I'm back!

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a longggg time.
But October was a crappy month for me so there wasn't much to write about. My grandpa had a heart attack at the beginning of the month. It was really bad at first, but its looking up alittle now. He should be coming home pretty soon, so hopefully he'll start improving faster!

November started off rocky too, but its getting better. I addressed some "dirty laundry" at CSF a couple weeks ago. Students were given the opportunity to write down whatever they considered their dirty laundry. You gave your laundry a 4 digit code so that it stayed anonymous. Then, the staff at CSF responded to our dirty laundry via video responses. The videos are really cool and have great messages. You can check them out here.

And I'm currently planning an amazing spring break with one of my best friends. Thankfully, UK and UofL's spring breaks are the same week again. And since this is technically my last spring break (next year I'll be student teaching), I wanted to do something crazy and insanely fun. We both have an obsession with anything California. So we're going to San Francisco. We don't really have any idea about what we're going to do while we're there. But I'm getting ready to buy our plane tickets, so its almost a done deal. I can't wait to have this adventure with my best friend!

Also, my family is having our Thanksgiving this weekend! I'm so excited to see everyone together again....andddd to eat delicious home-cooked food!

This is why I'm me.

For one of my teaching classes this semester I had to write an autobiography. At first I hated the assignment, and I didn't see how it was relevant. I was mad that my professor was digging into my past; its none of his/my classmates business what hardships I have, or haven't, had to deal with in my life. However, while all of that is still very true, I'm actually glad I wrote the paper now. Its interesting to just look back and see what sort of turns my life has taken over the years and how those things have affected me.

I'm not going to post my whole paper here because, like I said, its personal. But these are some of the things I talked about it in, and some of the things I may not have told my professor about but would definitely be included in my real autobiography.


I have the best little brother.
One of my main goals in life is to be a good example for my little brother. He has just started high school, and, even though we've grown up in the same small town with the same family-oriented/sheltered upbringing, he's going to have a completely different experience than I did. I am worried that he may fall into the wrong crowd, so I'm determined to be a positive influence in his life. My entire family is my strength and motivation.

Linda was so cool.
In October of 1998, I was in third grade. I don't remember anything about my third grade experience, except the day that my aunt died. Grandma picked me up from school early that day, and I got to go to her house to wait for my cousins to get off the bus. After a few hours of playing, grandma called me back into her room. We sat on her bed and she told me that my dad's older sister, Linda, had died earlier that afternoon. She said that they thought it was a heart attack. I don't remember anything my grandma said after that. I went back outside and told my cousins what had happened. I remember one of them asking me why I wasn't crying, and I didn't know what to say. Linda had been like a second mom to me. I didn't cry at all until the day of Linda's funeral. When the pallbearers carried her casket out, the reality of the situation finally hit me. I cried so hard that afternoon that my grandpa had to carry me to the car. I remember that one of my older cousins and a couple other aunts asked my mom if I was going to be okay. I don't know what she told them, but I remember thinking to myself "No, I'm not going to be okay. Linda's gone now." That's all I remember about that day.

My mom is my hero.
On February 15th, 2007, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctors said that it was at Level 0, which is positive because it means they had caught it early and everything should turn out fine. Just like with Linda's death, I didn't cry at all until I realized this wasn't just going to disappear on its own; it was something my family would have to live with forever. Even though my mom had practically the best report possible with a cancer diagnosis, I couldn't help but think negatively. I had the same worries that any other 16 year old girl would have in my situation. But we all put on our "strong faces" and got through it without showing much emotion. My mom was so strong throughout all of her treatments. She had surgery twice and then had six weeks of radiation. My mom is my inspiration. She's a 3.5 year survivor.

I want to be a teacher just like her.
Sarah Raikes was my high school FCS teacher and FCCLA adviser. Not only was she my teacher/adviser, she became one of my best friends. We went on many state officer "road trips" and only almost died a "few" times. She was the teacher I would go to with any and all of my problems because I knew she genuinely cared about me. She understood my lack of creativity. She encouraged me and provided me with the opportunities that I needed to come out of my shell. Its because of her that I really want to be a teacher.

I'm not an expert at relationships yet.
I haven't been so good at these. I've fallen for two (great) guys and gotten hurt in the end both times. Even though the getting hurt part sucks, I wouldn't change anything about the relationships. Because of these 2 guys and my relationship with each of them, I learned so much about myself. So thanks guys.

Bad Decisions + Deception = FAIL.
Basically, my best friend and I made bad decisions. And a boy deceived us. My best friend and I went from spending almost every day of the summer together, to not talking at all for close to 4 months last fall. But all's good now and we're bffs again.

So in case you ever wondered, that's why I'm me. :)

you're stuck with the jinx.

So I've been working at the same place for just over a year. At the time, one of my friends worked there and she helped me get the job. I work at a small hotel in town. I love the job(when the guests are nice), and I work with some of the best people around. However, we're starting to see a trend...If something's going to go wrong, you can bet it'll happen on my shift/my day to work. This summer was the worst. Along with all the small things(the printer stops working, the computer system crashes, etc.) a few big things happened that made me consider the title "CIS Jinx."

• As soon as I came back from my vacation in Oklahoma, the cable company decided to upgrade all of our televisions to HD. Sounds great right? WRONG. We've had a million issues with the TVs since then. Its been 3 months, and we STILL have problems....but usually only on the nights I'm working. For all of the TVs I've fixed, I think the cable company should send me a check. 

