weekend update {memorial day}

this weekend was full. the good kind. filled with great time with heart friends, vintage market days, long walks with great surprises, a road trip, a new coffee shop with this wall decor done with sharpies... and that was only friday and saturday! three day weekends are the best because you can squeeze a whole lot of good into them, yet still feel rested afterwards. sunday and monday were filled with new friends, paddle boards, jet skis, great food, great company, late night talks, half of the dark knight, and hours of volleyball. solid weekend if I do say so myself **read in Jay-Z voice**

coming soon: how to {long runs}, weekend update {home}, & the in-between 

sorry not sorry

here's to the three-day weekend, heart friends, spontaneity, meeting new people, being outside, & LIVING life! happy weekend, lovelies!

training

running and I have a love-hate relationship. I love it during the late spring, summer, and early fall... basically, as long as I can wear shorts. the cold weather hits, and it's just a miserable experience for me. that is one of the reasons I decided my next half would be in August. this is week two of official training. so far, so good. last saturday was the first "long run" of 4 miles. afterwards, I felt like I could continue running. always a good sign. this week's long run is a 5-miler, and I'm actually excited to tackle that distance again! 

I go back and forth on whether I like listening to music while running, but spotify changed it for me this past week. I'm loving getting introduced to new music while also getting to make my own play-lists! another running app that has been an old-faithful is RunKeeper. it tracks your routes, how far you have gone, what your pace is, and will save all of that information to show you how you're improving. it's the best! so if you're a new runner, I would highly recommend getting those to up your running game.

some of my fav running songs:
1. anything Beyonce #flawless
2. MKTO - classic
3. Nikki Williams - glowing
4. Andy Mineo - wild thing, ago, & the saints
5. a day to remember
6. up-beat country music for long runs
there's more, but I'll spare you how long that list could get :) 

weekend update

this past weekend was just what I needed to close out this past week. friday night I went with some friends to a concert at George's Majestic in fayetteville... I didn't know the artists, but it was a fun night out with friends, music, & dancing. all three of which I am always down for! saturday I went for the first long run of my half-marathon training **grand total of 4 miles** which felt incredible! this past week of running has been the best since getting back into it. I believe that running during warm weather should be considered a drug. it's intoxicating, and always draws me back for more. **am I crazy? don't answer that...**

the rest of saturday was a different story. this past week I have been somewhere between breaking down and numb. I couldn't quite put my finger on why I was feeling that way **oh, maybe it's this massive life transition that's rapidly approaching**, but it finally hit me after a quick Target run. **side note: I really might have a problem when it comes to Target** as soon as my front door closed, a flood of emotion hit me and I began crying. I still haven't begun to process all of the different thoughts that were coming at me during that break down or the one later that night in bed, but I do feel a little better. this morning at church, Simon spoke about finding your identity in Christ and not in all the other things that can control you. I believe that a huge part of my breakdown was fear of not being good enough, in my own eyes, in my parent's eyes, in the world's eyes through this whole transition. I was going to the world for my identity and not who God says I am in Him. worst. this week I will be holding fast to the truth that I am His. In Him, I have immense value. He will never leave more or forsake me. the only place I will ever find true satisfaction is in His will, His good, pleasing and perfect will. so here's to being reminded of truth daily. happy monday.

graduation season

between people I love graduating college & littles I love graduating high school, it's been a crazy month of May! when I was at both of these crossroads, nervousness of the unknown & excitement for a change consumed me. some days were more excitement than others, but I learned SO MUCH right after both of these crossroads. so, here's to y'all...

first, Tiffany. this is my brother's beautiful girlfriend, fellow Beyoncé lover, ginger, nerts shark, sans cheese partner, & lover of all things local. she loves Jesus & other people so well, and I am encouraged by her daily. you are headed into the last year of your MAT program at TCU (which I guess I'll say "go frogs" for you) & into a year of crazy changes. the first year after undergrad is crazy because that's when all your friends move & lots of BIG life changes begin to happen. you got this, sister! if anyone can rock this year, it's you :)

next, my seesters. the middle one is actually my biological sister(Elaine), if you can imagine that. the other two are my god-sisters, Kaylee & Kelsey. these girls are the sweetest, most talented, loving, beautiful-hearted young ladies I know. it blesses & encourages me the way they love Jesus as high school students, & how I know they are going to do the same in college. I could go on-and-on about these three, but I'll spare you the even longer novel this would be. I've known each of y'all since the days you were born, and it is crazy to me that y'all are so OLD! **just kidding, because that would make me really old** you have grown into beautiful women on the inside & out... I am so proud of the decisions y'all make & how you love others so well! my prayer for y'all as you head to different campuses this fall is that God provides great community who you will grow with & from throughout the next four years! so, here's to you....from left to right: sic 'em bears, woo pig, & gig 'em.

to my bville girlies: y'all have made the past 2 years the best! it's crazy to think that y'all are graduating & spreading out all over the country. Jordyn & I have been so blessed by the way y'all are seeking to honor & glorify the Lord in every part of your lives. how is it graduation time already?? I am so incredibly proud of the way y'all are making decisions, and how much you each have grown over the past couple years. remember, y'all are treasures!

 kirsty, you are such a gem. I love that real-talk is your native language, that you get excited about learning new things in God's Word, & that you have a heart for discipleship. you light up a room as soon as you walk in & are a leader in everything you are involved in. linden, you are brilliant. you have challenged me to know my Bible better and think through things in different ways. your passion for others to know God & love Him constantly pushes me to do the same... and I'm the one who is supposed to be your leader ha! God has huge plans for you, & I am so excited to watch how they unfold. linden, your love to God's Word and to make His name more famous challenges me all the time. I love having theoretical conversations with you at Kennedy & cannot even wait to see the BIG plans God has for your life! madison, you are hilarious even though you don't say much. how fitting it was that I found out through your mom that you had been dating someone for like 5 months! I am so excited for this new chapter for you in North Carolina with your parents & can't wait to see how you love other young girls & train them to know Jesus. erin, your smile is contagious. you think through things before acting & seek to honor God in everything you do. mizzou does not know what's comin for them :) you are a natural leader and your heart for others shines so brightly. I am so excited to see God continue to grow you in the next four years into a woman after His own heart! alexa, you're a ten. I love going to pressroom with you & hearing your heart. you're love for all things off-beat & local makes my heart smile. I cannot wait to see how God uses you on the swim team next year, sister! go make some waves :) carly, your joy is contagious! I love your passion for the simple things in life & the way you make people smile. your heart for others is rare & the way you connect and see value in everyone is such a gift! y'all are each going to knock it out of the park in college, & I am so blessed to be able to walk alongside each of you!

my thoughts {goodbyes}

goodbyes are one of the hardest things for me. in the past, I have not done these well, & it's actually cost me a few friendships. there is a balance between being overly dramatic with them or being cold-hearted, & I tend to lean more towards the cold-hearted side. how is one supposed to balance these things well? it's not that I am a robot or have a black, cold heart, but I am uncomfortable with showing a lot of emotion in front of others. typically, I become "numb" inside when I'm going through something hard, like goodbyes. this numbness looks like happy & care-free on the outside, but it can come across as fake or heartless.

fortunately, I have had the chance to slowly process these goodbyes since last October when I realized there would actually be goodbyes. there have been breakdowns & sad days mixed with the excitement & nervous energy of the unknown. I keep telling people, "this isn't goodbye! you aren't rid of me that easily!", but while that is 100% true, I also have moved around enough to know that those relationships change. that kind of change is hard. it's the change in relationships that will no-doubt cause sadness in the days to come, but for right now, I'm trying not to focus on that. I'm choosing to focus on today & squeeze as much out of these today's as I can because there's no benefit in being sad now! there is, however, benefit in savoring every moment I get with these people I will miss so much later because today I live life with them! and tomorrow? well, tomorrow we will cross that bridge when it comes.

coming soon: graduation season, training, & {yoga} lately

birthday post

so I turned twenty-five today. I am seriously blessed with the best when it comes to friends! they know me all too well that I'd rather have a Beyoncé cake than anything with happy birthday, & I love it. when I was little, it felt weird on my birthday because I never felt any older or different. I always wondered what it would be like to actually FEEL a different age, and today I know. twenty-five sounds ancient to junior high kids. to people in college it sounds like you have your life together. to people around my age, it is a fun, maturing year. to those older than me, it sounds young & like I've got my whole life ahead of me. I can officially say that I feel all of those things at once, and it's just strange. the name behind this blog is based off of the goals I made for "before twenty-five". my goals were: 1. become more flexible (specifically do the splits), 2. read a book per month, & 3. become more spontaneous. honestly, the one I did the best in was becoming more spontaneous & I have my incredible friends to thank for that! the splits haven't happened... YET, but you better believe I'll get those down soon **I'm soooo close** reading a book per month did not happen, but I'm going to blame that one on studying for the LSAT.

I enjoyed twenty-four, and I believe a huge part of that was figuring out what my goals for the year were. so, I will be doing that again. since I will begin law school this August, these goals are going to be less academic & more all-around health based. here they go: 1. run two half-marathons (first one is 8/29 in Virginia Beach), 2. standing splits & king cobra backbend, 3. take a full day once per month to breath & not think about school, 4. take an overnight trip alone, & 5. wear high heels & dress nice whenever I feel like it. here's to another year of growing & living life to the fullest!!

life lessons

there have been a lot of long posts lately. so, for all of you that like to read the bottom-line, here you go. ten life lessons {lately}.

1. being single is WAY ok. make the most of this precious gift of time.
2. having fun friends who like to travel & be spontaneous is the best.
3. friends who love you & challenge you are important to have in life.
4. following God's will is really hard sometimes, but it's the only place real satisfaction is found.
5. all people are valuable. they all have interesting stories. ask them.
6. setting goals in life can be a great motivation. don't freak out if you don't quite reach them.
7. allowing people to celebrate you is not going to kill you.
8. take time to breath & enjoy moments.
9. life lived worrying about other people's opinion of you is the pits. don't do it.
10. you will never really know what's around the corner in life. buckle up. trust the Lord. and enjoy the ride.

coming soon: my thoughts {goodbyes}, goals by twenty-six, and graduation season.

almost over

yes, some rumors are true. I just made my public announcement to the people I work with about this big life change coming up: law school. it seems like it was just yesterday I was sitting at the kitchen table with my dad throwing around this idea, but that was last August. and now here I am living in the reality of taking this jump. a question I get quite a bit when people find out is, "so, is this what you've always wanted to do? we've just never heard you talk about this!" well, this post will hopefully clear those types of questions up and reveal just what is going through my mind **warning: it's a crazy place sometimes. welcome**

September 2012. while watching the then current season of suits, I got the idea to go to law school. just because. I mentioned it to my mom to test the waters & see if it was safe to mention to my dad depending on her reaction. her reaction: "you just moved to Bentonville. obviously this is where God wants you right now. stop thinking about what's next." wise words from mom for the win. and that's exactly what I did.

summer of 2013. the thoughts began circulating, again, in my mind about what is next. honestly, I knew that my current job was not going to be a life-long career, and I wanted to figure out what was next and how I could be preparing for that. the thought crossed my mind to go back to school for counseling and maybe getting involved with International Justice Mission on the re-entry side of things. but honestly, I couldn't quite get excited about making that large of a time & money investment in getting my master's in counseling.

august 2013. I was home one weekend & mentioned getting a master's in counseling to my parents. their reaction caught me off-guard. my mom asked a bunch of questions, but my dad was quiet. the reason this was so strange to me was because my dad is never quiet about these things. I had prepared for all of his questions beforehand because he has always been the one to make sure we've done our research. but he was silent. at the kitchen table the next morning, my dad said this: "Alison **side-note: my family calls me Alison**, why don't you just go to law school?" me: "did mom tell you about that?" dad: "tell me about what?" ... long story short-ish, my parents hadn't talked about my thoughts from a year ago. my dad thought of that himself after I told him my passion for working alongside battered women either in an international human rights context or an inner-city legal aid aspent. we spent the rest of the morning looking at different options, and I tentatively began allowing myself to think about this possibility. later that month, I bought an LSAT Kaplan study book to see what this crazy test would be like. to my surprise, it wasn't going to take me a year to study/learn the material because it's mostly just analytical skills & logic games that I enjoy! I signed up for the October LSAT and began studying in all of my free-time. I've never been so disciplined in my life!

October 2013. I took the LSAT & waited for the results. no one that lives in NWA knows about this besides my brother. stress level was high. I didn't realize how bad I actually wanted this until now, while waiting for the score. this score would determine whether or not I was going to pursue a legal career. I had my first break-down moment the weekend before receiving my score. I was in my car, driving down Walton Blvd in Bentonville, crying my eyes out, & pouring my heart out to the Lord. It was the first time I allowed myself to admit how badly I wanted this. "Lord, I want this so bad. Please just help me get above a 150... I want to live in your will for my life, and I think this is it.. I hope this is it." I got above a 150.

December 2013. snow days. they were good for one thing, I got all six of my applications turned in: Baylor, Texas A&M, St. Mary's, Regent, UALR, & Samford.

January 2014. I received my first acceptance letter. and a scholarship offer. and a decision deadline of April 1st. over the course of this month, I received acceptance letters & scholarship offers from five of the six schools I applied to. what?? I told my boss that I was going to law school. I told the rest of my team I was going to law school.

February 2014. traveled to all the schools trying to decide where I was going to end up this fall. luckily, you can go back & read posts from those months because that's also when I first began this blog.

fast-forward to now. I will be attending Regent University School of Law beginning this August. my last day of work is June 15. I move to Virginia Beach the first week of August. if you want to know why Regent, go back and read here and here . God is good & everything He does is good. His will is good, pleasing, and perfect... even when it's hard.

weekend update

this past weekend was a whirlwind. one of my little sister's had her senior prom in Dallas, so I got to make the trek down to Texas to do hair & makeup for Elaine and her entourage. a little about my family: I am the oldest of four kids. my youngest sister, Chrissy, & I are called "the bookend twins" since we look very similar, but we could not be more different in personality. the second youngest, Elaine, is a carbon copy of our mom: short, blonde, beautiful smile, blue eyes... basically we could not look more different. then there is my brother, Andrew, a senior at the University of Arkansas **wps** who I am pretty close with and is a good mix of both of our parents. as you see in the picture above, Elaine is a gem. she is absolutely stunning on the inside & out. not really sure how we are going to handle the college guys wanting her attention in the coming years!

I have been blown away by how God has blessed me through my siblings. they each love the Lord wholeheartedly & challenge me to be a better follower of Jesus everyday. they teach me so much about life, and I thought I was supposed to do that for them! how did our parents do this? I'm not really sure they even know. the closer I get to twenty-five, the more I realize my parents had no idea what they were doing. my mom was twenty-six when I busted into their world. twenty-six! I cannot even imagine being married right now, let alone being responsible for another little life! but what I've come to realize is that God gives us grace in every season. He has lead my parents through the past twenty-eight-ish years of marriage and raising four crazies, and He is continuing to lead them as they go. as I work alongside young girls with different home situations, I am continuously reminded of how blessed I am to have two parents who love God, follow Him, and have taught me to do the same. not that they do things perfectly, but they strive to honor God & bring His name glory in every aspect of their lives.

so, here's to today, bringing honor & glory to God in every aspect of my life, admitting when I fail, and loving others in a way that points them to Him. happy may 6th, everyone!

weekend update {dc edition}

 

 

this past weekend taught me many new things. among them are: 1. having spontaneous friends who love to experience new things is the best, and 2. it's always worth saying yes to cheap round-trip tickets. as people ask how my trip was this past weekend, one of the things that continues to ring true is that I am so glad I went to DC as an adult rather than as a high school student. the high school version of myself would have looked at this stuff like it didn't mean anything, but the adult me knows better.

 

we did DC in 4 days. well, more like two full days & two half days. here's a rundown of the things we did:

Thursday - fly from Little Rock to Baltimore, took a shuttle with a new friend (Joan), checked into our hotel in Arlington, navigate the Metro rail system, & went to an area called "Georgetown" for a late dinner at numo **read: amazing**

Friday - leave hotel, quick breakfast, holocaust museum, later lunch, museum of natural history, national art gallery, hotel to get ready for dinner, Marvin's for dinner, & different patio bars that night.

Saturday - slower breakfast at a new place, walk around national mall while a protest was going on, museum of American history, the capitol building, botanical gardens, nap-time & ice cream truck time on the national mall, bus tour of monuments, late dinner at Hamilton's.

Sunday - best breakfast ever at Le Bon café on our way to church at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, lunch at Le Bon café, check out of hotel, shuttle to airport, fly from Baltimore to Little Rock.

 

this past weekend was so full, but if you're only going to spend a couple of days in DC that's the only way to do it. above are pictures from the national art gallery, which I wish we would have had more time in. the feeling of seeing a Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, & Picasso in real life was surreal. **note: do not even try to go here with only an hour until they close** this is one I will be re-visiting. another of my favorites was the holocaust museum. we spent three hours going through their main exhibit, & I still feel like we were rushing. I wish that there were words to describe how it feels to go through that museum & see what these people went through, but there aren't. there were videos at the end of the exhibit from real people who survived those terrible years, and I kept thinking "how do those people continue to live with those images and memories?" directly after the videos is a beautiful memorial room where people may sit & reflect on all they have just seen. beautiful people, mistreated & lost. reminds me of a sermon I recently listened to: "whenever a culture devalues something God has declared valuable, the outcome is catastrophic."

some (ten) trip highlights **there are a lot**

1. Le Bon Café - anytime you have to stop somewhere twice, you know it is good. we were those obnoxious girls who ate outside & told everyone who ventured by that they were missing out if they didn't stop here. to die for egg strata, melt in your mouth French toast, out of this world chocolate croissant, fresh fruit galore, and a big bowl of coffee... I mean how could you not go back?

2. The Hamilton - this is where we went for dinner on Saturday night. things that blew us away: their service was phenomenal, massive wine list, still seating people well past 11:00 at night for dinner, incredible fresh tuna sushi appetizer, & each of our meals.

3. eating lunch outside: that weather. those patios. district taco was the bomb. not to mention the art sculptures that we could enjoy while eating! spoiled much?

4. ice cream truck + nap time on the national mall... you know you're living well when you can stop & enjoy this moment. as I was laying down I could look to my right and see the Washington Monument, and to my left was the Capitol building. can I do this everyday please?

5. Capitol Hill Baptist Church - a traditional service with hymns that I actually enjoyed. why? because normally a traditional service like that is full of shallow teaching & not much challenge, but that could not be farther from what we experienced this past Sunday. everyone we ran into was authentic and welcoming, the prayer throughout the service was incredibly real straight from the people's hearts, the teaching didn't hold back any punches, and it was full of young people who live in DC. if that doesn't speak volumes about a church & the young people in America, I don't know what else will!

6. Marvin's - great little restaurant known for their muscles & fries. if you don't get one of their many different muscles & fries plates, you're wrong. also, bartender's choice beverage with bourbon, just do it.

7. the parks - a big city with tons of beautiful parks full of people running, biking & walking on their lunch breaks?? when can I move here? 

8. meeting random people - another reason I'm so thankful for my friends, they enjoy talking with people as much as I do, if not more! from the very beginning of our trip (sharing a shuttle with "joanie"), we decided that we had to keep our "interesting people quota" up each day. yes, these are my friends. yes, we may be obnoxiously loud, ask you many questions about your life, laugh with you at fun stories, but we are loving life!

9. The Metro - again, meeting random people, best. not having to drive in crazy traffic, also a win. getting to see what real life could be in DC, love.

10. walking everywhere - since going to school at the University of Arkansas, I have yet to live in a city where you walk miles upon miles every day. I miss it.

I believe that I fell in love with a city this past weekend. if I don't pursue living here for some period of my life, I would be shocked. when I've told people that over the past few days, the reactions I get are somewhere between shocked, confused, and surprised. most people would maybe say that about Chicago, New York, or Dallas, but it happens to be Washington DC for me. to say that I'm excited to live 3.5 hours away from here might be an understatement. to have the opportunity to maybe spend a summer or a semester there makes my heart beat fast. here's to the future, as exciting and unknown as it is.