Hiatus

We are currently taking a short, unplanned hiatus from writing.  Nothing bad...our internet has just been mistakenly disconnected at our apartment.  We are moving to our new apartment on May 1st and hope to be back online then.  Thank you for your patience and cooperation.  We miss writing!!!! Thanks for being our dear lovely readers/followers.  :)

30 Days of Writing: What you wore today

Holly: Not doing too much of anything today, so decided to go with green Berea football t-shirt and blue fleece crops from Old Navy (a-hem).  

What can I say, I like my clothes! (Notice my emptying apartment behind me).

Had on my Chacos, but thanks to the rain, they are now soaked.  My hobbit feet slippers are packed, so time to warm up my footsies! :)

Kelly: Didn't take a selfie of what I wore today, but I wore my "Our Berea" shirt from the Presidential Inauguration Run/Walk. It's purple. Also wore jeans. Yay for a full day of NCLEX Live Review. Tonight is also the Senior Banquet that the college throws; pictured below is what I'm wearing. Notice anything? I'm sporting the same dress Holly wore to hers! Just happened to work out that way :) Plus, it's a nice dress and I think I look REALLY good in it!!

Ready for senior banquet! :)

                                           

30 Days of Writing: My body and how I feel about it

Kelly: I feel that this can be a touchy subject for some. I'm surprisingly not one of those people. Overall I am very comfortable with myself and the way I look. I feel good about myself and the way I look and feel. Of course some days are hard; with my ongoing ankle problems it can damper my self-consciousness sometimes. Big bulky braces really do cramp your style and are definitely NOT the most glamorous.

But ever since I started taking care of myself better, I have been impressed with what has come out of it, even though I haven't really done anything crazy. But the results speak for themselves; I have more energy during the day, some of my clothes are fitting looser, and my daily walk with sis is something I genuinely look forward to each day. Also, I am a child of God; He didn't create the "perfect" person. I've learned that He created me for just the way I am, and sometimes it's discouraging because you want to be "pretty" and "beautiful." What does that even mean anyway? I'm not sure, but I love the way I am and that's not going to change, big ugly braces and all. I've attached a video at the end of this post; I saw it today in my nursing leadership class. For those of you struggling with body image and self-esteem, please watch it. Even if you're not struggling, please watch it anyway.

Holly: 9 times out of 10, I am happy with the way I look.  I'm down about 10 pounds since I graduated almost a year ago.  I can fit into smaller shirts and dresses.  I take up walking with Kelly and I think that's helped with the way I look, but it's a good time for us to catch up and talk.  I eat A LOT healthier; I don't crave pop as much as I used to...I nowadays drink it maybe 2-3 days a week, sometimes less, sometimes more, but not every day.  I look at pictures from back when I first started college and I can tell a big difference between now and then.

But then again....I'm a 20-something young woman, and of course there are things about my body that I want to fix.  I'd love to lose 10 more pounds, although many argue I don't need to.  Which they're probably right...but that doesn't mean I still don't want to.  I'd love to fit into single-size pants again, something I haven't been able to do since before high school (but I think I'm getting pretty close...some of my 10's are getting a little loose!).  I am of childbearing age and know I need to start taking folic acid, even though I'm years away from wanting children.  I always need to drink more water.  I can't stand the fact that I'm so fair-skinned; it doesn't take much for me to get burned.  Blame it on the Scandinavian genes.  But do I obsess over these things? Of course not.  I'm not about to go on a crazy diet and work myself exhausted (which doesn't work, by the way.  Sorry).  I know what I need to do, what's working for me, and for now, I am happy with what I am.  :)

30 Days of Writing: Five Guys You Find Attractive

Holly: Man, we JUST had a sermon about lust yesterday, too! lol.  Rest assured, my thoughts are entirely tame.  These are in no specific order, by the way.

1. Martin Freeman.  Not only because he's the perfect Bilbo (I'm sorry, he is.  Your opinion is not valid), but he's really funny, even though he does swear a lot.  Plus he loves his family and he loves what he does.  And he's good at it.  Seriously...check out some of his stuff.

2. Benedict Cumberbatch.  Because his name is awesomer than you ever will be.  And he has a pretty voice.

3. Wiley.  I mean, come on.  He's pretty much a stud on four legs and he knows it too.

4. Elijah Wood.  Or, more specifically, Elijah Wood's eyes.  And he's vertically challenged, like me! :D

5. All the Big Bang Theory guys.  ALL of them.  They're nerdy and cute and have the best lines.  I would like to personally give them all high fives at some point in my life.

Kelly: 

I'm not going to waste precious blog space, because mine all are pretty much the same. I'm going to add Adam Brown to this list too. Because Ori is every body's baby and he's adorable!

