grace eventually.

It's the last day of NaBloPoMo...for those of you who blogged everyday, CONGRATULATIONS!

Today was one of the most productive personal days I've had in quite some time. I did laundry, cleaned my room, took a nap:) I know I'm officially old when I'm excited about cleaning and organizing things. Back to work tomorrow...yippee!

It's 12:11am...even though my day is still going, it's officially tomorrow meaning I did not post on Thursday for our good friend, NaBloPoMo. Drats! In other news, tomorrow is my day off! I don't have to work at either of my jobs...hallelujah! Of course, I have plenty to do at home...I think my entire closet is strewn across my room!

Here's some pics from my trip to TX! April decorated her house for Christmas while I was there. It was fun to be a part since we've spent so many Christmases decorating together!
The Woodlands also has a large Christmas tree on Market Street. We thought it would be fun to take pictures in front of it...it's hard to do it justice though!

I got to have breakfast with my friend, Leslie, before heading back to Ruston in the rain!
In other news, I found a DEAD MOUSE today! I had picked up one of those dorm fridges to move it and the mouse was under it. It's a miracle I didn't drop the fridge on my toes! I was a little disturbed. Thank God for custodial staff!

A friend of a friend recently posted this on his blog....I thought I'd pass it along.

What do women my age do for fun these days? BUNCO!

The marrieds leave behind their husbands and kids.

The singles put their favorite tv shows on hold.

All for an addicting dice game called Bunco!

If you are lucky you might leave with a prize or even cash, but what you are always guaranteed to leave with is a night of fun-filled girl bonding!

I found out about this little one from my friend, April, while I was in The Woodlands over Thanksgiving. You should really check out the Sherrill family blog. Each day Kyle lives and breathes is a miracle, but he still has a long way to go. Although they have hard days, their story is a true testament of faith and hope.

I can't believe how cold it is here in the good ole' South. I actually pulled out a scarf tonight. Considering I have about 20, I just might get to wear them all if I only wear them once! I realized on Wednesday as I was driving to TX for Thanksgiving that I forgot to write a little blog about going out of town. I've officially failed at my nablopomo challenge since I haven't written in a good 4 or so days now, but I won't be discouraged. I'll press on til the end of the month and hold my head high as I cross the blogging finish line behind all the other uber-bloggers!

Thanksgiving was amazing. I'll post updates and photos as the week goes on, but for now I must have a nice long visit with my pillow!

Today I heard my God-daughter laugh for the very first time! It wasn't her first time to ever laugh but the first time I got to experience it. It was the greatest sound ever!

Last night a friend and I went to check out the Ruston Studio Arts Tour. Now growing up in Ruston, I never found it all that cultural, but I was impressed with this. Different venues ranging from eating establishments to boutiques stayed open so that local artists could show their stuff. My friend, Hannah, showed her photography at All that Jazz and sold at least one piece last night! Yay! I have pictures...only they're on my friend's camera so I'll have to post them later. Tonight I'm going to my first Tech football games and years. Apparently I'm all about town spirit this weekend!

One of the things I love about the internet is that it's always changing...improving. This year I've been very excited that I can catch my favorite tv shows that I may have forgotten to record on the internet the next day. So when I remembered that Grey's was on last night and I was in Monroe with friends, my panic quickly dissolved when it occurred to me that I could watch it this afternoon. Friday is my day off...perfect time to catch up on those very important tv shows. Only now....I can't get it to work!!! I tried around 10:30 and I just tried now. It says it's loading and then nothing...just a black screen. So now I'm reconsidering this whole watching tv on the internet deal. Maybe I've depended on it too much and should go back to recording those shows just in case the internet fails me as it has today.

I know some would say that 30 is too young to start experiencing memory loss, but I swear it's happening. Case in point: today Julie, my wonderful intern who is no longer now that the quarter is over, and I were driving to the bank. I had carried a lot of stuff out to my car because when we got back we were going to be working on Sunday School stuff in the other building. I had my paycheck on top of my stack since we were going there first. We get to the bank and I reach for my check and it's gone. We start searching my car and purse frantically with no luck. I tell the teller that I've misplaced my check and will return shortly (hopefully). I pull around to one of the parking spots and get out, thinking maybe it had fallen in my seat. After a few more minutes of searching, I decide that it must still be on my desk (even though I was certain I had it with me). Just as we are getting ready to pull out of the parking lot, Julie points to my visor and says, "Wait! Didn't you put it up there?" Yep, it's true. Suddenly I'm flooded with the memory I had been searching for. When I got in, I slid it in my visor so that I wouldn't lose it! Who knew that I could lose it in 10 minutes time? We laughed a long time over that one. I told Julie that she can't leave me...how am I going to remember where I put things from now on?!

Yep, I bought it today. I know that it doesn't end well and it's not the best season ever but as I walked by it in the DVD section I could hear the girls drawing me in.."Give us another chance...your set is not complete until you have us all." Of course, I also don't have seasons 1-4, but one day...one day I'll be a Gilmore Girls complete season owner.

Today I began feeling very overwhelmed...and tired. I'm not even sure why. I guess that's not completely true. I have a lot going on and I have a hard time giving anything up, but the truth of the matter is that I need to slow down. I'm not sure what that's going to look like, so I press on til Friday when I'll finally have a day off again. At least next week I'll have Thursday, Friday and Saturday off. It couldn't come at a better time...I am thankful for Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday.

I was in the Ruston Daily Leader yesterday (Sunday) for the movie we're working on. You should definitely check it out. Unfortuanately it wasn't so newsworthy that they included in on their website. Sorry for those of you who don't live in Ruston.

