Thankful Thursdays

Today I am thankful for:


1) My BIG brother, Joshua Garland. Yesterday was his 26th birthday. He's always encouraging, loving, and praying for others. He's also got a mind like a steel trap. If I am ever telling a story or trying to remember something, I can usually just call up "Fred" (his nickname in our family) and 9 times out of 10 he will know EXACTLY what I am trying to remember! I could go on and on, but everyone who knows me knows about my love for my big brother.

WHAT a CUTIE!

2) I am thankful for WEDDINGS! Weddings = friend time for me and my friends since we live all over the  South! It is about to get really busy around the Nicholson house! We have TWO showers this weekend, one next weekend (April 7th), a wedding after that weekend (April 14th) AND another wedding after THAT (April 21st)! Busy, busy!!! I get to see some of them this weekend actually and I cannot wait. I need me some friend time, BAD.

3) I am thankful for patience. I have really been trying to work on my patience lately. If I think of something, then I want it immediately. God has given me more opportunities to be patient lately and I am very thankful for that! :)

4) I am thankful for bubble baths! I was having a stressful day yesterday and I decided to take a bubble bath. I soaked and cleared my mind and focused on all the positive things going on in my life right now...ahhhh. 

It's funny how a bubble bath can change your perspective!

SO.MUCH.BETTER.

Have a lovely day!

Holly

Tuesday Thoughts

Have a lovely day,

Holly

Reunited & Back to Reality

Can I just say that I am SO HAPPY to be back in Fayetteville with Aaron and Marley. 


"Back to life, back to re-al-i-ty..."


Okay, I'm done. 


I never notice how much I love having a routine until I am not having one.


That kind of makes sense doesn't it?


Oh well...I do not care. 


I was so happy to get back home that.....I immediately started on laundry! (I live an exciting life, no?)


I was just so happy to be back with my two main guys that it didn't matter if I was washing smelly work clothes or trying to find lost sock mates. I was HOME and that's all that really mattered. My husband and I had goofy grins on our face and we kept telling each other how glad we were to be back together. Ahhh...young love. :)


This morning I woke up and realized that it's "back to life, back to re-al-i-ty" (okay, NOW I'm done). I had class and a pile of my vacation laundry to do. Once I got home from class, I plopped myself down on the couch and worked on my Microbiology lab book for over three hours. Then I did my laundry (PTL I am almost finished!) and am currently back on the couch awaiting the husband's arrival. I haven't been to get any new groceries since I've been home (slacking, I know) so it was either take-out or soup. It's a bit warm for soup and so Aaron offered to pick something up for us on his way home. I told him to surprise me....sooo fingers-crossed! Who knows what he'll bring home. 


I'm pretty proud of him actually. 


He worked all week without complaining while my fat butt sat on a beach AND he took great care of Marley :) He also did a load of dishes while I was gone AND yesterday he took me to go see The Hunger Games movie that I have been dying to see, even though it was packed (even though we got there a little early)!


I am thankful to have married a great man. 


(Sidenote: This post has been difficult to type seeing as I have a small fur ball LAID OUT on my right arm. Just thought you should know.)


Anyways...I am ready to tackle this week and get it over with! This weekend is one of my best friend's Bachelorette party and then she and her fiancé have a couples shower the next day! So excited for them and so excited to be reunited with some of my best friends! Which reminds me...I need to make a list for this weekend. I like making lists these days so that we don't forget what we need to bring (even though sometimes we still forget). 


My stomach is officially growling...actually it's more of a dying animal noise. If Aaron doesn't get here soon, I may demolish the bag of PB M&M's that my grandmother INSISTED on giving me -I had to take them, right?- that is sitting in my fridge (yes, fridge, I like them cold).


TTFN,
Holly

Beach Trip 2012 Continued...

Day 2 on the beach was perfect. Constant breeze, sun, ahhh....


We ate at LuLu's that night and admired our fellow rednecks around the Redneck Riveria. We also went shopping at the Tanger Outlets and got Cold Stone ice cream for dessert. I love being with my family :)


Day 3 wasn't not the best beach day BUT we tried our hardest to enjoy it because, after all, we were at the beach! Sadly, we only lasted a little over an hour on the beach before the wind was unbearable and it got cold (for the beach, that is). 


We spent most of the day in the condo/on the deck after that. I wore a hoodie most of the time. (#coldnaturedprobz) We went shopping at a place called The Wharf and then to dinner at Wintzel's. My dad likes this place because he ate at the original Wintzel's when he was growing up as a kid. 

Wintzel's "theme"

I tried my first fried pickle (where have those been all my life?!?!), we almost lost Joshua, and my dad told my mom that she had a lazy eye.


