Tasty Thursday!

So back when i updated my blog i would sometimes post yummy recipes. I am always looking for awesome recipes that are easy, cheap and are something that you don't need every dish in the kitchen to make, so that's what kind of things I cook and I like to share them with you!

So tonight for dinner is:

Baked Penne Rigote

2 26 ounce jars of pasta sauce (any kind)
1 box Penne pasta
1 lb. Mozzarella Cheese grated
1 package Italian Sausage

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook Pasta according to the package instructions and drain. Cook the sausage in a skillet until they are fully cooked. Slice the sausage and stir it, the pasta sauce and 1/2 of the cheese into the drained pasta. Spread into greased pyrex dish and bake for 50 minutes. Spread the rest of the cheese on top and bake another 10 minutes.

Ok so my veggie loving friends won't be happy with this one, but i know you can leave out the sausage and it still be yummy or you could add roasted veggies. Tonight I used spicy sausage, and I'm hoping it turns out well, what i tasted before it went in the oven was really yummy!!

The best part of this recipe in my mind?? This recipe makes a TON of it, like enough to fill two small rectangle pyrex (maybe 9x11?) So it perfect if you have to take dinner to someone (you can make two pyrex and eat one yourself and do your neighbor a favor at the same time) What I did tonight was freeze the other pyrex, and some day I can pull it out in the morning and pop it in after i get home from school and then we have a ready made dinner!

So I hope that you try it out, and if you love it then you can thank my greatest friend, Jessica for her awesome recipe!

Julia

what's been going on?

not a lot of anything!! And it has been awesome!! I love being at home for Christmas break and so very little has been happening around here. We got back from Christmas on Sunday, after an awesome time with family. We flew to New Orleans and then drove to my Aunt and Uncle's house for the holidays. We spent the time really just hanging out with family. we got some awesome presents. Audie and I decided to get a Wii for ourselves for Christmas, which has been an awesome gift, and we have enjoyed it a lot! Audie got some good DVDs and Blue Ray movies that he has wanted for a while. I got some shoes, earings and a few measuring cups. They are really cool because they are the same kind that Alton Brown (i love him) uses for sticky liquids. I LOVE them, i want to make something with honey or mayo in it just so i can use them!! I also got to do a bit of shopping and i got some TOMS shoes!! So that brings my total up to 5 pairs!! I love wearing them for work because i have to wear closed toed shoes and they are super comfy, like wearing flip flops all day!

But definitly the best time was just sitting and hanging out with family and getting to see all my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and my sisters and mom and marcus! but now that we have been home it has been a boring kind of week. I really need to be cleaning our house up and getting everything settled in for the next semester, but I haven't really been motivated to do that stuff yet! so we've just been chilling out. Audie did catch a cold and stayed home from work yesterday to recuperate, which never happens, so it was nice to have him home, but sad that he was sick feeling!

well i know you were glad for the update, even if it was pretty boring. So i'll get back to catching up on my DVR and sitting around in my PJs!!

TTFN!

Julia

Job interviews!!

so if you know me, or heck even read my blog you know I was thinking and planning on applying for full time chaplain jobs in NC hoping to finish up here quicker than i would with chaplain jobs in GA. So i put in applications recently at 3 area hospitals. I got calls back to do interviews with all three, which is really encouraging (though i just got the last call today). I have ranked the three hospitals in case I get multiple offers, but I think that I would be happy basically at any of them, so i'm trying not to put too much stock in getting one over another.

So I had my first interview today (with the #2 hospital on my list) and I think that it went well. They seemed to ask me some tough questions, but also to understand and appreciate my answers. I really liked their office area, but the hospital where i did my internship seemed better. (like prettier, which is really arbitrary, it doesn't matter what kind of rooms i'm visiting in, just the people i visit.) But the people i encountered were really nice and I think i would be happy there at least. They pay a good amount, but 2000 less than the #1 hospital.

So we'll see as the other interviews unfold. the next is on the 5th of Jan. and another on the 18th of Jan. But no matter how well they go I won't hear from any of them until Feb. 16th. The area hospitals have an agreement to notify all of the applicants on the same day. So if any of the hospitals put me in their top choices (about 5-6 per hospital) they will give me a call and offer me a position on that day. If I don't get the top spot at any of them that doesn't mean i'm out completely, just that i'll have to wait and see after the top folks make their decisions. I think that these hospitals kind of figure that many of the applicants are also applying at the other places too so they know that they may offer a position to a person that decides to go somewhere else.

So that's what is up. By the way: Audie and I both had a very blessed Christmas, we traveled to Louisiana to be with my family, but that blog is for another day i guess. The job stuff was just way more on my mind!

ok ta ta for now!!

Julia

Merry (Early) Christmas!

So i know i have been MIA for the last four months, but i have a good excuse, my last post (i have never been so busy in my LIFE) was true for the last four months. BUT i'm setting all that aside to say hi to all my bloggy folks, if there are any readers left! maybe there are some folks that are still reading, and maybe i'll be better this coming semester about posting. I worked really hard at the hospital this semester, about 25 hours a week on top of taking two classes. Grades came back last week and I wound up with an A- and an A!! that is pretty difficult to accomplish in grad school so you can be impressed and i will be bragging about it. Since school let out I've been working on "chillaxing" and submitting applications for jobs for after graduation.

Right now I'm continuing to focus on chaplain jobs in this area. I hate that we'll not be back in GA as soon as we hoped, but i think that it is where God is leading me. I had a meeting recently in my hometown and they approved me for another year and gave me the go ahead to stay and continue doing chaplaincy for now. So I put in my applications at Duke Hospitals, UNC Hospitals and WakeMed (which is in Raleigh for you folks that don't know) and I have gotten interviews with two of them so far. In fact my first interview is next week! Ahh, kinda crazy! I'm really trying to focus on just putting this in God's hands, because i know his plan is to prosper me and not to harm me! So I put in my applications and will do as well as I can on the interviews, and have ranked them in my preference, but wherever God wants me to be I know he'll give me the green light to go there. Whatever place that is highest on my list, and offers me a job, that's where I'm going to go and trust that it is God's plan!

In other news: We got a new car! it happened about a two months ago, but Audie's car completely died on us (it had a messed up transmission) and we had to have a new car. It was really fun to pick out a new car, but it is way not fun paying for it!

We're definitely excited about the coming holidays. We spent Thanksgiving with Audie's parents in Atlanta and so we're spending Christmas with my mom's whole family in Baton Rouge! I'm really excited to get to fly with Audie this week (we haven't done that in a really long time- three weeks after we were married to Puerto Rico(fyi NOT our honeymoon, but a mission trip with 20 youth)) i think it will be really fun to get to sit next to my hubby on a flight and not some stranger.

Ok so we've been really busy, so don't judge the fact that we haven't sent out Christmas cards, finished our shopping or put up any decorations!! but that doesn't mean that we don't know and appreciate the real reason for the season!

TTFN

- Julia

wow

i have never been so busy in my LIFE!!! i had a great weekend at the wedding/ baptism, but now it's back to work! I've had some great times at work this week, i'm getting better at 'cold calls' were you just go and introduce yourself to a patient/family. This has worked out pretty well.

