So..I've been eating and drinking way too much junk lately. And I haven't gone for a walk in a little over a month. That's NOT who I've become, or desire to become. I will stay healthy for as long as I live, and I am not going to disappoint the one person who believes that I can stay on track with this if I just commit myself 110%. I haven't been doing that lately, and I just have to apologize to this person. I'M SORRY.

I'm not going to eat any junkfood today, my dad stopped by Publix last night and we got subs. I still have a whole sub left to eat, and my dad is going to stop by Publix again to pick up some chicken for dinner later; I'm going to ask him to pick up some sandwich supplies as well. (Bologna, Ham, etc.) I think I'm going to go walking in the mornings now. I don't know if my sister still wants to walk with me or not, but I have my MP3 Player to keep me company if she doesn't. (Wish I had more music on it though..I can't put anymore on it because the cord for that process is lost and I broke my CD Player, so that's out too. .)

Anyways..Just wanted to post to say that I am going to get back on track with my health. . Although...I am starting to cuss a little more lately... Not good.

Comment! (0) | Recommend! | Categories: Edward [t], Life In General [t]

Ok...so I am way too happy and excited to go to sleep right now, but I probably will in about an hour or so. I just got done talking to Ed and we've set a date for the wedding [I think..] Anyways, we're planning for Feb. 20. Yay!! And we've heard to expect him home at the end of December..maybe, hopefully, before Christmas, but that doesn't really matter to me so long as he comes home safe and sound so I can give him a big hug and kiss! And soon.

Comment! (0) | Recommend! | Categories: Edward [t], Life In General [t], Wedding [t]

Everything happens for a reason. Just remember that and we'll get through this.

We all make mistakes-we're all human. But every mistake we make, gets made for a reason. Only God knows what that reason is long before we ever do...or will. We just have to put all our trust in Him, and have faith that He will show us what that reason is in His perfect timing.

"Beauty from Pain": My whole world is the pain inside me/The best I can do is just get through the day/When life before is only a memory/I'll wonder why God let me walk through this place/And though I can't understand why this happened/I know that I will when I look back someday/And see how you've brought beauty from ashes/And made me as gold purified through these flames

After all this has passed, I still will remain/After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain/Though it won't be today/Someday I'll hope again/And there'll be beauty from pain/You will bring beauty from my pain

Life isn't always easy--nobody's ever said "Life is easy." But there is the saying, "Life is hard. Deal with it." It will suck sometimes, and feel like nothing is going right, but there will be days, weeks, months, years even that it will seem everything is going your way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay. That was directed towards a specific person, but I think everyone should read it because we've all been in that emotional state at one time or another. Anyways, remember how I said I was thinking of making website layouts to maybe earn some money? Well, I may start doing that over the summer..except I'm not going to start with layouts, I think I'll work my way up by my making some cute little icons/tags. And it'll be donation-only for awhile since I'm still just a novice at this stuff. I've already got some ideas, unfortunately most are for site layouts I want to make in the future, but it's better than starting without any ideas at all, right? (If you've got any ideas, please let me know what they are; I could use them!!)

In other news, Ed and I have been back together for a whole year now!! Yay!!

Comment! (0) | Recommend! | Categories: Edward [t], Life In General [t], Friends [t]

So it's been awhile since I've written an actual blog, but I think it's for the best. I've been incredibly busy this summer, which is surprising because when it first started I had no plans to do anything but VBS and chillin' out in front of the TV. (Which wouldn't make for a very interesting blog post, in my opinion.)

Back in June, I volunteered to do Vacation Bible School (VBS) at First United Methodist Church (FUMC). It was a lot of fun-moreso than I've had volunteering in the past for the event because I got to be an actual teacher this year instead of one of the teen helpers. There was music, arts & crafts, and a great message! It's a little bittersweet looking back since I know I won't be able to do it again next year since I'll be moving to be with my (future) husband. Anyways, I worked in the Kindergarten classroom, so my kids were aged 5-7. They're so cute at that age-especially when they do the hand movements to the words in the songs! Each day of the week, we had a new memory verse and throughout the day, whenever the kids heard one of the activity leaders say the memory voice, they raised their hand and (kind of) mimed cracking a whip or doing a lasso while saying "Yeehaw!". (The theme for VBS this year was Avalanche Ranch-so basically a wild west type theme.) It is seriously one of the coolest things ever to see 20 kindergarteners mime whip-cracking while saying "Yeehaw!"

The organization that FUMC decided to donate to this year was Give Kids the World (GKTW), which is really cool because it's local, whereas in previous years they've done fundraising for organizations that aren't so nearby. It was also really cool because they didn't just raise money to donate--they had each child bring in a teddy bear (or other stuffed animal) to give to the children at GKTW, and on Thursday in Arts & Crafts, they each got to make a card to tie around the bears necks. You know those kids are gonna smile when they receive those bears, and that really warms my heart. Volunteering can be so much fun!!

Okay..so that was from June 18-22. From then to now, I've really just been hanging out whilst working on a wedding registry, which is a lot harder than it seems. Gotta love checklists for this kind of stuff!! I've got about 1/4 of it done..and my half of the guest list is definitely finished, although I do need a few addresses and phone numbers from a few people, but I've got time for that since the invitations won't be out for another couple of months. Sigh. Can't we just fast forward to the honeymoon already?

Esther got back from her family roadtrip on the 25th, and we've been hanging out a lot since then. Interesting things always happen whenever we get together...there's the afternoon we spend 20 mins at the gas station trying to figure out how to pay for gas with cash instead of a car, the countless squirrels who've just barely survived getting run over, a homeless man knocking on the car window and making some sort of peace sign at us while getting directions from her dad, etc. The most recent event was when I went over to make a lemon pie dessert and then watching Chronicle of Narnia for the first time. (By the way, I'm totally hooked on that book series now..) I don't think I've ever been so into a movie since the first Pirates of the Caribbean. I was totally hinting for spoilers as what was to come next but Esther and her brother, Josiah were pretty good at keeping mum..and I'm just as involved in the book series too. I'm currently reading Prince Caspian, but I'm about done with it.

