Something worth fighting for...

If you know me, you know that I am a very passionate person. You will also know that I have many passions. Unfortunately, it's so easy to get caught up in the everyday happenings of life and quickly become disconnected from the things in life that really matter (at least for me it is) as we focus more and more on getting things checked off of a to-do list.

My wake-up call:
As some of you may know, I work with a nonprofit organization called The Food Effect. This organization fights childhood hunger in North Carolina. Before working with The Food Effect, I honestly never thought much about childhood hunger in our state. I didn't think it was a huge issue in our state. But the reality is that 1 in 5 children in NC are going hungry. The reality is that NC ranks #1 (tied with two other states) in the growth of hunger from 1996-2008. The reality is that hunger is real and it's happening all around us. Terrible, right?!

Here's the good news: 
Hunger is a solvable problem, and we can all do something to help. We can all join the fight against childhood hunger in our state, even if we are only able to play a small part.

Two seconds and 30,000 pounds:
Right now, the Food Bank of Albemarle is eligible to win 30,000 pounds of food from Tyson Foods Hunger Relief. 30,000 pounds! Just think of how many children and families the food bank can help with that amount of food! And we can help them get there! All we have to do is vote for the Food Bank of Albemarle on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/questions/10150296053666776/.

That's it! I already voted- it took a total of 2 seconds. Please play your part in the fight against childhood hunger and do the same. Also, please consider sharing this information on your own Facebook page encouraging others to help. The deadline is TOMORROW and only the top 3 vote-getters will win.

Let's all take a 2-second break from our crazy, busy lives and help something worth fighting for. And if hungry children in our state aren't worth 2-seconds of our time, if they aren't worth fighting for, then I don't know what is. 

If you would like to learn more about this issue or continue to fight childhood hunger in our state please consider checking out The Food Effect at thefoodeffect.org or becoming a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thefoodeffect.

Haircuts, kittens and craft time!

What I've been up to:
 
It's been a whillllle since my last post on here. Life has been busier than ever! Since I last wrote, I got a haircut and a kitten. OH and I finally moved into my new apartment in Raleigh. It feels so great to finally be living close to work. I feel so much more connected to my life here now that I actually live here. I've been adjusting well to life in the new city. It's weird to go from being in college, surrounded by friends, to a new city with a very small number of friends. I will admit that though I am very social, it's been a lot harder to meet new people than I thought it would be. Luckily, I live with a roommate! (Hey, Tracie!)

I tried a new church yesterday with my friend Lindsey and loved it. It's called Summit Church. We even signed up for a small group. I'm really optimistic about it. One of the biggest things I'm looking for in a church is the opportunity to connect with other young professional Christians in a small-group setting. Sounds like I found the right place for it, but we will see. Now for the fun stuff:

Jack:

In case you haven't seen him on my Facebook, here is Jack, my new baby:

Lazy bones. He loves the cheetah blanket pictured with him here. He sleeps on it (right beside of me) every night!

He's not your typical cat. One of his favorite things to do is play in the sink.

With my roommate's kitten and his "brother," Triton. Though they have plenty of toys, this shopping bag from my mom is the new favorite. And very noisy :)

They are so adorable! I'm still not a cat person, but love these little guys. They act like puppies (and get into everything).

Gettin' crafty:

In other news, my roommate and I have become quite the little Martha Stewarts. After becoming absolutely addicted to Pinterest, we've embarked on a DIY mission of crafty fun. Last night I made two coasters, a painting/key-holder and a cheetah-print painting. If you know me, you know that I am absolutely in love with old keys thanks to Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and my nana (thanks, nana!). You should also know that I am shamefully in love with cheetah print- not the trashy looking kind, though. This partly due to my dear friend Samantha, her kitten that I used to babysit (she seriously has a cheetah print belly), my sister and, now, my own kitten who is obsessed with it. Here are my creations:

My key creation. Love the way this turned out. Make your own: 1) paint canvas gold and let dry 2) paint lightly (and somewhat messily) over gold with light blue paint or any other color you prefer 3) find old keys (I got the two on the right from an antique store in Chapel Hill, the other from an old necklace) or any other trinkets you love, just keep it simple. 4) nail the canvas on wall using one nail per trinket (place nails where you want to place your trinkets) 5) hang trinkets on nails 6) fall in love with the awesomeness of your creation. If you don't want to nail this on the wall like I did, you can glue your trinkets on, or nail them on and just bend the nails down flat on the canvas. If anyone would like one of these, leave a comment and we will work something out.

