This Is Me Challenge Part II

Here's the next part of my challenge. I had to leave off on the kids portion since I have none!


College years:

*Did you attend college or a trade school of some sort?
I started college in Louisiana and finished in Missouri with my Bachelor's degree
I'm currently pursuing my Master's through an online program

*How did you choose what you wanted to be when you grew up?I still don't know the answer to this question. I know that I like jobs where I get to help people...customer service, administrative, education or service industries...I like to help people in some way even if it's putting together an outfit that makes them feel good about themselves

*What did you think was the hardest thing about your chosen profession at that time?  Did it turn out that way?I think I just haven't ever found on particular thing that I loved to do. I liked aspects of all of the things I studied: Education was a great thing to study because I got to see people learn and grow, Psychology was fascinating because you see how people's minds operate and understand why they are the way they are, Business/Marketing was interesting because I could find a way to communicate with the masses in effective and productive ways. So far, I have used every thing I learned in every different subject area at some point in every job I have had. Guess it was worth it!

*What dumb things did you do during those years?Wow, there is not enough space or patience to describe all of these answers. I fell off the wagon for a while in college. I lost myself and then attempted to find myself all over again only to discover I was a different person than before. I couldn't ever go back to being the person I once was, so I had to learn to cope with the one I had become.

*What good things did you do?There was a lot of wonderful during my college years as well. I met people that I love like family, made incredible memories, laughed...A LOT, learned a lot about myself, and grew up. Sounds pretty good to me!

*Did you live on your own?  How well prepared were you for that?I lived on my own for a while during school and moved back home until I was married. I pretty much always had roommates, but I think I did really well taking care of myself for the most part. I had been taking care of things off and on for a while growing up so I was pretty well prepared.

*What life lessons did you learn?Again, too many to recite. A few I learned included that you have to be a little bit tough sometimes to get things done. It's ok to be a little bit selfish when it affects your personal situations. Not all things last forever (friendships, bad grades, bad days, heartbreaks, etc).

*What choices did you make that affect where you are now?So very many! I went to Mizzou which caused me to have to pay a lot more money for school (can we say student loans FOREVER?), I didn't date just anyone that would have me which led to my being single when my sweet husband came into the picture, I didn't get a full-time job right out of the gate which led to my freedom of schedule that also led to meeting my husband through mutual friends, and I ended a really rough relationship that would have drug me into a place I didn't want to be and gave me a brighter future.


Work:

*What jobs have you had? 
My first job was working for a tanning salon (where I met one of my best friends, Danielle)

Then I worked at a Christian Coffee House (where I learned that I loved espresso drinks, met another best friend, Miranda, and my sis-in-law, Kristin, and made some very special friendships with people I cherish)

Next I worked at a clothing retailer where I worked off and on for many years (here I learned so much about jobs, retail, management & the in's & out's of jobs and reports)

Then I moved to working at a local college (first part-time, later full-time, moved up to new jobs and better positions every 2 years; met some of my favorite people and the man who officiated my wedding; learned how to be a grown-up and got experience doing an enormous variety of skills)

*What did you like/dislike about each job?
The usual things but sometimes it was my schedule, or the inability of others to take the leadership positions they held and were paid for, sometimes it was the mean people I worked next to or knowing how to make a place better and not having the authority to do it

*Have you used any of that knowledge in later years?Like I said, I have reused everything I have ever learned in the next job

*Who were your bosses?  Did you like them/get along?I have always been fortunate to have wonderful bosses! My current one has been so understanding, encouraging and supporting. It will be hard to have any other!

*How did you get along with your co-workers?I have always gotten along great with them. I am a people person naturally so we always find something in common

*Which was your favorite job?I loved aspects of all of my jobs, but working at the coffee house was likely my very favorite because it combined so many things I love into one place.

*How many years until you retire?A million (or so it seems)

*Do you have any big plans for your retirement? Live in a van down by the river
Or just spend time with the family I hope to have at that point!



