Hello All...All 6 or 7 of you. :) I am tired. I'm a tired girl. I need to be sleeping right now, but I rarely have computer access through any avenue except my iPhone, and let's be honest...who wants to write a whole blog post from their iPhone. Not me.
Why am I tired, you may ask? Well I suppose I will tell you. I'll try to keep it brief and non-complainy. I work a lot. I love my job and 95-98% of the people I work with/for, but I do spend just about as much time at the restaurant as I do at home...wherever home is... haha. I'm a bit of a nomad these days until I figure out the grad school/student loan/whatever else situation.
After I graduated from Belmont, I moved home. I knew that wouldn't last long, so I started staying at my sister and brother-in-law's house in April. What started out as me staying there when I worked late and had to be back early the next morning turned into me having 2 crazy little roommates who were married and related to me. It was an adventure... one that ended with Amanda asking me to move to New York with her and Chris when they go so I can be their roommate. No thank you. :)
When they left the country for their current escapades in Central America, I moved back home for about 3.5 days. Since then, I've been living with Chris's parents. Yep. My sister's in-laws. They're out of town a lot this summer, and it works out better for all parties if I just stay here. It's closer to work, closer to friends, and they don't have to pay a house-sitter or ask a neighbor to feed the cat every other week. So it works out.
Now that the story of my nomad-ness is complete (for now), I'll continue the "why is alicia tired?" saga:
For the past 3ish weeks, my sweet little grandmother has been battling pneumonia. She was sick at home for a week, sick and then recovering in the hospital for a week, and then came back home to continue her recovery on Friday. She's lost a significant amount of weight, and is all around pretty weak...so it helps her out to have someone at the house with her. She can't be up all day fixing her meals or doing laundry and the dishes, so my mom and her brothers and sisters have all been taking off work so they could stay with her and help out. Yesterday and today, I took my turn. My days went something like this: get very little sleep, help fix breakfast, try to eat my breakfast while running back and forth to Nanny's room getting her whatever she needed/wanted, fixing lunch, eating lunch, sneaking little naps, running some more, answering the phone, calling my mom to see where to find something, making sure the chickens and the dogs and the cats are fed and watered, etc... and on Tuesday, I got myself ready and to work on time where I trained a new server and then did cashouts--meaning I was there from 4:45 until 11:45. It was a lengthy day, and Wednesday I got to do it all over again minus the job. Don't get me wrong. I love my grandmother very, very, very much, and it physically pains me to see her so weak and frail. I can definitely understand why my mom and aunts have been taking shifts though. Taking care of any other human being is hard work and does not include instant gratification.
That's a lot like life in general though when you're just taking care of yourself. Dieting and working out brings delayed results. Studying for classes and exams...delayed results. Investing in the lives of those around you...delayed results. Being faithful in my relationship with Jesus...delayed results. In a society that is so obsessed with instant everything, it's ironic (but also a bit exciting) that the best things in life--the blessings--rarely come instantly. That proves the faithfulness of God (as if He needed proof). Just another picture of how deep and wide and great the Father's love is for us...and how intricate and perfectly designed. Thank you, Jesus.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
oh, hey 2010!
so this one time, i graduated from Belmont... it was pretty awesome and overwhelming. and now everyone is asking me what i'm doing now. I really just want to hang out with my friends in various assorted cities around the country... so i think that's what i'm going to do. Katie is in Lynchburg. Erin and Brittany are in Denver. There are so many wonderful people in Atlanta (mainly the Haines sibs, Brandy, Amanda, Maddie, etc :]). Erin could possibly be in Seattle in June, so I might go there to see her. I just want to work and make money and travel for a little while. I don't want to miss Alayna's last semester of high school or Autumn's experience with her driving permit(which she got today...wow I am old.) or any part of my grandmother's or cousins' lives. Mom and I might drive to Arkansas to see my aunt, uncle and cousins who are building yet another house. I'm excited about opportunities like this. I need to get my schedule changed at work so I have more of a travel friendly one...
