I Love These Cookies

You Are a Peanut Butter Kiss Cookie

You are a social, friendly, caring person. You are good at helping people. You have a very giving heart. You are a natural teacher or counselor. You get value from making someone's life better. You are trustworthy, and a natural problem solver.

What Holiday Cookie Are You?

Happy Holidays!

After work today, Andrew and I are headed to Chattanooga for Christmas with my family. And I am off work until January 5! So after we spend a few days with my family, we are heading up to Johnson City and Elizabethton for most of next week to see Andrew's family. I just hope I get a little time to relax and enjoy my time off. But it will be nice to spend some time with our families and see all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents we don't get to see very often. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

New Job!

Now that everything is all official, I can announce that I have a new job! I am moving across campus to work in Hoole Special Collections Library. I will be a Digitization Specialist. (BTW, digitization is a really hard work to say.) I will be scanning some of UA's rare documents to be placed in a database and online. I will be learning to use all this fancy digitizing equipment, as well as learning how to color correct the images and make them look really good. As some of you know, it is my goal when I finish my master's degree to become an archivist, so this is a great way to get my foot in the door. I will be starting my new job January 12. I'm really excited!

All I Want for Christmas is for My House to be a Holiday Tribute to Mariah Carey

Wow. These people really love that Mariah Carey song. That is commitment.

Heartbroken

I am so very very sad tonight. A sweet friend of mine had a baby today who was born with a heart defect. He passed away soon after. I am grieving for my friend and her husband and this extremely painful loss. Please join me in saying a prayer for them. I cannot even imagine what they are going through and I would have no idea what to say to them in this moment. But I am praying harder than I have in a long time that God will comfort them and they will feel his presence.

Elf Yourself!

Check out this link to see me and my lovely family dancing to Christmas music. It makes me giggle. A lot.

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/qc5u9aAm9HVBeREqixbL

Wow, really?

Seriously, I just had a student tell me it wasn't fair that students with disabilities got to register before other students because she didn't get the English class she wanted. Amazing. I just looked at her. I wonder if I would have gotten in trouble if I had said, "Yeah, because having a disability is such an advantage and all." Some of these kids need a reality check.

Election Season

I used to really love politics. The last presidential election was the first one I was able to vote in and I was captivated by all of it. I listened to NPR and watched the news constantly to get every spare bit of information I could about the election and the candidates.

Now, I hate politics.

It's not because this year's election is any less exciting. It's more exciting to me, actually, but there is a candidate I can truly get behind and I have a great hope of what he can do for our country. But this year, I am completely overwhelmed by the negativity of the political machine and the utter disrespect and downright hatefulness that this election is bringing out in people.

It makes me cringe to hear one of the political candidates or those associated with the campaign constantly bad mouthing each other rather than focusing on the issues of a nation in crisis. It discourages me and angers me that at a time in our nation when the financial markets are crumbling around us, people are losing their homes and cannot afford the most basic necessities, let alone proper health care, and most of the world hates us for meddling in things that we should have left alone, we are spending our time insulting the opponent rather than telling the American people how we are going to solve these problems. One campaign has already told us to expect constant character-bashing of their opponent up until the election. Is that truly the best way to win an election? If so, how sad for our country.

But it's not just the politicians that are making me hate politics. It's the ugliness it brings out in normal folks too. One thing I will never understand is why Christians think at election time it's ok to say horrible, awful things about political candidates and those who support them. "Be kind one to another" applies during election season, too, in case you have forgotten. In what way is it Christian-like to call others names or wish harm upon someone you disagree with? I'm not saying I'm always perfect and never have a harsh word to say about others, but I have tried to be very aware of how I treat those with different political leanings during this election season. I would never personally attack someone because of what political candidate they support, and all I ask is that I be given the same respect. I respect your ability to make your own choices and form your own opinions about what is best for our country, and I hope you will do the same for me.

A friend and I have been discussing these issues quite a bit this fall. We have decided that we will pray for unity of our country and the church. Unity doesn't mean everyone agrees, but unity means that we can respect each other's beliefs and not tear one another down.

