Changes...

Well I haven't posted a blog in a long while, (about 2 months now...yikes!), but I feel like I should post one now as an update...

Justin and I have spent the last two weeks or so preparing for and moving to Thomasville, GA. The whole thing has been a whirlwind- we moved out of our apartment in Jacksonville at the end of February when we got back from our cruise. Knowing that Justin had been applying for firefighting jobs all over Florida and in other areas, and knowing he had some leads on jobs out of town, we didn't want to commit to signing another lease and be stuck in a situation that would cost a lot of money to get out of. So, in faith that Justin would get a job somewhere, (though not knowing how long it would take), we moved in with his Papa. We were prepared to stay there a while. We settled in and stored all of our stuff wherever we could fit it. I loved living there near his parents, and as apprehensive as I was about Chloe living outside full time, she loved it!! Everyone was right in saying she was an outside dog, she truly loved it. Plus, her grandparents were always around to love on her too :) So about the time we get settled in and get used to the idea of living with Papa, Justin takes a few days to interview at Thomasville, and gets the call that he got the job! Without even really thinking about it, we decided to take this opportunity and go for it!! Within 2 weeks we quit our jobs at Sonny's, sold the lawn business, packed everything up again, and rented a U-Haul... By March 28th we were hear, in our new home...

So far, it's been all kinds of different emotions for me. I felt excited that we moved and took this big chance together. I've felt really secure in the fact that Justin has this new great job that he not only loves, but that is stable with pay that is very predictable, (not to mention the health benefits...). I've felt happy and excited, but I've also felt kind of sad... I always was an advocate for going where the job is and moving away if we had to, (I grew up moving around as a Navy brat so I figured it was just in my blood at this point), but I never realized how it would really feel. We went from being close to both of our families and seeing them all of the time to now living about 3 hours away, (which I know isn't far at all, but still it's a big difference). It took me a few days and a few phone calls home, and everyone telling me to give it a try before I get too upset, and now I have to say, I'm settling in and getting used to it.

The pace is a lot slower here. We have a lot of downtime. We have a lot of time to spend together. We walk Chloe every morning and every evening. I've cooked dinner more these past few weeks than I ever did in the whole past year I think, and i've been loving it! Justin starts his 24 on/ 48 off schedule today. Another thing for me to get used to- sleeping alone, yet he will have 2 days off in a row which is exciting. I started my new job yesterday which I really like so far, it's exactly the kind of job I pictured myself in before we moved. I see my sister a lot more since she is about 45 minutes away in Tallahassee. Overall, it's been really good. I came to the realization yesterday that this is exactly the kind of life I always pictured us having, I just didn't think it would happen so fast, haha. But God has a plan for us and it's our job to follow that plan as best as we can, because when we do, there will be so much abundance in our lives... After I finally accepted the fact that we have started this new chapter in our lives, I have been able to embrace it and really enjoy it instead of trying to fight it. After all, the only thing that stays the same is that everything changes...

So I wanted to post this blog as an update, and what update would be complete without pictures?! Below are a few shots I've taken just of downtown and some of the highlights of Thomasville that we've explored so far... Enjoy!

One of the two water towers in town

First Baptist Church of Thomasville

(We went here this past Sunday to try it out!)

The Scoop an ice cream shop Downtown

...more downtown...

How could I not love a city that has a statue of a lab?!

...more downtown...

Storefront of Relish, where I work <3

At Home in Thomasville

(They carry OPI which I was so excited to find out!!!)

Billiard Academy and Grassroots Coffee

This past Saturday we walked around downtown and had the best chili dogs and Coke in glass bottles from Billiard Academy, 4 chili dogs and 4 cokes, all for under $15!! :)

And finally, this was our Sunday after church project... We added the pavers, pine straw and pretty flowers!! Now our new apartment feels much more homey <3

Vacation in 18 days, 9 hours, 1 minute, and 48 seconds!!!

I am so so excited!!! Justin and i are going on a cruise on February 21st and I can't wait!! Justin has never been on a cruise. I have been on 2 in the past but I am so excited to be able to share this experience with him- it will be really nice to take a vacation together and relax and have fun :)


Chloe will be spending the week at Pet Paradise. She stayed there over Thanksgiving vacation as well when we went up to N.C. to visit my family. I'm pretty sure she really liked it there. She gets her own private kennel that is half inside/ half outside. The outside part looks over the courtyard where he gets to watch the other dogs swim in the doggie pool. Of course, she gets her own time to play and swim as well. She loves to swim <3 When we pick her up she is happy to see us and very tired which tells me she had fun playing with her friends.


