Almost 20...what?

So my 20th birthday is on Monday, and let me just say, I had the best gift...ever (for me at least)!! On August 15, I went to the New Orleans Arena with a fellow Jonas fan and we sat 9th row, soaking up the Jonas madness- and the foam. Kevin (my favorite) and I made eye contact 11 times..that's right, 11! I lost my voice for a day, had ears still screeching on Tuesday from the screaming girls, and paid way too much for a ticket, but every dime and symptoms of a Jonas concert were well worth it! I had to get limewire twice this week just to get exclusive Jonas songs I can't find on itunes...so don't get me....it was strictly out of desperation for my men! And I've been so busy with work and babysitting and squeezing in friend time that I haven't blogged! I highly recommend Nick's debut cd that came out in 2004...it's self-titled Nicholas Jonas and is the best thing! He's so spiritual and good, even though he was what, 12? He hasn't hit puberty yet, but it's still incredible! And lately I've grown addicted to dresses. It all started with a black dress the lady I babysit for gave me. Then I realized guys like girls with dresses, so I bought a green jersey one at Target...and then I bought 2 at Macy's the other day..and the addiction keeps growing! Ah! So anywho I have to go order Nick's dog tag then go to sleep since I have to get up early tomorrow for getting my blood tested (I have thyroid disease so it gets tested every 3-6 months) and shopping with my momma...but I leave you with a Jonas pic :)

This was during When You Look Me In The Eyes

And yes, clutzy Joe is on the piano...

We prayed he wouldn't fall!

Oh I've Been Blessed

I'm babysitting right now, but everyone's asleep, so I'm going to blog. Oh and I'm watching a Cubs game...oh yeah. So anyways I leave Monday to go to Glorieta and I'm super pumped. The mountains and scenery is just beautiful and it's a great spiritual awakening...and some of my closest friends are going. I discovered last night that no matter what I do, my parents will always love me. My mom and I got in a huge fight and I was very emotional- and most of the fight was just me being a teenager (thank GOD that's almost over!) and from my lack of sleep. Had I had received a lot of sleep this past week, I think we would not have gotten in an argument and frankly I can't even remember what the main thing was that started the domino effect. All I know is my mom came in my room and checked on me and tried to talk to me twice and constantly told me she loved me no matter what. I eventually got done with my mad phase and we watched a movie together. I woke up this morning with puffy eyes as a reminder that crying at night is a horrible thing.
Back to babysitting now....these people have got quite possibly the coolest washer and dryer set I've ever seen...no lie. So I was here once and the kids' mom was about to leave and I hear this singing noise. I was like, "OMG! What is that?" and the mom quickly told me how the dryer sings when it's done- so does the washer AND you can pick the tunes...how awesome? Plus you can even see the clothes get washed thanks to the clear front of the washer. I'm completely sold on this.
The only thing I'm a little irked at is Tech's housing. I got a private room because I had been told constantly about roommates and blah blah blah. Well I got a private room for next year and heard I might get a roommate from some friends. I called housing, gave them my dorm and they said they haven't even heard that rumor and I was guaranteed my room strictly to me. This was July 30, so I shouldn't get any alarming news now, right? WRONG. I get this perky little letter today praising me for going to this school and blah blah blah when it tells me in the final paragraph I AM GETTING A ROOMMATE. Sarah=angry. Sarah's mom=furious. So my mom has this huge plan of calling housing Monday morning at 8 am when they open to get a full explanation here. Complete as to why I get told this and then today get a letter dated July 27, claiming I am not alone in my room. Go mom. Another reason why I'm thankful for mom who goes off on a tangent to my dad about it and as scared as he is of her at this moment nods and says, "Yes, yes, yes, yes," like constantly because he has learned to agree. Smart man.
Well anywho I have got to get back to this Cubs game...woot woot
And they're winning :)
Against the Marlins
6-5
Hasta La Vista

Oh My, A Month

It's crazy to believe it's been a month since I've blogged. Gosh so much has happened! First off, I dearly miss journalism class because I have been the worst at grammar lately without discipline. Secondly, we went to Destin last week and my back has suddenly decided to look strange and peel from sunburn. Anywho I have made enough so far to have money back for the school year and even more for extra emergencies..sooooo great! And I heard the best advice last night for all single ladies out there: LET THE MAN PURSUE YOU! If he doesn't, then he'll expect to be pursued throughout the relationship. I was so happy after hearing that. Anywho I have to run babysit but I figured I'd blog something since I have one of these things...