And of course, here's Wiley. We love him dearly.

Come on, how could you not love THIS face?! 

30 Days of Writing: Your Family

Holly and Kelly: For today's post, we thought a combined one would be easier. We'll start off with our blood family; our parents and our older brother. We were born and raised in southeastern Ohio in the town of Athens. We lived in the same house our entire lives; never moved until we came to Kentucky to start college. That was in 2008, and we haven't left Kentucky since! Since last May, Holly and I have created our own little family in our own place since last May. It's been an incredible journey; developing the skills necessary to live with each other and maintain our sanity, as well as our budget. Prior to that, we had lived on campus as Berea students, and I think that REALLY helped us grow up and live within our means. Granted, it has not been easy, but the thought of being on our own doesn't terrify us anymore, and being away from home had a big role to play. Of course we missed mom and dad, but I think it's something every child should do for college...just my opinion. 

Anyway, our current apartment came with Wiley. His previous owner couldn't keep him because all of her family was allergic, and she was just going to take him to a shelter. We of course decided to keep him. A few weeks later we adopted Yoda. Yoda came from a former professor Holly and I both had. She was scared of everything for the first few days we had her, but she warmed up to us and has wormed her way into our hearts. We absolutely love our pet babies! But soon, we will be packing up our family and moving yet again. Not out of Berea, just across town. More space, costing a bit more, but we'll be with a dear friend of ours until she graduates in the summer. It's going to be a bit scary at first, but we are excited to see where this journey will take us !

And last but not least, Holly and I thought it would be important for us to mention another edition to our family: our church family. I first attended Berea Baptist in August of 2008. My friend Tim and I made the trek, and I fell in love instantly! I dragged Holly with me the following week, and she too fell in love. And we've been there ever since; we officially became members in May of 2009. We've since then joined the choir, fostered some wonderful relationships and have greatly improved our relationship with God. We are truly happy and blessed to have such a large family, both blood related and Christ related. Thank you all for being a wonderful family. We love you all!

Our wonderful parents! They raised us to love others, ourselves and so many more lessons! 

We of course can't forget miss Nala. :) 

Our first home! 

Wiley. He's a sweet boy :) 

Miss Yoda. She likes Tolkien too! 

Berea College from above...became our home away from home! :) Came here 5 years ago and haven't left yet!

Church choir family. This pic is so old, but captures us well.  We love them all dearly!  God has greatly blessed us with such a wonderful church family! :)

30 Days of Writing- First 10 songs on shuffle

Kelly: 
1. Love (with Watoto Children's Choir)-Chris Tomlin
2. The Universal-The Royal Philharmonic
3. Solsbury Hill-Vitamin String Quartet
4. Anywhere Is-Enya
5. Fountain of Youth-4HIM
6. That's When The Angels Rejoice-The Penny Loafers (!!!)
7. These Are the Days-Sugarland
8. Shine-Newsboys (!!!!!)
9. Dreaming of Bag End-Howard Shore (Yes....I have The Hobbit soundtrack on my iPod)
10. Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)-Chris Tomlin

Holly: 
1. My Hope is in You- Aaron Shust
2. Be Thou Near to Me- Selah
3. Eight Days a Week- The Beatles
4. Freedom- Michael W. Smith
5. Your Love- Brandon Heath
6. Remind Me Who I Am- Jason Gray
7. The Captain- Kasey Chambers
8. I Have a Hope- Tommy Walker
9. Only You- Yaz
10. Here Goes- Bebo Norman

Little bit o' errythang! :P

30 Days of Writing: How important you think education is

Holly: You've probably heard the saying "knowledge is power."  I find it to be true.  Not literal, brain-esque power.  There are thousands of people around the world who want to attend school but simply can't.  I'm thankful each day for my Berea College education.  I wish all young women my age could have had the college experience I did.  Sure, I gained textbook knowledge, I learned how to write a decent paper, but I learned so much more than that: how to be independent, how to think critically and for myself, how to manage my time (sort of?), how to ask for help, how to properly communicate with people different from me...the list goes on.  Education helps you to gain and recognize the potential you have.  It becomes a part of something that's bigger than yourself.  It drives you, gives you something to work for.  At least it did for me.  Like I said, my Berea College education is worth a lot more than the piece of paper hanging up in my living room.

Do I think it'll give you a leg up in the world? Maybe.  I suppose it depends on where you end up.  Do I think all who are able should go to college? Yes.  But it's your choice.  I just think any education, especially college, teaches things about yourself that a mere job or other life experiences can't.  Education also opens doors: if I never went to high school, I never would have gone on my mission trip five years ago.  If I never went to college, I never would have been able to study abroad.  Because of those two educations, I saw parts of the world that I probably wouldn't have been able to otherwise.  Yes, school is difficult, yes, it is stressful and time consuming, but I would go back in a second if I could.