It is nice to know that Chloe is safe and happy while we are away- if I didn't have that piece of mind I wouldn't be able to enjoy my vacation, lol.

Times of Plenty & Times of Famine

Genesis 41:17-57 has been one of my favorite passages that I've read so far this year in my daily Bible readings. In this story, Joseph (whose personal struggles and story are pretty amazing all their own up to this point), interprets a dream for Pharaoh. In his dream, Pharaoh encounters seven fat, healthy cows followed by seven ugly, scrawny cows; he also sees seven full, good heads of grain followed byseven withered, thin heads of grain. Joseph tells Pharaoh, 


"The dreams of Pharaoh are on in the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one in the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows thatcame up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine... Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them."

Joseph tells Pharaoh that he should choose a wise man to take control of the situation and lead Egypt through this time of abundance and famine. Pharaoh chooses Joseph, (pretty smart move). Joseph handles the situation in a way that I think teaches a valuable lesson for everyone, especially in today's society:

"And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt. Duringthe seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. Joseph collected all of the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities... Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea... The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and seven years of faminebegan, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food."

To me, two valuable lessons stick out at me from this story. Lesson #1: Obvious- get while the gettin's good, but make sure to prepare for the future. This was actually the topic of one of our church sermons a few weeks ago, preparing for the future financially. We try to be good stewards with our money. We pay our bills, we try to save as much as we can, and most importantly we tithe every week. (Therewas a time when tithing, like daily Bible reading, made it to the bottom of my priority list, and I can attest to the fact that tithing makes all the difference.After all, if God can't trust you with what he does give you, why should he give you any more?) Storing up the abundance we are blessed with now is so crucial because we never know when something might change and we are in a worse situation that isn't as abundant. After all, the times we think are times of famine could really be times of abundance, it is just our job to realize it and be good stewards. Which brings me to lesson #2.

Had you asked me 6 months ago I would have probably said that the phase I was in personally in my life at the time was a time of famine, but I would have been completely wrong. Lesson #2: 'Abundance' does not solely mean monetary wealth. Getting married and finishing school, waiting on full-time jobs and learning to balance the rent, insurance, car payment, and all of life's 'necessities' has produced it's fair share of financial challenges along the way- but there is so much more to living an abundant life than having a lot of money. Justin and I are incredibly blessed that we are able to make enough money to pay all of our bills on time, we don't have any debts, and we still have money left over to do things we enjoy, but we are by no means wealthy when it comes to money. The things we arerich in are so much better though: love, joy, happiness, peace. We have great families and friends who care about us. We have each other forever and ever <3 We have Chloe :) Most importantly, we have God in our lives to guide us, to protect us, to provide for us- the way he did for Egypt.

The New Year's Resolution I have kept for (almost) a month!!

I know New Year's resolutions are super cliche and no one hardly ever sticks to them. I myself have never successfully ended a year looking back and thinking, "I did it! I accomplished my New Year's resolution." However, it is inevitable that New Year's resolutions get made every year,(despite the fact that they generally fail), and I definitely jump on the bandwagon and make a few too. This year a made three pretty distinct New Year's resolutions. Two of them I am not going to tell you because I failed miserably at both on day one. The third however was to read my Bible every night, (or at least most every night), and read the entire Bible within the year. I have made this resolution many times in the past but have never really ever made it past January 11th or 12th with it. I know the importance of reading my Bible, I just don't know why I haven't made it a priority in my life before this... However, 2011 seems to shaping up quite nicely so far in this department, and I can already see how big of an impact daily Bible readings really have!!


Now with the way my mind works, (I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in History if that gives you any clues), I needed a special type of Bible reading plan that could cater to the way I think. I like time frames, I like to know the facts: who, what, when, where, why, etc. I like to know all of these things within context of each other, and preferably in the correct chronological order. Could i ever find a plan that could do this? Of course!! There are so many reading plans and even special devotion Bibles which cater to everyone's every need, it would be impossible to not find one you'd like. I found the perfect thing for me: The Daily Bible in Chronological Order. This Bible breaks the entire Bible into daily, (or in my case nightly), sections so that you read one per day and have the entire Bible completed in one year. And even better for me, it is in chronological order, PERFECT!! :)


So I have been reading the daily readings every night before bed. It has been nice because I'll sometimes read them aloud so Justin and I can both learn. (Most of the time he falls asleep, poor thing... he's tired). I have been doing great with my resolution- I am completely up to speed and not falling behind at all- and it's so fulfilling!! My next post is going to be about my favorite story thus far. (I feel like if I post it in conjunction with this, people will get bored and not read it, so read the net post to hear more about my daily Bible reading!!)

