Thankful

I am officially out of my rut
I didn't stop one time during my run last night!
October is my favorite month, & it starts in T-minus 12 hours
Sonic's Southwest breakfast burrito
"The Best of Friends" DVD that keeps me laughing into the late hours of the night
The AMAZING fall weather. (75 and sunny alllll week)
Wednesday night bible study
My roommate who says hilarious things in her sleep
The color yellow
My mom sent me a card with $5 in it and told me to get
coffee "on her." I'm thinking a carmel apple javalanche?

I am also thankful for this thought:

"If the church can't see Jesus in each other, the world will never see Jesus."

Happy Thursday. Be thankful- God has blessed you!

Tuesday Treats

My roommate and I la-la-love sweets.

We always have a bowl of Dove Chocolates by the TV.

We always have a jar of Nutella sitting beside the peanut butter.

We don't usually buy cookies, or brownies, or donuts, because if we did, no amount of working out would ever burn off the amount of calories we would consume.

We do snack when we study, after all.
(Which means we are always eating, because we are always studying.)

However, there are special circumstances when buying donuts is ok.

Like...it was Tuesday. We made it through Monday. That calls for celebration, don't you think?

So Ali took off to Walmart for donuts.

They are so delicious.

And look how cute they are with their fall leaves!
Festive, I must say.

These bad boys are worth the 182,9292 calories that they are.

Complaining on Monday Night

a. I am in a

rut. A deep, depressing funk. Half of it is probably sleep deprivation, but the other half is legitimate. I am tired of school and studying and all of the stress that comes with it. Today I thought about what my life consists of- the 3 Step Survival Guide For College, if you will.

Study, Shower, Sleep.

I have been in a running rut too.

I am so worn out.

b. If you're new around here,

you probably don't know my love for Utah & Mormons. My friend Jill sent me a link to this Etsy shop. This is the shirt:

This is the desciption of the shirt:
"Love Utah? I do and you can show your love for the beehives, honey and mormons of Utah when you wear this..."

I'm thinking it was made for me.

c. The weather here has been

amazing! It has been in the 70's during the day and 60's at night. I am loving every minute of it. Autumn is my favorite season. Nice work on naming me, Mom. Very fitting.

d. I have been taking

prenatal vitamins because I am really anemic. They are doing amazing things for my hair and nails! I have had several good hair days and my fingernails are growing pretty fast. That's very exciting for a girl who has always had short, stubby nails.

e. Thank goodness

Monday is over. It was unpleasant.

I'm Yours

Last night was the Jason Mraz concert.

It was awesome.

I loved when he covered The Beatles 'All You Need Is Love'.

I especially loved when he sang this:

My favorite part is 2:54 when you can hear everyone singing.

$38 well spent.

We Deep-Fry In the South

In Searcy this weekend there is a 'Get Down Downtown' festival. Live music, crafts and local vendors. And you can't forget the food- foot long corndogs, funnel cakes, nachos, BBQ, and fried Oreos.

Wait, what? Fried Oreos.

I had never heard of them either, which is strange because in the south,
we fry everything. As soon as I heard that those deep-fried, chocolate creamy Oreo concoctions smothered in powdered sugar and carmel were for sale, I was in line.

Success.

Thankful on Thursday

It has definitely been one of those weeks when I need to sit back and think of the things I am thankful for. I have been so busy and stressed and tired, and I am constantly reminding myself that I have been blessed so much.

Today,
I am thankful for:

My Iota Chi sisters
Jarah's blog which inspired this post
Dove chocolates & their inspirational quotes
Extra-credit assignments
The warm, sunny weather
Diet Dr.Pepper
Chapel skips (sometimes you need to sleep in. Don't judge me.)
My friend Beth driving up from Texas to visit for the weekend
This song

I am also thankful for Hebrews 12:28-29 which has been in mind for a few weeks now.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'"




Thank goodness it's almost Friday!

To My Best Friend in Idaho

Dear Kaylee,

Not much has changed since you have been gone.

It's still 1,000 degrees in Arkansas and so humid that your jeans moisten from sweat and cling to your sticky skin.

Gross, I know.

How's Rexburg? Are you in Mormon heaven?

I have been meaning to ask, are potatoes a hot commodity there? I imagine you sitting around with the Book of Mormon in your lap eating scalloped, mashed, fried, baked potato concoctions- so many potatoes that they are practically coming out of your ears.

After all, that is what Idaho is famous for, didn't you know?

I'm sure my depiction of you is accurate. Don't tell me if it's not. I quite enjoy seeing you stuff your face with potatoes.

I am excited to know that I have a letter in the mail- #2 since we became pen pals. Real mail is so much more exciting than emails and texts.

By the way, I posted some pictures on your Facebook wall. Have you seen them yet? Well, here they are for your convenience.