Let me elaborate....


We were just enjoying our meal and talking about the day, the trip, and what we were doing next when Joshua announced that he had to go to the restroom*. 


*Sorry...if you think that is TMI, you don't know the Garland's.


Anyways, he takes off because he says he knows where the restrooms are. We watch him and he stops and talks to our waiter who was walking towards another of his tables in the same direction Joshua was walking. My mom tells my other brother Clark to go after Joshua to make sure he finds his way. Clark mumbles that he will, spends about about one extra minute stalling at the table because he was glued to his phone, and then gets up to go find Joshua. Not ten seconds later we see Clark look at us, hold his hands up as in "I don't know where he is", shrug, and walk towards the restrooms to find him. Then a few minutes pass...then a few more...THEN we see the hostess/waitress that greeted us when we arrived, walking around the corner with Joshua. Clark wasn't far behind. She tells us she found Joshua OUTSIDE walking down the sidewalk. 


OUT.SIDE. 


Did I mention that there is a pond outside of the restaurant and it is 8:00 at night so it's dark out and that said pond has a sign that says not to get too close because there may be ALLIGATORS in it? 


She tells us that she found him outside walking down the sidewalk (BY THE ALLIGATOR-INFESTED POND) trying to get back to the entrance of the restaurant. Apparently even after the waiter told Joshua where to go, he still got confused and turned around, and ended up going through a door that leads to the patio outside....long story short, he found his way to the sidewalk and was going to come back into the front door. My parents are mortified because they think they must look like awful parents letting their Downsy son roam around without their knowledge. 


LAWD.....


So once we all have a big laugh because it really IS funny after you get over the whole he-could-have-fallen-in-the-pond-and-been-eaten-by-alligators part and I decide to take some pictures because it was a memorable time.


Not to mention that Joshua later says, and I quote, that "If I had fallen in the pond, I would have fought off the alligators because I know how to fight, like Dad."


 Whaaat?


#1) my dad doesn't fight
#2) back to the story...


I take my dad & Joshua's picture (1 and done) and then ask him to take one of Clark, my mom and myself. The first one he takes, he looks at the screen and says "Okay, here you go." and hands my camera back. I look at it and I don't know WHAT happened to my mom but her face and eyes are doing something hilarious. I start cracking up, zoom in and show Clark, my parents, and Joshua. This is when my dad makes the "lazy eye" comment about my mom. Obviously she doesn't have a lazy eye, she just wasn't ready for the picture. Then he makes a comment, all in good fun, about her looking like she had been drinking (my parents do NOT drink ever) which for some reason is even funnier to me in the heat of the moment and I crack up. 

My dad (halfway smiling) & Joshua

The "after" picture. Teary eyes and huge smiles. Hilarious.

Tears-in-my-eyes laughing so hard. 


So the (above) picture looks like I have been crying...which, I guess technically I have been. 


Everyone gets a good laugh except Joshua...he gets all offended because he thinks that we are laughing at my mom in a mean way (which we totally weren't) but it was funny that he got mad about it! 


Today we got up and around, loaded up the car, and headed back to Arkansas! Just in time too, because there have been bad storms and tornado warnings in the gulf area since we left! The trip didn't feel as long because my dad and I found a fun new GPS app (how nerdy are we?) to play with the whole way home!


All in all, I had a great week with my family. I am so blessed by them.


However, I am BEYOND ready to see my husband. 5 days is TOO long! Can't wait to see him tomorrow and our little Marley-pup!


Here comes a storm, time for sleep!
-Holly

Beach Trip 2012

Since my husband had to work long hours all week (their busy season is starting), he let me go to the beach with my family for my Spring Break. He was going to be busy and thought I would be bored all week. "He's so thoughtful that way..." Wicked reference anyone? 


We left on Sunday at 7:30(ish) aka 7:42 am. We were close enough to the intended time that my dad didn't talk about how we were going to make up those 12 minutes for TOO long....only two-three hours. Regardless, it was a pretty smooth road trip. 


Best quotes of the trip thus far go to Joshua.


1) When we saw the USS Alabama (ship) on the way in:  Joshua - "Ooooh look the Titanic." and then after a brief second of reflection, "I thought it sank when it hit that iceberg, he-he-he!"


2) Once we could really see the ocean in AL:  Joshua (out of the blue) - "I bet I could outrun a shark on land...they aren't AS fast on land." (whaaaat?!?!?!) 


Let's just say he is hilarious. I want to write a book with all his Joshua-isms, as I call them. It would be a New York Times Best Seller.