Today i had my first pretty hard case. I can't give any details, but it was hard to be this family's spiritual rock in the hard and difficult situation they were in. so your prayers would be greatly appreciated!! also this weekend I am on call for the first time. That means for 24 hours i am the only chaplain in the whole hospital! AAHHH!! i hope it goes ok.

in other news i spoke with my DS today, and asked him about if i could put off ordination for a year and do a chaplaincy residency for a year. He was very supportive. I'm still not sure if i will do that or not, because if i do that means that we have to stay in NC for an extra year. But there is a bit more security in us doing that because audie has a job that he likes, i would have a job that i like, we're happy with where we live, etc. the only sad part is that most of our friends would be moving back and we would be staying for a while. what do you think? is it crazy to put off ordination for a year? my DS seemed to think it was ok, and then i'll try for ordination in 2011. wow that seems so far away.

Ok that's all for now- i have TONS of homework to do because i was off doing great things all weekend.

Julia

today:

today I had poppyseed dressing on my salad at lunch. When i got in my car at 5:30 i realized that i had a poppyseed in my teeth. Why o Why can you not tell me i have something in my teeth when i am talking to you?

today i booked tickets to go see my family for Christmas! we're going to Baton Rouge, by way of New Orleans!! we got two round trip tickets for $420 total, for the week of Christmas!! i love good deals

today i looked at blogs instead of cooking dinner and then rushed to get something together so i wouldn't have to admit to the level of my blog addiction!

Today i 'paper-cut' myself on a CD while driving!

that's all!

Julia

I LOVE my Job!!

So can i tell you guys that I love my job!! I'm working as a chaplain for the Labor and Delivery unit at a hospital. I have completed my first week! I worked 12 hours on my floor, directly working with some awesome nurses, doctors, and other hospital folks. I also made 9 pastoral care visits!! most were just routine visits where I simply introduced myself and told them what we chaplains are here for. But I got to pray with two lovely families/ ladies. So i also spent a good amount of my time charting all that I did and i spent about an hour on the phone with IT people trying to get computer access for different things (doesn't that happen every time you start a new school/job!) Anyway! it has been awesome so far. it's not just good times though, there are some families that have experienced some deep loss and are in a good amount of pain when their babies have to be in the ICU or stay when they get to go home. It's a really hard job, but wow do i love being with these people in their happy and sad times, and bringing the name of the Lord into their days!

So another thing that i am really excited about is that in a week one of my BFF's is getting married!! and then a month later another one of my BFF's is getting married. The really cool pat of both of these weddings is that Audie and I are very good friends with both people so that always makes the wedding better! also i'm excited because we won't have to drive a mega long way to the weddings so we can stay as long as we want and the receptions. I hate having to leave before the couple does, and the last few weddings we have gone to it seems like we don't get to stay too long because we have to get back for some reason or another.

So classes also started back this week, and they look good. The chaplain classes I'm taking along with my time on the floor are going to be tough with a lot of work, but it seems like my other two will be ok!

alright that's enough for now, i'm going to go sleep and rev up for Friday! i also have to work really hard this weekend to make up for the fact that we're going to be in ATL for five days for Jessica's wedding and my niece's baptism.

Also on that note- our niece's parents (audie's sister and brother-in-law) asked us to be her godparents. What does that mean to you? everyone i have asked says something different and i'm not sure what they have asked us to do! Also Leah- if you are reading this i really want know your opinion.

TTFN-

Julia

my aassignment!!

Oh my lordy ya'll i know i haven't posted in FOREVER!! but you know how it goes, and i'm so sorry i've been too busy for blogging.

I just wanted to pop in and tell ya'll i'm busy and to forgive me! i started orientation this week at the hospital where I'm a chaplain. I'll be working there this semester 20 hours a week and also taking two classes- Evangelism and Christian Worship. but this week we're doing orientation with the hospital all day every day!

so far we've just been finding out where things are and basics and we'll be learning a WHOLE lot more the rest of this week. Today we selected our units. I'll basically work around that one unit of 32 beds or so, answering to the pastoral needs for any patient is in those beds! So i'm excited because I am assigned to the Birthing Center!! where most of the other chaplains will have more somber and hard emotionally driven areas, i get to spend my time with ladies in labor, their families, and thier babies!!!

TOO EXCITED about spending my time with the labor and delivery patients!!!

TTFN,

Julia

annifestabuel

so yesterday and today make audie and my annifestabuel!  so audie and I's first date was on July 1st and then we got married a year later on June 30.   So we refer to these two days as our annifestabuel (it rhymes with fuel in case you were wondering about pronunciation) We got the idea from a friend of mine and her ex who had a diagreement over when they're first date actually was so they celebrated both and called it annifestabuel.   It works for us. 

this year we pulled out all the stops and both went to work all day yesterday!  when working at the church Tuesday becomes my busiest day, because i lead bible study in the evening.  We don't get home until late and i plan our discussion all day + yesterday i made some pastoral visits and went to a VBS meeting.  all went well.  

Today for annifestabuel we're celebrating by me doing laundry all day and audie going to work again!  i know we are some wild folks!   

but we're going on vacation for a week starting on Friday afternoon (as soon as Audie gets off from work, so pray for a slow day!)  so we have got to clean our house and pack and a million other things that need to happen!  So i'm spending the next three days cleaning so that when we come home from vacation we have a clean house.  

i'm really excited about seeing all my fam for vacation, and more importantly having a week where i won't have to do anything work related.  

well TTFN, 

Julia 

i think i created a monster!

ok so after i posted about how amber had not posted in a while, then she posted again!! So not to be outdone, here's post number 2 of the day!

By the way audie if you read this blog, please act like you are surprised with your present in about 30 minutes when you get home! i worked really hard to make sure that you had no clue that it was coming to the house today, so if i screwed up by posting on my blog about your gift i'm gonna be pissed!

almost as pissed as i was when Jillian kicked off Jake the Pilot, but it's all good it looks like he comes back swinging this week!!

Julia

don't freak out!

the world is not ending just because i'm posting for the first time in about forever.
Let's just say that Amber over at Tweet Tweet Chirp Chirp was basically my excuse for not posting for a while. I kept saying to myself, well i know i havent' posted in about a million years, but she hasn't posted in about 9.6 million so it's ok. Surely i'll get back on the horse before Amber does! Yeah right, amber posted earlier today, so i figured i needed to get my act together!

so what's been going on?? well i started my chruch interneship, that's been going great, but making me much busier than i though i would be. this week is definitely my busiest so far.

We're going to a wedding this weekend! so excited to see two good friends get married. This will be the first wedding i have gone to in a while that i'm not in, so it should be great to just observe things!

Audie and my anniversary is this coming week. 2 years of marriage is kind of crazy. I can't believe that we've beeen married that long, and at the same time it seems like we've been together forever. it's timeless, like any great relationship!

For our anniversary Audie got me a Kitchen Aid stand mixer! i have totally wanted one forever, and so it was really nice to get one! last year we didn't get each other gifts because we were kind of strapped for cash, we just went out for a nice dinner. This year we're giving each other gifts, but not going to dinner together specifically to celebrate.

Also we just got cable, internet and dvr set up! another reason to post, because i can do it from a internet connection that i paid for! so pumped!

so i'm going today to get audie's present for our anniversary, so excited about surpising him with a macbook pro laptop. We're replacing our old desktop computer. We're going to donate the old one because it's still working, but not working good for our puporses. Since you get an iPod Touch for getting a laptop at the Mac store with your student discount, he's getting both as a surprise!

ok that's enough for now, lots of love folks!

