christmas time is.... gone?

So the story goes every christmas, Carly goes MIA for about 2 weeks at the end of December.   Well, it is true.  My brothers family come down for a while and I absolutely love being at my parents house spending time with everybody.  I love my family, and I love when they are here.  I choose to be a true college student and move back in for a few weeks while everyone is here and while I have a break from school and work.  It has been so much fun.  We've made cookies, I have played football every day for the past 10 days, I have played Mario Party 8 more then any normal person should, and I have attended many family Wii bowling tournaments in the past week than a professional bowler himself, although they choose to do the real thing...

Hunter has been a trooper.  He has come over and conquered the chaos with me a couple of times now.  I'm glad he fits in really well here.  He spent Christmas Eve with us and came over for a seafood buffet thing my dad bought us for Christmas.  And on Thursday, we are going to Myrtle Beach with his family to hang out for a while.  And on January 3rd, the chaos ends. Beaugator the bulldog and my brother's family pack up and head out, and life goes back to normal.  And quietness will happen, which is kind of sad. 

Now my only complaint is that it was 78 degrees on Christmas day, and I went outside in shorts and a tank top only to sweat.  That is aggravating.  I just want it to be cold.

ye ole fashioned MISHAP

So tonight was a lot of fun.  Hunter, our friends Levi and Rachel, Danny and Brandy all ventured out to the James Island Festival of Lights.  It was so fun listening to Christmas music and riding through the beautiful lights.  I love this time of year.  The only bummer is that it definitely was not cold out.  I had on a short sleeve shirt and flip flops.  Boo.  But that is okay. 

Afterwards, we went to Ye Old Fashioned to get some ice cream.  What I am about to write next is unbelievable and any restaurant with this type of behavior should rightfully earn a C rating on their door.  Levi requested to sample the Superman flavor of ice cream before making it his final choice.  So the guy behind the counter grabbed a clean spoon, scooped some of it and let Levi taste it.  Well, Levi wanted to sample one more flavor so he leaned up on the counter and pointed to the flavor.  The guy then takes the spoon from Levi's hand, the one he just licked every last drop of ice cream off of, and preceded to place it into the next flavor of ice cream for his second sample.  One spoon, two samples.  This is NOT okay with me.  This dude just put a used spoon back into the ice cream.  Hunter naturally walked away because he is a germaphobe, and so did I, because I am one too, and naturally, germaphobes don't approve of this type of behavior.  I don't think I will be going back there anytime soon!

Anyways, tonight was a lot of fun :).  Goodnight.

mattress trampolina

just a glimpse into my cool life.  we had a mattress on our back porch that we were about to get fined for since it had been there too long, so we moved it into the living room, rearranged some furniture, and jumped on it like a trampoline. cool huh?

police chases and...calculus?

Today has been quite a boring, very uninteresting day.  To make it very clear, I spent 6 hours of it bent over stacks of math problems inside of the good old Addlestone Library downtown.  I repeat, I did math problems for 6 hours.  Minus the 30 minutes I took to grab a sandwhich, but then it was right back to the books.  I'm so ready for tomorrow at approximately 1:00.  I will be home free until January 12.  Only then to have the madness begin again.  

I was driving home on Meeting Street heading towards the interstate, just minding my own business, going about 30 mph because thats the speed limit and I don't break the law.  There was about 3 feet of space between the car in front of me and myself.  All of a sudden, this tall huge man comes sprinting off of the sidewalk and right into the road and right in front of my car, causing me to slam on my brakes so I wouldn't hit this crazy man.  Now, my instinct was to honk and flip out, but his hand was in his pocket and I figured anyone who just runs into traffic has just done something very wrong or they are just insane, so I opted out of getting shot this afternoon.  Which is good because church was a lot of fun tonight.  Anyways, back to my story.  No lie, 1 second later before I could even get my foot on the gas pedal to continue on my way, a short little stocky police man comes sprinting off the sidewalk, once again RIGHT in front of my truck, leaps about 3 feet off of the ground and tackles the dude that already ran in front of my car.  It was literally like a quarterback getting sacked in a football game.  Considering this police mans size and the tall scary mans size, I was quite impressed.  Then, about 5 cop cars flew out of all directions and went to the scene.  And I was on my way.

Good story, huh?  I knew my hunch that he was probably up to no good was right.  And after seeing the magnitude of the tackle, I was glad I did not honk.  I might have very well been injured.

Now, I am going to sleep because I have an 8 AM exam and a noon exam tomorrow.  I have studied long and hard but it will only be by Gods mercy and grace on my brain that I actually spill out things that make some sort of sense on this Calculus test tomorrow.

Goodnight.

happy birthday to you

So the last time I blogged, it was in reference to my exam.  Now, I will blog about no one other than Hunter's birthday extravaganza's!!  Yes, that is plural.  Wednesday the 3rd was his actual birthday, and we are always super super busy during the week between work, school and other stuff.  So he decided to take off from work early on Wednesday night and I surprised him with some dinner.  I made some steaks, steam

ed green beans, scalloped potatoes and a birthday cake.  And I had it all set up when he arrived, even though it was a little l

ater than expected. But he was definitely surprised.  Then, he opened his gift and we attempted to watch a movie but the dvd kept skipping so cable tv it was.  

So Saturday, we went to the Columbia Zoo because he is obsessed and amazed with animals.  The thing about zoo's too is that you can see some of Gods coolest creations and get an up close look at the intricate details, characteristics

 and abilities each one has.  Like, the Gorillas were seriously the cooles

t things ever in life.  They almost looked like they could talk to you if you walked up to them, but I don't recommend it because they are very muscular and they probably will not talk to you.  We walked around for about 3 hours then headed to the mall, Cracker Barrel for dinner in Orangeburg and then back home.  Might I add, Hunter suggested we eat at Duke's BBQ in Ridgeville on the way, and I couldn't help but contemplate how many people decide to do that before heading to the zoo.  And we definitely looked like out of towners.  But that is okay, we love BBQ!!!  I will upload more pics later but this thing is being annoying.

swimming exam? or comedy show...

I wanted to write this down before I forgot so I look like a loser updating my blog in the Stern Center. I just took my swimming exam and these were some of the questions:

1. What was a material not used to make swim suits?
a. Lycra b. Nylon c. Human Hair

2. What is the best way to ensure an infant doesn't drown?
a. supervise them b. ignore them c. none of the above

3. Who was the first person to swim the English Channel?
a. Peter Griffin b. John F. Kennedy c. Matthew Webb

4. What happens when you lift your head above water while swimming?
a. Your head will explode b. Your feet will come up too c. Your hips will sink d. none of above

5. What was the first bathing suit called?
a. The Wooly Mammoth b. The Jantzen

6. What company had the slogan "Speed in your Speedo"?
a. Nike b. Wal-Mart c. Speedo

7. How did the Bikini get its name?
a. because that is the amount it covers b. from a nudist colony c. the island Bikini Atoll

8. What's not a good beach rule?
a. swim drunk b. swim sober c. don't swim alone

9. Sunburn is fun.
True False

Anyways, there was more funny ones but thats as good as I can remember. Why did I study so much yesterday? Oh well, atleast I was very entertained.
HAHA.

good ole CofC

I'm sitting at school waiting to meet with my teacher to discuss my programming problems and I felt the need to blog.  This has been a terrible day.  And it is only 2:05 in the afternoon.  I am currently taking a Calculus class to fulfill a credit in my major.  2 Years ago, I took a business calculus class because I was once a business marketing major.  Well, apparently, Business Calculus and regular Calculus are pretty much identical.  And the college decided that I would not get my 4 credit hours I should be allotted to and that I have rightfully earned, due to what I consider a MAJOR flaw in the math departments system.  To put it in plain terms, I have taken a 4 credit class, and the only thing I will get to show for it is a grade on my GPA and the right to fulfill a degree requirement without getting 4 credits.  Now, my scholarship that I have to have 30 hours a year for is screwed completely up and I will probably have to take 2 summer classes if I don't get this resolved.  It just isn't fair to me at all.  Regardless if they are the same type of class, so what if I've taken 2 of them.  Count one as an elective or something.  Don't just make it all go away!!!  It's just not right.  None of my advisors have expressed to me that this would be of any type of concern.

I am hoping I can meet with the Head of the Department of Mathematics very soon to try and get this resolved.  And I hope it will be a positive outcome.  I don't have the time or the emotional ability to deal with this kind of calamity right now.  Thank you College of Charleston.  Pray for me.

On another note, I did learn that Humans maximum swimming speed is 5.05MPH, and otter swims 7 MPH and a dolphin swims a whopping 30 MPH!!!  Thank you swimming 108.

-carly

thankfull

this is a typical julie carly picture, and my mom couldn't figure out the significance of our "grill"


So Thanksgiving is always a fun time for me and my family.  We always travel down to Florida to visit "some" of my family.  I say that because I have a rather large family on my moms side and not everyone could make it.  But 28 of us did.  I have a really fun family.  I have lots of cousins that are around my age and we all get a long really really well for the most part.  We ate 2 huge turkeys and tons of food.  Then, we all went outside to play in the backyard because we are dorks and then we played a REALLY long game of Apples to Apples.  Which was definitely fun with all of us.  Then, Friday, we went to the mall, then we all gathered again for pizza, salad, and pie... since that was what we had the most left over of.  It was a really fun thanksgiving and I am thankful for my family!

<<-- my cousins, memaw, mom and aunts for our annual stairwell picture

<<-- "you're gouging my eyes out"

electric guitars and violins..

So I am finally eating some dinner at 12:00AM but it's all good.  A little sacrifice I had to make to go the most unbelievable show ever...also known as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  These people can put on a serious show.  I have never seen so many lights or moving stages or anything in my whole life.  And the awesome part was seeing and experiencing the talent each one of the representatives had.  It was amazing.  I'm so excited we got to go.

Today has been quite the day.  I am really working on my road rage because I know that I have it bad.  And it really is something I need to stop and work on.  People drive me bonkers on the road.  It seems like everyone but me doesn't know how to drive.  But isn't that what we all shout because we know the rules and our way is how it is supposed to go.  And in everyones mind, you are the driver of the year anyway so people need to understand and follow by your great driving example.  So I am on the road, driving in the fast lane to school, because I am actually going faster than most of the cars and I was in the process of passing a HUGE semi.  So I finally pass him, and he starts honking.  So I thought maybe something was wrong with my car so I slow down and look at him and he starts flinging his hands around in disgust that I am still in the fast lane like I am holding up traffic or something.  So now I am just mad, this man has just honked at me and looked at me with this horrid look on his face and I have done nothing wrong.  I mean, sure, honk at me if you have a reason but I really was doing NOTHING wrong.  So now my road rage instinct lashes out of me.  I lay on my horn and flail my arms around at him.  And then I speed up and get in front of him and slow down.  So now at this point, I have just defeated my road rage challenge to myself, and I immediately felt like garbage.  I should've just kept on going and smiled. 

Anyways, now I am eating chicken noodle soup.  So I am going to continue before it gets cold.  Good night all.

5 ft. small or 5 ft. tall?

I have not had the pleasure or sincere enjoyment of writing an insightful blog in a while, so I figured I would grace my knowledgable ways of wording onto this blog once again.  This mac is cool.  It lets me know that I can't spell...it currently has the word "knowledgable" in a red underline because it is letting me know I am an idiot.  But I am going to go against it and leave it as it.  It makes it more personal that way.  

