my "cool points" go UP in May...

I apologize to all 3 of you that read this blog for not updating sooner! It's been crazy and busy the last few weeks! Both work and life have been super exciting and has definitely kept me on my toes!! Therefore, mind the long blog... but I figured it'd be fun to put more pics up... just so you can SEE what I've been up to!

Wednesday, May 20th - Hoover's Pre-Bday dinner
This group of ladies literally span the last 10 years of my life!
I'm so blessed to have them ALL as friends AND in Austin!

Thursday, May 21st - On the Road to Angel Fire, NM with Linda!!
(my 28th birthday)

Being from the Land o' Tall Trees and currently living in the Texas Hill Country,
I was amazed at this sight!

We made the NM border exciting! Tri-pod, pinata, action photo... check check and check!

Our first view of the Mountains!!

Birthday dinner at the best little restaurant - The Roasted Clove

Friday, May 22nd - Hiking in Cimmaron

Saturday, May 23rd - Horseback Riding!

me and my horse "Cash"

Sunday, May 24th - Whitewater Rafting on the Rio Grande I have a water camera with some pics on it, but the best action shots are HERE

We made the 12 hour drive back to the ATX on Memorial Day! It was such an amazing trip... lots of time to enjoy God's beauty and get some good reading, journaling and praying in! I officially want to thank my incredible roommate and best friend, Linda for making this trip SO special! She truly out-did herself and made it so much fun!

This PAST weekend, I had a few friends come from out-of-town and quite a few of my friends from the ATX help me officially celebrate my 28th!

Linda, Herlocker and I started off our Saturday with Kayaking on Town Lake! It was so much fun... Linda and I are even looking into getting memberships for the summer! Then, I made them go shopping in our work-out clothes.
Herducks - you weren't in Dallas anymore! :)

It was a ton of fun... we started off the night at the South Congress Trailer Eateries. The food is amazing and everyone was able to find something from the trailers that tickled their fancy! Mighty Cones was the big hit! It's a spin-off of Austin re-nowned Hudson's on the Bend!

- Loving us some Mighty Cone - - the Cone goodness - - me, Molls, Lindies & Bex -

My new BFF, Molly, made the most delicious strawberry cake and cupcakes that we all couldn't get enough of! She is truly a gem and I'm so grateful for her friendship!

We then went over to Guerro's for a little outdoor band fun... and obviously, photo-ops!

Then, we made our way down to the Speakeasy for a little Rotel and the Hot Tomatoes action! It was a blast... fun atmosphere, dance-offs, songs that you just can't help but sing at the top of your lungs... truly a night for the ages!

So, to come to a close... I am BLESSED beyond measure with an incredible family, fabulous friends and a God who loves me unconditionally!

"we are no longer slaves to sin..."

So Saturday was the big Baptism day! The plans were to go to the Austin Stone Family Reunion, have some lunch, and then get Baptized! That was until the rain came...

There was lightening and thunder, so the folks at the Stone decided to postpone the baptisms... because it was to be held outside. I was bummed... but good thing that Beth and I had already discussed my Plan B!

So... we loaded up and headed back to my apartment complex! The Barrett Family and Molly met us there. We all joined hands, Blair led us in a prayer and read Romans 6:1-4...

"Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives."

Beth said some amazing words of love and into the pool we went!

I truly could not asked for a more intimate and love-filled experience. God has truly blessed me with parents who are always supporting me and want to share all the moments they can with me, a cousin and a best friend with a connection so strong that I can't imagine a life without them, and my awesome family and friends that were with me in thought and prayer. I cannot express how much I am humbled by love. It is my prayer that this public announcement of the affirmation of my faith in Jesus only brings Him glory and honor... and that all the rest of my days are to seek the praise of His glory!

new favorite things. 10 of them.

Top 10 New Things I'm Loving in the Spring of 2009

1. Molly Peck's new business venture - The Vanilla Orchid
You want good food? You want to be able to just heat it up when you get home from work?
The Vanilla Orchid is your answer!
Once a week, she creates a menu. You order by Sunday and she delivers on Tuesday.
All of her food is natural, healthy and YUM delish!
Feeds 6-8, so Linda and I get LOTS of meals each week!

2. Sharpie Pens
fine felt tip. doesn't bleed through paper. coveted at IBAT. you should try them.

3. The Reason for God by Tim Keller
Tim Keller is the pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC. The book is based off of the main questions on God and Christianity he has gotten over the years from both believers and non-believers. It is INCREDIBLE! I highly recommend reading it with a group... it generates lots of interesting discussions!

4. Twitter and Twitterberry
My description of Twitter: 150 characters worth of telling the world, or your "followers", what's on your mind, how you're feeling or sharing some news. I was, at first, a skeptic... but I absolutely LOVE me some Twitter now. Last week there was an apartment fire in the St. John's area of Austin. St. John's is in extreme low poverty, and my church, the Austin Stone, has really began to focus on this area of the city to just show the folks that live there God's love. At any rate, this apartment fire destroyed homes for dozens of families and it was a real grim deal. That is, until the Stone staff started Twittering where to bring supplies and what supplies were needed. Literally, by 10pm that night, our church had responded in a huge way... all willing love on complete strangers in the name of Jesus. It was AMAZING. God truly moved through our church and used us to love on our neighbors. I know it's all God's doing... but God did give someone the idea about Twitter... and Twitter certainly didn't hurt the cause last week... I'm just sayin. If you feel led to give money for furniture or donate any furniture, visit stjohnrelief.com.

