Sunshine and Clouds.

Sunshine.

I am in Fort Worth visiting one of my best friends.
Last night, we went to see the Dallas Mavericks play the Boston Celtics.
It was such a good game!!

I submitted all the paperwork for an internship next school year.
I am praying for one in Austin.
Lord willing, I get it and am able to secure housing for the 9 months I'll be there.

It's almost Easter Sunday!!!
And I love love love Easter Sunday.

I am alive and breathing.
Thank you, Jesus.

Clouds.

School is school.
I'm ready for my summer break already.
Just 6 more weeks left!

I am currently freezing my butt off.
Spring came and so did the cold weather.

Yikes. #FirstWorldProblems

My legs are so sore.
I started a Fit Camp on Monday that kicked my butt.
I've got 3 more weeks of it left.
It's tough but I'm so happy that I'm pushing myself and getting in shape.

Spring Break 2013

Sadly, I am coming to the close of my spring break for this year.

I've been working full-time since I was 17 so I haven't had a spring break since high school...(I graduated in 2006). I love the freedom of spring breaks and winter breaks. It's pretty amazing.

So if you're in school now...appreciate it. Do something fun. Sleep in every morning and stay up late. Because there will come a day when you don't get the luxury of a week off from school...I guess unless you work in a school lol.

This week I went to San Antonio to visit my family and now I'm in Las Cruces, NM visiting my baby sister! Sooo not looking forward to heading back to Abilene :/

Well I'm off to try a new Mexican restaurant! Hope all is well with you lovely people!

When your past comes a-knocking.

Lately, my past has come a-knocking. And by past, I mean a certain someone...(that phrase just sounds so much cooler). It's crazy how when you finally let someone go; they come sneaking back into your life...I don't know how they reappear in your life...but in mine it's usually with a "Hey! How ya doing?!" text and then a photo a couple days later, "Hey, this made me think of you."...and so on and so on.

And gosh. I don't know whether to be annoyed (that the one that told me goodbye is now trying to say hello) or flattered (that the one that told me goodbye just couldn't stay away) when it happens.

So I guess I am a little of both. Annoyed that he expects me to fall over his feet like all the rest do. Flattered that he couldn't forget about me like I'm sure he thought he would.

But don't worry. I have yet to let my guard down. I don't believe that he has changed. And if by some miracle, he has...he has a lot of proving to do before anything ever happens.

So right now, it's nothing. and it might stay nothing. But it's interesting to see how live comes full circle at times.

Lord, your will not mine.

Let my heart remain in your hands,

 until the time when you see fit for that to change.

Let me be patient and wait on your perfect plan.

Amen.

Sunshine and Clouds.

A friend of mine uses this phrase with her clients to get them talking about their week. They have to give some good things (sunshine) and some not so good things (clouds). I thought I'd use the same premise for a blog post!

Sunshine -
1. My internship for next year is coming together nicely. I might have to get a little "weird" for it though. Kudos if you know the city I'm talking about. Haha :)
2. Spring Break is in two weeks!
3. My professor volunteered me to grade some papers for a research symposium. So that's a big deal that he thought about me.
4. My dad finally got everything settled with his new job. He'll leave on Friday.
5. I got a bike! And I have a friend that wants to bike ride!
6. I went home last weekend and spent 5 days with my crazy, beautiful family!

Clouds -
1. My dad's job is in the U.A.E aka the Middle East :(
2. I have a messy room that I don't wanna cleaning! Haha first world problems.
3. My grandmother had a seizure last week while I was home. She's doing much better, but please keep her in your prayers.
4. I've been trying to restore an old friendship but my efforts haven't been successful. And I'm having a hard time convincing myself that it's time to let it rest.

What about you guys? Share the sunshine and clouds going on in your life right now!

Vegetables

Okay. Anyone that knows me knows that I despise vegetables, "except corn and potatoes". The thought of eating most vegetables makes me gag...literally. I know, I know...I'm 24. I need to be eating vegetables! We need like 12 servings of these suckers a day (that's what it feels like to me!). Sigh....but it's sooo hard! I blame my parents. LOL.

