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Thursday, July 30, 2009

I've been going through...

I've been going, going, going.
Especially going through so many things.
Let's see what I've gone through in the past two weeks....

Alabama
Georgia
South Carolina
Florida
2 bottles of SPF 15
1 bottle of SPF 30
1 bottle of SPF 90 (I'm serious about this sunscreen thing but it didn't appear to work that well)
The Ikea store (a hike in itself)
The remains of two bottles of shampoo and conditioner
An entire bottle of Dove Cream Oil lotion (the greatest)
Bare Minerals medium beige
2 outlet malls
3 pools
The ocean
The lake
7 bottles of wine....... (just kidding)
8 Random Mix CD's in mother dear's car
6 sets of sheets
9 houses (4 amazingly decorated ones)
A hot tub (we snuck in the cabana club when it was closed)
10 movies
1 and a half books
12 towels
A tube of Crest
4 suitcases (small ones, of course)
3 loads of laundry

...And that's probably not everything.

I'm about to head home from Florida. It'll be good to get back and see everyone before it's time to return to school. Looks like I have some stuff to stock up on before school starts.

By the way, let's take a moment to thank goodness that Blogger automatically saves posts every minute... Because my internet just shut down and I thought I was going to have to type this all over or just not post at all.... And then I found this post saved conveniently in my 'drafts'.... That was the most excited I've been all day.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Weddings, Skies, and Vacations

I have been vacationing for 10 days--at Rosson's lake in Alabama and then to Fripp Island-- and I just arrived in Florida to stay for about a week. Actually, to say I've been vacationing for only 10 days would be a lie because I have been vacationing all summer long. It's been an awesome summer. I probably should have gotten bored at some point but I really haven't experienced one moment of boredom.

Now the problem will be getting back to school and trying to get into the routine of actually doing something that requires thought.

I do have a to-do list to work on in Florida before I go to school. That's pretty impressive, right? Getting things done while on vacation. Here it is: 1. Go to Ikea to get a pillow insert. 2. Find pillows for the living room. 3. Don't get anymore sun or else I'll be a raisin by the time I'm 30.

Rough life, I know. SOO much to do and so little time. I have to go back to school August 9th, exactly 2 weeks from now.

But for now I will enjoy Florida and day dream about Fripp Island for the next month or so. I'm going to miss Fripp. We're already talking about what we're going to do next year. We're going to have the first annual Willingham Scavenger Hunt with all 70 family members. Corny, I know. We'll probably only have like 30 people participate because the rest of the family will think it's stupid. But, this is going to be one rockin' scavenger hunt at any rate.

Anyways, the family-- my rather large, yet very close, family-- was talking a lot at Fripp and pointed out that we have recently started a trend. My oldest cousin got married last summer. The next oldest got married this summer, and it looks like the 3rd oldest will be next year. And guess who's the 4th oldest? Yes, that's me. So it looks like my wedding is scheduled for 2011. Problem is-- no boyfriend at all. I guess I still got a good 2 and a half years. But still, the pressure's on!

Please let me know if you know any males interested in getting married in 2011.

That would be ever so helpful. It wouldn't be a big deal, but I would hate to be the one to break tradition because I'm a rather traditional person.

Side note: I have recently decided, while on vacations, that skies are my favorite thing to look at. I like them cloudy, stormy, sunny, blue, black, pink, starry, or sunsetty. I'm not sure that other people think skies are as amazing as I do. I went to the sunset every night this week at the beach and as I am driving, I can't finish writing this post because I can't stop looking at the sky. Even if the sky is solid blue, I think that's gorgeous. Or the fluffy clouds, those are awesome too.


This was at the Florida house on the lake.


And this one, well it is somewhere on I-95 in Florida between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach. I just sat my computer on the dashboard and took it with my computer camera a few minutes ago. I know the quality isn't great, but you get the picture, right? This is like real-time Mel's life.

To wrap it up, please don't forget about the wedding in 2011. Let me know if you have any ideas. And also next time you look at the sky, please take a picture for me. I'll love it no matter what it looks like.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Reading the Bible is like Eating Fish

It's wedding time this week around here. My cousin who also lives next door is tying the knot this weekend. Starting yesterday, the parties began. There was a bridal shower yesterday where all of my grandmother's and great-grandmother's friends came and shared memories about them for the bride-elect.

We had a great time, and the 90 year old women were adorable. Everything they said was so meaningful, as they told things they remembered about my grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother, who were all very Godly women. I thought I'd share a few of the things they said with you because it was just too good to keep to myself.
1. Listening and being interested can be the best way to love someone. Nanny used to listen to tons of people, and not only would she listen, she'd ask you about it the next time she saw you.

2. Go with the flow. Life is much easier to just go along and adapt.

3. Don't worry about it. It's okay if you walk outside for church and the dog jumps on you and your new white pants. Don't let things, big or small, upset you. In the big picture of life and eternity, you're not going to remember that pair of pants, or even that car you wrecked, but all that will matter is if you were loving while you were experiencing these circumstances.

4. Share your wisdom. Give people honest and truthful advice. And don't forget to also encourage them.

5. Reading the bible is like eating fish. When you find a bone in your fish, you just take it out and put it to the side. In the same way, when you are reading the Bible and don't understand something, don't get upset about it, but instead, put it to the side and keep reading. This was my favorite one. I thought it was very interesting because I would've thought she'd said the opposite, to dwell on it until you understood it. But this is what my great-great-grandmother told these now 90 year old ladies and they still agree with it. They must have discovered in their 90 years, that they still just can't understand God.

