Hiatus

I am taking an indefinite break from my blog. Please text or call me if you need me for any reason. I hope you will respect my absence and be in prayer for me. I hope to come back and be more intentionally God-honoring.

Thanks.

30 day blog Challenge: Day 14

Day 14: A Picture You Love

This picture was from when Cameron was about 3, and he and uncle Jordan were playing a game together. Lots of laughter and good times associated with this sweet picture.

30 day blog Challenge: Day 13

Day 13: Goals

My thoughts are consumed with race day nerves and I cant really think of anything that may happen after 7:15 tomorrow morning. Mind you, I have many life goals and when I first started this countdown/challenge thing, I thought this would be a fun day to put up my bucket list. I'll have to make that another blog post down the road.

So here are my goals for tomorrow's half marathon:

1. Have fun

2. Finish the Race

3. Set a new Half-Marathon PR (personal record)

4. Finish in 2:30

5. Be pumped enough to sign up for an additional half marathon in the next few months.

30 day blog Challenge: Day 12

Day 12: What You Believe

I believe... in Jesus Christ.

I believe... He is the son of God and that the crucifixion and resurrection paid the price for my sins. Death is defeated and Christ is alive and will return. He is my redeemer and savior. What incredible, unconditional love displayed by our creator!

I believe... the Bible is truth and completely infallible. God's Word is given to us to guide and lead, it imparts wisdom, and reinforces His love for us. I dont see the Bible as a book of rules and restrictions, but protection and freedoms.

I believe... the church is the body of Christ. Anyone who professes to be a Christian should be plugged in and serving at a church, working together to accomplish great things for the kingdom of God. I think we need the fellowship of other Christians as encouragement and accountability.

I believe... that I screw things up a lot and am grateful for the sweet unending grace of God. I fail and I fail and I fail again and still He never leaves me. I do stupid things, even sometimes when I know I am wrong. I desperately need more of God each day and have been praying that He would soften my heart, draw me closer, and transform my life to be more like Him.

30 day blog Challenge: Day 11

Day 11: Favorite TV Shows

Gone but not forgotten...

Long time Favorite...

And my current absolute favorite...

What's your favorite tv show?

30 day blog Challenge: Day 10

Day 10: Something You're afraid of

So here goes another half-hearted entry. One LONG day at work (stayed an hour after shift change just catching up on my charting. Ugh.) + another long day tomorrow = complete disinterest in anything that doesn't include carbs & Glee. I'll add linkys to this post & yesterday's post sometime soon. Promise. Until then: my fears...

-Throwing Up. (this includes Jordan vomiting)

-Cockroaches, Snakes, & stinging Insects (bees, wasps, spiders, etc.)

-The sting of rejection

30 day blog Challenge: Day 9

Day 9: A Picture of Your Friends

Ok, cop out...I've pulled lots of pics from facebook & flickr of me & my wonderful friends. Y'all should be proud I'm even blogging, given I've spent the last 6 hours of my life in an airport or on an airplane! Back home again! I've missed my husband, my Mauve & my BED!

I have the greatest friends & appreciate them more than I have words for. (and that has nothing to do with being tired!)

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 8

Day 8: A place you've traveled to.

So I like to think that at my age, I've done a great deal of traveling. I'm really really fortunate for this and in turn, I love to see new places. I've been all over the US (CA, GA, AL, TX, FL, NC, SC, VA, MD, CT, NY, IL, OH, KY, MA, LA, MS...), Hawaii, Mexico, Honduras, all through the Carribbean, England, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland... you get the idea.

So I would have a really hard time picking one single place to talk about. And then I got to thinking, what if I talk about the place I've traveled to and am currently visiting! Like, right this minute!

Augusta, Georgia!

Ok, so some of you probably believe I'm cheating. Sure, I grew up in Augusta! And now I live in Texas and Augusta has become a destination rather than my home. (wow, it makes me a little sad to type that) I came into town to throw my sweet sister a fun & exciting wedding shower. Jordan stayed home this time, but I'm thrilled because both of us will be back in 4 short weeks for Casey's wedding!

