Music

Music has become my best friend! Woohoo to sounds, rhythm, words sung to melodies, percussion, smooth and flowing, deep meanings, real feelings, expressions, anti-silence... music.

More great music to check out:

Phil Wickham "I'll Always Love You" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_UMpeGU-9M&feature=related
Phil Wickham "Mystery" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_hu6avqwvw
Phil Wickham "Divine Romance" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBDLAZFLfIM&feature=related
Phil Wickham "Always Forever" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_C5_crIwps&feature=related

Switchfoot "Your Love is Strong" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OST5GxY5TDg&playnext=1&list=PLA9B6AA8390C97A50&index=15

Pros and Cons

Mid shifts: 6pm-6am. (actually, it's like 5:45pm-6:10am).

Pros -

• Music and volume levels all to my heart's desire.
• Laid back dress.
• If you get done with work early, whatever else can be used to make the time pass (ie. blogging).
• Confidence gained by working solo.
• No one to bother/distract you while working/focusing.
• TV.
• It has become the perfect 'quiet time with my Lord' atmosphere.
• Seeing the sun set and rise going to and leaving work.
• Forecasting. Yay MET degree at work.
• Not necessarily rushed to get work done, unlike day shifts.
  

Cons -

• Work during the night.
• Sleep all day long/separated from the normal world.
• Bright, beautiful, warm days... slept away. :(
• Groggy, spacy, even shaky sometimes from a 180 sleep pattern.
• Moody and snappiness is not out of the question.
• You go to work. You go back. You eat a little something, wash face, hop in the bed. You sleep. You wake. You shower. You hit the road. You work. And the process repeats.
• Again, I hate sleeping away gorgeous days when I can be outside, soaking in the sun and acting like I'm alive.
  

Another Great Song

Mid Shifts.

Alone.

Freedom to listen to whatever, however many times, and (best part) as loud as possible.

Discovered many great songs over the past few nights.

This one.... one of them:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz5qmxk4okk

Reminiscing

So I'm at work and taking mini-breaks in between the check-off-work-to-do list. I was on facebook (go figure) looking through a few people's profiles and pictures. I came across one person's profile that I have not looked at in a while. This led to me to search for someone else. As I looked through their pictures, oh memories flooded back. And I came to the conclusion... "Wow. Haha."

There's a Sanctus Real song with these lyrics:

"Dear heart,
Do you belong to me
Or do I belong to you
Just look at all the trouble
You dragged me into
I’ve heard it said
To follow your heart
But I’m starting to wonder
If it’s gone too far

Oh heart, you let me down
Chasing love, when it can’t be found
Heart, we’ve fallen out
All of your emotions have led me to doubt
Tell me who’s gonna save us now?"

As I looked back at their pictures, I reminisced about the time spent near these people, with these people, thinking about these people, and wow the prayers I prayed. Nearly a year plus a piece I prayed over these guys. I got excited when things happened, and I praised God for answered prayers... even the little ones. I was so bummed when things were stagnant, and I was left wanting and wondering why the answer was "no." I wondered why? Why answer small prayers, prayer requests leading up to the ultimate... just to have them slip away. It didn't make sense. And I never doubted God, but I sure was curious why.

Looking back (ahem, reminiscing), I kind of see the big picture. It was a foundation of trust, leaning on Him, relying on His plans, and realizing that He knows best. All of the hopeless prayers, hopeless in the sense of my heart completely dictate my emotions, kept me close to God. They kept me waiting to see if He would open up a door for me to walk through, then open the door again when I would chicken out and only peep in.

I can see now that He answered those little prayers to show me, "Hey, Jaclyn. I want be involved in everything you do, think, want. I care about you. Trust Me." And when I wanted more, He was in the process of teaching me, "Wait. There's something better for you. I know you want this, but in the long run it will not be a great and grand as what I have in store for you."

