District of Columbia

Well in my last post I finished with the hike... which I did go on! And I completed it without much complaining... but I made up for it on Monday... We went on the hike Saturday and watched the Alabama game that night... which I made it to the start of the 2nd quarter... and then got tired... Sunday we went to the Singles Ward in Downtown D.C. and that was more than enjoyable :) Afterwards, we went to the temple to take pictures and see the visitors center.

That night... Candace and I chilled at the house while Amber and Mere went with the Keele's to Antietam. I ended up taking a nap and then stayed up late that night because of it... boo... but it was okay because I had a friend to text :) The next morning we didn't go to DC til about 9ish and we started with Arlington Cemetary and went to the Natural History Museum from like 10 to 12. This was the coolest museum and I highly recommend going there. There I had some issues with my friends leaving me and I spent about 30 min looking around the museum for them. NOT FUN... NOT HAPPY... So therefore for the rest of the day... whenever they walked far ahead of me... I resorted back to that feeling of being left and complained about it. I felt bad afterwards for doing so... but really I was incredibly unhappy during that time. Sorry ladies... but I was. I felt like I was not a part of the group. Then Amber's friend came (a guy) and they thought that was why I was keeping up... Not really... It was because finally there was someone who wouldn't leave me behind and felt the same way I did about walking around that dang lake!!

Before the Lake was the Post office Tower tour, the White House, Five Guys for Lunch, and then the Lake walk around to the Jefferson Memorial. After that we saw President Obama fly in on his helicopter and made our way over to the Kennedy Center for a tour.... That was also amazing fun once we got to the roof! It was a fantastic view! After that we saw the WWII memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. The ride home was pretty quiet... We had a long day... And so the trip home began at 7 the next day (Tuesday) and we had a fun ride home! Sigh... it was good crossing the Alabama line... Sweet Home Alabama!

Washington D.C.

It's only halfway through! I can't believe I am in Maryland. It is so crazy how you anticipate something for so long and when you are there... it feels like you have been there your whole life! haha maybe that's just me... I left Wed night for home after the nightly news and it was POURING DOWN RAIN. I was thinking "wow I am going to speed there cuz I want to get there and then die and Mere and Amber will hate themselves for making me come home to go to DC" hahaha SO I had to force myself to drive slow (well slower than i would have normally) and of course I drove safely. I get home and my sister freaks out cuz I am there on a week night and Ollie was happy too! :) That night we didn't go to sleep til at LEAST 11 and woke up at 3:30 to leave at 4... (Elizabeth can attest to the fact that I make the strangest noises in the morning when I wake up early) Amber and Meredith must have thought I was an ogre or something... Eventually I fell asleep in the car (WOW I KNOW) and woke up to the most amazing sunrise! We drove through TN, NC, VA, and then finally got to Maryland after picking up Candace around 4:30pm... (we made great time with Mere driving :) We were so pooped that we fell asleep around 9 or 10 and then woke up at 5:30 the next morning to fight DC traffic (that was nonexistent) But we enjoyed ANOTHER sunrise! So our first stop was Library of Congress and they gave us little ear pieces to wear so we could hear the tour guide! Totally secret service! ;) It was beautiful, but we couldn't go into the actually library... sad day... Next we went to the Botanical gardens where I found my favorite flower!! (I told mom that I didn't have one b/c girls always have favorite flowers ya know) BUT i found it!! AMAZING! I know its not like the most beautiful thing ever, but its unique and interesting... Next stop! Air and Space Museum! SO HUGE! It had like the most intricate exhibits! We could have spent the whole day there but instead we ate lunch there and then headed out to the next stop... The Smithsonian Castle (not the right name but that's what it looked like) It had the large pile of loot from the Night at the Museum movie and an American Idol judge table.... SING IT AMBER! Next was the Washington Monument where we stopped to rest! haha it was so far to walk! Candace and I were struggling! We had to book it all the way back to the House Office Building to start our tour of the Capitol!! We had a private tour with a staff member of Bobby Bright's office. It was really nice and pretty interesting seeing all the places you normally see on TV. After that we went to the Archives to see the Declaration of Independence. After meeting the funniest and nicest Security Guard... we headed to the Natural History Museum and met the nicest and funniest Museum worker. Haha Finally we met some nice people along our journey. SO to wrap this up... We drove around forever to find Corner Bakery for dinner.... SO YUMMY and then got home to pass out and slept in this morning! Now we are about to head out on a hike!! UGH more walking... I might just skip.. or ride a bike... haha