But in an effort to eat a bit more healthy, I've slowly put surely been trying to sneak vegetables in my diet.

I started with V-8 Fusion: Concord Grape Raspberry is the only one that I enjoy right now. Hey...in my book, drinking vegetables counts! And each serving has a full serving of fruits AND vegetables. Two birds with one stone.

Then I moved onto adding spinach to my fruit smoothies. I had read online about how good it was for you and everyone PROMISED that you couldn't taste it. So I bought spinach and it sat in my freezer for two weeks while I continue to have smoothies without it. I finally tried it today. and GUESS WHAT?! You can't taste the spinach...thank god, bananas are so strong! haha

And because I'm a big kid now, I bought Buitoni's Spinach Cheese Tortellini pasta...just to try. I had it for lunch today and I LOVE it...You can't even tell the difference between the spinach pasta and the regular ones.

So at the age of 24, I am finally eating some veggies! Yes, I'm proud of this. Yes, I realize that most people have been eating veggies since they were babies. But, I don't care, judge away! :)

Haha. Happy Sunday, y'all!

What's New?

• My dad retired from the Air Force on 31Jan13 after 29+ years in!! It's so surreal. The ceremony was awesome and my whole family cried like babies. I'll do a whole post on this one in a couple days. Now, my family is preparing for my parents to head to Abu Dhabi for a job my dad got! He'll be making ridiculous money doing stuff that he's really good at...only downside is they'll be in the UAE...which is like a 24 hour flight away! :/ But anywho...like I said, another post soon!
• I attended a Midnight Worship service last Friday night. It was one of the coolest things I've been to in a while. Their tagline is "Nothing good happens after midnight...except this!". It's just a bunch of college kids from a bunch of different churches and denominations coming together to worship God. And that talent was amazing as well! I'll definitely be there every week!
• I went to a Yoga class tonight. It was fun...but sadly, I was probably the least flexible person in the class. Not counting the two guys that showed up. Looks like my goal of do the splits is further off than I had hoped. haha
• I made a new page for my blog yesterday! Here is my bucket list for the year! It's got 31 (and counting) things that I want to have done by the end of the year!! I'm excited to cross things off!
• Monday night, I went to a prayer meeting in town called Monday Night Burn. Another ones of those interdenominational things. When the guy leading opens up with "I speak in tongues..." you know it's going to be a good one. I'll probably start attending this one as well. It was really powerful...a bunch of people praying and interceding for the city of Abilene. Oh and the guy leading? Sings like an angel...haha but seriously. He wrote and sang a song with Christ for the Nations called Show Me Your Heart. Check him out.
• One of my friends is coming to visit me this weekend. I'm so excited to show her around the big big town lol. She'll be the first person outside of family that has come to see me!! :)

Well, I'm off to watch Deception and then head to bed. Gotta wake up early and hit the gym!

Love y'all!

Tasha

Make Yourself.

Nike ran an ad campaign awhile back called Make Yourself. Each ad has a famous, female athlete working out and the words "Make Yourself ____". Each fill-in-the-blank has a different word: Fit, Strong, Shine are the three that I've collected so far. Here's a group shot of the 7 athletes. These ladies look AMAZING!

I think they did a great job with the wording. Whoever came up with it should get a raise...as I'm sure they did. LOL. Anywho...I love the idea that you can make yourself whatever you wish to be, because in a sense, you really can...if you're willing to work for it.

If you want to be fit, you have to work for it.
If you want to be strong, you have to work for it.
If you want to shine, you have to work for it. 

I, my friends, want to be fit, strong, and shining.

And that's why I work out.

Not because I like sweating dripping down my body.
Not because I like gasping for breath after a run.
Not because I like the sore muscles the next day.
Not because I like the pain I get in my side.
Not because I like lacing up my tennies.

