whose a winner...

I'm a winner!

I was lucky enough to win one of the fabulous giveaways

the lovely BonBon Rose Girls

hosted in celebration of the 2 year blogiversary!

I won this fabulous Vintage Repurposed necklace from 

Alex Keller.

 Y'all should really check out her Etsy shop.

She has some really great pieces!

seize opportunities

This past Monday night Bill Rancic spoke at the university.

Bill won the first season of The Apprentice.

A lot of you may know him from the reality show 
he does with his wife, Giuliana & Bill.  

Although I have never seen an episode of The Apprentice, 

I was excited about his speech.

Firstly, I am a geek so I love going to speeches and lectures;

especially if they are about areas I am interested in.

Secondly, Bill beat a Harvard MBA grad to win The Apprentice.

Apparently, he knows a thing or two about business.

Bill seemed relaxed and down to earth during his speech.

I have been to some boring speeches but he was very engaging

and told stories that everyone could relate too.

The main gist of his speech was to seize opportunities.

This is what I gleaned from his speech:

-- the ability to not only recognize an opportunity

but the ability to seize that opportunity is an important trait

for anyone who wants to be successful

--in business and life you have to have a strategy 

and you have to set goals

--if you do not fall down, if you do not make mistakes, 

you are never going to get ahead and 

you are never going to realize your full potential;

a successful person must accept his failures and learn from them

It was nice to see that someone who came from a relatively 

normal childhood {both of his parents were educators}

can make it big in business!

Maybe one day I will be giving a speech 

to a packed house at GSU;)

At the end of the speech, Bill did a Q&A session.

Of course, a lot of the questions were about Giuliana.

So, he called her and let her answer one of the questions over speaker phone.

He even got her to do our football chant!

{click on pics for source}

never grow up

{via}

Today my niece Whit turns the big 13!

It has been amazing watching her grow into 

a beautiful young lady.

But she really needs to slow down

the whole growing up thing!

I still find it weird at times that I can hold an actual conversation

with her that has nothing to do with cartoons or toys.

I am not too comfortable with the conversations about boys but that is part of growing up and being a teenager!

I love how her personality is really starting to show.

However, I really hope she does not go through that 

rebellious teenager phase.

She most likely will to some extent 

but I am not looking forward to that.

Hopefully, because I am the "cool aunt" 

I will not be classified as embarrassing! 

I just wish I could keep her & her siblings little forever.

I know how cruel the world can be and I want 

them to keep their innocence for as long as possible.

My sister is seriously a fantastic mom and 

has instilled a strong set of values into both of her girls.

And she will continue to teach them as they grow.

So I know that they are well equipped to handle life's opportunities & struggles.

I just want to protect them and shelter them.

I think the hardest thing is letting them make their own mistakes.

And if I feel this way, I cannot imagine how my sister feels!

I imagine it is tempting to just lock them up in their rooms 

until they are grown;)

I do not know if you have heard Taylor Swift's song 

Never Grow Up 

but it pretty much sums up what I want to say to Whit.

Especially this part: 

To you, everything's funny

You got nothing to regret

I'd give all I have honey

If you could stay like that

Oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up

Just stay this little

Oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up

It could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you

Won't let no one break your heart

No one will desert you

Just try to never grow up

You're in the car on the way to the movies

And you're mortified your mama's dropping you off

At 14, there's just so much you can't do 

And you can't wait to move out

Someday and call your own shots

But don't make her drop you off around the block 

Remember she's getting older too

And don't lose the that you dance around in your PJs getting ready for school

blogger's block

I am having a major case of blogger's block!

{Is that even a real term?!}

Between working {2 jobs) &

finishing up my last semester of grad school {full-time}

absolutely nothing interesting happens to write about.

And I am sure none of you want to read about

global business strategy, 

project management,

or leadership and management.

But that is all my life is about these days!

I think my Profs know this is my last semester

and they want to make sure

I work hard enough this semester;)

I am getting my resume done this week.

So the job search will begin in earnest soon.

{Yipee!}

I am sure I will have plenty to write about then.

It may be a little quiet around these parts

for the next few months.

But I am trying to keep up with all of your blogs

and commenting as often as I can!

Only 88 days to go!

{a little C&H...just because!}

click on images for source

Happy Birthday to the Greatest Sister in the World!

Today is my WONDERFUL sister's birthday!

She has impacted my life in immeasurable ways. 

She has given me two beautiful nieces and one precious nephew.

She cherishes her relationship with God.

She is a loving mother, wife, and friend.

She is the strongest, most giving person I know.

She is always there to listen and quick with a hug.

She has been there through the ups and downs, highs and lows,

& through laughter and tears.

And, ultimately, she has become my best friend!

{via 1, 2}

the one about commercials...

I really could not care less about the Packers or Steelers.

I am more of a college football girl!

So I watched the Super Bowl last night for the commercials.

Overall, I was underwhelmed by them but there were some cute ones.

Here are my favorites:

{this one just killed me...my absolute favorite of the night}

{I want this car!!!}

What was your favorite commercial?

Make your choice, adventurous Stranger...

Strike the bell and bide the danger,

Or wonder, till it drives you mad,

What would have followed if you had

~The Magician's Nephew

JG from Me and my Soldierman

is hosting a fabulous giveaway!

She is giving away a complete set of the

Chronicles of Narnia series!

This is one of my all time favorite book series.

I have read the series several times over the years.

And The Magician's Nephew has always been my favorite book.

Have you read the series?

If so, which book is your favorite?

Be sure to enter JG's giveaway here.

And if you enter let her know I sent you!

opportunity

He who refuses to embrace

a unique opportunity

loses the prize

as surely as if he had failed.

~William James

Have you ever gotten a great opportunity

but passed it up

because you were sure

someone more qualified would

snatch it up?

I found myself thinking that way

a few weeks ago.

I have started the dreaded job search.

And I came across a dream position for me.

It was in the area I want to focus on,

had excellent pay & benefits,

and best of all it guaranteed that I would

work abroad for at least 3 years!

The only problem is that they are wanting

to fill the position immediately

and I do not graduate until May.

I found myself thinking that there was

absolutely no way I could get that job

even if they were willing to wait until May.

It was too good to be true.

There had to be somebody more qualified

with acutal experience that would

grab this opportunity.

When I finally realized what I was doing,

I could not believe it.

I have always been the type to believe

that I can do anything as long as I work

hard and persevere.

Yes, there is most likely someone

more qualified,

with more experience

but that is going to be the case with any position.

This hypothetical more qualified person

probably has a family & commitments

and would not be willing to

relocate oversees for 3 years.

He might not be stepping up

so why not step in?

It just amazes me sometimes

how I can defeat myself

with my thought process

before I ever begin.

I take comfort in the fact that

the right opportunity is out there for me.

I may not know exactly

what it looks like

or how it will present itself.
But I have faith that all of my prayers
will not go unanswered.

This whole job search thing
is scary and it will not be easy.
I am a planner by nature.
And it kills me not knowing what next year
or even 6 months from now will look like.
But I am working on trusting God
and following His plan.
Which is definitely a struggle.

I know I will most likely
not get my dream job right out of the gate.
But I am willing to work my way up to that dream job.
And if I do get the opportunity of a lifetime
and actually get a chance at my dream job
I am going to go for it at full force.
I just need the opportunity!

Small opportunities are often
the beginning of great enterprises.
- Demosthenes