Congratulations to My Daddy!

Today marks the end of a wonderful chapter in my Daddy's life.  Tomorrow starts a brand new, exciting one!  I want to dedicate this blog post to my dad.  Tonight, my dad will finish his last night shift at Vanderbilt and then he will retire!  :)  So, first things first, CONGRATULATIONS, DADDY!  :)

I remember when Daddy started working for Vanderbilt.  I was just starting middle school at Meigs Magnet.  At the time, I remember thinking, Dad's just getting a new job and that he would be working night shifts.  I wasn't worried about not seeing him in the evening because he got to bring me to school everyday and pick me up to bring me to Grandmama's.  Even in high school he was able to do that.  I remember fondly of the morning trips to East Literature Magnet School and stopping by Ms. Winner's for chicken biscuits.  :)

However, the first several years that he worked at Vandy, I did not quite understand the significance.  One of the reasons that I remember is the transportation to and from a magnet school which was in downtown Nashville, not in my zoned school.  Being able to attend this school opened so many doors for me.  But a major reason that he started work there was the tuition benefit that Vandy had for dependents of their employees.  Growing up, I always knew that I would go to college just like my daddy and my cousins, but I never thought of how I would afford to pay for it until probably my junior year of high school when Hume Fogg counselors started to nag the students to get working on those scholarship applications.  I was blessed to know that Mom and Dad had already thought about it and Daddy made the sacrifice of a "normal" work schedule so that both Christie and I could go to college without the extreme burden of student loans.  I was able to complete my entire four-year degree without a single student loan thanks to my daddy's hard work and dedication, and a couple of scholarships.  I'm not sure if I've ever outright said thank you to my parents for making this decision, but I am forever grateful.  I have always looked up to my Daddy for his commitment to family by working at Vandy and to all of the hard work he did and still continues to do.

Now, I am just so happy that Daddy gets to retire and have fun, work out (hehe), sleep, and just enjoy life without having to worry about working crazy hours!  What I'm looking forward to the most is being able to talk on the phone with Dad during the weekday nights!  :)

Daddy, I love you big bunches and I'm so proud and happy for you!

Resolutions Update

It's getting closer to time to start making new resolutions (I've got another couple of months or so), so I figured it might be time to do another update.

1.)  Start the Good Thoughts Jar.  I've been doing okay with this resolution.  I occasionally put something in my jar.  However, I don't do it everyday or even consistently once a week. 

2.)  Read the entire Bible.  I'm very behind.  I used the "Catch Me Up" feature on YouVersion several times because I've been bad about it.  I will say that I'm about 51% through the Bible.  According to my plan, I should have this finished in April.

3.)  Lose weight...a lot of weight.  So I gained a few pounds.  It's been harder without going to a doctor once a week.  I'm trying to stay on track, but it's been hard with staying busy.  I've still got about half way to go.

4.)  Be more creative.  Yep!  I took some initiative and I started sewing classes last Monday.  I'll have sewing classes once a week until Thanksgiving and I will have completed my first garment by then!  I'm hoping that maybe I'll have a side project when I'm going through the classes too.  I'm really excited about that.  Also, I've already talked to one of my Brothers about hosting a Pinterest party over ETSU's winter break.  I can't wait for that!
 
5.)  Cook one new recipe a month.  I'm not sure if I've done a recipe every month or not.  I know that this month I've tried two different ones.  One is a breakfast burrito for Ryan.  He said it was pretty good so I pinned it on my success board.  The other one was a recipe for wheat sandwich bread.  It was just...okay.  Not my favorite  and it was a little dense for me.  Honestly, it's also not really worth the time for the taste.  I'd rather use that time to make Grandmama's bread.  Next month I'm going to try a new recipe for SAAC's retreat this weekend.  I'll let everyone know how it goes!

6.)  Save some money.  Eh.  That's been interesting.  Ryan and I did sit down and make savings plans for the next few years.  We are on the right track.  I will say that using my Christmas fund with my bank is making life a million times easier for planning for Christmas.  I got started Christmas present shopping early! ;)

7.)  Drink more water.  Again, this resolution has now become a habit. 

8.)  Be more appreciative. Again, this has been difficult to track.  Definitely won't be putting a resolution like this again (one that's not really measureable).  Anyway, I believe that I've done a better job and making sure that I tell everyone that I appreciate their efforts or doing things for me. 

9.)  Take more photos, and not just photos of my dog, Butch.   I've been okay on this one.  I think I'm going to be keeping this as a resolution for next year. 

10.)  Blog once at least once a ...month. I'm still doing pretty well on this one! ;)