Day Twenty-Five: iTunes on Shuffle, 1st Ten Songs

I'm home sick from work today (yuck). I really don't like missing work now... makes me feel even worse that I'm not there. We had a full weekend, and I guess my body just got worn out - woke up this morning with a horrible headache, nausea, and a fever. 

After a full Friday night eating, watching movies, and drinking coffee with Ryan's parents... Ryan and I made the trip back to Little Rock this weekend to retrieve Mammaw from her week with Aunt Helen. We got to spend the day with her and then met up with the rest of my family at my mom and dad's house. Lots of fun being with them. Sunday was also full: eating, visiting my parent's new house, and going to see The Grey. So good :)

February will be a busy, busy month for me. This weekend is my sweet niece's 2nd birthday, and I'm so excited to celebrate Bella :) I have lots of preparing to do for my next big adventure, which is in less than 2 weeks... my trip to Virginia for the interview to get into the Ph.D program. I'm flying out there alone and staying 2 nights (eek!)... then the next weekend is MY BIRTHDAY! Lots of exciting things happening - I love February <3

Blogging Challenge for today: List of the First 10 Songs with my iTunes on Shuffle

Rusty Halo - The Script

--LOVE The Script... First heard them a little over a year ago, and I still love this album

Hold Me Close - Starkz

--been listening to Starkz since junior high/high school days. They played an acoustic show at my 18th birthday party at my house - coolest thing ever :)

Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas

--typical... mainstream... guilty pleasure

 I'm On a Boat - Lonely Island

--little embarrassed that this one made the list. I listened to this when I went to South Carolina and first started talking to Ryan <3

 Consumer - August Burns Red

--reminds me from my days of black hair and piercings... still love a good breakdown

 Airplane - Imogen Heap

--mmmmmm... Imogen Heap.

 Hey - Leeland

--listen to this song to make any day a happy one.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Brian McKnight

--always have/always will love Brian McKnight... seen him in concert twice - SO amazing

Hog Call - University of Arkansas Marching Band

--SO proud that this came on shuffle. LOVE my Razorback album... it's my alarm in the morning :)

  

Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting - Elton John

--Good ol' Elton. Love classic music

so there's the scoop on life lately and my random songs. Hoping to feel better and get back to work... and start preparing for this upcoming month. I'd rather be busy than bored.

im thankful.

carrie anne

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Day Twenty-Four: Something You've Learned

So I watched Extremely Close & Incredibly Loud with my mom tonight. Needless to say, I was in a puddle throughout the whole film, and I took a long nice drive on the way home to get out an ugly cry before I got home. It was beautiful, painful, and so so meaningful. It spoke many things to me... themes of grief and loss, hurt, meaning, purpose... It fits perfectly for this blog topic today. 

What is something I've learned?

One of my biggest lessons is that we are hurt & healed in relationships. This movie definitely spoke to that. I can definitely relate to it as well. Just when I want to put up walls and 'leave the world behind,' I know that what will help me the most is my relationship with Christ and His community. Isn't it funny how things work?

A few quotes from the film are:

"Feeling pain is better than feeling nothing, isn't it?"

&

"You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness."

The greater my capacity for joy... the greater my capacity for sorrow. I've learned that I have to let each side growth to fully experience life and share in its beauty. If I protect myself from pain, I lose so many opportunities for immense joy. Joy I want to share with my husband, my family... my kids somebody... and maybe even my grandkids. 

My worries about getting older have mainly been about wrinkles and sagging boobs and bellies... but hardly about "missing it."

 You know... "it." 

Just LIVING LIFE... "It" is experiencing all the wonderful, heartbreaking, up and down, disappointing, amazing, joyful, broken, funny, ironic, and beautiful things life offers... who wants to miss that? 

Sometimes I worry about that now -- that I'm not taking enough chances, that I'm not relying on faith and using sight so to speak, that I'm not trusting in God for my future... 