Kelly: Though I think education is very important, I feel that it is a choice of the individual. People argue that good jobs require a college degree, and while I agree in part to that I have friends who are doing fine in the world without one. I'm not going to sit here and force feed some "you need to go to college" to my future children if I have any; I will leave the choice to them. I will strongly encourage going to college, because in my opinion I think it makes you a better person. At least it did for me. For me, I'm going to not only talk about why I think education is important, rather why I think a Berea education is important and the impact it has had on me.

In almost 2 weeks, I'll be graduating from this place. Since I was 18 years old, I have called Berea my home, and still continue to do so. I've known I wanted to go into nursing since I was probably around 14 or 15, but little did I know how much of a challenge it would bring me. And yes, I have been challenged greatly, but I'm better for it. There have been times where Berea has completely knocked me down flat on my face. I remember one time last spring, sitting up late on my computer researching the process of changing to an independent major. I had a backup plan; I was certain that nursing wasn't going to work. But one of the major parts of me nearly completing my journey at Berea has been my walk with God. God has moved mountains for me to finish here, and I would not be where I am without Him. Berea is a unique and special place in my opinion, and it's by His grace that I ended up here. Sometimes I think about where I would have possibly ended up if I didn't end up here; probably still at home or close to home. I'd probably have my ADN degree and working somewhere around there...who knows? Not that I'd be miserable, but I know that my experiences would have been a lot different. Like going abroad; would I have had the opportunity to do that? I don't know.

Yes, this road has been long, tough and very VERY difficult. I have no regrets though. None. I wouldn't trade my education here at Berea for ANYTHING, and it saddens me that some did not have the same positive outcomes and experiences that I did. I will walk across that stage knowing that I did my best, I trusted God and I came out a better, stronger and wiser person.

30 Days of Writing: What you ate today

Kelly: Decided to break in my routine and go to BC&T for breakfast. Had a cinnamon roll along with my World Market coffee. It's caramel cream and it's yummy.

Got my water bottle to the side. Probably will drink 1.5-2 of those today.

Leftover BBQ chicken and mac and cheese for lunch. Yummy! Work supervisor also bought drinks for us all since it's 3000 degrees Fahrenheit up here. A sweet tea for me, please :D

Dinner: Not that hungry. Steak strips, stir fry veggies and brown rice. Ate one of sis's sour patch grapes. Ick.  Hello birthday chocolate!!

Holly: Had 2 cinnamon toast waffles and a cup of caramel cream coffee for breakfast.  Went on break at work at about 11:30 and ate leftovers from last night's dinner: BBQ chicken and mac and cheese.  Yum! Along with frozen grapes.  And water.  Chugging that water.  Went to my interview; was a bit early, got a Vanilla Chai blender from Hastings.  SUPER yum! :)  Din: stiry fry (steak strips, veggies, and brown rice).  And some sour patch grapes.  And vanilla ice cream!

You must have vanilla ice cream.

30 Days of Writing: Five pet peeves

Holly: Man, I'm in a good mood too.  Oh well...here we go:

1. Close-mindedness.  I really don't think I need to elaborate much more on this.  Newsflash: people in the world are going to think differently than you, have different opinions than you, be from somewhere else other than where you're from, like and dislike different things, believe in the same or a different God (or no God at all).  Be accepting.  Learn something about someone else.  Don't stay trapped in your silly little box forever.

2. Employers who don't follow through.  I've had a LOT of frustrations with this, especially while looking for another job.  How stinking hard is it to send a two-sentence email or make a thirty second phone call saying "thanks, but no thanks?" or "hey, how about this time for your second interview?" Because then who has to look like the annoying badger? Me.  I know for some places you possibly can't reach everyone....but can you at least try?

3. Drivers who don't use their turn signals.  I know it's silly, but it really irritates me.  That little stick thing by your steering wheel isn't there for fun.  Use it!  (My backside right turn signal bulb is currently burned out on my car, so now I feel like a turd every time I use my turn signal even though I know people behind me can't see it.  Now they think I'm being rude.  I still use it though.  Don't know why...)

4. My friend posted this one, but it really gets my blood boiling: People who are GLUED to their technology.  Um...hello? You're the one who said let's have lunch.  Put the phone away.  You can stay unplugged for an hour or two.  I really can't stand it when I see moms or dads with their kids and the kids are trying to get their attention....nope.  iPhone is more important.  Ugghhh....PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR KIDS AND THE PEOPLE YOU HANG OUT WITH!! Have actual, face-to-face, meaningful conversation! TALK to people with words, not with texts!

