30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 25

Day 25: iPod Shuffle!

I am SO excited about this post! I love music more than most things, so I am happy I get to share some of it. Warning: I have a very eclectic taste in music, so you never know what will come next!

1) The Creation of Man- The Scarlet Pimpernel

- One of my many musical soundtracks. If you like musicals, you should look into it!

2) The Remedy (I Won't Worry)- Jason Mraz

- I love this song. And Jason Mraz in general.

3) No Good- Kate Voegele

- Kate Voegele won me over in One Tree Hill. This is actually one of my favorite songs from her!

4) There You Were- Jessica Simpson

- My sister loves Jessica Simpson, and this song is from her best cd.

5) Mad About You- Belinda Carlisle

- Awesome.

6) Lilacs- Matt Costa

- His voice is so wonderfully soothing......

7) May the Horse Be With You- Relient K

- I love them. There is just nothing else to say

8) BB Good- Jonas Brothers

- I got this from Sara.....I don't think I've actually ever heard it

9) Help Me Rhonda- Beach Boys

- I love the Beach Boys soooooo much. I am my father's child.

10) Hey, There Delilah- Plain White T's

- Sweet song. I like the story behind it!

11) Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet?- Relient K

- Again, I just love them.

12) Unchained Melody- Righteous Brothers

- The Righteous Brothers are so amazing.

13) Fall Line- Jack Johnson

- Can I just say how much I love Jack Johnson? He has just become one of my favorites.

14) Sadie Hawkins Dance- Relient K

- This is one of my favorite Relient K songs. "Smile on my face and air guitar rockin!"

15) Only the Ocean- Jack Johnson

- Apparently my shuffle isn't awesome.

I'm not sure how many songs I am suppose to put on here, so I'll stop there. A little bit of my music to brighten up your night :)

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!