Finally Time For A Break!

Praise the Good Lord I am done with this semester of Grad School...kinda.  I am never really done nor do I ever think I will be.  But three out of my four classes for this summer have come to a close.  And I could not be more happy or excited!
Needless to say going to school for the first time in the summer ever was not exactly what I would call fun.  I hated it.  I got burnt out not too long ago and I wanted to quit grad school SO FREAKING BAD! My classes were hard, there was a lot of work, and lately there has been a lot of drama that surrounded me and resulted in lots of hurt feelings on my side.
So basically this little "break" the next three weeks are going to be much appreciated and needed.  Even though I will still have one class (my internship) and will still be interning, I won't have any homework or stress in that arena for a while! And I am thrilled!
Here is to enjoying the next few weeks and having fun. What are some ideas for me to do during this time?

July 4 Recap

After a fun busy weekend with Denise and Dave we found ourselves having another fun busy weekend for the fourth, which also happens to be my dads birthday! My moms sister and brother in law were in town and all four kids made their way back to the beach.

Every fourth there is a parade on the Island that we go to.  It is at the end if our street and always fun to watch. This year I made a point of making sure we all were patriotic (or at least us girls) and got us headbands to wear. I also had a tank for myself. Benj and Bryce got some socks and had some fun. 

It always mandatory with me to get family picture whenever we can!

After the parade the clouds came and so we ended up inside playing cards and hanging out with the fam. We were just hoping the skies would clear up for fireworks that night! And our dreams came true!

Growing up my grand mommy always told my dad the fireworks were just for him on the fourth since it was his birthday. And he still believes it to this day :) He wanted to take the boat out to watch the show and that's what we did!

We ended the night with one sick camper and then an American flag birthday banana pudding!

I have to say I am a big fan of these fun weekends with the whole family. It's so nice that we still want to spend time with each other and will do so. I loved celebrated dad and our country. I am proud to be an American and his daughter:)

Weekend Recap

This weekend seemed rather short to me...and that may have to do with coming home from the beach on Sunday and not Monday.  No me gusta!  But a weekend at the beach is never anything but GREAT!
This was Mattie's last weekend in town for a while so Friday night was spent out on the island with friends.  At dinner Mom had to parallel park and well then this happened...

Laurie standing in the middle of the road holding up traffic so we got our parking spot!  Sometimes I think we find the crazies...and love them for it!
Saturday was going to be a good day to blog about.  Dad and Mattie were going to go diving, I was going to take lots of pictures, and tell you all kinds of fun stories.  And then the weatherman person lied.
2 foot seas my butt!!!  We went out thinking it would be mostly smooth.  Well I was riding on the front of the boat out there and Mom thought she lost a child it was so rough.  I only flew out of my seat twice... Needless to say we called off the diving and went to the beach.
Sunday I headed home with the dogs and got my DIY craft on.  I have these six canvases that were up in my dorm that I wanted to recover.  And so I bought some fabric and covered them.  Easy Peasy.  And I plan to buy some cute thumb tacks and hang some pictures on them:)

Hope everyone had a happy happy weekend:)

Weekend Recap

Oh what a weekend I had...and that doesn't necessarily mean is was always good!  With my sister being out of town, we have had to watch her dog for her.  And well he is a rascal to the extreme.  Mom needed a weekend away from him, and since I had to work on Saturday I volunteered to watch him.

To say picking her up from the airport Sunday night was the highlight of my weekend would be an exaggeration, but it did come pretty close.  Needless to say I will not be offering to babysit the whiny dog for at least 5 more years.

Saturday after work I went and picked up some paint for my next two apartment projects.  I got one of them done, and no worries that will be on the blog this week.  It was super hot out so I figured I would wait to do my next project.

I spent most of my time this weekend just relaxing and catching up on sleep and tv shows.  I also got to FaceTime with Lauren! An hour and 20 minutes later we had finally caught up on each others lives!

Sunday morning I went to church with my brother and his girlfriend.  I had not been to church since graduation and really was feeling the need to go.  The church we attended is the one that I have been thinking would be my new church home.

Being back in a church and surrounded by God's love and people who worship him was exactly what I needed.  Sometimes you don't know you have been missing or needing something until you find it.  And not to keep being evasive in this post, but there is more to come on that!

I ended the weekend of relaxation on a happy note knowing in 17 days I will be back in Tennessee with my best friends!

