I'm the Biggest Blog-Slacker Ever

Well, as usual, the blog has kind of taken the backseat in my life. Not too much has been going on with me. Here are some highlights (be careful, the excitement might be too much):

-I got feathers...pics to come later
-Started our small group/ reading Mere Christianity
-I'm removing the wart on my thumb with these band-aid things and it's really gross
-Saw Super 8 and Cars 2. Loved both. Oh, and discovered that movies are $5 from 4-5:30 p.m.
-Got a new battery for my computer since it wouldn't hold a charge and I could only use it when it was plugged in
-My mom and I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago for a couple of days. We had a great time.
-I'm going to the beach again in a couple of weeks with Philip and Graham.
-Keeping up with the Bachelorette.. I think JP is my fave, but I'm not a big fan of her so I'm not sure if I want them together.
-I got a big, floppy straw hat and got it monogrammed...a pic to come of that later, too
-Transformers 3 is out and Philip Palmer has not seen it yet. This HUGE news. But he is seeing it this weekend so we can all rest easy! Haha.

And, most importantly.....

The Miller Fam is taking on this place TOMORROW:

Yep, we're heading to the Big Apple. Our flight leaves at 6:30 a.m. AHHHHHHH. I might die. I am so excited though! 

Don't ask me what we're doing, where we're eating, I know a little, but I am mainly along for the ride. Big, BIG thanks to Jamie M. for keeping Millie while we are gone. We all appreciate it so much! I still have a good amount of packing left, need to add songs to and charge my iPod, etc. I'm just praying that we don't have a flashback of the trip to Glendale. Have a good week, everyone!

-Rachel

Summer So Far

Well, my picture posting is rather limited at the moment since I am without a camera. I let someone borrow my camera charger in Auburn and forgot to get it back before I left! I have been relying on my Mom's camera for important things.

Last week, I celebrated my 21st birthday!

Millie helped me open some presents haha. 

I loved my cake! It was so cute and even better- RED VELVET inside!

We went to the Melting Pot to celebrate! Hadn't been there in a couple of years and it was just as much fun as I remembered. Minus the waiter that I didn't like.

This weekend, Philip came and took me to P. F. Chang's for my birthday and we went to Vulcan. Unfortunately, I have no pictures from either one. Booo.  Saturday night, we had a surprise family graduation party for CT.

This is his huge grin when he walked in the back room at Jim N Nick's and saw our whole family there!

We had a buffet, which clearly, Philip, CT and I all enjoyed haha.

We were scared CT was going to be mad about the surprise, but he was actually really glad. Everyone had a good time and I was glad to see a lot of our extended family, but missed those who couldn't make it.

I also just want to say that I am HIGHLY disappointed by the weather. Mehhh!! I was looking forward to at least getting to lay out in the backyard since the pool doesn't open until this weekend! Last week, when it was warm, I did get to go to the pool with Lizzie once, on my birthday, which I was AWESOME (Lizzie, hope you read that) and we also got to go to Fultondale to help out with some disaster relief. We mostly cleared brush and things like that, but it was really fun and I'm glad I was able to help at least some. Hopefully, I'll be able to go back again. It's easy to forget that people are still hurting and need help and I was glad to be able to see the devastation first hand, to make it more real to me.

Hope you're having a good day!

-Rachel

21

Since today is my twenty-first birthday, I decided to do a "twenty-one things about me list," much like the "twenty five things" list that we all remember from facebook two years ago. 

I tried to pick really random, semi-interesting facts about myself that you might not even really know if you know me in real life because I'm pretty sure all (4) of you reading this do haha.

Twenty One:

1. I have to hold onto something while I sleep. It really doesn't matter what it is. I wish it could still be Joy, but it's usually my new pig, Steven, that Philip gave me.

2. Pretty much the only drinks I keep at my house are Dr. Pepper, red Kool-aid, and Capri Suns.

3. I have a terrible gag reflex in the morning and gag every time I brush my teeth.

4. The song, "Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt Redman, makes me tear up every time. It is my theme song, I think.

5. I wish that chicken salad was the only food in the world. I'm not kidding.

6. I am terrified of all birds and all rodents.

7. I love when I read a book every day or two.

8. Pink is my favorite color. No, I'm not 13.

9. I'd rather watch a movie than TV.

10. Along those lines, I hardly ever watch TV and if I do, I turn it to HGTV (preferably House Hunters), or try to find a re-run of Everybody Loves Raymond.

11. I have a Wii, but for some reason I never play it. When I go to someone else's house with a Wii though, I am all about it.

12. When I was about 7, I got locked in the Pizza Hut bathroom in Troy on the way to the beach and I will never forget it.