I have been contemplating the mere aspect of everyday life.  Everyone at some point wakes up, hopefully, and begins their day.  They get ready, or if you are like me, you throw on some clothes, and leave the comfort of your house to venture out into the hustle and bustle of the world.  You encounter people everywhere you go for the most part, whether it be strangers or people you have met before.  But have you ever wondered the amount of trust you put in people?  I sit in a classroom, trusting that no one has any anger management problems and wants to do something crazy.  I walk down the street, trusting that no one is going to beat me up because I am a little nerd.  People sit on planes, being steered in a direction by a pilot whom they don't know, who is to say they are going the right way?  I might be the only one who sits down and analyzes these things, but it blows my mind.  And I am not even sure this makes any sense to you, but it makes complete sense to me.

Anyways, now instead of being insightful, I am going to be blunt.  I have had a LONG day.  During swimming class today, the professor video taped us doing various strokes and then he would pull aside and we would watch them and he would analyze them.  Awkward.  So I get ready to do my best freestyle.  He tells me it looks good but to lengthen my arms some.  Well, apparently, he told my friend that she did her freestyle like a chicken wing, how that is possible I don't know, but then I immediately felt a little better about myself.  Which is funny because that is kind of rude.... but whatever.  So then, I did my backstroke, he said once again looks good but rotate your body more.  So then my friend tells me he told her she did her backstroke like a log.  All I could say was man, he must really not like you.  If anyone told me I swam like a log I would look at them like they were half crazy.  Logs don't swim, duh.

Then I went to the gym, ran for 30 minutes, then ate a lot of ice cream.  I like to do a little balancing out.

And for the record, EggNog is apparently really bad for you....if you drink 1/2 a cup, you might as well have just eaten a double decker chocolate icing molten lava cake.

bye.

it's a rave!

well, this is what my roommates and i do at midnight. when we all have school and work the next morning. thought i'd give everyone a glimpse into our crazy times. we were definitely ravin.

One Nation, Under God

I was debating on posting something on my thoughts and feelings about the election.  When reading this, understand that this is strictly my opinion, but I feel like I should write it out.  

I was watching Fox News last night as they were tallying up the polling results, and around 11:10, the announcement was made that our new President-elect was Barack Hussein Obama.  Now, to be honest and straight forward, I did not vote for Obama like most of this nation did.  I studied him, I researched his beliefs and values, and they did not match mine.  I was very displeased with the reaction of a lot of my fellow peers, and I fell right into the trap at first because I acted out of my emotions.  People posting things like "I want to move" and "what have we done" and then the positives, "change is coming", change, change, change.  That is aggravating.  And the passion people have poured out going into this election and coming out of it has been unbelievable.  And now, he is our President.  All we can do is pour the power of prayer over him.  Instead of complaining and instead of speaking negativity over his win and over these next four years, we need to be supportive.  I may not agree with everything he has to say, and no one is asking me to, but I don't need to preach negative comments--that seems a little "un-American".  And I would like to take this as another historical event I have personally witnessed and have become a part of.  I voted in this election, and our first African American President has been elected into office.  That is a tremendous feat and even the most conservative person can agree.  It is true that this was never thought of a couple of decades ago.

But people need to remember, Obama is not our savior, Obama can not bring upon the "change" we really need without the direction and the presence/power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray for him, I pray for his leadership over this country in these what seem to be challenging times, and I pray he seeks Christ during his 4 years in office.  God has his hand on this country, and God has his hand on Obama.

the end.

back to the books, I'm not loving school at the moment, hence the blog break.

gator bait

GO GATORS!!!

GO GATORS!!!  We stomped Kentucky like 63-6!!!  I got to see some of my cousins and my brother!!  We had so much fun!  I was a little sad because we missed game night with all of my high school friends but being at the gator game was amazing.

We left Friday night around 6:30 in the flooding rain, and got to Gainesville at my cousin Julie's house at about 12:30AM.  We talked for a while and the retired to our sleeping quarters and woke up at a few hours later.  Then we met up with my brother and his family and walked around UF's campus and went to the bookstore.  We also watched all of the players walk into the stadium and I took an unhealthy amount of pictures of Tim Tebow!!!  I was so close to him!!!  It was nuts.  After spending too much money, we headed to the stadium where we sat down in our seats.  It was me, hunter, my cousins david, julie, stephanie and jonathan and davids girlfriend nicole.

Anywho, after that, we all went to dinner at an awesome place called Gator something or other, and then had Starbucks and visited.  Then we hit the road and got home really late so I am going to sleep now but I just wanted to share in my excitement.

scarlet does the tumble

It has been a while and I have finally managed to find some time to update this thing.  It has been a busy past few days and this 

weekend is only going to get busier but in a good way.  My brother and his family are traveling down to florida for the Gator game this weekend and I thought it would be fun if I could go down and meet them and go to the game-- 1. because I'm obsessed with the florida gators and 2. because i am obsessed with Tim Tebow.  My cousin Julie goes there and got me 2 tickets to come down.  I am so stinking excited.  So me and Hunter are going to go down there on Friday night, stay with Julie at her apartment and go to the game with everyone on Saturday!!  It will be so much fun!

Last weekend, Hunter was in Tim and Melissa's wedding.  It was a lot of fun and a very beautiful wedding.  After all of the festivities, we met up with some of Hunters friends and 

watched the UFC fights.  Fun........haha.  Then, on Sunday we headed down to Walterboro to celebrate Hunters church 150th anniversary.  It was fun.  Then I had to do homework the rest of the afternoon so that kind of ruined my relaxed mood I had planned for the day.  This computer programming class is kicking my butt.  Man, what a major to choose.  I'm just going to have to study super super hard for the next test and the final exam.  Hopefully I won't have to retake this class and add to my already longer 4 years in college.

On a sad note, something has been very wrong with my stomach lately so if everyone could pray for me that would be great.  I have been getting really really sick every few hours after I eat.  I went to the doctor on Monday and they told me to eat some funky diet until Thursday and see what happens.  I still haven't been feeling well at all.  It is getting hard because I have a lot of school work and the end of the semester is approaching and this sickness isn't helping anything out.  Anywho, peace out.