• I had to call 911 for the first time ever this summer. An elderly man fell in the bathroom and cut his leg on something. It wouldn't stop bleeding so his wife had me call an ambulance. I freaked out. Literally, I had to go in the back and get myself together before I could dial 9-1-1. Scary stuff!!!

See that lean on the left pillar?
















• At 10:45 on a Saturday night, a man in a huge Ryder truck decided that he'd try to fit under our patio overhang, which was under construction and almost finished. (Did I mention that I got off work at 11:00pm?) Obviously, his truck was too tall and he scraped the top of the patio, causing it to lean. Renee and I freaked out. I tried to convince Renee that it "wasn't leaning that bad." But she was determined that the building was going to fall over. So I called the maintenance man who came in, he called the GM, and he called the police. Apparently it was a bigger deal than I thought. I had to tell the police officer exactly what I'd heard/seen. And then give him all of my info. Instead of leaving work at 11:00, I left around 2am. 

There's a big hole in the wall.

 

• This morning, a lady accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake. She drove right through the window in the pool room. Click here to see an article and video about the incident at our hotel that was on the local news. Thankfully no one was hurt, and her car is fine. But the same cannot be said for our window and wall. Now, I wasn't actually working when this one happened. But I did work tonight. So we think the jinx is expanding to just days that I work in general, instead of only when I'm actually present.

But regardless of my jinx status, I love my job! I've come out of my shell so much since working there. And I've developed great "working with people skills." Its really a great job for me! So my managers are just going to have to tolerate my bad luck for another 2 years, until after I graduate(as long I don't destroy the place before then).

Oh, and I forgot to mention my hotel creepers. But they're a year-round feature.

Best birthday ever? Perhaps.

I was so excited for this birthday and it definitely didn't let me down! It was one of the best ever. I had so much fun.

I had an awesome weekend. First, Thursday was my birthday! I'm no longer a teenager now. I celebrated by taking off work(so I could go to a meeting, but it still counts), going to CSF, and then having a small party/eating cake at the apartment with some great friends. CSF(which stands for Christian Student Fellowship) was awesome. I love going because I always feel like God is speaking directly to me for that hour and a half-ish of time(granted I've only been a few times so far). But everytime I've gone, I've either cried or been near crying. Its that convicting. And that much of "Wow God. This is exactly what I needed. THANKS!"

kaly and me

On Friday, my bff from Louisville came down. We met up with Daniel and went to Joe Bologna's, an Italian place, for my birthday. I really enjoyed it. It had been awhile since the 3 of us had hung out together. AND I got to drive Daniel's hummer(normally, I don't like them, but it was really cool to drive).

Cosmo

I'm house/pet sitting for my aunt and uncle while they're vacationing in Hilton Head this week. I love staying at her house. I pretty much lived here the summer before last. They have a beagle dog, Cosmo. And 3 cats, Kitty Kitten, Mitchell, and Jock-o. I love these animals. She was also an awesome aunt and left me her car to drive to/from classes and work this week. I love her.

One of the adorable Mattingly kids. <3

Saturday and Sunday both involved trips to/from Springfield. On Saturday, we celebrated my granny's 90th birthday.  All of the Mattingly's got together(I don't think there's been that many of us under one roof in a realllyyyyy long time). I hadn't realized how many little kids there are in the family right now. But it was great to see them all playing together. I always loved having a few cousins around my age. Travis came back to Versailles and spent the night with me. He played with Cosmo, I made a late-night trip to DQ for him, and he did homework. Then we went back to Springfield early Sunday morning for the Quail's Unlimited Kids' Day. It was so much fun and a great day for it. There ended up being about 120 kids there. And they all had a blast.

Happy birthday to me!

I'm finally 20! No longer a teenager! :)

The cake that my awesome roommates made for me!

First time user...

I've never done this before. And I don't really know what a blog is supposed to be. I'm hoping that this will keep my out of state family/friends updated on my life. Or maybe it'll just turn into an online diary where I can rant about whatever I'm feeling at the time. Who knows what it'll end up looking like...

Dog Whisperer: She kept Zeus from eating me.

THIS blog inspired me to write one of my own. The author is my cousin, Nikki Tinnell. She's an amazing person who lives too far away from me. But I love her very much. I don't really know what words to use to describe Nikki, but I'll try to tell you a little of what I learned about her while spending 2ish weeks in Oklahoma this summer: She's definitely her own person. And I admire that about her. She doesn't care what other people think. She learns how to be crafty from Martha Stewart magazines. Gimped up animals are attracted to her. She chases tornadoes for the fun of it. She's a dog whisperer. She hangs out with bands before concerts(and because I'm related to her, I get to too). She plays poker at the casino but will only play the penny slot machines. She's terrified of flying, but I think that's the only thing that scares her. She takes awesome pictures. She's overcome a TON in her life. She loves my cousin Ben with her whole heart. And he loves her the same. I want to have that kind of love in my life someday. She's an awesome aunt to Miss Myka. And a person that I admire more than she thinks.  I wish we would've gotten to know each other better before she moved 950 miles away. 

Anyways, you should check out Nikki's blog. Its fun to read.

That's it for now. I'm done.