Terra Nova 09/10 just ended and I met some absolutely incredible people that I'm really really excited about starting friendships with. I also got to spend some time with old friends I haven't seen in too long, and that was good too! I'm probably going to try to go to Haiti this year too, so add that to my travel list. :) So far I have: Atlanta, Lynchburg, Denver (when it's warmer...), Seattle, Haiti, Arkansas, maybe Texas and definitely random parts of Tennessee. I'm going to have a good year. I'm determined. God is good, so what else matters? Loves.
Terra Nova 09/10 just ended and I met some absolutely incredible people that I'm really really excited about starting friendships with. I also got to spend some time with old friends I haven't seen in too long, and that was good too! I'm probably going to try to go to Haiti this year too, so add that to my travel list. :) So far I have: Atlanta, Lynchburg, Denver (when it's warmer...), Seattle, Haiti, Arkansas, maybe Texas and definitely random parts of Tennessee. I'm going to have a good year. I'm determined. God is good, so what else matters? Loves.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Ch ch ch changes...
1. My little sister was at TN Tech on a college visit Monday.
2. My littlest sister is getting her permit over Christmas break.
3. I just signed up for my "big girl" e-mail address. The only other ones I have are my 6th grade original and my college e-mail. Until now!
4. I got my final hour of convocation credit Friday night at Allison's dance recital. If you don't go to Belmont, you will never understand how big of a deal this is.
5. Sunday night, I was inducted in the Alpha Sigma Tau Alumnae Organization. The biggest changes here are that I now have Sunday nights free, and annual dues are around 650-700 dollars cheaper. :)
6. I'm finished with one class. 5 to go.
7. A teacher who has been telling us all semester not to say we're graduating, but instead we're PLANNING on graduating because they could still fail us...told me today that she'll be the one yelling "hooty hoo! hooty hoo!" when I walk on Friday night. Guess that means she's not failing me!
8. Stuff is starting to come off the walls and be packed up in the apartment. LJ leaves in 6 days. I leave in 9.
9. My body is proving consistent this year in that my allergies just kicked in this week. Yep. I have allergies as fall changes to winter and everything dies. I'm a season ahead of everyone else.
10. I'm mailing my Christmas cards/Newsletters/Graduation announcements today. That kind of makes it real.
On an unrelated note: My future husband (assuming he exists) better know how to iron things for himself, because working at J. Alexander's has brought me to a place where I detest ironing.
2. My littlest sister is getting her permit over Christmas break.
3. I just signed up for my "big girl" e-mail address. The only other ones I have are my 6th grade original and my college e-mail. Until now!
4. I got my final hour of convocation credit Friday night at Allison's dance recital. If you don't go to Belmont, you will never understand how big of a deal this is.
5. Sunday night, I was inducted in the Alpha Sigma Tau Alumnae Organization. The biggest changes here are that I now have Sunday nights free, and annual dues are around 650-700 dollars cheaper. :)
6. I'm finished with one class. 5 to go.
7. A teacher who has been telling us all semester not to say we're graduating, but instead we're PLANNING on graduating because they could still fail us...told me today that she'll be the one yelling "hooty hoo! hooty hoo!" when I walk on Friday night. Guess that means she's not failing me!
8. Stuff is starting to come off the walls and be packed up in the apartment. LJ leaves in 6 days. I leave in 9.
9. My body is proving consistent this year in that my allergies just kicked in this week. Yep. I have allergies as fall changes to winter and everything dies. I'm a season ahead of everyone else.
10. I'm mailing my Christmas cards/Newsletters/Graduation announcements today. That kind of makes it real.
On an unrelated note: My future husband (assuming he exists) better know how to iron things for himself, because working at J. Alexander's has brought me to a place where I detest ironing.