Marriage:

*How did you meet your spouse?  Was it love at first sight or did it take some time?Hmm, it was definitely over time. Dave and I hung out with the same group of people off and on for a small window of time in our lives. I met him through a group of his high school friends and after developing a friendship we tried to make a relationship from it. I fought it like crazy at first only because I didn't know how to date someone that was older than me and had their life together. It was a foreign concept! He turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Glad I finally gave in!

*How long did you date before you got engaged?  How long was your engagement?We dated about 2 1/2 years before we got engaged on New Year's Eve 2012. We were married on Sept 1, 2012, so our engagement was 9 months.

*How did you get engaged?  (The story.)We decided to spend New Year's Eve in that year. My friend and her fiance joined us for a low key night of food, fun and games. We went outside on the back patio around midnight to wait for the neighborhood to shoot off fireworks. My friend and I were poking fun at Dave for not asking me to marry him already and what was he waiting for...then right at midnight he pulled out the ring and told me to change my facebook status to "engaged" (I know, real 21st century proposal there!) I said yes and cried for about 3 hours afterwards calling everyone I know!

*Who did most of the wedding plans?  Who helped?I planned the majority of my day myself, but my mom was also a big part of everything. Dave was a tremendous help and cared a lot more about the details than I ever expected him to. My bridesmaids were also really great for helping me with ideas and doing some grunt work. My aunt helped us decorate and fill in the details the day of the wedding.
 
*Describe the details of your wedding:  the colors, the cake, the decorations, etc.Our wedding colors were purple & green with hints of silver and antique white throughout. Purple is my birthstone and favorite color and green is David's so it worked well together. The theme was love birds mixed with southern charm. I had lots of bircages and decor throughout with fluer-de-lis elements mixed in. The cake was white with black and silver swirls and had peace roses on top.

*Where did your wedding take place? We got married in a charming plantation home in St Louis

 *Who performed the ceremony?  Do you remember any words of advice given?
My dear coworker performed the ceremony. He's a wonderful man of faith that I trust and really have a great deal of respect for. Words of advice we were given were to trust in God to lead our marriage and hand it over to Him. We were also told to communicate and remember the way we felt on our wedding day every time we got angry or sad.

*Who attended your wedding?
Most of the people I love most in the world. We were so lucky so much of our family made the trip to spend the day with us.

*Where did you go on your honeymoon?  What adventures did you have?We went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for our honeymoon. It was beautiful and my first time out of the country. We had a bit of a few blunders on the trip down there such as thinking we weren't going to be allowed in/out of the country because of a flaw in Dave's passport, being swindled into time-share wars, being put into a room with two small beds b/c the king bedroom we booked had been given to someone else, a toilet that sounded like whale cries when you flushed it and banging in the ceiling that sounded like someone breaking in every time the air conditioner kicked on, and finally birds (and their crap/feathers) jumping all around the tables/plates/forks eating area and swooping over your head while you tried to eat in the outdoor restaurant. It was a rough first day!
Then we had some great adventures including taking a sunset dinner cruise in the harbor, riding atv's through the desert and along the beach (and crashing it upside down), visiting Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo bar, and some general wandering around different parts of the town. It was a wonderful trip!

"This Is Me" Challenge

I stumbled upon a project on Pinterest that is all about writing your personal history for your kids to have someday and for you to really dig into yourself. I thought it seemed pretty interesting. I thought I would break it up into reasonable chunks and since this is an open forum, obviously I will not be sharing full details in all of these questions just for privacy purposes, but I figured I could answer a lot of it to give some insight into my life thus far. Feel free to copy and add this challenge to your own blog if you are interested!

Birth and Family: 

*What is your full name and how did you get that name? 

Lori Amber; Lori came from a twin that my mom went to elementary school with- one twin was named Lori and Mom thought that was the prettiest name. She decided to name her daughter that someday. Amber was the daughter of a couple that were one of my parent's best friends when I was born. They named me after the couple's daughter.

