the one with thanks.

i am thankful for..

grace.

sam.

my family.

laughter.

my health.

traditions.

pumpkin spice lattes.

nail polish.

my roommate.

photography.

mushrooms.

school.

cold pillie.

raleigh.

freedom.

modern medicine.

music.

scripture.

&&& so much more.

thanksgiving is always an amazing reminder of how truly blessed we are. it's sad to think that i forget daily to remind myself of this. only during hard trials or cheerful holidays do i really take the time to daily realize my blessings and understand how much of an ingrate i am. now.. after my break i am starting fresh. i am blessed beyond my own belief and i am going to rejoice in it everyday. for example, for the past 24 hours i have been stressing and studying my brains out for my final human anatomy exam. although, i was completely buried in papers & textbooks about all our bodily systems, i was thankful. thankful for my parents for paying my way at ncsu. thankful for knowledge and ability to learn. thankful for anatomy... for being an awesome reminder of how our body was made with purpose, and everything works because it was made to do so. thankful for jesus because he has provided it all.

..............

break started out with a thanksgiving supper with some of my favorite bible study girls! i am seriously in love with these girls. they are so wonderful. i am very thankful for their huge hearts and ability to demolish a mean turkey dinner. :)

the next day i went to visit one of my best friends. she plays basketball at a small private college & is point blank.. awesome. i met up with a couple of awesome people from back home at the game & we had a blast (mostly thanks for ameila.) i love you kelsey. i am thankful for your athletic self and your drive. (also your red hair.)

of course. we did delicious lunches and suppers on my side and sam's.

i am thankful for family & their unconditional love and support.

followed by black friday shopping. i am thankful for sweet deals and hilarious/crazy moms who have so much stuff in their arms they can't even see in front of them.

i am also thankful for 24 hour food services. thank you ihop for providing energy for the savings ahead!

also on black friday, we went christmas tree shopping. it is one of my favorite traditions! i love going with mom, dad, ash & ryan. it's always so much fun. in this.. i am thankful for traditions, siblings & laughter.

& lastly, i slept. a lot. catching up on sleep was huge for me.

wherever i could lay my head, you can bet it was there whenever a nap was needed (or just wanted).

i am thankful for sleep, and rest in general.

.............

thank you, november. although you have been quick, you have been so good to me. you have set the bar high for december! :) and speaking of a new month.. you know what that means....

NEW MONTHLY GOALS! bringggg onnnnn december!

the one on saturday.

saturdays. for college students, its a day for relaxation or stress. sometimes we use it to catch up on our sleep and other times we use for the couple extra hours of study time. within those awesome hours of saturday.. we have the option to encounter multiple things. watching tv. eat breakfast. watch anatomy lectures online. we clean our room.. maybe some laundry too. we sleep in.. and then take a 3 hour nap at 2:00. get lunch/coffee with friends. run/exercise. hangout with the bf/gf. go to someplace you haven't been. etc, etc, etc...needless to say we have options.

yesterday.. my saturday involved a lot. and it was pretty awesome. prepare for a story!

my saturday started off by the annoying sound of the alarm clock, which of course i hit snooze.. multiple times. eventually (around 8am) i turned the annoying buzz off for good and dragged myself out of bed. sarah, my roommate, and i both met each other at our common mirror for us to throw on some fresh clothes and erase the makeup from under our eyes. as we slowly got our get up together we texted our friend, mary beth, and heading downstairs to the car.

when mary beth got into the car, we took off to dunkin donuts for some hot coffee,

& headed towards downtown.

where were we headed to downtown so early on a saturday morning?

the one and only RALEIGH CHRISTMAS PARADE!!

rita (my bstudy leader) told me about this parade last week at our morning coffee dates.

and i had. to. go. i mean "its the biggest parade between washington d.c. & atlanta".

it was awesome. there was floats galore, several high school marching bands, dance teams, different organizations and associations, jason michael carroll, & all local news teams.

we were blown away by how crowded it was. and how long it was....

