Precious Moment

Well, I was planning on a different post for today, and then I read this little story on my sister's blog. It's way better than anything I could have said.

My sister may not be blogger of the year, but she is definitely Mom of the Year!

My niece...my heart.

Free Tunes

I told you about one of my new favorite songs a few weeks ago...now you can download Glorious Interruption for FREE! Check out Casey's blog for all of the details!

Praise Away the Calories

I don't know about you, but every time I turn around, the holiday sweets are taunting me. The break room is covered with goodies that people don't want in their homes and I know it's only going to get worse when I head home next week.

Have no fear...Paul Eugene is here! This is little 9 minute video will help you Give Him Praise and burn calories at the same time!

Put your tennis shoes and your favorite workout gear on. It's time to get your heart pumpin' and give Him praise!

So...do you feel your PRAISE coming on?

***Special thanks to Scott for introducing me to Paul Eugene. Make sure to check out YouTube for many more Paul Eugene workouts!

A little pleasure with the business

We may have blamed it on the time change, but seeing we had already had 3 days to adjust, I'm pretty sure the reason we were wide awake at 5:30 on Friday morning because we were so excited to be spending the day at Disneyland!

The park didn't open until 8:00, but that didn't stop us from getting there at 7:30. We got a great parking spot...Pinocchio 8B...and rode the tram over to the park to get our tickets. Then got in line so that we could be there when they cut the ribbon to open the park.

Cason, Kat and I rode all of the rides. Really, I think the only rides we didn't do were the ones that were for kids only and the teacups. I don't have my map handy, so I can't go into detail on all of the rides, but here is is on a high level. Cason and Kat cooperated and rode Peter Pan, Mr. Toad and Nemo for me. I was a trooper and did Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean for them. Then we all enjoyed Splash Mountain, It's a Small World and Matterhorn.

Lines were pretty short...the longest one was to see the princesses! Yes...we waited.

There's really nothing like Disney...especially during the Christmas season. Everything was all decorated in festive lights. There was a parade during the afternoon and Cason secured us front row seats and a really good fireworks display later that evening. We capped off the day with the famous Fantasmic show...once again, seats in the front...and then headed back to Pinocchio 8B right before the park closed at midnight. We definitely got our money's worth!

For those of you that are wondering...Land or World?...my personal opinion is World. However, I am so glad that I was able to see Disneyland for myself. What a treat! I can hardly wait for my niece to not be afraid of characters so I can go again!

Seeing Stars

So, I went a little crazy with the stars...pretty sure I walked down the road with my camera pointing down at the sidewalk the entire way. I don't know what I'm going to do with all of these pictures...it's not like I'm going to display them in frames or anything, but I sure did have fun finding looking for people that I knew.

In-N-Out

Well, it has taken a few days, but I think I have finally recouperated from my trip out west last week. It seemed every time we made it "in" to a state, we were turing around and heading "out." All of the plane rides were worth it when we finished up our photo shoots on Thursday and found ourselves with a day and a half before we had to catch the flight back to Atlanta on Saturday.

We didn't have tons of time, but made our way to the Hollywood stars and Disneyland. Another highlight of the trip was our dinner at In-N-Out! As you'll see from the pictures...it definitely lived up to all of the hype!

Yes, we stood outside in the drive-thru lane to get this shot...

There are only three options at INO....#1, #2, #3...We all got the #2

Kat and Cason getting ready for their first bite :)

I'm trying to help a friend elimiate sweets by cutting down on my intake...but I don't know when I'll get a chance to have anothe INO shake again. :)

Off to Hollywood to walk it all off!

Christmas, Christmas Everywhere

I'm so excited about my new Christmas-themed blog. Thanks to my roomies, my house is super-cutely decorated as well. I'm out west for work right now, but when I get back on Saturday I'll make sure to take some pictures for everyone.

Off to catch a plane--4 states in 4 days is a little tiring--but the work and travel part will be over tonight. That leaves us some time to take in the sights of Hollywood tonight. Guess what's on tap for tomorrow?? DISNEYLAND! I can hardly wait! Definitely more pictures to come.