This is my "I miss you" face.

This is my "I can't wait to see you again!" face.

Love you.
Miss you.
Your Best Friend,

Autumn Bottom

Testimony

"I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the Christ and Savior of the world...that he died for my sins and was resurrected. I know that I am saved by grace and not by works and will inherit heaven upon that principle. I also only know that God hears and answers prayer. I know all this not only by the feeling I have from the inner witness of the Holy Ghost but by the reliability of God's Word, the Bible, which declares it to be so. And, I also know that because of my relationship with Christ, Jesus has changed my life and continues
to bless me."

I am reading a book and this is the woman's testimony. I thought about writing my own, but it would have said the same thing. That I know. I know. I know. that I love and worship a God who is a "consuming fire," (Hebrews 12:29)

What's your testimony?

College Wears You Out.

Monday morning chapel is brutal.

(Dear mom & dad, let the record show that I was awake and not in this picture.)

Autumn Loves Mormons.

You know that friend of yours that has a creepy foot fetish?

I have one worse.

I take that back. I don't have an obsession creepier than someone liking feet. Crusty feet with long toenails.

I do have an obsession that is weirder.
I am obsessed with

I feel like now would be the appropriate time to tell you that I am not Mormon, nor do I have a desire to be. I would blame this obsession on my trip to Utah but I'm afraid my twisted love of the Morms started long before that.

As much as I thought I was closeting it, others have noticed.

A friend of mine sent me this picture today with a text that read,

"What I'm sitting by in the library. Thought of you..lol!"

I wonder what gave it away.

Perhaps Morm Mondays?

Skywalker

Today was my nephews first soccer game. He's a ripe age of five.

Five year olds playing soccer? Funniest, most precious sight in the world.

Not to mention the fact that he insists on being called Skywalker. Hearing the coach yell,

"Run Skywalker!"

"Turn around Skywalker!"

"You can't pick up the ball Skywalker!"

Priceless. Absolutely priceless.

As I was watching Skywalker kick the ball, I was bouncing his 5-month old brother on my lap. Don't you want to devour him, starting with those plump cheeks?

Little league soccer games are my new favorite sporting event.

Home Sweet Home

Afternoon sun

I am home for the weekend.

It's always nice to come home for a few days. It serves as a nice breather from exams and homework.

I plan on spending time rolling around in my huge bed without the fear of rolling off the top bunk, eating home cooked meals instead of caf food, and shopping with my mom.

School stuff can definitely wait.

What are you doing this weekend?

Life's Biggest Decisions

One of life's biggest decisions while at Frozen D's:

what flavor shake do I order?

For the plain Jane's of the world, there is the very vanilla vanilla shake.

I know that sentence had you marveling at my pun skills.

With plain ole' vanilla comes plain ole' chocolate. Nothing fancy or adventurous about either option, if you ask me.

Attention dare-devils of the world, you adventurous types who like the add-in's and extra flavor:

Frozen D's offers millions of flavors. Lemon, Cake Batter, Rice Krispie, Nutter Butter, Marshmellow, all blended to your likings and served in a shiny Styrofoam cup, a plastic spoon atop heaps and heaps of delicious ice cream.

The decisions were:

Ali - Cookie Dough

Brette - Chocolate

Katie - Mint

Me - Cake Batter

Being adventurous has its perks.

Chemistry equals Hatred

If ever there were a bane to my precious existence, Chemistry would be the culprit.

I am good with words. I can string a sentence together like nobody's business, as if you needed convincing. I am good with imagination- photography, crafts, baking -some call me Suzie Dormmaker. Or, they should.

Using two bunsen burners...against lab rules?

I am not good with numbers. Or conversion factors, or units- amu, grams, kilograms, oh my!

For some reason unbeknownst to me, Harding seems to think us nursing majors need Chemistry, which officially puts them at the bottom of my Christmas card list.

All of that to say, I have a bane to my existence and it is Chemistry, and I have spent days with visions of electron configurations dancing in my head. I liked the sugar-plum days better, oh yes I did.

One cool thing I learned in Chemistry? Take a plastic pen
and rub it in the corner of a wall. Static makes it stick.

Psalm 18:30-31

As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?

Weekends Mean Nothing

Remember when weekends were something to look forward to? Maybe they still are for you. For me, weekends are just days without class- the reading, making flash cards and note-taking doesn't stop.

So while it looked like this outside,

I was inside doing this,

I am one dedicated student.

Reasons I Am Changing My Chapel Seat Next Semester

1. Chapel Couple

Remember, I sit behind the most affectionate couple in chapel? I had to take a picture of them today. It has reached epic ridiculous proportions. Seriously, I think we can all tell who wears the pants in this relationship. Man up, man. And maybe brush your hair. Just a suggestion.

