A Bloggy Lesson

My last post was written two weeks ago.

Though it was unintentional, I guess you could say that I was taking a sabbatical from my blog...a blog-atical, if you will.

I don't really know how it happened, but it did. In fact, there were quite a few things that happened during my absence that I could have blogged about. But, I didn't blog. And, it was in that not blogging that I realized something about myself.

I'm a creature of habit, but get me out of my routine and it's almost as if I never had the habit to begin with. This is true in so many areas of my life.

Eating. Exercising. Journaling. Reading. Calling friends. Spending time with the Lord. And now, blogging.

I've known that for a long time...but the aha came in understanding why.

I struggle to forgive myself for getting out of the routine. Instead of just saying, oh well...I missed it...I end up getting so frustrated with myself for getting off track. Then, before I know it, I look back and I'm not just off track, I'm on a whole new road. It can take me days, weeks, months to get back into the swing of things. It's not a good rut to get stuck in.

That may not make any sense. I mean, I'm out of practice in terms of putting my thoughts into writing. Of course, even if I was good at that, it took me years to figure out what the problem was in the first place. So, it would make complete sense that it doesn't make sense. :)

Hopefully, now that I've had this little realization, I can get to working on it. After all, the first step to fixing a problem is identifying it.

So, it's identified. I'm forgiving myself. I'm moving on. However, I must say...though I really missed blogging these past few weeks, I'm grateful because it taught me a lesson that I've been needing to learn for a long time.

Birthday Blessings

Thank goodness we celebrate birthday weeks in my family! Otherwise, I would have been in big trouble when Tuesday came and went without nary a post about my baby sister's big day.

September 8, 1988...Kara was born and my world was changed. Truth be told, I don't have much recollection of times before she was around, but considering how much the addition of the 5th member of the family has added to the other 4 of us...I have no doubt my world was changed.

But...before I get into all the goodness of Kara...can I just say that I can't believe that she's 21. That means I'm about to be 25. Excuse me?? 25?? There must be a problem.

Anyway...back to the goodness of Kara.

As a child, she was by far the cutest of all of us. Pretty blond hair that curled just right at the ends. Always the social butterfly. Everybody loved...and loves...Kara. She's just plain fun.

We're quite different, and that used to bother me to no end. Now, I think I was bothered mainly because I longed for some of those traits.

She's laid back. Seriously, I have NEVER seen her stressed. Sure, that's because she usually doesn't think about things until they are long supposed to have happened, but even then, she doesn't get worked up about it.

She's never afraid to ask. This used to bother me...okay, sometimes it still does...but pretty much, I wish I did it more. If you tell me to do something, I pretty much do it. Likewise, I take past decisions to determine what an outcome would be. For instance, if my parents have never let me have never let me go on a trip by myself, I probably wouldn't ask if I could study abroad. Kara doesn't seem to be phased by past decisions. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it. Truth be told, she gets it often...but as I've gotten older, I've realized that may not be so much because she's the baby...maybe it's just because she asked.

She's HILARIOUS. Her sense of humor is quite different than mine. Much more dry. She even pretends that she doesn't enjoy it when I call to give her the joke of the day...but she is definitely a laugh a minute. Everything she says and does is pretty much comical. What makes it even funnier is that half the time, she has no clue why everybody is laughing.

She's knows what she's good at. This is something that I'm just now starting to get. Find out what you love...what you're good at...and do it. Kara has known forever that she likes to write. She doesn't like math or science, so she didn't bother much with those subjects. She loves writing...and reading for that matter. Pretty sure she won the Accelerated Reader trophy every year ! :) Anyway...back to writing. She's great at it, and in less than 2 years will have her journalism degree and will probably be traveling all over writing things that everybody wants to read. I love that.




Confidential to NB: Happy Birthday, sister. I have no doubt that you've enjoyed your birthday week! I love you so much! I only have two people in this world that I can say are my sisters...I'm super thankful that one of them is you.

It's That Time of Year

So...I totally stole this from my friend, Becky...but, it's so good that it deserves the re-post.



