So, I Used to Be a Singer???

I commute an hour one way to work each day and an hour back, and the radio has gotten kind of old lately. I recently pulled out some of my OLD worship cds from back in the old junior high/ high school days. The worship music has been a refreshing addition to my commute, and I think it is definitely good for my soul. It has gotten me thinking about the last time I probably listened to these cds.

When I was in 7th-9th grade, I was in a singing group called "Forever 4 Jesus." I bet you can't guess how many of us there were in the group. If you said four, you are correct. We got a new youth pastor at our church the summer before 7th grade. He traveled across North Louisiana and South Arkansas almost every weekend speaking at youth rallies. One day he got some of the girls from our youth group together and asked if we wanted to put together something to sing at one of the rallies. That was the start of Forever 4 Jesus.

We started putting together a collection of soundtrack tapes (yes tapes), and practicing a couple of times a week. For a couple of years there, we were singing at least once a month in our church and a couple of weekends a month at youth rallies. We even entered the Gospel Festival in Minden, La. and came in first place in our division and second place overall. We got a trophy that we kept in the choir director's office at church. It was a really fun experience, and I have such wonderful memories of the three other girls in that singing group.

It's really funny for me to think about it now. I don't consider myself a singer by any means. I sing in the car, and that's about it. When I sing in the car, and Stephen is in the car with me, he usually makes fun of me. I can remember singing in the shower when I was younger, and my family would bang on the door and tell me to be quiet. I'm kind of thinking now that people were just trying to be nice to me by letting me be in a singing group. :) Nonetheless, I am really enjoying my old worship cds.

Too Short

Our weekend was too short but oh so nice! Stephen and I had a date night Friday. We went to eat at Zea Rotisserie at one of our favorite weekend night spots, Brookwood Village. Brookwood has live music outside every Friday and Saturday night. After we ate, we sat on a bench outside for a while and listened to the music. Brookwood is actually a mall, but there's a really nice area outside of it with shops and restaurants. Our favorite Italian restaurant, Brio, is there, as well as our favorite yogurt place, YOLO.

Zea is a really great place to eat too! We took Stephen's parents there last time they were in town, and they loved it.

Saturday morning, my friend Ellen and I (and her toy poodle, Buddy) went downtown to the Pepper Place market. I had never even heard of this place until Ellen asked if I wanted to go with her. It is amazing. It's an old Dr. Pepper factory that has been turned into an indoor/outdoor Farmer's market. There were also some crafts there too. I picked up some amazing jalapeno cheddar bread that Stephen has devoured and some fresh tomatoes. Stephen and I are going to go back next Saturday so that he can see it too. They have everything from baked goods and veggies to homemade icecream. There was also live music and cooking demonstrations. It is a really cool place, and I can't wait to go back!

We also cooked a LOT this weekend, which was good because the weekend is normally the time when we are the worst about eating out. We had sandwiches on the phenomenal jalapeno cheese bread, we grilled hamburgers, Stephen made pancakes, and last night we made a really good zuchini pasta bake. I'll have to post the recipe for that some time. It was excellent! There are only a handful of weekends left before life becomes crazy again, and I intend to enjoy every single minute of them! I hope everyone out there in the blog world had a great weekend too!

Just Because

Stephen took Step 3 of the Board Exam Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. He had been studying every night for the past month. I'm so proud of him for studying hard and making it past this exam. Once he gets his passing scores back, he will be a fully licensed (able to practice on his own) doctor.

We went out to eat last night to celebrate him finishing the test. We went to a place called Genghis Grill. It's a Mongolian BBQ place where you put everything you want to eat in a bowl and tell them which starch you'd like, and they cook it up and bring it to your table. We had been wanting to try it for a while, but it's a pretty new place and it's always busy. We were able to get in and eat last night, and it was really good!

The best part of the night was that when I got home from work, there was a pretty box from the Pandora store waiting for me. Stephen got me a Pandora necklace with my birthstone charms on it from the Pandora store for no reason whatsoever. It was a "just because" present, which in my opinion, are definitely the very best kind of present. I have a very thoughtful husband. He spent all week taking the Board Exams, and he got me a present. :) I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

What is an OL?

My job usually consists of Greek Life, SGA, Programming Board, Intramurals, and Student Organizations. However, this past semester, the "Other Duties As Assigned" part of that job description kicked in and I ended up in charge of the Orientation Leaders (or OLs). I just spent the last three days with them doing training for August and our Take Flight Week. It was incredibly rejuvenating, and these students reminded me of the reason I wanted to work in Student Affairs.

I was an orientation leader at Louisiana Tech in 2003. It was a life changing experience for me. The 18 of us on staff formed a bond like no other that year. They really helped me to be more open minded. It was the first time in my life that I ever did anything the slightest bit risky or dangerous, and it was great! We went to an orientation training conference that spring called SROW (Southern Regional Orientation Workshop). One of the sessions that I went to that week was titled "So, You Can do This For a Living?" I dragged my orientation partner to that workshop, and we learned all about Masters programs in Student Affairs and how we could get into that field. My partner hated every minute of that session, but I had just figured out what I wanted to do with my life.



La Tech OSLs 2003

I went back to school after that workshop and changed my major from journalism to speech communication. What was I thinking as a journalism major anyway? I can barely write this blog. :) Then I started researching Masters programs and found one at Southern Miss that looked promising. This was the beginning of my journey in Student Affairs.