Julia

bachlorette thoughts

the bachlorette last night was pretty great! i have started to like some of the guys and really dislike some of them. so Jillian here are my thoughts on some of the guys:

Jake the Pilot: i love him so far! i really liked how goofy he was on their date last week, and how he wasn't afraid to look kind of stupid in front of her. also you could tell that he was nervous- too cute! so we'll see how things work out but i think that he's my front-runner right now.

Kyptin- I'm not sure if that's how you spell his name but i really think he is a cutie! i think that he's just an all around nice guy, and so i want him to continue!

Wes the Country music guy: so i know that Jillian really thinks that his singing is really sweet/sexy/cool. But i disagree! first off to the producers: stop showing the same part of that song to us!! if you are going to continue to show him singing the same freaking song over and over then show some other parts of the song!! please!! Jillian- don't you think it's a bit strange/weird that this guy's song is so similar to a garth brooks song? also do you think it's weird that he only plays his own music and not anyone else's? he just seems like he doesn't have any other qualities than his music. i think it's a bit fake feeling, and some of the other guys think he's just here for his music, and i agree.

Tanner the foot guy: this guy has a weird thing with her feet! it is getting a bit ridiculous!! i mean i get it that some folks have things that they really like on a woman's body, but come on, talk about something else! during last night's episode she put her feet into his lap (i think adding fuel to the fire) and he could barely string together like 4 words he was so distracted by the loveliness of her feet! WEIRD!! i mean if a guy is a but/boob guy that's not all he talks about- so he needs to get it together and get in the game 'cause we're getting a bit tired of the foot thing.

Dave the angry guy: So at first i really liked him because he got so nervous the first night he really forgot what he was supposed to say, kind of cute! but now i have reconsidered!! he reminds me of all the nasty/disgusting/mindless frat guys i knew in college, and the stupid/cocky cops/military guys i know now. i just think he is full of himself!! and his anger issues are quite concerning- because i don't think its ever ok to even think about beating up another person- much less voicing that desire outloud in a real conversation! i think that last night he had way too much to drink, and got angry over the stupidest thing- the other guys that are participating- he knew when he signed up for this that there would be other guys involved, so you can't get mad now!

Juan- now there is a lot of controversy about this guy 'cause Dave the angry guy got all pissed at him because he didn't think that Juan was being for real, that he was acting fake. Now i disagree with how Dave went about voicing his concerns- see above! - but i kind of see what Dave is talking about. Juan is just too calculating. every time he approaches another guy to pull jillian away he brings her another drink, or a blanket. he also always has a line about her dress, her eyes and the rest of the stuff. i mean i appreciate the thoughtfulness, etc. but he's just a bit too slick for my tastes! i like a guy that allows the imperfections to show at least a little bit. He's just oily feeling and a little fake.

ok so not that my oppinion of these guys is what matters, but you know i have to do the commentary to the show that i love to watch, and about those boys that i just love to hate!

so hopefully next week will bring more drama- i love the confrontation between juan and dave this week- though i want to know how jillian didn't get wind of all that happening- and i wish some of these guys would speak up about hwo they feel about these crazy guys! apparently next week they call out some guys who have girlfriends back home! oooohhhh i love drama filled summer reality TV!!

so loving the summer,

Julia

dinner tonight!

Ok guys and gals! I have an awesome recipe for you- i realize i have kind of dropped the ball on the recipes, so sue me! but after i got back from an awesome road trip with my friends sarah and meridith, we had a few days of slow down and relaxation. Then Sunday evening meridith passed out at work, hitting her head on the floor, and she got a concussion. She was in the ER for about 24 hours and I spent one night in the ER with her, and then sarah took the day shift. i had to go back Monday night so she wouldn't be by herself. yesterday i went and got her mom from the Airport so that her mom could take over all the mothering!

she's doing great now, just still on nausua and dizziness meds. now if her mom doesn't drive her crazy in the next few days it will be a miracle! not because her mom is aweful, but becasue let's face it once we all get out of the house having our mom/dad parent us again is like torture!!

ok on the recipe! this is my mom's mac and cheese recipe with a bit of a yummy twist (from another yummy recipe i had)! i definitely made this a few weeks ago and then have had cravings for it ever since!!! so now it's on the menu for dinner tonight- along with sloppy joe's ( they are audie's specialty) and roasted broccoli and watermelon for desert!! ok on with the mac and cheese:

Mom’s Macaroni and Cheese


1 box macaroni noodles
1 block of Cheddar cheese
milk
2 eggs
a few dashes of hot sauce -optioinal
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard - optional

• Boil and drain noodles, and place into a sprayed or greased glass baking dish.
• Cup up the block of cheese into cubes, and stir throughout the noodles.
• Beat eggs in a small bowl and add enough milk to fill the glass dish. Mix in the few dashes of hot sauce ( I use about 10-15 drops) and the ground mustard, if using.
• Pour the milk and egg mixture over the noodles and cheese.
• Bake at 400 degrees for an hour, or until the dish is totally solid
• Optional: grate cheese over the top about 10 minutes before it is finished.

so the hot sauce and mustard give the mac and cheese a real savory flavor and that little kick of spice. i love the change to my mom's traditional recipe, but try it both ways! hope you enjoy!

Julia

I'm back!

ok so i have officially been back since friday/saturday at 1 am, but since that means i have been exhausted ever since then i figure now is when i make my return to bogging. Not much to report- well really too much to say is the more likely problem after two weeks almost with the best girls in the world.

we picked out the cutest bridesmaid dresses ever!! so excited!! we traveled a LOT of miles to see a million things! um yeah too much to say at this point, so i guess i'll begin with this weekend- a whole lot a nothing!

sleep sleep and more sleep to recover from the 1 1/2 weeks of much travel, many strange beds, and not enough sleep because of the combination. Audie and i also watched Charlie Wilson's War! it was awesome!! too good!! we also will watch Valkarie tonight so i'll report back as to the goodness of that one.

ok that's all folks, at least for now!

Julia

this week

so this week, and next i'm in GA, with family and friends. And i'm too busy hanging out and loving every second of the time i'm spending with them to blog about it! sorry for the interruption for no news but things are good, i'm not dead and i'm having a blast, but missing the husband!

have a great week off everyone!

weeks recap!

Sorry guys, I realize that katie b. posts more in a day than i do in a month many times. But this week has been fairly busy- about as busy as summer time gets around here.

Sunday: not much happening around here, i think Audie and i just enjoyed the fact that we had nothing to do that afternoon.

Monday: Babysitting again. i watched my fav. girl again, picking her up from daycare and then putting her down for a nap that afternoon. more like a day of stuff to do. after babysitting i taught a friend to drive a stick shift, she did really great! she was my like second student ever, and she was driving in a neighborhood after only about two hours. Audie stayed home sick that day, and i think he passed it to me, because by that evening i was sneezing and stuff as well.

Tuesday: Orientation for Field Ed. So my supervisor and my reflection group leader were not present- which is the majority of what you do at orientation- meet and get to know them/ hear about what you'll do this summer during the internship. SO my day was basically pointless. a long day of doing nothing at the Div. school. I didn't really have to be there for most of the day so i skipped out on some things, but was present for the most important things.