Do you have any nicknames?
Loreli, Lor, Loriamberloo, Murph (funny that's what I called my husband when we first met), Murphy Lee and my husband calls me Babe

*What are your parent's names and birth places?Mindy & Cliff and they were born in Louisiana and Arkansas respectively

*Where were you born? Louisiana

 What are some of the circumstances (when your mom went in to labor, how long, her doctor, your dad fainting, etc.) of your birth?
There was a freak snow storm in Louisiana the day I was born. Growing up it NEVER snowed in Louisiana...so this was a crazy circumstance! Dad didn't faint, but was a very attentive husband. I tried to come out for hours, but my mom's tailbone was curved so I was an emergency C-section. When I came out I was all black and blue from banging my head so much!

*What are your sibling's names?I have one younger brother named Danny
 
*How was your relationship with your siblings and parents?
I am so close to my family. I always have been. My brother and I are only about 2 years apart so we were always very close growing up. He is one of the coolest people I have ever known and knows me better than probably anyone else in the world. My parents were always very close to us and open and honest about things. We always had good communication in our family and still hang out like best friends even though we are adults and married now.

*What are some lessons you learned from you parents?Wow, where to begin with this one? I will take some of the most important ones:

Always put God first in every aspect of your life (family, relationships, job, everything!) He is ultimately in control and you should always look to Him for guidance.

You will always have your family to love you. Even when you feel all alone in the world, your family was there from the beginning and will be there until the end. Remember that and don't let anything stand in the way of that relationship.

Work ethic is important. People will notice how hard you work and how much you bring to the table if you try. They will also notice if you don't work hard. Always been the employee that people can count on. It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice.

Someone is always watching you, how you handle situations, how you react to things, how you make decisions and how you treat other people. Don't forget that your actions will always affect someone else.

Always keep your door open to those who need it, you never know when you will be the one needing the helping hand or kindness.

Manners are NEVER underrated. Respect should be given to people from the start. Act appropriate in all situations and don't let them catch you doing otherwise!

Music is a language that can speak to anyone. It ties us together and can express even the most deep emotions that cannot be expressed with words.


*How did you help in your home?  We always had chores growing up....usually Danny and I would fight over who got to do the chore we saw as easier or more desirable. I helped to cart him around when I got my license in high school, I always helped Dad pick out the perfect gifts for Mom for bdays and holidays, I helped Mom to clean and decorate when needed, we always worked together to plan parties and whatever else was needed.

Growing up, early years:

*Where did you grow up?  I grew up in a small town in Northern Louisiana. We always lived out in the woods where it took 30 minutes to get to any kind of real civilization. My parents always wanted it that way. It meant we couldn't be involved in a lot of after school activities, but it also afforded us the chance to do a lot of creative play that most kids wouldn't have engaged in with entertainment nearby.

*What was your earliest memory?
This is a hard one, but I think it was when my cousin was being born. I was about 2 1/2 and I can vaguely remember being in the hospital waiting room having Christmas while he was being born.


*What games did you play as a child?We loved to play in the dirt! We always came in covered head to toe in dirt. I also loved riding my bike and playing in my playhouse. We would pretend we were in the army and track down the bad guys as well as play dressup and Barbies. As we got a little older we loved Nintendo and Legos.


*Who were your friends?I had lots of friends as a child in different places. I had friends at school, friends on my baseball teams, and friends at church. They rarely overlapped. My best friend when I was really little was eventually my next door neighbor, Nicole. We were born exactly one month apart and our little brothers exactly 2 months apart. We went on vacation together and were pretty inseparable for many years. I still consider her to be a very special person to me even though we haven't seen one another in many years.

My best friend since 2nd grade was my friend Dana. We were glued at the hip. We spent every possible waking moment together until I moved to Missouri in 2004. We were college roomies as well and she always will be one of the most important people in my life.

*Who were your favorite teachers and why?Some of my favorite teachers were the ones that really inspired me to learn more. I was a child who was hungry to learn. I always absorbed everything like a sponge. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Harlow, was so wonderful. She challenged me in so many ways and it was the first time I really learned in school. She had me tested for the gifted program and because of her I was able to enjoy many great experiences in that program throughout my education. She is still someone very special to me and I even got to visit her recently. I'm much taller than her nowadays. :)

Another of my favorite teachers was my third grade teacher, Ms. Odom (now Mrs. Renz), who was so soft spoken and loving. She always encouraged me to do my best. I also got to visit with her on a recent trip her family took to our city.

