Think on These Things

Hello bloggers :) So today has been a good day so far. Work was good, no complaints, however, I never knew lettuce could be such a pain to deal with. But, overall, work keeps me going. So, I am writing to you in avoidance of my school work overload. Taking a mental break.

This morning while I was spinning lettuce, I began to think of who God is, how He works, and well why. God takes the sin and cares of the world onto his shoulders. No man put forth on earth has the ultimate powers of the Living God. Meditating on that, I started to think of how can we focus on the worries and fears of life that creep up from time to time, when we least expect it. Knowing this, I quickly turned my focus back on the lettuce... Being creative is the most awesome gift. (I am rambling, but>) A meek and quiet spirit comes when we put our focus and thoughts in the right place and on the right things. Here are a few quotes that I quote in my head daily to keep my mind straight: "Be anxious for nothing" "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself" "Love does not boast or envy; love lacks nothing; love is merciful and kind; love never fails" "whatever is lovely, honorable, and of good report, think on these things!"

Well, here and always, have a good day! Elizabeth

Appalachian Girl

Hello people! I am living in Boone! Kinda shocking :) n going to Appalachian. So today has been a good day. It started off great, I got up out of bed at 6am, got ready, fixed lunch (1/2 turkey sandwich), some snacks (triscuits, 1/4 string cheese, carrots, and n apple), then fixed my breakfast. I had hot oats w/ 1/4 banana,fruit pieces, milk, and an apple sauce cup. I quickly cleaned my bowl n spoon, :) said hello to roommate #2, then headed out the door to the Library. I am so privileged to see the most amazing views as I go to and from my dorm room and roaming the campus roads. My beautiful view contains the gorgeous duck pond and its water fountain...


My Journey to work is so refreshing, containing beautiful stone archways...


My first day of work at McAlister's Deli :)...

As you can see, I take great pride in my job and having the privilege of working...

And my face shows quite the expression of fatigue or my first day of school exhaustion.

Ok, so back on track with my day.... So, today I got up early and headed towards the Library. It's kinda cool to say that I have a 24hr Library. One night I was in the library after 11pm and 2 cops were running the desk... ~ mysterious ~......

The Library was nice and quiet this morning with many studious people at work. I chose to sit near the windows at the large wooden tables. The library is quite beautiful. My favorite floor is the 3rd floor, out of 4, b/c it's the "quiet floor". I guess I just like the name.

So, here I am sitting in this large chair in the library studying The Law of Environmental Business. I took long extensive notes for an hour n fifteen min before class. And what do you know, right as class started @ 9:30am, we were asked to tare out a blank sheet of paper for a quiz! Yikes! But it was great, because I had just reviewed and rewrote the Jurisdiction of Federal Court! And, what do you know, that was the quiz... Shew, thank goodness :)...

I. Subject of Matter Jurisdiction II) Territorial a. in Personam b. in Rem III) Federal Question IV) Diversity of Citizenship. Now, don't you feel educated... lol no sorry couldn't help myself but to fill you in on what I am studying.

Tuesday night, after my Environmental Health class, I passed one of the professors office and couldn't help but to laugh:

This little sign made my night :)! I was tired and hungry, but this guys creativity was just so cheerful, I couldn't help but smile all the way home. I thought it was quite funny to see a man of great stature that obtained his Doctorate Degree put this on his door. Very cute :)

Tomorrow, Fri, September 3rd, Me and my mom are going to Old Salem to kinda celebrate her early Birthday present. I have not been there since the 3rd grade. So, stay tuned for more upcoming events in the life of, well, Me :)

Hello

hmmmm ahh hey bloggers... It's been awhile huh??? ! ? I hope all of you have been doing well. I'm good, just pretty tired and feel a little sick. I have been working way2 much lately and have the most disasterouse room you have ever seen! I went running 2day B4 church! I really needed that, it has been a while since I've been able to really get a good run in. My hips are my proof :( So sad, but I am extremely determined to get my body back where it should and has to be! So determined, but I HATEEEE cutting back on my diet! I stay so freaken miserable when I have2 do that, so I would rather just run than watch every measly carb that enters my body... ya no :) Oh how I love oatmeal :) I seriously could eat it all the time... me n my mom were talking of starting an oatmeal diet. lol not serious, but it would be cool.

My dog has been fighting dog allergies for like months it seems. She has been biting her feet and the back of her tail til she is like reddish brown :( The vet prescribed this "top of the line"... "new on the market" allergy medicine. He said it was only $49.00 for 15days and that I was supposed to give her the pill everyday for a month, then slowly decrease to one pill a week... What a way to cure puppy allergies!!!! So... I'm like, "so what was the pill that you guys prescribed B4 this one came on the market???" Well, yeah so he was like, "oh that was just some blah ble blah pill, this one is much better." I left the vet with nothing and went to Wal-Mart. I found this dog oil that has wheatgerm oils and lots of other minerals. My mom pours it on Kayley's dog food every night with an allergy pill. She absolutely loves the stuff and I only paid $8.00 for the oil and the allergy pill. Success!