And I am quite sure there will be more wanting by my stupid/one-minded heart, more pleading prayers, more disappointments (in my eyes), and more reminiscing and the realizations that that was not really what I wanted anyway. Praise God for the being the One in control and the One that knows us better than we do and knows what is best for us.

Prayer Request

For those poor unfortunate souls that read my blog, I have a request:

Please pray for an unspoken prayer request.

Thank you! And love you guys.

Joe Purdy

Laid back. Slow. Smooth. Tropical. Front porch swinging on a late June day at dusk with fireflies sporadically showing off their glow. Trips to the beach, crashing waves, the smell of the ocean....

.... Joe Purdy.

Some of my favorites:


California Girl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kVrefwjsfU&feature=related

Wash Away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTdCzIduUb4&feature=related

I Love The Rain Most: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4yEtuebDdk&feature=related

Just Another Love Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRpcoIPFYbU&feature=related

Over the Past 2 Years

In lieu of being with Frederick for two years now, these are some of my favorite memories...

• Entering My Car via the Sunroof: Ashley and I had a mini-tradition of going to Sonic after our flag football games (Fall 08). After our last Jetstreaks flag football game of the season, Ashley and I invited Sam and Miranda to go with us to Sonic around 10pm. I was supposed to go over to Fred's place to study for an upcoming test. Wanting to make sure that I didn't leave Fred hanging, I called him to let him know what was up and invited him to come. I picked him up at the Grove, and he piled in the back with Sam and Miranda. With all of the laughter and attempts to place 5 orders through the drive-thru, Fred stepped up to make the order. Instead of rolling down the back window to place the order, he decided to take his big body, climb to the front of the car... crushing me to get to my window, and had the whole car laughing (I'm sure the girl taking our order thought we were on crack). We got our food and parked. Fred volunteered to throw our trash away, and I believe Sam/Miranda locked all of the doors. When he got back to car, the only way he was going to get back in was the sunroof... so Fred proceeded to jump up, climb into the car, crushing Ashley and myself, managed to blow the horn and turn on the windshield wipers, and finally managed to roll into the backseat. We all had tears rolling out of our eyes from the intense laughter! What a great memory.
• First Visit to My Place: Frederick, determined to come see me, visited just before New Year's. We stayed at Jessica/Ryan's former house in Nellieburg, got fireworks, went to the house for New Year's Eve, pushed down dead trees, and had a blast... literally a blast. Ryan brought his potato gun, and we bolted potatoes into the pond. (And disturbed Hummy and Grandmommie... oops) Fred met my parents, Jan, and Chase. Christmas decorations were still up in the house. We all came back in to warm up, eat, and hang out. Good night. The next day or so, we went bowling with Jessica, Ryan, and their friends.
• Bringing Food to Work: While working at Winn Dixie, Fred offered to bring me dinner one night from Foosackly's on my lunch break. I knew that he didn't spend money on food, so it meant a lot that he did that. He would also randomly make sandwiches and bring them to me as well. I returned the favor when he worked at Hollywood Video.
• The Good. The Bad. And the Ugly: We have introduced new things to each other. I got Fred into tennis... and he actually caught on well pretty fast. We eventually got to the point where we would play sets, sometimes two. Whenever he wasn't playing well, his aggravation became evident... sometimes in the form of throwing his racquet into the fence or net. I would then be so encouraging, forgiving, compassionate... until he would get ahead of me and my inability make balls go over the net. At this point, I would be the one fussing, falling to the ground and slapping it, spinning around in frustration... and Fred would become the compassionate one. Haha. This has also been the trend for Madden Football 2010 and Mass Effect 2.
• LOST: Fred does not like TV shows, but I introduced him to LOST... and it was all over. Last summer, we spent numerous hours catching up on seasons 1-5 before the last season began in February 2010. Then, Tuesday nights (or sometime Wednesday) became our night. It was a sad day when the show went off...
• Perdido Key: Our beach. This was the first beach that Fred and I went together one chilly, winter day in 2009. We stopped at Sonic before to get cherry limeades. Fred made lunch. We just hung out on a beach all to ourselves. From that point on, that was our beach of choice.
• Tickling: It was all over when Fred realized how ticklish I am. And oh, the results from determined, intense tickling... I was left with bruises, some looked like I had been abused. Fred was left with scratches, maybe a cut or two, getting kicked, being headbutted, headaches. Hmm, I don't know who came out worse.
• Steelers' games: I have come to love and respect football, primarily Steelers football. I have spent many hours sitting beside Fred, hearing him yell "Sack lunch! Raw raw raw raw!", cooking for him and the guys for the games, his nachos, good times.
• On the Bayou: Just below Fred's house in Panama City in the backyard, there's a dock adjacent to the bayou... and I love that place! Fred and I have fished off of the bayou once for hours with no results and once with fish ready to bite. So much fun. The first time that I went to Fred's place, we went canoeing on the bayou past his house, exploring what all there was to explore. Fred and water tend to be a great combination.
• His Laugh: If you have not heard Fred's high pitched, squeal of a laugh... you are missing out! It is so contagious. And it is so rewarding if you are the one to make it happen. This is one thing that will never get old.
• His Sensible Thinking: I have a tendency to freak out over things, whether they be large or small. I have a tendency to get wrapped up in the small details and roll up into a ball of worry. Fred, Fred is quite the opposite. He doesn't flip out over things, goes with the flow, calms me down, makes me realize that it is not worthwhile to get upset over certain things, reminds me to focus on God and trust Him, basically compliments my faults.
• Singing/Dancing/Moving: I love to hear Fred whistle, repeat random lyrics like 40 times a day, burst out in song, dance, bounce around in the car while singing at the top of his lungs, make up lyrics with made-up melodies, his choice in music, and his clarinet.