Finally, I loved my gifted program/Language Arts teacher in middle school, Mrs. Perry. She grew up with my parents and they knew eachother from high school. She was always challenging me to think outside the box and expand on my writing skills. She gave us opportunities to explore genres and topics that I loved to learn about. I got to work with her when I was a senior in high school and even chaperoned a group of her 6th graders on a field trip to Memphis. That was so much fun!


Growing up, teenage years:

*What activities did you participate in? 

I played softball as a teenager on the team the Sluggers. We wore red and white uniforms and big bows in our hair. We had a team full of cheerleaders, but had the best chants and idiosyncracies. It was a wonderful time in my life. I played almost every position: outfield, short stop, third, second, first and catcher.

I also was in a music group at our church called Unity. We did several programs that included singing and acting. I loved every minute of it. We even went on tour to a couple of states when I was 15. It was the best summer of my life.

*How did you learn how to drive?  What kind of car did you have?

My Papaw taught me to drive by barreling around our 21 acres in a old Dodge Dakota stick shift. I couldn't ever get much out of 2nd or 3rd gear because we didn't have anywhere I could go that fast, but it taught me enough of how to drive a stick that I got better at it. My first car was an old company car from my Dad's office and it was a silver Ford Taurus. I hated it, but I could fit a ton of people in it at once and it had a really great engine. I ran into all kinds of stuff with that car and beat the outside to pieces.

*Who were your friends? 

I mostly hung out with my friends from church. The majority of them went to a different school, but we were really close. My brother and I hung out with the same group a lot, too. 

*Did you have a boyfriend? 

I had two boyfriends in high school, Weston and Chris. Weston was younger than me and so incredibly smart. He challenged me all of the time to learn stuff just so I could answer his questions or outsmart him. He was hilariously funny and one of my very best friends. Chris was the brother of several of the guys I was friends with. We were friends for many years before we started dating. We got pretty serious, but the move when I was in college was too much for our relationship and it ended shortly after.

*What did you like/dislike about school?

I am such a nerd, I loved school. I loved the socialization it brought as well as learning itself. I have always had a love for learning so being in school was great. My Humanities course allowed us to do great projects like speak easy's, creating our costumes for a traditional "first Thanksgiving" and much more. I was also on the yearbook staff, served as an ambassador for our school, and was voted a Senior Class Favorite as "Most Considerate" so I really enjoyed school for the most part.

*What was your first paid job?

I actually didn't have a job until I was 19 unless you count being a nanny and babysitting. I worked at a tanning salon and loved it.

Now you know a little bit about me! I'll post more on another day and continue the project until the end. Feel free to comment and ask any other questions you are curious about!

New York State of Mind

I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!



We are headed to New York City in August! It's official! My mom, sister-in-law and I are taking a girls' weekend to the Big Apple. I have been dying to go to New York for most of my life, so this is a bit of a dream come true for me. This city even made a believer out of the harshest of critics (my mom) when she visited a few years ago on a business trip with my dad. She was convinced she would hate it and the entire experience. Now, she is in love! I can't wait to go the city that is the setting for so many of my favorite movies and shows.

We have lots of plans of what we want to do once we are there. For sure we want to see many of the landmarks like Central Park, Times Square, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty and possibly Rockefeller Center. We also plan to see Cinderella on Broadway. The real Broadway?!! AGH! For a girl from middle of nowhere Louisiana, this is a big deal!!

I was talking to my mom and telling her how I could have seen myself living there in different lifetime. Had I taken a different path in life I could have been that crazy New Yorker, head over heels in love with the city and never wanting to leave. I could have seen myself working in a career there (who knows what..the possibilities are endless) and living in a tiny apartment that I loved. I think I made the right choice for my life path, but in another world I could have been happy somewhere like that.

I will definitely blog about our trip when we return so stay tuned! Meanwhile, you will just get the in's and out's of my normal, not so glamorous life here.

