Into Everything

Here lately as you can tell from my lack of blogging, I have been extremely busy. January, February, and March are three of the busiest months in the property management/student living industry. With that said, there have been many late nights at the office.

I love staying busy but at the same time these are the moments I find myself getting a little stressed, and worn out. I have been trying to keep myself grounded and not get worked up as this is an area I struggle in. These are a few things I have been doing to keep myself as STRESS FREE as possible.

1. Started a new book....and plan to actually finish it! I have been wanting to Read the Five Love Languages for Couples. I have not had time to run to the store to get it but I found The Five Love Languages on Amy's bookshelf so I decided it would do. Nothing better to unwind to at night than a good book. I know if Melynda Cowan(high school English teacher) is reading this right now she is dying. You could not have paid me to read for enjoyment in high school and now I love it! So far it is a great book and I am getting a lot out of it even though I am not married. I will keep you posted on how it turns out.

2.Bought a new face washer. I have never been one to make sure I wash my face each and every night. Living with Amy I guess has started to rub off on me. She will wash her face at least twice a day if not more. I know that washing your face is a HUGE deal and any beauty expert would tell me that I am ruining my skin. I watch Good Morning America every morning while I get ready for work. They did a demonstration on all of these different face washers one morning. I LOVED it!! I told Ryan that is what I wanted for Valentine's day ...a face washer. I really thought he could handle that especially since I gave him price limit and told him to just buy it with me once I got there. NOOOOOO he had to go above and beyond. I am in LOVE with my Tory Burch shoes. He did GREAT but he could have gotten out so much cheaper had he just listened to me. I decided I wanted this face washer so bad that I went to buy it the night I realized he was not giving it to me. The store was OUT. I was so sad but decided that weekend it was not meant for me to have it. The minute I got back to Tuscaloosa I went and bought the one I wanted! It is the best thing EVER! I now wash my face every night. I guess all it takes is a cool gadget for me and I'm in!!

This is just one of the ones shown on Good Morning America. I am sure if you visit their website you can find all sorts of neat things! Some are really expensive and some are able to be purchased at Wal-mart or Target!

3. Started Re-Decorating. I decided to add a few new items to my room to freshen it up a bit. This also gets me out of the house to actually look for new items. I found a few things so far at TJ Maxx, Kirklands, and my Dad's Hunting Lodge. I have also taken some things I already had and spruced them up a little bit! Nothing like a little new with a little old! As I make changes or additions to my bedroom I will add pictures.

Took a shutter I bought at the Thrift Store and made it into a jewelry holder!

Some of the new items I purchased!

4.Picked up the WORD of the Lord! So many times I think we push off our time with the Lord when we get caught up in our own life. Well he is the very reason for our existance so we should not push him anywhere. When I start getting stressed or things start going wrong the first thing I ask myself is have I been forgetting the MOST IMPORTANT part of my life. More times than not the answer is yes. So I have made it a point that I will at least read a chapter a night in my Bible. I once heard Shawn Alexander say "if you just read 5 minutes in your Bible a night your relationship will be strengthened. 5 minutes will turn to 10, 10 to 20, etc. Before you know it you are reading for hours and never want to but the Word down."I think this is so true. I have had seasons in my life where I can't put my Bible down, seasons where I would not pick it up, and seasons where I was wishy washy. God knew we would go through seasons in our lives. I think he also knew in every season we need him no matter what we personally think. I know in the seasons where I could not put the WORD down I was instilling HIS words in my heart. This was taking place so in the season where I struggled to pick it up I would always know HIS WORD deep in my heart. It's amazing to know how HE knew every second of our life. HE knows what we go through and knew exactly how to help us through life. I am so THANKFUL to have a relationship with the Lord and only hope I can show people his LOVE each and everyday that I am alive!

This is my Bible! Best Bible I have ever owned and I can understand every word in it!! I HIGHLY recommend it if you are looking for one!

These are just a few things I am doing to stay grounded and STRESS FREE! As you always hear people say "I'm too BLESSED to be STRESSED" !!!

Goodnight All!

TORY

Men will surprise you...that's for sure! This weekend I went to Nashville to spend time with Ryan. I took a half day from work so that I could arrive during the day time and meet some of the coaches that Ryan works with. The minute I hit the TN state line it started snowing! I was excited minus the fact that I only packed spring time clothing because it was 70 when I left Tuscaloosa. I did bring a jacket with me because Ryan told me that he thought is was supposed to be cold. Thank goodness I did because it was 27 the entire weekend. Needless to say we decided to stay in Friday because the roads were iced over and it was FREEZING.