Wednesday: again babysitting! another nice day with the girl! she was really funny, because her mom has been gone for the last week (she was in the hospital- she was fine, but still) the girl has been with dad, and has been totally missing mom. That afternoon when she woke up from her nap, and found me there instead of mom or dad she was pretty upset. after she calmed down we were playing, when she had to get in a bit of trouble for doing something dangerous- not a big deal i just told her no (a word she doesn't hear too often i'm sure- especially this last week, while dad has been in charge) But she got mad at me, and then pitched a bit of a fit- she threw herself on the floor, and then like screamed loudly. I told her to stop that or she would have to be in time out. And at that point she started 'crying' where she just made crying noises, but no tears were there at all. And when i told her that wasn't going to get her anywhere- she jsut made the noises some more and then would stop long enough to check if i was paying attention, and then when i looked at her, started 'crying' again. Kids are pretty funny, I told her to play something else and she pretty much did, in like 5 minutes i was her favorite again.

Thursday: not much going on here! i stayed home in my PJs all day- for the first time since school has been over!! reading and watching TV, and really resting with my cold. I still feel pretty crappy, but i think the cold is on it's way out, i'm totally living off sudaphed and robutussin, and the combo has made me pretty sluggish!

but this time next week i'll be in GA!! I'll give the low down later, but I'm pumped about $29 one way tickets that i got on tuesday, and i'm pumped to go home and see my mom, and then go dress shopping with the newly engaged Jessica, and when i get home, i'll be going on the road trip of GA with my two good seminary friends!

so see ya'll later, enjoy the longest post ever, and i hope you have had a great week too!

-Julia

summer is great!

AAhh, i love summer time! I have had the best few days! (i have had plenty of time to blog, but i have just been doing nothing and enjoying my time off)

Thursday: i babysat for one cute little girl Hannah, we went to the Life and science Museum in Durham, AWESOME i really recommend it! totally worth the ticket price. Anyway we went and so did like every school child in durham public school and their parents as chaparones. they were everywhere= too crowded and not too fun. Then we went back to her house for lunch and a nap! Then Audie and I just spent the night at home. (the girls and i were gonna do a sleep over that night, but finals wore us out too much)

Friday: we did get together for a poolside lay out day of reading, relaxing and chatting. But the sun did not cooperate, clouds and then rain ruined our day, so we went inside and watched Bride Wars- too cute! On the way home from sarah's i got an awesome call from one BFF Jessica about her getting approved for a new house. She bought a house!! that's crazy, but so exciting, she and her boyfriend are awesome good friends of ours, both were in our wedding (they walked down the aisle together!) and they had been looking for houses, waiting for a good deal/ good house. They found an awesome house- it was great news to hear! Friday evening a few friends and Audie and I went to the Durham Bulls game. Awesome seats for just $10. We were like five rows back from first base, right next to the Bulls dugout! we were really pumped and had a great time at the game- even though we lost 14-1. boo on the bulls! But the real drama of the night was that my car was broken. When my friend came over to go to the game he came in and told me that my brake lights were on, even though my car was NOT on!! really freakin wierd! anyway we took off one of the battery terminals so that the battery wouldn't run down.

Saturday: So far the day has been great. I got woken up to the news that Jessica- friend with the new house- and her boyfriend James GOT ENGAGED!!! too awesome timing James! they are such a great couple. They started dating about six months after Audie and I did, and i have been wanting them to get engaged probably worse than Jessica has! but they now are, and the rign si lovely! a beautiful antique- james' grandmother's! love it! sigh, love is in the air! ok well then since we were already up, from the 8:30 phone call from Jessica, we decided to go ahead and take the car to the shop. No news yet on wether little herbie ( that's my car's name) will be better soon or not, here's hoping 'cause i was supposed to teach a friend to drive stick this afternoon/ another friend on Monday. I kinda need my car for that!

Ok so anyway- summer is awesome i love having nothing to do! though it is a bit wierd having nothing to do, you know what i mean?

Ok well i'll update all of you when i know more about herbie's condition! love to all on a beautiful saturday!!

-Julia

Done!

20 minutes ago i submitted my last final! and a full ten minutes before the deadline! i was done at 9:30 but i had a friend proofread it with some fresh eyes- really good idea since the paper was for 50% of my grade! so i'm off to bed, then going to spend my first day off babysitting for the sweetest girl in the world!! then my two great friends meridith and sarah and i are all having a slumber party at sarah's- no husbands! then on friday will be the whole day spent by the pool, until we leave to shower and get changed and go to a Durham bulls game!! it's going to be a great summer, including some awesome reading, though Not one of you gave me any suggestions! it's ok we're still friends, but throw me a bone here- give me some suggestions for any good book you have read in your entire life that you think i should read!

ok bed is calling!

lots of love from officially a senior (third and final year) in Divinity school!

julia

halfway there!

Ok so i have completed two of my finals!! two papers down and a test and a huge paper left to go!

So i have completed two papers that equaled 17 pages and have done my portion of the study guide for my test on Monday. Tomorrow afternoon my study group is going to combine all our portions and discuss and study together, and i'll continue studying on my own Sunday evening and monday morning prior to the test at 1:30

After my test i'm going to start writing that massive ethics paper- 6000-8000 words (18-22 pgs) on an ethical issue. sigh- this is going to suck bad!! but Sunday shall be spent outlining paper and gathering sources, then after my test Monday- around 4:30 i will begin writing! hopefully it will all be done by Wednesday at dinner, though it isn't technically due until midnight. I will be writing until it is done though!!

And then Thursday is going to be spent in my PJS!!!! first day of summer break!!!! I'm going to read as much pleasure reading this summer as i can- And i'm taking suggestions- any book you think i should read leave in the comments! I already have several in mind, but any book will do! Also i plan on spending Friday poolside with my two best seminary friends - don't worry i'll have plenty of SPF. And in a few weeks we have planned a road trip of GA to show off my home state to the two of them!

Then i'll start my summer internship, go to AL with my whole extended family, finish the internship, have a few weeks off, and then school starts back- the last year here!!

ok so i went on a jaunt through my summer plans, but really i still have to write that paper, and study for this test!!!

but what am I doing for the evening?? Red Robin (awesome restaurant) for dinner- thick cut steak fries, an awesome burger- with onion straws, A1 and bleu cheese on it!!, and a strawberry lemonade -real strawberries!!! totally my fav. stress food- carbs, red meat and a pink drink! then a movie on the couch with popcorn with the hubby! loving it! i need a night off after all the study prep, and writing I have done this week to give me a surge of energy for the next half!!

love to all- sorry i have fallen off the face of the planet- finals are killer!!

PLEASE suggest books for my summer reading- hell suggest a million of them- i'm a fast reader and i'll have all summer!

-julia

AAAHHHH!!!!

so the last post with this title was a relaxed sigh of relief. This one is a scream of stress! So now i am totally into my finals! i have three papers due and one test to take. I have done nothing so far and i need some major encouragement!! it will all get done, but will my sanity last that long? that is the real question!

in other news: there is no other news, my life is school, everything else is on the back burner! my house is a mess, i have barely cooked dinner in the last few weeks, and laundry is piled up - clean laundry that needs to be hung up (that's my least favorite part)

so from the messy house- have fun for finals week- i know i won't!!

-julia

AAHHH!!

That wonderful sound is the result of Easter Break! two days off, today and tomorrow! lovely! And all my assignments are in - except for one sermon and finals. This is a glorious time in the semester, my stress is over for at least this week. Then i have my lat class days next week and then reading week and finals week. By may i should be totally done!!

So this week/ weekend is totally free for me! lots of sleeping and watching TV, reading for classes of course, and enjoying my stress free life for the moment. Because reading week is basically me writing a ton!!

I have three classes that instead of a final test. So i have a week to write a 7 pg paper about my theology of preaching, a 10 page paper about the mission of the local church, and a 18 pg paper about an ethical issue of my choice (probably premarital sex and the ethical implications therein) BIG fun i know!! and then i get to turn them all in on top of taking a Methodist polity test!

so now is just the calm before the storm begins! but for now i can say AAHHH nothing due in the next few days, lovely!!

enjoy the weekend! go to church and celebrate the rising of the savior!

Julia

Back in NC!

So we're back after an awesome, and tiring weekend with our family, including new miss Madison! She is way too cute, a great baby so far and is really fun to hold!

We spent basically all Friday and Saturday cooing and awwing over her and her every move. I have some awesome pictures and will upload as soon as i can get them all to my computer.

Also Sat. night we left mom, dad and baby and had dinner with James and Jessica!! it was awesome to see my good friends that i haven't seen in so long. Boo on Amber for not making it! -we understand but still had sad faces for the evening 'cause she wasn't there to enjoy it!

so everything here is pretty great! i have 7 more days of classes left, counting today, and then finals and i'll be done for good. Then i just have one internship to complete this summer, and one more year of school. But this time next year we'll be working on moving back to GA!! so excited about that!!

ok that's all i got for now!

Julia

Here she is!!

so cute- she was born around 3pm, 7 lbs 12 oz. 21 1/2 inches long!! so beautiful!! everyone is happy and healthy! More info/pics will be available for real friends through facebook but i thought i would show off that lovely lady!!

update #2

Ok so Leah has an epidural, and is feeling great. the midwife said that his or her estimation was for a 7 pm ish birth. so excited!! basically all involved (including g-parents to be) are at the hospital and are just playing the waiting game. Waiting for more dialation, waiting for the next exam/check of how things are going.

Side Note: Audie asked his boss and wound up getting Friday off from work, so he and I will leave for GA when he gets home from work about 7 tomorrow night!!! a whole day earlier than expected. we're hoping to jsut hang out with all the family and hold that baby!! definitely doing all we can to pitch in and help- cooking, cleaning, anything!

in other news: i have 3 out of 15 pgs for now. i'm working through one of my classes, and hoping to get it done tonight!! so that i can pack/enjoy my thursday!

love to all

Julia

Ok we're back on!

leah texted us this morning at 6:45 they are back at the hospital and were at four centimeters, She got the epidural and is just at the hospital waiting for things to start happening.

I am at school all day- going to class, working on the paper, registering for next semester. I don't know how informed i will be through out the day, but i will def. post when i know something- if only just to take a small study break!

love to all-

Julia

Update 1

so about 6 tonight Leah left the hospital again- apparently a very, very real like false alarm! not fun for anyone!!

also the paper is coming along, but slowly, i will let you know how things go along.

Julia

We're in Labor!!

YAY!! after two and 1/2 weeks of "it could be any moment" from the doctors Leah is finally in labor with my precious niece, Madison!! So excited! i got a text about 2pm saying that the contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart and pretty consistent so they were headed to the hospital and would keep us informed!! so sad day that Audie and i will not be making it to see an actual birth- but that is good in many ways too, so i'm not stressed!! and we'll be able to head to GA this weekend and help out with the new baby at home, which is even better- no hospitals, and no waiting rooms, and no limit to the baby holding!!! love it! I'll keep posting today- because i'm too excited to not!!

Also i'm in labor of a different kind- a Methodist Doctrine paper!! uhh not exactly a bundle of jov, but a labor none the less! so as Leah is pushing out my niece i will be pushing out a 15-18 page paper that is due on Thursday! I have to get it done by the due date, though i guess Leah is hoping to have the baby before Wednesday is over (tomorrow is the actual due date for Madison) there isn't really a deadline going on. but hopefully by this weekend papers and homework will be all done and i can just enjoy that sweet baby!!!

we'll keep in touch, and i wil be writing a ton tonight in hopes to be done early- through we all know how good i am at procrastination!!

TTFN,

Julia

I'm IN!

So as i sat down the lady told me i had nothing to worry about, because the interview was basically a formality!! and then we chatted for 2 hours!!! how crazy- but really fun, we laughed and cried (really just me- i'm a crier) anyway really fun!! and it makes me want to do CPE like right now!! but i have to wait until Aug. to start!!

but this summer: i get to be in a church!! in DURHAM!!! last summer was amazing experience, but audie and i wound up shacked up in a cabin on a pond in the middle of nowhere NC for 10 weeks while i worked at a tiny church. it was awesome but living away from home sucked- no phone service, no internet, no TV, etc.

This summer i am going to be at a chruch about 20 min. from here, big improvment! i don't know all the details yet, and i'll update ya'll as i do, but pretty much i am pumped to just be able to sleep in my own bed all summer- unlike the twin day bed that i was in and audie slept on the floor on a mattress all summer last summer!

so thanks for all the prayers/ love sent my way today i felt every bit of it!!

now we celebrate!! i hope by going hibatchi tonight!

- julia

MIA

so sorry i have been MIA the last few weeks. I realized while texting Amber last night that because of my lack of blogging i have left many people out of the details of my life.

there are only three weeks of classes left!! and anyone who is in school knows that a wave of papers/ projects are due at this time so that they don't get too close to finals. so the wave hit this week. A 4-5 pg paper for Local chruch in Mission, a 8-10 pg paper for Christian Ethics (both due last wednesday), a 18-20 pg paper for Methodism due this coming thursday! in the midst of that i have gotten a stress (what stress?) induced cold/allergies have hit so i had to stay home tuesday becasue i felt like i had ben hit by a mack truck- but that allowed me to get both papers done by 10 at night rather than 1 or 2 am like usual so that kind of worked in my favor!

in the midst of all of that i preached for my class the monday after spring break (all went well- see previous post) and i had to have a 45 minute meeting with my actual prof. about it. Registration is next week so i had an advising meeting, and Field Ed. placements are made today!! so by five i should now where i will be this summer! also i have applied for Clinical Pastoral Education at Duke Med (2 reference letters, and 13 pages of single spaced answers to questions for the application) in the last two weeks and have my interview today at 3!

CPE is required for many people seeking ordination, but not for me. It's a program that is designed to help prepastors like myself get to know themselves in pastoral situations, through counseling and classroom time, reflective papers and verbatims that are analyzed by classmates and supervisors. it also helps me to learn how to react in pastoral situations. if i get in i will be serving as an intern chaplain for Duke Med. so i will be at the patients, dr. and nurses beck and call for any pastoral situation that they need- usually it is praying prior to surgeries, helping to give death notices to family members after a loved one has passed, or to lead group/individual counseling things- like a family struggling with wether to pull thier loved ones off life support. Overall it is an extremely involving process.