I just got word that Shane Brue passed away yesterday. I knew him from my time working in the Doctor of Ministry Office at Asbury and is also the brother-in-law of my good friend, Juli Peak. Shane was diagnosed with colon cancer in July of 2006 and has been fighting hard ever since. He leaves behind is wife, Jill, and their 5 precious children. The last time I saw Shane and the family was at Juli's wedding which coincidentally was one year ago today. Please pray for the Brue family as well as the church he's been pastoring the last year and a half, First UMC in Big Spring, TX.

Please forgive me for not blogging yesterday. I simply forgot. I suppose it may be because I spent so much time on Friday making my space look so stylish and inviting to all who visit. I realize that part of being a member of NaBloPoMo is blogging everyday for the month of November. I have failed. Of course I didn't actually join until November 2nd making me a doomed daily blogger from the get-go. Please accept my apology. I will try to do better.

Sincerely,
Cece

I find it interesting that in matters of life, I'm not a fan of change, but when it comes to how things look (i.e.: my hair, my apartment, my blog) I love change. It keeps things interesting, I suppose. I've had many a conversation about how weird it is when you get out of school. My life has been based on change. I take new classes every semester and there's always a break to look forward to. That is not the case when you graduate and get into the working world. Last night I had dinner at the Convilles. I got to meet their 2 adopted college students and they were talking about finals and the upcoming break. They asked me if I missed school. Yes and no. I don't miss the late night studying and paper writing but I miss the ebb and flow that school offers. Most of all I miss the friends I made both in college and seminary. The Lord is continuing to remind me that he hasn't left me here in Ruston; he is providing through the comfort of old friendships like the Convilles. I am grateful.

Tonight I am grieving for the Best family. Their 23-year-old son, Bo, was killed in a car accident yesterday. The whole thing is so surreal. Yesterday afternoon we heard he had made it through surgery and we all thought he was out of the woods. He died last night around midnight. Death is an unwelcome change that can happen in an instant. Please pray for the Best family in the coming days.

I realize that it's become incredibly easy to receive spam and junk in our e-mail inboxes. I don't like it, but if it becomes too overwhelming, I've been known to start a new e-mail account. Today I was sitting at my desk when I heard my phone ringing. I recognized it as a text by the ringtone. Yes, I'm a text-messaging junkie, but that's for another blog. As I looked to see who it was from, I noticed it was a 5-digit number. Odd. I open it and it says, "Brandie@terrymurphy.com (c this) Hey, meet locale singles goto: (www.chairsplacedina.com)" First off, who the heck is Brandie? Second, how did you get my number? Third, how did you know I was single? Fourth, you should really learn how to spell. I really hope that I am not entering the the realm of spam texts. Changing my phone number is much more difficult than changing my e-mail address.

Tonight we decorated Starbucks for Christmas. It's the beginning of November. I often wonder what happened to Thanksgiving. It happens to be my favorite holiday and it practically gets overlooked. That's okay. When turkey day rolls around I'll continue my tradition of staying in my pjs as late as possible, watching the Macy's Day parade, and eating a lot! I can't wait!

Last week I started another (3rd) job of sorts as Director of Photography for a new film. We held auditions last Thursday and then picked the characters last night. This is all new to me but my friends I'm working with are old pros. Okay, maybe not pros, but they know what they're doing. I think there will be a full spread on the movie this Sunday in the Ruston Daily Leader. Be on the lookout, you local folks!

Can someone tell me why it is that the single people tend to get left out of things...such as being invited over for dinner? At least 3 couples have invited some friends of mine over for dinner since the husband has started working at the church. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them. I just don't understand why I get looked over. Is it because single people make couples uncomfortable? Do they think it would be awkward to have an odd number sitting at the table? Or is it simply because we lack the common connection of marriage and kids? I don't know why this has hit me so hard today, but I had a minor breakdown this afternoon. Even though I know it's not intentional, I feel left out and somewhat invalidated. I'm searching for community but I'm not sure where I fit. Most of my single friends are in college and the friends I have that are closer to my age are married, many with kids. Is there a way to get over the societal norm of single v/s married? Sometimes I wonder.

A couple of days ago I was heartbroken to find that my camera that I love and take everywhere has decided to no longer work. It was just fine Halloween night and then the next night I pull it out to find that when I turn it on it says "lens error." I took it to my dad thinking he could fix it. I mean, he's into cameras and computers and loves to tinker with things. Instead he quickly concluded that something has jammed the lens deterring it from working properly so my options are to send it back to Nikon or buy a new one. Great. The truth of the matter is that it's probably my fault that it's not working. I'm not all that careful with it. I throw it from purse to purse and never think to maybe consider putting it in it's own carrying case to avoid such scenarios I'm now facing I tend to forget that I'm dealing with a piece of equipment that costs up to $200. I think from now on I'll remember to be more responsible with my treasures.

I ran out of time in search for the perfect Halloween costume, so I dressed up in one of my formals and went as a princess. A friend of mine from Starbucks had a party. Here are some pics of my favorite characters:)

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to Marietta, GA and Asheville, NC. Two of my best friends from seminary live in GA so we got to meet up one afternoon. We totally look like a cute little family in this pic.Sunday DP and I drove to Asheville. It was so beautiful and I was so excited to finally see fall colors. We laughed a lot and acted like kids...the only way to be.
We also got to go up in one of the historical buildings in downtown Asheville. This is the view from the balcony!
I was very excited to get back to LA to discover that the leaves are finally starting to turn here! Now if only the cool weather would stay past mid-morning!