may i present to you.

incandescently good

:to il-lu-mi-nate with ardent purpose.

my etsy shop.

the dream come true.

having an etsy shop has been a long-time goal of mine.

since finishing college, i have had a little more time to do some of the things that i love--including crafting beautiful things. i have put A LOT of time and thought into this day and here we are--grand opening day. i am soooo very excited to see what the future holds and i am looking forward to seeing what God has planned for my little space on the internet.

items will be added frequently, so keep checking back in the shop for new items.

today's the day!!

i'm finished.

12 semesters.

180 weeks.

540 days.

2,700 hours.

my college career is complete.
(read more here.)



fall semester 2010-
human nutrition
introduction to business
management intervention

spring 2011-
english composition I
united states history II
microcomputer applications

summer 2011-

e-commerce

miracles and parables of Christ

united states history I

fall 2011-

accounting principles I

general psychology

lifetime health and fitness

speech and written communication skills for career growth

spring 2012-

management-theory, practices and application

leadership and organizational dynamics

accounting principles II

summer 2012-

NT matthew, mark, luke, john

introduction to the new testament

fall 2012-

introduction to ethics

microeconomics

spiritual growth for Christian women

spring 2013-

human resource management analysis and procedures

macroeconomics

ministry for Christian women

summer 2013-

Christian women in the home

directed field experience in area of concentration (internship)

fall 2013-

e-portfolio in business administration

ethical character of business leadership

money management and personal finance

spring 2014-

intro and survey of the old testament

principles of management

professional public relations

(pictures taken by my sister)

excuse me while i go over here and let this sink in....

burnt behind the ears :: part two.

sleeping in till 8:30ish the next morning (because sleeping in is what you do on vacation, right? ;), we awoke to a gorgeous day--a perfect day to spend on the beach.

mom and i put on our bathing suits and shorts and walked--with beach supplies in tow-- to all the amazingness of the beach.

it was a little windy, but warm.

absolutely perfect.

after laying in the sun for a while, we left our chairs and went strolling along the beach--waves lapping at our feet. i stopped and went to stand in the water and it took my breath away.

it was C O L D.

and to think that kids were actually SWIMMING in that water.

brrrrr.

heading back to the beach house, we ate a lunch of homemade chicken salad with green salad and then made the unanimous decision to go rent bikes.

fun stuff.

we hopped on our lime green bicycles and were off on our next adventure.

we passed runners and other bikers.

we passed adorable little beach houses with cute white carports.

we passed shops and brightly colored houses.

the miles ticked on and our legs continued their job of peddling us to our destination--the end of the bike trail.

we made it to the end, turned around, and peddled all the way back to the beach house.

my friends,

that would be a 29.80 mile bike ride.

never in my life had i E-V-E-R done that.

but it was sooooo amazing and fun.

bro-in-law had been doing some work in another part of florida and the sister was with him.

that afternoon, we received a text from sis saying that bro-in-law was going to drop her off with us on their way home to spend the rest of the weekend with us on the beach.

yayyyyy!!

bro-in-law and sister arrived that evening and said their good-byes to each other for a few days.

bro-in-law headed home, and us girls went to the late-night showing of million dollar hand. 

we arrived back at the house after 1 (in the morning) and crashed in our beds...dreaming of what the next day would bring.

more to come of the trip.

burnt behind the ears :: part one.

the text-

mom: do you have any plans thurs evening thru Sunday?

me: not that i know of. why?

that was the beginning of something exciting.

an exciting and fun-filled beach trip.

blessings abounded.

mom came and picked me up from work thursday evening and we hit the road--on our way to a happy place with white sand.

during the 3 1/2 hour trip, we passed farmhouses and 18-wheelers. 

i looked over my shoulder and realized i was witnessing one of God's most amazing creations ever.

the sunset.

blessings abounded.

pulling into santa rosa, we pulled right up to the condo that we would be staying in...or so we thought.

we couldn't find the house number that we were to stay in. turns out, mom was looking at the wrong number and we were right beside where we were supposed to stay. ha! memories made.

our house number was 10 and the time was 8:30 pm.

unloading the suburban and climbing the flight of stairs into the main part of the house, we began our own tour of what would be our home away from home for the next three days.

after we were unloaded and ate a little something, mom had the marvelous idea of taking a midnight (ahem, i mean, a 10ish) stroll along the beach.

with our iphone flashlights in tow (i knew those things would come in handy one of these days ;), we set out for the .40 mile walk to beach side.

oh, and did i mention we were walking on spooky lane with "seahaunts" condos on the same road?

yeah.

strolling along the miles of sandy beach, mom and i enjoyed listening to the waves beat against the shore.

we chatted about the whole other world rolling in the water at our feet and all the amazing creatures out there in the depths of the sea. we talked about what an awesome God we serve who knows every fish and creature--some that we may not even know of--and the same God that created all of that wonderfulness, fearfully and wonderfully made us. 

such an incredible thought.

blessings abounded.

after snapping a few silhouettes, we headed back to the house.

and guess what?

these two girls pulled a 12:00 pm'er.

woah, i know.

