Two Busy Bees & the Infamous JT

Disclaimer: I feel like I have to take a moment to prove that I'm not naive and that I have a little bit of street smarts. Here's the thing y'all...I'm about to tell you when Jason and I are going to be out of town. That being said, if you want to break into our apartment, that's fine. But everything of any value will be with us, so it'll just be a hassle for you and annoying for us.

Over the course of the next few weeks, our schedules are about to get CRAY-ZAY!

In a few hours we'll hit the road to head to Atlanta to see my former roommate, Ashley, and her husband Cody. I'm pretty excited about this for a few reasons.

Ashley and me right before we went home for the summer after freshman year at Samford.

#1: I haven't seen Ashley since BEFORE we both got married.
#2: We're going to a Braves game while we're there.
#3: We get to hang out with awesome friends whom Jason has yet to meet.
#4: We're spending Saturday doing anything I want to do in Atlanta.
#5: Jason said he'd buy me all new furniture at Ikea and put it together for me before Monday.

Okay, okay...so Jason's not aware of the last two things, but he will be soon enough :)

Then we head back to work on Monday for a week that is pretty normal.

Next Saturday we'll head to Nashville for Show Hope's 10 Year Anniversary Concert. Jason lived with a family the summer before we got married and we've become very close with them over the last few years. They've invited us to go up to Nashville and volunteer with them to put on this celebration concert. We are excited about taking a step forward in our involvement with Show Hope. Currently, we are Show Hope sponsors and give to the organization on a monthly basis. Hopefully, in the next couple of years, we will call upon Show Hope to help us when it is time for us to raise support to adopt our first child. Next weekend will be fun in the present, but it will also remind us to keep dreaming for the future.

To read more about Show Hope, click here.

 After that weekend, we'll head back to Atlanta just for a day trip. Jason has been so excited to see Fall Out Boy ever since he found out they might be doing another tour. He's listened to their album about nonstop since it came out and I just know we'll have a blast at that show.

The weekend after THAT, we'll be heading south for a tour through Florida. I'm so excited for my sister Julia because she'll be graduating from high school on that Thursday. Jason and I will get to participate in all of the fun graduation activities to support Julia, and then the next day we'll head over to Jacksonville to see our friends Cody and Lacey tie the knot. We are so honored to be friends with this couple and so blessed to be a part of their special day!

Looking forward a few months, we'll be going back up to Nashville in November for THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE WORLD TOUR: Justin Timberlake at Bridgestone Arena. Words cannot express my excitement for this night!

I've been a JT fan since my dad asked me in 3rd grade if I'd ever heard of N'Sync. I don't remember how it all came about, but the next year my mom and my aunt loaded up my cousins and me to drive to New Orleans to see N'Sync in concert. The next year, we did the same thing with a few of my friends in Biloxi. I have failed to keep up with the four members of N'Sync that aren't JT, but I've definitely kept up with everything he's done. He's just so darn talented.

I'm pretty sure I had this in the form of a poster until I was about 16.

Anyway, it's going to be quite the summer and fall. I can't wait.

Let's hit the road Jack - or...ummm - Jason.

Weekend in Review & Post Cleanse Update

Verse of the Day: What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." - 2 Corinthians 6:16

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Weekend in Review:

The Morales' have another great weekend for the books. Friday night we went to StadiumFest and Switchfoot played. I honestly don't know what I did to get be so blessed as to see both of my favorite bands within a week of each other. Jason and I both LOVE Switchfoot, but we've never seen them together. Thankfully, not only did we get to see a great show together, it was also free. It was awesome.

Me with Jon Foreman when I saw Swithfoot without Jason last year.

StadiumFest with my guy. He's such a stud.

Ahhhh! Switchfoot!!

Getting to see Switchfoot together was such a treat! Man, I love this man :)

Saturday Jason worked and I went to a workshop at church. The workshop was called "Faithfully Feminine" and it seriously was something that I needed and didn't even know it. Do you ever do that? I signed up last weekend on a whim and then I really didn't want to go and talked myself out of going a couple of times. The workshop lasted from 9:00-5:00 so it was basically a workday - and that's the part I wasn't looking forward to. But, I went, along with a friend, and about an hour into everything I knew that I was exactly where God wanted me to be - I'm so thankful for a sovereign Lord. I want to take a few days to blog about some things that I learned, so be on the lookout for that over the next week or so. 

