Friday!

1. The recent cooler weather has been awesome...however I'm sure that when the next home football game rolls around, it will be nice and hot out. The weather has allowed for the twins to play outside for a little while each afternoon (and sometimes morning too). I don't thing anything makes J&R as excited as when I open the back door. 

2. I am seriously obsessed with Grey's Anatomy. However, my favorite couple is no longer on the show but still I just can't stop watching it. I also recently got Netflix and that clearly isn't helping this obsession either. However, I was sad to find out that I can't watch ER there. I really loved that show. 
3. I've been on a bit of a cooking/baking spree recently. I'm definitely going to share about soon but for now, let's just say lunch one day was very well received :)

4. I think I might have a problem with buying pumpkin foods...this is all from my shopping trip last night. 

5. I had a super successful shopping day last Saturday. Major progress was made on shower gifts for my brother's & Nealee's upcoming showers. I also got a fun orange necklace, new iphone case and some fun Clemson trivia cups for tailgating.

Linked up with Lauren from my grey desk
Happy Friday!

Happy Friday: Singles Day Version!

Kelly, from Kelly's Korner, is having a Singles Link-Up today and I decided to join in. I participated the last time she did this and figured why not try it again. 

so, a little about me. My name is Staci and I'm 24 and currently living in the beautiful upstate of South Carolina. I went to Clemson where I got a bachelors in finance and a masters in accounting. I ended up in grad school simply because I couldn't imagine leaving Clemson after only 4 years and my advisor suggested the graduate program. I enjoyed my 5 years more than I ever thought I would and sometimes I just really want to go back. Thank goodness for football games!

{fall 2011}

{homecoming 2011}

I just passed all 4 sections of the CPA exam and I'm pretty excited/proud of that! Currently I am a nanny for the cutest 17 month old twins ever. I love being with Jackson & Riggs but I'm excited about finding an accounting job. I think the thing I'm most looking forward to is getting dressed up for work...and I'm sure that will wear off after about a week. 

{jonathan's graduation, May 2012 with our parents}

I have one younger brother, Jonathan, who graduated from Clemson in May. He is engaged and getting married in January of next year. My dad retired at the beginning of this year so he and my mom have been traveling a lot and enjoying the retired life. 

{master's graduation, August 2011}

Earlier this year, I joined the special events committee at the church I attend. We plan all the events for the children's ministry. VBS was our big production of the year and I think that had to be one of the most stressful things I have ever done. We are moving on to simpler things now, like trunk or treat for halloween. I also recently committed to start going once or twice a month to a children's home that our church works. A group goes occasionally to hang out with the teenaged girls there. I really want to start being more involved with this age of girls so I'm excited to see how God works in this situation...even if it is slightly out of my comfort zone. 

{Easter 2012}

I like to think I'm a pretty crafty/creative person. I enjoy sewing, even if it's been a while since I've had my machine out. I think pinterest is an amazing site and, as i told my brother, I was on pinterest before it was cool to be there. I'm really excited about fall weather because it means layers, tights and boots. I also love fall for the football games and tailgates. Glitter terrifies me but I just got a pair of glitter flats. I panic when I see black and brown together but for some reason I'm excited to wear my brown boots with my black leggings. So maybe all that means I'm expanding my comfort zone even more. I love happy hour at sonic, my teal bubble necklace and I have a slight (or major) addiction to buy clothes for Jackson & Riggs.

{spring 2010}

{may 2010 graduation}

{christmas eve 2011 at my grandparent's house: jonathan, me and my parents}

if you have any questions, let me know! I can't wait to see what happens with all of us linking up this time!

Friday, Friday!

Happy Friday Y'all!

{linking up with lauren from my grey desk for high five for friday}

so i've had a pretty awesome week and here are a few reasons why...

1. tuesday was my birthday and it was pretty much the greatest birthday ever...because CPA exam scores were released and i [finally] passed REG so now i'm done...well I just have to find a job. But i really hope that the hard part is over, because man that test is not fun at all!
2. it's college football season [and this deserves a post of it's own] but I'm so excited to be back in Clemson and surrounded by orange. even if it was so hot last Saturday i seriously thought i was going to die. but there is something about watching college gameday on Saturday morning that just makes me feel like everything is right with the world...
3. partly as a reward for passing the CPA and partly because it won't be a distraction from studying now, I'm going to get Netflix...or Hulu Plus. But i'm leaning towards Netflix currently
4. i've mentioned that i have been wanting to get more involved with the youth girls at church. well while i'm working on a plan to successfully make that happen, i was asked if i would be interested in visiting with the youth girls at a children's home that the church works with once or twice a month. this is definitely one of those things that i would have never considered before but i'm leaning towards giving it a try. it's so hard for me to believe that i've transitioned out of the youth group to a young woman of the church. seriously, when did this happen...i know it's been over 6 years since i've been in a youth group, but still...
5. the twins are at a pretty great age. we went to the zoo a few weeks ago and i want to go on more adventures like that. i feel like both of them are understanding more and more and i swear Riggs' and i actually carried on a conversation earlier today.