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was fun, busy, relaxing, and full of lessons.  All of those combined together make up the best weekends!
Friday night we went to a local wine tasting as usual.  And of course this means drinking the wine most of the night.  After the tasting we went to dinner with friends where I discovered that sometimes it is best to just get another drink and some dessert.

I then escorted my parents and their friends to a bar.  So as to make sure no one died (jk I got stuck in the car and had to go). This is night one of my lesson learned this weekend:  I REALLY SERIOUSLY DESPERATELY NEED TO FIND FRIENDS MY OWN AGE!
The next morning I woke up and walked 6 miles on the beach with one of my mom's friends.  Barefoot.  And this was no nice easy beach walk.  Girlfriend boogies down that beach.  And my feet are still killing me.  At least the view was the best in all the world.

Needless to say I was pretty exhausted after that walk.  I laid around and read the rest of the afternoon while waiting for Mom and Dad to come back from fishing.  Lucky for us all they caught some huge permit and I was able to make some of the best fish we have had in a while.

Friends joined us again that night and I relearned/solidified my lesson that : I REALLY SERIOUSLY DESPERATELY NEED TO FIND FRIENDS MY OWN AGE!  Those people were a little crazy and I was definitely ready to get out of there.
The next day was spent on the boat with my parents and dogs.  It was the best most relaxing and fun day.  I loved spending time in the sun ever if I do get a touch too much of it sometimes...

I Said What?!

Last Friday I shared with all of you all of the crazy things my kids have said at work.  Well today I am going to share with y'all all of the crazy things I have said at work.  Apparently Friday mornings are a bit early for me and I tend to say things without thinking...

"If you don't quiet down I am going to make you put up all of your games and sit in a circle and then....I will come up with something to make you do!" Like I said early mornings are not my things.  For one The kids were yelling at each other in three different groups.  And I had asked them to quiet down multiple times.  So I decided to tell them if they didn't quiet down soon I was going to make them do something.  But I didn't think that far in advanced so I really had nothing to make them do...they stared at me like I was crazy.  And my coworkers laughed.
"If you keep pushing him your going to go to timeout and you won't be the captain of anything." A brother and sister were playing on our jungle gym thing which has a little pirate like place on it.  He was standing in her way so she pushed him.  When I told her she was not allowed to do that she said she was the captain and he needed to move.  So I told her she wouldn't be the captain of anything of she kept doing that.  Pretty sure she thought I was crazy and so did my coworkers who could not stop laughing at me!
I promise you can trust your kids with me...as long as I have had some coffee and they are quiet.  But really I love my kiddos and I love that they make me say some crazy things:)

Half Marathon Training Update

I mentioned yesterday my training for my half marathon.  I am so excited to be doing this (and with this girl) and have loved having something to train for again.  I am loving running so much and really do look forward to it every day...even with my legs killing me. Last week was week 1 of training, and while I did not accomplish it all, I was still proud.  Here is was I was suppose to do: Monday: stretch Tuesday: 3 miles Wednesday: 2 miles Thursday: 3 miles plus strength Friday: rest Saturday: 30 minute cross training Sunday: 4 miles. And here is what I was able to do!

 Monday: Nothing...I was recuperating from my time in Texas.

Tuesday: I ran 3 miles.  This was the first time I had run 3 miles in a while and I was so happy I was able to do it.  I may have gone slow, but I am more interested in the distance right now than the time.

Wednesday:  I tried really hard to get two miles in but my body was dead.  I didn't do my usual path and that messed me up.  I was pretty disappointed in myself, but I knew I would be ok and to just keep moving!

Thursday: It rained all day long.  So i tried the treadmill.  Didn't even make it half a mile I hate those things. So instead I did some more cardio and called it a day.

Friday:  Even though I was suppose to rest I really wanted to get some cardio in. So I did.  I decided to rest on Saturday instead.

Sunday:  As I mentioned yesterday I finally reached four miles.  Not purposefully I was running a whole lot faster than I had been lately.  As in between 20-30 seconds faster.  I got through 2 miles feeling absolutely great and proud of myself. And then mile 3 came and I died.  I had to walk a little for the last 2 miles.  But I ran more than I walked so I am counting it a success since I made it to four miles in pretty dang good timing for myself!