Last night, Esther and I did a little bit of scrapbooking which was really fun, and we discussed plans for her birthday next week. She's thought of maybe having a pool party or something where she can get all her different groups of friends together, but nothing is really planned at the moment. We also talked about the garage sale we've been planning all summer to have--now that summer is almost over, we figure we should probably pick out a time and date for it real soon. School starts August 17th!! I'm really looking forward to starting school for once--and moving out and living (sort of) on my own for awhile!! I'll have a roommate, but I'll still be pretty much on my own..

So that's what's been going on in my life lately..I'll try and update more in the coming weeks!!

Comment! (0) | Recommend! | Categories: Edward [t], Life In General [t], Church [t], Friends [t], Esther [t], School [t]

A few nights ago, my mom asked when I start school at Trinity..Orientation is August 18-21, so I'm guessing around the 22nd or so. And the residence hall opens on the 18th. That is just a little less than a month away-I'm excited, but I'm also scared. In a good way, though. It's like when you're first getting behind the wheel of car or something. I don't all of my anxiety I'm feeling has to do with college being a few weeks away though-I'm starting to anticipate Ed's homecoming even though it isn't for another couple of months.

I'm really stressing about school at the moment though. I have bills that haven't been paid, and they were due yesterday. My dad did attempt to pay them yesterday since we've the money and everything; he couldn't get through so he's going to call first thing Monday morning, but I won't have a guaranteed spot in one of the dorms. You have no idea how much the idea of not getting a dorm room freaks me out. Pray for that, please!! I've also got to go and get my transcripts from Valencia transferred, which I thought had been taken care of months ago, so I'm going to do that on Monday as well. (And hopefully stop by the post office to mail Ed's latest package which is filled with a ton of stuff!)

Anyways, today I'm going to try and not think about all of that since there isn't much I can do until Monday. I'm going to sleepover at the Schroeder's with Esther after we make some spaghetti ( ) at her house for her family and some people they have staying with them..I think I'll be making a sandwich or something. Yeah, I don't like spaghetti..and yes, I know that's weird. Especially when I love all kinds of Italian foods, lol.

I've also got some items put aside for the garage sale we're trying to have before school starts; I may leave a box or two at her house for that. Hopefully we'll be able to pull off this garage sale that we've been planning to have for awhile now-and that it will go off successfully. My hair is also starting to bug me, I think it's about time for a trim. TRIM. I am not cutting it all off or anything cause I love having long hair, but I don't want to look like...a monkey. . Inside joke, nobody but my bear is going to understand that..lol. It could be worse, there are uglier animals.

Wow. I'm going to stop here, cause this post is getting kind of long. I'll try and write more on Monday or Tuesday, since I'll be busy the next couple of days and probably won't have time to do so.

*Prayer Requests*
-Garage sale Esther and I are trying to have before the start of school on the 22nd.

-Unpaid bills and dorm room/roommate (since Esther and I have decided not to room together for the sake of our friendship.)

-Transcripts

-Esther and I are also going to need some form of transportation to hopefully drive back home some weekends, and to our jobs over there (although, I think she's working on campus..I won't be.) I'm also going to need a job as soon as I get out there, so pray for that as well.

Comment! (2) | Recommend! | Categories: Esther [t], Edward [t], Life In General [t], School [t], Prayer Requests [t]

Wow. I haven't been on here in awhile. Partly due to a hectic schedule at school, and partly due to being unable to login for some unknown reason. Anyway, I decided to try and login again today, and guess what? It worked! My school is on Spring Break this week, so I'm mostly just chillin' back home in Kissimmee. I really need to start working on some of my homework assignments that are due next week, but I really haven't the motivation at all.
On Friday afternoon, after all our classes had let out, Charlie, Esther and myself headed to a dinner theatre at the Wycliffe Headquarters in Orlando where we saw an awesome production of "Sunong." After that, Charlie dropped me off at home where I found a large green bag of gifts that my mom had left for me. It was awesome! She got me some cross-stitch supplies, thin mints (Girl Scout cookies, if you're unaware), a bunch of mini tissue packets, a magazine, and twobooks I really wanted: Awakening of a Jehovah's Witness by Diane Wilson and Out of the Cocoon by Brenda Lee.
I couldn't wait to dig into my new books, and have already gotten halfway through Wilson's book. The more and more I read in it, the more and more I start to think about how similar Diane Wilson's life mirrors that of another woman I care about, who is still involved with the cult. There are so many similarities, and while I'm very concerned for this woman, this book is allowing me to stay hopeful that she will one day see that this organization is not "in the Truth," and rather a false prophet of which the bible warns about.
It's incredibily profound to know that my interest in this religious cult was piqued by my relationship with a self-proclaimed witness, whom I almost married. It's also an incredible blessing to look back upon my experiences with the two mentioned above, among a few others, and see that I not once found myself willing to explore more into this organization by joining in it myself. It's also such a blessing to still have a relationship with my ex-fiance where I may one day have an opportunity to witness and share with them just what divides Jehovah's Witnesses from being true Christians, although they put up a very good disguise as being such.
Anyway, if anyone is interested in learning more about this cult, or just want to get to know more about me, I'm always available on AIM ([email protected]).

Comment! (0) | Recommend! | Categories: Cults [t], Jehovah\'s Witness [t], Life [t], Education [t], Friends [t], Edward [t]