Catching Up

It's been quite a while since I posted on here, but I decided to get back into the habit after my coworker talked about starting her own blog. I have abandoned mine since November, so I need to get back into the groove.

So much has happened since I last wrote! In response to the workplace chaos, our school is closing. We are in a "teach out" mode which means we won't enroll any new students, but will teach out the programs and students that were already enrolled. It was shocking and hard news to hear. So many of us have felt a huge range of emotions from disbelief, to anger, to bitterness, to worry. There are so many unknowns in our futures now, but I am blessed that I have the peace that God will lead me wherever it is I need to go from here. I wish some of the other people I care about here had that same peace.

So, we hosted our Thanksgiving dinner and everything went perfectly. The house was decorated so cute, I had a huge appetizer spread of crackers, dips, nuts, fruits, and veggies and we had enough dessert for each person to get their own pie. Yikes! Overall, it was a wonderful experience.

Christmas was a little dampered for me this year with the job loss lingering overhead, but I was still lucky to be able to spend that special time with my family and friends. We didn't end up getting a real tree, but decorated two small fake ones in the living room and kitchen. One I did in all trains for Dave and he loved it! It was a little rough for our first married Christmas holiday, but we had one another and that's what mattered!

We spent New Years quietly at home with our good friends Steve and Molly because it snowed like crazy and no one wanted to be out on the roads. It was great to just cuddle up and watch movies and eat a delicious dinner. I'm slowly easing into the older 20's phase where I'm very content with a night in with a few good friends. I don't have to be a big bashes every year.

January was fairly uneventful other than my starting my Master's program in Education. I've struggled with working full time and carrying a full time Master's load all on top of settling in to my new home and marriage, but so far I've managed. Dave has taken on the role of house wife and I am so lucky to have him! I've been debating about withdrawing this upcoming term due to many factors. I just don't know this was the right thing for me to do and my gut tells me I need to job hunt more than I need an extra degree. I'm so torn and have been praying about it constantly. Still no words of wisdom yet from upstairs, but I have to be patient and trust that when the time comes to decide, I'll know what's right.

Meanwhile, my little brother and his wife bought a great new house and decorated everything so cute! I'm so proud of them and happy that they were able to find a great home. I know they will be so happy and comfortable there for a long time to come. It's so nice to find a place you feel like home!

I've been making our little place home lately. We've spent the past month or so repainting and redecorating our kitchen and living room. The rooms are pretty small, so it took a lot of creativity (and tons of Pinteresting) to make them feel warm and inviting but not closed off. I think we found the perfect balance. Here are some pictures so you can see what we did.

The kitchen makeover:

Here you can see a little of the before/after shot of the kitchen color. That beige strip to the right of the window is the orginal color of the kitchen and living room walls. We added this lovely Behr Grassy Green. I'm a fan! What do you think?



 



  



This is a shot of by that same wall. I made the little mirrored inserts and decorated with wine-themed stickers and our last name in the red. The whole kitchen is wine and chef themed, so it ties it all together. The wine cabinet was one we bought at Target. It's just a plain cabinet with a shelf and glass doors. We went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought the wine glass racks and added them ourselves. I think it turned out really cute. The black frame has a saying inside "Bless the food before, the family beside us and the love between us, Amen."

  


Here is a close up of the project. I used scrabook paper as the backing and stickers for the wine graphics and name.



Here is the main wall where I added the word "Eat" and little signs. The signs all have a wine-themed saying: "In Vino Veritas "(In wine there is truth), "Take Life One Sip at a Time," "You Had Me At Merlot," & "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry." The back of the frames all have matching scrapbook paper.



This is my little chef wall. I don't have a good picture, but the big wooden box is actually a wine box that I turned into a shelf. The little one is just a wooden box from the dollar bin at Target. I went very thrifty with all the decorations. The little chefs are all from Garden Ridge and were about $5 each. The letters are from Michael's and I painted them to match the colors I wanted.




These are probably my favorite addition to the kitchen! My talented mom made me roman shades to replace the ugly white blinds we had previously. We searched forever one day at JoAnn's to find the perfect fabric and luckily had just enough. The colors match the kitchen perfectly and it's such a cute fabric!