(oh... Twitterberry is just for my Blackberry that lets me read and update Twitter!)
(oh oh... click on the Twitter logo above to go to my Twitter page)

5. My Punchbowl
Tired of the same ol' Evite? Mypunchbowl is your place to go. It's free, you can be a little more creative and it's just different. I like it.

6. Pandora Radio
Just go ahead and click the logo... and you'll thank me later.

Pandora is a free online radio station... and what's awesome is that YOU pick the music and there are ZERO commercials. How does it work? Glad you asked...

You can either create an account or not... but let's say you really like Coldplay. You just create a radio station for Coldplay, they'll play you a good ol' Coldplay song and THEN play artists that are similar in style with Coldplay. I have about 15 different stations right now... all are AWESOME and all created and played on my mood at the time. If you don't like a song they play, you just do a little thumbs down and it will NEVER play that song again.

Pandora = Radio Perfection if you ask me.

7. Beaded and Croche-accented Clothing

I'm a sucker. I love beads. I love holes in my shirts and dresses, those that were meant to be
there of course.

I either own or will soon own all of the surrounding.

8. Big Red Sun

It's a plant nursery that is my kind of place. Why? Because they do long-lasting arrangements. What do I mean by long-lasting? They work with succulents. Basically, it's plants that don't need much water. I need these plants... because for some reason, I can't seem to keep plants alive. I'm sure my Granny Grace, great-aunts on the Lefores' side and my Aunt Tresa are all gasping for air at this very moment. At any rate, Big Red Sun has these awesome arrangements and I get lots of compliments on mine in my office.

9. CamelBak Water Bottle

I had no idea that this water bottle would have such a huge impact on my life, but it has. This bottle is the single greatest thing that has happened to my kidneys since being formed in my mother's womb. Yes, that just got itallisized, colored and bolded. It's so true, I may even submit it as a marketing quote for CamelBak to use... for free. That's how much I love this water bottle. I carry it EVERYWHERE. And my kidneys are thanking me. For all of you doctors who may be reading this blog: 1. I'm single. jkjk and 2. you just need to give these out to the folks in your office suffering, yes suffering, from bladder infections. This water bottle will cure them. Just an idea.

10. My Friends... both old and new!
first with the old
Beth - preggers and moving to San Antonio in a month! And dunking me this weekend!
Ber - ENGAGED!
Mel - 4.0 Diva!
Angie - still puttin' up with me :)
Linda (aka sunny) - always on the same page as me! Yeah for vaca 09!
Beash - loves you my little tiny dancer!
Herducks - May 30th. Dance-off. get-ready.
B-Spell - wishin she would move to the ATX to make me cakes all the time
Bradley - discovering secret hiding places for lunch!!

now with the new
Molls - my new bff. So happy you decided to set up shop in the ATX!!
Bex - hugs. and more hugs. you make me laugh
the Funk - (that's the official new nickname) ready to have a feast! bring.it. :)
Suzanne - my dear friend... still being my friend inspite of maddness!
Casey - "you are welcome in my dungeon anytime"
Olivia - you're the coolest mom ever. I'm just sayin.

Austin Stone Family Reunion

I'm going to be Re-Baptized at this year's Austin Stone Family Reunion! Would LOVE to have you there to help in the celebration!!! Here are the details...

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Join the Austin Stone on Saturday, May 16, for our church-wide Family Reunion & Baptism. Family Reunion & Baptism is a chance for us to gather as an entire church family and celebrate what God’s been doing in individuals and communities in our city. It’s also a great time to bring friends and family to experience the life-changing worship that is baptism at the Austin Stone. If there’s one thing we know how to celebrate, it’s baptism!!

The festivities will get started at 11am, with lunch at noon, baptisms at 2pm, and games and live music throughout the day. This is a great time to catch up with some old friends, meet some new friends and hear about what God is doing as we pursue being a church for the city.

In classic family reunion-style, we’ll have great BBQ to enjoy! Courrier (http://www.myspace.com/courriermusic) will provide some great lunchtime music. You can go to http://www.austinstone.org/familyreunion to buy lunch tickets. There are great deals for families!

We’ll have a host of games and other fun activities for kids and adults alike. Here’s some of the stuff we’ll have out there:

- Inflatables and Bounce Houses

- Playground

- Kiddie Pool

- Sport fields for running and playing

- Sand Volleyball

- Rockwall climbing

- Basketball

Family Reunion - Baptism will be at First Evangelical Free Church (EV Free) at 4220 Monterey Oaks Blvd., in Southwest Austin near the Mopac/290 interchange.