Happy Labor-less Day!

HAPPY LABOR DAY BLOG LAND!!!!

For many, although it's still sweltering outside, today signals the end of the summer. Pools are closing, summer clothes are on clearance at stores (yay), and by now almost all the kids are back to school.

Usually my Labor Day weekend is nothing special. I usually just lay around the house, clean, catch up on sleep, or all of the above. While I was able to do all of those things, I was also able to cross another item off of my 30 Before 30 Bucket List! YAAAAY!!

My sister and I kicked the weekend off at the Louisville Palace Theatre. I believe I may have mentioned a few posts back that they were having an Alfred Hitchock film festival. Jess couldn't figure out how to get into the parking garage right across from the Palace....so we rode around the blocks surrounding 4th street for at least 10 minutes. After numerous wrong turns, full circles, and near wrecks as we attempted to enter through the exit lanes of various closed parking garages....we finally settled on one down the street and around the corner, which required us to walk past a shady looking establishment that flashed "GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS" in neon pink.

Praise the Lord for the buddy system. Bahahahaha.

Anyway. We were late. Have I mentioned that I hate being late?

The movie had already started when we finally walked through the doors to see Mr. Hitchcock's legendary Psycho. Fortunately, it hadn't gotten very far. We own the movie. But there was something about seeing it on the big screen that really made me appreciate the suspense and the outstanding cinematography. Most of the people there were fellow Hitchcock enthusiasts. Yet, during the scene in which the private detective is walking up the stairs (to meet his death), the entire theatre jumped and screamed when Norman/Mother came flying down wielding that famous knife. Ha.

We enjoyed every minute of it.






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As is tradition in Louisville on the last weekend of August, it was time for....Worldfest! And after being unable to go for the last few years, I was finally able to make it. And so, I check that off of my 30 Before 30 Bucket List!

It takes place on the Belvedere, right next to the River and the Galt House. As soon as you turn the corner you are bombarded by colors, music, and the smells of all kinds of different culture's foods. There are two stages on which people of all different cultures preform song, music, and dance. We saw a Vietnamese Lion Dance, African Dancers, Latino music and dance, and belly dances from India, Hawaii, and Tribal Fusion.

Did I mention there was SO MUCH FOOD?!! I ended up eating an authentic Greek Gyro! A party for my taste buds it was!!! Ah! It was SO MUCH fun!! I probably would have had even more fun if I had at least a hundred bucks to blow on the vendors stands. So many beautiful clothes, trinkets, scarves, beauty products and in such bright and beautiful colors!

In short, I've thoroughly enjoyed every moment of my long weekend.

Thank the Lord for random Monday holidays!

How have you spent the long weekend Blog Land?

:)

Learned Right

On this day 26 years ago...a red skinned little girl with a head full of thick black hair was born. Can you guess who this little rascal was? Ok, ok...I know ya'll all know it was me. Ha.

Yes...today is my Birthday...

I must admit that it feels a little strange to think that I'm on the downward slope of my 20s. At the risk of sounding incredibly cliched, I must ask the question..."Where has the time gone?" So much has happened in the last 6 years....It's been a long process, but I can say that maybe, just maybe...I'm finally settling into...well...Me.

Trust and believe I'm still growing and changing as an individual....I still have moments of intense dislike with who I am or how things are going...but thankfully, these moments are getting shorter and shorter each time they sneak up on me. Overall I'm amazed at the goodness of my life.

Also! I'm pleased to say that I have been able to cross 3 things off of my 30 Before 30 bucket list! Yes...I must say that 25 was good to me. It's been a whirlwind of a year and I've accomplished some very significant things. All glory goes to the LORD. Without him I wouldn't have been able to do any of it.

I'm happy, content, and glad to be celebrating another birthday.

I'm glad that my life has been filled with wonderful people like you, dear followers. Thank you for the encouragement over this last year and the prayers.

Enjoy this song from Brave...it's light and it makes me smile....because scars are healing and even when I've done wrong...I've been put right.

The Deep End

A few posts ago, as I shared the passing of my graduation, I promised to reveal some other exciting news. I announced this at my Graduation Party a few weeks back, and then quite honestly, forgot to announce here on the blog. As of today, I have officially completed my first week as a real estate paralegal!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen of Blog Land. I landed a job in my field. 3 days after graduation. No one has been more surprised at this than me. With the economy and job markets being as they are, I expected it to take at least 6 months to a year to find something in my field.

It happened like this.

I received a call from my contact at the Louisville Bar Association on the Monday before Graduation. He had just received a call from a mid-sized firm in the East End and was wondering if I was interested. There were two positions open, a receptionist position and a paralegal position. I scheduled the interview for the next day. The day of Graduation.