I'm so excited that I'm back in the state of Alabama for football season. Living in Atlanta was great, but there were WAY too many Auburn and Georgia fans for my taste. ROLL TIDE!!

A Berry Happy Day

Look at those smiles. I mean....that's probably the biggest smile I've seen on my face in I don't know how long. Not because life has been bad...but because this particular night this picture was taken was filled with an extraordinary amount of goodness.

I went over to visit with Natalie on Saturday night and it was this particular night that my bestest friend in the entire world told me something and showed me something that I've wanted to hear and see for quite some time.

Wanna see? She showed me something that looked very similar to this...







That, my friends, is a little 7 week old, healthy and thriving little baby. My best friend and her sweet husband are going to be PARENTS!! It's way too early in the process to know if it's a little boy or a little girl...and right now they're leaning towards not finding out (which, by the way, I LOVE)...so for the time being, this little one is being called Berry. Why Berry? Because little Baby Orr's first picture looks just like a little berry. Berry. I'm absolutely in love.

I was so excited that I could hardly sleep Saturday night. I'm thinking all things baby!

I started praying for this little one a REALLY long time ago, and actually got into some trouble for praying they would have a little one early in marriage. Actually, when Natalie found out about my secretive prayer, she was quick to inform me that if she had had a baby soon I would have to move to Birmingham to help take care of it.

Well, I decided to move...and here comes baby.

Now, I'm not so naive to think that my moving is what made this happen...buy I'm thrilled beyond belief to be able to be a mere 15 minute drive away from my best friend as she begins this next phase of life...mommyhood!!!!

As we sat this weekend and reveled in the happiness of the moment, we couldn't help but to look back. Two years ago, we were living in different cities...neither of us had met Mr. Right (side note, I still haven't...you didn't miss a post). Well, now she's married to a man that exceeds her wildest dreams and soon they will be welcoming new life into this world. God is so good!



Natalie and Scott...

Words don't even begin to describe the happiness that is in my heart. Happiness for each of you individually, for the two of you as a couple, for your families, for little Berry...and for me. :) Y'all are going to be the best parents ever!

Getting Settled

I got up early yesterday morning. Had a great quiet time with the Lord. Chatted with my roomie while she applied her makeup. Went for a nice walk around my new neighborhood. Got myself ready for the day and drove down to Tuscaloosa. Stopped by the sorority house to drop off some things that belonged to my sister. Had lunch with two precious girls at one of my favorite Tuscaloosa eateries while discussing the upcoming semester, sorority life and t-shirts. Met another girl at a coffee shop to discuss some of the same topics. Went back to the sorority house to drop off a package and see a few friends. Drove back home with lots of happiness in my heart.

Woke up early this morning. Spent some time with the Lord. Chatted with my roomie while she applied her makeup. Opened the computer and started to get work done. Emails to send. Calls to make. Designs to approve. Expense reports to mail. Five hours of hard work in my pajamas. Changed into workout clothes for a quick walk around the neighborhood. Showered and went to the park to visit with my bestest friend while she baby-sat. Continued our conversations over lunch. Got a quick mani/pedi. Back to the house to churn out about 3 more hours of work. Washed some clothes. Walked to church to attend the new member class. Enjoyed running into some old friends. Came back home to do a little more work before calling it a night.

I'm getting settled. This house. These roommates. This community. This job. And, I can say without a doubt that I absolutely LOVE it all.

A Delta Zeta Saint

On my bid day blog, I bragged on the president of my sorority. Then I introduced you to Abby, the girl that I'm hoping and praying will be the next president. But anybody that knows anything about sororities...and if you've read my blog for long enough, you know at least a little...knows that the girl that runs the recruitment show is not the president. It takes someone special to manage the beast that is recruitment. We call her the Vice President of Membership. Actually, we call her the Recruitment Chair.


This year, my sorority was blessed to have the best recruitment chair on the planet. Seriously...I would put her up against your recruitment chair any day. Let me explain...