(hey, that's suuuuper late for these two old grannies.)

more to come later.

to run for a mom.

this morning dawned bright and early.

my body did not want to get out of the warm covers that it was buried in. 

but, we had something we had to do.

it had rained the day before and during the night.

rain was expected for today too.

daddy, mom, and i--with dry clothes and bib numbers in tow--loaded up at 6:20 am.

we were running for a mom--dallas and quinn's birth moms.

www.runforamom.org

by the time we arrived at our destination, the rain had stopped.

we were thankful for God's blessings He was already bestowing upon us.

arriving 30 minutes early, we unloaded and pinned our bibs and back "run for a mom" bibs on.

mom and i took a jog around the parking lot to get warmed up for the 5k.

right before the race began, we shot a picture and participated in the stretches led by one of the sponsors.

the race began and we waved to the sister who had just arrived and was sitting in the truck, in the parking lot, cheering us on.

it was steamy because of the earlier rain.

racers was sweating and putting their all into the race.

it was good.

small hills and twists and turns in the neighborhood.

clocking 3 miles, i turned the bend and saw the finish line in the distance.

sprinting the last hundred yards i crossed the finish line.

29:56.

the running group we formed--miles for mamas.

God then started the rain and the sprinkles felt SO GOOD.

we had our picture taken with Big Al and was able to visit with friends that we don't see often.

everybody then headed inside for food, door prizes, and awards.

oh yeah, mom won a door prize.

no, it's not a pole.

that my friends, is a rug.

what a door prize, huh?

aaaaand she won first in her age division....again.

daddy holding mom's rug while talking with friends.

after the race and after changing our clothes, daddy headed home and us girls went to the movies.

moms night out is the greatest.

you neeeed to go see it.

the end.

Stats for Agape Run for a Mom 5k:

Chip Start: 7:32:02

Gun Start: 7:32:00

Finish: 8:01:58

Chip Elapsed: 29:56:360

Gun Elapsed: 29:58:915

Age Division: 20-24

Place: 4th out of the 12 in my age group

Overall Place: 85 out of 400 runners

w e e k e n d.

this past weekend was wonderful.


saturday.

cheering mom on at crossing the creek adventure run.
downtown cityfest.
strawberry picking at u-pick.
a cook-out with friends and family.

sunday.

church.

afternoon movie watching.

evening worship.

a dinner of leftovers and movie night with brother and sis-in-law.

monday.

a phase 10 game--just me and him.

sad goodbyes--already looking forward to next time.

my boyfriend drove down from his hometown in kentucky friday night.

due to a tire blowout, he was a tad bit later  than was planned so mom and i went to the area wide singing--waiting for his arrival. he arrived around 9:30 pm and we went to work dressing spooky's (my horse) abscessed hoof. he left for nana's house around 10:30--his hotel for the weekend. :)

he got to our house at 6:50 am--bright and early--in order for us to leave to go to mom's race.

she was the second overall woman winner--getting beat by a 14-year-old by a mere 4 seconds.

cityfest was enjoyed and kettle corn was bought.

a lunch at mcalister's deli was consumed and a trip to the strawberry patch was made.

back home, dinner preparations were made and friends arrived.

grilled chicken, bbq, baked beans, hashbrown casserole, and salad was on the menu.

lots of laughter was shared.

he met us at church the next morning and my family worshiped the Lord together 

(minus the sister and the brother-in-law).

nana and grandaddy joined us at home for a feast of homemade lasagna, garlic bread and salad.

he and i watched gifted hands after our company left.

church that night.

monday morning dawned and after he filled up with fuel, he came to see me at home.

we sat on the couch and talked about this and that and then debated on whether to play checkers or phase 10. 

my suggestion won--phase 10.

 (it's a secret as to who won *wink wink*)

10:00 am rolled around--the time he had to leave.

i watched as he drove off--back to his hometown....until next time.