10 Day Challenge {Day Nine}

Day Nine:

A letter to your parents.

I'm just going to do my mom for reasons that I don't really want to get into right now.  Maybe someday soon I'll be able to talk about my dad on this blog, but right now I just can't.

Dear Momma,

"Thank you" seems completely inadequate but it's all I know to tell you even and if I said it to you 100 times a day for the rest of my life it will still never be enough. 

Thank you for teaching me what it means to have good character, accountability, honesty and integrity.  Thank you for showing me how to make the best of any situation, to always show love, grace and patience even when the going gets tough.  Thank you for teaching me to laugh at myself and to love myself even when I feel foolish and ugly.  Thank you for taking me to ballet lesson after theatre practice after cheerleading practice for so many years.  Thank you for making the sacrifices necessary so I could take ballet/piano/gymnastics/cheerleading.  Thank you for being an example of a strong, confident woman and for showing me what I should aspire to be.  Thank you for teaching me to cook and for always being supportive of my dreams and ambitions even if they were silly.

I am crying as I type this letter because I'm imagining my life without all that support and love and it just devastates me that there are some girls out there who don't have a supportive, loving mother.  Or don't have a mother at all and it just breaks my heart because I don't know where I would be without having you in my life these last 27 years.

I want to be just like you.  If my future children think of me the way I think of you, then I will have surpassed all my goals.  I can't wait to make you a mother-in-law and a grandmother.  I know you want these things so badly, but thank you for never making me feel like I was failing because I wasn't married or having babies.  Thank you for always reminding me that everything will come in His time.


I love you.


Love,


Whitney

10 Day Challenge {Day Eight}

Day Eight:

Something you crave.

I crave a lot of things.

Here are just a few.

{via}

{via}

Since I work so much, I felt guilty having Ida Claire at home by herself so often. So, I farmed her out. She is still very much my dog, and stays with me frequently, but I "share custody" we like to say with my mom.  There she can play with my parent's dog and have constant attention - because someone is practically always home.  But I miss her so much and I crave time with her.

{via}

10 Day Challenge {Day Seven}

Day Seven:

Nicknames you have and why you have them.

I have so many nicknames.  

I love nicknames, but I think they're something special that isn't something you do with someone right off the bat.  I have a pet peeve about giving someone a nickname or calling someone a nickname right after you've met them.  I know, I'm crazy.

1. Whit - This might seem obvious and a little common, but I only let certain people call me this. I have been known to finish my name when certain people have called me by this nickname.  If I don't like the way it sounds coming out of your mouth, you don't get to use it. Simple as that.

2. Whitty-Cent - My friend Tracy gave me this nickname a long time ago and now a good number of people at my work use it.  It originated because one time I was rapping and being all gangsta(don't hate) and she just busted out with this brilliant nickname.  The people at my work use it because they heard the story and thought it was hilarious.

3. Whitball - This nickname is semi-retired.  Old friends will still use it somewhere around once a year, but it's not as widely used as when I first got it in high school.

4. Whitty Two Shoes - My daddy used to call me this when I was little.  I have no idea why and he hasn't done it in years, but it makes me smile every time I think about it.

10 Day Challenge {Day Six}

Day Six:

When you're iPod is on "shuffle" what are the first 10 songs it might play?

This is going to be fun. 

And oh, so random. 

My playlist is so diverse.

Here we go.....

1. Lonestar - "My Front Porch Looking In"

2.Michale Buble - "Hold On"

3. Sixpence None the Richer - "There She Goes"

4. Frankie Valli - "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You"

5. Alicia Keys - "Like You'll Never See Me Again"

6. Josh Gracin - "Brass Bed"

7. Chris Tomlin - "Indescribable"

8. Hillsong United - "Mighty to Save"

9. Ingrid Michelson - "The Way I Am"

10. Oasis - "Wonderwall"

10 Day Challenge {Day Five}

Day Five:

Short term goals for this much and dreams for your life ahead.

Woah.

Deep much?

I'd say my short term goals are simple: stop eating out every single meal day of the week, send at least one snail mail card per week and build my running time back up.

As far as "dreams for my life ahead" go, how far am I supposed to take this?

They're what they've always been, really.

--To be a Godly wife and mother.

--To own my own business.

--To run my own non-profit organization in conjunction with said business.

--To stay close with my friends and raise our children together.

--To buy a house and make it a home.

10 Day Challenge {Day Four}

Day Four:

A picture of something/someone that has had a big impact on you.

My mom has always had the biggest impact on me. She is all I've ever wanted to be and I know that sounds cheesy, but it's so true. She is the best mom anyone could ever hope for. She's strong, funny, opinionated, always there for me - and I do mean always. She's the best grilled cheese maker, wiper of tears, shoulder to lean on, reality television show watch partner, shopping companion and confidant. There is nothing I don't tell her and nothing I can't trust her with.