Oh Wow..

So at the beginning of summer, I was super bummed to find that I had to go job searching and might not be able to babysit as much....BUT...I witnessed a miracle. After being home for a week doing my own things with my friends, my mom called me thrilled with news. I thought i was out a job at Gilsbar this summer, but I got a raise and I just have to scan and copy documents all day long while listening to Radio Disney (new love) and Kidd Kraddic! It blew my mind. PLUS they agreed to work with my babysitting schedule! Once again I have my own desk, computer, and I hog the copy machine, scanner, and huge cabinets all day by helping them go paperless! The even better thing is I babysit 2 days a week during the day and at least 2 nights during the week! I give my mom half my babysitting money and all my Gilsbar money (after tithing) and it turns out that I've already got 2 complete quarters worth of money saved- she moves over $25/week (I put myself on allowance so I don't overspend it). I was worried that once my scanning part in Finance was over, I'd be out a job, but my boss told me that she has a lot for me to do that they recently found while I was scanning and they need me as long as I'm here! I'm going to Glorieta, and besides that week, I'll be working every possible day I can (minus weekends and babysitting) with extra money because of the raise! Oh I was so excited and I still am! This has totally blown my mind because my mom and I prayed every day that week I could find a job somewhere,  hoping an office job would come up. At the rate I'm going though, I might end up with more than $25/week and can help pay insurance for the year, car payment, or whatever else I can financially help my parents pay for on my part (like school or dorms). 

What makes me even more excited is the down time I also get. On days I babysit, I can come home and relax the rest of the day- or for a few hours then go back and babysit or hang out. On my Gilsbar days, I can come home after work and just relax, or once a week I can hang out with my friend, Katerina. So with having the brand new car and 2 jobs I love, this is the best summer ever and I thank God daily for blessing me this much!

Lately...

I haven't blogged in a few weeks so here's how my summer is going...AMAZING! I'll put events in the best chronological order I can. At first I was bummed because I only had a babysitting/nanny job a few days a week and needed another form of income. Well the insurance company I've worked at for years contacted me about some scanning (I really do love scanning) and I got a raise PLUS they found a lot of files for me to scan! If that enough was not good news, the day before that I got my first BRAND NEW car! My mom took me test driving Wednesday and then last Thursday we picked it up. I could have had either silver or red. Being chic and laid back, I chose silver just so it wouldn't be a target for the cops...THEN I leave tomorrow night on our voyage to Chicago! We plan on  pulling up at the hotel Sunday night, and even though I hate the drive, I have the Jonas Brothers to keep me company. Oh and about them! I go to their concert on August 15 and my mom is FINALLY becoming a fan! If that isn't good news enough, I'm thinking about working at Radio Disney after college. I LOVE Disney and would LOVE to work for them. Oh and the JoBros are on the cover of most magazines these days, so I'm extra excited about that! Well anywho...that's a wrap...I'll blog soon about Chicago!

Summer

Well friends, summer is finally here! It's good to be home and have free laundry, good actual food, and my own bedroom! It's still a mess...but it'll get spotless this week. Already I miss everyone I met in Ruston and cannot wait for September to come where I can see them! 

Weddings

I LOVE weddings and therefore I'm super pumped about this weekend! Well to start off my cousin had a little girl yesterday, Lydia Elise- how cute! Two of my friends I went to youth with are getting married tomorrow at noon. All of my close friends from church are going to be there to celebrate this remarkable day. They are the godliest couple I've ever met. They prayed long and hard and won their honeymoons. Yes, that was plural. They entered into 2 contests, prayed about it and then won 2 honeymoons! How amazing is that? And then on One Tree Hill last night, Lucas and Peyton (or should I say Leyton) finally got married! But they're dying next episode, so that's not exactly happily ever after (even though I loved their wedding ceremony). I'll definitely be on the edge of my seat when I watch the season finale to see the creative way they'll kill Lucas since we all know Peyton's a goner. And that's a wrap.

In A Wrap

Even though freshman year isn't quite done yet, I thought I'd blog about it. To start off, I came to Tech knowing all of 4 people, and the only person I truly knew was my roommate. My first day, I made some friends, but in the past 9 months, I have made more friends than I could imagine. My views on certain things have changed as well as my beliefs on certain issues. I have grown closer to Christ than I could imagine and have found my place at the BCM. I attended Chi Alpha until this quarter when a lot started coming up on Thursdays. I may visit some next year, but I have felt that I need to stay with the BCM. 

