Go Upward Sports

Yesterday was the first game of the season for the Upward league I am volunteering for! This is my second season volunteering for this league as an assistant cheerleading coach. I am volunteering with my good friend, Deanna, who is the head coach. I absolutely love Upward and all the biblical values they aim to instill in every cheerleader and player! They may not keep up with all the fancy stunts, tumbling, and competitions that can go with cheerleading but they keep their focus on the One that matters most. {You can read more about it here} I am so thankful for this opportunity. I admit I am much more comfortable with being a cheerleader {cheered for 6 years in my childhood} than I am being an assistant coach but I get to fellowship with amazing girls and God is stretching and growing me in so many ways that I can't help but be thankful for this opportunity and the time spent with my good friend. I love that we cheer with God in mind. I love that each week we lead the girls to a bible verse to think about and ponder on. I love that we pray during practice. I love that we pray on game days. I love that we have a halftime devotional on game days. I love that not only are we having fun but we are doing it all in the name of the Lord. This past week during practice and game day, we focused on self-control and went over the bible verse

Everyone should be quick to listen.

But they should be slow to speak.

They should be slow to get angry.

-James 1:19b {NIrV}

Self-control as defined in the Upward coaches handbook is "choosing to do what you SHOULD do, not what you WANT to do. No matter how frustrated or annoyed or mad we get, there is always the choice to have self-control." Talk about truth. It really caused me to look within. Sometimes I am so quick to speak and get angry at my parents and bf, that it was a good reminder that I do have the ability to self-control in those moments. After all, they are the people who love me the most in this world. They deserve my best. We will be discussing self-control for two more weeks. I am looking forward to learning more about what the Bible has to say about self-control and I pray that the girls learn useful lessons that stay with them always.

Ringing in the New Year

For New Years, {now ex} bf and I were still driving back home from our Christmas vacation in Texas, in fact we were only two and half hours away from home when the clock was about to strike midnight. We thought we'd be home by then but since we weren't, we pulled off the highway into Tampa, went to a 7-Eleven and bought some cheap {very} tiny wine bottles to toast, then went to a parking lot behind 7-eleven, blasted a Christian music stataion, and set off some sparklers and fireworks we bought in Alabama. While we were doing that, a stranger drove by and asked if he could join us and set off some fireworks with us because he couldn't in his neighborhood. So he joined us. He even lit up lanterns and sent them up and away, which was something I had always wanted to do {ever since seeing Tangled}-so that was cool! It was a random, unplanned, spent with a stranger, and different way to celebrate New Years but it turned out to be fun and just right for us being on the road! Sometimes the best things in life are unplanned.

I also contiuned my yearly tradition {since 2010} of watching the first sunrise of the new year. Let me tell ya, it was not an easy task this year since I only got about 2 or 3 hours of sleep the night before from being in a car/driving so many hours back home. But like every year it was well worth it! I kept up with the tradition I started last year too- of watching the first sunset of the new year.

Sunrises:

Sunsets:

Cheers to a new year of fresh starts, growing closer to God, adventures, accomplishing goals, learning, and to be all that I can be!

Paperwork, Paperwork, & Even More Paperwork

Happy 1st Saturday of 2013! As much as I wish I had something super fun planned the first weekend of the new year, I don't. What I do have planned though {and have to remind myself of}, will bring much more peace into my life in the long run. I am continuing my unorganized to organized project by designating this weekend to sort through, ditch, and organize the piles of paperwork I have allowed to accumulate for days, months, and even years. Prayers for success. This is such a daunting task for me. Perhaps that is why I have let the piles grow so much. I have been avoiding it. This weekend I begin to take action. I dream of finishing this project by the end of this weekend but knowing my sense of time, we shall see. When {and if} this project is completed I will post pictures of my much less, beautifully, organized paperwork.

In perfect timing this morning, while getting mentally prepared to take action on this project, I stumbled across some organizing motivation from a sample on amazon of Maria Menounos’ new book The EveryGirl's Guide to Life . In the book, she devotes the first chapter to getting organized and showcases some pictures of her inspiring, organized closet.

Here are some words of organizing inspiration from her book:

“Disorganization inhibits happiness and increases stress and chances for failure.”

“Think less not more when it comes to your stuff. It’s freeing to have breathing room where you live. The more stuff you have, the more you have to clean, to distract you, to maintain, and to move.”

Her friend, Randal Malone, “concluded through his many trails and journeys, that the key to happiness is organization.”

“Many people treat their houses as giant closets, hampers, or in extreme cases, garbage cans. Bedrooms littered with clothes, desks covered with papers, bathroom counters scattered with products, and closets stuffed with everything you’ve owned since junior high school are all humongous roadblocks! Our homes are supposed to be our sanctuaries from the woes of the world. When you think of a sanctuary, do you really think of garbage and clutter?”

"Since I've become more organized, I am so much more happier."

Thank you for that much needed motivation Maria Menounos! Now off to start this project. Happy organizing!

Tis' the Season to Count Your Blessings

Christmas 2012 blessings:

Jesus.

