Catching up... and a rash

I hope you all remember me posting last week with the excitement I couldn't contain for the weekend. Well, it definitely lived up to my expectations! I had a wonderful time catching up with an old friend and bargain shopping with the girls in my family (and I found lots of them!). I also made a quick visit to see my favorite little girl, Lily Ann. You don't even have to ask if I had a good time doing that ;) I am the type of girl that likes to relax on the weekends, but I think it's nice to be busy sometimes - especially when I'm with my favorite people! However, there was a small damper on the weekend. I woke up Sunday morning with this awful rash on my neck. I mean awful! I'm convinced it was trying to eat my face. I kept moisturizer on it all morning to get rid of the redness and to hopefully ease the itching but later that afternoon I realized that the moisturizer was not helping at all. I took a Benadryl which thankfully helped some. I fought the urge to itch all afternoon and before I went to bed that night I declared war with the rash. Caladryl and calamine lotion along with another dose of Benadryl kicked that rash's butt. It wasn't completely gone Monday morning but it was bearable and not as scary. I still have it a little on the back of my neck but I think by tomorrow it will be completely healed! I have no idea what caused the evil rash. I have been getting them off and on for about a year now but never as bad as this one. This one had a vengeance. But I still conquered it :) I haven't changed anything, ate anything, or touched anything that would cause an allergic reaction so I'm afraid it's just stress finding it's way out of my body. I find myself gritting my teeth a lot when I sleep so I'm really trying to destress myself a little. I took a shower sometime this week and just sat down and did nothing. I felt great afterwards! I'm having to remind myself daily of some verses I mentioned in THIS POST. Matthew 6:25-34. Hopefully I'll learn to take care of myself a little better, worry less, and no more rashes will appear :)

Enough about the rash. I did have a wonderful weekend and I've been having a great week too! Nathan has been put on night shift this week so I've gotten to see him every night unlike the past month when he's been on second shift. I've really enjoyed getting to see him more than 3 or 4 times a week but I know that he's starting to get wore down because he fell asleep watching TV last night. Poor guy! He'll have to adjust his sleeping habits again this weekend. I also came to a realization last night that my sweet Baylie is getting too big to hold with one hand. I'm used to just scooping her up with one hand but last night I tried to do that and she almost fell heading straight for the gravel driveway. Needless to say I am now using both hands! I wish Nathan and I had weighed her the first day we got her to see how much she has grown over the past month... I'll try to get a good picture of her soon to show how big she has gotten :)

I hope you are all having a good week and weren't too grossed out by my rash ramblings. I wonder how I can top that tomorrow?!

live.LAUGH.love
--K

A Favor and A Prayer

I will not be doing my usual weekend recap today. Instead I am asking for a favor and a prayer, not for me. A few years ago I was shocked with the story of a young boy in my hometown who was diagnosed with Leukemia. He has fought very hard over the past 3 years but met his God last night. It comforts me to know that Robert is no longer suffering and has peace in Heaven but I haven't been able to get him or his family off my mind all day. I encourage you to read his full story by visiting his CaringBridge site HERE. You see, I am from a very rural and small county which I adore. Although it is frustrating for everyone to know your 'business' at times... we come together in a tragedy. My county has an aching heart right now and I am sure Robert's family has crossed each and every mind at some point over the last 12 hours. Please join me in prayer over the next few days as Robert's family undergoes an unimaginable amount of pain. We must remember that God has a reason for everything, but we aren't always supposed to know those reasons. God is in control.

4--He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. 5--He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:4-5

So excited and CAN'T hide it!

So, you all know that my summer has been pretty boring so far. Well this weekend is gonna change the pace... and I am SO excited!! :)

To start it off tomorrow morning I am going to see my wonderful boyfriend! We don't get to see each other as much since he starting working a different shift so I always look forward to Friday mornings :) After spending a few hours with him I plan to come home and do some cleaning -- which unlike a lot of people, I actually enjoy. Call me crazy. Later on in the afternoon I am going to have a sleepover with one of my best friends from high school, Kristen. We have only seen each other in passing at WKU since we graduated. And that is no fun. I can hardly wait to catch up with her.

Corey Smith concert - April 2009

After what I'm sure will be a long night of talking I'm getting up bright and early on Saturday to go shopping with some of my favorite people - my little sis, Mom, and Nana. We are heading to an outlet mall in Lebanon, TN called Prime Outlets. They have an Aeropostale, GAP, Nike, Rue21, and Polo Ralph Lauren outlet store. I'm sure there's tons more that I forgot. I went there last year with Nathan's mom and cousin and I loved it! I can't wait to see what kind of bargains I can find!