Friday, November 13, 2009
13 November 2009
Things that I like:
1. Evanescence
2. Vegetables
3. Carrot Cake
4. Britney Knoeck
5. Some of my co-workers
6. The prospect of living through the next week
7. Options
8. Looking on the bright side
9. John Mayer [specifically because of "In Your Atmostphere"]
10. My sisters
11. Allison Hill
12. Reading my friends' blogs...whether they are near friends, far away friends, or in between
13. Lists
14. Full tanks of gas
15. Chocolate
16. Knowing how to write an annotated bibliography
17. Acoustic Guitar
18. Harmony
19. Disonance
20. Sweatpants
21. Being clean
22. Water
23. Sleep
24. Sleep.
25. goodnight.
1. Evanescence
2. Vegetables
3. Carrot Cake
4. Britney Knoeck
5. Some of my co-workers
6. The prospect of living through the next week
7. Options
8. Looking on the bright side
9. John Mayer [specifically because of "In Your Atmostphere"]
10. My sisters
11. Allison Hill
12. Reading my friends' blogs...whether they are near friends, far away friends, or in between
13. Lists
14. Full tanks of gas
15. Chocolate
16. Knowing how to write an annotated bibliography
17. Acoustic Guitar
18. Harmony
19. Disonance
20. Sweatpants
21. Being clean
22. Water
23. Sleep
24. Sleep.
25. goodnight.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
"Top 3 favorite albums??" "That's SOOO belmont..."
This weekend, in congruence with my unintentional plan to be gone every stinkin weekend...I went to a monastery with my Church History class. Yep. You read that right.
Saturday morning at 7:45am, we met outside the religion building to set off on our jouney. We split up into 2 vans: Dr. Bell's van and the Party Van(<<--my obvious choice). Our group was comprised of 15 students, Dr. Bell, Jacquie (our teaching assistant) and David (Dr. Bell's 18yearold son). It was quite an adventure!
Dr. Bell's van passed the 3+ hours by playing Theologian Bingo and holding a Fantasy Theology Draft. The Party Van [me, Will, Stephanie, Bennett, Michelle, Mark, David, Jessica, and Juli] passed the time by getting to know one another through listing all of our favorite things. :) I learned A LOT about my classmates. Mostly stuff about my accountabilibuddy, Will, but some about my other van-mates too.
When we arrived in Bardstown, Kentucky (ironically the bourbon capital of the world...), we parked and split up for lunch. Rest assured that Mexican food is pretty much the same everywhere you go. Our server, Victor, made our experience though.
We were supposed to be at the monastery by 2:15 for "None", the 5th prayer time of the day. We got there a little early, so we spent some time in the gift shop. [yes they have a gift shop. they also make fudge and cheese. visit www.monks.org for more info. no lie.] I recently went to "Night Prayers" at a local convent with my friend Nathan, and I am so glad that I did! I at least knew a little of what to expect when we got to the monastery.
After "None", we watched an informational video about The Abbey at Gethsemani, and then an 80+ year old monk named Brother Renee who had been at the abbey for 60 years told us a little about his experience. He was the most precious little man! He also had some valuable information to share with us. He told us the story of when he first came to the abbey. He went in to visit with his abbot one day, and the abbot said: "There are only two people here: You and Jesus." Brother Renee said he had found this to be true no matter where he was! He asked us what Jesus would say if he hit any of us with his cane. [hahaha] After answers of "stop." "don't do that." and "please don't do that again.", he told us Jesus would say "Ouch." Think about that for a second...
Brother Renee was making the point that Jesus told us whatever we do, we should do it unto Him. So he sees everyone as Jesus, especially since Christians are all part of one body of Christ. He treats everyone like he would treat Jesus. I love this. So so wise. He read us some of the things he had written about their beliefs and his personal experience, and we enjoyed our time with him very much!
After that, we still had about an hour before "Vespers" at 5:30, so we went on a hike...when I say "hike" I mean "run" because Dr. Bell is over a foot taller than me and moves briskly through the woods. haha. He took us to see these statues on the property that were donated to the abbey. They were statues of Jesus and His 3 besties: Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemani. The disciples were depicted as being asleep about 50 yards from where Jesus was praying in anguish. It was a beautiful depiction and well worth the out of breath-ness it took me to get there.