2 & 1/2 hours long. crazinesssss. but the time flew by.

mary beth, sarah and i reminisced on days of going to our own hometown parades when we were younger. and we beamed all morning due to the little kids everywhere getting so excited over the characters and handfuls of candy being tossed.

it was like an uber condensed macy's day parade.

it was the best first raleigh christmas parade experience possible.

so after the parade was over we walked the crowded streets back to our car and head back towards campus... only to make a pit stop of one of my absolute favorite places in raleigh...

the flea market!

i love, love, love the raleigh flea market. it's huge. i have a huge thing about making things twice new. and it is the perfect place to do it. my sole reason in going to the flea market this time was to get some elements for some of my christmas projects. i was even cut a deal.. ahhh. :) so exciting.

sarah even found some pink induced john lennon glasses.

she didn't buy. but could not leave without trying them on.

these are my friends.. holding my purchases. :)

so we packed up my purchases, head back towards campus to make one more pit stop to cookout to grab some lunch. we finally arrive back on campus, just in time to watch the state/carolina football game. this was a huge and it was such an intense game. mary beth, sarah and i got comfortable on the futon, devoured our food and screamed like couch-potato men at the tv, until state ended up on top. it was so great. as soon.. i mean as soon as the game ended everyone on west campus was going crazy. screaming "WOLLLFFFFPAAACCCKKK" back and forth between dorms. it was such a sense of school spirit.

and no, my awesome saturday does not end here.

have you ever heard of the clef hangers? if not, you are missing out a true musical delight. the clef hangers are unc's oldest men's a cappella group. they are a.ma.zing.

their signature and one of my favorite songs by them is "carolina in my mind" by james taylor.

i found this video on youtube to show you how awesome they are..

(even though the video itself does not do these boys justice)

enjoy.

so about a month ago i bought tickets to see them. because honestly, im in love with them. sam and i got all dolled up and headed to chapel hill to meet one my best friend's from high school, thomas (who goes to unc). we met at mccallister's on franklin street and then strolled through the gorgeous campus to end up at the stunning memorial hall.

overall, the clef hangers never disappoint. and neither do great times with awesome people.

during the intermission i even bought myself a christmas gift.

the clef hangers are debuting their christmas album "carols from the hill".

and sam i listened to it all the way home.

when sam and i arrived back on campus.. we settled down in his room by watching the shawshank redemption (one of my faves).

eventually, after a packed full day, i laid my head on my pillow, replaying the day in my head.. and being completely satisfied by the way i spent it.

today was blessed with great times and beautiful people.

the one who takes pictures (& lots of them).

so. i love... i mean love to take pictures. of everything.

everytime i bring out my point and shoot camera, sam always mumbles something like:

"i hope you never get a real camera."

because seriously, i take pictures of everything.

i can't help it, its a disease.

for me however, i can't wait until i get a real camera.

im saving up for my first really big investment & im really excited.. i have already started looking and i don't even have near enough money.

but the canon weekly updates keeps me from buying that extra pumpkin spice latte in the mid-afternoon and just overall pushes me to save, save, save!

i am my own dave ramsey. :)

well, mom keeps me in check pretty good.. so if anything SHE is my dave ramsey.

ANYWAYS. back to the love of pictures. it is easily my favorite hobby.

some pictures from my point and shoot:

i've been given the opportunity to take pictures for a couple of seniors...

and fortunately, my uncle graciously allows me to use his slr camera. (thanks phil!)

kelsey.

kyle.

sarah.

(when we did our shoot.. i wasn't going to be able to show her all of her pictures for several days, so i made her a few collages of raw pictures.)