It has been a great two years... not all of it has been dandy and carefree, but overall it has been great.

My "Year in Review"

Activities, Experiences, and Thoughts over 2010:

• Surprise visit from Fred... that had me smiling for weeks.
• Last semester of college.
• Freaking out over a 20 minute Synoptic II briefing.
• MLK Day at home with Fred, watching the Saints game with family, chasing armadillos.
• Dedicated to running, Fred and I were forced to exercise in the Rec Center.
• Saints win the Superbowl... watched it in Fred's apartment with Brian and Brent.
• My birthday spent at South... with great friends and surprise cake by Fred.
• SNOW in Mobile and fun playing in it with friends.
• SOOO much to do: SeCAPS planning, class, tutoring, CHILI, WD... yuck.
• Fred's MacNCheese and broiled sandwiches.
• LOST on Tuesday nights... or after BCM.
• SeCAPS.
• Many a-Steelers games, a few of those at Baumhower's Wings after church.
• First of 2 Case Studies due... a rush to the end, late nights, and Fred's amazing hot chocolate.
• Lazy nights at the Grove, letting our brains go limp and relax after long days.
• Spring break - Half in Panama City, half home.
• Last few weeks of college.
• Tennis and Sonic and Tropical Smoothie.
• Time well spent with my Getas in Beta 4 101.
• Azalea Trail 5k with Fred and friends... followed by brunch at Waffle House.
• Fred joining the Air Force? Leaving soon? Post graduation plans? ... and plenty of uncertainty and tears.
• Orange Beach with the Himes and William and Brent.
• Watched Fred play almost all of Mass Effect 2.
• Miranda moves out of our dorm room into her own apartment... bittersweet.
• Downtown Mobile and the Spot of Tea with Ashley, Ariel, Miranda, and Rachael.
• Tropical Smoothie "Graduation Party" with Fred, Charles, Josh, Miranda, Ashley, Rachael, Sam, and BJ... followed by a brief visit from Colin and Christina and Brian.
• Graduation... with ALL the family followed by Hibachi Grill food.
• Last night with my Geta... cleaning and talking. Fred helped clean as well.
• Sunday morning... Mom and I go to Airport Blvd Baptist, quick lunch, rush to pack, help Geta pack, and leave South's dorms for the last time.. and my Geta. :(
• Home for nearly 2 weeks.
• Brian and Nissi's wedding and LOST finale weekend.
• Back to Mobile. GIS summer class. Move back in with Ariel. :)
• No more Winn Dixie. CHILI and tutoring. Free time!
• Trying to figure out what to do after summer classes. Moving back home in August.
• Tennis, Sonic, O'Charlies Cesar salad, raspberry lemonade, Fred's pancakes!
• Running in the heat, shower, hanging out at the Grove.
• Original Star Treks at Ariel's place with Ariel and Fred... trying not to laugh.
• Last week in Mobile: Dinner at the Himes place; Beatles Rockband with Josh, Miranda, Fred followed by the movie 'Inception'; Dodgers game at Baumhower's Wings; Party at Christina's; Tropical Smoothie with Brian, Nissi, William; drunk/high guy tasered on Schillenger Road.
• Helped Fred move his things out of the apartment, dinner with his parents, spent the night there, got up early, helped clean and finish moving.
• Drove back to Timber Ridge Apartments to tell Ariel "Good bye."
• One last Tropical Smoothie date with Fred... and a good bye and a horrible drive home.
• Home.
• Job applications. No hope. Miserable.
• Lots of phone calls with the guy.
• Substitute teaching at KA for two weeks.
• Fred visits!
• One more job application.
• Called in for an interview. Moving to Picayune.
• New job. New place. New people. New church. New...
• 2 apartments.
• A few trips to Panama City, home, and Mobile.
• First Thanksgiving away from home.
• Fred visits! South's Graduation. Catch up with friends! Miranda and Josh engaged!
• Christmas at home.
• Sick... and at home.
• New Year's Eve Day.