Most sorority positions are such that you only have them for a year. You couldn't have paid me to be the secretary or president for any longer than that! It takes a girl who's on top of her stuff and well respected by her house to do the same job for more than one term...and that, my friends, is what our recruitment chair did. TWO YEARS of recruitment!!

Unlike everybody else, she WILLINGLY signed up to have the same job again. She knew there would be angry alumni. She knew there would be girls trying to get out of rush workshops. She knew there would be sleepless nights. She knew...but she agreed to do it again.


This recruitment chair that all sorority girls wish was theirs is Sarah Hudson.


She's the one on the far left...and she totally blew me away last week. She was beyond organized. Everybody knew what they were supposed to do and when they were supposed to do it. Encouraging words flowed freely. Smiles were given to all. And, despite the minimal sleep she got, she did not pitch fits when things went a little crazy.

Example of things going crazy would be when a hook for hanging drapes came out of the ceiling one night...bringing part of the ceiling with it. I was terrified that we may have come to the end of our little recruitment Utopia, but little miss adaptability, Sarah Hudson, wasn't phased in the least.


Confidential to Hudson,

If someone had told me three years ago when you pledged that you would be our recruitment chair not once but twice, I would have never believed them. You have far exceeded all of my expectations for you...and I LOVE it! During my years in the sorority, I have had the chance to watch quite a few different girls tackle the job of recruitment chair, but none...NONE...of them could hold a candle to you. The fact that you so selflessly agreed to hold the position for two years only elevates you even more. Thank you for what you've done for your house...my house...our house. You're beyond incredible! Get ready, because I'm going to be coming down to Tuscaloosa soon and showering you with thanks....friend kind of thanks...not the advisor kind. :) Love you, pretty girl!

Oh Happy Bid Day

This past week was lacking in sleep, food and maleness...but overflowing with laughter, chatting and femineness. It was a wonderful week capped off with a great group of 76 new girls excited to be Delta Zeta pledges.

As I drove home to Birmingham this afternoon, I was thinking about some of the highlights of the week. There were quite a few...but here's the short list.

--I loved getting to know some of our current actives. I'm pretty sure I mentioned before that I was a senior when the now current seniors were freshman. So, when I walked into the house last Monday I recognized very few faces. By the end of the week, I found myself not only recognizing faces but being able to match faces with names.

--Watching our Serious Night ceremony. No matter how many times I've seen it, it gets me choked up each and every time. The crying was taken to a whole new level this year though because Sarah Beth...the little recruit that I fell in love with three years ago during that same ceremony...was speaking the same lines that I had once said.

--Squeals and pure excitement was all around as the girls read out the bid list...and those things only increased when the new girls rounded the corner running towards the sorority house. It made my heart happy inside to see.

With sweet Sarah Beth on Bid Day. I cannot believe that she is a senior this year. I didn't get any sleep this week, but this girl got even less. She has worked for months to get the best of the best girls and as the bid list was read this morning, it was clear that her hard work had paid off. I could not be more proud of her and all she has accomplished.

Confidential to SB...I'm thankful for the chance you gave me to be your advisor this year, but I'm even more thankful for the blessing it is to have you for a friend. Friend date soon!!

Let me introduce you to Abby Johnson. This cute thing of a girl came along the year after I left. Bummer. I would have loved to be in the house at the same time as her. I remember the girls being excited when she pledged our house two years ago. I had talked to her a few times before, but this week we got the chance to have some deeper conversations. She made me smile, made me laugh and made me cry. She's pretty incredible and is the one that will be teaching all of our new little Delta Zetas what it means to be an active. I can't think of a better person for the job. In addition to taking care of the new girls, she also works on all things t-shirts. Translation, I will get to work with her when I start my new job and I am super excited about that.

I love the faces in these two pictures. I mean...that's pure excitement right there. Excitement for the new girls, excitement for finally reaching upperclassmen status, excitement that rush week is OVER.

Lots of ways to describe this picture....but I think my favorite would have to be this one...

Presidents: Present and Future :)