(p.s. i have no idea how to make the images larger... any blogger help would be appreciated).

so there is a VERY short snapshot some of the "photography" i've done. i wish i could show you more.. and i guess i could.. but i have some homework i need to get done... so maybe another post later on!

i'm really starting to research and hopefully improving my editing skills... i don't really like a LOT of editing... then the pictures don't look natural or like "you"... but i'm trying to improve. slow & steady wins the race!

anyways. next week i get to do my first engagement shots.. and my first family shots.

so next week is really exciting for this amateur photographer. :)

i'll definitely keep you updated.

the awkward part of this is money.

everyone i have ever shot always ask how much do i owe you?

because i seriously DON'T KNOW what to say and never tell them in advance.

my philosophy is if they don't like them.. they should have to pay big bucks for them.

i don't print the pictures for them. i give them the entire edited cd.

so thus far, i have based my very small price on how they like the pictures.

and plus, i seriously LOVE taking the pictures... i enjoy the whole process.

so if anything, i get more of a reward taking the pictures then the small amount of money that comes in from it.

actually.. a little side note here. sarah (3rd senior shot), bought me a vintage book called "human physiology" (knowing it was my major/career of interest and my love for vintage stuff), in exchange for her photoshoot. that was awesome.

i can't wait to learn more.

so.. few questions:

- what kind of camera do you think i should i invest in?

- wanna photo shoot where you call the shots (money)? :):)

the one with a latte love.

so. once a week my bible study leader, rita, and i meet for coffee before classes.

it is easily my favorite morning of the week.

one. it forces me to get up early and get my day started.

two. it allows me to get up early and get my day started right.

first things first.. i head over to a local coffee shop (this week = global),

and order a pumpkin spice latte.

p.s. global in raleigh has hands down best pumpkin spice latte ever madeeee.

i get there earlier than our scheduled time to meet in order to do a devotional. my bible study is going through a study called "becoming a woman of simplicity" and it rocks!

this week's devotional really focuses on romans 12:1-2:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

today specially dealt with sacrifices pleasing to God and when it comes to these sacrifices... how God is more concerned with the attitude of the heart rather than the ritual itself.

sacrificing ourselves, our wills, our desires, allows God to live in us, reflecting His love and our true heart's desires. :)

so... when the oh-so-fabulous rita comes in, we talk.

about life. school. family. coffee. pretty weather. flea markets. & christmas parades.

it's real. intentional. and awesome. (love you, rita!)

this morning was perfect.

now it's off to study for an exam tomorrow...

...maybe another pumpkin spice latte will be encouraging mid-afternoon. :)

the one that bleeds red and eat chips.

wfu vs ncsu? choose a side, what?

although, my two favorite teams were playing football against each other this past weekend.. it still was a win-win weekend!

a couple of sam's cousins came into town and together with a couple of our friends, we all skipped to the carter-finley for ncsu's homecoming game.

sid (sam's sister) and i.

jeremy and thomas.

andrew, sam, jacob.

sarah and kaitlyn. (sun was bright and harsh..i know).

sam and i.

laura and i.

(p.s. laura and i went to belize this summer on a medical trip and it was awesome.. i'll post about it soon. laura is completely fabulous with insanely admirable goals for her future.)

after the complete blow out with red ending up on top...

wfu - 3, ncsu - 38... to be exact.

...we headed to a local mexican restaurant and enjoyed every single serving of chips and salsa.

sibling/cousin lovinnnn'.

i love this entire family.

the one where we camp.

so. camping. in november. who does that?

those with vogler blood do. and boyyy was it awesome!

mom, dad, ryan, sam and myself...

plus my uncle (mom's bro), his wife and his daughter

went camping at Stone Mountain

(we missed you ash!)

it was cold. but we had a great time...

we danced and played charades.

we stacked rocks and we modeled.

we fished for trout.

and caught one!

we drank hot chocolate.

we ate, drank, talked, wondered, opened the bible,

laughed, played games, and loved around the fire.

yeah, it was cold. but that truly put the icing on the cake. we had an awesome time.

praise to Him for family, fires and cold November weekends. :)