recent lovable tweets

the first two tweets are about clemson
the day after national signing day i saw this tweet from a clemson friend...and died laughing! The kid that picked Auburn over Clemson because of Chickfila sounds about smart enough for Auburn. #itsintheUnion#realsmart
and another clemson tweet...I can't tell girls apart anymore. Random t-shirt + black leggings + some kind of brown boots. Everyone looks the same #Clemson

accounting humor...if there is such a thing
Chuck Norris Vs. Accounting http://bit.ly/zhkkPM #AccountantsLike (@likeaccountants)


and now we're moving onto tweets about church
"Wait. Do I really have to raise my hands if the song says 'I lift my hands'?? Sometimes I feel like a hypocrite." #ChicksinChurch (by @chicksinchurch)
Jeans on Sunday morning? NO HE DIDN'T. (@ cofc_problems) [i know (deep down) that there is nothing wrong with jeans and church. i know i'll never be able to do it but that's just me...cause i'm a little crazy (i mean i don't even wear pants to church...just skirts & dresses) but i totally died when i saw this tweet.]


just funny...
How do all these effing celebrities wear scarves while out with kids?! I'm trying to do it and I just keep strangling myself. #damnfashion (@jennfischer) - i wore a scarf one day and i think Riggs' tried to choke me no less than 5 different times...


and my favorite recent tweet by far....
I want to have twins one day. A boy and a girl so I can match his bow tie and her hair bow. #TSM (@totalsratmove)

{pictures}

H54F

linking up with lauren for high 5 for friday


1. i got part of the twin's birthday present in the mail this week and i love it. i really like picking out and giving gifts so even if they really don't get it, i'm excited! and i know it's not a competition but if it was, i would definitely win for best gift (aside from cool chairs that they are getting) i'll be sure to post pictures of their gifts after their birthday.


2. the weather has been so nice recently and i've realized that i only have a few summer tops here and really no shorts/skirts. i took the twins to Clemson twice in the past 2 weeks and it was so nice to walk around, especially since one trip coincided with spring break so it wasn't busy at all, which can be important when your pushing a double stroller.


3. my obsessed with viggle is still going strong. wednesday night i went to old navy and bought a gift card while in the store to use on some tops i decided to get. craziness, i know!


4. on tuesday nights, i've started going to a beth moore bible study on the book of James. right now we're on week two but so far i've really enjoyed it. some days are more involved then others but all of them are good. i've been getting up in the mornings to do the study for the day and that's been really good too.


5. wednesday afternoon when Jackson woke up from his nap, i decided to pull out my nice camera. i haven't used it in quite a while but i'm really glad i got it out. for a while, i was taking pictures of the twins all the time using that camera but since my iphone, i haven't really used it. but it was nice to take it out again, plus i can save some serious memory space on my phone if i take less pictures of the twins.

quality time with Jackson

dating vs. courting

i was watching 19 kids and counting a few weeks ago and heard an interesting statement. i don't remember it word for word but basically one of the older duggar girls was talking about the difference between dating and courting. as i remember, the big difference (to the duggar's) is that with dating the focus is on intimacy while with courting the focus is on deciding whether they would be suitable to marry...or something to that effect. basically i just remember sitting on the couch thinking that if the only differences were the ones just described then i think i'd rather be courted. which sounds so 19th century and completely out of the question in current society. and it's not like i'd want all physical conduct off the table, just certain things. and i don't really think i'd want that to be the main point of my relationship with the boy anyways. 
i've talked here before about how i don't think i'll ever be the girl who dates just to date. i mean i'm 23 and have had no desire for that so i seriously doubt i'll change how i feel. i mean it's not like i want to talk about marriage on the first date (cause i'm pretty sure that would just scare the boy away) but if after a while (and i'm talking like 3-4 dates) one (or both) of us thinks that there isn't any longterm potential then why would we continue? i'm not saying that i'd never talk to him again but why keep dating? i think i'm pretty sure i know what i want (or at least the general things i want) and i'm even more sure that i know what i don't want. and continuing a relationship with the hopes to change things about someone is a bad idea (or so i've heard)...
so if courting is really just dating without [a lot] of the intimacy that typically is associated with dating in today's society and with the intent to marry,  then bring on the courtship i say! i have another blog post planned where i talk about the whole physical aspect of dating (and how it kind of terrifies me/freaks me out) so if being courted means less touching and more talk of ring shopping then sign me up...seriously.