The last thing I'm going to squeeze in is laying out in my kiddie pool. I spent the $20 at Wal-Mart to get me a pool I could get some sun in. I hate when I don't get some kind of tan during the summer. Hopefully this weekend will get towards that goal. The sun always relaxes me and this is the perfect time of year to lounge around in a pool.

Doesn't that look amazing?!

Of course, I'm going to see my favorite canine - Baylie - this weekend. She is growing so much and I'm dreading the day when I can't fit her in my lap anymore. I might just cry. Ok, maybe not. But I will be sad. I'll be sure to take pictures of her to show how much she has grown.

I must apologize for my delay to recap the entire Beth Moore book. It's taken me longer than I expected to finish. But I KNOW I'll get it done this weekend and will update you next week! Until then I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Laugh about something today! :)
--K

PS -- Check out this song by Brandon Heath called "Love Never Fails". I've heard it a few times on the radio... it's amazing! (He played it live at Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher's wedding -- imagine that!)

Change of Scenery

I feel like my summer has flown by and I've been so busy. I'm not complaining though because it only comes once a year and there are things I just 'have' to do during the summer. However my weekend had a nice change of scenery. I think I was glued to the TV and pretty much stayed in my comfy clothes all weekend :) I was ecstatic!! Nathan had a to-do list a mile long so while I was being lazy he was still running his butt off -- poor guy ;)

Anyway, I started off my weekend by watching Shrek 3... twice. It came on TV Friday night and I couldn't resist. There is just something about watching a 'kid' movie that makes you feel good. I laughed and fell asleep watching it for the second time that night. I slept 11 hours that night and woke up feeling amazing! (Maybe I should watch Shrek every night - ha!) I did a few chores and helped my Mom straighten up the house and turned on the TV to find that Sandra Bullock movies were playing ALL weekend. Thank you Lord! I started my day watching "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood". What an awesome movie! I had seen this movie years ago but I can understand things a lot more now that I've matured. Then around Noon I finally decided to take a shower (I told you this weekend was awesome). My grandparents came for a visit that afternoon. I'm so happy I get to see them more in the summer. College seems to isolate me from the entire world - ha! After I finished eating my Mom's yummy tacos for dinner I settled in to watch "Miss Congeniality" and "The Wedding Planner". They were just as good as the other 100 times I've seen them ;) I went to bed early and slept another 11 hours that night. I didn't know I was that tired but apparently I was. I spent Sunday afternoon with Nathan. We played with Baylie and caught up with each other (since he was working so hard while I was being extremely lazy - ha!). Then last night I capped off the weekend by watching The Bachelorette. I have NEVER followed a show as closely as I have this one. I loved Ali from the beginning when she was on The Bachelor and was thrilled to hear she was going to become the new Bachelorette. The season finale is in 2 weeks and I like both of the guys she has in the final 2 -- which is very rare for me. This makes me happy because there isn't a chance I'll be flaming mad in the days after because she picked the 'wrong' guy. ;)
I definitely won't be missing the finale!!

I was so happy to have a weekend to catch up on my rest and being lazy... I think we all need one of those every now and then. Hope you all had a good weekend!

Laugh about something today! :)
--K

The Battle Within

This post is dedicated to Beth Moore's new book "So Long, Insecurity". I have just a little bit left and plan to completely finish it over the weekend. Therefore, next week I will update you once again after I've finished the 'journey' -- as Beth calls it. I want to apologize in advance for what I'm sure will be a very scattered post. My thoughts come to me at random times, and in order to remember them, I must write (or type) them immediately. I will do my best to keep some sort of organization to make it easier to follow along. I hope this post enlightens you and encourages you to tackle your battle with insecurity.


I think it's only fair for me to start off by telling you some of my insecurities. These will not go into too much detail because I am a private person and intend for some things to stay that way. I have to say that I love my life and the people in it. I'm happy with where my schooling is taking me and I look forward everyday to becoming a teacher! But this one insecurity tears me apart sometimes. It makes me second guess everything I do at times. I believe my insecurity is probably THE most common in women - my appearance. To be specific, my weight. It's those 8 - 10 vanity pounds (that I've lost and found more times than I can count) that drive me up the wall. My mom started Weight Watchers many years ago and I followed the plan with her. Doing this at such an early age has instilled SO many good habits in myself. I have learned the right food choices and that exercise benefits you in so many ways. I also know that every now and then it's okay to "splurge" and live a little. Beth talks about in her book that most women tend to tie one thing with being secure. That one thing to me is losing those vanity pounds. Beth also talks about how society plays such a crucial role in how we view ourselves. I would like to think that society is a lot of the reason I'm so hard on myself for wanting to lose those vanity pounds. I feel my generation of girls is one of the first to deal with the media craze of looking flawless. We spend billions of dollars each year trying to look flawless. And ya know what, I'm tired of it! God didn't create us to be flawless people. He created us to be ourself. Everywhere I turn there's a magazine, TV show, or movie with someone I compare myself to. Why do I let the Devil do that to me?! We're setting ourselves up for failure because we will NEVER be someone else. I would love to wake up one morning and never have to look at these thunder thighs again. But, for some reason, God wants me to have them so I'll just get used to it. As much as I would like to blame our society for my insecurity, I also have to take some credit myself. I could just as easily block the Devil from allowing insecure thoughts into my head. But until I read this book I didn't know how to. The chapter I just finished reading gave simple strategies for blocking those thoughts out of your head. I have already used some today :) The most important thing I've learned is that being secure doesn't always mean being happy 100% of the time. We can still be upset, hurt, or angry without being insecure. The book talks about how to deal with these issues. It's a very good concept to learn. I feel that women think we have to put on this smiling mask all the time to be secure, but how realistic is that?!