Fun traditions-Christmas music, Starbuck's peppermint mochas, secret santa, watching Elf over & over, baking cookies, opening gifts at midnight {upbringing tradition}, hot chocolate, Christmas cards, ect.

Overall good health for my family, friends, and I.

Capturing cute pictures of Asher {my dog child} & Nena {parent's dog}. {photographing dogs, especially mine, is not always easy}

Having the week of Christmas off from work.

Going on a road trip to Texas, to visit my sister, brother-in-love, and two nephews.

Spending Christmas with all of them.

Snow on Christmas day!!

Enough snow to make snow angels the next day w/my youngest nephew.

Praying before dinner with my nephews for the first time.

Downtown Dallas being one of them.

Reuniting with good friends, Brenda & Suemi, before heading back home.

My mom and dad taking care of Asher while I was away.

Stopping to dayhike and explore a couple state parks in Northern Florida on the way to and from Texas.

Making it home safely.

Having many pictures of the trip to relive and always remember it.

Rolling down a hill for the first time:

Yummy Colombian hot chocolate and food from El Portal:

On a extremely cold night, went to the Chinese Latern Festival,

minus being almost frozen, it was something new and nice to see:

Lately, while sightseeing or on vacation, I like taking jumping picture:

I love the way the clouds and water collide here:

Nature Preserve Sunday

Minus having to do homework, yesterday was a pretty nice, relaxing Sunday.

Unorganized to Organized One Project At a TIME

I have been on a quest for almost 3 years to organize everything that I own and get to the point where I only own things that do me good-that I am completely in love with-or-that bring back good memories. The biggest inspiration to get this organization project on its way came from the book Lord, I Want to Be Whole by Stormie Omartian. Some of the quotes and bible verses from that book that I underlined and that really inspired me were:


"Things that don't build you should not be part of your life."

"You won't enjoy the peace and quality of life you desire until you clean your house thoroughly."

"I will walk within my house with a perfect heart." -Psalm 101:2

"Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of the reverence for God." -2 Corinthians 7:1 {NIV}

"There comes a point in everyone's walk with Jesus when it's time to do some housecleaning. Some things you need to be rid of will be obvious."

"...things may not be harmful in themselves but can be destructive for you because of a negative association."

"...anything you possess that reminds you of people, incidents, or things that are not of the Lord (or make you react negatively with depression, anger, anxiety, or fear) must be eliminated."

and last but not least the bible verse that really got me thinking was

"Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction." -Deuteronomy 7:26 {NIV}


I have come a LONG way in this project, however, it has taken me A LOT longer than I anticipated. At first, I got upset every time I didn't finish this project by every new deadline I set for myself. I craved to bring a sense of calm and peace through living more organized and could not wait to get it accomplished. Then, over the past year, I kept getting reminders that real change takes TIME. I have not always lived a super organized life, so unwinding all the years of living otherwise will take TIME. TIME being the keyword in many areas of my life, especially in this one. I have since taking the pressure off and have started getting organized one project at a time. Last night's project included my bathroom drawer and two plastic organizers from the ever so wonderful Target:

Blogging Unites

Wow, people from Russia-New Zealand-Slovenia-Germany-France-& Singapore have visited my blog! I was checking out the new features on blogger and ran across these stats. With my lack of posts, I thought surely all the views were going to be from me, however, I was pleasantly surprised that other people, from some countries I would love to visit, actually visited MY little ol' blog. I may not blog much {or at all for that matter} but I am a devoted blog reader/fan and I just have to say I LOVE the blogging world for bringing everyone together to do life side by side and share good finds & advice with each other. Happy blogging:)

Project 365-No bueno-April 22

So, yeah after a couple years of attempting Project 365, I have accepted the fact that it is just no bueno for me for blogging material. I thought it would help me stay consistent in blogging but I haven't blogged in months. So I say so long to Project 365 with a lovely picture from today's evening sky.

January 6, 2012~Project 365

Every other Friday you can find me at my Life Group! I've been meeting up with these girls for about a year or so and so far we've done three studies together. On January 6, 2011, we began our fourth study of the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan! Let me tell you it is great! Already, God is showing me so much through this study and we're only on chapter 2 of the book! Just the forward alone by Chris Tomlin reeled me in. If you're looking for a new book to grow in your faith I really recommend this one! Sidenote: Please excuse the quality of all my pictures. I have been having to use my ancient cell phone camera.

January 5, 2012~Project 365

It was a rough first week of the new year getting back into the swing of things after having 9 days off for Christmas break from work. So, on January 5th, 2o12 I treated myself to a Starbucks Latte and cake pop! It was just what I needed that day to lift my mood. Thank God for Starbucks!

January 4, 2012~Project 365

I have never gone through a phase where I went out almost every weekend to get drunk, however, I have had my share of drunken nights and usually nothing good ever came out of those nights. So nowadays I strive to not get drunk but unwind and relax with just one or two drinks. And what's more relaxing than a glass of wine, right? Finding a sweet enough wine that I liked wasn't easy. I sampled wine after wine for months until finally a waitress at Olive Garden back in December 2011 introduced me to a delicious Moscato wine. Let me tell you, it was definitely love at first sip! I have yet to find that particular brand I had that day, so lately I have been on a quest to find some other good Moscato brands. They say it goes best with desserts but it is sweet enough to have on its own.