Wow. And yeah. What a year. And that's all, folks.

Superwoman to the Rescue

"If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman (or woman)? If I'm
alive and well, will you be there holding my hand? I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might. Kryptonite."

Ok, confession time: I have somewhat of a problem. Well, it is and
isn't a problem... just depends on the situation. But nevertheless, I am
noticing it is a fault of mine that I need to watch.

I have a tendency to act like Superwoman.

... No, I do not own spandex tights and sport around mini-skirts and leap/fly through the air with lame superhero cuffs and headbeads visible. It's much more subtle.

I love life. I love adventure. I love to do things with and for the ones that I love and love to be around. I like to meet expectations and attempt to exceed them when possible. I sometimes have a problem saying no because honestly there's just so much I want to do it's hard to say 'no.' I will drive long distances for short stays just to be with someone that I love. I will cram as much possible with as many people as possible and think "Yeah!" Road trips, 5Ks, visiting family and friends, staying up late, getting up early, sacrificing sleep, pushing to go to work because I know that I need to despite what I should do.

Prime Example: My goal for this past week was to sit at home and do NOTHING, nada, zip. But instead, I crammed as much family and fun in as possible. It took me becoming ill to make me stop and sit and nap and rest and be still. It sucks because being sick is never desired by people, but man! God knows what does and doesn't work... or how to tame a stubborn, inspired girl of His.

New Year's Resolution (although I really don't like making them...): Slow down and REST, take better care of my body, and balance my inspirations and "Kryptonite."

________________________________

P.S. - The formatting blows, and I can't change it. Sorry.

Not the Flu!

Recap:
I went to bed Sunday night around 2am (thought I would have a late night in semi-preps to work Wednesday night). I woke up off and on the rest of the night, having weird dreams. These dreams were primarily about me going to the doctor, entering the hospital, Jessica and Ryan were trying to find me in the hospital... weird stuff. When I would wake up enough to realize I was awake, I felt really sick to my stomach but refused to get up.

After I woke up, I still not feel well. I drank a glass of orange juice and just hung out in a chair in the living room. The progression of time came with feeling worse and aches. I finally checked my fever around 8-9ish... 99.7. Hmm. Only low-grade fever though.