 In the world of law, and even more in the world of real estate, time really is money. The interview lasted for all of about 10 minutes. I really didn't think much of it. My lack of experience was clear to the attorney I had interviewed with and I wasn't expecting a call back. If I did receive a call back, I was preparing myself mentally for it to be for the receptionist position.

Wednesday I heard nothing back, but Thursday evening I received a call from the attorney himself asking me to come in for a 2nd interview the next morning. I was amazed. This interview lasted for about an hour as he talked at length about what my responsibilities would be, described the fast paced environment of the business, took me on a tour of the office, introduced me to the 2 paralegal supervisors as well as the VP of the company. When we returned to his office and sat down, he leaned back in his plush chair and offered me the job of real estate paralegal.

I accepted. These are the wonderful works of God and they are marvelous in my eyes!

So this last week has been nerve-wracking, overwhelming, and wonderful as I was thrust into the world of real estate. My nickname around the office this week quickly became "The Sponge" as I sat behind my supervisor listened, wrote notes furiously, did hands on practice, and asked numerous questions. At noon yesterday, the VP, Russ, stopped by and asked me to see him. When I sat down in his office he asked me quickly how things were coming along and how I was doing with everything. When I explained that all was well, that it was a lot of info to take in, but that I was slowly catching on....he replied with, "Good. Next week we'll get you settled into your own desk and throw you into the deep end".

Oh Lawd. LOL.

This time next week I may not be so enthusiastic about my quick success in finding this job. Or rather, on having this job fall into my lap. Ha.

Anywho. So that's the story on the job situation. God has blessed me tremendously and continues to do so. All the glory goes to Him. It's not because of anything that I've done, but it is His Grace and I know that He blesses me for His Name's Sake.

For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. -I Samuel 12:22

Blog Land, consider yourself updated on the Wonderland Adventures. I covet your prayers as I navigate my way through this new season in my life!

Oh the Places You Will Go...

I can officially cross one more thing off of my 30 before 30 Bucket List.

That's right ladies and gentlemen of the world...I am officially.... A COLLEGE GRADUATE!

As of May 14, 2013 I have an Associate's of Applied Science degree in Paralegal Studies!

This week has been amazing and overwhelming at the same time. In addition to graduating, there have been several other exciting developments, about which you can expect to hear in later posts. Suffice it to say, my life has taken on several changes in the space of a few days. It's exciting and scary at the same time!

The graduation ceremony was looooong and drawn out. Of course, since my degree falls within the School of Public and Social Services, we were the second to the last school to get to walk across the stage. Aaaand...because my last name begins with "T", I was the last person to walk across the stage from the School of Public and Social Services. LOL. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll marry someone who's last name is at the beginning of the alphabet, or at least, more towards the middle. Ha.

Anyway, it was a surreal moment. What was going through my mind as I took my walk of fame? " Heel, toe, heel, toe...don't fall girl." And as I reached the Chancellor to take my  diploma, "Smile girlfriend. Shake with your right, take with your left....keep smiling".

 Haha. And in a moment, it was over. The years of hard work, culminated in a single event that lasted for about 15 seconds. But wow...probably THE proudest 15 seconds of my life. My family was there. My 3 best friends were there. It was perfect.

Now, today...we celebrate!

My mom has been in town since Tuesday and today is my official graduation party. It's going to be a fairly small affair. So don't feel rained on if you didn't get an invite. Lol. I'm not one for big "to do's". My step-dad is going to do what he does best...grill! And that will be that.

And so...on to the next phase of my life....

Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Stay tuned!

Jubilation and 6 Days

It's late. I'm tired. I'm jubilant!

Yes, you read that right.

Jubilant!

I just completed the last of my finals...so...that means....I'm DONE WITH SCHOOL!

I mean like Done Done. As in "I'll take my degree now, thanks very much".

Not much of a post, but hey... I just needed to express my excitement!

6 days till GRADUATION!

A little sentimental....a little mushy...but I don't care...I love this song and I love Celine.

No apologies :p

Ladies and Gentlemen...a new day has come!

20 Days...and Good News

EEEEEK!

I'm SO excited that I just have to write a little blurb about all the good news I received today!

Soooo....

I have an interview with the Louisville Bar Association scheduled for Monday morning! To the great advantage of paralegals in the Louisville and Southern Indiana area, the LBA has a placement service, in which it takes the information of qualified legal professionals, interviews them, and then matches them with a law firm that is looking for someone to fill a certain position. So, even though this interview won't guarantee me a job immediately it's definitely putting me a few steps ahead of the game.

Next...