Healthy Lifestyle

Anyone who knows me on Tuesday nights at Bono's knows my infamous saying at the end of the meal: "That's it, I'm going to start my healthy lifestyle tomorrow..." I say it every week, and just as fast as I say it, it doesn't happen the next day. I think one reason I say this is because I always eat crappy foods that make me feel so crappy inside. I never feel good after I eat french fries and onion rings and chicken tenders. I don't even feel good after I eat pasta anymore.


I used to be able to eat anything I wanted and now worry about how I felt afterward or what it would do to my body; but I was 12 then, and I was growing. I'm 22 now and I'm not growing anymore- at least not the way I was when I was a kid anyway. My mom  used to always say to me, "You're a tiny little twig now, but one day it's going to catch up with you." I finally feel like she was right... ha ha. Now I'm not someone who thinks of myself as heavy or anything like that. On the BMI chart I am technically at a weight that's considered underweight for my height. And I'm not talking here about going on a diet or losing weight or anything like that, I just want a healthy lifestyle because it feels so much better.


Yesterday Alexa and I went rock climbing again after work. As far as that goes, I did a lot better. I got all the way to the top of the wall this time, and we 'traversed' along the walls as well. By the end of the night I couldn't even climb anymore because my muscles were so sore, (and this morning I am feeling it too, which I love!) Staying active and exercising are one great part of the healthy lifestyle I am aiming for! Before we went climbing, we stopped by Whole Foods Market. We both wanted to go in and check it out since we never really had before. We looked at all of the great organic and healthy produce and foods they offer, even a juice bar!! We ended up getting salads from their salad bar and I tried so many new foods that tasted great and I ended up loving!! We also are looking into their cooking classes that they offer each month.


I want to make healthy changes to my diet and lifestyle to feel better about myself and have more energy. I noticed last night that after eating a full plate of salad and going climbing, I felt so energized and great about myself on the inside and out. I didn't feel tired and grumpy like I normally do when leaving Bono's on Tuesday nights- I felt great! And that is the kind of feeling I want to have all of the time- that is what I'm talking about each night when I say "I'm starting my healthy lifestyle tomorrow..." (Now I guess technically I started it yesterday, I just have to keep it up.... ha ha)

Busy busy weekend!!

This past weekend was a busy one!! Saturday was spent in Callahan at the racetrack watching Justin winning his races :) It was super-duper cold this weekend, and as Justin always says, "It's always ten degrees colder at the racetrack," I believe it too!! Thank goodness for his dad's heater, and for Chloe- she can be a little heater herself if you lay on her just right :) In addition to the cold, it is always inevitable that we stay late when it is a race night. No matter what time the race starts, whether 8 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon, we are at the track until midnight it seems... Despite the temperature and the hours, I really do like going and watching Justin race. I know how much he loves it and it makes me happy that he is able to do it and enjoy it so much...


Sunday we were really bad and slept through our alarms and didn't make it to church :( I hate it when this happens, however we were still productive and worked together to clean the apartment. I always like to clean everything up and get it all back in order before another hectic week comes around and I don't have the chance. Justin was so sweet, he helped me clean the shower, vacuum the whole apartment, and did some laundry. (How lucky I am to have such a wonderful husband.) 


We had lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant with Justin's parents and my mom, (my dad was resting up for his night shift), and then we took Chloe to the dog park!!! Taking Chloe to the dog park is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world!! I love seeing her run around and swim and make friends. She loves it so much- she won't even listen to us when we call her to leave... she stays with her friends and plays plays plays. When we leave the dog park she always so worn out, it usually takes her a few days of nothing but rest to recover, ha ha. 


After the dog park we came home a took one of those lazy Sunday afternoon naps that are so peaceful and rare. It was really nice because all three of us got to sleep and rest up. We had dinner when we woke up, watched Smoky and the Bandit, and tucked into bed after a great weekend!!


This week coming up is going to be a busy one as well. Both Justin and I are working a bunch, but it will be nice to look forward to another fun weekend together :)

Rock Climbing!!