Summer 2009

CBS Internship completed... A+
Meghan and Kristen Graduated... I am so old...
Took my friends wedding pictures and ending up winning a Coke Picture Competition at my internship... Free CBS 42 Umbrella and two free movie tickets. (I saw UP in 3D... SO GREAT!)
Went to Troy and have become so much closer to my roomie Elizabeth which makes me so happy!! :)
Troy also brought out some fear in me this summer as one of my dearest friends came home from his mission and I was totally worried for nothing... Well it could be something... but as of one day away from going back for the school year... It's nothing...
Went to a dance in Huntsville that ended up being pretty fun and I had some major laughs afterward thanks to Amber....
VACATION TIME... Spent three days at a family reunion in Guntersville on the lake and then one day at Smith Lake and one day at Lake Jordan... Needless to say... I was sunburned... but not as bad as Meredith... :)
Last four weeks of internship proved to be the most exciting and fulfilling of the summer... I determinedly made phone calls, research story info, talked with interesting and insightful people, and compiled information that will be used in the future at the station... ALL of which made me feel like I accomplished something this summer... Because as you read in my previous post... I was feeling quite overwhelmed by some of my tasks there...
As for the next trip to the Lake in Eufaula... It was great spending time with Amber and Meredith (and Russell too) but I am so eternally grateful for these amazing girls that God has placed in my life that I don't see how I have lived without. I love you two!
Speaking of amazing girls... Meghan dislocated her knee this summer which thankfully brought Kristen closer to us before we all leave for school and well Megs just made me feel amazing about myself everytime I visited her when she was doped up... "I love you... You look so pretty... That shirt is soo cute!" hahahaha good laughs during a harrowing situation... LOVE LOVE
Now to my most recent situation that will not be explained for it involves a boy which is not the RM but which has expressed his likeness for me and I fell into the trap that every girl falls into... A cute guy gets your number, tells you he likes you in a non-stalkerish, cute way, and then you feel obligated or special and so you must like him back... Then you get all confused because you don't really see this going anywhere but you like how it feels to be like so you go all high school on him because he didn't say "bye" to you..... WHAT THE JUNK?!?!? GIRLS THIS NEEDS TO STOP!! Boys do not need all the control in the relationship... MAKE HIM WORK FOR IT! STOP GIVING HIM WHAT HE WANTS... You will know when the time is right to sacrifice what you need to and by then... it will be worth it. Trust me. I have been through this time and again.
Oh and another thing... texting does not constitute a relationship. Talk to them face to face or call. Don't tell someone you like them over text/email/facebook. It is cowardly.

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

Internship Blues... and Reds... and Greens...

WELL I am not much for writing on my blog but I just thought I would give an update on my Internship here at CBS 42 in Birmingham.

Initially there were some things that turned me off to the television industry. Number ONE being how competitive this place is. Internally and Externally amongst the other stations. I have never dealt with that at TROY so I guess I was just caught off guard. I started in the Sales Department and worked some of the time with Marketing... So I wasn't really doing anything I was used to doing and was worried that my skills were being wasted. But I learned a lot there and made good friends with the people there.

Next the RED... Scary stuff... I had been working on the Severe Weather plan next and was basically living in my internship coordinators office... Not what I invisioned my internship being at all... And she noticed something... That I was slowing losing my short term memory... *Little did she know that my brain was just automatically tuning her out after like two words* I tried my best to pay attention but oftentimes I was frustrated by her lack of understanding and her putting me on the spot to remember something that just wasn't being recalled for anything or anyone. There I got a little upset and nearly depressed that something was wrong with me. But thankfully I pulled through until my week-long vacation at Lake Guntersville, Smith Lake, and Lake Jordan. FRESH AIR!

Finally, the Green... for growth. I arrived at the newsroom after my vacation with high hopes of finding my true self here and so far it has been a little bumpy, but I realized what it is that I love to do. Photography. Be it still or video- it is my passion. I don't quite know what it is about capture real life into a digital product but I love it. I have learned a lot about being a reporter and the sacrifices you make and I just don't know if it is something I can do yet. I may have to do it to start out with but I can't wait for the day when I can fill in as a freelance photog and be a mother. ( About to do a story about post-partum depression so that one might scare me away from that for a long while :)

But where would the good be without the bad!!

"Men are that they might have joy"

SNOW!!!

So it is just barely snowing in Troy, AL... my family in Birmingham has about 3 inches or so and made a snowman and its not even sticking here!! My poor roomate from Mobile is seeing snow for the first time in the 20 years of her life!! I am just like woo hoo... it's snow... and she is utterly amazed and now wants me to go play in it... Maybe I can capture some of her childlike amazement and spend some time in the snow!! haha

Wowzers...

So its late at night.... I don't feel like going to sleep... I always go to bed early, wake up early, get to this place on time, go to all my classes, meetings, and church stuff without much complaint... and I am so tired... so tired that I don't want to go to sleep. The restart button is one that I do not want to press tonight. Each day feels the same. Get up, go to work, go to class, get lunch, go to class, go to work, eat dinner, do homework, get ready for bed, go to sleep- RESTART - its like the dotted bar line at the end of a musical piece that I feel like is complete!! DON'T GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING!! THE SONG IS OVER!! This is not an outrage on my part. Don't get me wrong. I just feel like sometimes the best thing to do is feel complete. Like what you wanted to happen will suffice and you don't have to go back and redo your days with a slight twist here or there. BUT OF COURSE, my beliefs keep me straight. I know that what Heavenly Father wants for me to do is not to think of myself and my wants... because they will all be taken care of. I know that He loves me and will give me patience to endure to the end. Oh the end. yeah!! the completion!! it is near! How i rejoice just at the thought of these being the Last Days. Hooray for happy endings. Til tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Good night. restart.

Tough Tuesday

And I thought Mondays were bad... Why is that... that the start of the week always seems so horrid and slow?? It certainly has something to do with the start of the work week. We are an inherently lazy society nowadays... I just wish that the start of 2009 brought the motivation to each start of the week. Changes and resolutions. I am off to study journalism and literature... favorite and least favorite... and yes i am actually studying. Maybe change is possible.