Once we arrived back at Ryan's from grabbing some dinner he said "well there is your gift on the table." Got to LOVE it!! There was no handing it to me, no beautiful wrapping, just there it is on the table!! That is so RYAN and I love it..would not want it any other way! I sit on the couch he hands these 2 boxes to me (see below).

I am a NORDSTROM LOVER (thanks Landi) so I knew instantly from the box that this little beauty was from there. I knew I had not told Ryan anything that I wanted from Nordstrom so I could not imagine what he had picked out. Even better I had told him that he did not need to spend over $100 dollars for the whole weekend. I know that there is not much at Nordstrom that you can get from less that $100 so I knew he broke my rule...imagine that! When I opened the box my heart skipped a beat. RYAN LOCKE had taken the time to go to Nordstroms, show a person a picture of exactly what he wanted so they could get it for him, I repeat had to go to Nordstroms. I have to BEG Ryan to go shopping with me because he HATES it that much. I was so impressed that he did ALL of that for me. LOOK at what an AMAZING job he did......

OH YES HE GOT ME TORY BURCH SANDALS THAT I HAVE BEEN DYING FOR!!!!!

So thrilled with his purchase!!!

I can't wait till it gets warm enough for me to wear these beauties!! I will wear them everyday along with my diamond earrings that he gave me fro Christmas! This man is an excellent gift giver. What man picks out Tory without someone telling them to go get them? I mean yes I have told him before I wanted some but never point blank told Ryan to please give me some. I just said it in passing. He also gave me a big box of Godiva Chocolates! UMMMM UMMMM GOOD! I am on a diet so this is not good but I am going to eat them up!

Saturday we went to Mt. Juliet which right down the road so I could pay my Belk bill before we went on to Nashville. I am in need of some new clothing items because most of mine have become to big. I cleaned out my closet the other day of items I can no longer wear and I ended up taking 25 items to the consignment shop. CRAZY. Of course I found some items that I just had to have!! Ryan hates shopping as I mentioned before but believe it or not he made this weekend all about me and did not say one word. He sat there with a smile on his face and let me shop my heart out! I found some precious items and somehow managed to get 6 tops for under $100 dollars. All of the tops came from either Belk or the Gap outlet store. Two of my favorites are below.

{$19 at Belk}

{ONLY $6 at The Gap}

After my shopping trip I decided I was not going to torture Ryan any longer and we could go on to Nashville.

While doing my internship in Nashville I fell in love with the Parthenon.

Ryan is very intelligent and enjoys history so I asked him one day had he ever been. He told me no but that is something he would enjoy seeing. I responded with I think its beautiful but I never got to see the inside while I was there. Of course the man who hears all plans for us to go. We took a tour and of course Ryan knew all the facts about all of the Greek gods. I was thinking I probably should have listened a little closer when Mrs. Cowan made me read Greek Mythology in Literature class. If you are ever in the Nashville area invest about 20 minutes of your time and go take a tour.

Athena

Athena's Shield

After we finished there we ended up doing a little more shopping (Ryan said we could). I also showed Ryan where I did my internship and some other neat places I found during my time in Nashville. We then went to Chuy's (my favorite) for dinner! Ryan is such a trooper he is not even a big fan of Mexican but is always willing to take me!

So now let me show you a few of the goodies that I gave him for Valentine's Day!! I did not take a picture of everything just the creative things that I actually invested time in. I have been looking at Pinterest some. I noticed that there was a deck of cards showing up over and over again with 52 Reasons Why I Love You on the top. I finally clicked on one and thought it was an adorable idea. Since Ryan and I are pretty new to this whole "talking" thing I did not want to use the word love. I changed it up a little to 52 reasons why I have fallen for you. Here are a few of the ones I did!!

It may look like a small task but it is a very time consuming one!!

I also made him a scrapbook that tells the story of us so far. There are pages left so that we can continue adding them in as days come and go!

I thought it turned out pretty cute for only 3 months worth of material!!

I love this journey so far. I am trying to do this different than I have any other relationship because I know Ryan is an Amazing guy. I don't want to think to much which is what I always do. I want to sit back, enjoy the ride, and let things play out the way the good Lord sees fit! I am so thankful that I have Ryan in my life and that he really does think about me! He listens to everything I say(which is a lot), truly cares about me, and deep down I know he would bend over backwards to make me happy. All of those things scare me but Its all I've ever wanted at the same time. I could not have asked for a better Valentine's weekend with a better Valentine!!!

