It’s a lot of pressure.  Whether your reading audience is 1 or 100,000, writing the perfect post carries weight.

I want my post to be insightful or informative or funny.  I want the reader to not be bored and I want them to come visit the blog again.  I want to leave them pondering or I want to leave them laughing.

But why?

Why don’t I just write the stories and questions of my life down in a journal for only my eyes to see?  Why do I feel it necessary to share life with friends and even strangers?

Because I want to be known.  We all do.

In the same way that we walk into a crowded room and want someone to recognize us, bring us into the familiar and break down the barrier of uncomfortable- we want someone to listen.

We want readers to share life with us.  Celebrate with us.  Question with us.  Remember us.

It’s the reason that I post a new entry, even after 1.5 months away from the blog.  It’s because I don’t want to be forgotten.

I’ve been reading a lot about Paul and his mission work throughout the New Testament as I study for my World Missions class.  His willingness to go where the Holy Spirit led is inspiring.  It wasn’t about Paul, but it was about Paul’s desire to spread the Gospel and the name of Jesus across nations.  Paul’s mission was not to make Paul known, but to make Christ known.

May my mission be the same.  May my words be a reflection of God’s presence in my life and together may we walk this journey He’s laid before us.

I might walk into a crowded room and not know a soul, feel really awkward, and want to stand in a corner pretending to talk on my cell phone.  But WHO I represent with my actions and words matters more than my desire to feel accepted.  God didn’t call us to be comfortable.  He called us to be a light in a dark and crowded room.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” MATTHEW 28:19-20

There are so many great things about this picture…. besides the puppy and Godspell t-shirts…

But the best thing about it is the girl standing next to me.  She’s been there for me since those glasses-wearing, braces-sportin’ days and although she’s 6 hours away, she’s still there for me now!  We’ve been friends since the 1st grade and I’m completely blessed by her friendship.    From beach trips to our annual taping of “KBLS News”… from slumber parties to prom… we’ve done it all and I’m thankful that Lindsay is in my life!

Here we are on her wedding day back in December:

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY LINDSAY!!

Did you know that if you see “Contagion” you may not look at Gwyneth Paltrow again without thinking about the inside of her brain?

Did you know that walking around the Nashville Nordstrom where you love everything you see but can’t afford a thing is both depressing and obnoxious?

Did you know that it’s almost humanly impossible to have an apple pie and ice cream in your kitchen and NOT eat it?

Did you know that we often run to anyone and everyone else before we run to God?  (yep, just got serious on ya.)

Did you know that fall should really be called the “spice up your life” season in reference to the amount of pumpkin spice lattes we consume?  (and in special reference to our beloved Spice Girls)

Did you know there’s only 3.5 months left in 2011?  Whaaat?!

Did you know I’m having way too much fun with this list?

Happy Fall.  Happy times.  School has taken over my life and my blogging abilities.

1)  My niece turned 1 on the 21st.  Can you believe that?  She’s the cutest thing and is really fun to be around.  We celebrated her birthday with all of our family in Augusta and it was great to see everyone!

2) Ansley turned 30- whoo hoo!  We celebrated her birthday with her family and mine and it was really great to all be together.  Adam surprised Ansley with tickets to see Keith Urban and Clay, Connie, and I got to go along!

3) I bought a new car.  Or I guess we should say I traded cars.  I bought a car back in December, but wasn’t happy with it and really missed being in a SUV.  So I made a trade and now am a proud owner of  a Toyota Highlander.  Whoop.

4) We found another dead mouse in the house.   Awesome.  Mickey Mouse Club all up in my house.

5)  I began online classes yesterday to pursue a Masters degree in Religion with an emphasis in Church Ministry.  It is exciting/scary/overwhelming to be back in school again.  It’s also really interesting to balance a full time work schedule with school work.  Week 1 is going well, but I’ll keep you posted

6) I got to see 2 of my best friends this past weekend in Atlanta.  Two of my Nash-besties and I went down to Atlanta to enjoy a Braves game and I was able to see Tinsley and Dana while I was there.  Dana and I, of course, have not spoken since March because we’re terrible communicators.  We’ve accepted it though and picked up right where we left off.   I’m looking forward to a BFF reunion weekend (with all 5 of my people) in the mountains coming up in November!

7) In 9 days I take off with some of my Nash-besties and head to Hilton Head for a few days! I. can’t. wait.  Praying any and all hurricanes stay away….