So I'm sure some of you will roll your eyes at this and call me an idiot and a hippie liberal and that's fine. But this election season has caused me to really consider these issues and the way I treat others. I just really needed to get these thoughts out there, because if they cause even one person to think twice about their actions then I'll feel a little better.

Happy voting.

Avett Brothers Concert

Last night Andrew and I went to an amazing concert by the Avett Brothers. They really are incredible. I've always been a semi-fan of bluegrass and folk music, but since we went to Merle Fest back in April, I've really gone crazy for it. This was the first time I'd seen the Avett Brothers in concert and they put on a really great show. The band has a guitar, a banjo, an upright bass, cello and drums in it. I've never seen anyone really rock out on the cello, but this guy was doing it. The band seemed to be having a great time and most people in the crowd knew every word to every song which was amazing to me.

Unfortunately, being around all those college kids made me feel old and dumpy. Ha! Twenty-five. So old.

Today at 1:00 we are heading to North Carolina! Yay!! We're going back to Sylva to stay with our friends Jeff and Annie and their son Addison. It should be a great trip. We are going to Mountain Heritage Day tomorrow which is a big festival with mountain crafts, awesome kettle corn and bluegrass music that we kind of fell in love with when we were living up there. I'm looking forward to seeing mountains and hopefully some fall foliage, visiting our old church, and spending some time with some good friends.

We're coming home on Sunday and then Monday night we are going to Birmingham to see the Fleet Foxes in concert. They are supposed to be really good in concert, but I just hope I survive! the show doesn't start until 9 and it's an hour away. I have work and night class on Tuesday. I am getting too old for this! But it should be a (busy and tiring) fun weekend!

Tuscaloosa

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything, so I thought I would give an update on our new life down here in Alabama. We moved to Tuscaloosa almost 2 months ago. I really like it more than I thought I would, especially now that the temperature is dropping a little bit!

I am working in the Registrar's Office at the University of Alabama. Not my dream job per say, but it works for now. The people i work with are nice and friendly and most of the time the parents and students we work with are polite and easy to deal with. I really love working at the University and all that comes with it. The benefits are great, the campus is beautiful and sometimes I get to have lunch with my husband or my sister, who are both students here as well.

I am going to school 2 nights a week to get my Masters in Library and Information Studies which I love. I can't wait to be a librarian! I am trying to decide what kind of librarian I want to be but right now i am leaning heavily towards working in a public library. I am really drawn to the opportunities for community service within a public library environment. The other option I am considering is working in a college or university library, but to do that I would really need an additional masters degree or Ph.D. Which could be possible in the future, but that's not something I'm too concerned with at the moment.

Andrew has started work on his Ph.D. in Clinical Geriatric Psychology and seems to be enjoying it. He says he has already learned a lot. My sister Sarah is also here, starting her freshman year. It's so nice to have her close by!

I like the town of Tuscaloosa. It's bigger than Sylva (thank goodness!) but not huge. Most everything we need is here, and on the rare occasion we want more shopping or resteraunts, Birmingham is less than an hour away. Our apartment is nice, the area is quiet with a lot of trees and only 4 miles from the school. we have found a church we like, too, Canterbury Chapel Episcopal. We tried a couple of different denominations before deciding on this one. Something about the ritual and quietness of the services really speaks to both of us. For me, it's soothing to my soul. The quiet simplicity makes me feel closer to God, easier to shut the other things out and focus on Him. But all that's a different blog post I guess.

Hopefully I will start updating more often. Being back in school is helping me become used to writing again, I have been feeling a little rusty. Now if I can just find time between all the working and going to school...

Walt Disney World - Day 2 - May 21 - Chef Mickey's, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios

We began our first full day at Disney World with breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort. The Contemporary Resort, which I don't think looks like much from the outside, is absolutely gorgeous on the inside! I hope to stay there someday if we ever win the lottery. (Although really I would love to stay in each and every one of the hotels eventually.)

