soccer mom.

Jason and Meghan are getting married this weekend!
Needless to say, everybody is SO excited -- especially the beautiful couple... It's going to be such a good weekend. I can't wait to see everybody.

On a more recent note -- today I felt like such a soccer mom. I definitely took Ethan and Emma to school this morning and picked them up this afternoon. It felt pretty weird to be honest. They're still as cute as can be:) Ethan is all boy and Emma is as sweet as they come. She's so helpful in every way and tends to be a "mom" towards Ethan -- it's adorable. Of course Ethan would rather her not be like that -- "he can do it himself!" He cracked me up on the way back home from school today. I was trying to get to know him a little better, but he was acting so bashful. At one point he told me that he had $50,000 and I asked him what he would be paying me to take care of him this summer. And the answer was, "nothing". We kept going back and forth with the conversation and then he spat out the line: "I'm just joking!" He makes me laugh. So from now on he uses that line -- for everything. I could just smooch him he just so cute.

Tomorrow I'll be taking Emma to school and picking her up and then I'll babysit them both through the afternoon and evening so they're parents can go out on a date:) Which means I'll be cooking supper and putting them to bed. I'm kind of nervous... We'll see how it goes!

Lots of fun to come this summer.
I promise I'll take TONS of pictures at the wedding so you can see how beautiful everything turns out...

to all you mothers out there.

Some updates for you...

I'm officially a nanny for the summer! I met the mom last Thursday and I met the kids on Friday... They are cute as can be -- the little boy is 6 and the little girl is 11. I'm pretty excited for the summer. When I was leaving on Friday, I had the cutest little note stuck in my door. Here it is, ladies and gents:





Just tell me, how cute is this?! Ok then, we've got that settled.

Also, other breaking news. My bank account was hacked into. Somebody, somewhere, somehow tried to charge $4,000 to my bank account. I have no idea where they got the idea that I would have that much money, but I don't! HA. I'll be going in tomorrow to try to work out everything so I can get my paycheck from school on Tuesday.

AND, my brother and Meghan are getting married on Saturday -- I'm so excited!

Today was mother's day. I have the best mama -- ever. And let me tell you, we had a feast. Honestly, I thoroughly impressed myself with my cooking. I made twice-baked potatoes that were really yummy... and the cake I made. Oh.my.goodness. SO good. And it was beautiful.

My Chocolate Mocha Torte:



And the twice-baked potatoes:

Just in case you weren't hungry enough, this is the whole feast together (My papi's famous grilled chicken, twice-baked potatoes, fresh salad, garlic bread, and SWEET TEA!)... Misty, the salad I made just for you:


Well, that's basically the update for today.
Mom's Day was good -- yummy, to be exact. I hope everybody had a fabulous day with their mom (or without their mom)! And Misty and Ashley -- I will do my best to keep my blog up to date just for ya'll:)

Happy Mom's Day, Mama...

home.

I have been eating home-cooked meals for almost a week now.
At this very moment I am sitting on my couch.
I love every single thing about being home.

Today I had an interview with a mom to be a nanny... It's basically a guaranteed job. I will be meeting the kids tomorrow at 4 and I'm really excited! This job seems to be a dream come true. She (the mama) was telling me about how she would pay for us to do whatever we wanted to this summer. Here were some suggestions made:

- the zoo
- the Atlanta Aquarium
- pottery shop
- Lake Lanier Island water park

... please, tell me if this could get any better? I truly feel blessed by this opportunity. Thank you, Kelly, for hooking me up with such a good job! Hopefully the babies love me as much as I will probably love them...

As much as I would never think I would say it: I miss Lakeland. I guess it's not so much the place as it is my friends. Misty, Ashley, Katherine, Nick, Allison... so many. I miss you all so much! I can't wait to be back with you so we can have many dates full of chick-fil-a, frozen explosions, brownie obsessions, and Target runs. Oh my, next year -- so much to come, my loves!

Until next time...

bittersweet. like chocolate.

I have definitely been swinging to Matt Nathanson all day today.
Mm... yes, I have.
Thanks to Misty T. for bringing him into my life -- kudos to your good choices.

We went to the concert and had lots-o-fun.
He's one of those performers you can just get lost without even realizing it. Amazing.

On a more serious note, I am getting ready for finals next week and I'm stressed to the point where I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about different classes. No fun. I can't wait for them to be finished and then it's on to bigger and better things -- my last summer as a student. I was thinking about it today -- this summer will be my last official "summer". It seems so far-fetched to me. After this my days as a student will be no more. I honestly don't know how I feel about that... mixed feelings I guess. I'm ready to move on in life and be finished with school, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to receive the responsibility of being an adult. It's almost like bittersweet chocolate -- it is good to cook with, but not as sweet as savory milk chocolate.

I'm tired.
Weary.

untitled.

I'm ready to go home.
Where my family is and love is found...without conditions or questions -- it is simply available.
I'm ready for this semester to be over.
I guess there is a point where one has to create their own home wherever they go, but at this point I just want my mom and dad...I don't care if that sounds childish. I miss them. so much.

Only a few more weeks and I'll be finished with junior year. It's crazy to think I only have one more year left. One year. So many things can happen in one year. I could move. go. stay. visit. travel. find out who I really am. fall in love, perhaps. I'm ready to explore. I hope the next year of my life is devoted to finding me -- in the ordinary and out of the ordinary experiences I am faced with.

So, I'm going to do it.

giddy-up.

It seems to me that all of my girl friends are feeling the same emotions as me... Direction, wisdom, love, so on and so on -- they all seem to be so close but still so far away. At least that's how I feel. I can't seem to break free from this mindset that everything has to be in order for me to move on from this place I'm stuck in. That's it, I'm stuck. I keep trying to pull out and continue to dig my self deeper in the "mud".

I don't have it all figured it out. And that's okay. It has to be or else my mind would constantly be on my current state of not knowing and nothing would get done.

Lord, send me something to let me know I'm where I need to be.

I'll find my way. Slowly, but surely I feel like I am wading through this season of life. It isn't just school, but it's life. Everything can seem so difficult and overwhelming. You would think that school would be enough on it's own, but it isn't. There is so much to be taken care of. Can't I just stop and soak up life? Embrace the moment. That's what they say, right? I need help embracing the moment. There is too much going on to do that. Too much. I guess that's a good starting point. I need to make some time to simply sit still.

Soak.it.up.

all or nothing.

Be specific.
Desire one thing.
Pursue with a whole heart.
Love justly.
Walk lowly.
Gaze steadily.
Pray.
Seek always.
Open fully.
Abandon.
Listen mindfully.
Speak positively.
Uplift.
Travel globally.
Worry not for tomorrow.
Run.
See as I see.
Thirst.
Hunger.
Prepare.