Sweet Southern Pearl

Happy Monday! This is gonna be a super busy week for me. I'm already working today; I don't usually work on Mondays. So I need some extra motivation myself to get going after a busy, sad, emotional, and great roller coaster of a weekend.       It's also Will and Kate Day - the Royal Wedding was two years ago today :)     http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/29/will-and-kate-anniversary_n_3163001.html?ir=Canada+Living             eBa

Today is Earth Day! [[ I have always loved Earth Day for some reason :) ]]   God gave us a beautiful Earth to take care of. He gave us domain over it, although He is still in control of it all.       Motivation/challenge for this week: This week, take time to recycle and not waste! I've been on a HUGE recycling kick lately. I recycle everything now. Think about how you can reuse things.   I always reuse my old shopping bags, grocery bags, etc.   Recycle old cereal boxes, or turn them into a pop-art collage!   Give your old clothes to Goodwill.   Cut up an old t-shirt and turn it into a necklace.   Don't use so many paper towels, toilet paper, and napkins!         Here is an awesome site with lots of cool ways to "upcycle" things:   http://twistedsifter.com/2012/06/creative-ways-to-repurpose-reuse-and-upcycle-old-things/       And m...

What a fun weekend!   On Friday, I met Meghan at the pool for the third time in a week. On Friday night, Ashley and I went with Leanna to the arcade at HPU, something that I have missed so much! We played the NASCAR game for a long time, skeeball, and Fruit Ninja. We had a fabulous time!     On Saturday, Honeygirl and I went to the Alpha Chi Omega beach volleyball tournament at HPU. Honeygirl was a major hit, and she really enjoyed her day out. I loved seeing people I hadn't seen in a while. We spent a few hours walking around campus, taking in all the sun, and talking to people. Honeygirl got lots of pats, scratches, smiles, and attention.     After that, Alex and I went to the golf tournament fundraiser for our church youth group. We got a golf cart and rode around, taking in even more sun.     THEN we hit up the BBQ at Rebecca's church! This is the second one I've gotten the chance to go to, and the food...

    Hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did, and I'll be posting about it tomorrow! Here's this week's motivation:     It's normal to want to work hard to reach certain goals, but the journey towards that goal should be just as fulfilling and happy as reaching the actual goal. Take time to look around you, take in your surroundings, don't rush through life. Enjoy all of life's stages and make the most out of every part.   It's easy for me to feel like I'm wasting time some days because since I'm in grad school, I have more free time than I did in undergrad. I'm always working toward a goal, and it's easy to work so hard towards the goal that I forget to enjoy the "now."   Happiness can be found in the smallest things. So find it!       ..............................................................................................................................     AND SOMETHING BIG ...

  First Friday Five of April! Here's what I'm loving this week:   ...............................................       Rock of Ages soundtrack that Zach bought for me. All 80s rock songs, and some I didn't even like at all until I heard the soundtrack versions. Tom Cruise is a good singer! And of course, so are Mary J. Blige and Julianne Hough :)           THE POOL!! I've gotten to go three times this week. LOVE THIS WEATHER!         Banana Boat tanning oil. Works like a charm.           For some reason this week I've been OBSESSED WITH PINK LEMONADE! I can't get enough.         And Honeygirl's new collar :)                 eBa

  Today's Throwback Thursday is about my first and only Alpha Chi Omega formal, last April. It was a BLAST! I did my hair at Brooke's house beforehand and Kacie sat with me while I did my nails. :) Our shirts were Cinderella-esque and very snazzy. We had such a great time dressing up and taking pictures, all experiencing formal for the first time together (since we were a brand-new chapter). We danced, laughed, had the BEST food (buffet-style! My fave was the grilled salmon), and made lots of great memories. It was like prom all over again! Hahaha   Here are some pictures from the lovely evening:                   eBa    

Looking through my old journal, I found the perfect post for this Throwback Thursday since it's about spring break, 9 years ago:   Sunday, April 18, 2004 Augh! Spring break is OVER! And it was soooo much fun! It was the perfect escape from the monotonous, boring, yucky school schedule. Obviously 9th grade isn't exactly exciting or fun, but spring break saved me! I just relaxed.   On Monday, I slept til 4pm! I really needed the rest. I got ready and at about 6:00 we went to Carter Brothers. That same day, we got a thing in the mail that said that I was (am) a state finalist in the Miss Teen USA pageant!!! Yay! I'm excited! (DUH) Lol.   On Wednesday, I got up at about 12, Mama brought Libby Hill back. Whitefish! Yummmm... I LOVE Libby Hill. I watched TV - Jessica Simpson making her video for "Take My Breath Away" - what an AWESOME song! I also watched Full House, Step By Step, Family Matters, etc. Then I got ready and went to babysit.   Th...

This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but life got busy. (Okay, okay I got lazy and played April Fools jokes instead of blogging.)   I was excited, though, for a nice, warm day. The day after Easter, the first day of April. APRIL FOOLS DAY! Haha   I see April first as the real start to spring. I always love the first day of the month because it signifies a new beginning to me.   I'm excited about April. I think it's gonna be a great month. I'm stoked about new things I'm going to try and unveiling something BIG that I've been working on :)   I'm excited about going to the beach this week and substituting a lot this month to make some money.   I'm excited about warmer weather, baseball games, sandals, and dresses.     So,  Happy April!!         How's this for motivation? If you think about it figuratively and apply it to any tough situation in life, it really is!!   ...