On January 4, 2012 I purchased a cheap bottle of Moscato wine to try. It wasn't the best but was somewhat tasty.

January 3, 2012~Project 365

On January 3, 2012, Asher got introduced to a new doggy buddy who was way bigger than him and had way bigger bones to nimble on than he had ever laid his eyes on. He managed to get his paws on one of these bones and was adorably {viciously} protecting it with all his might!

January 2, 2012~Project 365

Calendars, calendars, calendars!
Every year I seem to have way too many calendars.
I want to buy just about every calendar I see at the store and can think of at least one good {usually unnecessary} reason I could use each one.
This year, I managed to cut it down to only three calendars!
A calendar planner I will carry with me {almost} always, one that includes a cupcake recipe for each month for me to bake, and one that will help me remember everything going on in my life.
On January 2, 2012, I sat down and wrote down every important date I could remember and could copy from last year's calendar {such as birthdays and anniversaries} and all the dates I had written down just waiting to be inputted.
There's something about doing this each year that makes me feel more optimistic, organized and prepared for the new year ahead. For those very reasons I love calendars!

January 1, 2012-Project 365

Since the moment I read about Project 365, I fell in love with the idea! One whole year of your life captured in pictures is a brillant idea for a girl who is in love {obsessed} with pictures and has a hard time remembering things. Every year I have the desire to finish this project but never do. One of my goals of 2012 is to get back to my old picture taking self. I can't think of a better project to help me do just that than Project 365!

To get started, here are a few pictures for January 1, 2012!

On New Years day of 2010 I began a yearly tradition of watching the first sunrise of every year. Thankfully the fog wasn't too bad and I was able to continue this tradition and catch the first sunrise of 2012:)


This year, I added the traditon of catching the first sunset as well.

Here are a couple pictures I took right before the sunset.




And here is the first sunset of 2012:)
If you look closely you can see two kayakers. Love that!

Highlights of 2011

The highlights of 2011 for me were:

-one of my best friends throwing me a small get together for my 28th birthday with cupcakes, hello kitty, my bestest friends, and all! {I'm a kid at heart}
-reuniting with my cousin from New Jersey who I hadn't seen in over 20 years!
-watching Dirk, Jason Terry, and the rest of the Mavericks win their first NBA title:)
-going to a church retreat and zip lining {Pictured above}
-spending Fourth of July in Fort Walton Beach with my Texas family who came to visit
-watching the last space shuttle take off in Cape Canaveral, Florida
-going to Islands of Adventure with my nephews. And riding the Harry Potter ride. I'm not even a die hard Harry Potter fan and it was super fun!
-going to my high school reunion-aah still can't believe I went and that it's been 10 years already!
-walking the fashion runway to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure
-helping throw one of my best friends a baby shower and then meeting her baby girl Madison a couple months later when she was only 4 hours old
-having afternoon tea and trying a mimosa for the first time with one of my besties
-dressing up as a lady bug for halloween at work
-going to the zoo for work!
-praising God with thousands of people at the Casting Crowns, Sanctus Real, and The Afters concert!
-spending Thanksgiving in Texas!
-tasting my first In-N-Out burger with my family:) It was good but didn't think it was as good as all the hype. None-the-less I was so happy to finally try it!
-going indoor rock climbing
-making it a whole year in my first bible study group
-keeping my education goals first and finally passing an English college course after several attempts over the years! So glad I didn't give up!
-spending Christmas weekend in Orlando and visiting Sea World on Christmas Day

Those are just a few highlights I can think of off the top of my head for 2011. I feel good about this year coming to an end and really looking forward to what new adventures 2012 will bring!

Some of my goals for the new year is to continue keeping God first, finish the goals I didn't finish in 2011, take better care of myself by working out-eating healthy-getting enough sleep-drinking more water-&-keeping my thoughts on things that are true-noble-right-pure-lovely-admirable-excellent-&-praiseworthy {Philippians 4:8 NIV}, go to my first Dallas Mavericks game in person here in Florida, do more outdoor activities, get back to my picture taking self, be a better friend & family member, start baking cupcakes, cross stuff off my life list, and learn how to manage my finances better. Cheers to a new year!

Meet Mr. Asher Agape

In my opinion, it is no coincidence that dog spelled backwards spells god. Dogs have such an innate ability to love people unconditionally no matter what the circumstances. It's one of the loves on this earth that most resembles God's unconditional love. So, when I went to name my first doggy child I had to make sure it was something special. I searched and searched and asked friends for ideas until the name Asher Agape came about! Asher in the bible {Genesis 30:13} resembles a happy blessing and Agape stands for God's perfect unconditional love. Even though he's a pain in the butt some days, and the terrier in him {he's half chihuahua, half terrier} tests my patience constantly, I wouldn't trade him for the world. He makes my days brighter and my lonely days bearable. He truly is my happy blessing of unconditional love! So without further ado, I'd like to introduce my one year old Asher Agape: