Straight A's, Self Honesty, and Open Hearts

Cheers to the completion of my first semester of graduate school.....oh and straight A's. no biggie.;)

Words can't describe how relieved I am to be done with the first big step to my future career. I feel so liberated and empowered that I made good grades and learned quite a bit about myself in just 4 months. Yes, it seems that all those sleepless nights, midnight store runs to get red bull, and late hours at the office were worth it. I think the most eye opening part of it is that when looking back on the beginning of the semester when I was BEYOND nervous...I can see that I stress myself out over the smallest things when in hindsight...were never that big of a deal anyway. Huge sigh of relief. So cheers to completing the first step. 1 semester down and 4 more to go.:)  

I just love all the support from my Facebook family and friends. Amazing

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I'm a huge SPAZZ! And I don't know 

if why it's ever so prominent since I'm in 

the later half of my 20's or what, but I tend 

to spazz over the smallest things. 

It's starting to get slightly annoying 

so I need to find some sort of release

to void myself of pointless stress. I'm thinking

about Yoga. :)

I think it all stems from the fact that I 

don't really enjoy my job and plus the stress of 

having to work a second job doesn't really help either. 

I need to quit worrying about all the small things 

and concentrate on the BIG picture. 

I'm getting my master's degree and it's PAID for! 

I have an amazing set of parents and supportive family 

and friends with all that....I can only move upward and forward.

I know God will continue to take care of me and provide 

me with eye opening blessings. I just need 

to take it with strides and know that I'm going to be okay.

October 16, 2011

The funniest thing about this day was the conversation I had with a co-worker of just hours before I met him. I was telling her how I felt like giving up on finding someone just simply because I was having zip zero luck! I've had my share of heartbreaks, disappointments, and all the upsets and insecurities that come with break ups, so I had slowly began to realize that maybe I need to go at this alone. I began getting this sense of single life empowerment from a blog I had began following. First, everyone is different and just because this lady thoroughly enjoys living a single life doesn't necessary mean I will to. She does give great advice, so I would advise you to check her out.

Coming from a very adhesive family I knew that I

wanted to duplicate that someday. I knew for a fact that I wanted to 

get married, have kids, you know..the whole sha bang with 

being a wife, mother, etc etc. But then it seemed that shortly after 

turning 25 when I was single yet again and seriously heart broken 

I had started coming to a conclusion that maybe "that life" wasn't for me. 

I now think back to one of my very first post and how much of a 

hopeless romantic I am...It was a huge upset to think I will never 

get to experience any of it. 

It it safe to say that that was the beginning of my quarter life crisis.

So I began ordering books online about how to deal with such issues.

I knew that with time I would find peace within myself.

I just happened to be a closer that night.  The host said,

"Hey Courtney you have 2 at 125!"

Now considering it was about an hour until closing and I had already

had a long shift, the last thing I wanted to do was serve anymore tables.

So I dropped back by really quick and told them that I'd be with them in a 

second. I can't say that's when I really noticed him, but when I REALLY 

REALLY noticed him was when he smiled then spoke to me. One of

the very first few things he said to me was that he knew my ex was 

kicking himself in the butt for losing a girl like me. Well of course that

totally threw me off guard. My initial thought was, "This guy doesn't even 

know me!" We exchanged numbers shortly after that and then right before

he left he hugged me. I hate to sound cheesy, but I had a slight hint

of excitement run through my mind at the though of meeting my

new friend. lol :)

Long story short: 

He is still in my life and even though it's only been not even 2 

whole months since that night...I have completely fallen for him. 

You hear it all the time in movies, books etc about when you 

meet someone and in reflecting back to when you initially met, it

seems like months or years has passed, but when in reality

it's only been a couple of months. Well that's us.

My guard was up for a very long time (if you constitute 1 month as a 

"very long time") lol. Anywho, I had my worries, assumptions, insecurities,

crazy amounts of nervousness of letting someone in. The most amazing

part of it all is that he was very understanding of this. He just reminded me

2 nights ago that he knew what he was getting himself into. He said,

"You're beautiful and you have a great heart....someone secure had

 to step in and stop the continuous cycle. You deserve the best and

I just want to show you how you deserve to be treated."  

It has been the BIGGEST roller coaster of ups and downs, but I've

stuck it out through it all. I know it's all going to be worth it in the

end. I'm excited to see what is in store of him and I. We both have

faith in this and honestly that's all you need. Everything else comes with

time. It all boils down to love and respect. 

As always, Stay True. Be True

Twenty-Six: The quarter life plus one

"You don't look a day over 25." - professor in my department

Shortly after turning the big 26!

I celebrated my 26th birthday on November 27th. I drove over to bestfriend's house and celebrated right at midnight with cupcakes, wines, friends and LOTS of laughing. I have never laughed so much before in my life. My girl T and I have this crazy friendship where we have this secret acronym language that we only understand. It's most definitely the highlight of our friendship. Love you T *Sidekick bloop* ;)

"When you accept the things you truly cannot change with love and faith that it is all how it needs to be, even when you don't understand the 'why', you find a place of peace inside your heart You stop pushing against a force that is much greater than yourself. Trust that God knows what He is doing and have faith that things are happening because they need to and it is all for your highest learning." -Found this on Facebook and loved it!

[Seriously going to attempt to apply this quote to my life. It's so very true and I can only imagine the outcome if I really attempted to think like this ] 

It's so hard to describe the feeling or state of mind I'm currently in, but to attempt to sum it up It feels as if I'm in some hit movie but I'm not the leading actress. Weird? Yeah totally, but I'm slowly taking it all in. I spent majority of my day alone. I woke up with my sweet precious Pecca and just laid in bed for a hour or so before I decided that I better eat before I died. I decided to head to Waffle house and get my favorite (Bacon, Egg and Cheese Wrap, Hashbrowns and Coffee) It was perfect. The sweet little server announced my birthday to the whole restaurant. Besides the 2 "whooo hollers" I got...it made me feel pretty important. I sat right beside what I expected to be a regular. I wanted to spark up a convo with him, you know, ask for a advice as newly 26 year old, but considering he was NOT one of the two who acknowledged my birthday announcement, I decided to put that convo on hold. haha :)

After breakfast I went shopping. I had wanted to find a cute shirt, but I only managed to walk away with a new bra and this cool looking finger nail polish. Since it rained all day and the temperature went from 60's to 40's in a matter of hours I decided that my bed was the best venue to spend my birthday afternoon. I started the movie Ghost of Girlfriends Past to only pass out within the first 20 minutes. Some hours late I woke up and went shopping, again. Walked away with a cute shirt, scarf and adorable earrings. My plans were to meet up with my girls and coworkers at one of my favorite restaurants. 

My dear friend Jessica just started her cake business and was delighted to make me a birthday cake. Considering it was on very short notice she did an amazing job in getting me exactly what I wanted. When I tell you that she is one of the individuals who truly enjoys what she does....I mean it with all my heart. She is very artsy and thoroughly enjoys doing whatever she can to help out and put a smile on someone's face. I owe a huge THANK YOU to her for making me feel so special on my birthday. She is an amazing individual and I wish her nothing but the best. I have already spread the word about her new business to a potential client. Pay it forward :)

I love this picture. She snapped it right as I was blowing out my candles. You can tell by the expression on my face that my wish is so serious because my eyes are closed tight. I do hope and pray that my wish comes true. I believe I deserve it and I can only hope that the big man above is on the same page.

With all the facebook posts, phone calls and texts my day was definitely a delight. 

Yes, at 26 when my refrigerator is filled with saves the dates and baby shower invites from  friends my age, yeah it sort of puts a damper on my mood because I am NOWHERE near there, but hey it's my life and I know that with due time I will find my soul mate and then start creating beautiful babies. God has a plan for me..I'm just along for the ride.