-maybe if Ted Kennedy comes back to Duke Med i can hang out with him!! i get a lab coat and id badge and everything!! i also get a few times where i am the ONLY chaplain present for 24 hours on the weekend- i get to sleep in the on call room and be there all night!!! aahhhh, how cool!!

i have applied to do it this fall and will get two course credits for doing it. so i will take two classes at the div. school like normal and then do CPE stuff for about 15-20 hours a week.

so wish me luck on my interview!! and ya'll have a good day!!!

TTFN- i'll post when i hear anything from them!
Julia

up early

Ok so i worked all day yesterday on my sermon for this afternoon. It was really frustrating because there was something missing and i couldn't figure it out. But i knew it wasn't as good as my last one. This sermon i have to have a conference with my professor about- 45 minutes of 'chatting' with him about my sermon and how it could be better. Stressful- yes!! Add in my feelings of inadequacies means that when Audie said that it was 'fine' i freaked!!! i was totally frustrated that i couldn't get it right and that i had to get up today and give a crappy sermon, when last time i had actually done well. (obviously a fluke). So i polished as much as possible, reworked some things, got specific feedback from Audie and decided it was ok and went to bed.

I got a flash of inspiration at 8 this morning when Audie got up. I was kind of in a sleepy daze thinking of the sermon when it HIT me!! Then i stormed downstairs to the computer to write my lovely conclusion!! (does this happen to everyone? I'm not sure but my last sermon began with a flash of inspiration- maybe it's just me) I feel much better about the whole thing now. I found that missing piece! love when God comes through like that!! God doesn't always show up when you want him to, but he's always right on time!!! love it!!

-hope you get that inspiration you've been waiting for!!

-Julia

spring break!

Ok so i am now back safe and sound in NC and so it is now time for the update of the whole week- keep reading guys this is good stuff.

1. so i visited my parents/sisters/ their sig. others/grandparents until Wed. - did a lot of fun eating/visiting, watched cable!!, and got some homework done.

2. Met hannah (younger sis) boyfriend. they met online and he came to visit/meet her this week. he was nice and not an ax murderer!- though we had our doubts at first we gave him a thumbs up.

3. my bro-in-law Johnny, who works in IT, burst my google analytics bubble. Apparently there are 'google bots' and 'yahoo bots' that regularly check websites to make sure they still exist, and he said that may be why i have random readers in random states just once. I really hope that its not true, but i am afraid it is, boo hoo.

4. Madison (in utero niece) is trying to make her appearance. Leah(sis-in-law) has been put on permanent bed rest until Madison comes because of her blood pressure being sky high- she has a blog too (on the side bar) if you want more info- and then Friday she had a false alarm, but the dr. said that it could be any time now. Audie and i are hoping for another week, because if she goes into labor on Friday we can get there for the weekend, but if not then we don't get to see the actual birth. BUT either way we're gonna go see that girl ASAP!!

5. my girlfriends and i had a slumber party Thursday, so much fun!! lots of junk food, chatting and laughing about everything!! but we went to bed at midnight so it was kind of an old lady sleepover!

6. Audie had off Friday so we hung out all day, including going to babysit a wonderful little girl that morning. We took her to the life and science museum in Durham- WAY fun!!! it was really a cool museum and had lots of fun stuff for kids of all ages, Audie and I had a blast too, we may make a trip of it ourselves next time anyone comes up to visit. I got a great report back from the mom afterward and apparently we're a hit because the little girl was just chatting all about Audie and I all day!!

7. had dinner/West Wing at a friends last night, she had friends from highschool come later on in the evening and we watched videos from highschool!!! so funny, apparently their group of friends just filmed like everything from school projects, parties and them just hanging out! so funny to have a blast from the past- our clothes were SO similar, and we all totally had those random funny moments. I kind of wish i had those things on tape now!!

8. Found out this morning that instead of preaching in class on Wed. i have to preach on Monday!!! AAAHHH kind of freaking out!! but i have a scripture ready to go and have some good ideas so far.

OK i know that was a ton- i tried to not ramble on and on about the random details like i normally do, maybe i succeeded and maybe i didn't. Enjoy and have a great week folks!!

-Julia

hey guys

So spring break is in full swing.

I'm in GA this week and hanging with my mom and sisters!! my g-parents and everyone is over for dinner, the only one who is missing is Audie!!

but he has to work so that stinks! love to all more updates when i get back to NC.

-Julia

AAHH!!

so i just checked Google Analytics and people in other places read my blog!!! i have 'readers' in NY, NJ, CT, AL, SC, MD!! and those can't be explained by me obbsesively checking my blog all day!! also i don't think all the Durham people 'reading' are me!! - high hopes

i just wanted to share that you should come clean if you are a real reader- COMMENT!!!! i want to know who you are!

also i did finish my paper in time, and yesterday got a few good grades, including a sermon, midterm and paper that i ROCKED!!

and spring break starts tomorrow at noon!!

TTFN,

-julia

new additions

ok so after i typed that title i realized it sounded like i was having a baby- but i'm not- my friend Lynds is though!! yay and congrats to her and her hubby!!

anyway this blog post is totally written just to buy me some time until oprah comes on and i have another thing to occupy my time and hep me procrastinate writing that little paper that is due- TOMORROW! ok i'm going to write it but not before sharing some new procrastination tools i picked up this week: This could be helpful to all those who have endless hours in the day to do nothing- HAHA.

New blogs: so i found these two really great blogs over the weekend and thought i would share:

http://pirkleschinaadoption2009.blogspot.com/- this is a blog of a couple who's parents go to Audie's church in Atl. They actually live in Nashville or something where they are both drs. Jimmy and Stephanie have had some infertility issues and so today they are in china hanging out with their new adopted little boy Maddox. they just picked him up today!!! they are also in the processes of trying to do a surrogate mother so be in prayers for them too. I think you have to 'join' the blog to read it, but they are really sweet so it's totally worth the extra hoop.

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/- this is a blog where the woman posts really nasty/ugly professional cakes online! really funny. mostly the cakes have some sort of decoration that is weird, like dead elephants for a five year old's b-day or something misspelled- like 'God Luck, Don' instead of Good Luck. you'll get addicted i promise.

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/- this is a blog of passive aggressive notes- mostly written by businesses, coworkers or roommates to help keep the peace. REALLY funny. The best are signs that are left and then written on by someone who doesn't appreciate being told what to do in an anonymous note, and then there is another response, etc.

http://icanhascheezburger.com/ - so this one i have looked at FOREVER!! it has funny pictures of cats with captions- it might not sound that funny, but you'll get hooked! it is definitely best to read them aloud in a babyish voice to get the full effect! also there are tabs at the top to link to pictures of dogs, celebs, all kinds of things, sometimes really inappropriate, but really funny at the same time.

http://www.overheardintheoffice.com/ - ok this is a new fav of mine. It is a whole blog of things that people overhear at their offices, duh! but there are links at the top to things overheard in NY, things overheard at the beach, celebrity quotes and things overheard everywhere. Most are just so outrageous that people are actually talking about these things- but then again all of them are completely out of context so maybe they did make sense at one point.

http://www.postcardsfromyomomma.com/ - another new one from this weekend. this blog is of all emails/conversations/ texts/ phone calls from people's moms that are just too funny. My fav is the ones that are like: "i called and you didn't answer so i hope you aren't dead or dying, call me back so that i know not to call the police" they wind up being pretty funny too!!


ok ladies and gents that's all for now, i hope i gave you something to last through the work day!