Saturday night Jason and I went to the new coffee shop in Homewood called Seeds. It's pretty cool and our friends Mandi and Audrie were playing at the grand opening. They had good coffee, obviously good music, and we had fun with some friends as well. It's always nice to get out and spend time with friends. We even ended up at Waffle House afterward and I totally had a college flashback - good times.

Audrie (left) and Mandi (right). Our insanely talented friends.

Sunday was rainy and gross so we went to see the Jackie Robinson movie, relaxed, grocery shopped, and then I cleaned and Jason went to a meeting for work. Even though we didn't do a lot, it was a much needed day. 

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Post Cleanse Update:

I lost a total of six pounds - which I'm happy with. This weekend I pretty much didn't follow the cleanse but instead, I opted to eat healthy and just tried to focus on transitioning back into a really healthy eating pattern. Friday was a rough day for me with the whole tomato-eating thing. In conjunction with the gross tomatoes, I also had some personal things going on that were upsetting, so it was just kind of a double shot of feeling like this cleanse was for the birds. 

All in all, I'm happy with the results of this cleanse, but I doubt I'll do it again. I like eating healthy, but the lack of protein was really hard on me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I'm happy to have added meat back into my life, that's for sure. 

As always, I'll continue blogging about my progress on this journey that I'm on. I will admit that the decision to stop the cleanse was an emotional decision, but I came to the realization that emotions are a component of all of this. Now, that doesn't mean that what we like to call "emotional eating" is necessarily a good thing, because many times we do eat instead of running to God with our emotions. That, in turn, builds our comfort food into an idol.

But, to me, keeping up with the cleanse when I was incurring some tough emotions was more distressful and doing me more harm than it was good. So, after much prayer throughout the day, I made the decision to end the cleanse early and enjoy the weekend, while still maintaining healthy eating habits.

All of that being said, keep praying for me as I walk through this journey. This is a marathon, a lifelong marathon, and it's not a race. This is finding my identity in what's eternal and not focusing on the temporary (if you know anything about Joy Be, there's a little throwback rap for ya).

Have a great Monday, and it definitely feels like a Monday!

I've blogged to you...
Now you can blogbacktome

Gather 'rounnd...it's Story Time

I feel like I should begin this post with, "Good morning girls and boys," like on Barney & Friends.

Source

But, I won't.

However I do have a story for you this lovely Friday morning.

As many of you probably know, my wonderful fiancé is a bit like a cartoon character (or so people say). He is so outgoing and I admire him for his whit, sense of humor, and ability to be 110% himself in every situation.

This is how I envision Jason as a cartoon.
When he see's this, he'll probably say that this dude has cool hair. Just a guess.
Source

But, last night I wanted to crawl into a hole.

One of our friends opened for a band a couple of weeks ago at a venue here in Birmingham called Workplay. She asked one of our other friends to play guitar for her during her set (they lead worship together at church and are on worship staff together). Through that, our friend who plays guitar met the guitarist from the headlining band.

Well, Jason has met that band a couple of times himself and he's done sound for them at events at Samford, so we're both familiar with them (although I'd never met them). Someone saw on their website that they were playing a house show in Birmingham last night, so our friend who plays guitar texted the guitar player of the headlining band to see if it was an open show and if so, could we come. He said yes to both, so last night Jason, our friend who plays guitar, his wife, and me went to the "house show".

When we arrived, there was a sign out front that was in kind of a graffiti font, so none of us could make out what it said. We thought it said, "Best of..." and then Jason told us they were probably being artsy and didn't want anyone to know the last word.

We got about halfway down this driveway and we see a bunch of people...well no...teenagers...out by the pool. Then our friend's wife (who's my friend as well, but I'm trying to only use pronouns) said, "Did that sign say 'Class of 2012'?". Why yes, I think it did.

By that point, we'd already been spotted and one of the parents came out and asked if we were friends of the band. So, instead of saying no and running away quickly and gone to pick up dessert somewhere (which is what I wanted to do), we said yes and went to the party...the high school graduation party.

Source

 Turns out, a most of the students went to a private, Christian school in Birmingham and a large handful of them will be attending Samford in the fall. I considered laying some groundwork for my sister, who will also be a freshman at Samford in the fall, but I decided she probably wouldn't appreciate that. Who wants their older, party-crashing sister finding them a roomie and new BFF?

It ended up being okay. I felt awkward the whole time, but the guys had fun at least. The kids didn't even know we were there and the parents probably thought we were besties with the band...or something.

As we were leaving, we started discussing what the owners of the house must do for a living (the house was beautiful and huge). Turns out...he's in advertising...

...how about that?