The breakfast was such a great way to start our day! The food was of course fantastic. They has these really yummy Mickey-shaped Belgian waffles! We looked for mickey waffle makers all over the park, but sadly we never found one. Each of the characters stopped by our table for a photo op. Yeah, so maybe we were the only people there without kids, but we had a great time acting like big kids!

After breakfast we headed to Animal Kingdom. As we walked in, we wandered though the Oasis and saw the Tree of Life.

Next we went to the Africa section.We got fast passes for the Kilimanjaro Safari and went for a walk through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Here we saw many different animals, including the okapi, naked mole rats and gorillas. We learned that if you ever meet a gorilla in the wilderness, it would not be a good idea to pound your chest unless you would like to be permanently maimed.

Next we rode Kilimanjaro Safari, which was one of my favorite rides at Disney World! We saw giraffes, elephants and lions. It was really amazing how close we were to these wild animals!

After the safari, we trekked to Camp Minne Mickey to see the show the Festival of the Lion King. It was one of Dustin's favorite things we did all week! The show was great, and my favorite part were the acrobatic monkeys!

Next we went to explore the Asia part of the park. We got fast passes for Expedition Everest and went to see the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Here we saw a variety of animals including giant fruit bats and tigers.

Finally it was time to ride Expedition Everest! Wow! This ride is so amazingly fun! Definitely my favorite ride of the week! We liked it so much that we got in the single-rider line so we could ride it again right away! After that we went and rode Kali River Rapids. We all got soaked, of course, but Karen really got the worst of it! I wish I had gotten a picture of it!

Next we headed to Dinoland. It is set up to look like a carnival with dinosaur-themed rides. We rode the Primeval Whirl, which is like an old carnival ride, and Dinosaur which is a ride in which you are on a mission to travel back in time and bring back a dinosaur.

The last part of our time at Animal Kingdom was spent seeing Finding Nemo: The Musical. This musical is awesome! It is a combination of people and puppets that is colorful and beautiful to watch.

After we left Animal Kingdom, we took a bus to the gorgeous Boardwalk resort. The guys wanted to have dinner at the ESPN Game Zone. It was pretty neat, the guys loved all the TVs playing sports everywhere, even in the bathroom! The food was average and I thought overpriced, but I realize you are paying for the atmosphere.

We walked down the boardwalk and boarded a bus that would take us to Hollywood Studios. We planned to see Fantasmic, but we had a little time to do a few other things first. We rode Star Tours and then went to ride the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. We all had a blast! Dustin was hilarious! We all just kept hearing a very high-pitched voice saying "Oh my Lord! Oh my Lord!" When we got off the ride and saw the picture they had taken at the top, Katie and I were looking at each other screaming. It was so funny and I can't believe we didn't buy it.

Finally we went to see Fantasmic. We were all super tired by this time and in general people were just getting on our nerves. But when the show started I think we all enjoyed it. To be honest, I thought it was a little strange, and not exactly what I expected. I thought it was mostly a fireworks show, but there were hardly any fireworks at all. I think the show would be scary for kids, there were a few times I jumped myself. But overall it was entertaining. When Fantasmic was over, we were all completely exhausted. We headed back to our hotel to get rested for what would be another busy day on Thursday!

Walt Disney World - Day 1 - May 20 - Part 2: The Rest of the Magic Kingdom

After visiting Tomorrowland, we headed over to Main Street to see the "Dreams Come True Parade." Here are some pictures I took during it.











After the parade we headed over to Fantasyland, where we rode It's a Small World and one of my favorite rides, The Mad Tea Party. Andrew spun our cup so fast I was dizzy for a while afterward!



Next, we left Fantasyland and headed to Liberty Square and rode the Haunted Mansion. While we were there, we also went to the Hall of Presidents. Andrew and Karen are both big history buffs, so they really enjoyed it, while Katie, Dustin and I smiled politely, anxious to go ride Splash Mountain!