It's funny how different your hometown becomes when you no longer live there. I can remember longing to get out of Augusta when I was in high school. I guess you could easily say I got my wish, and now that I've been gone for several years, I think very fondly of my hometown. I love coming back to visit and seeing my family and wonderful old friends. Jordan and I will often meet friends and family for lunch or dinner and eat at some of the awesome restaraunts that are exclusive to Augusta... we usually gain about 5 or 6 pounds while here! Mostly our trips home are fun and exhausting and sometimes they're sobering, because we come to the realization that just as our lives have moved on since living here, so have everyone else's.

I will always consider Augusta to be where I was born and raised. What is a place you have traveled to??

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 7

Day 7: Favorite Movies

I like all kinds of movies! This is a fun topic to write about!! I like fun movies, lovey movies, animated things, action movies. The one genre that I'm a little less than excited about would have to be horror, but I also like a little scare every once in a while. Ok, Rarely.

I also like to quote movies. A lot! I sometimes quote movie lines in everyday conversation. This buys me lots of funny looks- unless the person I'm talking to is a fan of the movie. I get a thrill out of PW's movie line quizzes!! Check out these favorites:

"The brothers, they think I dont know a buttload of crap about the gospel, but I do."

"Hey didya see that sky today? Talk about blue."

"Lucky!"

"You can read minds?"

Ok enough. Back to the topic at hand.... my favorites!

Nacho Libre

Monsters, Inc.

The Notebook

The Dark Knight

Zoolander

The Blind Side

High School Musical

Pirates of the Carribbean

Lord of the Rings

Music and Lyrics

...and probably about a hundred more. What are your favorites?

5 points to the person who knows the movies that correspond to the quotes above!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 6

Day 6: Post a picture of something that makes you happy

(thanks Google Images for the KKs)

So it's breakfast (kind of) here in Georgia and alllllllll I wanted this morning was a hot & fresh krispy. They make me happy. I received a dozen and was forced to share them with my family.

Just kidding. I shared nicely. After I'd eaten 2.

And by 2, I mean 3.

What makes you happy today????

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 5

Day 5: Siblings

Aside from brothers/sisters-in law, I have 2 awesome sisters: my older sister, Jennifer and a younger sister, Casey. Jenn is a special ed teacher and Casey is a nurse! (I tried to talk her out of it, but she didnt listen!!) They both live in Georgia so I dont get to see them nearly as often as I'd like to, but that makes our time together even more special.

30 day blog Challenge: Day 4

Day 4: Your Parents

My Mom

And My Dad!

30 day blog Challenge: Day 3

Day 3: Your First Love

While I could definitely say that my first love is Jesus, then Jordan, and then my momma (or mom then Jesus and finally Jordan if you're going chronologically) , I'm sure this question is much more centered around my first "Goodness gracious I want to marry you & have your babies!" love, so I'll tell you a little more about my husband.

I met my hubs in the spring of 2001 when I was the ripe old age of 16 at DNow. I would say that we technically met the November prior, but Jordan doesnt recall this introduction...I guess it's a good thing first impressions dont always stick. I was a junior in high school and he was a senior at another nearby high school. Our first date was my junior prom, although we didnt make things "official" until the date was over. Jordan was on track to attend Liberty University that fall, which for those unaware, is in Virginia. I would be staying and finishing high school in Georgia, which for those unaware is several states away. I was stressing over this, but lo & behold, he backed out of going a few weeks before and elected to stay in Augusta. I cant say for sure if I had anything to do with his change of heart, but given that we are both horrible at long distance communication (this was before Facebook people!), I was relieved.

We ended up dating another 5 years and finally tied the knot on July 8, 2006.