The countdown for NYE in New York City has officially began! I fly out December 29th!!! Whoooo hoooooooo!

Stay  True Be True.

Happy Friday Loves...Lunch Date Recap:New Pictures

Happy Friday Ya'll!

I'm really looking forward to my weekend because tomorrow my whole family is going to the aquarium and I must say I'm probably more excited than the 4 and 2 year olds that will be coming too! Yes, I'm a big ol kid at heart, but can you blame me? I hope I see a fish that looks like Nemo..just saying.

So Let's recap back to my lunch date from Wednesday. If you're in the dark refer to my last post and you'll get caught up. So for some odd reason I was super nervous walking into the restaurant. Before getting out of my car I literally lint rolled my entire outfit and sat there with a peppermint in my mouth. I wasn't for sure if he had already arrived or not, so I looked around the parking lot (Please keep in mind I don't have a clue what kind of car he drives) lol. So I walk in and see him. I give a big goofy wave and a nice smile. Ice breaker pro here!

He stands up and gives me a nice hug and we sit down and start the conversation. It flowed pretty good which I'm shocked because most first encounters can kind of be nerve wrecking. My nerves had calmed, but I could tell he was a little nervous, but thankfully he finally calmed down. He made me laugh! Yes..thank God!  That's always the first test..and he passed with flying colors. Post lunch I get a message from one of our mutual friends that reads:

It's a little blurry so let me help. He writes her:
"Oh my Lord! She is so charming and gorgeous. I think it went well!"


Well yes sir it did! He is a nice, genuine, well respected individual and I look forward to getting to know him. But as I've said since day one...my main focus right now is Graduate School. meaning everything else is on the back burner including my dating life. I'll be sure to bring this up on our next date, just so we are all in the clear. Speaking of next dates, he just sent me a text asking to go to dinner soon. :)

:New Pictures:

I recently won a free photo shoot on Facebook. Cool, huh? Yeah, I know right!

Here are some of my favorites!

Peace , Love, and Happy Fridays!

Stay True. Be True.

11 days later :Nights out, Wisdom teeth, Surprise Flowers and Graduate school

Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies. 

 ~Erich Fromm

I wanted to start my post off with a good and uplifting quote. I believe in this quote 100%. Yes, we all go through our daily struggles whether it be emotional, physical, financial, etc etc but at the end of the day who is to say whether all if it is worth it? I believe wholeheartedly that it is worth it. You just have to stick it out and trust that you're on the right and golden path and that God will fulfill your rightful blessings as he sees fit. 

I can't believe it's been 11 whole days since my last post, but as you can probably notice in the title...I've had alot going on. Let's begin with 

:Nights Out:

My last post I talked about myself and my ladies getting all dolled up and hitting the socialite scene. Well here we are looking quite dazzling I must say. I had an amazing time. I did meet a guy as I was walking back to my car. He was sweet, but a tad too short for me. He has text me a few times (Key word: text) I say if you're genuinely interested in someone, you pick up the phone and call them, but HEY. Maybe that's just me? Needless to say...I've stopped responding to his text after I got a "Hey Sexxy" one the other day. The most annoying there ever. Maybe a little respect? And last time I checked my name was Courtney, not "Sexxy" Thanks.

Stunning huh? We'll be just as beautiful on the streets of NYC for NYE 2011!

:Wisdom Teeth:

Yes, at 25 I'm still having my wisdom teeth taken out. My appointment was last Thursday (August 25th) I had my top and bottom right side teeth taken out. This local practice did not put me to sleep so I was awake for the ride :/ They did a local anesthesia instead.   My bottom gave the dentist the most trouble. When he pulled it out he said to his assistant, "Oh wow, I've never seen a three root molar before!..Oh wait, the root just broke off!" So they literally went digging for gold for the tip of the root. After holding my mouth open for what seemed like 78 minutes, they finally got the little critter out. WAIT I almost forgot. When I first arrived to the office this is what I was greeted with:

Birds chirping. Literally.