We are staying at a place called Pelican Pointe in Orange Beach, AL. We have stayed here before and it's really nice around Spring Break because it's more of a family beach than a high school/college party scene. 


I woke up early on Monday morning because I am as white as a ghost and I couldn't wait to get my beach tan on. Sadly, it was strangely fogging ALL morning until about noon and we went down to the beach around 1. I laid out the entire 3 hours we were down there and I'm pretty sure I don't have a tan line. I think my skin is rebelling against me for all the years of life-guarding and laying out at the pool when I was younger. I used to get so tan...(sigh)


We ate at a place called the Original Oyster House in Gulf Shores (like 30 min down the road from OB) and it was very good! I tried my first oyster last night! It was fried...but still....baby steps. One of my goals for 2012 was to start trying new things. I really want to try a lot of new foods so that when we travel different places I will be able to find at least one thing that I like on the menu. I wish I could say the same for Aaron- LOL! :) I had a crab meat stuffed flounder filet and some fried shrimp- deeelicious! Anyways...we decided to go to a place called Scoops for ice cream last night. My dad said "Do we have any ice cream at the house?" and we said no because my mom and I didn't get any when we bought groceries, so we decided to get ice cream. I asked my dad if he was going to get any and he said no! What the heck? Wasn't he just the one suggesting it? Weren't we going to get ice cream because he wanted some? Oh how I forgot how funny my family is....oh yeah, and he ended up getting ice cream anyways. Lawd... :)


Walking through the parking lot, I saw a car with a OBU Swimming sticker and thought "Oh, well maybe I will know them!" THEN I saw that the license plate was from Illinois! I just knew it had to be my friend (since we were single digits) Caitlin Boren! We walked in and there she was! So exciting to run in to her! She is a senior at OBU and was there with some swimmers from her team on their break. I have known Caitlin, like I said, since we were single digits age-wise! We swam together on the Searcy Sharks for years. I was so upset when they moved to Carbondale, IL my junior/her sophomore year and then so excited when she came to swim at OBU. We came back and watched Puss in Boots and according to Joshua, "It wasn't a bad movie..." but it was good to watch it as a family. Well, I say that, but at one point I looked up from the movie and 4/5 of us were on our phones while "watching" the movie. Oy vey!


I am happy to be with my family, thankful they let me come with them on this trip, and thrilled to be at the beach, BUT I really miss my husband. This will be the longest time I have been away from him since we got married! Speaking of marriage, our 10 monthiversary is Wednesday! :) One year will be here before we know it!


Day two is already looking more promising! I woke up before 7:00 am (on a vacay!) and watched the sun rise a little bit. I will post pictures of that later! It is breakfast time :)


Enjoy today,
Holly

Thankful Thursdays

I like to remind myself how blessed and lucky I am on a regular basis to, you know, keep things in perspective.


Sometimes I hear people gripe and complain about how life is unfair and I admit, I've been there a lot and it probably won't be the last time either.


BUT...


Today I am THANKFUL.


I am thankful for my sweet, sweet, sweet husband. He took care of me when I was sick a few weeks ago, and I had the pleasure of taking care of him while he was sick over the weekend. I say pleasure because it felt good to take care of him. He does a lot for me.


I am thankful for my family. I had to make a brief (less than 24 hrs) trek to Central AR earlier this week and was so appreciative of my parents letting me stay the night at their house. My brothers are usually pretty excited to see me, so that makes trips special too. :) Oh and the fact that they are letting me tag along to the beach with them for Spring Break next week while my husband is working is nice too. ;)


I am thankful for my mom. She has raised me right (how country does that sound?!) and I hope that if the Lord ever blesses us with a daughter that I will be half as good of a mom to her as my mom is to me. Just sayin'...


I am thankful to Julee Turner at Metropolis Salon. I was in desperate need of a haircut. DESPERATE. It was bad. Let's just say there was enough hair on the floor at the end of my appointment to make another full head of hair...basically...there was a lot! (BUT there was also a girl who came in after me who hadn't had her hair done since JULY, so that made my OCTOBER self look not quite so bad!)


I am also thankful for Sonic, because this Diet Vanilla Coke in my hand is JUST what I needed to perk up my mood on this cloudy afternoon.


I am thankful that I woke up this morning. I am thankful that I am healthy. So many people have illnesses and are on medication and you never know what day God has willed to be your last.

Lastly, I am thankful...

THAT IT IS ALMOST THE WEEKEND!!!!!

Hallelujah. Amen.