My new coasters! These were also pretty easy to make. Make your own: 1) Get some beautiful scrapbook paper (told you I love cheetah print!), cork circles or small tiles, mod podge, felt- get black or dark brown, scissors and a hot glue gun 2) trace cork circles or tiles on back of scrapbook paper and felt, cut out shapes 3) glue paper onto cork/tiles using mod podge- a hot glue gun also works or super glue 4) after glue dries, glue felt on the bottom of the cork/tiles- this is where the glue gun come in to save the day 5) when felt is secure, turn coaster over and apply thin layer of mod podge over the scrapbook paper, let dry and repeat several times- Id say at least 3 times 6) enjoy! Again, if you want these or coasters with another print/pattern/color, let me know with a comment and we can work something out.

This was completely just for fun. I used tan, gold, brown and black paint to make it. I don't really know how to tell you to make this one. There wasn't a process to it, just random painting. If you actually like this and want one, leave a comment.

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! Stay tuned for more. I will be posting about any new crafts on here. I'm pretty addicted already, so it shouldn't be too long before I post again. Thanks for reading. Love!

Wonderful day!

Today is my birthday, and it's been so wonderful so far. I'm so thankful to God that I've been fortunate enough to live for 22 years on this earth, living and loving life with my amazing family and friends. I am also really thankful for the wonderful people in my life who have made today so special!

 Here are some other things that are just adding to the specialness:

My new shirt. I am IN LOVE with this shirt. I got it on sale at Belk at Crabtree Valley Mall (My birthday present to myself). If you live in the area, I highly recommend you head over there. They have some GREAT sales going on.

My new friend, Chunk. I'm petsitting him and love him so much! He has made life so great for me this week. If you know me well, you know that going outside for a run or long walk everyday is very abnormal behavior for me. But I absolutely love taking him for a walk. I look forward to it every day. Plus, he is such a fast walker that it ends up being a great workout when I try to keep up with him. Another "specialness" factor pictured below is my roomie Madison who is finally back from her summer adventures. I'm happily preparing for many great movie nights to come.

 
We had some awesome cuddle time yesterday. He's so big I don't even really need a pillow, I can just lay on him!




























My coworkers/bosses have also made the day very special! I got a $25 Starbucks gift card and we all went out to lunch at The Raleigh Times. We ordered fried pickles for an appetizer and they were awesome. For my meal, I had the Crunchy Chicken Tacos- they were delicious! I also got to have some cheesecake :) I have been craving cheesecake for weeks now and glad that I finally got my fix. The cheesecake there is homemade and so delicious.

At 7PM I'm going to see Chris Hendricks Band play in Raleigh. It's going to be a great outdoor acoustic set. I haven't been able to see them play in such a long time, and I can't wait! I'll try to take some pictures and post them here soon.

I'm signing off for now. Thanks for reading. And if you're one of those very special people who made my birthday so amazing: THANK YOU! You are awesome.

Hello :)

I've tried all kinds of blogging tools... but realized that I haven't given this one a shot yet. So here it goes.

A bit about me:

I am a complete mess, and I like it. It's who I am and will never change, so I've learned to really embrace it and just go along for the ride. I'm constantly changing my mind and I'll never stop growing, learning and evolving.

I'm always caffeinated. Trust me, you don't want to even try to talk to me when I'm not. I'm not a morning person. Working full time has helped with that (a bit), but this will probably never change.

I love to laugh. I love dogs (and animals in general, but I'm definitely a dog person). I think animals are the best example of unconditional love and have the ability to soothe and heal your soul. I love God. I love my family and friends. I'm not perfect and I will never pretend to be. But, I like to think that I am a good person and I try to make a proactive effort to actually be a good person.

I try to live by this phrase: "Live with intention." Own your choices!

My life is defined by chaotic serenity and I'm going to attempt to record the good stuff here :) See you soon.