5. This one is kind of silly too, but I think for me it's a matter of sheer respect: Fans of a certain actor or actress who don't see them as a PERSON, but rather as the iconic character that made their career.  For example: I am a big fan of Martin Freeman.  I've seen a lot of his work.  Now that the first installment of The Hobbit is over I read things on the internet, etc, and people are like "Oh it's Bilbo Baggins!"  Same with Sherlock: "Jawn, what are you doing?" Um...no.  It's Martin Freeman.  I'm fairly certain Martin Freeman didn't become the brilliant actor that he is just for people to follow him as Bilbo Baggins or John Watson for the rest of his life.  I think if you have a favorite actor or actress, take the time to see other things they're in.  You'll gain a lot more respect for them and maybe take yourself out of that ONE character box.  I know if I ever get the chance to meet him (God willing! lol) I'm going to tell him that I really enjoy his work and that it's an absolute pleasure to meet him...not just that he makes a good Bilbo or John.  Actors are just ordinary people who just really love what they do.

Kelly: These are in no particular order. I have similar ones to Holly's but here's a few of my own too.

1. Diets. Because in my opinion they don't work. Look now, we've got the cheese diet, the grape fruit diet, and all this stuff. I'm not going to judge you if you do use them, but I sincerely hope you balance the risks and benefits. Maybe for a while, but in the long run I really feel that they just don't work. Heck, doing what I'm doing now is working, and no dieting has taken place. It's simple; eat right and get off your bum every now and then.

2. Tardiness. ACK!!! At my job my supervisor said that this semester has shown the most problems with people being late/not showing up for work. Drives me NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you're going to be there then be there! Or at least call if you're going to be late!

3. Peer Pressure. This has been a lingering pet peeve of mine for as long as I can remember. I've been in the midst of this many times in my high school and young adult life. I can't describe the feeling of being backed into a corner with nobody to defend you. In life we've always been taught that no means NO, yet for some I've encountered in my life they just can't get that in their heads. It's frustrating and at times scary, especially when you find yourself in a situation that you do not want to be in. It can be awkward too, but you just have to be true to yourself and stick with what you feel comfortable with.

4. Complaining about being tired for being up all night. "Oh my gosh I'm so tired. I stayed up all night and couldn't get to sleep because I left my phone on and everybody was texting me. I wish I could sleep." Hmm...here's an idea; turn the phone off and SLEEP. Now I understand sometimes work and projects keep one up all night, but...staying up all night for no reason and then having the audacity to complain about it? No thanks.

5. Getting even or saying you're going to get even. Really? What are you, four? Because I know people who think fighting fire with fire is going to solve everything. It isn't. At all. What ever happened to just talking and trying to reach a solution?

30 Days of Writing: Your views on mainstream music

Kelly: For the most part, I don't listen to mainstream music anymore. It's not what it used to be, and to be honest 99.9% of the time I find it disgusting to listen to. I can barely get through a mainstream radio station without lyrics involving sex, taking clothes off, "bumping a ho" or whatever. HACK!!! And then the rest of it I find to be just obnoxious. Yet this is what young children are "into" these days; as for me I like K-LOVE and Air1. Much safer and definitely friendlier on the ears! :)

When I think about the type of music I listened to while growing up, I think about what my dad would play. Bob Marley, Dire Straits, Steve Miller Band, all those. Then of course I listened to N'SYNC and Backstreet Boys as a kid. And now? Now we've got "Beliebers," Nicki Minaj (uh...REALLY?!) and in my opinion just really gross and distasteful music. It makes me wonder why this paradigm shift of music has occurred. Who started it?!

Holly: In general, I'm not a fan.  Granted, I do work at Old Navy and hear the same obnoxious pop music about 389230 times a week, so it's hard for it not to get stuck in your head.  I do have a playlist on Spotify with music such as this; call it a "guilty pleasure", if you will.  But most of what we hear now on the radio is either screechy (as my mom would say), involves artists that do nothing but autotune themselves, nothing but the same words over and over and over again, has so much bass that you practically go deaf, or every word is "eff this", n-word that, ho this, "bumpin' and grindin'"....I mean, KIDS listen to this stuff!  I'm horrified by some of the stuff I hear on mainstream stations.  Horrified.

I prefer to listen to Christian music.  And no, it's not just because I'm a Christian, although that is a part of it. I prefer it because it's uplifting, it's encouraging, it makes me happy and want to sing along to praise God...it's a booster shot, if you will.  :)  Now don't get me wrong, I do have some mainstream stuff on my iPod, but in general, I will listen to Christian music.  Or acoustic-y, guitar-y, pretty stuff.  Give me Mumford and Sons or Chris Tomlin any day of the week!

