Cabin Progress

I did a post recently about how Colby's family is renovating a long-time cabin project. When I saw long-time, I mean it literally.

Over the past few weeks though, it has taken a turn for the better. More of the siding has been put up, and a deck has been added. It's still got a ways to go, but I think it might actually reach completion sometime in the next year. Let's pray it does anyway.

The cabin is actually part of my 101 list. Number 30 is for me to host a party at the Langham Farm, and number 33 is to stay overnight there. Both of these can only happen if the cabin gets completed. I'm crossing my fingers!

You can see the before pictures here!

These are the latest photos though, so you determine the substantial difference when comparing:

Can you tell I'm excited?!?!

I'll keep the updates coming!

Number Six- Check

For the past week, I've been impatiently patiently waiting for my degree to be posted to my transcripts, so I could order them and apply for certification in Alabama and Florida.

Of course once I discovered it had been posted, I realized I had to do my exit counseling for my student loans. Grrr........

After I got that all settled, I went ahead and had my transcripts ordered, and I began the certification process. I've followed all of the steps, so I have officially applied in both states.

Pray that these will come in soon! I need a job, and the department of education tends to take their dear, sweet time when it comes to things like this.

I'm also praying that I will find a job somewhere in close proximity. I do not want to have to drive an hour or more to work. Personally, I don't even want to drive over 30 minutes, but I'll do what I have to do.

I've looked up every school though that is driving distance, and I've printed out applications. Now that I've applied for certification, I can now start submitting those applications. That will be tomorrow's task.

Off The List- Numbers 32, 35, and 75

I have to say that this week was fairly productive when I take the 101 List into account. I was able to knock three more things off of my list. I don't think that's too bad for a person who made the list about a week ago.

Let me just tell you now that it is wedding central at mine and Colby's house right now. The back bedroom is no longer a bedroom. It looks like a big, old junk pile. I'm so embarrassed by it right now. Not too long ago I had it all cleaned up. Now....we're back to the same old thing.

Don't believe me? Take a look at this....

Because blogs are about keeping it real, I figured I would share this with you. Maybe this will make you feel better by seeing my ginourmous mess.

What's created this mess you ask?

Me. Things for the wedding. Shower gifts. Gifts we've received after showers. Me moving my stuff in.

Ok...well, you should feel much better about yourself now. My goal today is to get this mess semi-looking better. Oh mercy....

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Now, on to the 101 list. 

Number 32: Donate canned goods to the food drive.

Like I posted about yesterday, we received information in our mailbox to participate in the food drive that the USPS takes part in. I thought this would be the perfect time to knock something off of my list. While I am participating in this one, I hope to participate in one more at the end of the year. I'm going to try to get my church members to collect food to donate to our local food bank as well. I think a challenge might be in order for them.


Number 35: Update my cell phone

Let me just tell you now that this was a hard decision for me. Colby and I have had so many discussions about this it's crazy. What could be so hard about updating your phone?

Colby and I have been going back and forth about whether to get a phone that has a data package. We want those phones so bad we can taste it, but money is what ultimately made our decision.

You see, we're cheap. Right now we are anyway. There are things we want much bigger than a cell phone. That's why we decided we didn't need a $200 phone bill. Instead, we opted for regular phones. I decided to just get a one year contract, so maybe next year I can get a touch screen phone with a data package. I'm crossing my fingers.

Number 75: Hang ferns on my front porch.

YAY FOR THIS!

I've been wanting to do this for over a month now. I finally have it done. We needed some ferns for the wedding, so I opted to buy some. Then, I could keep them.

Logical, right?

The best thing was that it only cost me $30 for these babies. They are huge!

Now, if I can put some potted flowers on the table and pillows on the swing, I think I can knock something else off my list. Trust me. It's coming.

97 MORE TO GO!

Stamp Out Hunger

This Saturday the USPS will be picking up non-perishable food items right from your home to go to a local food bank. I saw this first on a sign in the post office, but the other day I opened up our mail box and found a plastic bag and a postcard.

On it, it provided the instructions on what to do to support this cause!

