check out my 100 Follower giveaway going on!!

100 Follower Giveaway!

Eek! I am so exited to be doing my first giveaway! I am so thankful for everyone who follows along here.  I love having a place I can come to and document my life.  So as a thank you here is my giveaway!
It is rather simple.  Let's keep in mind I am the poor college kid!  But seriously I would love to get all three of these things in the mail!

I have a strong love for a good coffee mug.  And it makes it even better when it is a cute one:)
Another thing I love? Candles.  Seriously I cannot wait until I have my own apartment and can have candles burning anytime I want!
And my last favorite thing? A scarf! I always look forward to fall when I can bring the scarves back out.  I wear them with everything...no joke!
Hope you are just as excited as me about this giveaway! Tell all your friends and I cannot wait to see who the winner is!! a Rafflecopter giveaway

100 FOLLOWERS!!!!!

So as of this week I have reach 100 followers!!! 109 to be exact! I just want to say a little thank you to each and every one of you who follow and read this blog.  I am so happy to have a place where I can share my life with others.

I love this place and I love all of you!  So I guess this means I should be doing a giveaway? Yeah I think so.  And that will come sometime next week.  I need to go out and find what I want to giveaway...I'm thinking a few of my favorite things!

She Reads Truth

One of my New Year Resolutions and goals was to get more into the Word. Now if I am going to be honest, it has been about a year and a half since I have been done a devotional or something on a regular basis.

The last summer I spent at camp when I was the Girls Camp Director I really dove into a great devotional. I knew in order to survive that summer I would need to dive into the word so that I could fill myself and my girls up.

So why is now any different? Even now I need to be filled and I hate that I have not been doing that lately. I always notice big changes in me when I read the Bible or a devotional on a regualr basis. I miss doing that.

All this being said, the other day Jessi came to me, knowing I was wanting to be in the word more, and told me about the daily devotionals on YouVersion. At first I was all like "yeah yeah yeah sounds great Jess thanks!" But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to look into it.

And so today I did. And I found the devotional She Reads Truth. There are different studies that can be done, I am doing a 15 day study on Galations, and then women post about it or make comments. I have access to the comments and can make some of my own.

I am really glad to have found something that can be with me wherever I am. No excuses of not having the book. And it only takes less than 10 minutes, so i can find the time!

If any of you have any great devotionals to do please let me know! I have Jesus Calling and I am really hoping to get into that one soon!

The Perfect First Day Back

Monday was my first full day back at Milligan. Honestly I had been dreading being back here. I was loving being at home and how relaxed I was there. I knew I would be coming into some stress here, and REALLY didn't want to deal with it all.

But, fortunately for me, I did have the BEST first day back and hopefully it will set the tone for this semester!

I woke up when I felt like it and then had a little breakfast with Jessi. A good easy morning was just what I needed. After that I got ready for the day and headed over to Lo's apartment for our much needed date!

I cannot even began to explain how grateful I am for Lo. She has been one of the greatest friends ever. We had some coffee and just talked. We caught up on our lives and she got some laundry done. Two hours of perfection.

After that I grabbed a late lunch and then got a text from Lauren. I had baked her a cake over break and she wanted me to bring it to her. My plan had just been to drop by for a little bit. Well a little bit turned into a couple hours.

It was fun, chill, and all we did was sit on the couch and watch Reba, her new favorite show. We were really only allowed to talk during the commercials or when she needed me to get her something since she cannot walk.

I am so glad my first day back was spent with these two and that it was so relaxing! I am really hopefully that the rest of the semester will work out and be as nice as today was :) But that seriously probs won't happen...one can dream right?!

Grad School Interview #2

Last Thursday I had my second Grad School interview at Southeastern University here in Lakeland. To say it went well is so wrong...I kicked ass in that interview!

For whatever reason I was super comfortable and able to come up with answers I didn't even know I had! I was relaxed and very comfortable there which helped me not be afraid to give a "wrong" answer.

The professor I was contacting about the interview was the head of the department. He was so sweet and helped me so much. When I got on campus I called him and he guided me through the campus back to his office. He even came outside and greeted me so I would know I was there!

As we walked in he explained the typical interview process. Usually it would be himself and one of the other professors and then 4-5 applicants. Kind of like a panel.  For me though... the one other student I was suppose to interview with canceled at the last minute, so I got a two on one interview. Talk about awesome!

I didn't have to compete with having the best answer and I got all the attention. This also made the environment very informal which helped me relax more.

Both professors were great and asked some pretty hard questions. But no worries I answered them all amazingly. Like I said I gave answers that I didn't even know were in me!  Also my interview was a solid 45 minutes long. And then I spent another 15-20 minutes just talking to the head of the department!

I walked away not only feeling like I had done an amazing job, but I also felt really informed on the school. I really had not known a whole lot about their program, but I asked questions and loved what I heard.

While my parents and trainer are really pushing for me to pick this school and come home, I am just not sure yet! I loved what I saw and know if I choose to go there it will be a great decision. But I really do not know.

So now I am back to praying about it all and waiting to hear back from other schools!

There is a First Time For Everything

New year, new me...right? Well that was the plan at least! For a while now I have been wanting to cut my hair super short. I have had it all kinds of length, but it had been since I was in like first grade that it was super short.

Some friends were for it, some were against it. I figured I might as well go ahead and try it, and worse case scenario it grows out in a month or so.