30 Days of Writing: Some things you'd like to say to an ex

Holly: Well...this is kind of interesting.  Not because of any ill-will or hard feelings, but because that part of my life was practically ancient history. We haven't talked in a while.  I'm such a different person now, and I'm willing to bet that you are too.

It's silly, actually, because when I talk to other people about you I still refer to you as "my ex", only for the simple fact that even though that part of my life was so long ago, you're still the only boyfriend I've ever had. Do I still think about those days? Of course I do.  Even though the relationship was short, I was happy, and I really did care about you.  I mean, it's not like I was expecting marriage or anything.  Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting.  I was 16.  I was an immature, star-eyed junior in high school who changed her dreams about every five minutes.  I found my MySpace blog a while ago...I couldn't shut up about you.      Seriously.  It was kind of ridiculous, actually.  But it definitely made me smile.  I'll be honest, after we broke up, I was really hurt and really confused for a really long time.  I blamed myself.  I look back on it now and it's just silly...high school romances rarely last and it was such a short run for us.  But when I fall for something, I fall for it hard and it takes a long time for me to let go.  Eventually though, I did.  I built my own life here in Berea.  I'm so happy now, and I sincerely hope you are too.

I will say this: you were a really good friend to me, after it was all said and done. I feel dumb saying this, but I hope that there's no hard feelings, even after all these years.  I hope I was good to you back then.  You're going to be an amazing music teacher someday.  Like I said earlier, we haven't talked in a while...drop me a message sometime, I'd love to catch up.

Kelly: I'm not where I want to be, but I'm not who I used to be. This is hard, because I've...never really been in a serious relationship. I was a freshman in high school and two of my friends wanted me to go out with a friend of mine and a friend of theirs...who was 2 years younger than me. We knew each other through band but that was about it. Yeah we did the silly "maybe this will be something more" taunts, flirts and other things young kids do when they're in "love." Classic school boy and school girl crush; nothing really more to me.

I don't want to say too much for the fear of hurting people's feelings, but I will say this; I wasn't ready. I wasn't a good "girlfriend" at the time and I don't know if I ever would have been a good one. I was young; I didn't have much say in the relationship, and I didn't feel like I was in control. Maybe if I had more time things may have been different. Maybe if I knew what I was doing....I don't know. And now; we both have grown up. It's been a while...a long while since we've last had a conversation, and I still remember what the conversation was about. I didn't know what to say, but I do now. Please...don't wait for me, because I'm not coming home. I've made Berea my new home, and I have a life here that I love. You deserve someone who will give you everything that you need, and as hard as this is for me to admit I'm not that person. Perhaps you don't feel the same way now, and maybe you've even forgotten about me. Whatever the case may be, I sincerely hope that you are happy and doing the work that God has blessed you with. I don't regret the time in which we were together and the times we were friends in high school, not at all. In fact it's completely the opposite. If you want to get back in touch with me great, and I've tried as well. If not, that's ok too; I'm not mad or angry, and I hope you're not angry with me. If you do want to talk though you know where to find me.

30 Days of Writing: Bullet your entire day

Kelly: 
*6:50AM. Woke to a Furgus in my face (we're dog sitting this weekend) wanting breakfast and to go outside. Get up and take him out. Feed him his breakfast.
*Snooze on couch while Furgus eats.
*Crawl back into bed and wake up when alarm goes off (8:30).
* Get in shower while Furgus whines outside bathroom door. Holly gets up shortly after I get in the shower.
*Get dressed. Didn't take my clothes out the night before (we stayed up late and watched the Dark Knight while Holly was at work)
*Go to Sunday School. Have a good discussion and a good time. Met an incoming Freshman! :)
*Attend church. Men's Sunday. Didn't have to sing in choir today. Sad.
*Head home. Let Furgus out of his crate. Take him outside.
*Get jumped on by Furgus as I change my clothes.
*Make lunch. Salmon and Chickpea salad leftover from dinner last night.
*Take Furgus for a walk.
*Come back inside. Check Facebook and Twitter.
*Read Post Secret.
*Grab a Mountain Dew from the fridge. Browse HESI Content (this continues for over an hour). Put on Chris Tomlin's Burning Lights album on Spotify.
*Take a break from content review. Clean litter box. Take trash out.
*Check Facebook again.
*Check Moodle forum. No new posts.
*Check UK job site. No new jobs posted today.
*Check St. Joseph job site. No new jobs.
*Scold Furgus for getting in Wiley's face. Proceeds to lie by my feet and snooze.
*Grab a bite of birthday chocolate from the fridge. Continue with content review (about 20 more mins.)
*Browse Pinterest funnies.
*Got attacked by a Furgus while trying to type an email (lick and jump attack)
*Drove up to campus for a group meeting for class (meeting lasted about an hour)
*Came home. Ate some broccoli and carrots sis made for dinner
*Checked email to see if group member emailed article I'm supposed to read. Nothing yet.
*Check Facebook again.
*Sis and I decide we want to watch a movie. What do we pick? Dumb and Dumber.
*Load Dumb and Dumber on computer.
*While loading, sis and I go for a walk.
*Watched Dumb and Dumber. Laughed a lot.
*Cuddled with Wiley for a bit.
*Checked email for one last time to see if article was given. It was!!!
*Skimmed over article.
*Fed pet babies.
*Brushed teeth.
*Read a bit of my Bible.
*Went to bed. Woot!


Holly: 
*Woke up at 8:30
*Showered and got ready for the day
*Got dressed for church
*Got to church: realized I left my driver's license/etc at home, ask Kelly to drive home too
*Sunday school: good discussion, yummy food (as always), met a new friend who will be coming to Berea in the fall :)
*Church- Men's Sunday today!  Very inspiring
*Chatted with people after church, dropped off a small Mary Kay order
*Got home
*Changed clothes while Kelly takes out the Furgus
*Ate lunch: leftover salad from last night
*Took a long walk with Furgus and Kelly
*Checked Facebook, Twitter, Post Secret, etc, while Furgus snoozes
*Watched some funny YouTube videos from Pinterest
*Cleaned up the kitchen
*Had a cup of iced coffee
*Checked on a couple of potential job opportunities mentioned at work last night
*Pondered a job opportunity at the Living Arts and Sciences Center in downtown Lexington- decide to apply tomorrow when I have more time :)
*Checked UK's job website.  No surprise there were no posts today (it's a Sunday...derp)
*Received a text from fellow Old Navy copadre asking if I can cover her shift tomorrow night- can't.
*Wished Kelly had her own car so I could cover shift tomorrow night....oh well.
*Received a phone call from Brian, saying he and Tiffani are on their way to pick up the Furgus!
*Decided to make chicken nuggets for dinner
*Showed Kelly a picture of a ginormous bullfrog my class found when I was in herpetology
*Said goodbye to Furgus
*Saw Kelly off to her meeting
*Put some vegetables on the stove and some chicken nuggets in the oven
*Told the kitties that Furgus was gone; they're still a little unsure! lol
*Nibbled on some pistachios
*Got loved on by Yoda :)
*Had a lively chat with Yoda in the kitchen while I got dinner going
*Picked an episode of ER to watch
*Watched ER and ate dinner--Kelly got home shortly after
*Sister and I collectively decided to watch "Dumb and Dumber" after going on another shorter walk
*Sister and I collectively decided to create a Facebook page for our blog.  Stay tuned! :D
*Went on another walk
*Came back and got myself a bowl of ice cream :)
*Watched Dumb and Dumber.  Laughed a lot.
*Brief cuddle with Wiley
*Took out trash and recycling
*Cleaned up kitchen dinner dishes
*Got ready for bed
*Pre-bedtime Bible reading
*Time for sleeps!

30 Days of Writing: A book you love

Holly: It took me a long time to come up with this one because, like Kelly, there are so many books I love.  Originally I was going to talk about "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", but a friend who we are inspired by chose that...didn't want to steal her thunder.  You should read that, though.  I mulled over a few more (eventually deciding to scrap "The Hobbit" too) until I decided on this:

It tells the story of a young student (the author) who is called to the bedside of a former mentor and professor of his, Morrie, who is suffering from the debilitating end stages of ALS.  They had not seen each other since the student, now an accomplished newspaper columnist, had taken classes from him almost 20 years back.

It's a very short read (about 100 pages...I can read it in a day), but full of insight, wisdom, poignant and touching moments.  Have a box of tissues handy.  For me, it made me think of the professors and mentors that have influenced me and my life.  I haven't read it in a while but I will again.  A must-read for everyone! 

Kelly: Well, this one is tricky. I mean, there are a lot of books I love. I could talk about The Bible, which would be an obvious choice, I suppose. It is a good book if you haven't had the chance to read it yet. I was going to talk about The Hobbit, but we all know I could give my LOTR/Hobbit likeness a break. So I figured I'd talk about the best of both worlds:

Walking with Bilbo; A devotional guide through The Hobbit 

Holly and I found this book through our recommendations on Amazon. Having not heard of it, we decided to give it a try. We read and discussed two chapters/week, which took us about 3 months to get through the entire book. Even though it was about The Hobbit, I really enjoyed it because it helped us see so many of the Christian themes that are associated with Tolkien's writings and it connected them with Scripture. If you are a Tolkien fan, then this devotional I would definitely recommend!