But because, I want to be fit, strong, and shining.

Before time gets away from me, I figured I should write down what I'm hoping to accomplish in twenty-thirteen. I haven't set hard goals...I, like most of America I'm sure, don't do well with hard goals (yes, yes, I'm lazy, privileged, comfortable..none of which are crimes, are they?? lol). Instead, I just came up with some things/actions that I would like to begin and/or do in the new year...which I guess are hard-set goals. I guess I'm trying to psych myself out...and I'm okay with that. Here are my not hard-set goals -

1. Spending fast, of sorts - My sisters and I did this for a few months last year and Dehli and I are going to do it again this year. Unlike last year, I have no credit card balance or large bills or anything to pay off (sans my car and student loans...but everything in its season lol) but I want to take some pretty wicked vacations after graduation next summer. That being said, I will be participating in a modified spending fast...which I guess means I can't call it a fast, but whatever lol. I'll be describing my criteria in tomorrow's post.

2. Work out - 

- I have two apps on my phone. 0 to 100 push-ups and 0 to 200 sit-ups that I want to conquer. I started last week and I can already feel improvements. The apps have three work outs per week to build your endurance. So far so good!

- I also want to run a 5k this year. I did one last year...but I didn't train and I had to walk a bit. I have another app on my phone to help me build endurance and learn to pace myself.

3. Spend more time getting to know God. He deserves far more of me than I give him.

4. Blog more. Self-explanatory. I usually do really well in the first part of the year and then quickly trail off.

5. Sleep more. I want to be in bed no later than 1030 every week night (Sun-Thurs). I have an alarm set on my phone to further remind myself of the goal.

6. Keep on top of my school work and get more A's this semester than I did last semester.

7. Finish reading the Bible through. I'm on track to finish the New Testament this week, in fact. But I want to read the OT straight through. I've read a good chunk of it...but I tend to jump around, purposefully avoiding some (*cough cough* Deuteronomy...lol)

What do you think? Any tips? What are your no hard-set goals for 2013?

But, God, is it beautiful.

I knew I was over you when I was okay with the idea of you talking to another of my best friends.
I wasn't sure that I'd ever reach this point.

The point when
my life
my emotions
my thoughts
my habits
my future
were no longer dictated and controlled by you.

But, God, is it beautiful.

Today, I thank Him for the unanswered prayers:
No matter how wonderful or how special our relationship was at one time...
God had so much more in store for me, and for you,
than we could have ever imagined all those years ago.

So, instead of harboring bitterness or anger,

I pray you seek God's will for your life,

that he leads you places you never even dreamed of.

I pray he showers blessings in your life and in your relationships.

I pray you find favor and protection on your job.

I pray that God grants you the desires of your heart.

And I pray that those desires don't lead you astray.

But if they do, I pray that at the end of the day,

you find His forgiveness and love.

And lastly, I pray you pray the same for me.

South Texas Youth Camp 2012

Today is the day! We leave in a couple hours for youth camp!! We have 31 people going this year...well 33 if you count my Pastor and his wife. They are the district youth leaders so they run youth camp each year. I think this might be a record..

I am sooooo excited! I pray that each person attending gets filled with the Holy Ghost for the first time or gets refreshed with the Holy Ghost. I want the youth to experience something this week that they will never ever forget, something that will keep them through the crazy teenage years that they are in, something that causes them to run after God with everything they have.

I'm the one that registered everyone and I have all the forms and stuff...so I'm driving myself crazy that I'm forgetting something and we'll be stuck outside of camp unable to get in! Haha, oh well, I'm sure everything will be fine!

See y'all in a week! Pray for us!

Today's the day!

Yikes! I am so nervous and so excited!

Say a prayer that I do well!!

Headphones on. World out.

Ever had those days when nothing makes sense and you just wanna scream into your pillow?! When it seems like everyone around you has gone mad...and their craziness makes you begin to doubt your own sanity?! Like can allllllll these people be that stupid and not have a clue?! And not that I have it all together and not that I'm the smartest and wisest person in the world but it seems I'm the only one that doesn't know that 2+2 must equal 7?! I guess I've missed the memos...

