How I Celebrated 2nd Tuesday in February

1. Ate frozen pizza
2. Watched Parenthood
3. Sipped on tasty beverages
4. Watched How I Met Your Mother
5. Enjoyed the company of a pretty awesome person
:D
SDG

My Own Office

So, I got to work this morning and my desk was all disheveled. All my meticulously-labeled files were missing from my drawers, and an array of random items from around the club were scattered around the office. My first thought was that for some reason, we had been robbed, and whoever did it wanted all my old newsletters. Then, I realized that that made no sense. I walked around aimlessly for a bit, trying to decide what to do. Finally, our office manager came in, and she informed me that I had simply been moved to the special event planner's old office. Thus, I have my own office!

It's freakin' sweet!

And here is my awesome view from the giant window...

And this whole area is just begging me to bring stuff from the apartment to decorate it.

I've been listening to my Indie Rock Pandora station all morning and enjoying the beautiful sunlight. All that is missing is a candle... and maybe a mini fridge. :)
SDG

A few things...

I am beyond ready to have the horrors of comps behind me.

I get to go home Friday.

I get to see my dog, my uber preggo sister, and the newly built walls on my parents house this weekend!

Lauren gets married Saturday!

I'm going to have so much free time next week, I won't know what to do with my self.

I'm ready to start applying for big girl jobs.

SDG

Future Reminiscing

From time to time, I like to indulge in day dreaming about how I would like my life to look in the future. I've done this since I was about 5 years old. It's changed some over the years, but it's been really cool to discover that I'm actually doing some of the thing my 5-year-old self day dreamed about.

Now I mostly day dream about how I'd like my life to evolve over the next five years or so. More often than not, the dreams center around me working a really cool job, somewhere in a laid-back office environment, doing something I love. Nothing stuffy, even if it that means sacrificing a good salary. I don't care how much someone pays me if I'm not happy. In most of my day dreams my office is bright with lots of windows, an open space with lots of desks for lots of interaction with cool co-workers, and Mac desktop computers. Yes, I want a hipster job.

Somewhere along that time I would hopefully like to meet someone to do life with, a husband, in other words. Someone who I can follow and support. Someone who will challenge me spiritually. Someone who will be a good father and wants a big family. Someone who I have fun spending time with. This mostly manifests itself in my day dreams as weekend-long adventures with a group of friends, camping, going to outdoor concerts, and parties at the house with lots of food and movie-watching. Yes, I want a hipster husband.

I know the Lord has my future in his hands. I have no doubt that whatever the next years hold, I will find joy in knowing that I'm living the life my God has predestined for me, serving the people he puts in my life, learning more and more about Him everyday. It's exciting... and scary, no doubt, but mostly exciting. My God has turned some of my darkest days into the best year I could have asked for, so even if I'm met with trials and difficulties, I know my God will bring me through them. I'm reminded of an Augustine quote that I love from his Confessions. "So by those who did not well, Thou didst well for me; and by my own sin Thou dist justly punish me." God uses all circumstances for His glory, and no matter my circumstance, I should rejoice in glorifying Him. He's taught me this much over the past year.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." (Lamentations 3:24)
Soli Deo Gloria

This is my dad.

This picture was taken last Christmas (2010). My dad raided my grandfather's gun cabinet and we went outside and pretended to be hard core. Yes, my daddy let us play with guns, ha.

Sometimes a girl just misses her daddy. Today, there's nothing more I would love than one of his hugs where he squeezes me tight, lifts me off the ground, and I breathe in his familiar scent: a mixture of fresh air, rubber (he works at a tire plant), and Listerine. Could someone transport me to Tupelo, please?
SDG

Not Again

Ah... that old familiar feeling. Just like being kicked in the gut. Simultaneously having the wind knocked out of you and the urge to vomit. So many times I've felt it, but the shock never goes away. I never anticipate the blow.

Oh, how I'm tired of it! Over and over again I put myself in the same vulnerable position. Maybe one day I will learn, eventually trust no one, let no one get close enough.

Probably not, though. I hope too much for the day my vulnerability is answered with enthusiasm. My track record, however, leaves me little room to hope for such an outcome. Too many times, too much let down, too much to lose the next time.

But, I must trust this is right, and plan accordingly.
SDG

Nearly 1 a.m.

I accidentally deleted the photos in this blog. Don't ask me how exactly, but I certainly did it. I'm in the process of adding them back, though, so be patient.

Christmas has come and past. It seems the years are going by faster and faster, though this has indeed been an eventful one. Just this time last year I was planning a move to Hattiesburg, applying for graduate school, and spending my days with three amazing kids.

Now, I live in Hattiesburg, I'm very nearly done with graduate school, and I'm looking at big girl jobs that may take me even further away from the familiar. It's scary, but so was Hattiesburg initially, and that turned out better than I could have ever imagined.

I've been home (1st home) for several days now. I took this week off work, so I don't plan on going back til after the New Year. I've had time to finish a book, The Hunger Games, and I plan on checking out the other two in the the series from the library tomorrow. I'm well into season four of Bleach, an anime series I inadvertently became addicted to. And, I've made some good progress on a knitting project.

I need time like this. Time to be me... to find me. Sometimes I get so caught up in being Grad School Brittany, Work Brittany, Responsible-Pay-the-Bills-and-Buy-Groceries Brittany, I loose some of my essence. I know I've found it again, though, when I feel like my nine-year-old self on summer vacation. Reading until dawn, fantasizing about life, thinking about all the things I want to learn, see, do.

It's the little things that make me happy.
SDG