-Julia

It official

i just got an email from the dean of students of Duke university, the registrar of the div school and the president of Duke U. the first two were confirming that we were having a snow day and that all classes were canceled. Also there is officially less snow on the ground at my house than there was for the whole week in January. Audie went into work two hours later than normal- he had to wait until his door was unfrozen.

SO i am: reading for classes, possibly writing a paper for Wed. or at least starting it, staying in my pjs and eating chewy dips (these are those Chewy granola bars that are covered in Chocolate!!!)

yeah audie and i bought a box of 30 on Friday at Sam's, and i refuse to tell you how many are left in the house- but if anyone has seen a chocolate thief with a ton of chocolate granola bar wrappers let me know!

-julia

snow!

Ok so the snow that hit GA, SC etc. hit us last night. Now snow is more likely in NC, but this GA girl is still not used to waking up to snow. In January- actually on Inauguration day we got about 4 inches of snow. i had gotten an email about the severe weather policy at Duke, and Audie's boss made plans to call them to cancel work.

Audie got a snow day from work- there was more snow in Raleigh so yeah that was awesome. Duke did NOT cancel classes. May i mention that they are idiots!!! (OK i realize that in the rest of the world 4 inches isn't that big of a deal, but come ON) every other school system canceled school, most schools got 2 1/2 days off- including durham public schools. I had my hopes so high for a snow day it was ridiculous- but i was just severely disapointed, completely confused as to how to drive in the snow, so i decided to miss class and take my own snow day- we played in the snow, watched the swearing in, and had a bonus day at home with the hubby. The second day of snow Audie went to work with no problem, and i went to school and didn't have any problems in the snow. The snow actually stayed around for about a week.

So needless to say when i heard the forecast to snow, and got the email from Duke about the severe weather policy, etc. I was not amused. granted last time i had classes at 8:30 and today i have them at 2:30, so i figured a 2 hour delay- the most i was hoping for- wouldn't even effect me.

So when Audie got up to go to work and said that it was white outside i said "well that's great, but i'm sure that i have classes, nothing to write home about." BUT then audie comes running upstairs- DUKE canceled classes!!! so i'm at home enjoying a real snow day- not just one that i made up for my own enjoyment!!! love it guys- enjoy all our snow because it is supposed to be 70 on Friday (again- it was 70 here on Friday too).

-Julia

2 AM -Really??

So i love Survivor- i'm obsessed (see previous post about other obsessions) so i watch it every week- while wearing my authentic buff (headband/bandanna thing) that the actual contestants wear - Audie got it for me for Christmas!! I mean i really love it. Many of you know this already, but i'm trying to build suspense for those of you who didn't already know that. Survivor airs on Thursdays at 8 pm, followed by Grey's and Private Practice to make Thursday a TV day for me. I don't work on homework on Thursdays, at all. I don't have class this semester on Friday- but even if i did i wouldn't crack a book.

I HATE basketball. I decided this pretty recently, but i'm sick and tired of living in Basketball country. If you don't know there are four division one teams in a two hour radius of Durham (Wake Forest, NC State, UNC, and Duke) so people here take their basketball really seriously. I do not- i couldn't care less. I don't know when people play or when exciting things happen. (you would think ii would care because i attend one of those schools but i think this hatred runs very deep)

side note: it all started in late elementary/early middle school when my Whole class (of like 16 people- small private school) signed up for basketball camp. I begged and pleaded with my mom to spend the money on sending me to it. It entailed about 6-8 weeks of early Saturday drills for four hours and then at the end we would have a game/tournament to show of our skills to our parents who had just paid an arm and a leg for our 'free t-shirts'. I spent the first two weeks learning how to dribble and not say 'sorry' when i take the ball from the other team. I sucked it up and it was humiliating. hence the hatred of basketball.

so what do you think these two things have in common?? well the ACC basketball championship started last night, on CBS at Eight- and since people in this area are CRAZY for basketball, the local channel showed the basketball game instead of Survivor. I. Was. PISSED!!!! what made it worse is that before the game started there was a short announcement that said something like:
Survivor will be aired at 2:07 AM instead of its normal time because basketball is awesome.

WHAT??!!!?? excuse me???? 2 AM really??? yeah i checked the local listings, and it was true. So who set an alarm for 2 am and watched it? ME and who is really tired today? ME but who didn't have class so it's ok? ME.

happy Friday everyone!!!

-julia

you like me, you really like me.

So google analytics is my new obsession!

do other people have this happen- probably not i am kind of an obsessive person in general- ok whatever that means i'm not sure- back to the subject.

SO i checked my google analytics like a few (like 50) times yesterday. I also check my blog pretty frequently. -Don't beat me to the punch line.

so i'm pretty ecstatic that like 23 people saw my blog in the last two days- but like 11 of them were from Durham/Chapel Hill. - then i realized that those could just be ME checking my blog 85 times a day- is that true- does Google Analytics count me as a visitor?? i can't figure it out but i had my "you like me, you really like me" moment yesterday only to get it shot down with the humbleness of my own obsession with my own blog.

(by the way i have ALWAYS thought that the reference acceptance speech was really dumb and so i can't even begin to tell you how stupid i feel for making even a reference to it, much less saying the words out loud myself)

so the moral of the story is- are there really 11 other people in Durham/chapel Hill that read my blog yesterday? if so please speak up (i.e. COMMENT!!) so that i know you are there- we could be friends in real life! I'm fun, you'd like me, you'd really like me! - haha.


also i took a personal day today and tomorrow i don't have class so basically i have finagled a four day weekend!!

ttfn

Julia

Google Analytics

Thanks to Danielle for being humble enough to ask about google analytics and helping me get my answers too!!!

I FINALLY got it to work!!! (i see you Douglasville and Chapel Hill, whoever you are!!) and i love all of you!!

YAY!!!

also can i say that it is really interesting to see how large alaska is on the map- because it is actually to size and not segregated out in a small box in the corner. really funny, check it out 'cause it is HUGE!!

also i'm in class right now- don't tell the professor!


-julia

Update

So i decided to take up recycling for Lent.

I usually talk a good talk about being green, and recently i have been faced with the fact that i haven't been backing it up with my actions.

So i have a labeled bin all ready to go, and it already has a few things in it! I will be recycling as much as possible for the next 40 days, and i hope that it will be a part of my daily life after Lent is over. Also today i researched where the closest recycling facilities are, and made sure i knew what they would take.

Ok lent, I'm ready!! bring it on!!

Lent

So lent is upon us, really surprising this year for some reason. I think it just snuck up on me.

SO i'm not sure what to give up.

Facebook, desert, the bus, alot of things are floating through my mind.
- but really i hope to spend the 40 days reflecting on the fact that Jesus came down, took my sin and died so that i may have eternal life.

pretty humbling, and i hope that my life on this earth does justice for what God has done for me and that i can live in such a way to show others what God has done for me, God did for them too!!

Easter is coming, but before we get to have the glorious risen Lord, we need to fully understand the depths of the cross and the tomb, and what Jesus did while dead for three days.

i know that is kind of a downer, but it is balanced by the joy and happiness we can have when Jesus is risen!!

love to all,

julia

i know

i know it has been a LONG time since i posted last, but i'm not sure that anyone who reads this has actually missed my posting!

