Week One

My first week back at LifeWay went by fast. I’m beginning to get used to waking up early. That also means that I have to go to bed early. It is worth it though because getting off work at 3:00 p.m. every day is so nice! I have a great view of south Nashville from my office on seventh floor. The Frist center for the visual arts and Union Station are right outside my window. The building pictured on the right is Union Station. Did you know that over 1 million U.S. soldiers passed through the station? It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977 and officially opened as a hotel in December 1986. It has been a rainy week in Nashville, but today the sun is out.

Bluebird Cafe

Let’s see, I’ll give you a recap of my week. On Tuesday I went to the Bluebird Café, which is a famous place in Green Hills where many well-known songwriters perform. We saw Diana Kelley, Stan Webb, Pam Belford and Jeffrey East on Tuesday night. It seems like every time I go to the Bluebird, someone famous shows up! Last year I saw Jimmy Wayne, who sings “Do You Believe Me Now” and other country hits. Well, on Tuesday, Allan Hall of Selah was there! Jeffrey East, who was performing, co-wrote a song with him. I went with my friend Stefanie who might be singing and playing piano there this upcoming Monday at their Open Mic Night, so if she does I’ll be back soon!

MINI of Nashville

I took my car by the MINI Cooper dealership on Wednesday for them to check out my tires. They were very helpful and told me that my tires were WAY overinflated! I’m not sure who overinflated them unless it was part of the service at the car wash I took it to in Clinton. They were at a pressure of 50 when they are only supposed to be inflated to 25. All minor maintenance and service is free to me as a MINI owner. It was so nice there! They have such a sweet owner’s lounge to wait and they offer water and Starbucks coffee. Sometimes I wish I drank coffee, but I can’t stand the stuff.

Kairos and YMCA
Since I didn’t make it to Kairos on Tuesday, I went to Kairos Roots at Brentwood Baptist Church on Thursday night. It was a great set-up at round table and they had small group discussion at the end. I went to Kairos consistently last summer, but never got to know anyone through it because of the size. Typically there are about 1500 people in attendance, but on Thursday it is a smaller group that is able to dig a little bit deeper into the Word and discuss. I will definitely go back! I also went to the Downtown YMCA on Thursday after work and swam laps for about an hour. I'm going to try and swim at least once a week after work this summer!

Excitement of the day
Today I started out my day with my high school friend, Stefanie, who recently graduated from Vanderbilt. She invited me to join her at the Artisan Fair in Edgehill Village and they had some cute jewelry and neat art! We went into the Edgehill Studios and Cafe and then to Dulce Desserts for chocolate chip cookies. The shops were neat too! Whats-In-Store was my favorite and they were giving 100% of the sales price to flood relief efforts. After hanging out with Stefanie and her friends for awhile, it was time for me to meet up with Megan Fraiser and BethAnne Clark. I love these girls! They both graduated a year before me at MC(Mississippi College). I got to know Megan through the BSU(Baptist Student Union), and I taught children’s Sunday School with BethAnne at Pinelake all this year. They are awesome, and it was so great to be able to see familiar faces and to get to hang out with them. We ate at Panera at the Green Hills mall. BethAnne wanted to go into Tiffany’s, so we walked through there and felt way out of place! They were in town for a wedding, and had more time to wait so I took them to Las Paletas. I went a ton last summer since it was on my way home from work and all week I had been craving a popsicle. They both got the Strawberry fruit popsicle and loved it! After that I got a few things from ALDI and a pair of shorts from T.J. Maxx. I think I’ll shop at ALDI more often. They have great prices on eggs and milk. That’s all for now!

p.s. I love getting mail. Thanks to Charlotte and Callie for the letters! It was great hearing from you both my first week back in Music City.

Back in Nashville!

Wow, a lot has happened since I last posted. Don't worry though, my goal is to update every week, so I won't make my avid readers wait this long again.

Graduation

Last Saturday I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Communication. The Friday before graduation my family came in. It was great seeing Brent, Mary Turner, and Uncle Cliff as well! All of my friends from MC and all of our families had a cook-out/picnic at Brighton Park on Friday night. Everyone had a great time, and the strawberry shortcake was delicious! I went to all three of MC's graduations. The first being the nursing graduation on Friday. Many of my friends graduated from the school of nursing and I wanted to be there to support them. Their speaker quoted lyrics from "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. I was so thankful that our speaker was well versed and that he refrained from mentioning lyrics to a pop song!

Abby

On Mother's Day we made the road trip back home to Florida. It was great to finally be home since I was in Colorado for spring break and in Memphis for Easter! I stayed busy since I only had five full days at home, but I was able to get everything I needed to done. On Monday my parents took our chocolate labrador, Abby, to the vet. For the past month she had not been eating her dry food and my mom wanted to see what was wrong. She had blockage to her liver/spleen, and we had to put her down on Tuesday morning. This was a shock to all of us, and we already miss her greatly. Abby had such a great life on the farm. During middle school, I showed Abby at the Florida State Fair and at the Strawberry Festival with 4-H. She loved going to dog training at the park every Tuesday night and she always placed in obedience. Abby enjoyed going on golf cart rides. She was a huge part of our family. We will miss her, but I believe that one day we will see our pets in heaven too!