Oh and the purpose of that blog title is very necessary.  Everyone needs to go look up in youtube, Scarlet does the tumble and forward the video to 2 minutes.  I promise you that you will not be disappointed.  I have been laughing all day about this stupid video.

politics and cereal

I have been keeping up a lot with this years presidential election.  I have been studying the different nominees, understanding what they are all about, and learning about their faith and values, and I can say I can stand firm in my choice on who I am deciding to vote for.  I feel like a lot more people are getting involved.  But I also feel like there are a lot of people who are not taking the time to truly get the low down on who they are voting for.  I hope for this election, people will not just decide on a candidate based on certain circumstances or who their parents or friends are voting for, I hope they research and are able to truly say that they would want that person in office because they will have power in a just way, and use it to better America and to rise up and be the leader of this country.

I was watching Sarah Palin on the "campaign trail" in Pennsylvania today, and I was captivated. While she was talking and presenting her stance on different issues and the plans she had for the country, I was busy watching and listening to the crowd in the background.  There were times when everyone would chant USA for several minutes, and everyone was excited and uniting together to support the candidate.  I got the butterflies.  Kind of like when you are at a HUGE baseball game or you are at a place gathered with many different people and you all come together to sing the national anthem. Or maybe because I am weird.  I don't know.  But there is a sense of pride in that.  Pride for your country.  And I think it is really cool.

I pray and trust that God will put the leader in place that this country needs.  

November 4th will surely be interesting, but I am excited to see how America votes.  And as for me, I am excited to vote because I am finally registered!!  GO ME!

As for me, I am off to sleep, because Fall Break is officially over and I have to wake up at the crack of dawn for swimming class.  OH MERCY!

myrtle beach

So I am on fall break officially since it is Monday--technically.  I am so glad for a break.  I decided to take Monday off completely for Carly rejuvenation, then Tuesday, my other supposed day off, I have to do homework and work.  But I am definitely looking forward to tomorrow.  I had a fun Saturday though.  Hunter and I decided we wanted to get away for a day and since we aren't married and staying somewhere over night is not an option, we decided on Myrtle Beach.  It was a lot of fun.  We basically went shopping all day.  We started out at the Tanger Outlets...yes, I know we have one here, but we are lacking a few key stores so it was fun.  We explored Polo, Puma, and many other stores.  Then we went to the nicest mall ever.  Kind of.  And did a little more shopping.  After that we spent time and walked around Broadway at the Beach.  It was kind of a bummer because it rained literally ALL DAY but we didn't care too much.  My hair did though, but that's another story for another blog.  I found my brother the coolest earliest Christmas present ever and I am really excited.  He is obsessed with the Florida Gators, which has rubbed off on me and I am a bit obsessed as well.  Mainly because Tim Tebow is the MAN! (besides Hunter)  So I found my brother some GATOR HOT SAUCE!!  How cool is that to add to the collection?  After that, we ate at this place called Captain George's Seafood Buffet (the same place Chapels reception was for the wedding) and ate TONS of food.  I don't really do buffets much justice but Hunter can knock out a whole buffet and a half.  And they had 23 home made desserts.  It was so good but so bad all at once.  We had a fun day and got gas in Georgetown for 2.79!! How awesome is that?

Today was also Celebration Sunday at church and it felt really good to be back on the same grounds the big church used to be, and to be gathered with the entire congregation at one time!! 

Now tomorrow is going to be good.  Do a little cleaning, a little R&R, ya know.

byeeee.

in my own little corner...

I can not agree with Melissa's last blog more.  Spending time with people you care about, and talking about substantial things or just being able to break away from the chaos is definitely a good feeling.  I was thinking about that after my last blog.  In regards to my negative stressful ranting, I did terrible on my computer science test that I studied hours and hours for.  But as much as I wanted to cry today when I got my grade, I felt sort of peaceful about it, and I am not really sure why.  I felt like it was all going to be okay.  I know I sound like a dork, but it is hard for me usually to just get over bad grades, especially when I work really hard and still manage to plummet the test.  

But I have been in a constant state of being God minded this past week and it has really affected me.  My attitude has done a 180, and I am just more peaceful about things.  I can't really explain it in any way that it would make sense, but peaceful is a good word.  And I feel like I am a much more pleasant person to be around, and I am sure a few close people would agree with me. haha.

I am finally back on a somewhat schedule which makes me excited.  

And now I will end this blog.  I really wanted to update but I wasn't really sure what to write.  So now I have to end abruptly.  Sorry.

driving blind

I don't recommend trying the title of my blog.  It is a bad idea.

I have been in a tornado of emotions these past few days and I haven't been myself.  I have been frustrating everyone around me, I am sorry.  I have been super stressed out lately with my lack of motivation with everything that was once very important to me.  It's like I hit a big speed bump and I can't quite get the back tires over the big yellow obnoxious line in the road.  School as been kicking me in the rear end.  My classes are hard.  And I feel like I can't keep up or understand fully what I am learning.  Like my computer programming class.  The concepts aren't hard at all, but actually applying the concepts STINKS!  I sit at home for hours staring at a screen throwing a bunch of nonsensical code into a box, hoping it produces something that is remotely close to what the assignment is asking for.  And it isn't like I can just get help from the book or something.  It just becomes impossible.  And I have to score a 70 on my assignment score in order to not have to retake the class.  Dear Lord please help me make it through this.  This class reminds me that I don't like programming.  I am intrigued with the hardware and problem solving of a computer.  Not developing long amounts of gibberish.  Then my calculus teacher is the smartest man in the world, but I have decided he is just too smart to teach.  I have no clue what the man is saying.  And math is something I enjoy and can usually figure out pretty easily. 

Then, all of this stress crosses over into my spiritual life and my relational life.  I start becoming slack on the one thing that matters to me the most, my relationship with God.  I start making excuses for quiet time.  And I start replacing school work with my time set aside for God and worship.  And when you do that, life just plain, excuse my french, sucks.  