I want to be an old woman who closes her wrinkled eyes, puts her hands on her sagging belly and lets tears stream down her face because of all the wonderful memories and experiences she had from life. That is something I have learned: joys and losses and everything in between bring such meaning to our lives.

As a matter of fact, I'd like to be a 24 year old who closes her semi-wrinkled eyes and puts her hands on her semi-sagging belly and lets tears stream down my face because of all the wonderful memories and experiences I had from life. 

I can. Oh, I can.

I've learned that my deep pain and loss have directly increased my capacity for great joy. The hurt I have felt in my life has allowed me to feel such amazing and beautiful things. Each creates meaning. Both mean so much to me. I never thought I'd be a 24 year old thanking God for the "bad times" in my life... I've learned that they can be the most telling and meaningful. They make good times sweeter and relationships more meaningful. 

Some lessons people seem to take longer to learn. I know I'm never finished learning... but I count it as great joy that I learned this lesson (and am still learning it) at my age: Thank God for the pain and the joy in life. He is sovereign. When it doesn't make sense to you, it makes perfect sense to Him. He has written each of our stories uniquely and perfectly for us... and ultimately for His glory -- and, as always, God writes the best stories.

im thankful.

carrie anne

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Day Twenty-Three: Favorite Vacation

Favorite vacation... hmm -- this is a tough one. I've taken some really awesome vacations with my family, and we always have some amazing stories afterwards. You can say that we're kind of like the Griswolds... crazy times, but absolutely hilarious. My favorite vacation was probably our trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina when I was in elementary school. It was my first time to see the ocean and our first BIG family vacation. 

There are so many jokes from that trip -- our hotel was supposed to be "right on the beach... you could throw a softball and hit the water." I just remember checking in, going up to our room and being across the street from the ocean with other hotels blocking the view. My dad's response was "What the hell kind of softball player does that lady think I am?!" Also, the toilets flushed faster than anything I had ever heard or seen before... and since the resort was brand new - literally brand new - we heard construction and workers bright and early every morning. Casey also spoke his famous line, "Follow that limo" that ended with us getting very lost. I also lost my disposable camera our last day there and cried... until my parents found it in the van under the seat. 

The bad part is that I have no pictures on my computer from that trip. I have plenty that are printed, but I have no clue where they are and no way to get them in this blog soon enough. 

SO -- instead, I decided that I could post pictures from my 2nd favorite vacation... our trip to New York City when I was in 11th grade. 

Our family had lived in the City for the first part of my life for my sister's bone marrow transplant -- so I felt like I was experiencing a "homecoming" of sorts when I got to visit there again at 17 (btw - Ryan has promised me that we will go to NYC for one of our upcoming anniversaries since it will be decked our for Christmas... I'm already excited). 

We got to do SO many things while we were there. 

Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Empire State Building, Chinatown, 5th Avenue, Battery Park/Soho, Julliard/Lincoln Center, Ground Zero, Central Park, Metropolitan Opera, Lion King & Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Trump Tower, Times Square, NBC Studios/SNL/Conan set, American Museum of Natural History, Rockefeller Center, Bronx, Harlem... TONS of places and things! 

Once again, I wish I had more pictures... I just had a disposable camera and our video camera back then. But here are just a few that I could find. 

Me and the Statue of Liberty.  

"You're fired." 

in Trump Tower - we are so happy.... 

Times Square with brother 

i'm the statue... obviously 

 i had a thing for Usher... 