I want to be just like her when I grow up.

 These are four of my favorite pictures ever. They're not centered, good light or anything that would be featured on a photographer's website or in their gallery. But they're a real, true expression of us. This was on the flight on the way to Miami and we wanted to get a picture of us on the plane, but since it was so early in the morning, we didn't want to bother anyone and ask them to take it. So we tried, for probably a good hour, to get a picture. It never happened, but it was one of the funniest and funnest hours I've ever spent. We were laughing the whole time.

My grandparents(mom's side) have also had a tremendous impact on my life.

In May, they will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary. This year they will both celebrate their 92nd birthdays and I have learned more from them than could ever be taught in school or learned from a book.

They have lived through and seen so much in their 91 years and they're the best example of where faith and love can take you.

They've survived the depression, wars, unemployment, deaths, moves, illness and more. They are living, breathing marriage vows.

I'm thankful every single day that I've been fortunate enough to have them with me this long and aspire to have a marriage like theirs.  

10 Day Challenge {Day Three}

Day Three:

A picture of somewhere you have been.

This is the Miami skyline from a cruise ship to the Bahamas.

For my mom's 50th birthday I wanted to do something really special for her. For a long time I planned this trip because she had never been to Florida and really hadn't been on a vacation in about 20 years. 

So, I planned a huge this trip for her and about 3 days before we left, at her birthday dinner, I surprised her with it. She was in shock and it was a moment - and facial expression - I'll never forget!

The trip was amazing to say the least. We stayed at The Fairmont Turnberry Isle in Aventura, Florida and I could not have picked a better hotel. The Fairmont group of hotels is great anyway, but I think this is one of the best in the chain.

We took a day cruise to the Bahamas, shopped in Coconut Grove and visited South Beach.

We just had the best time and wish everyday that we could go back. Someday I'll take her again - maybe a 60th birthday surprise?

10 Day Challenge {Day Two}

Day Two:

A recent picture of you and your friends.

This was Christmas dinner at The Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Memphis.

This is an annual thing and so much fun.

I love my friends and am so thankful that God has provided me with such an amazing group of people to laugh with, cry with and learn with.  We don't all always get along - there are many different personalities in our group - but we always respect each other and can depend on them to be there when needed. Some of the friendships in this picture go back a long time and I'm blessed that I'm able to call them my friends.

10 Day Challenge

I am struggling to remember what blog I found this on but this will help when content is at a minimum. Because let's face it: my life is not that exciting.

 Only problem? I usually start things......and not finish them. We'll see what happens here.

Day 1 - A recent picture of yourself and 15 interesting facts.
Day 2 - A recent picture of you and your friends.
Day 3 - A picture of somewhere you have been.
Day 4 - A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you!
Day 5 - Short term goals for this month and dreams for your life ahead.
Day 6 - When your Ipod is on shuffle, what are the first 10 songs it might play.
Day 7 - Nicknames you have, and why you have them.
Day 8 - Something you crave.
Day 9 - A letter to your parents.
Day 10 - A picture of you last year and a picture of you this year. How have you changed?

DAY ONE

This picture was taken at a local park and I used it, among others, on my Christmas card this year.

1. I do not like my food to touch on the plate. It makes me want to puke when people pour gravy over their entire plate at Thanksgiving/Christmas.

2. I'm a classically trained ballerina. Took for 11 years.

3. I have no desire to ever read/see the Twilight saga and I think Robert Pattinson always looks like he needs a shower.

4. I absolutely love to throw parties.

5. I am fascinated with the Amish.

6. I drink hot chocolate like other people drink coffee.

7. I will beat you in a FRIENDS trivia game.

8. I drive a Saturn Vue and I absolutely love my car. Nobody consulted me before they stopped making Saturns and I was highly pissed.

9. I purposely set my alarm about 2 hours earlier than I actually need to wake up because part of my necessary morning routine is to hit the snooze button no less than 14 times.

10. I hope to one day be as cute as my grandma.

11. I don't usually wear a watch, but I'm rarely without earrings.

12. When I was little I wanted dimples so badly that I used to go to bed with my fingers stuck in each cheek praying I'd wake up with dimples. True story.

13. My daddy's dream for me was to be a blonde haired, blue eyed girl who played basketball for Murray State. The only part he got was blonde.

14. I can remember dates better than most people. It usually revolves around something that happened with me, but I'll remember events in other people's lives and the exact date. Also, I always remember what I was wearing.

15. I am newly obsessed with the show Damages. I cannot get enough.