The rest of the day... Felt like POO. Fever went up to nearly 102, achy achy, weak, sick to my stomach, didn't want to drink/eat anything in fear it might come back up... just horrible. Did I mention that I HATE being sick. Finally around 9pm, I got gutsy enough to drink a little Gatorade, nibble on a saltine cracker, and swallow an Advil, and prayed it would remain in my body. It did, and I started feeling better after the fever broke... even ate the rest of the cracker, a piece of dry toast, and a cup of Gatorade. Yeahya. I went to bed around 11pm and slept soundly the whole night.

After waking up this morning with no fever or aches, I felt amazing!! My mom took me to the doctor though, because I was still afraid it might be the flu.. and I am done to work tonight and Thursday night. :( So I was trying to get a gauge as to whether I should go or not. The doctor said it was no the flu (!!), probably a virus of some sort and to take it easy. My boss said that I should not worry about work and see how I feel tomorrow before coming in. THANK YOU, LORD!

______________________________________________

But... I found out that a family member that showed up unexpectedly with her 2 year old child Christmas night at the Tisdales' house had been sick just days before and did not tell anyone. (Can I say 'LIVID?') I got sick early Monday morning. Holli has been sick to her stomach repeatedly since... Sunday night. (And she is currently in the ER, dehydrated from vomiting.) My dad left work early today with fever and aches. Jan... Jan thinks she doesn't feel well, but Jan tends to freak out and think she is sick the moment anyone else around her gets sick. But who knows! I just pray that my mom, or Grandma, or the rest of the family does not catch this crud.

But praise the Lord I feel better today! And thank you for the prayers!

Caught?

Hmmmm....

I think I have finally been caught by the terrorizing neighborhood dog called Sickness.

I have been feeling a cold coming on for the past few weeks. Weird sleep routine (or lack of routine), no rest, not eating as well as I should, and the frigid Arctic air versus warm or cold inside temperatures finally bit me. Well, maybe. I'm not going down quite yet. Orange juice, zinc, vitamins, healthy food, and trying to rest are being hurled at the culprit with full force. Let's hope they work!

Grrr. I hate colds. Hate.

Christmas 2010

I have to say... This has been the most enjoyable Christmas to date!

• Maybe because this year was not focused around what I was getting or how much/little I got compared to others.
• Maybe because things were not normal so I let go of any emotions attached to the day.
• Maybe it was because I was surrounded by my family, near my loved-ones, with the people that I love and know what the meaning of that day is really all about.
• Maybe it was the fact that it snowed numerous times during the day and that snow flurries were falling toward Kemper County ground during Christmas lunch!
• It might have been that I got a chance to hang out with an aunt and uncle that I usually do not get the chance to see often and that I learned quite a few things about Uncle Ali that I found so interesting.
• Maybe it was putting aside all of the past and being nice to each other, loving each other, forgiveness, hugs, laughter and smiles... all the jazz that goes along with Christmas and family.
• Maybe it was the fact that I was not expecting to be home this Christmas and realized just how blessed I am that I got to be!
• Or maybe it was realizing (again) how truly blessed that I really am: be an American, have the freedom to celebrate the birth of our Saviour and Lord, to have a home, a bed, a pillow, blankets, heat, warm water... running water, a mother, father, sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, in-laws, pets, a Bible, the ability to read, health, shoes, clothes, and plenty of food... great tasting food, at that!

Man! What a Christmas! I am so grateful... so grateful! And it just so happens that it all boils down to the One that made it happen, Christ.

Thank You, Father, for Your Son... for the love I experienced yesterday ("We love because He first loved us." -1 John 4:19), for the family You blessed me with, and for Your glory displayed through a humble, lowly birth of the great I AM that would wipe away my mess-ups and open His doors in Heaven to me... a humble, lowly girl. Merry Christmas!

_________________________________________

Pictures/Video to follow shortly.

The Inevitable

So I hate changes, right? Anyone that is close to me knows this. But man, has have those walls been beaten down to sheer rumble lately.

