"Catchup" and Mustard

I'm so thankful blogging is not my profession... because it is obviously evident that I would be fired. Its been 2 weeks since I've blogged!

So let's play catchup!

Things that have happened over the past 14 days:

All for the Hall. Tuesday the 5th was Keith Urban's benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame. Mom and Reece had gotten tickets to go... Dad was going to be out of town for work--so he couldn't go... and I have my lovely 6-9 pm class on Tuesday night--so I couldn't go. Or so I thought. Mom ended up having an extra ticket and I ended up leaving my class at break to go. It was super spur of the moment. My thought process: I'm going to do something fun. I'm going to do something for myself. I'm going to do something I want to do. I must see John Mayer. Insert Tom Petty quote: "Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends (or your mom and brother?). So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. The work never ends, but college does." It was a great concert... I missed some of the performances at the beginning, but I'm still glad I went. Heck, I would have made the drive just to only see John Mayer sing just one song. I love him. He's so talented.

A little bit of Keith

and a little bit of John

Troy's interviews. Super exciting news! Troy has interviews with UT-Memphis's College of Pharmacy and Union University's College of Pharmacy! To hear back from them already... this early in the ball game... is a great sign! I am so proud of him! I'm super anxious to see where he ends up. Gonna be on my knees a lot with this one. He's still finishing the application processes of Lipscomb and Belmont.

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

Reece's visit Lipscomb. (I have already blogged about Reece's visit to UT and Belmont. His view after visiting those: Belmont > UT. I was a little surprised.) Reece loved Lipscomb! Right now, Belmont and Lipscomb are his top picks. He's not even considering UT anymore. Because he is so academically focused, he really valued their offering of a smaller campus with smaller class sizes. The med-school acceptance rate from Lipscomb is unreal... like in the 90 percentile... and that's exactly what he's looking for. I'm so happy he's finding a place that he feels passionate about going there. I think he'd be great at Belmont or Lipscomb!

Troy's official last game. Okay, ready to jump back on the roller coaster? Last Saturday, (9th) Troy played the whole game against Union College in Kentucky. The whole game. He had an awesome game, making some incredible throws. Throws the coaches didn't think he could do with the condition of his arm. Throws I didn't think/know he could do with the condition of his arm. Throws I'm not sure he thought/knew he could with the condition of his arm. I was so glad he got to (officially--this is not a test) finish his football career strong.

Watching his game on the Internet

Life As We Know It. All my little UT-ers had a different fall break than me. Over their fall break weekend, I came home and saw Life As We Know It with Leslie and Sarah Beth. Always so good to see/spend time with "heart friends". It was a really cute movie. I love Katherine Heigl!

Carrie Underwood. Last Wednesday, Carrie Underwood came back to Nashville! Mom, Dad, Reece and I went to her concert--it was great! She is such a good vocalist! I kept joking with Dad saying she is a "Simon and Paula product". It's so crazy to think she was just an average college student, a senior studying Communications, when she decided to audition for this little show called American Idol. Wow. How quick did her life change! My favorite part of the concert was when she sang "Jesus Take the Wheel" and afterwards, broke out in "How Great Thou Art." It was so moving... brought tears to my eyes (Along with the songs "Temporary Home", "Just A Dream", and "So Small"--yes, I am a cry baby.) Bottom line: She is a very very talented artist.


(One of) My favorite C.Underwood song(s)
Lessons Learned:
There's some things that I regret,
Some words I wish had gone unsaid,
Some starts,
That had some better endings,
Been some bad times I've been through,
Damage I cannot undo.
Some things,
I wish I could do all all over again,
But it don't really matter,
When life gets that much harder,
It makes you that much stronger,
Oh, some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were,
Lessons learned.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,
And everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,
Every change, life has thrown me,
I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,
I'm grateful, for every scar,
Some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned.

There's mistakes that I have made,
Some chances I just threw away,
Some roads,
I never should have taken,
Been some signs I didn't see,
Hearts that I hurt needlessly,
Some wounds,
That I wish I could have one more chance to mend,
But it don't make no difference,
The past can't be rewritten,
You get the life you're given,
Oh, some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were,
Lessons learned.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,
And everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,
Every change, life has thrown me,
I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,
I'm grateful, for every scar,
Some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned.