And for now.. that is all!

Sunday morning I was in Augusta after attending two friends’ wedding Saturday night, and I got a text from my roommate:

“I just opened the drawer, saw a tail, slammed the drawer, and now I can’t even stand near it.”

VICTORY!

Sadly, my first thought was, “oh, I won’t be there to get pictures for my blog!”

I know. Who says that?

But. The hunt is over. And according to my roommates the disposal was as dramatic as the episode of the Bachelorette I’m about to watch. Lots of screaming.

You know what they say, Mickey. 3rd trap’s the charm

Today, we discovered that he had been back to the silverware drawer, used it as his bathroom, ignored the TWO traps in the drawer and left.

Mickey, that is RUDE.

And nasty.

Needless to say, there are now THREE traps in the drawer (one of every kind) and some peanut butter.

You may win the battles, Mickey, but we will win the war!

And today, here’s what I found:

That’s peanut butter on the end.  And that’s a chunk of it gone.  Um, hello, Mr. Professional?  You said to put peanut butter in the trap because mice are really attracted to it.  You didn’t say he’d treat the trap like a plate- eat off it and leave!

Let the hunt continue…

Mickey is the mouse living in or around our house and thus driving 3 20-something girls crazy.

Two weeks ago, I woke up on a Saturday morning and found my roommate, Caroline, pulling out a kitchen drawer and washing all of the flatware (you appreciate me naming it correctly, CG? )  She quickly informed me that she woke up to finding mouse droppings in our flatware silverware drawer (ok, I just can’t call it flatware!)

You can imagine my reaction.

A) There’s a mouse in our house? B) He’s pooping next to the things we eat with?  C) Gross.

Caroline cleaned out the whole drawer, checked the rest of the kitchen, and left out 2 traps.

The next day, I came home to find that Mickey had been back, ignored the trap like it was just a new decoration, and again used the bathroom.

And so began our Mickey Hunt.

We thought we could handle Mickey on our own by just using the traps we put down, but Mickey out-smarted us.  So, we called in the professionals.  Little did I know that the professional would just come in, tell me where he “thinks” Mickey is coming from and also set out traps.

There are 4 sticky traps and 2 snap traps scattered throughout our kitchen.  Don’t worry, the snap trap’s under the sink, so you will not hear any of us Biltmore Girls screaming from pinched toes.

Trap check morning 1- one trap had moved from one corner of the kitchen to another.  Mystery?  Ghost?  No.  Evil Mickey.  Upon further exploring, I saw that Mickey had indeed gotten into the sticky trap, drug himself and the trap across the floor and somehow escaped.  How did I know?  I found Mickey hair stuck all inside the trap.  Extra gross.

Trap check morning 2- No movement, no Mickey.  I put peanut butter inside the traps per Mr. Professional’s suggestion.  The peanut butter was still there the next morning.

Trap check afternoon 2- Trap caught a spider.  At least it’s good for something.

All I know is that it better just be Mickey, and not The Mickey Mouse Club all up in our house…  If that’s the case, you can fully expect me to start naming the other rodents Justin, Britney, and Christina.

To be continued…

I had a blast taking my cousins to see Taylor Swift in concert.  She puts on a really good show.  It’s basically like watching a musical because every song has an act with props, costumes, and characters.  As a musical lover, I thought it was great!  PLUS we got free t-shirts and glo sticks.  What’s not to love?

I went to Chicago with Caroline, Megan, and Kelsey.  We had a blast exploring the city and eating lots of deep dish pizza and Garrett’s popcorn.

not pictured: Kelsey (bc someone has to take the picture, right?)

I went to Hilton Head for a few days with some of my family and my roommate, Caroline.  We headed to Savannah as well for a long time friend’s wedding.  It was an overall quick trip, but so great to see family and friends and enjoy some time on the beach!  It was also my niece, Shelby’s, first time at the beach  She loved it, of course.

Ansley and I went to the CMT Awards here in Nashville.   We had a really great time!

And last but not least, my friend, Tinsley, and her bf, Steve, came to visit this past weekend.  It was CMA Fest weekend, so the town was packed and as tradition goes it was the hottest week of June!   It was a good-ole-country-music-filled time.

I LOVE SUMMER!

June 8 is the CMT Awards that will be held here in Nashville and they’re fan voted.