After an educational history lesson, we headed to Frontierland. We went to Splash Mountain first. It was Katie's very favorite ride and she had been looking forward to it all day! We got absolutely soaked! Luckily, we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad next, which helped us dry off a little.



By this time it was getting dark and it was getting close to time for the SpectroMagic parade. But first we needed to ride one more ride, Andrew's favorite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean! So off we went to Adventureland. (I did say we went and went and went our first day, right? Seriously, we did A LOT on our first day.) We got to Pirates and there was no line at all! Andrew loved it and it was neat to see how they have incorporated Jack Sparrow into the ride.

We headed back over to Frontierland where we found a great spot to watch the SpectroMagic Parade. It was pretty neat, but I think one of the cheesiest things I saw our whole trip (which is saying a lot considering it's Disney World and they kind of survive on cheesiness), but all the lights on the floats do create a neat effect. By this time we were all exhausted (we got up at 4:00 AM!) so we skipped the Wishes fireworks show and headed for the bus, hoping to beat the crowd and get back to our hotel. We ended up being able to see some of the fireworks from the bus on the way to the hotel. Once we got back to Pop Century we grabbed some dinner (at nearly 11:00 PM, did I mention we hadn't taken the time for a real meal all day?) and slept the sweet slumber of those at Disney World. Tomorrow, breakfast with Mickey!!

Walt Disney World - Day 1 - May 20 - Part 1: Arrival and Tomorrowland

Our first day at Disney World was Tuesday, May 20. We made the most out of our first day there, enjoying the light crowds and seeing almost all of Magic Kingdom! Andrew and I arrived in Orlando around noon, a few hours after Karen (my mother-in-law), Katie (my sister-in-law) and Dustin (Katie's husband). We were picked up from the airport by Disney's Magical Express.



The Magical Express took us right to our hotel, Disney's Pop Century Resort. Pop century, as you can tell from the name, is decorated with pop culture items from throughout the 20th century. There are sections for the 1950s through the 1990s. We stayed in the 1950s section. Here are some pictures from around the hotel. We stayed in the building in the picture with Tramp.








After quickly checking in at our hotel, we hopped on the bus and headed over to Magic Kingdom to meet up with Karen, Katie and Dustin. I was so excited to see the castle!



The first thing we did was head right for Tomorrowland. There was a short line for the Astro Orbiter so we hopped in line. Now usually, I do NOT like heights and I've never had any desire to ride this ride whatsoever, but there was no way I was missing out on the first ride of Disney World and since this is the one that got picked, I bucked up and rode it. It was a little high for me, but I survived, and there really is a good view of the park from up there.



Next up, one of my favorite rides: Space Mountain! We got a fast pass that allowed us to return in a short amount of time, so we were quickly on board! This was Dustin's first ever trip to Disney World and he LOVED Space Mountain! This was the first of several times we rode it during our trip. Next up was the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, which is a slow moving tour around Tomorrowland. Not too exciting but a nice break. Also in Tomorrowland, we rode Stitch's Great Escape, which is a multi-sensory kind of show. We rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and Indy Speedway. Last was the Carousel of Progress, which put Katie to sleep and left the rest of us singing "It's a great big beautiful tomorrow" for the rest of the day. Tomorrowland: Check!

Exciting News!

Wow, I just read my previous post and I am so relieved that I have a new job! I will be working in the Registrar's Office at the University of Alabama! It was the first interview I had at the university (although I had a a couple of others after it). Looking back on it, it seems like all that worrying was for nothing! It worked out so perfectly, we are moving into our apartment on July 25 and I am starting my new job on July 28! I am really looking forward to starting this new chapter in my life! Wince graduating from college, I have felt like it was my calling to work somewhere in a university or college system. When I finish my master's degree in Library and Information Services, I want to work in a college or university library. I am just so thrilled that I have started on the road to fulfilling one of my life's goals!

Now then, I am going to take advantage of a little bit of extra time (and procrastinating) this week and FINALLY blog a day-by-day account of our trip to Disney World. Yes, this was over a month ago, but I really want to have an account of it so I can read back over it later and relive these happy memories! To anyone out there reading, enjoy!

