Sweet Tea & Southern Hospitality

First and foremost, I want to apologize for the lack of recent blog posts..my life and mind have been a little off kilter and out-of-whack these past few weeks. However, much is happening in the lives of Sara and Chad and I anticipate many new blog posts to come!

Anyways, within the past few weeks Chad and I have relocated ourselves and our home from the ever-exciting village of Bourbonnais to the Blue-blooded city of Lexington, Kentucky. To our family and friends back in Indy: our Hoosier allegiance still stands firm...at least for now. =)

Since uprooting and moving to Lexington, Chad and I have managed (with the help of our family) to:
settle down into our quaint and contemporary Lexington apartment, unpack ALL of our moving boxes, decorate 80% of the apartment, familiarize ourselves with the 3 main roads that run through Lexington, conquer our first Southern comfort food meal experience, celebrate our one year wedding anniversary, begin a church internship/ministry experience, sign up for church and community softball leagues, study like mad for Nursing boards, and grill out a wonderful Memorial Day feast just for the two of us.

Whew...quite the list of accomplishments!

A few pictures to allow you to visualize our new (but hopefully very seldom) Lexington Lunch...

Our first Southern-comfort-food meal was at a Lexington renown restaurant called Ramsey's.

Ramsey's is a little home-cookin' Southern style restaurant located in a renovated/abandoned gas station. Its quaint, simple location and appearance are quite deceiving as to the hazardous calorie filled food consumed once inside.

SWEET TEA! "you know you're in the South as long as the tea is still sweet"

This (above) was my meal...well, almost. I had the country fried steak with creamed corn and a baked potato. Regardless of the exchange of side items I am sure my meal was just as calorie and cholesterol filled as the meal featured above. However, this meal could not touch the havoc of calories and cholesterol Chad's meal contained. (See Below)

This little delight is known as a "Hot Brown" or as the Pastor who treated us to this meal liked to call it, "Cholesterol on a plate." HOLY COW! Let me explain to you what this cheese covered mountain consists of:
Two-three slices of Texas toast, a few slices of country baked ham, a few slices of roasted turkey, a smattering of gravy, a few sliced tomatoes, a layer of melted cheese, and a few slices of bacon!!! ahhh.
well, needless to say, Chad liked it!

Take some time to really fathom that meal we consumed, how we didn't need to eat for a week after and how we will be working off those calories for the rest of our lives, and then you can continue reading. =)

On a more serious note....

While Chad and I often find ourselves caught up in all the newness and excitement of Lexington, at the end of the day we always reminiscence on the sweet and friendly spirit of this place! While trying not to sound too cliche, the Southern Hospitality we have experienced these past two weeks has made us feel right at home. It seems as though every person we meet or even walk past has a smile on their face, and if eye-contact is made, offers a pleasant "Hello or my name is.." The sense of genuine community and fellowship here is unlike any other place I have encountered...and although I have yet to build relationships and friendships with my fellow "hillbillies" --- the kindness that has been shown to me almost echoes the sweet whisper of reassurance I hear from my Heavenly Father each night as I pray for our ministry, relationships, friendships, jobs, finances, and family..." I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. "

Its Been a Year

To commemorate our One Year Wedding Anniversary: May 16. (Yes, its a few days late, but our cable and internet were just installed today...HOORAY!! new "real" blog post promised soon.)

don't goodbyes always come with new hellos?

Saying goodbye is one of my least favorite things to do...and tonight was a night of good-byes, or as I would prefer "see-you-laters."
Tonight marks Chad and I's last night in our Bourbonnais apartment. An apartment we have made into a wonderful home during our first year of marriage (our first anniversary is this Sunday- crazy) and also our last year of college.
Many great memories have been had in this apartment: couples game nights, weekly guys nights for Chad and his guy friends, pitch in dinners, baby showers, wedding showers, my first ever attempted home cooked meal, Chad and I's first pet (a beta fish who I accidentally dropped down the garbage disposal), Chad and I's first fight, Chad and I's first Christmas, study groups, coffee dates, and many many more. This apartment has been a great first home for us and although we are excited about our new home/apartment, it is bittersweet leaving this place and all the people that have shared memories with us here.
And as I struggle to keep my eyes tear-free during these goodbye moments, I am mindful of the deep and life-long friendships with which I have been blessed. Although I may no longer be surrounded by a constant circle of familiar friends, I know that they are always just a phone call, text message, facebook post, or blog away.

So perhaps, in some way or another, these goodbyes are only just pauses or brief breaks in time preparing us to meet again in another place, another time, another circumstance where our lives will once again cross paths and once again we will say "hello."

The Problem with Packing...