When I say that I hate change, I mean it used to be bad... baaad. Jan and I had a mutual friend when we were in Jr. High. We loved this friend. She was so crazy, insane, made us all laugh. But when she would come over to our house to spend the night, my world felt like it was turned upside down. It wasn't that I did not want her there, but my whole routine went to pot. I could not do A, B, or C because I had to entertain. If I happened to sneak away and run outside just for some 'alone time,' I was question about it by Heather and Jan. Isn't that bad?? But Heather (and any thing or person) was messing around with my comfort zone... not cool!

But I have come a loooong way from that. God has taken that small radius of comfort in my life and shrunk it even more. It has not been fun but very much needed. The unexpected does not throw me for a death-defying loop anymore. It is just more like, "Oh. Ok. Fine." Again, it is a good thing.

Now to my point:
So I have been excited about coming home for Christmas for a few weeks, especially the last 1.5 weeks. I have been so looking forward to going home, sitting in the peace and quiet, not having to think (!!), not having to do anything but just enjoy the slow home life.

EEEAAYYYHHH (Think basketball buzzer as the ball is flying through the air toward the rim as game time runs out.) WRONG!

Let's re-wind. I'm driving home yesterday and decided to call Jane (Jan) to see what she is up to. We talked forever on the phone (which was nice and left me with a strained/sore throat by the time we hung up). Jan proceeded to tell me that Aunt Patsy and Uncle Ali were coming to Christmas this year. (Ok, cool.) And that they were spending the night Friday at our house. (.......... what?)

Now please, please do not get me wrong. I am all about family! And I am glad that they are coming, since they do not make it home for holidays very often. Plus, it has been quite a few months since I've seen Uncle Ali. But staying with us?... at our house? .... when they always stay with Grandmommie and Hummy next door?.... since they have 2 extra rooms? Hmmm.

And Christmas morning?! Christmas morning has always been just a Tisdale family thing. The five of us opening gifts... then Jessica got married. The four of us opening gifts... then Daddy left the picture. But regardless of the number of family members here on Christmas morning, it has always and only been us. "Uh uh uh. Didn't say the magic word." Not this year.

So change is inevitable. It is bound to happen. I am phased that Christmas is going to be mixed up this year, but yet I am not at the same time. And the more I think about my comfort zone, people and places are becoming afterthoughts. I am beginning to realize that the only true comfort zone that I have is God... Maybe that was and is the point of this all anyway.

Mid Shift-ing

This.....................................................
Has been .................................................
The.....................................................................................................................................................................................................
Slowest................
Night...................................
.............
...............
...................
Ever!

Please, 6am, HURRY up!

Additions to the English Language: Lesson 1

1. Geta (gay-tuh)-
Origin: The incorrect pronunciation of Beta due to combining the words 'Beta' and 'Gamma'.
Definition: The inhabitants of Beta 4 Room 101... more so, amazing friends that I will always claim as my own.

2. Cha (chaah)-
Origin: A stupid Saturday morning yearbook-thing said by a lame sounding girl that Jan and I found hilarious.
Definition: There is no real definition. It can take on the meaning of virtually anything. You must be fully aware of the current situation and conversation to correctly interpret the correct meaning of the word. Although typically, cha means "yeah", "I agree", "Really?!", and "Duh!" Sometimes, cha can mean simply nothing at all. It is almost a period mark, if you will, to a statement, thought, topic.

3. Takee (tayk-EE)-
Origin: Liking to slur words into funny sounds with a twinge of laziness, takee became a sentimental command.
Definition: It basically the condensed version of "You take." Ie.- Takee vitamins. Takee this to the kitchen.

4. Nappy (nap-EE)-
Origin: Despite its original roots, new meaning came to the word when it began to be applied as an adjective (word describing a noun) for many words.
Definition: Nappy is related to "Cha" in many ways. It can take on more than one meaning, depending on the situation. Nappy generally means "mushy, as in love-type stuff", "oily", "gross", "aggravating", etc.