Half-Way Trip with All-the-Way Friends

Most of the time, I enjoy living in a big city...but holidays are always hard. During the holiday season, you want to have your family and friends around. November was great because I got to see family and friends pretty much every weekend...and some week days. Though the visits were usually brief....a coffee date, Alabama tailgate, movie night, Zoes lunch...they were still visits with some of my favorite people.

Then Thanksgiving came...and Thanksgiving went...and the visits came to a halt. I'm not going to lie. I didn't like it. Not one bit. I had grown used to seeing the people that I loved. Don't get me wrong...it's normal for me to go weeks, even months without seeing family and friends from my college and high school days, but seeing them so much reminded me of how much I enjoy that time.

Thankfully, there is one friend...and a super sweet fiance'...that always just seem to sense when I'm missing home the most, and they always come through. Sweet Natalie called last week and told me that she and Scott wanted to meet me at our half-way spot for lunch and shopping on Sunday. She set it up like it was her plan, like she was the one that was missing me, but I know she was really doing it because she knew I needed a little pick-me-up. Thanks to Natalie and Scott...and Scott's friend Dan...for making the half-way trip. I want you all to know that even though we meet half-way, y'all are definitely all-the way friends!

Here are a few pictures before we had to part ways at one of our favorite places...defintely Scott and Natalie's favorite place...Starbucks! Please note that I realize I look like death warmed over. There was really nothing I could do about it, as this was before I was introduced to the wonders of Mucinex D.

I know I've said before that they are the cutest couple...and my favorite couple of all time! However, I think I failed to mention that Natalie has the cutest little website that tells the story of their past year...you've got to check it out!

He's a lifesaver...

Well, maybe not a lifesaver....but most definitely a weeksaver.

I started getting a cold last week and things took a turn for the worse after I spent a few hours in the cold last Saturday.

This is not the time for me to be sick. I left early this morning for Texas, and before I make it home on Saturday I'll be in Arizona and California. Thanks to Scott's recommendation to try Mucinex D....my week has been saved! I took my first dose on Sunday, and two days later I'm completely better!

I encourage you to try it if you are feeling sickly yourself...you won't find it on the aisles though, it's so good they have to keep it behind the counter! Thanks, friend!

Mission Accomplished

Goals are important. After all, if you don't have something you're striving for, you will never know when you reach it. I like to cross things off my list, so I find myself making goals daily. Some people call them to do lists, but I don't...they are things that I'm setting out to accomplish...so, they are goals. Sometimes they're small...go to the bank, get a new phone, return the shoes, exercise, check out library books. Other times I find myself sitting and getting really intentional about my goals.


For the past few years around my birthday, I have taken time to think about the year past and set goals for the year ahead. Part of that includes finding a Bible verse and quote to frame the year. After much though, help from friends and family and lots of prayer...I've finally found them. I know this upcoming year is going to have a lot of changes. That helped to narrow down the options somewhat. Still, it was harder than years past because I'm so excited about being 24. I've never been so excited about a new year of life. I had to find a verse and a quote to live up to the excitement.

I won't keep you any longer...here they are...the Bible verse and quote for year 24...

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" --Isaiah 6:8

Change can be scary, but I pray that I will always be willing to go where the Lord leads. This year, I will strive to trust the Lord with my life...not just my salvation.

The journey between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life really takes place. --Barbara Deangelis

I love to dance! Now, I may not be really good at it, but I sure do enjoy moving and grooving to some of my favorite songs. I don't know what kind of woman I'm going to be a year from now, but this quote makes me think that it's going to be a fun journey!

Do you have a verse or quote for the year...maybe even a life verse?? If so, please share!

Thankfulness Project

As I said in my last post, things have been busy lately, so all the posts that I've been wanting to write have been stuck in my mind. These next few thoughts should have been posted Monday, December 1...so just pretend that from this point on, it's Monday, December 1 . :)

My sweet friend Ashleigh has this little project going on called the Thankfulness project. She is pretty much blogging each day about something, someone, or really anything that she's thankful for. I was catching up on some of her most recent posts today and noticed that on November 21, my birthday, she had written the sweetest post ever about how she is thankful for me...ME folks. It was most definitely one of the sweetest things that anybody did for me this year. I printed it out so fast...and put it in a safe place so I can reread it on those yucky days. :)

So I'm borrowing her idea for the day (remember it's December 1) and doing a little thankfulness project of my own. You see, today is a really special day because 28 years ago, my older sister Cile was born.