13. When I was about 12, I got in a go-cart wreck at the beach and I am still traumatized from that, too, but not as much as the Pizza Hut incident.

14. I do not like any vegetables except fried okra, corn and potatoes (if those count). I also don't like bananas, honey dew, pears, or "real" cheese by itself. Celery (with something on it) is okay.

15. I love Auburn with all of my heart. Too much probably.

16. I think about children's names all. the. time. And no one likes the names I like.

17. I have no idea what I want my wedding dress, or engagement ring to look like, not that I need to know now, but some girls already have both planned out to a tee.

18. If I had it my way, I would throw elaborate themed parties all the time. But that takes a lot of time, and money, and right now, I have neither.

19. I'm really bad at parking, lately.

20. I would seriously be wreck without the knowledge that God is in control.

21. I have an iTouch and I hardly ever use it. Philip used to try to convince me to trade him for his Nano. I really only listen to music in the car, now that I think about it.

Hope everyone has a great day! It is the best day of the year, after all! Haha, kidding of course!

-Rachel

Summer Reading

Summer is my favorite time of the year for many reasons. One of the main reasons is because I actually have time to read for fun without feeling guilty. Here are some of the books I've been waiting to read:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time- Matt Hendon. CT read this for school and thought I would want to read it. It is from a 15 year old boy with Autism's point of view. I actually just read this one this weekend and liked it a lot.

The Help- Kathryn Stockett. Probably on everyone's summer reading list.

Water for Elephants- Sara Gruen. Again, probably on everyone's summer reading list. I want to read it before seeing the movie.

Mere Christianity- C.S. Lewis. My small group leaders from the past 2 semesters (whom I adore) are going to be doing a small group this summer and we're doing this book, so I added it to the list. I've been wanting to read this forever!

Reading with Meaning- Debbie Miller. This would probably be boring to anyone but an El. Ed. major.

Teacher- Sylvia Ashton-Warner. This would also probably be boring to anyone but an El. Ed. major.


Heaven is for Real. My mom and CT rave about this and say it changed their lives. If you don't know what this is about, Google it.

Heart of the Matter- Emily Giffin. Love every single one of her books and can't wait to read this one!

American Wife- Curtis Sittenfeld. The Man of My Dreams and Prep look good too.

From This Moment On- Shania Twain. I have been a Shania fan since I was 7 or 8 years old and I can't wait to read her autobiography.

I think that's about it for my Summer Reading List. I might read a few more here and there, but these are the ones I'm really hoping to read! Any other suggestions?

Hope you're having a blessed day!

-Rachel

I Can Only Imagine

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?

Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine. I can only imagine.

Saturday, one of Philip and my good friends, (one of Philip's best friends actually) John Pribonic aka Johnny P, went to be with the Lord after a battle with leukemia.  Our hearts are so heavy about saying goodbye to a friend, but we know that now he is in Heaven, dancing at the feet of Jesus, not suffering or in any pain anymore, just worshipping his Savior. And we know that one day, we will see him again. Please keep us, especially Philip, in your prayers along with Johnny P's other friends and his family. 

-Rachel

What Else?

Like half of the world, I woke up in the wee hours of the morning. But I just couldn't do it. I tried and tried so hard to stay awake, but I just couldn't hold my eyes open. I saw Kate's dress when she got out of the car and I was out. So I am watching the replay right now on E!

I thought this was the sweetest picture. The little girls really make it. The one watching them, surely dreaming of her own fairy tale wedding one day, and then other looking like she just wants to get out of there.

I found this picture of Diana and Charles and it reminded me of the one of William and Kate from today. 

And of course, here's the dress we all now know and love. If long sleeved wedding dresses weren't coming in before, they are definitely coming back in now! Haha. 

I thought Pippa looked so cute walking the flower girls in. I personally would never put any of my bridesmaids in white, but I guess when you're a princess you can do whatever you want. And Pippa looked gorgeous in it.

And how could we not talk about some of the ridiculous hats that were there. I mean, really.

Happy Royal Wedding Day!!

-Rachel

Prayers and Easter Weekend

Before I say anything else, I just want to say how sad I am for everyone affected by the tornados yesterday. Please remember to keep them all in your prayers. I cannot even imagine. I know God is good  though and His will is perfect. 

I seem to only post when I have pictures.. oops. This weekend I went home for Easter.

We celebrated my dad's birthday with ice cream cake and SPARKLER candles!! Clearly, he loved it.

For Easter, we just went to church and then came home and had a yummy lunch. We watched Tangled, which I got in my Easter basket and then I headed back to Aub.

Oh, this picture cracks me up. 