30 Days of Writing: Something you feel strongly about

Kelly: Freedom, if used appropriately. Now what do I mean by appropriately? Well, take it as a judgment call; if you feel it's a good time to speak up, then do so. If not, then for the time being keep quiet. This is something that I particularly struggle with at times, but it is something I'm doing my best to work on. It's so simple to sometimes just blurt out whatever is on our hearts or minds. Yet we have the freedom to do that...and sometimes that can bite us in the bum. We also have the freedom to choose; how we think, how we feel, what we say or don't say, what we do or don't do, and how we treat others. We also have the freedom to listen or to turn the other cheek and ignore. It's all a choice. We also have the freedom to have our opinions, yes, even if they hurt others. Hence why I feel about using freedom appropriately.

We also have the freedom to accept Christ as our Savior or not. He gave us that choice. Heck, he gave us the freedom for ALL of the choices we have in life. Either way I won't force my beliefs down any one, but I will freely love all people, no matter what race, color, gender, sexuality, or relationship status. I will freely choose to speak words of love and kindness, especially to those who wrong me...because in my opinion they're the ones who need it the most. I will freely think positively of others and do my best to give people the benefit of the doubt; we don't know what burdens the world is carrying at any given time. Simple, but difficult at the same time.

Holly: Love.

I believe that love is one of the most powerful forces on this planet.  People do all kinds of things in the name of love.    But I think love goes beyond just being nice to people, which we should be doing anyway.  Imagine how the world would change if we intentionally did things for other people, not expecting anything in return, but because we ought to love those above ourselves.  I think wars would stop from things like this.  We aren't on this world to live for ourselves; we're here for God, and for others.  It's kind of hard to love others when you have the me-blinders on.  Loving people, for me, means putting other people's well-beings, feelings, and needs above my own, but also meeting them right where they are, regardless of my feelings, beliefs, opinions.  I believe love and acceptance go hand-in-hand; I think it kind of has to.  To truly love someone is to accept them regardless of ALL their flaws, weaknesses, difficulties...I mean, Jesus does that for us every single day.

Some of you may not agree with me, and that's ok.  But sometimes I think we get just being nice to people and loving people mixed up.  I know I still have a long way to go, trust me on this one.  But like I said before, imagine how vastly the world would change if we simply did things for others.  Love is acceptance.  Love is cooperation.  Love is smiling at a stranger, even if you're having a bad day.  Love is holding the door for someone when your own hands are full.  Love is reaching out to those who are hurting, even if you yourself feel stuck in an abyss of neverending darkness and loneliness.   Love is being the first one to say you're sorry.  Love is trying to find a way to work through international issues, instead of threatening nuclear missiles at one another.  Love is laughter.  Love is holding your kitty in the kitchen first thing in the morning.

To me, love wins.  It always should.

30 Days of Writing: Five Ways to Win Your Heart

Holly: I was inspired by a friend...well, two friends actually, who both have amazing writing talent.  For a time Kelly and I used to write.  When I was in England I took a writing class.  Maybe something will happen from this.  But for now, I think we're just going to kind of roll with it and see where it goes! :)

Day 1: Five ways to win your heart

1. Love Jesus.  Pretty self-explanatory.  But Jesus set the bar for love and life, essentially.  The way I see it is you can't fully love someone unless you realize the perfect love that only Christ can give.
2. Have a sense of humor.  Life is too short to take anything seriously.  Laugh at things.  Laugh at yourself.
3. Be genuine.  I know this is so cliche, but it's so hard to find these days, especially with such a superficial society.  Being yourself gets people a lot farther than they realize.
4. Have goals, even if they're small.  Everyone needs something to work for.
5. Don't be afraid to let people know you're with me.  Hold my hand.  Hug me for just a second longer.  Kiss me in public.  Don't be shy.  Love is nothing to be ashamed of.  Oh, and like hobbits too.  :)

Kelly:

1. Love Jesus before myself. If you love me you have to love Him first too.
2. Love Lord of the Rings. I really don't need to go into any more detail.
3. Be true to yourself and be true to me. I have a heart for honest people; people who are honest about themselves and TO themselves. This goes for me too; be honest with me. Always. I can't tell a lie to save my life, so don't do the same to me.
4. Love other people. It's my duty as a Christian, human being and future RN.
5. Invest. Do the little things more than what's expected. Don't go to bed angry with me. Kiss me good morning every morning. Smile, especially when I'm sad. I will give 110% to whoever God calls me to be with; I expect 110% out of the relationship too.