I have so many reasons to be thankful for my sister...here's the short list

• She is many things to many people, but first and foremost, she is a Christian. While others can search for years for a strong Christian influence, I have been blessed with a sister who trusts the Lord in each situation. Life doesn't always turn out how we thought it would, or how we want it to, but she never complains. She is such a great example of someone that doesn't allow the circumstance to dictate her actions. She just trusts the Lord and looks for his plan.
• She is a wonderful mother! I don't know of any person that is more calm and patient than Cile, and being a Mom has only magnified those traits. My niece is one of the sweetest little girls, but she is 2, and every 2 year old has their moments. Even during those trying times, my sister NEVER raises her voice. Watching her interact with her little girl brings me so much joy. She recognizes that life is short and takes every opportunity to bring elements of fun to everyday life. If I'm blessed with children one day, I hope that I can be half the mom that she is!
• She is really good at paving the way. When I was growing up, I may have said that I didn't like it when people said that I reminded them of my sister, but that was just a ploy. I absolutely loved it...and still do. Even though I may have talked a big game and acted like I wanted to do my own thing, looking back, I did so many things just like her. Same classes in school, same clubs, same college, same sorority...even the same major and minor. All that sameness, and 4 years age difference, meant that whenever it was my turn to do something, most of the time people remembered my sister. I was never embarrassed to hear people say, "that's Lindsey, Cile's little sister," because I knew that the legacy that she left was a good one.
• She always makes time. Now that we are older and life is busier, we don't always have time to talk like we used to, but every time I need her, she is always there. She listens intently and always gives sound, Godly advice.

So, Happy Birthday, big sister. I hope that this next year brings more smiles and less tears, more faith and less doubt and more love than you can even begin to comprehend. I love you so much!

Praying for an Interruption

So I've been a bit behind on my posting...or a lot behind. Whoops! I've had so much going on....Thanksgiving travel, baby-sitting, Christmas parties...and any extra time I've had in the past few days has been devoted to watching, and rewatching, and rewatching the Alabama/Auburn game. Roll Tide! Ok...no more gloating. :)

If it's any consolation, I have a lot of blogs built up in my head, and I've got some free time tonight, so maybe I'll have a chance to blog dump tonight. :)

But, I just couldn't wait to share this with y'all. I'm actually stealing the idea from my wonderful roomie...check out her blog and be sure to click over to listen to and read about the song Glorious Interruption

Praying that the Lord will invade my plans and dreams this Christmas season, and every season after, and that I will REJOICE in the Glorious Interruption that He gives!

Christmas Gift Idea #1

I love greeting cards. One of my favorite activities is to go to card hunting.

Card Hunting---looking through all of the cards and picking out the perfect one for every situation.

Often when I go in looking for just one, I leave with enough to get the average card sender through the year. It's an addiction.

Most card lovers have a favorite brand of cards....my favorite is Hallmark. I especially love the Connections line and the Snapshots line they put out. If you don't know what I'm talking about, spend some time this holiday season in your local Hallmark store! While you're at it, be sure to check out the cute little gifts they have as well. I can always find gifts for the hard to buy for person at Hallmark. Some of my favorites are in the Simply Inspiring line. I actually bought a few of the pieces last weekend...and then noticed that a fellow blogger was the creator. So exciting!

Check out the cards...check out the gifts. Happy Hallmarking!!

Famous in a Small Town

Gotta love the small town paper. Yes, I admit to often referring to it as The Brewton Substandard...but nonetheless, they do a great job of covering all of the hometown happenings. The big event of this past week was a holiday party at a local business. Being the community oriented family that we are, my parents, sister and niece attended the event. Isn't my niece the cutest ever?!

A November filled with remember..

I don't plan on posting about the past years of my life ever again! Well, at least not in succession. It was hard work...especially when things got hectic and I wasn't able to post. I found myself scrambling around to SCAN in photos about many days at once. Towards the end, I was a few years behind with the deadline of November 21 looming over my head. To say that I felt the stress of a student cramming for a semester exam would be a bit exaggerated, but not by much.

However, I did LOVE looking through all of the pictures. I was reminded of friends I hadn't talked to in years...and memories that had been brushed to the back of my mind. It was such a treat to get reacquainted with the friends and the memories.