Just so you know I have just about NEVER cried over my hair. It always works out in the end. Well yesterday after my haircut, I cried over my hair for the first time ever!

I don't know if it was the shock of it being so short, the fact that the girl who cuts my hair never styles it right, or that I really hated it. But I cried. I told my mom (who has even shorter hair) that I felt like I looked like a boy...my brother Benjamin to be exact!

After freaking out I went to my bathroom and tried to style it right. It has grown on me some, but it is still a shock every time I look in the mirror. It's not exactly the cut I wanted, but it will do. I feel like I do not look as girly as I use to...or at least not like myself.

I'm thinking I am going to have to hit up Youtube for some tutorials on how to style it to make it look more me! Bows, braids, and bobby pins are going to be my best friends for a while!

A Whole Bunch of Random

So I have a lot just running through my head, and I thought I would write it all down. Some fun, some not so fun, things have been going on/are going to happen and I think I should share them :)

So Monday I went back to the doctor because that stupid left shoulder of mine was still hurting. Long story short...we are back to the "we have no clue what the hell is wrong with you" stage. It's quite fun being in pain but not knowing why. They now think it is a nerve disorder not muscular.

Speaking of nerves, they wanted to put me on some new meds. I swear the whole world was against me on this. First the nurse calls in the wrong prescription, then she denies it and doesn't fix it, and then when I finally go to pick it up it got delayed due to insurance, I went back later to get it but the car in front of me broke down and I had to get to work. I did finally get it...and it was all probs for nothing.

Also now that we think it is no longer muscular I can do more upper body workouts. Hello planks...goodbye fat stomach!

Over break I have been working here and there whenever the Kids Club needed me. Someone asked me to cover their shift last night. Within less than an hour of opening I had over 20 kids...and was by myself. No one came in for almost 2 hours. Oh and amongst those kids were two crying babies that demanded to be held...remind me never to have twins!

Sunday I am hopefully going to be making my trip back to Tennessee to start school. I would be nice and say I am excited but I'm really not. Classes are already started to get messed up and I haven't even moved back in yet!

I guess I will say I am excited to see this girl!

Tomorrow I am chopping all of my hair off. Like we are talking super short. I seriously cannot wait to do it! This is what I am thinking, but maybe a little shorter. What do you think?

Well thats all the randomness I have for you today. Peace and Blessings, Peace and Blessings.

Weekend Recap

Party, Party, Party. The one word that describes the majority of my weekend. Both Friday and Saturday night were spent out at a parties with the fam.

Friday night we all dressed up and went to friends house for a party. Lots of food and drinks and dancing later and we were some happy campers!

Saturday night, we all headed over to some new friends home for a dinner party. To say the house was gorgeous is an understatement. It has already been established that my wedding reception will be held there...now I just need to find a man!

So wish I had gotten a picture of that place! We had so much fun with our new friends and even played a fun game of apples to apples!

Sunday Mattie and Boone and her friend left to head back to school. While I enjoyed the time they were here, I was ready to not have 500 dogs all around the house! But they will be missed:))

Just one more weekend left until I head back to TN...

Thankful Thursday

I haven't done a Thankful Thursday post in quite some time, so I thought today would be the perfect day for it! I may not always see it, but I always have something to be thankful for.

And today I am VERY thankful for my trainer Sherry. Our workout yesterday had to have been one of the best ones to date. And no it was not because she kicked my butt super hard like she said she was going to.

We probably laughed more the last half of the workout then anything. I may have called her old, and she may have not helped me when the big ball fell on my face.

I told her, "Not to make you feel old, but you are 15 years older than me." "Only 15?!" "Oh wait never mind 17!" Then an older man over hearing our conversation came up and he was like "Oh I'm 63." I then told him I couldn't do that kind of math to figure out how much older he is then me!

God was working some kind of magic last May when he put the two of us together. I could not have asked for a more perfect trainer or friend! We can laugh and we can be serious. I tell her just about everything going on in my life or bitch to her about the workout.

And at the end of the day...she really does kick my butt!

New Year Resolutions!

Sometimes I am a fan of New Year Resolution, sometimes I am not. I feel like even though I set them I probs won't keep them and then what was the point in the first place? But this year I am bound and determined to keep them!

If you look up you will see my tab for My Goals, so some of these resolutions are coming from there. I want to work on many of those but also add a few things that MUST be done in this new upcoming year!

1. Graduate from Milligan
This will be happening on May 11, 2013! I seriously cannot believe that it has been 4 years already. But I also cannot wait for that day to come!

2. Go to Grad School
Applications are all a go and I have been accepted to one place...Milligan. But I am still waiting to hear from many other places. But come August I will be back in school...somewhere.

3. Continue losing weight and reach my goal weight...whatever that may be!
I am a little under half way to where I would like my gaol weight to be, and I know this year I will get there and be looking HOT!

4. Start somewhere new!
This could mean so many different things. Whether it is just going to a new school in TN or moving home to Florida and starting completely over. Either way I want some newness in my life!

5. Read 20 books
Over the summer I was able to read at least 10, so for a whole year reading 20 shouldn't be that bad. I am currently ready The Perks of Being a Wallflower and next up is the Life of Pi. Two almost down...18 to go!

6. Be in the Word more
I keep saying I want to do this, and this year it is going to happen! I have two devotionals to read and I am going to make it a habit to read them everyday!