wordless wednesday (in video form)

{video is almost a month and a half old...they are even crazier now}

questions from looking in a dressing room mirror...

so a weekend or two ago while i was shopping and in the dressing room with the awesome mirror that shows 80 million of you i had this sudden thought, one that i've had before on occasion when i think i'm having an awesome hair day or i love my outfit. i thought that hey, i'm kind of cute and i don't have anything that screams to a guy that he should run in the opposite direction...so then i started to think about why i'm single...and what was wrong with me. because obviously something has to be. and i promise this isn't going to be some super sad post. i can honestly promise that 97% of the time i am not thinking about the whole single thing at all. but every once in a while it just hits me...and it hits me in the most random of ways. and then, then it kind of hurts. 


don't worry, i didn't go back to my dressing room and break down crying. instead, i just smiled. i mean i'm only 23. i'm going to be completely fine [scratch that, i AM completely fine]. i'm happy and content with my life, why worry about something that i can't control. 


but these same questions play a {big} role in why i'm kind of scared to actually meet & date someone. if it doesn't work out and he is the one to end things, i know i'll go right back to these same questions. and confession time, i may have considered online dating. i mean where am i going to meet someone who has any (or more importantly most/all) of the qualities that i'm looking for. i'm definitely not trying to limit God and his ability to bring me and the boy together...but i'm also a realist who knows that he isn't just going to appear at the door one day. i mean that would be so awesome but it's not happening (well never say never but seriously people). also, i'm kind of scared to put myself out there like that. what if no one is interested. online dating has always been this back-up idea that has been in the back of my head. if i actually try it and don't succeed then what am i going to do?


but seriously i'm really okay. i just wanted to put this out there...but if you have suggestions on what i should do..totally willing to listen :)

recently

a new bible

i think a bit of a back story is necessary for this post..or maybe the back story is the only story...anyways here it is. i've blogged before about how i have this journal that i write in occassionaly and hopefully i'll find the courage to one day give this to the boy. but i'm not super diligent in writing consistently and that makes me a little sad. but i tend to blame it on the fact that i don't have time..which is obviously not true. and even if time was the real issue, it should be a priority for me. on kelly's blog a few days ago she wrote about a couple's testimony that was told at a women's retreat she attended. the couple had a bible for their daughter that they highlighted and wrote messages in and then gave her this bible when she graduated from high school. i immediately knew i wanted to do this. i can't imagine a more special gift. i've already made myself promise that i'll keep journals for each of my children and one day give the journals to them. [and deep down i know that i'll also give the boy his...one day] this past sunday during class at church, we were talking about family. and i may be 2 (or 10) life stages behind pretty much everyone in class but i still enjoy the topic. it makes me excited for the future. we ended class by watching the final scene in the movie courageous. [which if the movie is anything like the final scene i'm pretty sure i couldn't take it...i would just sob the entire time] that speech is great. i really can't put into words how much i want to marry a man who is striving to be the type of husband/father that is depicted. then, during the closing prayer i had an epiphany of sorts. i thought of kelly's post about reading the bible and i thought about how my own bible reading/study isn't what it should be. so i decided to go and buy a bible (and another journal). a bible that i'm going to read from and write in and maybe one day i'll get to give it to the boy. and the journal will be there for when my thoughts are too much to write in the bible. i was so convicted that this was a terrific idea. and then when i was at the christian bookstore that afternoon i suddenly was a little freaked out. like what kind of guy is going to want all of this crazy stuff from me. but then i calmly pushed those thoughts aside. because i know the type of guy that will want this...it's the kind of guy i'm going to marry. it's the kind of guy whose is going to be the type of husband/father that is described at the end of courageous. and so what if i thought i would have found him years ago. i haven't. and maybe it's because i haven't been ready. maybe i'm still not ready. but maybe this will help me get there. and no, i don't think that now that i'm doing this, the boy is going to appear in a week. but this can only help me become the type of woman that that type of man i want to marry deserves. because sometimes i think i'm so focused on the type of person he is, that i forget what type of girl he deserves. and it's someone who is constantly striving to be the kind of woman God desires. and if the boy doesn't come, then it's not like i've been wasting my time & it certainly won't hurt me at all :)