And this may not seem like a big deal to ya'll...buuuut it was to me. Since I'm lacking in real world experience, many potential employers may be a little hesitant to hire me. As this is the case, many people (myself included) thought it would be beneficial for me to obtain a recommendation from one of my professors. I knew that this was a good idea, but I have been a little scared to ask my Litigation professor for one due to the fact that I feel kind of weird about asking someone to compliment me (LoL) and on top of that, not only is she a professor, but she is also an attorney with an active practice and quite busy.

Well...with the news of my interview and a requirement to provide three professional references, I went ahead and asked for the recommendation. The reply e-mail and the attached recommendation letter absolutely blew me away. I won't go into details, but it was high praise indeed, especially coming from an attorney. It was humbling to see that my hard work had not gone unnoticed and that it might actually aid me in finding a job.

I know that I am only at the beginning of my career journey, but even in little things like this, the LORD is already blessing me!

These are HIS wonderful works and they're marvelous in my eyes!

Good Night BLog Land!

22 Days

I cannot believe that it has been a month since my last post!

To my faithful readers and followers, my sincerest apologies and thank you for your patience during my unexpected blogging sabbatical. As you may have already guessed, the reason behind my absence has been due mostly to school work.

Ladies and Gentlemen! This is it! There are officially only 3 weeks left until I graduate.

Teehee.

This morning I pulled my cap and gown out of their bag and tried them on for the first time. As I looked at myself in the mirror, my heart skipped a beat. I twirled around. Yep, I sure did twirl. Ha. Then I ran to my closet to figure out which shoes I was going to wear.

Black. Pointy toe. Patent Leather. 3 inch heel.

In case you were wondering.

Then I started rummaging around trying to figure out what I'm going to wear underneath the gown. I just happened to find a pink silk blouse from NY&C with the tag still on it. I had totally forgotten I had bought that shirt! So, of course I had to try on the shirt along with the shoes and my go-to black skirt. As I pranced in front of the mirror, I tucked the shirt in, untucked the shirt, added a scarf, took the scarf off, added a necklace, removed the necklace....and finally I decided that I need a thick black belt to go around the blouse if I leave it untucked.

So, my ensemble for Graduation Day is complete, I just need to go shopping for a belt.

Teehee.

My excitement is literally growing by the day. I have waited for this for SOOOOO long! And it's here! EEEEEEEKKK!!!!

What's more exciting is that this past Friday, I was able to work on my resume with a family friend, who's also the director of career development at IUS. So now my resume is complete and absolutely phenomenal! I've been contacting acquaintances who are lawyers and even submitted an application with the Louisville Bar Association Placement Department. Networking, networking, networking is what it's all about.

This is such an exciting yet scary time. I'm closing the door on one part of my life and stepping into a completely new and different world. On the one side it would be so easy to stay where I am and continue to work as a nanny indefinitely because it's comfortable. But that would be the easy and the safe thing to do. As I always say, 'Nothing risked is nothing gained'.

So Blog Land, I covet your prayers as I move out of one sphere and into a new one. I know that with your prayers and mine, that the LORD will lead and guide me to the right people and the right places!

22 days and counting...!

Writers Start Your Engines & In Other News...

Fellow writers of the world! Start your engines!

Yes Blog Land, today is officially the first day of NanoWriMo! 10 hours into the day and  I haven't written a word. Ha. But, never fear, my outline was completed earlier this week and I will begin writing this evening.

1600 words a day for the next 30 days...

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

This is going to truly be a test of the will as I will have to discard my procrastinator tendencies to do what I am setting out to.

In other Wonderland news, in an effort to realize my 30 Before 30 goal of taking at least one picture everyday for the next year, I have joined Instagram. So, if you're a fellow Instagram-er, then you can find me by searching for either RachieT or rachelinathumbelina.

On a serious note, have you ever noticed that God is faithful to test your choices? Often times, we mistakenly think that once we make a choice that's the end of it. However, think of it this way...when we make difficult decisions for Christ, we can think of that choice as being a block of ice. Many times, not too long after we make this choice, certain situations will arise that will make us second guess our decision or even want to go back on that decision...situations that could "melt" the solidity of the choice we made. And in this place, we are faced with making that choice all over again. But in making that choice over and over again, we are in fact solidifying our stand, faith, and trust in the LORD. Remember, Galatians 6:9 says,

Let us not be weary in well doing: for in season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Just a little food for thought to carry with you through the day!

30 Before 30: Update

Well Blog Land, I figure that the time has come to update you on what has been accomplished in my 30 Before 30 Challenge...So what has happened? Well...to be honest..erm...not much.