This week is looking the same as last week.  With the major goal of finishing my 4 miles without a stop at all!  I have to say I am pretty proud of myself and all that I have achieved since starting running in January.  And I cannot wait to see where I go from here:)

Weekend Recap

I know I am a day late for posting about my weekend, but to be fair my weekend had an extra day in it!  I had yesterday off and was no where near my computer most of the day so I decided to enjoy the day and put blogging off:)
Saturday I had the morning shift at work so I did not make it down to the island until mid afternoon.  But no worries I made it in time for the party...or brought the part as I would like to believe.
In case you were wondering, we Hardin's are very classy people and cool our fancy wines in our ice maker.  Be jealous.

After a fun night with friends I knew I was going to have to get up in run in the morning.  I am training for a half marathon (update on that tomorrow) and had my longest run ever to get in...4 miles.  I did it.  And I will give you all the details tomorrow.  Please come back tomorrow?

After my nice long run, we all got ready for a boat day.  It had been a couple weeks since I had been on the boat and I was SO ready for some sun.  Add that to new bathing suits and I was the happiest camper. Even though I got sunburned. 

Monday was my extra weekend day.  I had the day off and decided to stay at the beach house for some much needed Mosby time.  Since moving home other than my runs or workouts, I do not have nearly as much Mosby time as I use to have.  So any day that I can lay in the sun with a good book in hand and be by myself is always a good day.

I seriously recommend this book to everyone! I read it back in high school and I am really interested to see what I think this time around reading it.  Yes I am the nerd that rereads books for fun:)

What's Keeping Me Going

This month has been insanely busy for me.  Totally last month of the semester gotta get everything done kind of month.  Every week I have some kind of assignment or paper due or a group project to work on.
Trying to look on the bright side of it all here are some things that are keeping me going.  Things I can look forward to and get excited about!
Graduation: I cannot believe I will be graduating in 16 days! I swear I just moved into last week!  But graduation means moving home, going to grad school, having my own apartment, and SUMMER!  Oh how the beach is calling my name!

Napa Valley, California: My graduation gift is a trip with my parents and sister to Napa! I cannot wait to be in California with them tasting wine and relaxing!  I just know this is going to be one awesome trip!

via

Training for a half marathon: So I have decided I want to train for a half marathon this summer! I have no clue when and where I am going to run it, but after talking to my friend Grizel about it I am super stoked to do it!  I cannot believe how much I love running now!!
PS: TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! WOOHOO 22!!!

Opening and Shutting Doors

I firmly believe that for every door closed God will open another.  He never leaves us without and there is always a plan in place...even if we do not know what that plan is.  You know the saying "patience is a virtue"?  Yeah I need to work on that one.

After making the decision to move back home and go to Southeastern for grad school, I knew I would need to start looking for a job.  I wanted so badly to be out in the real world and be a big girl with a big girl job.  And I wanted to have the job RIGHT NOW!

There was a problem with that.  My schooling will not always allow me to have a full time job.  Yes my classes will be at night, but once I start my practicums and then internships I won't be able to work all the time.  So what was I suppose to do?

I thought maybe I would get a job at the school.  This way they would know what they were getting if they hired me and would be more willing to work with my schedule.  And I thought I had found a job to apply for.

But when I looked yesterday to finish my application the job was gone.  They had already filled the position.  What was I suppose to do now? I was so let down and didn't know where to go.  So I prayed about it.

Little did I know God had been preparing me for this.  

I LOVE kids.  And I hate the idea of not being able to work with kids in any way.  My job at the gym was still there for me if I wanted it.  And I know in the fall I can substitute teach around my schedule.  This opportunity and job has been there the whole time.

This was not what I thought I wanted to do.  It is not following the plan that I had in mind for myself post graduation.  But the door has opened and I feel that it is the right path to follow.  And I am majorly relieved that I have secured me a job.

So here is to looking forward to being back with my kiddos and enjoying the doors God has so graciously opened for me!

Sometimes and Always #21

Happy Happy Tuesday! I am loving this day.  Want to know why? Because that means one more day till I get to see the girls!!  

On a sad note though....today is the second to last time I will be seeing my trainer this summer.  To say tomorrow is going to be bittersweet is an understatement.

Anywho back to the happy things! 

Sometimes...I get the desire to get a new car

Always...I love my car.  Especially after she has had a bath:)

Sometimes...I have really productive days

Always...Those are my favorite and make me feel good

Sometimes...I make deals with myself

Always...They are the best deals I ever make.  

Such as: If I do not go to a fast food restaurant during the month, then I can go and get my nails done.  What girl doesn't want to go get their nails done!?