my college experience [church-wise]

so i vaguely mentioned in a previous post that my church experience during college was one of my biggest regrets so far. and i'm sure you read that part and thought "seriously, now i know she's crazy" and well maybe i am. but i don't really have any regrets from college...except church. so maybe i should count myself lucky in that respect. but i do kind of feel cheated. not to beat a dead horse but i think i that i just had really unrealistic expectations of the kinds of relationships you build through church. i mean i went to church...and i went all the freaking time but things just never really clicked for me.
so fall of my freshman year i started attending a college church. i was so excited. i mean this church was so different than the one i had grown up in and i loved that. i loved that it was my choice to go and that there were so many different types of people there. but there was no one else my age (well no other freshmen) and i think that should have been my first sign. i've always gotten along well with older people but everyone already had their group of friends...and i never really found mine. at least not the first year. however by the end of my sophomore year i was beginning to (finally) create some friendships.
my junior year was much better but it was pretty much just a social year. which was fine. looking back on that year, it was fun but there was no real spiritual growth or connection. we always had a girls group but it was pretty shallow when i think about it now. but i don't know if i would have wanted something deep. i mean talking about the important stuff isn't easy. and it really takes a special leader and group for a great girls group to happen. and i don't think i ever experienced that while at college. i mean i never really talked about fears or the what-ifs in life, i mean we never got real with each other. we did such generic topics and i so wish we had done something that could have provoked the deep stuff. there was a little bit of drama with the girls group (which didn't help anything) but ultimately i think that we could never get the right topic with the right people to happen. so the deep & real relationships didn't happen. and i really regret not looking outside of the church i was attending to find a bible study that more fit my desires. (i think this is also a slight fear i have right now...i would just really like to attend a ladies bible study that wasn't for women of all ages...cause i don't really think that the 65 year old lady who has been married for 40 years can relate to me as well as someone who is 25...but anyways)
by my senior year i was freaked out that i hadn't met the boy and that i had no idea what i was going to do with my life (and 2+ years later i'm still in the same boat...ironic maybe?) so i was kinda stressed. and i was "working" at the church very, very part-time. i think around this point i just wanted a reason to no longer go. i was so just going for the social aspect and because going to church is what you do. this year was when i started struggling the most with the whole "where do i belong" thing. i was so, so stressed about what to do with my life. senior year is really a blur when i think about church. for the first time i really, really needed & missed my close girl-friends. i think it really hit me when i was at a college retreat and even though i had been before, i was totally expecting it to be like the retreats from high school. and it just wasn't. AT ALL. mainly because when i needed to talk to someone about how scared i was of failing, of letting people down & of being alone (you know, basic life thoughts) i didn't feel like i had anyone. i mean i wanted someone who was going through it too. (and maybe i just expected too much?!) so i ended up crying in a bathroom at gulfcoast. not one of my proudest moments but it was real. and then a few weeks later i got into grad school and things kind of calmed down. at least i would have another year to figure things out (and i'll let you know when i actually do that). {i honestly just knew that i was going to meet the boy in grad school...after all that had to be why i got in...again i might be crazy}
so i graduated undergrad and started grad school.  i decided to go to another church near campus. it was a complete 180 from the church i grew up in. and for about 3 weeks that was super cool. then it wasn't. but i still went, because that's what you do. there were no other college students really there but there were some young married couples that i already knew. i'm not going to lie, a reason i was so willing to try something different was that i was hoping i could develop some friendships with these people. however that didn't pan out, partly because while they may have been young married couples only a few years older than me, they acted about 12. and i think that they kind of looked down on me because i was still in college (grad school people) and i was younger than they were & not married. and for whatever reason it was kind of a crappy year church wise. (and i totally know my attitude played a role in this) i was uncomfortable while in church, scared that i was going to do something that would be frowned upon (like clap) and most of the time i ended up at lunch alone because the couples all went together and i obviously wasn't cool enough to be invited. and okay so that sounds bitter but i promise i'm not. they really are not the type of people i want to be friends with but it still hurt that they didn't want to include me. i mean i am only human after all. 
and looking back on this time (and maybe i'm just being a little dramatic) but i think that this somewhat explains how i feel now. like i really don't want to be this huge burden on your life or anything but i think i'm a pretty cool and fun person (yeah obviously lame if i say that about myself, i know) but you know, maybe it's just too much for you to include me. and hey, this is why i need single friends...people who maybe sometimes feel the same way & that don't have a husband/wife/family to eat with.
so here we are, up to where i'm currently going to church. i like it. a lot. maybe because it's a lot like the church i grew up in and that makes me happy. maybe it's because i think i'm finally making my own friends...kind of. i do wish that there were some single people there but again i'm just hanging out with the married people & their kids. i don't really know where i'll end up getting a permanent job at so i haven't really let myself fully accept that this church could be the first church i attend as a "real" adult..or that could be a church in another state completely. i guess i'll just have to wait and see where i end up. but hopefully, wherever that is, it will be at a great church. because i now know how important a great church is. and i won't be making that mistake again.
**i've had this blog post written for almost a week and i've hesitated to post it. but i really feel like i should. i am definitely not trying to tell anyone that they should stop attending church if they don't like it because one day they will regret going. what i regret is that i was complacent and didn't look to see what else the world had to offer me. maybe i just took the easy road and that's what i regret. as i've said before, some of the very best relationships i have were built through church. and i want nothing more than for my children to love going to church as much as i have and for them to have those same relationships. i was careful to not mention where i was attending church because that's not the important part of the story. 