Yeah, that's been my life lately. I often dream of running away...jumping in my car and just driving til the gas and money run out. How free and liberating that must feel...hopefully, come August that will be exactly what will happen...except I'll actually have a destination in mind then and money and a plan...so I guess not as freeing as the first option but you get the point. I'll save the details for later, just pray God's will is done.

Well I'm off to bed.

ps: pet peeve of the day - our small town Internet provider has been down since Monday night. Yes, Rock Solid...we had a crazy bad hail/rain storm on Monday but get over it, goshhhhhh, it's already practically Thursday! You aren't seeming very rock solid to me. Just saying...

Hacking up a lung.

My weekend, in between hacking up a lung...

I walked/ran in the March of Dimes walk on Saturday to help premature babies. It felt good to be apart of something bigger than myself, even if just for a little while.

Saturday night, I went took my cousins to a birthday party at Pump It Up. I think I had more fun than they did! Here are just a few pictures from the night. I need to start talking more pictures for my blog..oh well, maybe next time.

Me and my niece, Alanya

Me and my "twin" "sister", Liz 

Me and Lulita!

Sunday, I went to AM and PM services at my church...and slept the rest of the day away.

Oh, I also finished my letter/package for my penpal via the Correspondence Club. My partner is Tracy over at Sunny Days and Starry Nights. I love writing letters and I love getting snail mail. Takes me back to when times were so much easier. Yes, I'm a little late on the mail date...the 15th shouldn't have fallen on a Sunday this month, lol! Sorry, Nnenna....and Tracy!

Well, that's all folks! I guess I'll leave you with a picture that my little sister posted on my Facebook wall today:

Think about it...

a merry-go-round

Lately, I feel like life is a merry-go-round:

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It's like a ride or game that just goes around and around and around and around and around and around and you get the point. It's all the same ol' same ol', nothing new under the sun. It's the ride you got on as a kid that your friends would spin so fast you felt like you were going to throw up. It's like I'm spinning or "moving" and yet I'm going nowhere at all. My life is the same that it was 1 year ago and 3 years ago, for that matter, plus or minus a couple things. Life goes through seasons and I get that...I get that life can't be mountain tops and rainbows all the time but this rut I'm in is a little bore some.

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I'm reminded of a song by The Eli Young Band called Guienevere. The chorus starts: For as much as she stumbled, she's running...For as much as she runs, she's still here...

After all I've been through, I'm still right here...it's like (yes, dramatic...but it's my blog so I guess I'm allowed to be a bit dramatic at times lol) : 

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You ever get tired of fighting the same thing or the same person over and over again? You ever get tired of friends turning on you? You ever get tired of watching other people's life unfold while you're is still in the tending stage? Because that's where I'm at.

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I'm learning to be content with the little that I have instead of the great things that I want or feel called to have. I'm learning to be patient and trust that God has a story all written out just for me. I'm learning that friends will come and go, even the ones I thought would never leave. I'm learning that my life will continue without them just like it was before them. I am learning that God gave me ready-made friends in my sisters and cousins for a reason.

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I am learning that God is orchestrating wise people and trustworthy friends and a godly man into my life as he sees fits. I'm learning that my life isn't like others...it's not moving at the pace of others or to the beat of their drums because God has something different for me. 

He's calling me to be set apart and different. And while, I don't yet know everything that he has for me...I have ideas, hints, dreams and hopes. I might not know exactly where he'll lead me but I know it'll be radically different from those around me.

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Different because I am learning that if I can be faithful through my mundane, merry-go-round season of life that eventually He will call the ride to a stop. He'll beckon me to come and He'll blow my mind with the perfect things that He'll have designed just for me; where there will be Boom Bands playing and where I'll move mountains ;)

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So until that day, patiently I'll wait....

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