So I am needless to say learning.  I am learning time management and how to better prioritize. I am learning that it is so much easier to involve God than to try to do things on my own.

On another note, I watched the debate tonight, and I am convinced on John McCain.  And yes, John McCain has a bracelet, BUT SO DOES OBAMA!  hahahaha. 

I am delirious, goodnight.

purpose...?

I remember when I was little.  Face pressed up against the glass, making a face at my dad while he was pumping gas.  Or when it was time for school, my dad was my alarm clock and my mom was the good morning committee in the kitchen.  We'd pray, and off to school and work everyone would go.  I remember endless amounts of sports practices, and watching my parents sitting in the stands, being supportive no matter what I was doing or how good or bad I was.  I remember being little, no responsibilities except to keep my room clean, which I wasn't very good at, and to help around the house.  Now, I am my own alarm clock.  I am responsible for my actions every day, and I am responsible for getting things done.  Paying my bills, buying my groceries, and applying myself to do well in college. I am responsible for myself.

It is a weird thought thinking about getting old.  You only gain years, you never go back.  And it is funny to think back to life when I was young and how I thought these times were so far away and I would never reach them.  Now look at me.

I was thinking about this yesterday when Hunter was on the phone talking to someone about similar types of things with a friend.  At our age, without Christ instilled in our hearts, and without following his direction and listening intently to His voice and where He is leading us, we are nothing.  We amount to nothing without Him, and everything we accomplish here on earth without God, it means nothing.  What purpose do we have without God.  We have none.   He is our purpose.  He should be our purpose for everything we do.  If not, who are we doing it for, ourselves?  

It breaks my heart to hear people who are in there prime years 0f 20-27, just plain lost, in relationships, in job decisions, in life, and they can't understand what is missing.  But what is missing is the most important thing.  God.  With our focus completely on God, we notice that everything else seems to fall in place. 

I feel like I'm rambling, but thats the purpose of blogging right?

goodnight.

You're Beautiful

I have found that I can't stop myself from listening to Phil Wickham's CD Cannons.  It is an amazing album.  And I spend a lot of time in the car.  More than most people, driving back and forth downtown everyday, and everywhere else I find myself venturing off to.  

Today, I kept pressing the back button on the song "You're Beautiful".  All that it makes you do is focus on who Christ is, not how this world seems so off at times.  It just reminds you of the pure and holy power of our Jesus Christ and the beauty of life, and the things he created for us to enjoy.  He is powerful.

I see your face in every sunrise

The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes

The world awakens in the light of the day

I look up to the sky and say

You're beautiful

I see your power in the moonlit night

Where the planets are in motion and the galaxies are bright

We are amazed in the light of the stars

It's all proclaiming who You are

You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree

You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me

Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne

Soon we will be coming home

You're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore

Where death is just a memory and tears are no more

We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring

Your bride will come together and we'll sing

You're beautiful

I see Your face, You're beautiful

I see your face in every sunrise

The world awakens in the light of the day

I look up to the sky and say

You're beautiful

----PW "You're Beautiful"

birthday bash

So an update to the blog.

Today was a very fun and peaceful day, and I have needed that so badly.  Lately I have been so busy and have had so much go wrong, that I have almost been depressed.  But I am much better now.  It seems like everything always goes wrong at once.  And it is always small little things, but they make a giant big thing.  For instance, yesterday and school, I found out the math homework that took me 3 days to do and a 2 hour trip to the math lab on my day off, was never "submitted" on the online assignment page.  I confronted the teacher about it and he looked at me like I was trying to pull a fast one on him.  But truth is, I worked my rear end off on that stupid thing, and it isn't my fault that technology was being ridiculous on Friday.  You would think since I was majoring in it, it would be a little more friendly to me.  But then, I found out my computer assignment never submitted, because my online WebCT was broken, but only on my page, no one else.  So once again, I had to confront a teacher and show her I really was having a problem.  I hate when teachers think you just don't do work.

Anyways, today was a MUCH better day.  I was kind of bummed out because my fellow leaders on the leadership team went to the ropes course today, one of my favorite things to do ever in life, but I had other obligations.  And it turned out being fun and much needed.  It was Hunters moms birthday today and Hunter worked super hard on throwing her a surprise party.  His sister and her two kids came down, her best friends family, and Danny and Brandy.  She was completely surprised to see her grandkids her and super excited.  It was so much fun.  And we ate wings, played frisbee, played the Wii, and just hung out and talked.  It was also cool because Hunter has been working on fixing up his house, more like totally making over his house, and he finally got to show it off today, and it is finally DONE.  Which makes me happy.

I hope the ropes course was fun.  I definitely missed it. 

Goodnight :)

Hanna Banana

It has been a long time since I have updated my blog.  So I figured while I'm sitting here listening to Tropical Storm Hanna outside, and watching some TLC show, I would update.  It has been a crazy few weeks.  School kicked back in a full speed and I am excited to see what this semester is going to hold.  I am taking an advanced swimming class which is fun, but I find myself running to my next class, which is like .5 miles away, smelling like chlorine and dripping wet.  But I can't complain too much, it is a good workout.

On Sunday, Hunter and I went to 

Walterboro to hang out with his family a

nd eat some good food. Thats was a fun day.  I like escaping to some peace and quiet once in a while.

Another thing I am tremendously enjoying is having my own room.  My own space to throw clothes everywhere, watch tv until 4AM, talk on the phone whenever I want, get homework done the right way, and many other things.

I am bummed they canceled school today, that makes me pretty much not normal right?  I don't want to have to make up this day.  BUT, after a lot of thinking, I guess I can understand why we didn't have class.  It is hard for me to understand how some rain and some wind potential, which isn't really going to impact us too greatly, and if it does, not until late tonight, would cause a day full of classes to be canceled.  I know it floods downtown, but common.  Anyways, back to me being understanding, this storm had a lot of unanswered questions lingering around it and nobody really knew the strength it would gain, or where it was going to hit.  It is good that our country has government in place that cares and concerns about the well being of the citizens, even when what seems to us as minor storms threaten our day-to-day plans.  I just have to be glad that I got to literally stay in my bed for the majority of the day and get some homework done.  