high five for friday!

again i'm linking up with lauren for high five for friday and here are my 5 things from this past week


(1) last saturday i went shopping and bought 5 tops/dresses...all with stripes. i think i might have a problem.


(2) speaking of shopping, i've found some really great things at Ross & Marshall HomeGoods recently. some of my striped shirts came from there as well as some shoes that are not typical Staci shoes but i kind of love them...and orange mini pie dishes...because obviously i needed those. (and i really did) i also found some cute pillows and realized that when i have an apartment to decorate i should really return to HomeGoods.


(3) i took regulation (for the THIRD time...third time is totally the charm right?) on wednesday. hopefully i'll be done with the CPA exam and all i'll need to do is find a job...easier said then done. but the test was not without a little drama beforehand. my car battery died tuesday night. silver lining is that i discovered this tuesday night not wednesday morning. but anyway everything got worked out and i took the CPA exam (seriously hopefully for the last time!)


(4) i am really enjoying the voice right now and it's all thanks to viggle. it's not a show i would have normally watched but i'm glad that viggle encourages me to check-in because it's pretty great!


(5)  yesterday the twins and i went to a play date at church. only one other person showed up but it was still a good morning. evidently some sickness is going around so thankfully those people just stayed home. after playing, we met some other friends for lunch at Panera. it was super nice outside so we ate on the patio near a fountain, which hypotized Riggs for quite a while. after a long lunch, we wondered into a cute store nearby and then headed home..after a stop at sonic naturally. the twins do so well whenever we go out (they are great at the house too but they really like getting out occasionally). i'm looking forward to more play-dates and maybe even a trip to the park or the zoo. we love our crazy adventures (which really are not crazy at all...) oh and i got a gold-star for the day...i was uncharacteristically nice for Staci...which you'll only really get if you know me...but it was proof that i really can be a nice person!


happy weekend y'all! oh and go tigers! baseball season is here and clemson has a series with our big rival this weekend!