Here is a shot of the kitchen from the living room.


The living room makeover:


Here is a before of the living room wall. It was that beige color from the kitchen as well as a dark brown on two of the accent walls. I decided to ditch the brown and pull in a deep red. I was worried that the color would overwhelm the tiny room, but it worked out perfectly with the banana cream pie color we chose as the neutral in the kitchen and living room walls. It has a hint of yellow, but just brightens the space really well.




The red turned out so great!




Another shot where you see more of the banana cream pie...yum!

So, on to life today. I have been really missing my church roots these past few months. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our old church and it just really made me miss the comfort of consistently attending church. I see so many things happening around us that lets me know the time is drawing near for His return, so I know I need to get my life straight and make sure my family is serving. It's been far too long since we regularly served in one church home. We have visited so many different locations here and nothing really feels like it fits. I am not sure where God is leading us, but I am just ready to settle back in and use my talents for Him. Please be praying that He will lead us to the right place.

Thankful

Life has been more than a little hectic lately. I haven't been able to post anything for a while because we've had so much going on. Let me catch up.

My work life has been a wreck recently. Our proprietary education sector is under a great deal of scrutiny these days because a large number of issues have happened over the last couple of years. We've suffered the consequences of many other people's poor and unethical decisions. This has caused very strict rules and restrictions on our corporation as a whole. Also, with the struggling economy, our enrollments have plummeted over that period of time. Because of all of these issues, our schools are teetering on the edge of being closed down across our corporation. Last week many of my coworkers were laid off due to the lacking performance of our business side of our corporation. Obviously, this was a big blow. It hurt to see the struggles they faced as well as to not have them around anymore. I have been in a whole other world in my mind this past month dealing with these issues. I'm finally starting to come out of my funk and realize there are happy things to look forward to with the holidays, etc around the corner. I am hopeful that things will start to look up for us here, but I have faith that no matter what happens it's in God's plan and I will ultimately be ok. I keep having to remember that because my selfish human side always panics when things look grim. I forget HE's in control of all of it! So, I might as well wait and see what He has in store for me.

In my personal life I've gotten to see a lot of my girlfriends lately which has been so nice. We were so wrapped up in wedding chaos the first part of this year that it seemed we had very little time to just hang out with each other. I'm grateful that I've had some good chat time, play time, and serious talk time lately. I needed that! I keep hoping that we'll remember each other even though we're all starting to get married and start families, etc. It's important to still keep your girlfriends close. Sometimes they are you only sanity! I have some pretty awesome ones, so I hope they stick around for a little while!

Since I'm finally pulling out of my daze, Dave and I decided to really tackle the house for this week. It had gotten really bad with the accumulation of junk from my moving in, going through every room in the house and getting rid of stuff, the changing of the wardrobes for the cold season, and just general house cleaning and laundry. We hit it so hard the other night it was crazy! It's wonderful that everything is clean and we can see our floors again!

We are hosting our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife this week. I'm excited to have everyone over because there's nothing I love more than to host a party. We're cheating a bit since my father-in-law is cooking all the hard stuff, but I am still contributing bits and pieces to the meal and am grateful to have the special time with my family. We are so blessed and sometimes we take it for granted. I for one know how amazing it is that we have the life we have. So many people don't have a family to celebrate with or have to take turns at one parent's house and another because they can't be together or get along, etc. Some people don't even have homes or a dollar to their names to cook a good meal. This time of year I'm in such a donating craze it's a mess. I am adding a dollar here and there and everywhere at stores and in buckets or with fundraisers to help any way I can. If I have it to give, it's going to happen.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas, too. I can't wait to decorate the house and start making crafts and goodies. Dave is a real tree lover, so we'll have to go pick one out soon and try to keep it alive all month. It smells so good to have a real one in the house. We always had real trees as a kid, so I'm very much a fan. I can't wait to get back to the office after Thanksgiving and put up my adorable cubicle tree, too! Gotta love Christmas!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Eat way too much and take time to thank God for everything you have and the special people you get to spend that time with. Now for the food!!!