Now I am off to hang out with the boy friend and listen to the rain :).

Goodbye

I feel the urge to blog about this sad day.  Rahel left today for Tennessee.  And all of us room mates were here to see her off.  It is weird having an empty room to myself now.  And it is weird with only 4 left here.  I feel like we are on the Real World just waiting for the next one to leave. We had a lot of good times in this house.  I shall go through a few.

Rahel and I slept on bunk beds.  Like good little 5 year olds.  It was fun.

Roxi and I would stay up until 2:30 AM driving everyone in this place crazy because we would be really obnoxious and loud.

One time, Roxi ran into my door frame, bruised her knee, fell into my book case and spil

led unLucky Charms all over my bedroom floor all the while I was trying to study Spanish.

One night, Rahel and I played in the backyard for a few hours.  And then we jumped like fences like we were in the Navy Seals and tried to scare Roxi by jumping up and down in our tall living room windows.

UNO WARRO.

Dannielle and I trying to move the bunk beds to my truck was pretty HILARIOUS.

Moving 5 people into a 3 bedroom townhouse

 without telling the lease people was pretty great too.  And at one point, it was 6.

Iron Chef cooking nights.

Rearranging everything all of the time.

Guitar Hero wars.

Mountain biking escapades.

It has been a fun run here.  I am excited to move and start a new chunk of life.  And Tarra and Dannielle get to go with me :). 

mannnn

This weekend was super fun, and I'm very sad it is over.  

On Saturday, Hunter and I drove up to Moncks Corner and met some good friends to go for a day of 4-wheeling, fishing, and shooting guns.  It was sooo much fun just being o

ut in the woods on a plantation in the peace and quiet, getting muddy and not having to worry about work or people calling needing stuff or anything.  We made a cute little lunch at the cabin afterwards and just hung out for awhile.

On Sunday, I did some handy work on some furniture to get ready to move into my new

 apartment.  I am so excited to have my own room and to get to decorate as I please.  I'm going with a black and white theme so we will see how it turns out.

what is love?

I was sitting with my grandparents a few nights ago, and they were talking about some special times in their lives.  And it is always fascinating to me to hear them talk about the past and their lives together.  They have been married 73 years.  And now they are very old, very fragile, and still very much in love.  

Listening and watching them these past 10 years of my life has taught me so much.  

I was sitting on their blue plaid couch watching them eat their dinner and sparking conversation, and my grandpa began to explain to me how they have been married for 73 years.  His response was quite simple--but very deep.  He raised his hand and held out 3 fingers and stated that the reason they have made it this long is faith, love and forgiveness.  How can I argue with the man?  He is sitting there eating dinner with his wife of 73 years, taking care of her in her fragile age, and still enjoying life even though it isn't what it used to be anymore.  

I want a love like that.  

The best story I have of them happend a few years ago.  My grandpa was helping my grandma down the stairs---and you have to remember they are both in their mid 90's, so it isn't an easy task anymore.  My grandma's foot slipped on the way down and she began to fall, so my grandpa fell in front of her so she would land on him and not on the hardwood floor that waited below.  He tore up his hand pretty good and had some bruises but my grandma was fine and to him that is all that mattered.

Watching them and learning from them has truly been a blessing. 

And I figured since I always want to write about things that matter and small things that touch my life in this blog, why not write about the two people who have taught me more about love, commitment, and life than my grandparents? 

am i speaking english?

God has been speaking a word to me lately and it is something like patience...i think that is the word, well, i know it is the word but I have been acting like I don't hear it.  And I pretend that I can't understand it, like it is Spanish or Italian or something.  Why?  I don't know.

But it has hit me hard, especially in these past few months.  Patience is important.  Why rush things?  Why not just sit and be in a state of contentment with what God has given me?  He has given me so much, yet I hunger for more, all of the time.  And it is for things that will bring me no benefit, much less anyone else benefit.  So what is the purpose for longing and needing them right NOW.  I feel like I am rambling.  But I am not a good sorter of thoughts.

My point is you always "need" something else.  Like this---you are 15 and all you can think about is getting your permit.  You finally get it.  You drive around with an adult.  It is fun for a few weeks, then you begin to get bored and want your restricted.  All you can think about is getting that restricted.  You take classes, you study, you practice, then you finally get your restricted. You finally drive by yourself.  But having to be off the roads by 6:00 begins to get old and you want your full license.  It never ends.  

You have a house, but it isn't big enough.

You have a car, but it's not nice enough.

Why not just feel content and let your heart be content in Christ?

PATIENCE is a virtue...and that isn't just a saying.

Talula does the Hula? Is she good?

So I just redid my page, and that picture is HUGE, but I kind of like it I guess. It took me forever to even figure out how to get a picture anywhere. You'd think I could figure that stuff out. Frustrating....
I'm about to go babysit. I haven't babysat in forever and I am pretty excited. It should be a nice break hanging out with 2 kids instead of 26 all day. And then it is the weekend. This is going to be a special weekend.
I am finally getting a macbook pro and I am so stinkin excited!!! I just found out the Apple store downtown opens tomorrow morning too SO if everything works out as planned, I can just go buy it there. And have it the day of instead of having to patiently wait for a shipment.
So for my topic of the morning, I want to blog about something that has outraged me---celebrity baby names. Someone had the nerve to name their kid "Talula does the Hula". Now, you think that wouldn't be allowed, but it was. And the child is now 9 and the court took custody of the child just to have the authority to change her name. This weird name scheme could cause a lot of difficulties socially and emotionally for a child as they grow up. I know if I met "Talula does the Hula" I would probaly have something weird to say, or atleast an awkward face and why would any parent want to put their child through that all over a name. Apparently, other celebrities have gotten away with "Number 16 Bus Shed" as a name and "Diva Thin Muffin" and lets not forget "Tu Morrow"! I mean SERIOUSLY. I think there should be a line drawn in the system that has some rule stating that names that could potentially damage a childs social and emotional stature should not be allowed.
Well, Talula does the Hula is now one of my new favorite sayings...and I would love to meet the parents who named their child that. I have something to say to them...