Ever since I've started reading this book I can feel that God is trying to change these issues in my life. Not because it's getting easier... because it's getting harder. The Devil knows I am educating myself on how to ignore him and allow God to make me secure. My insecurity has been sky high since I started this book but I'm dealing with it. The Devil can say what he wants... I'm turning it over to God. I know the end result is worth a little struggle right now. If you decide to read this book, don't give up when you have this feeling. Just remember there's always rain before the rainbow!

I could say so many more wonderful things about this book but I don't want to give it all away -- go buy it for yourself and see what changes you experience! I promise that if you take each word to heart you will become a more secure you. Heck, I'm even starting to like these thunder thighs. Oh yeah, I said it ;)

Let me say that I DO NOT want your sympathy or compliments from this post. I'm not doing this to hear praise and build my self esteem from a blog post. Not at all. The book did that for me. I'm simply raising the awareness of this book so people can learn just as much as I did. I'm just including my insecurity to sort-of tie things together.

Laugh about something today :)
--K

Working for the Weekend

Ever felt that way before? I'm going to wish my life away because I always look forward to Friday and the weekend -- what a way to live ;)

Anyway, here's a quick recap of my past weekend. (Sorry it's a bit late!) Nathan and I spent the weekend teaching Baylie new tricks. The poor thing is only 7 weeks old and we're already working her - ha! She is learning how to fetch and sit. It's so funny because her mouth is so little that she can hardly fit the tennis ball in her mouth. She loves it though! I'll try to get a video of her sometime and show her off! Besides playing with her, we caught a movie with Nate's best friend on Saturday night (he left today for Lexington to play baseball... I hope Nate doesn't miss him too much bahaha!). The three of us saw "Grown Ups". Yes, I have seen it before but I was completely happy to see it again! I swear I laughed as much as the first time :) Then we got some supper at TGI Friday's. I got the Cajun Shrimp and Chicken Pasta... YUMMY! It was very spicy but I loved it! The most challening task came on Saturday -- the yard sale and getting up at 4:15 am. YUCK! These things are SO much work but so worth it! We got rid of so much stuff and were completely happy to clean out our storage building. But I must confess... I didn't actually work on the yard sale. I was priveleged enough to babysit Miss Lily while her Mommy worked on the yard sale :) We had a blast reading books, playing with dolls, and watching Dora. The little stinker was getting pretty tired around 9:30 though. I couldn't blame her though because I became tired 2 minutes after I got up that morning. She fought going to sleep for about an hour but finally tuckered out around 10:30. She slept until 1 that afternoon... proving just how tired she was ;) We were all worn out that evening but were happy to cross that task off the list! I spent the next few days recooperating from my lost sleep... and, boy, that felt good :)

I have a hair appointment this afternoon and I don't think I can express how ready I am for that! My hair hasn't been this long in years and it's starting to bug me... I put it in a ponytail almost everyday - ha! I'm not doing anything drastic, just some shaping up and some highlights. I'll feel like a new woman tomorrow :)

Speaking of tomorrow... I plan on doing a post discussing the book I'm currently reading "So Long, Insecurity". I'm sure you've all heard of it. I am almost done and just wanted to do a post to share what I've learned about insecurity and myself. The book has opened my eyes to a lot of things and I can't wait to share my thoughts! Until then...

Laugh about something today :)
--K

RE-VAMP

In celebration of this day - July 13 - I decided to do some updating and redecorating to my blog. I have been wanting to make some of these changes for a while and finally found the time :) Hope you like it!

I have a couple things to share:

1. A picture of my little diva cousin in rollers. I love having pictures like this greet me in my email :)

2. Deuteronomy 31:6 -- Be strong and of good courage. Do not fear or be afraid for the Lord God is with you always. He will never leave you nor forsake you. I think we all need a reminder of that every now and then... I was happy to see it in my Devo book.