-Holly

03.07.12

Some of the people in my Microbiology class are SO strange so I just have to unwind my tension/stress/annoyance from class by reading some of my favorite blogs (which I will HAVE to do a post on...one of these days) and trying to remember that there are normal people in this world...somewhere... 

Anyways.

I was checking my Twitter and was reading the various updates of the people that I follow. One organization I follow that is and will always be near and dear to my heart is Special Olympics (which I will also have to post on). I noticed that today was March 7th, 2012. (I keep forgetting it is March already!) I also noticed that today was the day that was supposed to be recognized as the "Spread the Word to Stop the Word" campaign day.

Incase you didn't know, THE word, is the "R word." 

"Retard(ed)"

That was honestly even hard for me to type out.

Here's the deal about that word. We were NEVER allowed to say it growing up, partially for Joshua's sake and partially because my parents taught us better than that. We KNEW better. I think the only time I ever had to say something similar to it was because it was a music term that I had to learn for piano:  "ritardando."

I remember one day after coming home from school at McRae Elementary, my mom had mentioned how someone had called Joshua the "r" word at school. He cried and cried... and I'm sure my mom cried and cried when she found out about it.

It still burns me up to this day that people refer to others with that word. They have NO idea how offensive and hurtful it is to someone who has a disability or someone who has a family member or even a friend with a disability. I can't tell you how many conversations I have had with my brother about how he knows he is different and he wishes he could be like everyone else and how he wishes he didn't have Down Syndrome. It is HEART-BREAKING.

My mom ordered my brothers and I t-shirts from this site we saw last year.  They were promoting the END of using the "r" word.  Obviously I know that word is going to be used forever in many instances, but their goal is to end the negative use of that word. They do not want any human being to be referred to as a "retard" or "retarded" (again, hurting me to type) even if they have some kind of mental/physical disability.

http://www.r-word.org/  --check out this page and make a pledge!

Having an older brother who has Down Syndrome, I think I may take offense more easily than some at this word, because I have seen first-hand the hurt that it can cause. I also think that since I am so proud of my brother and make it well known that I have a brother with Down's, people may not mention certain things or say certain things in my presence, which is probably a good thing since things like this get me FIRED UP. 

Here's another little story...

My sophomore year of college at OBU, I went to an event called Kappa Late Night (or something like that) where the Kappa guys put together a few hours of comedy, skits, and musical entertainment as a fundraiser for their club/new pledges. I was with my pledge sisters and we were enjoying the jokes and laughing at the skits. All of a sudden, they announce that they are going to show some funny YouTube videos.  So the lights dimmed and the video started playing on the screen.  I automatically tensed up because the title of the video was "The Retarded Policeman." Apparently it is a series on YouTube about a guy who has Down's (he really does have it) and he is doing a comedy skit acting like a police officer. (Yes, sadly it is real and yes sadly it is "funny" to some people) It may have really been funny and the guy may have not been put up to it, he may have thought he was being funny too...but I'll never watch to find out. I think it's easy to take advantage of people who are too trusting or don't know any better...

Anyways, I obviously didn't make a big deal but I leaned over to one of my girl friends and asked if she was ready to leave.  She said yes and we ended up walking/sneaking out while everyone was watching/laughing at the video. No big deal. I didn't make a scene, I didn't say anything negative, I just left with my friend and we walked back to our dorm, chatting about the night and life in general.

I don't know how it happened so quickly (we hadn't even made it back to the dorm yet) and the next thing I know is my phone is ringing and buzzing with calls and texts from some of my friends and some unknown numbers. She was also getting calls right and left. People were calling and texting us freaking out. Some must have thought I was so offended that I left and others thought I was really upset over that video. After trying to calm everyone down and letting everyone know that the reason I left was because I was just ready to go, not because I was so offended that I had to leave right then.  I just took that video as my "sign" that I should just go. (The show was almost over anyways) I even had a handful of Kappas, some I didn't even know well, call me and apologize. I appreciated their concern but I really wasn't upset with them, their club, or with anyone in general. (Just fyi- totally not bashing this club in any way and the ones involved would know that)  After everyone calmed down, they realized that it was a big misunderstanding.

BUT, it is good to know that people do care and people do take notice. Obviously I wasn't upset that much by the video (everyone watches stupid YouTube videos in college) but I got a lot of sincere apologies, some by people that I barely knew and I appreciated them. Not really for my sake, but mainly because I'm sure that there are people like me out there that deserve apologies like that for things that actually matter and were actually offensive or hurtful.

All this to say, I guess you never really know who is watching and how something you do or say is going to affect them.  You should always watch what you say because words can hurt. Even if they don't necessarily bother you, they could devastate someone else.

That's all for today!

Holly