The problem with packing is that is makes me grouchy...very grouchy.
Since Chad and I are less than 72 hours away from our move to Kentucky, packing has consumed every ounce of my life and every positive thought in my mind these past few days. And because I am now a college graduate, I have taken it upon myself to use my "earned and official" critical thinking skills to analyze the problem of why packing makes me so grouchy.
First, let me explain to you just how grouchy packing makes me...
More than once my husband (Chad) has said to me "maybe you should take a nap," and "why don't you just go sit down and I will do all the packing," and "I'm leaving now, this would be a good time for you to pack," and "maybe we should coordinate our sleeping and packing schedules--Ill stay up late and pack while you are asleep if you will get up early and back while I am asleep"...and the list continues. Needless to say, I haven't been very pleasant these past few days--and for that I am truly sorry.
However, my sincerest apologies do not change the persistence of my attitude to be less than pleasant.
After reflecting on my poor disposition, I feel I have stumbled upon a few reasons for my recent sourness. Packing in its physical nature is very tiresome, tedious, and troubling--things which might make one weary and perhaps even grumpy. But for me, the truth of the matter is that during this dreadful packing process I have not only been packing up my physical things and belongings but in a way I feel as though I have been packing up the last four years of my life.
You see, in the midst of all these boxes and bags are memories...and if I may say so, lots of memories. Just today I packed up CDs of my engagement pictures, a picture frame from my RAing days, wedding paraphernalia (like you wouldn't believe), piano books from high school, stuffed animals and notes from my dating days, notes of encouragement from my freshman year of college, letters from old friends, and much much more. To put all of these memories into sealed boxes just has a way of reminding me how life is moving on, and for that matter that life is moving on much quicker than I had imagined it would.
Now I will be the first to admit that change and I have a strong love-hate relationship--emphasis on the hate. However, it seems that while I really don't like the excitement, newness, and discomfort of change, I also really don't like to get stuck in a rut of going through motions. Being in the same place, same state of mind, same hairstyle, same clothes, same position, or same anything for too long becomes just too comfortable..and for me, to become too comfortable is to become stagnant. With every part of my life, especially my spiritual life, I find myself striving to never become stagnant or overly comfortable--for when I am, I do not grow. So why then do I find this change of relocation so difficult? Because it is forcing me to grow.
One last thought,
Some of my favorite Biblical illustrations are those of plants and growth. Throughout the New Testament Jesus uses many illustrations of vines, plants, and bushes to illustrate the need for continual growth in HIM.
So, as I struggle my way through the rest of my packing, I will take comfort in His word and promise in John chapter 15:
I am the vine and you are the branches... Apart from me you can do nothing.
Just as a branch separated from its supporting vine cannot live, let alone produce any fruit, so we are helpless when were not connected to Jesus, the source of our hope and salvation.

As of Recently

Much is happening in our lives as of recently... Senior Banquet. Nurse Pinning Day. Graduation. Jobs. Graduate School. Move to Kentucky.
To help document all of our new or upcoming life changes, here are some pictures as of recently...

Senior Banquet with Friends

Graduation Day

Nurse Pinning Ceremony

The Bluegrass State: Our New Home

Chad's soon-to-be Graduate School

My new work place: University of Kentucky Hospital.
Sara Cook, RN B.S.N, Intensive Care Unit

The Words I (Sidewalk Prophets) Would Say

The title of my blog comes for my newest favorite song--Because I have a tendency to change my mind (daily), I figured I would claim this song "my favorite" before my mind changes itself.
The song "The Words I Would Say" is a song by Sidewalk Prophets, a band I might as well also claim as a new favorite. The song is one I first heard while perusing iTunes "Songs for You" play-list. After hearing iTunes 20second blip of the song I was hooked and instantly purchased the song, and not long after, the album. The song speaks to me a gentle reminder of how to live my life and how to encourage others. Too often I find myself getting caught up in the "ME moments" of life that I fail to acknowledge my Heavenly Father and give Glory where Glory is due. I am always quick to forget God's unfailing promises of faithfulness and love and too often find myself worried about what's next and where my life is going. This song reminds me to take hold of God's promises and to live life with a fervent and bold faith...a faith unafraid to be shared with others, a faith unafraid of the future, a faith unafraid of the ways of this world, a faith simply unafraid.
Below is the chorus of this song..an echo and reminder of living on God's simple truths. Enjoy.

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day,
His love will find a way,
These are the words I would say.

The First....

Today marks the beginning and first of (hopefully) many life updates, inspirational thoughts, and mindless ramblings. With graduation behind me and a new job before me, it seems I can hardly contain the excitement and anxiety of all the change about to unfold in my/our life. While my friends and husband have much welcomed my thoughts and ramblings, I feel that recording them may be somewhat more therapeutic. I am not sure of what this blog is to become or even what I am to become, but I have somehow been drawn to this idea of recording my thoughts for the enjoyment of both myself and others. I have no aspirations or hopes of attempting to pose as any sort of extraordinary writer but rather just to capture with word the beauty and wonder of my seemingly simply, yet sometimes crazy, everyday life. Enjoy.