I made most of my friends either at the BCM or in the journalism department. Others I met through friends I had. College exceeded my expectations. I've learned to accept new ways, new people, and new ideas. I used to be semi closed-minded on certain things. I learned that I don't know the Bible as well as non-believers who question why Christians do some things they do. It kicked my butt and now I have to double check my beliefs on certain things.

I have grown a new love for Broadway and hatred for foul language and smoking. I've met people from all over instead of just a certain area of town. I found myself going to church alone, and felt a call at the end of the year to go church hunting. Another church has sparked my interest and I absolutely cannot wait till next year when I get to go back to this church. I have realized I am not 100% Baptist, but rather my beliefs are mixed with others denominations. 

As I head home every weekend from now till May 22, I pray that next year will be even better than my freshman year. 

Service Among the Church

So lately I've been going to a non-denominational church here and it has gone beyond anything I expected. This morning, there was a torrential downfall as I woke up, but I still chose to go to church because I love the feeling I have when I leave the church. I feel rejuvenated and on fire and drive through the streets blaring my music that worships our Creator. I grew up Baptist, so my parents were upset when they first found out a few weeks ago I was going to start attending a non-denominational church. I think at times they are upset that I don't go to Baptist church anymore up here and have found my place at this community church. 

I was attending a local Baptist church, but left after feeling alone and isolated. This place is so welcoming and friendly, it's unreal. The worship is real and even though the sermons go about 20 minutes longer than what I'm used to, I absorb it. I'm incredibly happy there and have connected on a deeper level with Christ there. This morning, as it was raining the apocalypse, there were men with umbrellas escorting families and people to the building. I was amazed at their service. I go to a huge church back home- over 2,000 members- and there has never been that kind of service. Even the pastor was outside with the umbrella and offered to escort me- I had my own umbrella, so I declined the service, knowing there were others around me who needed it. 

This church has had a positive effect on my life, and I cannot wait to see what happens next year. I have to go home the next few weeks for a wedding and babysitting and then finally to stay home! I'm just so glad my freshman year turned out better than I could have ever imagined!

Hate

Today I was on facebook and a friend sent me a link to a video he was telling me about. To be quite frank this friend is obnoxious and at times can get on my nerves- like a lot of my friends do- but this just tipped the iceberg. I watched it, and go figure it was somebody ragging on the Jonas Brothers for wearing purity rings. The whole 2-3 minutes of the video felt like a lifetime and I just sat there disgusted. I never liked South Park and found it for creepy men who could never grow up from cartoons, so Hollywood had to come out with perverted cartoons just to feed the creepy old men as they age. 

I thought the video was very immature and crude beyond words. It made me sick inside and boiling with anger. Sure, I lashed out at this person for it, and do I feel bad about it? Not one bit. In fact, I was rather glad that I brought up my point that I am all gung-ho about wearing purity rings. Sure, we exchanged our opinions, but I'm rather relieved it didn't result in an ended friendship. The rest of this blog is dedicated to what really enraged me with the video.

When I was 14, I did the True Love Waits thing at church and made my commitment to stay pure till I get married. I got the purity ring and am still 100% pro-abstinence. What really ticks me off are the people who have no self control go off and make this commitment then toss it because they meet "Mr. Right" who turns out to want the girl for all the wrong reasons. I truly and honestly believe that Hollywood cannot stand the fact that 3 young guys want to change the world of music by taking a stance on purity and what's better yet is their music lyrics. They aren't straight up nasty with girls, they talk about their inner feelings about dating them and a kiss, nothing more. I honor that entirely.

What also frustrates me are the stupid annoying immature boys (they don't even deserve the title men) who crack gay jokes. Seriously, if you want to score points as my friend, END THE GAY JOKES AND THE JONAS JOKES. I personally get offended when my likes and interests are constantly bashed in my face. I took the video as a slap in the face, primarily when Mickey Mouse was cussing profanities at Joe and it shows him getting beaten up. Sadly, the stupid immature creepy old boys probably laughed at the video in their drunken splendor. I on the other hand took it to the next level of ticked off. 

Granted, not everyone is perfect and I by no means are calling the Jonas Brothers perfect. Heck, they admit easily to imperfection. What I am trying to do is get the point across that if you are going to crack gay Jonas jokes and constantly rag on me, don't even bother calling me a friend.