23 years of memories

Holly and Kelly: We turned 23 today! :)

Hi! :)

For Kelly, just another day of classes and stuff...it's funny how birthdays become a lot less exciting when you get older.  We started off the day with the newly inaugurated president of Berea College, his lovely wife, and a few students at the walk/run club that's been going on all year.  Figured we'd start off our new year of life on the right foot.  Holly was inspired by a conversation with Ms. Laurie (the First Lady) about giving back to your alma mater, and in a very hobbit-like spirit of giving to others, made her very first...and not last...23rd birthday donation to Berea College.  Not a large one, mind you, but sincere.

We met up with a very dear friend for lunch.  This dear friend has become like a little sister to us; she will be graduating with Kelly and will be on to bigger and better things in her life.  :)

The spirit of the day, however, was the receipt of news that we've been expecting for a few days now: our 91 year old Grandpa went to be with Jesus early this morning.  We are all at peace with the situation, and although we are sad of his passing, we rejoice that he is now free of suffering,  with the Lord, and reunited with our grandmother (she passed when we were five years old) and his siblings and parents.  We remember him teaching us how to ride bikes...with much protesting on our part.  He was probably one of the first people to tell us about Jesus and how much He loved us.  He was the epitome of a servant leader: worked hard for what he had, loved his family, loved the Lord.  There will come a day when we will see him again and we long for it.  The outpouring of love, prayers, and support has been absolutely overwhelming and awesome, and we thank you all for it, from the bottom of our hearts.  It's people like you and the good times we do remember that will make this loss easier to deal with.

We turned 23 today.  23 is just a number.  God is good and He is faithful.  He has a plan for us and our lives are changing.  Of course we couldn't do it without Him, but as we said earlier, it's the support of our Berea family and friends that keep us strong.  We are blessed to be a part of your lives and hope for 23 more years of friendships, love, and growing ever stronger in Christ.

Thanks for putting up with us!

Schtuff twin girls say, volume 2

Holly and Kelly: Figure we would make this a regular habit.  Guaranteed laugh.  Enjoy.

"And that makes 4 loads of laundry. (Starts singing). 4 loads of laundry and a partridge in a pear tree. HEEEEEY MACARENA." ~Kelly

"I KNOW DOLLAR OFF DEALS END TOMORROW, OLD NAVY! I WORK THERE!" ~Holly (while reading her email)

Kelly: This is weird, but sometimes I just crave cream cheese.  I think I may have pica or something.
Holly: Lol.  At least you're not eating your computer.

driving home from Richmond:
"UK was saying.....yellow car!" ~Kelly

"Your phone is done.  Please uncharge it."  ~Kelly, to Holly

Kelly: I'll probably watch it on my lunc break....lunc break? Wow.
Holly: Lunc break? *laughing*
Kelly: Wow, I quit at talking.
Holly: That would be interesting.

Kelly: And I can't watch BBT (Big Bang Theory) at lunch.
Holly: Why?
Kelly: Because Martin Freeman didn't win an Emmy.
Holly: Oh.
Kelly: And there's a workshop.

(reading Jeopardy clues):
Holly: Three words that translates to "Ireland forever."
Kelly: Beer.

"My desktop thermometer is broken." ~Holly

(While eating an Aero bar)
Kelly: These would be good in a Blizzard.
Holly:...STOP!

(Eating a potato side for dinner)
Kelly: PO TAY TOES!!!! Boil em mash em stick em in a stew.
Holly: Potatoes. Get in my belly.

I'm pretty sure if the Pope walked into Domino's, his order would be the most important. Does the Pope even eat pizza? -Holly

If I got elected into an important office and they told me I could eat whatever I want, I would say I would like a large piece of cheesecake and a Mountain Dew, please. -Kelly

(in regards to a job application)
Holly: Apparently I applied within the last 180 days and I gave the wrong answers.
Kelly: There's wrong answers in a job application?????

(while talking on Google talk)
Kelly: I just did something really bad.
Holly: Oh dear. What happened, sis?
Kelly: I went to CPO to get stamps....and I got a Stella Jane's donut. And I'm not sorry.

Kelly (to our mom): It's like when you come here I forget how to be a big girl.

Holly: This is really good dinner. I guess I was hungrier than I thought.
Kelly (stuffed up nose with about 1/4 of food left on plate):...I can't breathe.

BONUS FROM OUR MOM:
"Plushie Bilbo is cuter in real life."

(picking Kelly up from clinicals):
"You smell like bacon." -Holly