NEWS...and pancakes

This has proven to be a great Leap Day! (which occurs every 4 years, thankyouverymuch! Dinner discussion. Subject closed. P.S.: Yours truly was right :) )

So. Some exciting news. I got a call this morning at precisely 10:10 AM with the news that I have been chosen (out of 120 applicants) for an interview for Chattanooga State's Dental Hygiene program! To say I am proud is a definite understatement!

However, I don't want to get too ahead of myself. There will be one more cut after interviews to choose the final class and narrow it down to 20. My interview is March 12, and I would appreciate any prayers!

But...but... on that note, I did find a print I wouldn't mind putting in my office once I get a job in the profession :)

I've always been a fan of the "Keep Calm &..." prints. (I liked 'em BEFORE they were cool, people!) This one is too great for a dental hygienist or a dentist.

I need to take a moment to thank God. He has been way too good to me. I have been blessed so abundantly with things and moments and people that sometimes I wonder why I deserve. I just want to thank Him for everything, big and small, he does to teach me and make me a better person. I fail Him everyday, but I have faith I can grow and learn.

Did any of you have a chance to stop by IHOP yesterday for National Pancake Day and get free pancakes?! I hope you did! All donations accepted yesterday went to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. Free pancakes + donated funds = Happy people eating syrupy goodness while supporting an awesome charity. Hello! Sugar...helping kids...that's A-ok in my book!

This week is NEDAwareness Week and I am loving it! Visiting schools to educate on the reality of eating disorders and their prevalence is something I can say that I am really proud of. I'll have to save that for another post!

xoxo - C

Tell me everything is wonderful now

I heard a song today that I hadn't heard in years. Which is funny, because usually songs that I love stick with me. But this was a nice refreshing beat to my day today. "Wonderful" by Everclear. It came out in 2000 - 12 years ago...what?! - crazy! Anyway, as I was driving through my quaint little downtown part of McMinnville, I just couldn't help but stop and really listen to those words in the song.

Starts out...

I close my eyes when I get too sad

I think thoughts that I know are bad

Close my eyes and I count to ten

Hope it's over when I open them

Even though I was only 8 when this hit came out, I remember listening to the song and not fully understanding what the aforementioned meant. "I think thoughts that I know are bad" - I couldn't wrap my mind around what they were trying to say. I couldn't wrap my mind around anything past a problem beyond a B- on a social studies test or why I couldn't nail a backhandspring in gymnastics. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that other kids, other people, other adults, had problems that caused "thoughts that I know are bad."

I go to school and I run and play

I tell the kids that it's all okay

I like to laugh so my friends won't know

When the bell rings I just don't want to go home

Still...even now, at nearly 20 years old, I have trouble imagining this situation for children. That at 6,9,12 year old kids have to put on a front so young to seem "okay."

Near the end of the song, it closes...

Promises mean everything when you're little

And the world is so big

I just don't understand how

You can smile with all those tears in your eyes

When you tell me everything is wonderful now

And when you stop and think about it...promises really do mean everything. Everything when you're little, and everything when you're big. I guess the moral of this whole schpeel is this:

If you ever see a child without a smile, go out of your way to make that child smile.

Make a funny face, smile at them, tell them a joke, tickle them. You don't know what that child goes home to, or doesn't go home to, at night. That may be the only time he or she feels special that whole day, or whole week.

And yes, I know, they can be whiny and snotty and gross and bratty, but they're kids! :) Look past it, however hard it may be! (God bless my sweet mama, an elementary school teacher for 20-some years. P.S. - Make sure teachers know they are appreciated, too! They take those kids' stories and lives home with them.)

Tomorrow I am making a visit to Smithville Elementary School to read & speak to two 2nd grade classes, and I can't wait. I want those kids to know they are loved. If not by their parents, by God.

Be the light that you want to see shine.

xoxo- C

I'm a grown-up. Kind of.

The past couple days, I have been thrown into a whirlwind of chaotic business! I don't know if it is just because I have been sick and I have felt like doing nothing, so doing something feels like major overkill or what. Who knows? Being sick (stomach virus to be precise) makes me feel all kinds of out-of-whack.

Tonight, I made a trip down to Chattanooga with the 'rents (of course, they had to go. Gotta love 'em.) This February, I am applying to the Dental Hygiene program at Chattanooga State to (hopefully!) be admitted into the program for the Fall 2012 semester. I'll just say this: I am going to need a lot of prayer. Nothing is more powerful than prayer. Out of 105-115 applicants, 20 will be selected for the program. You read that right...20. Needless to say, I am just a tad bit scared/overwhelmed/worried/anxious about this whole process. I have never wanted anything so badly in my academic career. I finally know the career path I want to take, and this is the one step that will either confirm or not confirm it.

I have heard from many DH professionals and academic advisors that Chatt State is one of the best DH programs in Tennessee. As I visited the facility today, I was so impressed by the warmth of the staff and the state-of-the-art clinics. Amazing. If I am going to spend my 2 years in a DH speciality program somewhere, I sure want it to be there!

Chattanooga is about an hour to an hour and a half drive from my house, so it's not exactly just a "hop skip & a jump" trip. This being said, I will probably end up having to get an apartment for my 2 years there. Commuting would just be too much. Plus a whole lotta gas. But we will see...gotta make sure I get in first! (I think my stomach just sank again...oh this will be a nerve-wracking next few months!)

Now that I'm thinking of it, there is so much coming up in the next little bit! Preparing my application and documents for DH program, clinical observations, making sure I kick some MAJOR butt in A&P 1&2, fulfilling my duties as Miss Country Sunshine, promoting my platform, attending local prelims, making appearances, as well as making time for essential family time, Miss TN headshot photoshoot, a pageant to emcee, Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, finals, work...WHEW, this list is way beyond crazy already! Not to mention throwing in studying and workouts and all the usual day-to-day routines!

So as I am ranting and all this lovely mumbo-jumbo, I have to remember to stay focused, stay determined, stay sane. God will get me through it. It's all in His plan. We have to trust that!

I hope this post hasn't stressed anyone out too badly (ha!) Ya'll have a wonderful FALL weekend! :)

OH! Can't leave this out - thought it was extra fun for us belles ;)

I apologize for not being able to make it bigger/clearer. Try clicking on it!

P.S. Did I mention fall break starts for me today? I can't complain, even if it IS only 2 days! (...that will be spent studying, I might add!) :P

xoxo-C

Back to the grind...

It's that time of year again...back to school! The only exciting things about that are: A) New school supplies. (Why are notebooks so exciting?!) B) One step closer to Dental Hygiene school, and (in turn) one step closer to Tyler and I starting our lives together. We have a deal that we are both going to finish school before we tie the knot, which is quite wise, if I do say so myself :)

Anyway, in regard to the photo above, that would be my oh-so-beautiful stack on notes that I've printed out for my A&P class. Did I mention it's only the second day of class? Yeah, it is. And we have a test next week. HELLLOOO excel A&P class! This is going to be a VERY fast-paced semester because this class is basically 2 semesters smooshed into 1. A&P 1 and A&P 2 in uno semester. I can do this. I can do this. I can doooooo this. (with prayer...and caffeine)

I forgot how much I loathe buying textbooks. However, I did get a pretty good deal on mine through eBay. Hopefully (fingers crossed!) it will be here tomorrow or Thursday. I'm about to have a panic attack not having my book yet in this class, but I always like to make sure I'm buying the right one and get the ok from the professor. Now the next step is buying the not-so-cheap CD for our "virtual cadaver dissection." Weeee...

On other note, I have been thinking a lot about beginning my journey into purchasing a few of my Miss TN dresses, so I won't have to buy 4,557 all at once. Kidding...only about 8-9.

Love this simple wrap dress from BCBG Max & Cleo
Lace cut-out back dress from Victoria's Secret. Yum

Hope ya'll have a good Tuesday! xoxo-C

All photos courtesy of Nordstrom and Victoria's Secret.

Monday Musings

1. It's 13 days til my birthday, ya'llllll.
2. It's also one week til fall semester starts. Wah wah wah.

3. I love little kids. I made my first "official" school appearance today as Miss Country Sunshine and I had a ball! Upon entering one classroom, I sat down in the storytime chair and was beginning to explain to the class my job as Miss Country Sunshine and why I was there. Mid-sentence, one little boy tells me, "Our teacher already told us this stuff, ya know..." I could have died!

4. I'm considering temporarily ending my relationship with Insanity (workout) to join a local gym, just to change things up. Gotta keep it fresh.

5. I love Reagan the cocker spaniel and Samson the huskie more and more each day. God bless those little furry canines :) I can swear to you they speak through their little eyes!

6. More people need to embrace dirty hair. I don't wash my hair everyday and I'm PROUD of it! I'll take 2-or-3-day old dirty hair over freshly washed hair anyday, thank you. Don't hate, appreciate.

7. Deuteronomy 31:6

All images courtesy of Pinterest.