Memories from this trip: running late while eating cheesecake in Little Italy with Casey - running to catch a bus with leftover cheesecake, out of breath, out of shape, hilarious. Calling the Hogs in NBC Studios for the tour guide. Meeting French people on top of the Empire State Building and getting to talk with them (since I was taking French at the time)... and my dad constantly talking very loud and slow in English so they could "understand him better." Taking video in Times Square and almost getting run over in traffic. Buying knockoff designer purses out of a trashbag in Battery Park. Acting like the Statue of Adam in the museum while Casey took a picture - think we got in trouble for that one. Plane rides before sunrise and getting to watch the it come up on the plane :)




i love that i have all these memories with people i love SO much. Blessed to be able to see beautiful and unique places of the world at a young age because of my parents' willingness to budget and provide for us! Means so much now. 

im thankful.

carrie anne

P.S. Here's a funny little graphic I found - this is my kind of humor. 

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Day Twenty-Two: Favorite City

I'm on a roll this week! Blogging up a storm :)

This topic is such a tough one because I've been to a few different places, and it's hard for me to decide which is my favorite. I have a long-lasting love for New York City... I spent my first few weeks of life there, and it just is a special place I really like. Then, there's Vancouver. My honeymoon location and a really unique, amazing place. 

Finally... I have Atlanta. My home away from home for a long while. This is probably my favorite city. Not because of the geographical location... but because I think this is where I "grew up" in a lot of ways. First time to move out of my parents' house... first time away from home (far away from home) for longer than just a week vacation... meeting new people, going to new places, experiencing brand new things, experiencing God in whole new ways... I really started to become an adult by moving there, and I have some really awesome memories from the time I spent there.

I got my nose pierced -- that was fun. I went to the beach, Stone Mountain, the BIG city downtown... experienced REAL traffic for the first time in my life... was forced to budget, pay rent, bills, etc... Met some AMAZING people whom my soul will cherish for the rest of my life. The people I connected with were some of the best, most genuine, and heartfelt friends I've ever had. They loved me so much, and it was so great to get to experience such genuine friendship in that season of my life. 

Atlanta was also a place for me to heal. I was out of high school, going into my 2nd year of college... still a kid in so many ways but not enough of an adult to be called one. I had been really hurt in relationships and by "people" in general, and I think the decision to move to Atlanta really helped heal my heart and show me just how beneficial friendships and even vulnerability can be. 

Of course -- Atlanta is a FUN place to be. I've lost count how many times I've been there before and after my long stay there. I love the downtown area - Ryan even had a banner made when he proposed with my favorite building in Atlanta on it. I wanted to be in Atlanta for his proposal so bad... so he brought Atlanta to us. It meant the world to me. 

The city has an Ikea, festivals ALL the time, gorgeous parks, amazing and different food, nightlife, events, etc etc etc... It was so awesome to get to live the "big city" life for a season of my life ((my heart will always and forever be for Arkansas, though)).

multicultural festival -- "coya coya coya coya!!!!" 

moving into the apartment with furniture from Ikea... I'm packed in the backseat w/ it all! 

My 1st MLB game... Braves vs. Cardinals - of course I was cheering for the Cards :) 

4th of July with the girls 

downtown atl at the Coke factory... 

my last night in ATL that summer - celebrated at the Pie Bar :) 

Good ol Timber Trace -- AKA: the place where the pizza man wouldn't deliver :) 

I love my Jelly! 

love those girls! 

corey!! 

emtily :) love you! 

marnizzle -- love you, girl. 

Jon Sloan!!! You always made me laugh -- think of you & your dad every summer now...

Sweet Meliss... I love you so! DO WORK 

My little mermaid... you're the best. 

Do you remember seeing Mutemath? That's where we were! 

There's my favorite building... view from the revolving hotel :) 

Alex & Dave - 2 of the best men I know! 

VORTEX -- best burger I've ever had in my life. 

Miss Jeanne Mayo <3 

love you Jelly. 

MISSY! I love you so much! 

There's my Samoan friend -- think your brothers will get mad that I forgot to add a picture of them!?  