We went to Vespers, and it seemed significantly longer than None...mostly because all of us were quite hungry and praying our stomachs wouldn't growl loudly during the periods of silence. :)
Luckily, our next move was back into town to check into the hotel and then onward to dinner. A group of us ate at the Old Talbott Tavern which apparently has tons of history. Just ask their informative pamphlet. haha. The food was amazing, and Tyler and I made friends with our server, "Biz". [it's short for Elizabeth. cute, right?] Then we went back to the hotel where about 15 of us gathered in my room for "BEYOND BALDERDASH". I'll be purchasing this game soon. It's stinkin' fun! Mark and Jessica won but only because it's a "Dusing Family Tradition" and Mark has played tons and tons of times. Andrew Hill and I made up quite a team, and were most excited about our team name: AlAn. :) Get it??
After some much needed rest, we checked out of the hotel around 10am and headed for Mass at the monastery. We went in after everyone else because Dr. Bell likes to sit in the monks' stalls when he's there. ;) Those wooden seats are pretty hard, but they encourage good posture. Mass was a wonderful experience and the homily [which is the sermon portion] was really great!
After Mass, Dr. Bell has arranged for us to have lunch at a place called the Kurtz Restaurant. It was a home-cookin' place right across the street from Stephen Foster's "Old Kentucky Home". [google it.] My grandmother would be disappointed to know that I was so close and didn't get to go visit. :( I'll have to go back. Lunch was delicious and overly filling. We definitely enjoyed the conversation and even sang Happy Birthday to my friends Nathan who turned 23 today, and Aaron whose birthday was yesterday.
Then we headed home. Most of us tried to sleep to no avail. Sometimes there's just no good way to sleep in a van unless you cuddle with your seat neighbors. We got to know each other better, but not that good!
Overall, it was an unexpectedly wonderful experience! I am so glad to know the people who went with me. We're all looking forward to the class more now. We said we wished the trip had happened sooner since we all enjoy each other's company so much! Class will be more fun now...not that church history isn't buckets of fun already... ;)
At this particular moment, I'm fighting my tiredness by heading to Bongo to eat/drink caffiene with Heather. Then it's on to AST's weekly meeting. In the morning I get to see Katherine Jones Wallace when we have breakfast at Crema!!!! So excited about her being in town and getting to see her!!!!
In the words of the monks: "Thanks be to God."
"May the peace of the Lord be with you..."
Saturday morning at 7:45am, we met outside the religion building to set off on our jouney. We split up into 2 vans: Dr. Bell's van and the Party Van(<<--my obvious choice). Our group was comprised of 15 students, Dr. Bell, Jacquie (our teaching assistant) and David (Dr. Bell's 18yearold son). It was quite an adventure!
Dr. Bell's van passed the 3+ hours by playing Theologian Bingo and holding a Fantasy Theology Draft. The Party Van [me, Will, Stephanie, Bennett, Michelle, Mark, David, Jessica, and Juli] passed the time by getting to know one another through listing all of our favorite things. :) I learned A LOT about my classmates. Mostly stuff about my accountabilibuddy, Will, but some about my other van-mates too.
When we arrived in Bardstown, Kentucky (ironically the bourbon capital of the world...), we parked and split up for lunch. Rest assured that Mexican food is pretty much the same everywhere you go. Our server, Victor, made our experience though.
We were supposed to be at the monastery by 2:15 for "None", the 5th prayer time of the day. We got there a little early, so we spent some time in the gift shop. [yes they have a gift shop. they also make fudge and cheese. visit www.monks.org for more info. no lie.] I recently went to "Night Prayers" at a local convent with my friend Nathan, and I am so glad that I did! I at least knew a little of what to expect when we got to the monastery.