an answered prayer

In all of my 23 (almost 24) years, I feel like there have been VERY FEW things that I can honestly say I know have been an answered prayer of mine, if any. But within in the past 3 months or so, it became crystal clear that God had done exactly that. No, I don't have a secret boyfriend or an amazing job but I kind of think this is just as good. 
Remember this blog post here where I talked about surviving church as a single. Well, I'm still single but I do have a new, really good single girlfriend. I really like having someone else who is in the exact same season of life that I am in. I love that we can make spur of the moment plans and I don't feel weird asking her if she wants to meet up for dinner because I know she doesn't have a husband or kids to consider. (i don't mean for that to sound bad if it did)
I just am so thankful for Anna. I am so happy she ended up in Greenville because I really needed her friendship. I've also become closer with some of the married ladies, without kids. Again, my parents were clearly right in telling me I needed more friends who more my age. Really, why are parents always right? 
And I know Anna being here is a God thing, but I feel like it's especially a God thing the way everything worked out for us to just dive head-first into this friendship. I would have never thought that asking about an open spot on the special events committee for the children's ministry all those months ago would lead to this. But through that committee, i helped plan VBS. Anna started working about 2 weeks or so before VBS happened so we all were completely overwhelmed together. and without all those longs nights hanging green paper at the church, who knows where we would be now?!?
I am so thankful to have someone that I can talk too about when I'm feeling alone, someone who is just there without me having to feel like a burden or a 9th wheel. 
So yes, I may have no idea what God's plan is for my life and if I'm even anywhere near his path for me, but I am so happy to be in Greenville and have the opportunity to grow these relationships. And I know for certain, that where ever I may end up, I am going to definitely need some great girlfriends. 

it was a plaid & teal kind of day...

 {seriously is he 5 or what?!?}

 

 {oh this isn't how you get in your car, well it's the only way R does}

{8-30-12}

2 posts...

within the past 24 hours, both of these blog posts have been brought to my attention. 

the first one i just love the title : it's like blogging, but with boys

i have to admit, i have considered online dating and this post makes me think maybe i need to seriously consider it. i mean, i don't really have a lot of outlets where i am likely to meet someone. and even when i was in college, i clearly wasn't successful in finding anyone. i especially liked the line about how ashley and tyler share a lot of the same morals and beliefs and how that makes things easier. i think that right there is one reason that online dating might work better for me. i'm not opposed to going out to a bar and meeting someone. i just feel like i'm really not going to meet the boy that way. so yup, i'm considering online dating. 

the second article has to be on the best things i've ever read. when i read these 2 paragraphs (and especially the last sentence which sums me up pretty accurately), I knew this article was for me. "There are a lot of girls out there who don’t know who God is anymore – the God of their youth group years just isn’t working out. Back then, that God said to wait for sex until they are married, until He brings the right man along for a husband. They signed a card and put it on the altar and pledged to wait." & "Some of them have prayed their whole lives for a husband, and he hasn’t shown up. They’ve heard the advice to “be the woman God made you to be, focus on that, and then the husband will come.” They’ve read “Lady in Waiting,” gotten super involved in church and honed their domestic skills."

I honestly feel as if i could copy every single sentence from this article, i love it that much!! I love that the author puts out there my greatest fear: that if God doesn't answer my prayer after i've held up my end of the bargain, why would he answer any others? 

i have always known that i'd like to be involved with the middle/high school girls at church in some way. i recently talked with someone else about leading a bible study with those girls. i can't wait for this to happen. i think i might end up getting more out of it then they do. but either way, i'm looking forward to the relationships that will be built through this. but if there is one thing i can encourage them with, it's what the article says about the poem on her bulletin board. i want them to fall in love with Jesus. that's it...not that one day when you are fully satisfied in God, he will bring your husband into your life. honestly there are so many things wrong with that thought process...but i've fallen into that train of thought so many times. and it never leads anywhere good. so, from now, i'm just going to focus on falling in love with Jesus. 

i am sure that i will be mentioning this article again and again...and i'll let you know if any progress is made on the dating front...online or not!

Friday Friday!!!

Happy Friday y'all!

Tomorrow is the first Clemson home football game and I'm super excited!!
In honor of the greatness that is Clemson football, here is an adorable video (or 2) of two of the cutest little Clemson fans I know :)

one day we wore yellow

{8-21-12}

sorry for the blurriness...i was trying to insure that no one cracked their head open while falling off the couch

Life (take 57?)

I feel really bad about neglecting this blog. I have a ton of pictures that I need to blog but I also have a list of blog ideas that I really want to get too. Hopefully all of that will be coming soon and I can get back into the swing of blogging. 

To try and get back into blogging, I have a rather random post today...after all they are my speciality :)
The sermon from this past Sunday was about God's plan. Any sermon on this topic is pretty much guaranteed to make me tear up so I tried really hard to avoid that. {little did i know that there was going to be a major announcement about a family leaving and i cried anyways}
There were three things that our preacher asked us to take with us concerning God's plan. They are that sometimes God's plan is different than mine, God will make his plan known and my job is to decide to follow his plan. 
Of course whenever the topic of God's plan comes up, my mind quickly goes to how evidently my plan is nothing like God's plan. But the hardest part for me about God's plan is trying to listen to God...or figure out if it's actually what God wants or if it's just life and I'm reading way too much into a particular situation. So naturally I spend a lot of time both during the sermon and the for a few days following, trying to figure out what I need to do with my life...and how I need to better listen for God in my life. I seriously can't explain how difficult this is for me. How much it makes me wonder if I'm kind of on the right path or if I'm not even in the ballpark. My biggest fear is that I am so far away from God's plan and I don't even know it. Or that God will make his plan known but I won't get the message. 

Oh life, complicated sometimes doesn't even begin to cover it.