I now have a much happier pooch!

Well, I just thought I would stop n say hello... 4give me... I'm a little overwhelmed. It's pretty bad, and I am embarrassed to say this, but I have been promising someone a nutrition plan since May!!!!!!! Don't ask what my problem is, I just can't seem to catch up with anything or with any body. I'm forcing myself to do better though, I have got to... I cannot afford this lack of discipline. In September, I will only be working @ the Y 4days! That will really help my tiredness levels... I hope.

Ok, I guess I am goin to go back to bed now... sweet dreams bloggers :)

My Dental Experience :0)

Hello Bloggers! It has been a very good day so far... thank goodness! No, but this weekend was quite an ordeal for me. Saturday, I had the great opportunity to get my wisdom teeth pried out of my mouth! The Moms of Mercy Dental Clinic traveled to Sparta, NC to offer low income family's [or students] ;) to get their teeth worked on for free. Most of the dental people were dental students from all over North Carolina, and I knew several of them! That brought me a lot of comfort in the midst of watching hundreds of people w/ bloody mouths :4 Four of the students were from my college, WCC that I graduated from! It was really cool to see them in there uniform and out from under their Biology books.

So, anyway... I wanted to fill you in on my little dental experience. Saturday morning me and my mom got up at 4am to leave the house by 4:50am. I met two of my friends at the Melody Square, the little antique mall down the road. We then headed up the mountain to Sparta. I wish I felt good enough on the way home to capture some pictures. It is so pretty up there. We passed 4 deer on the side of the road beside streams. I wondered how long it would take to get to Charlotte from there, and sadly my mom said ~ 3hours... not duable for the fam... but it would be a pretty little place to visit anyway. While my mom waited on me for 9 HOURS! to get my teeth taken out, she roamed the little downtown streets. She sent me a txt while I sat there in anxiety :)... showing me a little coffee shop... Oh coffee, I thought. Finally! The Oral Surgeon was ready to see me. I was the last patient to see him, and he only saw six that day! There were like 50 dental students, so people who came hours before me just walzed right up in front of me. Sad, but they wanted me to only see this one dude named, Dr. Rabe... They claimed he was the finest. So, I waited all day long to see the finest :) I guess that's not such a bad offer. He gave up his entire day for the clinic for free, on top of his 60hr work week. He looked exhausted, but he was so nice to me... which I was truly grateful. After the surgery, I was so hungry!!! But, oh so numb... I wish that he did not give me so many shots. I could not talk at all, not at all after that.

Ok, so about 7pm that night I managed to pour soup in my mouth. It was so good. I then helped with the dishes and cleaned my room. After all of that, I was ready to hit the bed. My mom woke me up ~ 11pm to give me some extreme pain killer. I don't do meds at all, except for Advil, so that was like way to much. My mouth would not stop bleeding at all that day, so as I was changing the guaze... I was on the floor soaking wet! I then just repeatedly kept asking "why am I wet." My mom was like "Elizabeth! You fainted... whats wrong!" honestly was kind of funny... but the scary part was... my vision left me for ~ 1min. I then was kinda freiked b/c I felt dizzy, no vision, and hungry to an extreme! I then sat on the floor and pushed myself down the stairs to get food. My mom fixed me some oatmeal... I loved it... Then my mom had txt my brother n he came home in a flash. He left ~2am to go to Wallgreens and Wal-Mart to buy me some Ensure and soup. What a weekend it was! I finally was able to leave the house yesterday. I have really enjoyed my time at home... even though I'm in a lil pain... there is nothing like home. I cleaned, practiced my ballet, worshiped, organized the cats "pad/house" downstairs (she is so much happier).

Shew... ok, I really better shut up b4 I lose some of you readers... a lil long I know.... sorry :)

Great Way to Start my Wednesday!

This morning was a lot of fun! I woke up ~ 6:30am... my mom had already made Jello, watered the garden, read her Bible, and did her ab exercises! I thought that was pretty good for how early it was... I was so so proud :) ! !!!! ! !! She then wanted to leave the house early to get some grocery shopping done. I was excited she had so much energy. So, I jumped in the shower, threw my clothes on, put my makeup on, and tossed my hair up. We then left for Wal-Mart at 7:30am. We strolled around buying veggies, fruit, salsa, eggs, Advil, and cat food. It was pretty fun... no traffic jam in the aisles, it was a nice way to ease our shopping in stress free :) As we left for the checkout... I saw Tabitha! working on her day off :( so sad, I so understand though.... ugh work... that's a whole nother story. After shopping, we filled my car with a few groceries and mom took off for her 8hr day @ work. Me... I went home... put groceries away... fed the cat... pet the cat... played with Kayley. Finally... breakfast time!