Now, I will say that I have started working on a few things....but as of yet, nothing has been completed. But as you can imagine, these things take time. Two of the biggest challenges that I have begun to work on are the weight loss and taking control of my finances. As I have endeavored to correct all that is wrong in these two areas, I was shocked to find that these two seemingly different problems share a common root problem. Are you ready for this? Self-Control.

Yes, Blog Land...I said Self-Control.

As I have mentioned before, I have been doing the ViSalus Meal Replacement Shake Program. It started off quite well and I was amazed at how quickly the weight rolled off. I was super-vigilant. I cut soda out of my diet and cut back on how often I ate out and my intake of sweets. I was in heaven the day I got on the scale and discovered that I was 12 pounds lighter. However, around the same time, I experienced a disappointment which led to some emotional eating. I was craving everything I knew I shouldn't eat. Remember the whole burrito thing??

While I was still doing the shakes, I was eating anything and everything I wanted between meals. Mostly fast food and sweets. I literally couldn't get enough. This continued for about...ooooh...I'd say 3 weeks, and then I climbed back on the scale.

I had gained 5 pounds.

Well really, what did I expect?

I WISH I was one of those people who could eat whatever they want and never gain a pound. Sadly, due to a hormonal disorder, I have the metabolism of at least a 50 year old. So if I don't watch what I eat, I will gain weight.

I'm happy to say though, that I have snapped out of my binge eating and have gone back to actually considering what I'm eating before I put it in my mouth, as well as, how much I'm putting in my mouth. Portions are EVERYTHING.

The same thing goes for my money. I have a tendency to be very impulsive at times. For the most part, I carefully weigh all of the options before making a decision. But there are times, like when I'm craving chocolate or want a new pair of shoes, where are all my resolves flies away, and I cave.

I have had the opportunity to work in some very beautiful and very expensive homes in the last year. I often come away thinking, " Man, I would love to own a home like that one day". Of course, right now, that's impossible. While I do well as a nanny, there's no way I can afford a 500,000 dollar house. But it did bring to mind a conversation that I had with one of my aunts a while back. She said, " It's not always about how much money you have, it's about what you do with the money you do have." Well said, and so true.

If I want to have nice things in the future and be able to do fun things, then I have to stop throwing my money away, simply because I cannot, or rather choose not to, control my spending now.

With God's help I'm getting better.

I know that self-control is important to Him, because it is listed as one of the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 & 23.

Doing this 30 Before 30 Challenge is already turning out to be more work and more revealing than I thought it would!

However, learning more about myself is just another part of my Wonderland Adventure!

30 Before 30: The Challenge

I can in no way claim credit for the idea behind this post. I read another blogger's site and wanted to use the idea for myself. Below you will find a bucket list of things I want to accomplish before I hit the big 3-0. I figure that 5 years is more than enough time to at least try to get all of these things done. I'm also looking for some ride or die ladies to do some stuff with me...namely doing a cancer walk and going to Italy! Each time I accomplish one of the things on my list, I will post an update complete with a detailed description of the event as well as pictures. This is a pretty random bucket list...some are shallow...some are deep...and some are in between. 
1. Take tennis lessons---I can play...but would love formal training!

2. Take an art class

3. Lose 30 pounds---Work in Progress, thanks to Visalus!

4. Take a road trip to Gatlinburg with my girls---we keep making plans.....

5. Finish my Paralegal Degree---After this semester, only 3 classes left!

6. Get a job at a law office

7. Pay off last credit card---Harder than it sounds

8.  Fall in love for the last time---I know the day will come...and I can't wait

9. Plan my own wedding---after helping almost all of my close friends plan theirs...I can't wait to do mine

10.  Get married---

11. Be a better manger of money---basically have self-control

12. Learn to Swim---it's a shame ain't it? 25 and can't swim! Disgraceful!

13. Go to Italy---My Dream Trip

14. Write a Thriller---Work in Progress....14 chapters completed

15. Get my Thriller Published---ambitious indeed

16. Journey into the very heart of God...then live there

17. Start a reading group or book club

18. Buy myself a beautiful piece of jewelry from Tiffany & Co. ---*Sigh* Yes, Yes.

19. Make a list of 100 books I want to read and start reading them

20. Do a breast cancer walk with friends

21. Buy a house---regardless if I'm single or not

22. Get a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel 

23. Go to New York City

24. Journal everyday. Even if it's only one sentence. 

25. Take a picture everyday of the year, then scrapbook the pics.

26. Spend an entire weekend cell phone and internet free. 

27. Read/Re-read ALL the Jane Austen books.

28. Go to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert

29. Go to WorldFest 

30. Stop worrying about things that are beyond my control