i was never a fan of making new year’s resolutions because at the end of the year when that metric wasn’t met it would be easier to dwell on what wasn’t instead of what was. i just finished reading “velvet elvis” by rob bell (which was great) and there was something he said that made me think… that should be my resolution.
relax. slow down. quit having a purpose for everything. eat more slowly and enjoy it more. ask people how they are doing and mean it. take more walks. you will get more done anyway. (172)
if anything my new year’s resolution should be to not live another 2008. last year i let stress and worrying consume my life so much that i had to go to physical therapy for my back for months (i hold tension in my shoulders and one day my back was consumed in pain), my jaw pain got worse (from clinching my jaw at night when i am stressed) and my immune system wasn’t up to par because of stress and i got sick a ton. i lost friends most likely because i became a basket of negativity. i cannot do that again.
i need to throw my golden calf off a cliff and walk away.
so in an effort to live the words mentioned above i want to:
1) have more coffee dates with friends
2) have coffee dates with my bible
3) pray more
4) volunteer even more
5) read more
here’s to 2009
welcome to tennessee
a few days ago i hit my third anniversary of my life here in nashville. to be quite honest, i didn’t think i’d make it even a year. but i got the “dream” job and have been stuck here trying to figure out what could possibly be the next step in life?
there are a lot of things happening in the life of nicole at this moment, one of them being moving. today along with a wonderful friend and her husband moved a majority of my stuff to what i will call my new place of residence. this is the third address, second church, third job, and the ninth & tenth roommates (i have two now) in nashville. i cannot wait for the day where i can have a place of my own where i can stop thinking about the next move. but unfortunately i am not at that stage in life. :) but maybe there’s something cool with the nomadic lifestyle.
funny thing, as i was driving here on trip number 433285734 today with my little civic loaded up i was listening to the radio… now for those of you who know me well, i don’t EVER listen to the radio. i just got so tired of what i had in my car nor did i want to search for my ipod so i turned on the radio. i think think says a lot for where i am at in life, i am tired of all that’s around me and perhaps a change of scenery is needed. what that really means, well i’m not sure yet.
so here’s to something new, something different and just change. i remember reading a quote on a teacher’s wall in junior high that says ‘the only person that likes change is a baby with a dirty diaper’ and it’s true, i hesitate GREATLY when it comes to change even if i know it will be better. which is dumb…
so those are my thoughts my first night in my new place 
have a happy thanksgiving!
yes, it’s been a while since i have last typed some words on my blog and there are many reasons for that. the main one being i scheduled and took the gre (graduate record exam)… yup. there were many hours of studying and practice testing and tears but it is now OVER. i took the 3-4 hour test on thursday afternoon and while i am not going to reveal my score, i did ok. my goal was to be at least average and i did score about that. i did hope i would do better, but with the limited amount of time i was able to study i did improve my score about 200 points from my first practice test to the actual test.
the biggest lesson learned through the last few weeks is that i really can’t control what happens, i can influence a little but in the end there are many things out of my hands. God’s logic is much better than mine and in the end not everything has to make sense. i am going to need this ingrained in my head for the next several months. maybe one day i’ll be able to share why but if i were to look back at the times where i really relied on God the most, those were the times where nothing made sense and were also the times that i was happy.
also, i am so so so hard on myself. i hold myself up to standards that can probably never be met. this is how i’ve always lived my life and this past year has shown horrible health repercussions because of it. i grind my teeth at night, i have had horrible back muscle problems and more all because of the stress that comes out of this horrible way to live. the ironic thing is that on friday (the day after my test) the merriam-webster word of the day (i signed up to have these emails sent to build my vocab for the test) was “fastidious” which means having high and often capricious standards : difficult to please. i was blown away when i saw this because i was super bummed the next morning when i realized the test was over and i was stuck with my score, to me, this meant that i need to stop being so fastidious!
and it’s true. i just need to believe it all the time
it’s true. no man is an island. relationships are necessary or as my pastor said yesterday they are worth the risk and to be completely honest i think they are.
tonight i got to spend time with a group of people i hang out with every other monday. my franklin small group i joined this group around a year ago, when i lived in franklin and was still very new to my church. it was a challenge to myself to really get to know people at my new church and surround myself with people who could be encouraging to me on my spirtual walk. to be completely honest, i didn’t think i would last at first. i felt that i had very little in common with most of these people. many have children and are married and i just couldn’t relate… but for some reason, i stuck with it, even after i moved to nashville (and away from franklin).
i find myself more and more, each time we meet, learning to trust these people with what’s on my heart. something happened in the past year that turned it from just being my every other monday small group to something i look forward to, and something that helps me know that God still has a plan for me even through crazy hard times.