Sometimes...I crave Diet coke

Always...It's never how I remembered it.  Now I can really say I am perfectly happy with water:)

Sometimes...I make really awesome food

Always...I try to make it super healthy.

Like this baked oatmeal.  You can find the recipe here

Sometimes...I pee 10-15 times a day
Always...It is not because I am preggers.  I just drink over a gallon of water a day.

Friday Letters

It has been quite some time since I have done friday letters.  But let's be serious...I was lacking in inspiration for a post today so I thought this would be a good idea.

Dear Work, This is the last day I have to see you.  I am excited and sad all wrapped in one.  I am going to miss everyone, but seriously I need some time to get my life together before I move back to Milli.

Dear Sherry, No I am not looking forward to today's workout.  Can we just not do it and say we did.

Dear Beach, This is the last weekend I will be seeing you for a while.  Please bless me with a wonderful tan that will last until next summer...that can happen right?!

Dear Best Friends, We are going to be reunited in just a little more than a week.  It is going to be the best day ever!!!!

Dear Self, Please start actually writing down your lists on paper.  You know your going to forget everything you need to move if you don't!

Dear Everyone, Thanks SO much for all of the encouragement during this whole weight loss thing! It means the world to me to have great support:)

Sometimes and Always #19

So it has been a little while since I have done this linkup and I must say I have missed it! So happy to join in again with the super cute preggers Megan! 

Sometimes: I cannot believe we only have 3 weeks left of summer

Always: I am SO excited to be heading back to Milli!

Sometimes: I get discouraged when my weight doesn't continue to go down EVERYDAY

Always: I remember that slow and steady wins the race.  Plus losing a pound EVERYDAY is like ridiculous!

Sometimes: I am ready to be done with this job

Always: I know I am going to miss the girls and kids I work with!

Sometimes: I get sick

Always: I am like a baby when I am sick.  I curl up with a good book and prayers that I will feel better soon!

Sometimes: I need a good new drink to love

Always: Starbucks does me right!

Cool Lime Refresher is SO yum! The Very Berry Hibiscus is pretty awesome too!

Weekend Recap!

Sometimes I wish everyday was a weekend day because then I wouldn't be so stressed.  I have loved that I have been able to relax and do much of nothing this weekend.  Seriously I have done almost nothing.

We spent the weekend in Lakeland and while here there isn't all that much to do.  So instead of laying outside and relaxing and getting my tan on, I relaxed inside and got more white.

Friday night I had to work, and when I got off at 7 I had nothing to do.  I came home and watched some TV and then headed to bed not too late.  I had worked a lot this week so I was pretty exhausted and needed the rest.

Saturday I woke and spent the morning on the couch.  I read through blogs, watched some tv and just vegged out.  Seriously much needed.

I then decided I was going to be a little productive and do some shopping.  My work out pants have become too big on me (heck yes!) and so instead of spending half my workout pulling them up so not everyone is seeing my butt, I thought I would buy some new ones.  I was also in need of/looking for a new purse and bag for school.

I headed out to Marshalls and Target.  First time in FOREVER that both have failed me.  Like majorly failed me.  The only thing I did purchase? Some Essie Nail polish.  First Essie purchase and I must say I was very pleased and will be buying more!

Fifth Ave. Was wanting more orange but chickened out and got this one.  Wish I had gone with the orange!

Saturday night I went to dinner with the parentals.  Again we all know I have like no friends here so it's not like I had any better plans.  That plus I do enjoy a good dinner with them:)

This is what I wore to dinner.  Obsessed with that necklace!

After dinner since we were at one of the bigger shopping areas in Lakeland I thought I would go look around.  I popped into Books-a-Million and bought my first GRE study/practice book.  Thats right people time to get my study on and ace this test!

Nerd much?

I then headed over to Kohls hoping they would have some workout pants I liked on sale.  And it was my lucky day! Not only were they on sale, but I was able to buy a size smaller than I did last time!!! Yay for getting healthy!

Sunday Mamerz and I woke up and went to church.  After that we had some cleaning to do.  Mattie will be moving to Macon, GA for Law School in two weeks and all of the furniture in my room is going with her.

We needed to go through all the drawers and clean them out, as well as some closets.  Man did we do a major overhaul.  Sometimes I love the idea of just throwing everything out.

To wrap up my night as I watched the finale of The Bachelorette, I was able to get some work done on my Chevron Craft Project. So ready for these to be done!

Hope y'all had a great weekend:)