Random Ramblings

I warned you. . .it's random. 

Life seems to be drifting along these days without much excitement.  Winter is always the worst time of year for me.  I'm not a fan of the cold and the rainy, gray skies always get me down.  Luckily, there have been a few warm sunny days here and there to brighten things up a bit.

 My graduate work is slowly getting done and I hope to finish in May.  "I can do it!" is my motto.

Amy, Christa and I are already talking about possible summer plans.  Savannah is always our favorite, but there may be other options too.  It doesn't really matter where we go.  These girls are crazy fun travel buddies! 

The dry winter weather has done a number on my hair and nails.  I saw some comments on twitter this week about Kenra products.  I hate drying my hair.  Kenra blow-dry serum is said to cut dry time in half.  I ordered some on Amazon tonight.  I'll post a review once I've used it. 

I've been trying to get more regular manicures when my budget allows.  A couple of years ago when all the hype started about gel manicures, I tried it.  The salon I used in Dallas only had the Shellac brand.  I was told the polish would last 2 weeks.  It didn't even last one week.  Needless to say I didn't continue to pay the extra money for Shellac.  This past year, I noticed that my nail salon in Tyler started carrying OPI gel color.  I've used OPI regular polish for years and I really do think it says on longer than other brands.  I decided to give the OPI gel manicure a try. It lasts about 12 days, give or take.  And of coarse the names are always fun.  You don't know Jacques and I'm not really a waitress are two of my favorites. 

I've watched a couple of Hallmark movies this weekend.  One of my all time favorites is The Magic of Ordinary Days.  I recently realized it was based on a book.  Maybe I'll read it when grad school is over and I have time for fun reading again. 

I got a new iPod shuffle for Christmas. It's pink. I've made a little workout mix that I've been using. 

 

 Here's my mix. 

1.  Moves Like Jaggar - Maroon 5
2.  Brokenhearted - Karmin
3. Bad Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
4. Wake Me Up Before You Go Go - Wham!
5. Signed Sealed Delivered - Stevie Wonder
6. One More Night - Maroon 5
7.  9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
8. We Are Young - Fun
9. Morning Train - Sheena Easton
10. Forget You - Cee Lo Green

I think it's time for a new blog design.  I'll work on that!

Thirteen

I was finally able to add images, but I'm still working on the fonts.  Maybe this is so many of my blog buddies have moved to Wordpress.

 

You may remember a post from early 2012 (you can read it here) where I discussed having a word or a phrase for the year.  My phrase for 2012 was “The Scenic Route.”  I’ve been thinking about what my word/phrase will be for 2013.  I recently heard an old Russ Taff song, Praise the Lord.  It’s an old song, but I’ve always liked it.  Hearing the song reminded me how important it is to Praise Him, even in the hard times. It’s easy for me to spend my prayer time asking God for His blessings, but I need to remember to give Him the praise he is due. I know when I focus on praising God, His blessings are ever present.  I’ve decided my Word for 2013 will be PRAISE.  No matter what, I will choose joy and praise the Lord.  Sure, my life isn’t always easy, but I’m greatly blessed.  He deserves my praises for all the blessing in my life: Salvation, family, friends, health, work, comfort and so much more.

 

 

Psalm 22:3

 Praise the Lord  - Russ Taff

When you're up against a struggle
That's shattered all your dreams
And your hopes been cruelly crushed
By Satan's manifested schemes.
And you feel the urge within you
To submit to earthly fears
Don't let the faith your standing in
Seem to disappear

Praise the Lord. He will work for those who praise him
Praise the Lord. For our God inhabits praise.
Praise the Lord. And those chains that seem to bind you
Serve only to remind you.
As they fall powerless behind you
When you praise him.

Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think
That we are paupers, when we know ourselves
We're children of the king.
So lift up the mighty shield of faith
For the battle must be won
Remember Jesus Christ has risen
So the works already done.

I want to give a little shout out to my Mom. She’s pretty awesome.  I’m back in Graduate school pursuing a Principal Certification.  I took 9 hours in the Fall semester, 3 in the winter mini semester and I’ll finish the last 9 this spring.  I’ve been a little stressed about getting it all done.  I should be honest and say that this past week I was more than a little stressed.  I pretty much had a full-fledged meltdown.  Mom came to Tyler and cleaned my house, did laundry, took me to dinner and even brought homemade soup for me to freeze and use as needed in the next few weeks.  I know I’ve said this before, but I really do have great parents.  Thank you mom, I love you. Dad’s great too. He kept the home fires burning with Mama Thelma so mom could visit me.  Love you too Dad.