Yes! The damn receptionist having a full blown kissy session with her bird!

Only me! How's crazy is this? And is this even healthy? Come to find out the dental assistant and his wife (bird kisser) had just recently moved into a new home and the birds weren't allowed. So okay cool, let's just bring them on into the office! Weird. 

Anywho, I'm healing pretty good. The meds I'm prescribed are officially my bestfriend.

 NOTE TO SELF: Do not take drowsiness causing pain meds even if you are 5 minutes from home and even if you do need to drop of our redbox and the post office and then eventually  get greeted by a church man giving out free milkshakes then proceed into the pharmacy/post office and catch yourself falling asleep waiting for a mint chocolate chip milkshake.  

I actually took a picture of my teeth but figured I'd save you all from seeing them up close and personal. I'm glad that's over with. I now have ONE wisdom tooth left and as far as I'm concerned...it can stay there. I'm done with dentist for a while.

:Surprise Flowers:

Now remember how such a hopeless romantic I am from  My first post? Well I got a little taste of it yesterday. So let me back up and give a little story on how these flowers came about. Well the lady I work with has a daughter about my age. She had wanted her mom to show me a picture of him..la la la..you get the picture. So he eventually sends me a friend request on facebook and since his profile was open I fully stalked him before I accepted his friend request. haha :) (Precautionary methods) We'll we exchange numbers and text a little over the weekend. He sends me a sweet little text before my surgery and we had our first conversation Sunday night. So I'm at work helping a professor when I see a random lady walk into our building. Immediately my ears perk up (Eeeerrrrrrrrrrr ) <--That's for you Nia ;) So I ask, "Can I help you?" She proceeds to say she is looking for Courtney! I say, "That's me!" So here they are....

My beautiful flowers

Super sweet card

He sent me FLOWERS!! Ahhhhhhhh! So of course I send a mass text to all my friends and call my mom immediately. I mean seriously, how thoughtful he is? Oh I forgot to mention that he asked me to lunch on Wednesday so I'm looking forward to that for sure. Now this is the stuff I love! Just genuine guys doing what they can to put a smile on a girls face. Well it surely worked. Since I prefer to keep names secret, I'm going to  refer to him as Mr. Future President. (long story behind it, but trust me..it's worthy.) Will for sure keep you posted on how lunch goes :)

:Graduate School:

Today was my first day of Graduate School. Talk about eye opening. I'm so thankful that I've come this far and I know that with the support and love from my family, friends and an amazing God that my opportunities are nothing but endless. Here I am on my first day of school :)

Purple is my favorite color :)

My bf "T" starts Graduate School today too! Talk about being able to walk through something with your bestfriend by your side! I'm thankful for sure. 

I now want to end my post with a small Thank you for anybody who actually reads my blog. I only have 2 followers so shout out to yall! I haven't advertised my blog but to two people and that's about it. So any love I get, it's greatly appreciated. 

I'd love to hear from you. Email me anytime. court.lanae@gmail.com.

I want to leave you with this quote that I have pictured on my screen monitor at work As a constant reminder to hang in there. It'll all be worth it in the end.

Stay True. Be True.

xoxo

Fabolous Friday!

I am officially counting down the minutes until I get off work (Yes I blog during work hours because I have absolutely nothing else to do!) Anywho, so I just wanted to share a few things in the remaining 13 minutes. 


My bff "T" just sends me a text with this picture!

I called her immediately and we both say, "Oh my God!" at the same time! Now remember I'm a hopeless romantic so stuff like this just gets the chill bumps working up my arm! Her childhood friend whom she just reconnected with sent them to her. How precious? 