Freaking Out

Ok, ok, I am freaking out and when all else fails this is where I come to freak out. It is the 2nd of June and I need a job in Tuscaloosa ASAP! I know that there is a plan in all of this, and hopefully I will look back and see that the timing was perfect and for a reason. But I am getting pretty worried. I get really sick to my stomach and stop sleeping when I get anxious. Yuck! There are sevral jobs at the university I would love to have. But I worry, am I good enough? I know I don't have a huge level of experience, but I always feel like once I get an interview I can convince anyone of how much I would enjoy the job. Especially the research job or the admissions counselor job. On Thursday, my mom met a woman in HR at UA, who gave my mom her phone number and told me to call her. I have tried, but she hasn't been at her desk any of the times I have tried to call. I wonder exactly what she can tell me. I HATE things to be up in the air and unsettled. I am praying multiple times daily about this, but I can't seem to get any peace. Waiting is the worst!

I do plan to blog all about our trip to Disney World, a day by day account, as soon as I have a chance, maybe one night this week!

Super Excited About Disney World!

The day is fast approaching!! Only 12 days until our trip to Disney World! I am so excited to be going on this trip with my husband Andrew, his mom Karen, his sister Katie, and her husband Dustin. We always have so much fun together, and I can imagine we will have a great time at the Happiest Place on Earth! I have been looking forward to this trip since we found out we were going in January, and I'm so so excited it is almost here. I have been consulting all sorts of websites, forums, and blogs to get the most out of our trip. I can't wait to post about it when we get back!

Into the Wild

Caution: Don't read this if you don't want "Into the Wild" spoiled!

Last night Andrew and I watched the movie "Into the Wild". This movie is based on a book which is based on the true life events of a man named Christopher McCandless. McCandless graduated from Emory University around 1990. He was a star athelete and graduated with top honors. He told his parents he intended to go to law school, but instead took his life savings and donated it to charity and then set out on the road. He wandered America for nearly 2 years before deciding he wanted to head up to Alaska and spend some time there living off the land. He lived for about 4 months before eventually starving to death.
For some reason, this movie deeply effected me. Seriously. I could not sleep last night. The very last scene of the movie shows the main character "dying" and I could not get that scene out of my head, the look on his face, the thought of him dying all alone in the wilderness. Plus, I was really mad at this guy because he didn't tell his friends or family ANYTHING. He just left. They didn't know whether he was alive or dead. And he just let them wonder for over 2 years until he was found dead my some hunters. While some people think this was some brave, noble quest, I was left with the feeling that it was more of a selfish, immature stunt.
Anyway, the whole thing put me in this weird funk. This happens on occasion. I will see a movie or read a book with a sad ending (usually involving someone's death) and it will put me into this little depression. It will stick around for a few days, I won't get much sleep and then I'll just kind of get over it. I hope that happens soon! The husband has psyco-analyzed me and he says it has to do with my fear of death and that I need existential therapy. I think this makes me sound like I should be in an independent film.

Alabama Bound!

So I realized today that it has been a really long time since a I updated my blog. I know it's not like I have a lot of readers out there, but just in case I wanted to give an update on our lives! Andrew has been accepted to the PhD program in Clinical Geropsychology at the University of Alabama! We are so excited and we will probably be making the move down there in June or July! I am happy because my sister will also be a freshman at Alabama in the fall! I am also applying for graduate school there in Library and Information Studies. It is an online program I can do at night and finish in 2 years. I am hoping I get in! Of course, I am nervous about looking for a new job. I love the job I have now and finding a new one is going to be tough! But I know something will work out, maybe even something at the school which would probably mean I would get a discount on my classes! So all of this is very exciting and we are really looking forward to the changes that are coming up soon!

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 95% Superman 60% Robin 58% Hulk 55% Green Lantern 50% Iron Man 50% The Flash 40% Catwoman 40% Supergirl 38% Batman 30% Wonder Woman 23%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz