Rest

I was off work today because I work Saturday.

I'll be working every 4th Saturday or so, and when I do I'll get a day off during the week.

I'm thinking I am going to like this.

Well, I'll at least like it on that day off - maybe not so much when I have to get up on Saturday morning to go to work.

I spent this morning getting a new drivers license, taking my car to get an emissions test, and going to the county clerk's office for my car title and tag.

I wanted to put it off and not spend my day off running around.

Now I'm glad it's all done.

I'm official.

I could totally start getting ready for the Miss Tennessee pageant now.

After lunch with Emily, I decided to take advantage of this unusually cooler weather we're having here in Memphis today.

I have not spent any time on our balcony yet, so this afternoon I took my book and Diet Coke out there and chelaxed.

New Peter Pezzelli book. One of my favorite authors.

Firehouse Subs was yummy.

I'm thankful for time to rest during this overwhelming time of life.

A few Sundays before I left Starkville, J.D. Shaw at Adaton Baptist Church gave a message on work.

He said that as Christians we should never work as if we have to work.

We should work for the joy of it.

Can we really even fathom that??

Working for the joy of working and not because we know it will support our needs/wants or get us to that next stage in life?

In order to enjoy work and bring glory to God we have to look at how we can serve others through our work and also figure out our own gifts and how they fit into our jobs.

The most important thing to remember in our work is to look to the cross.

Rest in the knowledge that Jesus finished the only work that will ever really matter.

The biggest problem is taken care of.

Rest in Jesus' work.

love and miss

Running 'Round in Circles

I'm not sure why I just wrote that as the title.

I think it's because I have been missing my Daddy lately and he always sings that.

"Running 'round in circles, running 'round in circles, running 'round in circles"

That's how it goes.

In case you were wondering.

I think the other reason I thought about that little song is because of the word "running".

If you keep up with my blog you already know so I'll try not to repeat myself too much.

AC, Butler, and I ran the Elvis Presley Run, Walk, Rock & Roll 5K this past Saturday.

It was great!!

Here we are after arriving at Graceland.

All bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Butler, me, AC

Yes, we matched on purpose.

This turned out to be a good idea (thanks, Butler) because we could easily keep up with where the other 2 were when we got separated during the race.

I'm sure you can expect this next comment, but it was so flipping HOT!!

My personal favorite part of the race was the wet paper towels at the halfway mark.

I've never been so happy to see a paper towel.

My goal was just to run the whole thing.

The recent heat wave has prevented me (how's that as an excuse?) from training like I should.

Just running the whole race, not worrying about my time, was what I needed as motivation to continue on this journey towards the St. Jude Half in December.

And I accomplished my goal!

As a non-runner (I guess at some point I'll begin to call myself a runner), this was quite possibly the farthest I've ever run at once.

No.

I take that back.

It was definitely the farthest/longest I've ever run at once.

Here we are after the race.

Same position, just a lot sweatier.

I wish we had some pics of some of the individuals at Graceland that day.

It was a fabulous people-watching opportunity.

As you can imagine.

Graceland

'Nough said.

Now I have to get back to one of my favorite shows:

Love and miss

For Real

Here we go!!

Pictures of my new apartment in Memphis and Anna's wedding weekend.

Our living room

Rachel and I are pretty proud of our lights on the counter.

This is my view when I wash dishes.

The view from our balcony

One day I looked out at the gazebo and a guy was doing pull-ups on it.

The 1 Mile marker for the trail that runs around the lake.

And by trail I mean sidewalk.

But it works for me...makes training for a Half easier.

Emily and I figured out it's 1.2 miles around.

(We had to "figure it out" because this 1 Mile marker is the ONLY marker on the whole thing.)

Our balcony...which I have been calling the porch.

No chairs or table or twinkly lights yet, but it's going to be an awesome place to sit and look at the lake when we do get it put together.

And when it cools off a bit.

My room...much bigger than my room in Starkville.

View from the bathroom

My view every morning when I open the blinds.

The view from Rachel's room.

Pretty awesome.

Me and AC at Anna's rehearsal dinner in Jackson, MS.

Butler and myself :)

Here's the Bride!!

Anna and myself at the Bridesmaid Brunch.

The beautiful bride right after she got ready.

Best friends

Anna's college buds:

Libbie, me, AC, Butler, and Lori

Just chilling before the ceremony.

Have fun in the British Virgin Islands!!

Memphis is great so far.

I (obviously) love where I live.

I'm one week into the new job. So far so good. Learning the ropes of a new hospital is always somewhat overwhelming, but I'm encouraged by the fact that I did it with every new rotation during the internship. Catching on quickly is something you get good at as an intern.

The people I work with are extremely friendly and encouraging.

There are even dietetic interns!!

That's sort of weird since I was just in their shoes a couple of months ago.

Having so many good friends here is making the transition from school life to the real world much easier.

I'm excited and praying over finding a new church home here.

Getting completely settled will take a little while, but I'm getting use to the fact that this is my new home.

I do miss me some Stark though. :)

Mary in Memphis

TEASER

haha

That was for all of y'all who are dying for me to update about Memphis.

I bet you got on your Google reader and were like "oh my gosh, Mary finally posted about life!! YAY"

Right??

Sorry, but this is all I have time for right now.

A REAL post is coming soon. It will include pics of the new apartment, job details, and Anna's wedding!!

Get excited. :)

Love and miss

Flashback

So I got on Facebook this morning and an old friend had posted these REALLY old pics.

I wanted to share.

I'm the one in the dress that resembles something a sailor would wear.

Some of you have heard me say that I always had a bow on the side of my head which in turn made me tilt my head to one side 99% of the time.

Here is proof of that:

This is my first dance recital!!

I LOVE it.

Those were my two best friends, Jessica and Johanna (they're twins if you can't tell), and I'm pretty sure we were 4 years old here.

(it's pre-the glasses years)

I still have that costume in a box at the top of my closet at home.

One day my little girls will surely argue over who gets to wear it first....seeing as it is extremely awesome.

I think the matching tap shoe ties are a big plus.

I only took tap for the first 7 years...I later claimed it gave me a headache and didn't want to take that class anymore. haha

Hope you laughed a little today!!