Thanks, Ryan, for everything you have done for me, and I'm sure will continue to do for me. You really are a blessing!

Day of Love

Valentine's Day is fast approaching! This weekend I will be celebrating this wonderful day of love in Nashville with Ryan. It's so CRAZY to me that all of this has been going on for 3 months. I have never spent Valentine's Day with anyone nor have I ever exchanged gifts with anyone. Knowing that fact I have been a nervous wreck and stressed out over a gift. I finally came up with a few things and I am sure hoping he likes them! I can't wait to post pics on here of course once he knows what he is getting!! I actually got creative (which I love to do) so it was a little stress relief! Stay tuned for pics to come!! 

On a side note ....I did go buy a new top to wear for our little Valentine's date. It is my FIRST ever "Free People" purchase. I have been watching this shirt forever and was almost scared to try it on. I was scared number one because I saw the price tag and number two I have never worn that brand before so I did not know if it would fit me. Amy, Keli and myself went to Belk Sunday after Church. My eyes instantly saw the BIG 50% off rack. I went over and there sat THE SHIRT! I took it and tried it on and not only did it fit is was loose! It's a little different but I can't wait to wear it! I will also be posting pics of that beauty as well! 

Maybe since it is the day/weekend of love I can get Ryan to go shopping with me!! Nashville is missing me and so are all the stores!!! I have no shirts that fit me properly (finally) so I am in major need of finding a few! The only problem is getting him to sit through all the try ons! Guess I will try my luck once I get there! 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

Leave the PAST in the PAST

I LOVE my Church! Anyone that I call a close friend knows this fact about me. Church of the Highlands changed my life and the way that I view Church. I don't know how I will ever make it if I ever have to move away from one of its many locations. The most recent series is called "SOUL THERAPY". I HIGHLY encourage anyone who reads this to please go and listen to this series.

http://www.churchofthehighlands.com/

The sermon Sunday was about Insecurity. I am like everyone in the world who has insecurities. I try my hardest to hide them, shove them under the rug, but as all of us know we must eventually face them. I struggle with my appearance, hurtful words that have been said to me, and the desire to be perfect. I look at that list an think those are such minor issues in the grand scheme of things. However, at the end of the day they have scarred me and the hurt is still there. 

In the message we learned that two things really keep our insecurities in our thoughts. We let the culture define us as well as our past. Pastor Chris said from teachings in the Bible we must first learn to see God correctly. We have to learn that no matter what we have been through, how bad we have messed up, God still LOVES us no matter what. Psalm 59:10 says "My God is changeless in his love for me." Once we believe this TRUTH we will then be ready for the next step. We must see ourself the way God sees us. This is an area that I know in my heart but battle in my mind each and every day. I let both the past and culture let me believe otherwise. The third point was we need to surround ourselves with people who see us the way God sees us. When we are around negative people who only want to bring us down and beat us up we will never be able to get out of the dark, hopeless, pit of insecurity. 

For several weeks now I have been trying so hard to let my insecurities go. I am so sick of them taking over my life in so many areas. Many people have no clue that I even struggle with insecurities because I hide them so well. I am just sick of hiding them, I want them GONE. The past is the past and I am ready for it to STAY THERE. I want a fresh start and to see myself the way God sees me!! I prayed that prayer and will continue to each and everyday. 

This message touched my heart so much. I know that someone else in this world needs to hear this. Hope that person is reading this!!

On a lighter note my ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE is yet again the #1 Recruiting Class in the Nation!! ROLL TIDE!! There were many years in my life where recruiting consumed it. I loved the excitement of seeing young men realize their hard work finally paid off and their dreams were coming true! This day still brings a level of excitement to my life even though I no longer have a part in it. So proud of every young man today that made the BEST decision by choosing ALABAMA!! 

My favorite recruiting buddy LT!! 

Last but most certainly not least. I have mentioned my precious friend Landi before on here. She is pretty new to the blogging world however, she is REALLY GOOD at it! Much better than I will ever be. She is a soon to be interior designer and has such wonderful ideas. She is so smart and talented. I hope you will check out her blog and start following her!!


http://www.landilausen.org/

How could you not want to read what this lady has to say? Love her!