I'll give a recap of my nice, uneventful weekend tomorrow. Hope you had a wonderful weekend and a good start to the work week!

Laugh about something today :)
--K

Nineteen.

I celebrated my 19th birthday yesterday... I have entered my last year of teenage-hood. My mom and dad are singing praises that they've almost made it through the teenage years with one daughter ;) Anyway we'll get to my birthday festivities later. First, I have a funny story.

You remember in my last post the picture of our new male friend Trigg... well there was a little mix-up. Trigg was actually a she... we were given the wrong dog. After a little thinking and attachment to the female dog, Nathan and I decided to keep her and named her Baylie :) We both became attached to her very quickly and the decision was pretty easy to make. She's such a sweetheart and is extremely attached to Nathan (check out the pictures below). We're in love ;)

Now back to the birthday... and to be honest, I didn't do much. Friday I spent all day with Nathan and Baylie playing. Then that afternoon I went to Wal-Mart and bought almost $70 of stuff for her... I can't imagine what a kid will be like - haha! Nathan started mowing the yard that morning and Baylie loved it! She rode on the lawnmower with him the whole time. I thought she'd be scared of it... I was wrong! She tried jumping out of my arms to get to him. I told you she loved him! We went to the Green River on Saturday and, of course, brought along our new companion. She did extremely well in the boat and seemed to love every minute of it, so we made another trip to the water on Sunday. Except we went to Lake Malone this time (you know it's my favorite!). She did very good again and even got in the water to swim. Well, actually we put her in the water with me to see if she could swim... don't worry! She's a natural! We made our way back to Morgantown that night to watch the fireworks. I'm so thankful to live in this country and take my priveleges for granted much more than I should! Then yesterday I did nothing... great way to spend your birthday if you ask me. Especially after a busy weekend!

The following pictures are snapshots from the weekend... mostly of Baylie of course ;)

Swimming in the water with me... I love this picture :)

Check out that fat belly ;)

This is the only time she stayed in my lap... and it was only because I rubbed her belly. haha!

Right in the middle of Nathan's feet... where she stayed the entire time.

Pretty blue eyes!

Kissing the fish

This is her favorite place... seriously! I have some stiff competition for Nathan's attention now - haha!

I hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July!

Laugh about something today :)
--K

Cutie Pies

I would like to start this post with some pictures of what I believe are the two cutest things in the world: babies and puppies. You could probably guess that the 'baby' is Lily. She will always be a baby to me. *wipes tear from eye* Anyway, I opened my email on Wednesday morning to find the following three pictures greeting me. There's no better way to start the day :)

After bathtime... I think she favors her Daddy so much here!

I pretty much love this face :)

I don't really think this picture needs a caption... but I should point out the frog tattoo is fake ;)

The next little guy is Nathan's newest, sweetest, cutest friend. He is a silver lab... they are very unique. I honestly hadn't heard of them until he said he was getting one - ha! He looks like a light chocolate lab in this picture but Nathan says in the sunlight he looks silver. I have only spent a few minutes with him so I can't wait to play with him all weekend :) As of right now we have named him Trigg (short for Trigger). I'm not sure if the name will stick... we'll have to see if it fits his personality!

Not the best picture... I promise to have more next week :)

So, there's your cuteness for the week!

I wanted to let you all know that the family day-out went wonderful! "Grown-Ups" is hilarious and I would definitely recommend seeing it. I had a great time spending the afternoon with all of them... we had a blast! Also, I had mentioned I was going to start reading a book by Beth Moore. I decided on "So Long, Insecurity". I got this book as an Easter present and started reading it the week after. But, end-of-the-year stress at school put the book on hold. I started reading the book again from the beginning last week and am really enjoying it! It's very eye-opening to me and Beth hits the nail on the head on some topics for me. I think every woman should read it!

I'm very excited about the upcoming weekend... 4th of July and, oh yeah, MY BIRTHDAY!!! :) To be honest, I haven't been as excited about my birthdays since my sweet 16. I couldn't wait to turn 16 and be able to drive. Since then the responsibility has kinda multiplied and money is in short supply so I wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to wish my life away ;) However I really am excited about this weekend! Nathan and I will be hitting up Lake Malone one day and we'll be bringing along our new friend. I'm not sure what else I'll be up to but I'm sure it will be great! I love that my birthday is the day after the 4th because everyone gets together for cookouts and fireworks. People usually have a smile on their face... what else could you ask for?! I hope everyone enjoys their long, holiday weekend!

Be safe and share laughs over the 4th :)
--K