-Talula does the Hula

birthday extravaganza

Let me start out by saying I probably have the most thoughtful boyfriend on the planet. And I knew this a while ago, but dang, I realized it even more tonight. It was my birthday today. And naturally, I spent all of it at work with my daycare kids, and then I went to an amazing night of worship. I never really care about birthdays, for the mere fact that I think it is a day of mourning because you get a year older and you can never have that age back. But anywho, so I had an okay day.

I got a phone call about 5:00 and it was Hunter telling me his car broke down, and he was stuck in a parking lot, so I went there to get him. And then I took him home, and he was kind of in a bad mood because everything he was trying to get done today was going wrong. So I took him home, then I came home and got ready for church. Then I acted 3 and pitched a fit because I didn't want to go to church...I was tired, and it was my birthday, and I didn't really have any sort of day, and wah wah wah. So after much debate and argumentative talking on the phone, I decided I would go to church, because after all, the only reason I even have a birthday was because of God.

Well now I was a little mad, because I wanted to do something with Hunter tonight, but now I knew that afterwards we had to go pick up his car, swing by the gym, and by this time it would be 10:30 at night.

Well, he shows up at church, with a bouqet of Tulips because he remembers thats my favorite flower, and gives me a big hug. This made me glad. Then, afterwards he rushes around and keeps saying we are going to be late and I couldn't figure out what to, and he pulled up to Carrabas and the take out guy immediately brings out this huge bag of food!!! Hunter already had ordered it earlier and everything. So we took it home and ate it. Then we just talked and he gave me my birthday present.

But seriously, I felt so bad for acting like a little brat all day. And for being so selfish about stupid little things.
I'm just excited about life, and about love, and about everything.

--carly

I Have Been Blessed

I was sitting on the front porch tonight, about 9:30, it had just gotten dark. My mom lit a bunch of candles on our front porch to keep the bugs away and all of us were sitting around in the rocking chairs and on the swing. I couldn't help but just be really thankful for the blessing God has given me with my family, and the things He has taught me through them, such as compassion and unconditional love. My brother is significantly older than me, but it has never phased me one bit. He is my big brother, and he has taught me so much. Seeing him and how he is with his family has given me something to model the type of husband I want to be able to have one day. I played soccer earlier in the backyard with the kids, and just ran around with them for awhile, and I am so glad to have them. Watching them grow from day 1 and seeing where they are now is an amazing feeling.
I can't wait for the 4th of July. My cousins are coming along with my Memaw and there is going to be a huge partay at my residence...I counted and there should be about 17 people here. And all of them are family. As much as I think about how overwhelming it is going to be and how chaotic it will end up being, I can't help but just be excited that I have them in my life.
I love my family. They are so fun, and I love being around them. We were sitting at the dinner table and we were talking about how my cousin Julie is coming who is a year older than me. My brother kind of laughed and said he was suprised she is still coming because we are kind of past the age of wanting to travel with family and instead, do our own thing. But it is just different. I can't imagine being at an age where I wouldn't be excited to hang out with them. We are just really close. And yeah, most people wouldn't want to go on these escapades at 20 years old. But what can I say, we are just that cool!
Yay for fireworks....
And tomorrow will suck until about 3. I have my final exam, and with everyone here today and me having a sinus infection, the last thing I have focused on is studying...and I need an A! Pray for me.

hmm

i like star gazing...

that's all for today

you're my best friend

I think it is funny how so many things change and grow through out a lifetime. And how your concept of things tends to change over time. I always remember when my mom would talk about how much she loved antiques and all these weird things and I would just laugh and insist I would never like those things. Now I find myself loving antique type things and liking similar types of pieces that I always swore I would never take interest in.

That is kind of how I am viewing life now. It is so different than I ever would have expected. I am a month away from being 20, going to college for a computer science degree, dating an amazing man of God with ambitions, dreams and goals beyond what I could ever expect, living in a house with 4 amazing people and sleeping on the top of a bunk bed... [ i think i went a little backwards in that aspect. don't you sleep on a bunk bed when you're like 5?] and so many other things. I mean heck, I was the maid of honor in my best friends wedding last year... we always talked about it for years, and then somewhere a long the way life happend, and I found myself on a stage being there for her on one of the most important days of her life.

Another thing I have been really analyzing lately is the way people interact with others. I love people watching, and I love building relationships with people. I hate meaningless. But I have been in a constant state of learning, and I can hand most of that to Hunter. For the longest time, people have had something to say about us. Whether it be age difference, or the "stage of life" we are each in, and how it just isn't a good idea....but frankly, I have learned to really not care. Who is to tell me who is good for me and who is not, besides me, and possibly my dad. People take too much time analyzing the outside of things without trying to understand the heart of someone. I have never met someone more in love with God and life than him. Yes, he is crazy at times, but I like him for that. As much as his goofyness can drive me crazy, it has taught me to chill out, and not take life so super seriously all of the time. What is the point in living life, just to be in a constant state of normalcy? I don't want to be normal. I want to be as far from that as I can. I am so glad we are together. I finally feel at peace in that area of my life. I have someone who is constantly striving to be a better person, a better boyfriend, and a better man of God...this in turn only makes me want to be better.

I guess the part that makes me laugh the most in all of this is that 7 months ago, I told someone I would never date them, and that I didn't want to waste their time because I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to lead anyone on. And look where that got me, I was still pursued after being a jerk, and for 7 months I have learned so much about somone that I became their best friend, and now I get to hold that hand and be that girlfriend that I said I would never be....

coool story.