________________________________________

I do believe that this is enough for this first installment of "Additions to the English Language." Any more might result in a mental breakdown... but don't worry. Things will get easier. Just remember to repeat these words and recite their definitions at least four times a day. You will have it in no time! Thanks for your time. Have a great day. And Merry Christmas!!

Weekend Recap

The past week of work sucked. I am not going to lie... stressful, challenging, tired, nerves, just a lot of 'I really doe not want to do this!' But there was a goal to be met, something to look forward to make it all worth it: This Weekend.

When I got off of work Friday night at 6pm, I rushed back to the apartment in anticipation of Fred's arrival. We already had the night planned... a movie of some sort. Since Fred got there later than expected, we left asap for Slidell, La. There were two movies to that we were thinking about, both starting around 7:45pm. And the time that we pulled up at the movie theater: 7:40pm. With no food in our stomachs, we opted for a sit-down dinner at Applebee's and a late Harry Potter movie. We ordered way too much food, ate as much as we could, took the rest with us, and watched the movie. I finally climbed into bed at 2am (only 22 hours after I woke up... geez!!), but it was 100% worth it. I had so much fun with Fred. There was so much laughter, and crazy driving via me, threats of poking while I was driving, more laughter, "Dynamite," and much more.

I got up around 7am to get ready for the day, and Fred rolled out of bed nearly an hour later. Oh, the air mattress that I slept on left me freezing during middle of the night. It was semi-my fault for not preparing for the cold, so it wasn't a peaceful sleep. (Just wait... the air mattress wreaked havoc again.) We were going to rush to Mobile to meet Miranda's family before they left for the Mitchell Center; but tired and moving slow, we didn't leave until 10:15am. After a quick stop at Lifeway in Gulfport, we jammed out to Oldies music... well, I am jammed out. Fred danced, sang/yelled, shook the car around, and made me laugh so hard (as well as any other person that happened to look in our direction). We got to South's campus around 12:45 and pulled up right beside my GETA! And inside we went to find and sit by Ariel and her parents.

Graduation: Miranda Lynn Hayes, Joshua Shannon Wilson, and Clinton Michael Bourgeois, and Mr. Hunter (Ariel's boyfriend) walked across the stage!!! Woohoo for them and congratulations!!

After graduation, we went outside and caught up with those friends, some faculty, and took pictures. Then it was to Josh's house for a family get-together/reception for Josh and Miranda. And my Fatty was there too! Fred, Sam, Ashley, and I hung out with Josh's and Miranda's family, ate great food, and then it was karaoke. Ashley left. Sam and I stayed away from the microphone... although Josh's dad was relentless on making me sing.

Then... as Josh and Miranda were about to leave for Bellingrath Garden's Christmas lights, Josh grabbed the microphone to "announce their departure" BUT instead got down on one knee and popped the big question to Miss Miranda. With an instantaneous hug, I believe she said yes. Haha. Fred, Fatty... I mean Sam, and I hung around for a little while longer to OO and AH over what just happened before we left.

Fred and I got back to Picayune around 10pm and pretty much went to bed right after. I put some more air in the air mattress before going to sleep and prepared for the cold (aka put on socks). Not going to sleep right away because my brain wouldn't shut off, I woke back up after midnight with my booty on the ground and my body in the V shape.... I apparently didn't make sure that the plug was air tight. The stupid thing deflated. So I pumped air back into it, praying that I wouldn't wake Fred in the room right beside me, and tried to go back to sleep. Woke up cold again! Grrr. Then got up around 6am after Fred got in the shower, and I sprinted back to my bed to get under my warm covers and attempt to sleep while he was busy in the shower. Hello, warmth and coziness!! I rolled out of bed 30 minutes later, threw on clothes/cake-up, and we left for Waffle House. More eating, more laughter, more fellowship... then Fred had to leave at 7am. I tried my best to make him stay with googly eyes, pouty faces, pleads of "Please don't go." I even tried a couple of threats of how I wanted a gun to shoot his tires. Haha! Nothing worked, and he left...