Our engagement. There's my favorite building right there <3 

So there's my favorite city - a busy, crazy, amazing, fun, and unique place... with so many wonderful memories for me. 

im thankful.

carrie anne

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Day Twenty-One: Picture of Yourself

Day 21: A Picture of Yourself :)

Here's one of my favorites... from my bridal shoot before our wedding. This is at Lake Fort Smith in October of 2010. It was absolutely beautiful out there, and I loved getting my pictures/video done there. This particular photo hangs in our house, and it reminds me of a totally different time in my life. I wasn't even a wife here, and that girl is so different from who I am now. I love it because I felt so pretty that day. It's good to feel pretty every once in a while :)

So in the spirit of our wedding, here are some links to see some fun videos of our special day(s)! Our entire pre-ceremony/ceremony/reception is uploaded online if you click the first link. It's pretty lengthy, but it means the WORLD to me to have it forever. The middle ceremony is my absolute favorite part. We took communion - my brother was singing - and we had a live painter paint Jesus turning water into wine. It was truly amazing.

The second link is to my bridal video. It's set up with music and shots from my bridal shoot - truly amazing footage and scenery :)

The last link is to our interviews -- we answered questions about us, our family, each other... and played it after we left the ceremony to transition into the reception. 

Enjoy!! I love that I have all these videos to cherish for years to come! 

Click here to watch our ENTIRE wedding ceremony!!

(password is Ryan)

Here's my Bridal Video.

Check out our Wedding Interview here :)

--We absolutely LOVED our photographers and videographers!!! Beaty Photography & Imagine Film Company, you're the best!!

im thankful.

carrie anne

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Day Twenty: Nicknames

Well, my trip to Virginia has been booked! I'm officially heading to Virginia Beach in less than a month. Seriously can't believe it, but that's just how it goes sometimes. I'm excited and pretty nervous, but I think as I prepare more, my nerves will turn into more excitement :)

Today's post is about my nicknames...

Well, my most popular nickname is probably Carrie Strawberry or just Strawberry. I've had that nickname for over 20 years, and lots of different people use it. Almost all my friends from Atlanta know me as Strawberry, and my family calls me Berry or Bear for short. It all started when a neighbor of ours (who had a THICK New York accent) saw me eating strawberries as a little girl and noticed I was eating a TON. He called me "Carrie Strawberry" in his accent, and it has stuck ever since then :) Now, a lot of people buy me presents or little things of strawberries or w/ strawberries on them... and even my license plate on my car is STRWBRY. 

 my tattoo//i gave him a tattoo with a sharpie pen that says "strawberry"

some of my ATL friends that call me Strawberry 

 In Central Park in NYC... Strawberry Fields - memorial to John Lennon

Saw this street sign on a cross country road trip with my mom -- this is in Tennessee 

 Strawberry Cake for me!

When I played softball, I played 3rd base (because everyone knows it's the absolute best position on the field)... and you get a ton of ground balls in that area of the field. I was coached to "charge the ball" and scoop it up and throw to the bag. I got pretty darn good at getting those ground balls, and my nickname in softball then became "Scoop." Now, you can tell by my illustrious softball career how successful I became haha... but for the time I played, I was decent, and softball was WAY better than my basketball career.

My nicknames from Ryan are almost too many to name... some of them embarrassing haha. When we first started dating, he called me Doc. He knew my field of study, and he thought that I could solve all the problems in the world -- so Doc seemed appropriate. As time went on, we had a major connection with Disney. I became Slots from The Brave Little Toaster (Ryan was Plugsie), and he also called me Buttercup because that's how I described how daffodils looked like. He often calls me his Beloved, but our go-to nicknames for each other are Babe or Boo. I rarely ever call him Ryan (unless I'm saying Ryan Keith), and I rarely ever hear him say my name! haha

 our "wedding tattoos" -- mine says "I am my beloved's," and his says the same in Hebrew.

<3

That's pretty much it for nicknames... short & sweet today. I'm sure this helps balance my extremely long post from the other day :) Hope you're doing well if you're reading this... I'm glad to know you even in the smallest way through this blogging world :)

im thankful.

carrie anne.

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