I'm done being mushy, I never ever am, so enjoy it while it's here. :)

scared silly

Wow. I have had quite an eventful week. And I have also pondered many many things over this past week. Like the function f(x) and what it exactly means for the sake of my test. The class I am taking is so fast paced but in a really odd way, I'm loving it. I like math now for some reason. I think it is because I find some sort of "high" if you will in problem solving. I love problem solving. This test every friday thing is pretty killer. But my weekends are amazing.

Last weekend, Hunter and I saw Jay Clifford on Saturday night. He played with a string quartet and I pretty much had chills the whole time. There is something so amazing to me about beautiful music and undeniable talent. I love it. We also ate at the Boathouse which was a fun little elegant date night.

Then on Sunday night, my wonderful roommate dannielle presented us with 2 tickets to the Symphony Under the Stars Spoleto Finale...hello I am so there! So, the problem was 3 of us were going and we only had two tickets. Well, we pretty much confused the ticket taker and Hunter just walked himself in, and nothing was said. How awesome are we? It was so much fun. Fireworks, symphony, BUGS!! I have tons of bites.

This week then consisted of class, work, and church. Which isn't bad...I like being on a schedule.

Tonight, I finally had some down time and went to see The Happening with Hunter and a group of people. It was a decent movie. I like Shaymalons work. His movies are just a little dissapointing to me.

Anyways, just writing an update to, I don't think anyone really reads this? I guess for myself.

---peace

Putt-Putt Champs!

I have no clue what is going on with me lately. I have been SO exhausted by the end of the day all I can think about doing is sleeping. I have a routine schedule down now which makes me happy because I am such a scheduler, but it is draining. Plus, I have been a little sick these past fews days and I had a test today in my pre-cal class...thank goodness today is over.

Tonight was fun. I hung out with Hunter, Levi and his girlfriend and we went to Frankies to dominate some putt-putt and then we ate some Ruby Tuesdays. It was really fun. I never realized just how bad I am at putt-putt though. Reality stinks. But we still won, but that was all Hunter. I destroyed our score.

It is awesome to feel comfortable again. And to have a best friend who is also my significant other. That is a good feeling.

I am also pumped up because my favorite artist who I have kept up with for a few years now is playing as part of Spoleto tomorrow night at the American Theatre downtown. Jay Clifford is the man. He is so super talented and I love watching him and the band perform. His band before he went solo though is hands down the best group of muscians ever combined. Jump Little Children...and thats enough said right there. As stupid as this sounds, everytime I see them, or Jay perform, I think I cry. It is just so beautiful. I'll get off my rant now. (that picture is from the Valentines Day concert he put on with the symphony...AMAZING).

Anyways, I'm three for three now! And I think I only have one reader? Goodnight...

numbers

I have been dealing with numbers since 9:30PM and it is now a whopping 12:15AM. I can't believe for 5 days a week, 4 weeks, I am going to be doing this pre-calculus class. I shouldn't complain I guess. My teacher is pretty cool, its a 4 credit class, and I'll be done within a month. But I have to get a B or better so it is stressing me out a bit. And I am already a little bit lost and seeing as to how I have a quiz EVERYDAY, I don't have much time to catch up or figure stuff out. It's a hit or miss. Oh boy.

Work is also lots of fun. I feel like I am forever non-stop. Right now my schedule is crazy--I work from 7AM-12:30PM, class from 1:45-4:05, then I have to do all my homework and prepare for the next day. I am exhausted.

On a better note, last weekend I went to Carowinds with my best friends! Melissa, Chad, Hunter and I headed up for the day to relax and hang out. It was a lot of fun. And I decided Charleston needs a macaroni grill because you can make your own pasta dish with every kind of ingredient imaginable!! How awesome is that!?! I guess technically I could do that myself with the help of Publix and a stove, but the name Macaroni Grill is just so exciting! And you can color on the tables :)

This was a really pointless post but I am thinking I should probaly be asleep right now, or atleast in the process of trying.

On one last note, the electrician was probably really wondering what the heck is going on in this household today when he came to fix our fans and our lights. I don't think more than 3 people are supposed to live here but we moved in 6, which is now going to be 5, and there is 3 beds in my room, 2 in another, and a HUGE one is Roxi's room. I'm just waiting for someone to come evict us for cramming far too many people into a tiny townhouse. haha. That would make for a good blog. I'll update on the one if the time comes around.

-peace, love and crack muffins (dannielle made some and i am addicted to those yummy pumpkiny things)

I feel Cranky

It is late. I am still awake. And I have to be up in less than 5 hours to work, and make a living for myself. I'm thinking a nice cup of coffee and pulling an all-nighter sounds like a good idea.
I think I will like this idea of blogging. I don't really have any reason to really "blog", but why not pour out my thoughts on a big white space for everyone to read? I guess I'm a pretty entertaining person, so I should have some entertaining stories for you.

But on a more serious note, I do have something I want to address because it hit me today while I was watching tv. The most OUTRAGEOUS moments captured on video was on this afternoon, and I was pretty lost in it. These captured moments were quite outrageous, they did a fine job naming their program. But in almost every one of the videos, there was some sort of rescuer involved. Somebody was risking their lives just to save the life on another, someone they didn't even know. Now, there was a lot of ways I began applying this to my life. And I watched the show with admiration for the "hero" that stepped in, faced the danger, and rescued someone from a horrific accident. Then, I tried to really put myself in that position...if I was an onlooker, would I jump in and try to save the life of someone I didn't even know? I don't know if I would. But I feel like everyday, in some way, whether insignificant or large, I am given that opportunity. Everyday there is someone I encounter for reasons I do not understand. This gives me a strong attitude check. And I am thinking I need to fix it. It is funny to think how many people you move every day by your attitude and the words you let come out of your mouth. I am understanding....and convicted.

Why be an onlooker when there are people starving for truth, truth that I feel and am so passionate about? Why hold something so important inside and keep it to myself? I don't need to wait for a disaster or an outrageous moment to do something radical.

And with that, it's off to bed I go.