30 Day Challenge: Day 24

Day 24: Something You've Learned

I have thought a lot about this post, trying to think of something profound to write that shows how I've grown as a person in the past few months. I wanted to write about dreams, and how the things we want, REALLY want, in life aren't always what God wants. That our dreams are not necessarily something we need to go after right this second- that sometimes we need to wait on God for the perfect time to go after what we want. I had all types of examples that I was going to use- like how Ansley wants to be Mrs. Justin Timberlake and how Sara wants to be an ice skating Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.

Then I changed my mind. I started thinking, completely unrelated to this post, about romance. I'd been watching tv and the people on the show were making these wonderfully grand gestures to win the people they loved. I started thinking about other times in literature and movies when people do things like that. Men like Michael Hosea in Redeeming Love (and the real Hosea, of course), who saves you time and time again. Men like the characters in tv shows like Greek, where they give up grad school across the country because they can't stand to leave you. Men like Odysseus who try for 20 years to get back to their Penelope (don't think about the middle of the book). All these men who are devoted and risk the embarrassment to show how they truly feel. I was just thinking, "I want that. I want that kind of love."

And then I realized that I DO have that kind of love. I have a love that is even greater. I have the "I created you, sent my son to die for you, and am building you a home in heaven" kind of love.

There is nothing better than learning that you no one will EVER love you as much as your Heavenly Father.

30 Day Challenge: Day 23

Day 23: Favorite Vacation

I have thought a lot about this post and what vacation I should write about for it. My family never took annual vacations or anything like that. All our vacations were either related to my dad's work, to the beach (rarely), or quick trips somewhere. So, here I go. My favorite vacation: my 21st birthday gambling trip!

I know, it sounds crazy. I am so not a gambler- I hate spending money and I have such an addictive personality that it is likely I'd lose my life savings (if I had any). However, since I love poker so so so much, my family thought it would be awesome to take me on a casino trip after I turned 21 and could legally gamble. We went to Biloxi for a few days of beach, yummy food, and casino hopping!

We got to our hotel and asked the woman at the front desk the best place to eat. She directed us to this AMAZING seafood restaurant where I got this delicious steak and shrimp meal. The next day, we headed out for a little history lesson in the form of Jefferson Davis's home. It was SO beautiful. I have plenty of pictures in my album on facebook if you want to see it. That night we hit our first casino- oh yeah. I didn't do very well playing the slot machines, but I did get a really yummy chocolate covered strawberry, so I think that was a pretty fair trade. Then we got a late-night dinner at ihop!

The next day we ventured to the beach. We got lunch from this place called "Shaggy's," which had the most wonderfully fresh catfish finger. Delish. After getting a little sunburned, we made our way to a different casino. This one had an Elvis impersonator show going on when we got there- hilarious! They also had all-you-can-eat crablegs, which are one of my sister's favorite things to eat. We played some more slot machines and I won five dollars and yelled "cash out, cash out!!" It was awesome.

The next day, on our way home, we stopped by the University of Mobile, a college I had never visited before then. A few of my friends went to college there, and I just wanted to see where they all lived for four years. It was so tiny, but so pretty! Loved it.

And that was pretty much all. It was a fairly quick trip, but I had an awesome time. Casinos are super fun. Seafood is yummy. Happy birthday to me!

30 day Challenge: Day 22

Day 22: Favorite City

When I think about the handful of cities I love, one stands out as the clear favorite: St. Augustine, Florida. One of my favorite place in world, hands down!

My first trip to St. Augustine was when I was in 8th or 9th grade. It was a Spanish trip, and I was only able to go because the slots hadn't been filled by older students. I was really excited about it because I was getting to go with my boyfriend, who was a year older. I never imagined it would become my favorite city.

If you don't know much about history, you probably don't know a lot about St. Augustine. It is full of beauty; full of a rich Spanish history. Everything screams "I'm centuries old!" I don't think I really appreciated it fully the first time I went. I loved wandering around on the streets and looking in the shops. Christopher and I ate at a little restaurant with a water wheel (this was the meal I discovered how much I love sour cream) and we went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum (SO COOL).

I loved this city so much that my parents decided a good present for my 18th birthday would be a family trip there. I was SO excited to go back. We did a lot of the same things I had done in my first trip, along with going to the fountain of youth and the castillo de san marcos. It was definitely one of the best birthday presents ever. We also went into a shop I had found years before that has maps of European countries and divided them into family areas. Remember O'Keeffe castle? Oh yes, we found the O'Keeffe's of Ireland and found our code of arms. It is yellow and green with a lion.

I can't wait until I can go back to St. Augustine. I haven't been since my birthday trip, so I am itching to go again. If I had the money, one day I would LOVE to live there.