One quick word of thanks to my Mom and sister who helped me out tremendously by looking through all of the photo albums at home. I didn't really have any pictures with me before high school. They sent more than I could post, but I don't want their hard work to be for nothing. So sometime later this week I'll post an album with some more photos that I didn't use for the yearly blog update.


Also in the works for this week is the long awaited verse and quote for my 24 year of life. I finally decided on them after weeks of searching. Looking forward to a great year...so excited to share it with all of my bloggy friends.

All Work and No Play Makes Lindsey a Dull Girl

Year: 2008
Age: 23
Working World: Year 1

I don't want to ever equate my life with the word DULL....so, though work is important, play is just as important!

When I moved over to Atlanta a little over a year ago, I was scared out of my mind. I'm from a small town, folks. I didn't know a SOUL in Atlanta. So, when I walked into work the first day and many of my fellow interns were from the area, it was a relief. I don't think any of us realized on that first day just how close we would become, but we hit off and remained friends even though our lives have taken different directions. Ashleigh, Ansley and Sara...thanks for such a warm welcome into YOUR city!

Soon after I met Christen, I knew that we would be fast friends. She is way wise beyond her years. I'm so glad that it worked out for us to be roomies. It's fun to come home to this sweet friend!

Finally, I think I am posting a picture that all of us will approve of. One of my sisters was not too thrilled about some of the pictures posted during my pre college days. I told her to start her own blog, but she has yet to do that. Too bad...it would be a good one I'm sure!


The Lord has really blessed me with some great girlfriends in Atlanta. The five of us all work together, so usually we hang out sitting around a table at lunch, but this particular night we got out of the office and did something a little crazier...Braves game and Guitar Hero.


The theme of last summer was FRIENDS GET HITCHED. It was tiring driving all over the creation each weekend, but I loved the chance to get reaqquainted with friends. I loved getting to play with some of my favorite college friends. Aren't my friends just BEAUTIMOUS?!?!

Many of the weddings took me either TO or THROUGH Birmingham. So, that meant LOTS of time with my bestest friend, Natalie. Her friendship is so special to me. In my experience, so often when life happens and friends no longer live closer to each other the friendship changes. This was true for Natalie and me as well. However, unlike those other friendships, ours FLOURISHED. As much as I had grown to love Natalie during college, life has taken that love to a whole new level. I pray each of you has a Natalie in your life. A friend that you can be 100% yourself with all the time. A friend that you can laugh with and cry with. A friend that will speak Truth into your life. A friend that will love you through all the rough spots. If she ever decides to ditch me, I'm in deep trouble!


Sara moved to Boston....so I visited her. I skipped the summer vacation and took one at the beginning of October instead. It was, HANDS DOWN, the BEST "visit your friend in a place you've never been before" vacation ever! I can't wait for it to get a litle warmer so that I can go back! To all of you at googs....take care of my friend this winter. She doesn't deal well with the cold weather!

The Best Days of My Life

Year: 2007
Age: 22
College: Senior

I am a self-professed awful dancer, but that doesn't meant that I don't dance. I have quite a few classic dance moves including, but not limited to...The Pizza, The Dinosaur and The Elephant. Oh, the memories...

In the last post, I told you what a great roomie Sarah was. Well, she was also a great road trip partner. During our senior year, many of our road trips centered around one of our favorite things...Alabama Football. We trekked to Baton Rouge, Knoxville and Gainesville. Fun times were had by all at each stop, especially Knoxville!

Who are the people in your life that you look up to? When I think about that question, most of the people that come to mind are older than me. Some by a few months...others by many years. However, some people are wise beyond their years, and even those they are younger than me, I still look up to them. Patty Ann Green is one of those people. She is a remarkable leader with the ability to take on a lot of different things without dropping the ball or getting stressed out. It was such a joy to have her a sorority sister. I only wish that I was a few years younger so I would have had the privelage of watching her lead as President.

When I saw this precious smile at my sorority house, I knew we had to have her. I must say that my intuition was right on with Sarah Beth...in just a few months Patty Ann will turn over her president's gavel to her. SB and I only really had one year together in school, but we made the most of it. Some of my favorite memories:

• City Cafe Fridays...even though she always got that disgusting english pea salad
• Sunday night computer...she discovered quickly that I loved helping girls with their computer homework. She signed up for two compuer classes during the spring semester and kept me busy each Sunday :)
• Sporting events...football, basketball, gymnastics...whatever the season, she was a dedicated fan. I loved watching with someone who actually knew what they were talking about.