Parasailing
On Wednesday, my best friend and I went to Clearwater Beach. Parasailing was awesome!! It was a day full of adventure :) We left my house around 10:45 a.m. and headed to Bahama Breeze for lunch. I had a Cuban sandwich and black beans and yellow rice (this is a very popular dish in Tampa). Parasail City called us while we were on the way to make sure we were going to make it. Although we got a little turned around on the way, we made it just in time! When we parked, we had to pay the meter and realized that the limit was one hour, uh oh. Sure enough we were gone for over an hour, but I was so thankful that they did not ticket us. If you are ever at the beach and have the opportunity to parasail, GO! It was so much fun and very relaxing as well :)

My grandparents came over to our house on Friday for a fish fry. My grandmother made hushpuppies that were most definitely the best I have ever had, and my mom made homemade ice cream! We played corn toss as a family, and then they helped me pack my car.

Roadtrips

So much driving in the past week...about 1500 miles to be exact. My little Mini Cooper was a graduation gift from my parents that I got in November. I love it and hope that it will last me a long time. Right now Mini is getting about 31 mpg., which I'm pretty happy about! Last night I unpacked and Alyssa showed me where the Kroger and Wal-Mart are. I'm glad to be settled back in Nashville and so thankful for awesome living arrangements. Alyssa has such a cute house and Miles is adorable :) I'll start contract work at LifeWay in the morning!

A New Chapter Begins

I first blogged during the summer of 2008 while I was serving as a summer missionary and Journalism intern in Alaska. Check out http://alaskamissions2008.blogspot.com/ to read about my adventures in Alaska! Lately I've been reading a lot of my friends blogs and have decided that I should start blogging again. There are so many things coming to a close in my life, as well as some new things happening. It is sad in some ways, but also exciting! I guess you could say that it is a bittersweet time in my life.

Things are beginning to wrap up as I finish up my time in Clinton, Miss. I've thoroughly enjoyed my past four years here. I have been blessed with a great workplace and church, as well as amazing friends and professors. A few weeks ago the Communication department had a nice lunch for all of the graduating seniors. The following picture is from the lunch, as follows: Rebekah Langley, myself, Mrs. Kucia, Hannah Loden, Dr. Fortenberry, Vicki Williams, and Ms. Seawright. Last night I worked my final shift at the Baptist Healthplex. Virtual tour: http://www.mbhs.org/med_serv/wellness/healthplex_clinton_video.htm It is such a nice fitness facility and I will miss the staff and members. I am glad to be hanging up my six year career as a lifeguard though! I hope to continue to teach private swim lessons on the side.

I am also going to miss my friends and church. Pinelake has been such a place of growth and encouragement for me. We had our last small group Bible study get together on Monday night. We had some delicious hamburgers and a nice time of fellowship. I've enjoyed going through Crazy Love this year, and also want to read Francis Chan's book--Forgotten God. Tonight will be my last night at Pinelake. I will really miss working with the kids each and every Sunday morning. I hope that I'll be able to find a church in Nashville that I can call 'home'. Here is a fun video that they played on Sunday at Pinelake, what kids have to say about heaven: http://vimeo.com/11436275

College is coming to a close. I'll graduate from Mississippi College with my Bachelor of Science in Journalism this Saturday at 10 a.m. My family is coming in on Friday to celebrate with me! Then on Sunday we will drive back to Tampa. This is about a 10-11 hour drive, and we will have three vehicles since my brother will also be driving home from college. Michael will finish up his first full year at MTSU today! I'm so proud of him, and know that he will be a great pilot one day. It's hard to believe that he has already flown solo multiple times!

I'm looking forward to being home and getting to see some of my friends and family that I haven't seen since New Year's/Christmas! I was in Colorado for spring break and then in Memphis for Easter, so I haven't been home in quite awhile. The two things I'm anxiously awaiting next week are: going to see my grandparents and hanging out with Sarah. On Wednesday of next week, Sarah and I are going parasailing!! I have a lot to do in the 6-7 days that I'll be home.

For those of you who are not familiar with LifeWay Christian Resources, I will be working at their corporate office, not at one of the bookstores. I'll most likely head to Nashville in 10 days and then on May 17 I'll start full-time work at LifeWay! I interned there last summer in the Childhood Ministry Publishing department. The vision for LifeWay is"As God works through us...We will help people and churches know Jesus Christ and seek His Kingdom by providing biblical solutions that spiritually transform individuals and cultures."

I will be doing contract work for 6-12 weeks while Lynn Cowan is on maternity leave. Again this summer I'll have an office with a window. I don't know how I managed that again, but I'm so thankful. I will be living with Alyssa Reeves this summer. We interned together last summer and now she works full-time as a Production Editor at LifeWay! She is a triplet and a 22 year-old from Kansas.

I will be editing a lot this summer, but I am also writing for Bible Express and Adventure. These are two of LifeWay's devotional magazines. I participated in the Adventure Writer's Conference online, which was a neat experience! I was able to hear everything live on my laptop, and although I did not have a mic hooked up, I was able to ask questions and respond live through chat.I'm really looking forward to being back in Nashville! Be in prayer for those still dealing with the flooding.