Muffin line

2. Muffins

Today was muffin chapel, which means FREE muffins and orange juice. Even if I wasn't a fan of muffins (which I am), I would still get one, because I'm in college and they are FREE. Anything free, count me in. Except I sit very close to the stage, which is very far away from the doors in the back, which is even further from the steps of the Benson where the muffins were. Which means a very long line of eager students. You better believe I was dashing through people to get closer in line. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. That's what I always say.

Happy Weekend!

A Birthday Celebration

On this day, September 8th 1991, my roommate Ali was born.

I'm happy she was born- she's good at Chemistry and helps me, and I stock the fridge with Diet Dr. Pepper. It's a give and take relationship, you see.

Where was I? Yes, I am happy she was born.

We celebrated her birthday with dinner at Chili's and then ate delicious chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles.

And then we played 'pin the tail on the donkey', because sophomore in college or not, you are never too old to play birthday games.

Happy Birthday rooms!

p.s. Enjoy that Chik-Fil-A chicken biscuit, a la Harding University.

Miscellany Labor Day

1. Harding didn't let classes out for Labor Day. Isn't that crazy? That wasn't stopping me, though. I went to 2 of my classes and then skipped out for the rest of the day, opting for the lake instead. It was awesome.

2. My camera has a mind of its own. Some days she works, some days she doesn't. Today was one of those days when she said, "Who me? I'm supposed to do something today?" So I had to take the above pictures with my iPhone. Not the best quality, but it works!

3. My friend Brette has decided to run the half-marathon with me, so we started running together last week. We were running our usual route around campus Friday when a truck full of guys threw water balloons at us. I wasn't laughing then, but it's funny now!

4. Remember my embarrassing story about the boy and his beloved chicken? After that fateful day in the caf, I thought, surely no boy will think I'm cool now. False. I went on a little road trip with a guy friend this weekend and he said I'm a "total catch." Out of the blue. (Like I would ask.) So there it is. I'm a "total catch." Humble about it, too.

5. Tomorrow is the busiest day of my life. More on that...tomorrow. Or maybe Wednesday, since tomorrow is the busiest day of my life.

6. So long sweet summer

Game Day, Baby!

College football started today, which was a reason to celebrate! Being from the good ole' state of Arkansas, I was pumped about the first Razorback game of the year.

Woo, Pig Sooie!

Of course, the game wasn't on TV today, but that didn't stop me from putting on one of my Hogs shirts and supporting. My friend Brittany cooked baked ziti and hot fudge cake to commemorate the occasion.

Brittany cooking

Baked Ziti. Delish

Hot fudge cake, ready to be popped into the oven

The rest of my Saturday was very relaxing. I studied and got organized for the week. And slept in until noon- it was amazing.

Happy Labor Day weekend! Stay safe!

God Has Smiled On Me

I have been having one of those weeks. One of those amazing weeks when I know and feel the love God has for me and the love I have for Him. In Bible study on Wednesday night, I almost started crying. The realization of how blessed I am -how much God has smiled on me- can be overwhelming at times.

I am so enjoying the life He has given me. The friends, the family, the joyful times.

I've spent my week laughing with friends,

eating lemon cupcakes,

cheering on my Iota Chi sisters at softball games,

and going to ghetto $2 theatres.

And taking pictures, of course.

"Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
-Romans 5:5

Traditions

My roommate and I are really into traditions.
That, or we just like doing certain things on certain days of the week, week after week. Like I said, into traditions.

Monday

Or what we like to call, "Morm Monday." See, we are really interested in other religions, so when I whipped out the Book of Mormon (the BOM) that I received in Utah, we dove right in. Now, we reserve Monday for our friends Nephi and Moroni.

Tuesday

is the worst day of the week. We both agree on that. Last Tuesday was awful, this Tuesday was awful, and next Tuesday will be awful. And the one after that. Don't expect happy blog posts on Tuesday's. (Please pray for my roommates family. Her grandma died yesterday.)(I told you Tuesday's are awful.)

Wednesday

has been proclaimed "Dish-Wash Wednesday." If a day wasn't prescribed, they would never get done. And they need to get done- I may have skipped last Wednesday. I am out of cereal bowls and instead of washing them, I have resorted to Pop Tarts every morning. Shame on me.
In my defense, it is hard to wash dishes in a bathroom sink.

Thursday

is good all around.
1) Ali and I get to sleep in until 8.

2) It's Tay Swift Thursday. We listen to Taylor Swift while getting ready for chapel.

Friday

is a good day for obvious reasons. It means the weekend is beginning. But here at Harding, it also means Jersey Day which is fun.

Saturday/Sunday

is reserved for sleeping. And eating.

Well, it's Wednesday so I am off to wash that pile of bowls. Cereal for breakfast tomorrow!