USM Southern Style 2006

 When I was in grad school, I always wanted to get a job working with orientation leaders. My orientation experience was what made me want to go into the profession, so I felt like it was fitting. I had the opportunity to work with the Southern Style staff while I was at Southern Miss, and I even got to go back and present at SROW that year. It was great. When I left grad school, my first job didn't have anything to do with orientation. I was in charge of SGA, Sororities, and the cheerleaders and dance team. They definitely didn't teach me anything about cheer and dance in grad school. :) That job was a wonderful learning experience, and it introduced me to Greek Life and definitely prepared me for the job I have now.

This past week has been the first time since grad school that I have had the opportunity to work with orientation leaders. The group of students I have this year is amazing, and I had the best time helping them prepare for the new students who will be here in August. I hope that their experience as OLs is just as special as mine was. I am so happy that I had a reminder this week of why I first decided to do what I do. It's so nice to feel refreshed and rejuvenated in your job and to remember why you love what you do. Now I just need to hang on to that refreshed feeling when I'm living and breathing sorority and fraternity recruitment in September. :)


Univ. of Montevallo OLs 2011



Goodbye Old Friend

The time has come to say goodbye to the Xterra. The good news is that we are saying hello to a brand new Ford Fusion. :) The Xterra has seen better days. After it broke down in Ruston over New Years, it started smoking every time we sat in traffic. When you live in a big city with LOTS of traffic, this is not exactly a good thing. We decided it was about time to trade it in while it was still worth something. The people at the Ford dealership gave us a GREAT deal on the trade in, and we are really excited about Stephen's new car. I'm kind of jealous too.

It's a little sad to say goodbye to the Xterra though. I remember riding in the Xterra for the first time. It was sophomore year of college, and Stephen and I were going to see The Count of Monte Cristo over Christmas break. We weren't dating then. We were just friends. We ran into a friend of ours from high school that night, and she made a big deal about us being at the movie together. It's kind of funny to think about now. Stephen parked the car in the VERY back of the Tinseltown parking lot that night because he didn't want it to be near any other cars. This is a habit he inherited from his parents. :)

We also had a really fun road trip to the Tech/SMU game in the Xterra our senior year of college. There were so many people packed into it that someone was riding in the very very back. It seems like we also had a Mardi Gras trip too with about four people packed into the backseat. It has definitely been a great vehicle for fun road trips. It is also the car that we went on our first date in and the car that we left our wedding reception in.

Stephen's new car is really really nice. I can't wait until it's my turn to get a new car. I've never had a NEW car. I've had new to me cars. :) I have already told him that we are going everywhere in his car from now on. It will be the traveling car and the go everywhere on the weekend car. My car is going to go back and forth to work, and that is it! :) It drives over 60 miles a day, so it deserves a little rest, and I would rather go everywhere else in the new car.

So...sianara to the Xterra and hello Ford Fusion. I hope we have just as many good memories in you!

Hide and Seek

One night last week, the puppy came running into the living room looking extremely distressed. Then he took off and ran back to the other side of the house. This continued for several minutes. I finally decided that I should probably pause the tv and see what was going on with him. I called out and asked Stephen if he knew what was wrong with the dog. There was no response. That got me a little worried, so I got up to go find Stephen.

I looked in the office to see if Stephen was at his computer, but he wasn't there. I called out to him again, and there was no answer. The whole time, Oliver was still running from room to room in the house. Finally, I saw the shower curtain in the guest bathroom move. I went in there and pulled it back, and there was Stephen. I asked him what in the world he was doing. He said that he and Oliver were playing hide and seek.

Now, at that moment, I thought to myself that this was kind of odd. What was even more odd was that both my husband and my dog seemed to really be enjoying this game of hide and seek. In fact, the husband was a little miffed that I alerted the dog to his hiding place. I didn't really understand this until last night.

Last night, I was playing chase the puppy with Oliver. As Oliver ran away from me to one side of the house, Stephen told me to duck behind the door of the office. I did, and Oliver could not find me. He went from room to room looking. I heard Stephen telling him that he didn't know where I was. Finally, I revealed my hiding place to him, and he was sooooo excited. It was really funny, and I actually had fun playing hide and seek with my yorkie. Is that weird?

Wow, I have to say that I really feel like our lives used to be more interesting. However, I am glad that both of us can find joy and fun in the small things.

Dog Tired

Oliver went to stay with Vicki and Cliff at Imperial Puppy Palace while we were out of town. They are the breeders that we got him from, and they will keep the puppies that they sell in their home. They are wonderful, and we feel good about leaving him there. I was a little worried this time though because he hadn't stayed with them since March, and he hadn't been around other dogs either. Every time I called to check on him, they said he was doing wonderful and having a great time. He played outside with their German Shepherd and really was enamored by a little girl yorkie named Cricket. When we drove up to get him on Friday, he was running around outside their house playing. 

This is Cricket. Oliver's girlfriend!

As soon as we got Oliver in the car, he fell asleep. He proceeded to sleep for three whole days. I was really getting worried that he might be a little depressed because we took him away from his friends and his new girlfriend. My brother (who worked at a vet for years) told me that as long as he was eating and drinking his water, that he was fine. I couldn't understand what happened to our precocious little monster though.

Finally today, Oliver is back to his old self. We had our neighbors (Rob and Rebecca) over for hamburgers, and he greeted them at the door with eager barks. Then he begged off of our food like normal. This afternoon and evening he has been playing and playing and playing. He must have realized that he has some play time to make up for. I'm really glad to have him back to normal. Sometimes I think that I can't possibly play with him anymore, but I'd much rather him be playful than depressed and sleepy. I think he was just dog tired after his vacation with his puppy friends.

If you are ever in the market for a Yorkie, Shih-tzu, Maltese, or Pomeranian, you should definitely visit  Vicki and Cliff at Imperial Puppy Palace. They will find you your perfect puppy! :) We definitely love ours!