Monday night, they had the annual movie in Jordan-Hare stadium. AND it was none other than HARRY POTTER! It was awesome.

If Philip sees this, he will kill me since he already made me remove it from facebook. He didn't want his picture taken at the stadium movie, obvi.

In other news, it is officially SUMMER TIME for me!! Gotta love being done with classes before finals even start. 

Tonight, I was inducted into an honor society and my parents came down for it and Philip came and we all went out to eat at Amsterdam afterwards. It was a nice treat! 

Well, I guess that's it for now! 

-Rachel

CT's Birthday and Some Fishing

 

 

Well, for some reason, something went weirdly wrong with my pictures and I can't figure out how to get my text to go above them. Whatev.

All of the above pics are from this weekend when I went home and Philip came with me. We didn't get there until about 9 on Friday night because we left after Philip got off work and then we stopped to eat. 

Saturday was low key. We went to Graham's to "fish" although we didn't catch anything. As you can see from the pictures Graham caught a small fish and all Philip caught was me haha. And I didn't catch a thing. I took Philip to Dave's Deli for lunch, me and Lizzie's hidden gem. He liked it too. 

That night we went to eat at Yuki for CT's 18th birthday. I can't even believe it! We came home and had cookie cake, watched the Kentucky-UConn game and got in the hot tub. And I got to see Abbie. Yay!

We had to head back early Sunday morning because I had to attend a rush workshop. After that I had a nice afternoon at the pool and then Philip and I went to a movie night on campus which was fun. 

I have definitely been enjoying the warm weather (except yesterday was kind of chilly) and have been to the pool Sunday, Monday and today! I am obsessed with the pool. Always have been. 

On to the "shocking" news, which really isn't that shocking...Roommate Lo and I have to move out of our apartment and into another 2 doors down. It's a long story, and it's going to be a pain, but it will be okay. It's kind of been stressful and will continue to be until we get settled into our new house. And that's all I'm going to say about that. I am moving Friday and Saturday so wish me luck!

Also, Liz and I discovered Gourmet Tiger today. This could be bad.

Have a great day!

-Rachel

Oh, Formal

Saturday night was my 5th formal event (including semi-formals, too) and as usual, it was a blast!

Lucky for me, I always have the cutest, sweetest, most fun date there!

Formal is always a special time for Philip and me because if it wasn't for me not having a date to formal 2 years ago, we would've never met! This is a reenactment of our very first picture we ever took together  almost 2 years ago. We accidently were standing on the wrong side, but oh well!

How am I so lucky blessed?

I love this picture of Jake and Philip "kiting" Liz and me!

Typical.

Cohort C represent

We had some issues on the bus ride back. The bus we were on blew a tire so everyone on our bus had to get off and pile on another bus so to create more room everyone sat on their date's lap. Talk about togetherness. But it was fun!

I can't believe I only have one spring formal left. I almost cried after this one, just thinking about it. 

Yesterday, Philip, Graham and I went to to driving range and I don't know WHY I didn't take any pictures. Oh well. Maybe next time! 

Hope everyone had as good of a weekend as I did!!

-Rachel

MEX '11

Well, I've finally gotten around to blogging about Spring Break! This first week back has been even crazier than usual, with some rather shocking news that I will share at a later date. Everything is fine though, I just want to focus on Mex in this post!

Mex was amazing, as it has been the past 2 Spring Breaks. It's always just such a humbling experience, to see these people who have nothing, but who are so giving and so thankful for what they do have. I think what one of the men we were building for said pretty much sums it up. He and his wife (who are both about 18 years old and have 2 kids) were SO excited and beyond grateful as their furniture for their new casita was being delivered. He was almost in tears as he looked at us and said, "You don't understand. We have nothing. The only thing that is completely ours is our children."

And now, I'll let the pictures do the talking (kind of)

Our whole team in front of La Familia (where we stay)

CT and I laying some bricks

My team built a bakery and the baker would bake us treats every day. It was awesome.

And what would a trip to the Soriana be without seeing our favorite ice cream man, Luis!?

Lucas, the baker, we built for

VBS

About to mix some stucco, my favorite part of building!

This little boy, Juan, completely stole my heart

My parent's Mardi Gras beads made it all the way to Mexico!

All the Mexers in front of La Familia

Cousins forever

I loved this little girl who lived across the street from the baker. Clearly, the feeling was mutual haha.

Love this picture of the neighborhood kids playing with a balloon

CT and I with our maestro, Simon! He would always come up to me and say, "Too much blah, blah blah! Not enough work!" He started this on the first day which Philip would hilarious. 

So that is my trip in a nutshell. If you just can't get enough, I've got more pictures on Facebook! Haha.

Have a lovely weekend!

-Rachel