It is so good to hear these wise old women speak. I think that I need to spend some more time with these older women because they are the ones who have true Godly wisdom, not the internet or Self Magazine or the woman at the Gap, as much as I love the Gap.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Cardmaking and Babysitting (but not at the same time)

I have a new hobby. I go through different hobbies. Scrapbooking, blogging, and now it's card making. Not that I don't scrapbook or blog anymore, it's just that card making is my latest interest. 

The problem is that now I want to make cards all the time but then once I make them, I don't really want to send them because I spent so much time on them. I have always had a fascination with stationery, so now it's even worse. I have about 100 cards/stationery/notecards in my room, plus tons of card making supplies. 

I have decided that I am going to mail these cards, no matter how painful it is to send off my works of art, although they are probably only works of art to me. People receiving them may ask where these crappy cards came from, I don't know.

So anyways, y'all email me (melpie20 [at] gmail [dot] com) your address and you may be getting one of these in the mail soon.





I have been babysitting so much lately for these adorable 2 year olds. 


They keep me busy. Tonight I got bitten and have some lovely teeth marks and missing skin on my shoulder to prove it. I tried to teach them to play badmitton when I can't even hit the birdie on the racket. So I just threw it over to him.


We swung for a while way too high because it kept them entertained.



Then they got tired and broke down. 



So I rocked them on the swing for a while until they forgot why they were crying. 



I've got some cute little cousins. 

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Eventful and Exciting

So it's been a while since I've been on here. For having no plans and no job this summer, I've had a very busy last few weeks. I went to Auburn and Lake Martin a couple of weekends ago where I had so much fun with John, Rosson, Blake, Merd and the Maidens. I think I busted my eardrum jumping off a high cliff thing so that has been my ailment of the week. Then Gnat, Beal, Mims and Gav came in town and we really enjoyed catching up. We picked out material for curtains for our apartment which I am pumped about. Then, I stayed busy last week with Granddaddy sitting, painting, and chores.

A couple of days ago, I read a verse--

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." John 14:1

The verse really stuck with me for the next few days. I really considered what the verse meant in my life. There are plenty of times when I get so worked up and concerned that I literally feel sick to my stomach.

I went to White Water on Friday where I was scared of just about everything because most of the time I have the mentality that something bad is going to happen and it will most definitely involve me as the main character (kind of like the ear thing). But I remembered the verse that I had read the night before. I cannot think that bad things are always going to happen. Living with anxiety is simply not living. I have to trust that God's plan is perfect and that his commands are always best. To have fun with the Suddaths and my cousins at White Water, I had to stop worrying. 

We left the park late so we didn't get home till about 7 and we were having a party that night at my house at about 7:30. I still had to take a shower and cook. But I remembered on the 2 hour trip back- "Do not let your hearts be troubled." And hey, that was so much easier. It turned out fine because there was nothing worrying could do.

And yesterday, the Fourth. Well it was an eventful, exciting day. And honestly, eventful and exciting are not two of my favorite words. I just want normal for a while. But, God has other plans for my days. First off, I started making jello by boiling water on the stove top. Then I proceeded to go to the pool for a while then to my aunt's. Two hours later I remembered the boiling water on the stove and I ordered Mary to sprint down to my house as I pictured my kitchen in flames and the firefighters not being able to put out the fire. I borrowed my aunt's car and drove down here praying to get home to a house that was not on fire. I was so relieved to find my house with only a black pot on the stovetop.

I thanked God for sparing me the huge burden of having burned my house down (and also losing all of my favorite clothes).

The family Fourth of July picnic was in the evening. We were all eating and having a good time. There were about 150 people at my aunt's house next door from around the neighborhood. I was standing in the yard when a man came running up and said, "Big Bill just collapsed." That's my dad. 

I was standing next to Garren and he ran down the hill to find Dad but I just stood still and started to cry, not knowing what else to do. My mom came sprinting across the field with her shoes in her hands and then the doctors, first responders and policemen who were at the party ran down there. They wouldn't let us go down there, so pretty much I was just freaking out because I'm not calm in emergency situations. 

My cousins and I got in a circle and prayed. An ambulance came but Dad had woken up and refused to get in it. I was worried sick. Literally.

And then I remembered the verse. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in me."

Troubled. That means disturbed, upset, worried. That was exactly what I was. I could barely carry on a conversation because I was so consumed with the circumstances, but really, God is so much more powerful than I. He could allow my dad to be fine or to be hurt. And God is all knowing. He knows what I can handle and He knows what will make me stronger. He wouldn't allow anything to happen that is not good for my character.

God loves my dad so much and he loves me and my family so much. He's not going to let anything happen that is not the best thing. I just have to trust Him. 

Trusting in Him means obeying his commands. He commands me not to let my heart be troubled. So that is what I will do. This command, for me, is one of the most liberating ones in the bible. I shouldn't be upset, uneasy, or distressed because Someone has it all under control and that's not me. 

And that is probably the best thing I have heard in a really long time.

My dad stayed at home last night after the  incident and he ended up being fine. I was no longer troubled and went right to sleep, forgetting that my windows and sunroof were down. I woke up this morning to some much needed rain for the garden and grass and some soaking wet leather seats in my car. But hey, it's just a car. I won't be troubled over that.