After "None", we watched an informational video about The Abbey at Gethsemani, and then an 80+ year old monk named Brother Renee who had been at the abbey for 60 years told us a little about his experience. He was the most precious little man! He also had some valuable information to share with us. He told us the story of when he first came to the abbey. He went in to visit with his abbot one day, and the abbot said: "There are only two people here: You and Jesus." Brother Renee said he had found this to be true no matter where he was! He asked us what Jesus would say if he hit any of us with his cane. [hahaha] After answers of "stop." "don't do that." and "please don't do that again.", he told us Jesus would say "Ouch." Think about that for a second...
Brother Renee was making the point that Jesus told us whatever we do, we should do it unto Him. So he sees everyone as Jesus, especially since Christians are all part of one body of Christ. He treats everyone like he would treat Jesus. I love this. So so wise. He read us some of the things he had written about their beliefs and his personal experience, and we enjoyed our time with him very much!
After that, we still had about an hour before "Vespers" at 5:30, so we went on a hike...when I say "hike" I mean "run" because Dr. Bell is over a foot taller than me and moves briskly through the woods. haha. He took us to see these statues on the property that were donated to the abbey. They were statues of Jesus and His 3 besties: Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemani. The disciples were depicted as being asleep about 50 yards from where Jesus was praying in anguish. It was a beautiful depiction and well worth the out of breath-ness it took me to get there.
We went to Vespers, and it seemed significantly longer than None...mostly because all of us were quite hungry and praying our stomachs wouldn't growl loudly during the periods of silence. :)
Luckily, our next move was back into town to check into the hotel and then onward to dinner. A group of us ate at the Old Talbott Tavern which apparently has tons of history. Just ask their informative pamphlet. haha. The food was amazing, and Tyler and I made friends with our server, "Biz". [it's short for Elizabeth. cute, right?] Then we went back to the hotel where about 15 of us gathered in my room for "BEYOND BALDERDASH". I'll be purchasing this game soon. It's stinkin' fun! Mark and Jessica won but only because it's a "Dusing Family Tradition" and Mark has played tons and tons of times. Andrew Hill and I made up quite a team, and were most excited about our team name: AlAn. :) Get it??
After some much needed rest, we checked out of the hotel around 10am and headed for Mass at the monastery. We went in after everyone else because Dr. Bell likes to sit in the monks' stalls when he's there. ;) Those wooden seats are pretty hard, but they encourage good posture. Mass was a wonderful experience and the homily [which is the sermon portion] was really great!
After Mass, Dr. Bell has arranged for us to have lunch at a place called the Kurtz Restaurant. It was a home-cookin' place right across the street from Stephen Foster's "Old Kentucky Home". [google it.] My grandmother would be disappointed to know that I was so close and didn't get to go visit. :( I'll have to go back. Lunch was delicious and overly filling. We definitely enjoyed the conversation and even sang Happy Birthday to my friends Nathan who turned 23 today, and Aaron whose birthday was yesterday.
Then we headed home. Most of us tried to sleep to no avail. Sometimes there's just no good way to sleep in a van unless you cuddle with your seat neighbors. We got to know each other better, but not that good!
Overall, it was an unexpectedly wonderful experience! I am so glad to know the people who went with me. We're all looking forward to the class more now. We said we wished the trip had happened sooner since we all enjoy each other's company so much! Class will be more fun now...not that church history isn't buckets of fun already... ;)
At this particular moment, I'm fighting my tiredness by heading to Bongo to eat/drink caffiene with Heather. Then it's on to AST's weekly meeting. In the morning I get to see Katherine Jones Wallace when we have breakfast at Crema!!!! So excited about her being in town and getting to see her!!!!
In the words of the monks: "Thanks be to God."
"May the peace of the Lord be with you..."