I started a pot of tea on the stove. I used 3bags of Lipton Tea with 1orange tea bag. I first boiled the water and let the tea bags steep for ~5min. I added ~1/4-1/2c Organic Raw Sugar (my mom's recipe... except she uses 2 Lemon Tea bags w/ the Lipton).

There it is... Steeping

Here is where we drain the tea bags to get the ultimate flavor
and pour into the gallon container

I then fixed some oatmeal. I have changed up my morning routine a little. My mom has been fixing me a great bowl of oats w/ an egg white every morning w/ mashed fruit. She sprinkles a touch of raw sugar to enhance the flavor of the oatmeal. I have enjoyed this so so much. I is quite excellent and I am truly grateful that she has taken the time to perfect my oatmeal breakfast for me :) ! Today is the first day that I can chew my fruit without having to mash everything! What a delicacy! I made my oats this morning with: heaping 1/2cup oatmeal, 1 TB Wheat Germ, 1 TB Wheat Bran, and few Sunflower Seeds. I mixed the dry mixture.

I then poured water in the bowl. I added two egg whites over the oats! This is a great way to get high performance protein in your diet, especially when you are on the GO! I absolutely love this concoction. After adding the egg whites, I heated the oatmeal in the microwave for 1 1/2 min.


I lightly poured Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze over the hot oats and sprinkled 1 TB ground Flax and little raw sugar over the hot oats

In a small Starbucks mug, I cut up about half cup of
fresh strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, and placed in the cup

After heating the oats one last time for ~ 40sec, I poured the freshly mixed fruit over the oatmeal

And Finally! Paired my oatmeal breakfast with a tall glass of freshly brewed Iced Tea! :)

What a great way to start my Wednesday :) !!
Hope you guys have a great day 2day!

John and Sara ~ a big part of my family :)

One year ago ~today was my brother and his gorgeous wife's 1st year Wedding Anniversary! They have been married for two years now, which only touches how long they have loved each other. They are one of the few couples that have stuck together strong and still madly in Love. My heart goes out to both of them as they reach new milestones throughout life and conquer the impossibles.

There is no greater love than one that is pure in heart and true

I love you John and Sara!

Happy Wedding Anniversary!

Love,
Mom, Ben & Crystal, Laurie, Elizabeth, Stephen, and Tyler
We Love You!!!!

A nice ending to a Good Day

Hey Bloggers! What's happenin today??? I had my midterm yesterday... after the test I totally new that I blew it. The test was really hard. It was just complicated w/ 50 computer, technology, database something questions and 6 essay questions. I finished the exam in 85minutes. I had a tiring headache afterwords. I just new I failed... But, my teacher showed us our test scores Today! I have never seen a teacher grade anything as fast as this guy does. I really really like him, he is so nice, funny, understanding, and he treats us as people/students instead of objects... I hate being an object! I'm a person w/ feeling you know! :`)... Ok, so anyway... The highest score in the class was an 84 and the lowest was a 63. My grade was right smack in the middle... I made a 73! I never felt so happy to get a C :). Today was a very good day. I have felt very sick all day, just from driving myself day after day! But, I knew today was my last day of school til Monday, so that really helped cool me off. I spent 3hrs in the coffee shop on my computer. I read an entire chapter in my computer book, took notes, researched, and typed a page for my forum... so productive :)

I wanted to show you my glory pic I took after finding out my grade... not the best picture setting, but the mirror helped get all of me for you guys :`)

My Lil studious Pic

Check out the bus station I stood at while waiting for that Orange Bus... that always left me... smack flat in the rain.

Well, the bus station is no more, it is now a pile of dirt w/ a truck on top. Boone has more construction than I have ever seen in my life! I am telling you, It's scary to look at it all. It starts 2miles from the college and is dragged on for miles. There are bulldozers everywhere, cranes everywhere, and tractors everywhere! Driving is kinda dangerous, b/c there is road blocks in diff places of the road everyday... you can see trucks rolling over huge Mt. high dirt piles.. turning that into a 6 lane highway! It is honestly insane.

I was studying on the 3rd floor of my building the other day and the whole place shook as if it was an earthquake! But, no it was construction workers blasting out a parking lot! So freaky :`)

Anyhoo.. I'm back.. have a great day :) Tomorrow is another 2ble shift 8-1 and 5-9, sigh
It'l be ok, I'm looking forward to Saturday.

My mom had a prayer meeting tonight w/ a bunch of ladies. One of them brought a Raspberry Chocolate Tiramisu served w/ coffee and raspberries.
Oh my gosh.. after my staff meeting I totally tried that :`)
Oh so good.