And all the things that break you,
Are the things that make you strong!
You can't change the past,
Cause it's gone.
And you just gotta move on,
Because it's all
Lessons learned.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,
From everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,
From every change, life has thrown me.
I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,
I'm grateful, for every scar,
Some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned,
Oh, some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned,
Lessons learned.
Lessons learned.



Carrie in a car.

Troy's long awaited surgery. On Friday Troy finally had his operation. 1. I believe he was so ready to get it over with--he was not nervous or anxious at all. I'm just sad his football season is done-zo. 2. Troy is humorous and easy to laugh at after anesthesia. 3. Dr. Elrod (his surgeon and the Titan's doctor) wears Chacos while working. I thought that was funny. 4. His shoulder was a lot worse than they had initially thought. But he is fixed now! Just has to heal and start physical therapy (OUCH!!!) 5. I am a good nurse. 6. We got to see pictures from during the operation right after the surgery. It was really neat.

My little patient! :)

Trek and Treat. Saturday was the 2nd Annual Hank Thompson Trek and Treat at The Streets. This is a really neat event to raise money for research on lung cancer. This really hit home to me for two reasons: my uncle actually was part of starting this fundraiser/event, due to the loss of his father, Hank Thompson, and Troy's grandfather is currently fighting lung cancer.

Here is a little information my uncle sent to me a few weeks ago:

As you may know, in July of 2008, after a 14-month battle, I lost my Dad to lung cancer.  Following his death, my family and I learned that lung cancer kills 437 Americans each day.  That’s more people than breast, prostate, colon, liver, melanoma, and kidney cancers combined, but it receives the least amount of research funding.  We were also troubled to learn that while survival rates for many types of cancer has improved, the survival rate for lung cancer has not changed since 1971 – due primarily to the low amount of funding for research.

After my father’s death, my sister spent a great deal of time investigating lung cancer only to learn there were no walks to join, ribbons to wear or bracelets to buy.   Last year, after pulling together our family and friends, we decided to hold the Hank Thompson Trek and Treat.  The Trek and Treat is a 5K Run/Walk followed by a Family Festival.  Our mission has been to honor Dad with a hopeful and uplifting event to increase awareness of this disease and to raise research funds that will give other patients a chance to fight.   Last year’s Trek and Treat raised over $33,000.

This year I ran in the 5k under "Team Hicks Watson". Karol, Troy's aunt, started this team and ended up raising over $500.00!! I was so glad to be part of it this year! The weather was wonderful and there was a great turnout! I can't wait to hear how much they raised this year!

Massage Envy. I treated myself to a massage over fall break. It. Was. Amazing. The lady did comment on all the knots in my back though... Stress? Tension? Probably so. If I had the time and money, I'd love to join Massage Envy and get monthly massages!

lamccullough. My friend is famous. No biggie. LESLIE: Call me soon... I want details. Funny thing... I was looking at the "Style Me Pretty" blog (because I'm obsessed with weddings, as mentioned before) and the most recent post was about the NYC Bridal Market and I was like OMG if they're posting pictures from market, then some where on this world wide web, Leslie surely is posted. And bam. I found you! :) P.S. you deserve your own section on my blog because I know you are a faithful reader... ily.

Keepin me sane... Jesus Calling: Trust Me enough to let things happen without striving to predict or control them. (Let's be honest: major major major struggle for me.) Relax, and refresh yourself in the Light of My everlasting Love. My Love-Light never dims, yet you are often unaware of My radiant Presence. When you project yourself into the future, rehearsing what you will do or say, you are seeking to be self-sufficient: to be adequate without My help (ooooops). This is a subtle sin--so common that it usually slips unnoticed.

The alternative is to live fully in the present, depending on Me each moment. Rather than fearing your inadequacy, rejoice in My abundant supply. Train your mind to seek my help condintually, even when you feel competent to handle something by yourself. Don't divide your life into things you can do by yourself and things that require My help. Instead, learn to rely on Me in every situation. This discipline will enable you to enjoy life more and to face each day confidently.


Gimme-a-break. Just had fall break... and already CANNOT wait until another one... Thanksgiving? Christmas? Weekend? Anything?!



Fall Festive-ness makes me happy
Orange: UT... Yellow & Purple: Lipscomb ;)
Colleges of choice?!

 Looking foward to this weekend... Bama game :) GO VOLS! Just gotta get through the rest of this week...

<3 Love.