Last night I went rock climbing for the first time, and it was so much fun! My friend Alexa and I went to the The Edge Rock Gym here in town. We got the pass to climb and rented the harness, carabiner, and these special shos which made it easier to grip. Since it was the first time for both us we also took the belay class together and learned how to belay each other as well. The guy teaching us was really nice, and he made it easy to learn and understand. "Take this rope and make an alien head... Now we don't like this alien, so we're gonna choke him, and poke him in the eye- and now you have your knot..." With instructions like these, how could you not catch on quick, ha ha! We both felt a little embarrassed however when it came time to test out knowledge. Out helper was still watching is to make sure we were doing everything right and we each took a turn climbing while the other belayed. It was our first time on the wall at this point and by the time we got about 4 feet off the ground we were both saying, "I'm ready to come down now..." We knew it would be tough, but it was a lot harder than it looked!!


In addition to belaying, there were also certain areas of the wall that had the "auto-belays" which you simply hooked in to and they went up as you went up but caught you and slowly lowered you down to the ground if you fell. These were what we decided to get started with because we could both climb simultaneously and we didn't have the added pressure of trusting the other person while we got used to the climbing. I have to say, Alexa seemed to be a natural! She zoomed right up the wall after only 1 or 2 tries, like a little spider-monkey. It took me a while to really trust that the belay device would catch me. It wasn't easy to get so high off the ground then just let go- it's a strange sensation and obviously goes against everyone's natural instincts. I kept trying though- the key for me was to not look down. On one course I made it about 2 feet from the top and then it was ruined when I looked down and freaked out about the height, despite the fact that I knew I couldn't fall...


Plus, after all that time trying to make it to the top, your arms get really tired!! Rock climbing is such a workout in a fun way. I am definitely more a cardio/ aerobic workout person rather than doing anything involving weights or muscle, but this kind of activity that is fun AND works out my muscles is a nice change of pace. After 2 hours we finally threw in the towel because our muscles were tired and our hands were so raw from using all of the ropes and grips. I never did get to the top of any of the course, but that just means I'll have to keep trying!!! 

http://www.theedgerockgym.com/ 

Here I am climbing up one of the first sections we tried out using the auto-belay devices. At this point I'm really only like 10 feet off the ground, but Alexa's photo-taking skills make it look a lot more impressive, ha ha.

Say CHEESE :)

This is my rock-climbing partner in crime Alexa.

Here we are climbing and using the auto-belay devices together. Every time I got to this point on this particular course I gave up because I couldn't get over that ledge without freaking out. Alexa did a great job of concurring that crazy ledge on her course though!

This is my favorite photo! I think it really does a great job of showing the height... Alexa is in the top right corner all the way at the top!!

Welcome to the Blog World

This is my first ever blog. I feel like an introductory post is in order, although to know who I am, all you have to do is read the 'about me' section to the left <----. 
Justin and I sort of decided together that we would start our own blogs. He actually came up with the idea first. We were in Staples last week and he picked out journal for me, (a really cute one with a puppy on the front). He said, "maybe we could start journaling..." From there the idea turned into having blogs, and so here we are. I think this blogging will be fun. I think it could be a good outlet for all of the thoughts in my brain. If nothing else, it could be a good way for me to look back and see what was going on in my life on January 20th, 2011...
I'm not really sure yet what I want to focus on with this blog. It will probably end up being a mish-mash of lots of different things. I hope it's entertaining. I'm sorry if it's not... we will see what happens.
I guess with this introductory post I should explain the name. I am the kind of person who likes explanations for things like that, so I feel like I should offer one for you as well. Chloe is our puppy. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love her too. I am a dog person, 100% and Chloe is the sweetest, most beautiful dog in the world!! I know it seems silly, because she is just a dog, but she is my baby and I just think she is so precious. Until a real little baby comes along, I think Chloe will be my baby forever. The cashmere part of the name is just for fun. I actually asked a friend of mine to help me come up with names and she thought of this, so I can't take any of the credit. I really liked this idea though because it's kind of like two favorite things. I love Chloe, I love cashmere- and they both begin with the hard "C" sound- Perfect! So that is the explanation behind that... Plus with a pretty name like Chloe and Cashmere I can make everything pink and girly and it all kind of fits :)
I don't know how often I will be posting things- maybe a lot, maybe not a lot. We will just see how it all goes together!!