We went out last night to listen to a friend of ours band. During the performance I glance over at her to see a huge smile on her face while she is reading a text message. It's so obvious this guy is such a joy and blessing in her life. Who knows what the future holds between then since he does live in NC, but I'm a true and strong believer that everything happens for a reason. She deserves a good one..shoot we all do! I wish them nothing but the best as they continue on as friends with endless possibilities to what could and may come next. :) Love you "T"


It's Friday and tonight will most definitely be F-A-B-O-L-O-U-S! My girls and I are going to get all glammed up and hit the streets of downtown Nashville! We went shopping on Tuesday and found some super cute outfits. So you just better know that we will be showstoppers! Pictures will be most definitely be posted Monday! 


Is it bad that I'm secretly hoping I met a super charming guy tonight? Nah! Surely not! hehe. *Fingers crossed* Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll send me roses. Wishing thinking, but I'd rather have hope than be bitter. :)

I'll take him, the horse and the flowers :)

P.S My ex is officially a weirdo. He text me earlier this week asking to hang out. I told him I had plans on Friday. He responds, "Got you a date, eh?" I respond, "Well I surely don't want to be single forever!" 

Funny, his cat looks like this! 

Now if you notice, I didn't answer his question directly. So over this week I have been getting all these random messages from him. Its seems like he is trying to proclaim is love and reason with me on why he left. It just seems funny that all this is happening since he is now under the impression that I'm moving on (Going on a "date") . He sends me a text message super early this morning saying

"Hope everything goes well tonight. Have a great day!"


...birds chirrping...

Slight moment of confusion....

WTF? Are you serious? Who does that??!??!?! .........HIM! 
Poor fella. Well no, I'm not going on a date, but I am going to be smoking hott with my lovely ladies and we're bound to catch somebody's eye! ;) Wish me luck!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Be safe and as always. Stay True, Be True.

Thinking Back Thursday

Today I'm thinking back to when I first met "J" which was when he was 2 years old and how today he started Pre-K!  I got this picture of him this morning from his mom.

I will have to admit that I got a little bit choked up because time has surely flown by. I first met him almost 3 years ago. He was just 2 years old. My brother and and his girlfriend have been together for some time now. So when she came into our lives...so did her precious little boy. He is by far the sweetest and smartest kid I have ever met. He will surely be a grand Pre-K student. 

I will never forget the first time he told me I was beautiful. Bless kids and how genuine their actions and words can be. :)

Here are some pictures of us over the past couple of years:

                

Family Pictures October 2010

This summer at my parents

4th of July 2009

At my graduation party. 2009

                        

With his first puppy "King"

Atlanta 2011

I'm so happy for him! I know he is going to be a great student!

Stay True. Be True.

Weekend with the fam!

It's Tuesday and I want to reflect on something I heard at a funeral this weekend. The pastor said that God made this world for us. We can't live our lives by exploring just the 50 mile radius around our hometowns. He put it here for us to explore and discover. I agree with this 100% and I'm now inspired to get out there..try new things..discover new things and appreciate new things.

Go. Be. Discover. :)

So I had a pretty good weekend. I drove home to my parents on Friday night, dropped my car off at the shop, and spent Saturday & Sunday with my family. My car has been acting pretty funny and since I know ZERO/ZIP/NOTHING about cars I figured it'd be best to have my dad's friend who is a mechanic work on it. $384 later..it's showing some improvement, but not enough for my liking. baby steps. My car MUST get me through graduate school. 

 I'm going to let the following pictures depict my weekend. 

My drove home on Friday after work:
When you have road rage like I do...this is not how you want to start your weekend off. 

My parents house is settled at the base of these mountains. The view from this highway shows how beautiful TN truly is. 

I can eat my weight in fried okra. My boss gave me some from his garden.
First thing I asked my mom to do was fry it :)

My 2 year old niece is just a delight to have in my life. I loved spending time with her over the weekend :)

She loooves my heels!

Too presh!

My nephew showed up shortly after and showed some love to my sweet Pecca.

My lovely parents at church on Sunday.

That's it for now...

Stay True. Be True