Friday, November 6, 2009
Alicia and Jesus
So this summer, I went to see "Julie and Julia" with my amazing friends in Atlanta [Hunter, Anna, Hutch, Noelle, and one of Noelle's friends]. It was wonderful! We all loved it and decided it made us hungry. haha. One of the things I loved about that movie was the main character. She was FAR from perfect or Hollywood's definition of "hott", but she was easy to love and relate to which (combined with her enchanted looks...lol.) made her beautiful. She was unhappy with the way her life was going, so she decided to give herself a challenge. She wanted to cook all of the recipes in Julia Childs' cookbook within a year. I won't tell you how it goes in case you haven't seen it, but it's quite an adventure!
Recently, I've been pretty stressed out and busy and crazy and running around like a chicken with no head [or a lizard with no tail...does that one work? probs not. oh well]. I've been in a funk. I can't tell you when it started, what prompted it, or what the general cause is. I just know I don't like it. So in an effort to get out of this funk...I'm giving myself a challenge. A few years ago, I was given a Bible that gives you something to read for everyday of the year. It's divided into days, not books and chapters, and there's an Old Testament and a New Testament selection for each day. They go in order...kind of, but by the end of the year, you'll have read the entire Bible. It starts [obviously] on January 1, but since this isn't January and I don't want to wait that long...I started today on November 6. I like it.
My challenge to myself is to keep it up. I want...no. NEED. to read the Bible every day. This not only gives me yet another reason to do so, but also takes out anything that could be considered work. The days are layed out for me. All I have to do is read. Sounds easy, right?? I hope it will be. Today it was: Jeremiah 50:24-51:32; Psalm 119:113-120; Proverbs 26:24-26; and Hebrews 2:10-3:11. Carrying this Bible around with me adds a little extra weight to my backpack, but hey. Jesus carried a cross. I can carry another Bible.
In other news:
Recently, I've been pretty stressed out and busy and crazy and running around like a chicken with no head [or a lizard with no tail...does that one work? probs not. oh well]. I've been in a funk. I can't tell you when it started, what prompted it, or what the general cause is. I just know I don't like it. So in an effort to get out of this funk...I'm giving myself a challenge. A few years ago, I was given a Bible that gives you something to read for everyday of the year. It's divided into days, not books and chapters, and there's an Old Testament and a New Testament selection for each day. They go in order...kind of, but by the end of the year, you'll have read the entire Bible. It starts [obviously] on January 1, but since this isn't January and I don't want to wait that long...I started today on November 6. I like it.
My challenge to myself is to keep it up. I want...no. NEED. to read the Bible every day. This not only gives me yet another reason to do so, but also takes out anything that could be considered work. The days are layed out for me. All I have to do is read. Sounds easy, right?? I hope it will be. Today it was: Jeremiah 50:24-51:32; Psalm 119:113-120; Proverbs 26:24-26; and Hebrews 2:10-3:11. Carrying this Bible around with me adds a little extra weight to my backpack, but hey. Jesus carried a cross. I can carry another Bible.
In other news:
- I'm taking a class called "Spirituality in World Religions" this semester. There are some people in my class that are seriously harboring bitterness and resentment towards God and anything that could be of Him. If you would, join me in praying for them. And pray for me to not have angry thoughts towards them or say anything I don't actually mean that could contribute to the bitterness.
- My friend Rob Adams [we work together at J. Alexander's] is dealing with the death of his mother this weekend. She has been sick for some time, and passed away yesterday morning. I'm going to visitation at the funeral home this afternoon. Rob is in his 20's and spent a significant amount of time caring for his mother before her death, so this will not only be an adjustment in his heart, but also in his daily life as well. So be praying for him too please.
- I'm working on making plans/ideas for post December. The plan so far is: Graduation, December 18. That's pretty much all I've got.
- I have an overnight field trip for my Church History class tomorrow and Sunday. We're going to a monastery in Kentucky, so it should be a good time! haha.
Love to all who read. May your lives be filled with the goodness of the Lord.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Atlanta makes my heart happy.
I was there this weekend--this MORNING even! I haven't much time to tell you all about it just now...but here's a snippet. These people made my day yesterday. Love that Haines fam. :)
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