WAY TO GO, CRAIG!

Craig, my cousin that is a Senior at Briarcrest Christian School in Collierville, TN placed 5th in the State Finals for Wrestling. My family never imagined that Craig would choose wrestling as his "career sport", but we are so very proud of him. He is a well rounded young man and is a superb athlete across multiple sports (football, baseball, wresting, and basketball). His school won the state title for wrestling last weekend in Chattanooga. Link to the article is below.

Congrats, Craig-man!

Article

Mardi Gras 2009

Well....it's that time of year again....Mardi Gras! This year's party was yet another success with lots of good friends, themed "get-ups", Creole cuisine, King Cakes, and my infamous hurricanes (that I do not drink...). Here is the link to the few pictures that I have. Everyone really stepped it up this year...enjoy!

Mardi Gras 2009

Tagged...again!

I've been tagged (thank you, Mrs Barbara!). The instructions were to post the 4th picture in the 4th folder of your computer. This should be interesting.....here it is:

This picture was taken in August '08 at the 80's party. It was hosted by my friends, Jen and Darren, at their home. This party was SO MUCH FUN! Who knew the 80's could actually be enjoyed in 2008??? Lots of good memories with really good friends.

25 Random Things

I FINALLY have created my 25 Random Things List...after being tagged several times. This is a hard list to make! Enjoy!

1) I love all genres of music, However, I truly LOVE Motown.

2) My first car was a Ford LTDII – the Jefferson County Memorial Hospital car – complete with sticker letters on the driver & passenger doors and across the trunk. I had that car until the September of my Sophomore year of college. (yes, I scraped off the letters, but you could see the imprints!) This car had no air conditioner and only the rear speakers worked.

3) I am single – and over 30. It’s been a very long journey to get me to the point where I am truly okay with it. Just recently I realized that it’s other people that have the issue. I once heard someone say that “The knight in shining armor doesn’t always come riding up on a white horse and sometimes he doesn’t come at all. We each have our own journey and must make our own way.” I cannot remember the lady’s name who said it, but she played Marilla in Anne of Avonlea (although the quote didn’t come from that series).

4) I am a very successful in my career and work for a Fortune 500 company. I have extremely high expectations of myself. There is so much that I want to accomplish….

5) I grew up in a small Mississippi town with only about 500 people. There were only 8,000 people in the whole county. I have a subscription to the county’s newspaper that is published every Wednesday. I LOVE Meadville and am so thankful that I grew up there. It is still my home…and always will be.

6) There were 84 people in my graduating class. I was an honor graduate and graduated in the Top Ten.

7) Growing up, my family raised Braham Cattle. My brother, sister and I showed them until we each graduated from high school. I was the Mississippi Junior Braham Association’s Braham Queen my Senior Year of H.S….crown, leather sash and all!

8) I love my friends…every one of them. Some of these friends are my family and you know who you are. I care deeply and am extremely loyal…hopefully you know that already.

9) I have lived in 3 different states within the last 6 years: Alabama, Idaho, and Arkansas. Of the 3, Idaho was my favorite. But there are redeeming qualities in the other 2! I would move back to Alabama without hesitation and I currently live in Arkansas where I have a great life.

10) I have 26 first cousins on the Sullivan side of my family. We all grew up within 10 miles of each other. 21 are girls and 5 are boys. I am the 4th oldest.

11) My priorities are straight: God 1st, Family/Friends 2nd, and Job 3rd. This is a daily battle to keep straight!

12) Traveling is one of my most favorite “hobbies.” So far I have been to more International cities than domestic ones. I want to go to Italy next, then Greece, Austria, and Australia. We’ll see if that happens….

13) Music is my therapy. Music reaches places in my soul that my mind and body cannot. It is the best form of expression to me.

14) My favorite places on this earth involve an ocean and sand.

15) When I was in college, I lived in a trailer park. What I learned: a) never say what you will never do, 2) God works in mysterious ways and you never know what is next, 3) The greatest blessings are unexpected, 4) Those 3 girls are my very best friends to this day. They are my sisters. The experiences from that time were life changing. Heather, Crystal, Lorrie, and I will always be TPT…Trailer Park Trash (ha!!). And I wouldn’t change it for anything.

16) I am a band geek. I started playing the flute in 6th grade, flag captain in 10th grade, symphonic winds at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, and marched in the Auxiliary in the Pride of Mississippi at The University of Southern Mississippi. To this day, a drum cadence makes my hair stand on end…especially the Pride’s cadence!

17) For every season in my life, I have a TV show that I am addicted to…they each have struck a lasting chord with me just when I have needed it (you may see why and tell me if you do): When I was in Graduate School it was Designing Women, Boise was Oprah and the Paula Deen Cooking Show (for the Southern influence and dialect), Arkansas was Reba on Lifetime, the last few months was Boston Legal, and this past weekend is Murphy Brown. These shows make me laugh and provide a comfort in some way.

18) I love to throw parties (and I secretly love to cook). Providing a place for my friends to gather and have a good time brings me the greatest joy. My annual party is the Masquerade Mardi Gras Party – Always on the Saturday before MG. It is a themed event complete with costumes and dress up. I am amazed that so many people NOT from Mardi Gras areas get so into this….maybe they come for the Hurricanes?

19) One day soon, I hope to visit NYC, Washington D.C., and Boston. I’ve never been to those cities and I really want to.

20) Mission work is near and dear to my heart. I have traveled internationally to Central America on Medical Mission Trips with my family, Summer Missions as a junior in College to San Francisco (10 weeks), and am an avid volunteer at different shelters in NW Arkansas through the Junior League, a women’s organization.

21) My favorite quote: “Our lives are filled with simple joys and blessings without end. And one of the greatest joys in life is to have a friend.”

22) I demand and expect excellence from all those around me. There are high expectations OF me and I expect those same things of others. Because of this, I am often disappointed. But in the same breath, I am very proud of my friends/family and love them unconditionally.

23) Photography is becoming my new favorite passion. I have recently purchased a Canon Rebel XSi and am still learning how to use it! I am always open for learning opportunities and “shooting.”

24) The older I get, the more I realize how much I depend on the acceptance of others. I am a people-pleaser. People disappoint me, I disappoint others, but the Lord is good and never disappoints at the end of the day. I am constantly working to depend on God more than myself or anyone else.

25) My favorite books are biographies and "brainless" story lines.