I have gone to the website to provide you with more information about it. Below are some of the important parts of the article:

"Every second Saturday in May letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America deliver much more than mail when they walk and drive along their postal routes. They also collect the goodness and compassion of their postal customers who participate in the NALC Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive – the largest one-day food drive in the nation and probably the world.




Led by letter carriers represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO), with the help of rural letter carriers, other postal employees and numerous other volunteers, the drive has resulted in delivery of nearly one billion pounds of donations to community food banks and pantries over the past 17 years.
Carriers collect non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes and in post offices and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries and shelters. Nearly 1,500 local NALC branches in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands are involved in the drive.

All citizens need do is to place a box or can of non-perishable food next to their mailbox before their letter carrier delivers mail every second Saturday in May. The carrier will do all the rest. The food is taken back to a postal station, sorted, and then delivered to an area food bank or pantry. There it is available for needy families.
Some 35.5 million people face hunger every day in America, including 13 million children. This drive is one way people can help those right in their own city or town who need help."

Make sure you take the time tonight to fill your bag and put it in your mailbox. It doesn't matter if you put one item in it or fill the whole bag up. Just do it. We need to give to those who are much less fortunate than us.

Have fun filling up your bag! Let me know if you participated!

Number 5 - Check- Graduation!

This is so exciting! I've knocked off the first item to my 101 List!

This past weekend I graduated from the University of West Florida with a B.A. in Elementary Education.

Many of you know that I was really dreading actually walking to get my degree. Any time I'm forced into a new situation or environment, my stomach gets in knots. Thus the reason I opted not to eat breakfast that morning.

What made things worse was that we had to be there NO LATER than 9:00 a.m. since it was supposed to start at 9:30. We used the GPS to make sure we got down there quickly and without any problem. Of course there was a wreck on I-10 though, and we had to be re-routed. My stomach tightened its knots even more.

We finally arrived. The weather had been dreadful the day before, so it was very humid outside. My hair, in turn, decided to do the opposite of what I had made it do that morning.

In the end though, I graduated with Honors, Summa Cum Laude, meaning my GPA was 3.9 or higher.  Here are some pictures following the ceremony. Once again, please excuse my hair. I know it looks awful!

Colby was so proud of me. He's been dating me basically since I started college, so he knows the stress that I've been through. I thank God I have had him by my side to get me through those end-of-the-semester nightmares projects.

I'm not sure what my dad was expecting. He was surprised we had caps and gowns...haha! Either way, I was glad that my parents were there to support me.

Even my sister got up out of bed to join in on the festivities! My poor grandmother didn't know how to work her GPS, so the detour really threw them off. They made it there though!

I'm glad I've made it this far. Now, the job search is on!

Bear With Me

I'm in the process of making some changes to the {look} of the blog. There's no telling what it's going to look like throughout the day.


Hopefully, this won't take me as long as I think it will.

Wish me luck!


Help!
I've been working all morning on changing the look of the blog, and I'm failing miserably. It looked way better than this, and I kept changing it. Grrr.....let's hope things take a turn for the better this afternoon!

Showered with Gifts

I had my very last wedding shower a few weekends ago. It's taken me this long to blog about it because of these last minute details of the wedding, marking something significant off of my 101 list, and my bachelorette celebration {all which are future blog posts}.

My sister, Ashley, and my Aunt Rhonda were the hosts of this shower. Most of the people invited were family, while some were church members {especially seeing as how it was held at my church}.

They did a fabulous job! We had some delicious food, including a homemade cake wishing us well.

We received some very useful and lovely gifts, too!

                         

I had some great helpers, too! My niece, Aly, and my little cousin, Madison, were hilarious! They wanted to help, and I certainly had no objection. Every time I would ask them what they thought was inside, Madison would say with all of the excitement in her voice, "TOYS!"

                        

Much to her dismay, I never opened any TOYS! I did open these things though......

                          

                          

Thank you to my hostesses for doing everything you could for me! The shower was terrific!

Thank you to all of you who have blessed us with an abundant amount of gifts!