We were offed cake but we declined - which is a reflection of how awkward we felt (we, meaning me and the guitar player's wife). 

All in all, it was an enjoyable evening, and we ended up taking away a great story.

T-shirts, Buses, and Autographs, Oh My!

Let me start out this post by saying THANK YOU! I have been overwhelmed by the encouragement of all of you who have expressed appreciation for my honesty on yesterday's post. I know this may sound silly, but I can honestly see that the Lord is working through what I'm writing each and every day. I started writing this blog on a pretty daily basis just because I missed writing and I wanted to do a cleanse. I had no idea that this would turn into a platform for me to share struggles and triumphs, encouragement, and prayer with people! I am certainly thankful for each one of you. Please, never hesitate to contact me via Facebook, Twitter, text, or email. I enjoy the encouragement, honesty, and prayers from others. I also love returning encouragement and offering up prayers!

I was so excited about posting again last night, but I was a little distracted. I went to see Switchfoot at Samford with a group of friends from church. The only thing that wasn't good about the night was the fact that Jason was in Tulsa, OK and Switchfoot is one of his favorite bands.

But wait...I'm getting ahead of myself.

Yesterday was a good day. I popped out of bed in time to do the 30 Day Shred before work. I'm a little sore today, but not as bad as usual. That's a good sign, right?

I was super hungry after that, so I ate some Great Value nonfat vanilla yogurt while I was getting ready for work. I also drank some water because the 30 Day Shred always makes me thirsty.

I was really excited about my lunch yesterday. It wasn't anything special, but it was healthy and it tasted good.

Only the front mug is full. The other two were just previous hot beverages.

Lunch:
2 oz. deli turkey
1 slice reduced fat provolone cheese
1.5 c. spinach leaves
1 tbsp. chia seeds
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 sugar free Jello cup
8 strawberries
1 green apple
1/2 cucumber sliced

I also realized after I finished eating that I was going to need some coffee.

As soon as I got home I saw another Arnold in the hallway! Wedding gift #2 had arrived!!! This time Jason wasn't here to open it with me, but that's okay. Technology is wonderful. I sent him pictures and we got to celebrate together via text message.

Yay for big boxes and bedding! We honestly need both.

Then I went to work making dinner. I get home around 5:20 or 5:30 each day. Yesterday, I had to make dinner and eat before 6:15 because that's what time we were leaving to get to Samford for Switchfoot. I decided to make a Taco Bake, which is really just a nice little name I created for combining all my favorite taco fixins.

Taco Bake:
Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 packet Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning
• 2/3 c. water
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained (no salt added)
• 1 small jar medium salsa
• 1/2 c. Kraft fat free cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2. Brown the ground beef and drain out the oil.
3. Mix all of the first five ingredients in a large skillet.
4. Pour mixture into a square casserole dish. 
5. Spread salsa over the top.
6. Sprinkle cheese to cover the top in a light layer.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

It was delish! One of my friends arrived as I was finishing up eating. I offered him some Taco Bake and he seemed to like it. I also had plenty left for leftovers!

Next, it was finally time for Switchfoot.

Here's the rundown of the night -

Get to Samford.

Feel awkward because we were about 5-7 years older than all the kids (literally kids) standing on the floor.

Finally the opening band comes out to play. I like The Rocket Summer but I don't know a lot of their stuff. They were good though.

Realize I left all of my money in the car.

Run to my car to get my credit card so I can buy Jason some merch.

Text Jason to see which Switchfoot shirt he wanted.

Stand there and wait for him to reply.

Decide not to wait any longer. A line was forming behind me, and having a fiance who sells band merch for a living, I didn't want to be that girl.

Buy Jason a black shirt. Buy myself a little something too.

Go back inside and find my group. Wait patiently for Switchfoot to take the stage.

Watch Switchfoot put on an awesome show.

Wait outside for Jon Foreman.

Walk around the backside of the Pete Hanna Center to find the buses.

Wait for Jon Foreman some more.

Meet Jon Foreman.

I got starstruck for sure...but not as much as the girl who had him sign her Samford ID.

Tell Jason. Jason got jealous.

Decide to possibly drive to Chattanooga next week to see Switchfoot again. This time with Jason (P.S. If anyone knows a place we could possibly stay, let me know, seriously!).

So that about sums up what turned out to be a really awesome day.

As usual, here is my calorie count for the day (much better than Wednesaday):

It's Friday, so enjoy the weekend and the goings on of finals, Springtime, or whatever it is you kids do these days :)

Enough rambling, I must go eat lunch!