Drove back to the apartment, got back in bed, could not go to sleep because I was recapping the whole weekend, got up around 8:45am, got ready for the day, walked to Sunday school, sat with Mrs. Janet in church, heard an awesome sermon on the last installment of a study on Ruth, rushed home, ate, went Christmas shopping in Gulfport with Sufjan Stevens' Christmas music and found some great buys, back home, wrapped presents and listened to Third Day's Christmas music, wrote/addressed Christmas cards, then called it a night.

Wow!!! Great stinken weekend.

Thank you, Lord, for friends, laughter, fun times, a handsome guy, sweet, Christian people, and a cozy apartment.

____________________________

Pictures: At the TOP - Two of my good (and missed) friends, Ariel and Ashley.

Someone messed up the picture... on purpose!

Frederick and "his BOI" CJ

All of us! :) (As Fred says "My BOI")

The engaged couple!!

And Fred's karaoke below:

Two Days of Work

This past week, I only had two days on my work schedule. You know what I was thinking? "Oh my gosh, yeahya!"

Wrong. Those two days ended up being the busiest, most stresseful days thus far.

I could not go to sleep Wednesday night, and 4am rolled around way too fast Thursday morning. I could not keep my eyes open. I had a service visit to conquer... which was scary when I already knew my brain was not thinking properly. I signed into the Watch Console wrong twice and was afraid that I ticked off Mr. Bob by doing so. My boss walks in. "Jaclyn, you will be doing a practice briefing in front of all of us this afternoon, and your debut briefing will be Friday morning." All I could think is, "I want to go home. I just want to walk out the door and go home. Don't cry. GRRR." The practice briefing went well. My boss gave me a HARD time with the most annoying questions, but it helped I guess. The shift finally ended. I took a tylenol pm that night and slept.

Friday morning was filled with balancing the normal work routine tasks, 2 service visits, and a briefing. Stressful, but Praise God that He somehow managed to keep me calm, cool, and collective. The briefing went well. I was actually told that it was possibly the best first-briefing that they've had. [Again, thank you, Lord, prayers, and Synoptic Meteorology!] I wanted to be involved with the rest of the service visits (they are a 4 hour event consisting of communicating with the technicians out in the field at the top of the hour every hour for 3-4 hours). But Skylla (my contractor, the company I work under's sub-contractor) had a Christmas luncheon from 11:30-1:30. I was not planning on going, but my boss was like... we're going. Let's go. And we did. I got back, rushed to finish my work with Matt, went to NOAA's Christmas party in Slidell... with NO gas in my tank (PRAISE the Lord I got there!), socialized with a few, sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with my boss and 2 other people, and LEFT.

Saturday... slow day. Skylla Christmas party that night in Bay St. Louis. Fun? Um... tolerable. I did get the chance to dress up and look nice. That typically doesn't make me excited, but I was feeling it for some reason. Black dress, black high heel shoes, red necklace and earrings, straight hair... well, straight until mega-force pre-frontal passage wind blew it to pieces as I walked into the building. Corporate world baffles me. It is full of people that think they are top-notch and must have some form of alcohol in their hands/mouth in order to socialize with the other top-notch people. It was such a turnoff. But I got through the night, met the CEO, said my name to a few important people and left. The cold front was moving through that night. As I was locking the door, I heard the bottom fall out of the sky. Again, God was looking out for me... I was amazed yet once again.

Whew. I think I'll be quite content if those types of events do not come around my way for a long while. Glad it is over.

Sunday was great too, but I'm tired of typing. (Post to follow shortly.)

This weekend... Fred is supposed to be coming to my place Friday afternoon. South's graduation is Saturday in Mobile. I'm excited... Miranda and CJ are graduating, and I'll get to catch up with friends.

Next weekend... HOME! For Christmas! Yay!