Not that ya'll don't love me, but i'm sure most of you are:
A. someone who keeps up with me in real life so you know what i've been up to.
B. someone who doesn't keep up with me in real life, but my blog is not a huge part of your day anyway.
C. Someone who doesn't know me at all, and so you're not allowed to be upset because i haven't let you look at my life on the internet! - actually i would be quite surprised if someone read this who didn't know me in real life.

SO what have i been up to? Everything and nothing all at once.
some highlights of what you have missed:

1. my 3 dollar coffee maker was missing essential parts- after MANY emails and two phone calls to customer service i got the parts out of the blue in the mail!!

2. i have turned in my first papers, preached a sermon in preaching class, and taken a midterm.

3. my friend James from college moved to Raleigh. I know this is random, but like the week after my last post he came up and interviewed for a job, got the job the next week and then moved up here the week after that. - really fun to have a good friend up here with us!!

Ok i think that is all exciting that has happened.

Now this weekend's plans:

1. driving to and from ATL.

2. Going to the GA aquarium with my college roomie and her hubby, then out to dinner with my other two roomies and their fiance/boyfriend.

3. Baby shower for Leah, Audie's sister who is due with the first grandbaby in the family in about six weeks!

4. Monday- going to do my middler evaluation meeting, one more grad requirement that will be done!!


ok sorry for the quick nature for all that AND for going forever without posting. Hey and if you missed it, let me know!!

-Julia

long post WARNING!!!

Hi out there is cyber land!

i had a great week, long because it is when i started school back. i haven't really been to all of them yet, one starts tomorrow, but i am well in the swing of things. One thing i am excited about is that i have no classes on fridays this semester and I am hoping to use them to do readings. i hope that when Friday is over i can be totally read up for the next week. I accomplished that last week, and hopefully that will occur again!

So several things are exciting me:

1. I am going to see my friends this weekend! as a last minute gift to myself i am going to GA for MLK weekend. I am going to leave Audie behind because he has to work both friday and monday. but i don't have school either day! so i am going to spend the weekend with Amber!! and Friday night we'll go see my other best friend Jessica in ATL for the evening! god bless them, i called them out of the blue and invited myself to their houses to spend time with them- and they said OK! that is a friend!

2. i bought a coffee maker! ok so i am a slight coffee drinker! I really only drink coffee when someone else makes it, it just tastes better when you don't have to clean up all that crap afterward!! so over christmas i had an oppurtunity to try a single cup maker- it was a Kurig, and it used these little canister things and it brewed your coffee in like two seconds, right into your cup!! and they have hot chocolate, tea, and cappichino, etc!!! So i was obbsessed for a bit, and i decided that i wanted one, i researched it for a bit and decided i wanted a Senseo. it was the cheapest (65$- still alot) which was really the best thing about it, and it used 'coffee pods' which are like little teabags of coffee! Well i didn't get one for Christmas, and Audie and i decided to save our pennies to get one. THEN on Saturday i went to the local thrift store- a Habitat for Humanity store! they had one for GET THIS!!! 3$ AH!!! i was so excited. I am so pumped to use it! Totally go to thrift stores for anything! sometimes you have to stalk the store and look weekly 'cause they get new things all the time. Books are a great way to save money here too- usually paperbacks are 50 cents and hardbacks are 1$ - i have gotten bestsellers for 50cents!!

3. I found several blogs through A Belle and her Beau, and one of them Kelly's Korner is one of my new favs!! I actually wanted to read her blog because she is pregnant and was due yesterday (not sure when the baby is coming- everyone is still waiting as far as i know). I also liked her hair and she is really cute pregnant and funny! Anyway this weekend i went and read her archives ( ok i know that may be wierd- but i like to know all the back stories to these people's lives) ( i did the same thing to Poop and Boogies). So as i read her story i was enthralled!! she and her hubby had been trying to get pregnant for about 1 and 1/2 years. she was so real and honest about her struggles with wanting to be pregnant for so long and not being able to do it. She was still amazingly supportive and sweet to all her friend who were getting pregnant around her, giving the cutest babyshowers and being so joyous for them. She is an amazing Christian and all through this struggle she was praising God for all that she did have! Well she and her husband did like all these fertility drugs and they didn't wind up working. so they decided to take a break from all the drugs, go on vacation and contemplate what God wanted them to do, to continue the drugs, do in vitro, or adopt. And three days before their trip she found out that she was pregnant!!! all naturally, a God given child all thier own!! so beautiful a story!!
SO why i loved this story so much was that as i sat here reading about how hurt she was every month when she realized that she wasn't pregnant, again, i was in so much pain for her, i cried when she talked about not being able to go to church one day because she knew that she couldn't take it that day! in the back of my mind was, just wait Kelly- you are about to get pregnant, only six more months, four more months, two more, etc. ! I knew that she would be finding out as i read about other things that she would let us know, i could wait to figure out when she told the blogging world, her parents, etc. I loved knowing the end of the story while i was reading the back ground! ( and by the way that is how God is for us!! God is just sitting back and watching me be frustrated, sad, exasperated, etc because my life isn't going the way that i want it to, but then God just says, just wait Julia, just wait, you'll get that soon, i have something great in mind for you! - i can't wait for you to see what i will do for you later) AH it was beautiful!!!! an epiphany if i ever had one.

So i know this post is really long, but enjoy because things are getting busy around here! and remember when you are waiting that God has great things in store for you down the road, and while it may not feel like it now, it's coming sometime!!

love ya'll
Julia

Oh i just remembered!

Um, two more things that will be happening this year:

I will be turning 25, and Audie will turn 30! AAHH!! I know that's not that old to everyone else out there. But for me they are BIG milestones. I am no longer in my 'early twenties' that's a scary age for me I guess. Maybe it's because i'm still in school and wish i weren't, but i can't do much about that. And my hubby being 30 i know freaks him out a bit. Luckily we have about a whole year to 'look forward' to these days, because my b-day isn't until September. And Audie just turned 29 last week, so he has like a whole year to go!

Ok so that is my update for now. I'm also awaiting the arrival of Leah, the sis-in-law and her hubby Raymon. Also she is about six months pregnant, so i'm also awaiting little baby Madison, in utero!! I got THE cutest baby gift for them at Target/Ross. i love both those stores, but Ross is my new Fave. I got a cute little dress and bloomers for Madison for only like $10. It was originally $30. What a great deal!! I also had a friend who has an Embroidery setting on her sewing machine to Monogram Madison's name on the bootie of the bloomers, and four little flowers. TOO cute. i saw i tiny baby on a recent blog, i'm not sure which, with a little diaper cover on with just thier name on the bootie, SO CUTE!! anyway, so that's where the idea came from.

Now i'm obsessed with getting a sewing machine that does embroidery! i know the machines are expensive, but seriously getting things monogramed is expensive too, so you would like eventually save yourself money- also you could do gifts for Bridesmaids, friends, moms, towels for newly marrieds and grads! totally worth the investment!!! love it!! so anyone who is out there who has one they want to sell, hook me up!!

ok that's enough, i need to go wash sheets, etc. for my family visits!!

love to all,

Julia