My Mom was in a sorority when she was in college, so growing up I heard lots of stories about her college life. Some of those stories involved a friend named Beth. Imagine my delight during my freshman year I met Miss Anna Smith...daughter of the infamous Beth. Our friendship grew over trips to TCBY, Wednesday lunches and walks around campus. We didn't do a really good job documenting the years in pictures until our senior year though....

Hard to believe that at the time this picture was taken, I had only known Miss Lauren for 4 years. I'm so thankful that our friendship only strengthened with each year. Our senior year, we were pretty much attached at the hip...taking all but 2 of the same classes. During the last three years, Lauren proved to be much more than just a great roomie...she was a dedicated group partner, a BEAUTIFUL Homecoming Queen and a much loved friend.

All Smiles for the Junior Year

Year: 2006
Age: 21
College: Junior

As much as I loved the sorority, I did not enjoy the whole Rush process. Junior year was different though. I traded in my sorority letters to be a Rho Chi instead. I loved being able to help girls through the process of finding a sorority. Don't get me wrong, there were tears, but it was rewarding to feel like I had an impact. There were 80 girls in my group and I was personally responsible for about 25...one of my little charges was Miss Rachel Fowler. I love this girl!

During finals week, it seems like everybody wants to do anything but study, so we took a break to make a tasty study snack. Looks like we created more of a mess than a snack!

I ran into somebody the other day that said they don't like Waffle House. I don't understand how this is possible. I mean, where else can you get good hot food at 3AM? I made many a late night trip to Waffle House during my college career, but the trip to the Gadsden WH after Jessie's debutante ball is one that I will never forget. These girls are the same ones that I had breakfast with at The Waysider that last morning of freshman year.

Confidential to Natalie...Been to any hotels lately?

Sarah Sarah Sarah. She was the perfect roommate for me. When we signed up to live together our sophomore year, we didn't really know each other, but we quickly found that we were very similar. She is one of the few people that got my sense of humor and was the best secret keeper! I don't know what I would have done if she found somebody else to live with those last two years. Thanks for everything, Schmell!

My XXXI initiation was even more special because I had a friend to support me. One of my favorite pictures with my bestest friend. The big smiles are in response to hearing that we would be having the Almond Ball dessert!

Junior year was filled with wonderful times with great friends, but none of those times compare to the birth of my precious niece, Emma Kate. To date, January 19, 2006 is one of the happiest days of my life. The older she gets, the more that day means to me. It's funny to think how such a small baby can change your life forever, but that is exactly what she did and continues to do.

Getting A Hang of the College Life

Year: 2005
Age: 20
College: Sophomore



Hands down, I had THE BEST sorority family! If I was able to re-pick my family, I would pick Julie and Lana every single time. They were, and sill are, so welcoming. What I appreciated even more was the way that they lived out their faith even when it may not have been the most popular thing to do.


I lived in the sorority house the last three years of college, but much of my sophmore year was spent with Trinity, Jessie and April. The little brick house was my home away from home. One of my favorite memories from that year was the Survivan Ivan party....we survived, some of our friends cars were not so lucky. I don't know who lives in that house now, but I can guarantee they aren't anywhere close to being as fun as these three.

The picture that I posted of Lauren and me from last year was a little rough..thankfully we remained friends after freshman year and had many more opportunities to redeem some of those first pictures. Even though we are white as ghosts, this is one of my faves.

All time highlight of the year...D'Nied. What is D'Nied you may ask. Only the best rap group ever to grace the halls of the Delta Zeta sorority house. Yes, we were a one-hit-wonder, at least we had a hit! The five of us were quite a group...Emily, Jenny, Sarah, Laura and Lindsey. It gets me laughing just typing about it. In case you're wondering about our hit...it was written for my best friend, Natalie. She turned 21 and we wrote a rap to celebrate her. Friends, it was a real winner.

We invited Natalie over to the DZ house to listen watch the rap video the morning of her birthday. As you can see from the picture below, she was still so happy she could barely contain herself at her party later that night.