i am involved in one other group from church and every other week i get together with a wonderful bunch of girls from rocketown (not so much a small group as it is just great hangout time ). there were times in the last 6 months where i could have packed up my car and just left and i can whole-heartedly say that these people i have surrounded myself with are a large reason why i still have a tennesse license plate on my car and they make me want nashville to really work out.
without diving more into extreme cheesy-ness… i just wanted to share that tough times suck, but are much more enjoyable when there are people along the sidelines cheering you on while you run those painful miles.
here’s to not being an island
today while conquering 3.5 miles on a trail at crockett park i couldn’t help but notice this family of three. there was a little boy on his bike with training wheels followed by his dad with roller blades and the mom with roller blades and knee, elbow and wrist guards along with a helmet. obviously the father was much more skilled and carefree with his skates compared to his wife who was very cautious and covered in protective gear. the dad was watching out for both her and their little boy.
i thought to myself as i walked past them, i am living my life covered in protective gear. i somehow think that the protective gear will protect me from getting hurt. i CAN’T protect myself from falling or getting hurt. i need to trust that i have enough skill (or God has enough skill ) to be able to go about life carefree on my skates. and more importantly, when i fall i need to know that i will be ok.
so here’s to taking off the knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, etc.
no price means no gas
luckily i woke up this morning and knew i had more than half a tank of gas in my car. after working out i did see a super short line at a gas station so i jumped in… i figured i should get some if there is no more gas when my tank runs out later this week. i waited like 10-15 max. paid too much though, i may report them to the government. (report any signs of gas gauging here)
BUT. it was all because of a rumor. we aren’t running out of gas. someone said we were, so EVERYONE and their mom and their mom’s spare cars, boats, etc. got gas on friday therefore taking what should have been a week’s supply of gas in one day. AAA says about 75% of our gas stations are out of gas. i saw lines and lines of cars today. way to go nashville…
(for a much more indepth story on this rumor go to cnn - http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/19/nashville.gas/index.html)
here’s what you should be paying (or around) – so do report anything that you think was way too high based on this…
(from http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/TNmetro.asp)
| Nashville | Regular | Mid | Premium | Diesel | |
| Current | $4.090 | $4.269 | $4.428 | $4.192 | |
| Yesterday | $4.084 | $4.263 | $4.422 | $4.193 | |
| Month Ago | $3.515 | $3.668 | $3.805 | $4.235 | |
| Year Ago | $2.715 | $2.873 | $3.011 | $2.928 |
the schermerhorn symphony center
tonight i was blessed to make a return visit to the schermerhorn symphony center in nashville to hear the nashville symphony accompany ben folds for a special show. it was phenomenal. hands down the best concert i’ve been to sonically.
but i always gain a new sense of appreciation for music when i see people who are perfect at their craft mix together to make a wonderful sound.
so here is my call to action. go see the nashville symphony in all their glory! they are absolutely wonderful and their resident conductor is a load of fun! they have a great 08-09 schedule and no matter what i am doubtful any of those days will be bad.
so check them out. nashvillesymphony.org
i am being pulled in two different directions and honestly am having a hard time making a decision… both sides are appealing and i think i know what i should do, but am not 100%.
maybe i’ll disclose more once i figure out what i am doing
some friends and i started a blog based off of the story of a man who took a polaroid picture every day for almost 20 years. at the end of his life he ended up with several thousand memories captured. so we are taking a picture everyday and sharing it with the world (or the 50 or so visitors each day ). so check it out at lifeinapicture.com
here is my post from today:
i LOVE stained glass
a beautiful stained glass cross in brentwood
i saw this while driving home last night but didn’t have my camera so i purposefully drove over to the church to take a picture of it today. it’s striking, yet simple. i love it. i sat in front of it and prayed tonight.
i saw this on my friend melissa’s facebook and thought it would be cool to do myself.
Type your answer to each of the questions below into a Flickr search. Using only the first page, choose your favorite image, then copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker(http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) (3 columns, 4 rows). Leave a comment if you play, so I can see yours!
The questions:
1. What is your first name? (nicole)
2. What is your favorite food? (tacos)
3. What high school did you attend? (victor valley)
4. What is your favorite color? (green)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (jim sturgess)
6. Favorite drink? (jamba juice – orange dream machine)
7. Dream vacation? (santa barbara, california)
8. Favorite dessert? (cheesecake)
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (i want to save the world)
10. What do you love most in life? (people)
11. One word to describe you. (emotional)
12. Your Flickr name (dont have one so i searched for my full name)
 | taylorcommunications on tea |
 | Jaclyn on tea |
 | Camille Breland on why i observe lent |
| Camille Breland on why i observe lent |
| i <3 resolutions … on let’s throw it off the… |