He's a pretty fantastic guy and even though I haven't had his babies yet, I still would like to someday. He is kind & considerate and always lets me eat some of his french fries. He's goofy, doesnt take himself too seriously and makes me laugh all the time. He is patient with me. I can say without a doubt that I love being his wife!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Meaning Behind Your Blog Name

It's a little self explanatory right?? My name is Hollie & this is my blog.

My sweet friend & mommy Megan actually came up with the name for me. You should all take a minute and head over to her blog and tell her how beautiful her little boy is! When I first started blogging a few years ago, I titled my blog "Ellipses" (that's the fancy name for "..." in case you were wondering). I thought it was profound and appropriate, considering I used ellipses a lot. But lets face it, the name was boring. So I was fresh out of fun ideas for a new blog name and offered some handmade cards in return for a great name. Megan was the winner!

Another friend, Melissa, offered up some blog name ideas during the same giveaway, which eventually became my tagline. You should all take a minute and head over to her blog and tell her how beautiful her little boy is! (anyone seeing a pattern here??).

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 1

Day 1: Introduce yourself, recent picture, 15 interesting facts.

My name is Hollie Marie Mims. I'm 26 years old. My husband Jordan and I celebrated 4 years of marriage this past July (and we dated for 5 and a half years before marrying!). I believe Jesus Christ to be my Redeemer and Savior, Father and Friend. To make a little money, I work as a nurse on a Labor & Delivery unit in Corpus Christi, TX. I have lived in Rockport for a year and some months, but I will always consider Augusta, Georgia where I was "Born & Raised."

15 Facts:

1. I'm seriously a brat about my hair. I still see my hairstylist in DFW even though I havent lived there since June 2009. My hair is no longer the color pictured above.

2. Of all the shoes I own, only a handful have heels. I wear flat shoes 99.4% of the time.

3. Dont come to my house during the day unannounced. I will most likely be in a t-shirt and underwear.

4. I just recently learned that I grind my teeth. Apparently it's a long-standing problem considering I've ground away the enamel on my back molars.

5. While we're on the subject, I hate the dentist. Maybe it was the horrendous wisdom tooth extraction a few years back leaving me with permanent paresthesia in my tongue and lower jaw.

6. I am the poster child for short-waistedness.

7. I went to a college with no real sports program, so once moving to Texas, I adopted the Longhorns as my team to root for.

8. I went to All-State as a bassoonist in high school, but I miss playing drums in the marching band more.

9. I've been to England, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Mexico and Honduras. I love to travel.

10. I worked on a telemetry unit when I got out of nursing school. 10 points to whomever knows what that means (except you Casey.).

11. I dont have kids. I dont know when I want to have kids. The End.

12. Yesterday, Mauve barfed in the car. I'm running out of factoids about myself.

13. If I wasnt a nurse, I'd want to open a bakery.

14. I basically joined Stella & Dot to get the awesome jewelry cheaper. I hope to one day earn as much as i've spent. That's going to take a while.

15. I'm not a touchy-feely person. I dont give hugs freely. This does not mean I dont like you, I'm just a little standoffish around physical contact/affection. When I voluntarily give you a hug, it's a big deal for me.

30 Day Blog Challenge

I'm setting a goal to blog everyday for the month of November. I'm linking up with Katie's Journey and ripping off her 30 day blog challenge topics.

So here's the schedule:

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3: Your first love
Day 4: Your parents
Day 5: Your siblings
Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7: Favorite movies
Day 8: A place you've traveled to
Day 9: A picture of your friends
Day 10: Something you're afraid of
Day 11: Favorite tv shows
Day 12: What you believe
Day 13: Goals
Day 14: A picture you love
Day 15: Bible verse
Day 16: Dream house
Day 17: Something you're looking forward to
Day 18: Something you regret
Day 19: Something you miss
Day 20: Nicknames
Day 21: Picture of yourself
Day 22: Favorite city
Day 23: Favorite vacation
Day 24: Something you've learned
Day 25: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26: Picture of your family
Day 27: Pets
Day 28: Something that stresses you out
Day 29: 3 Wishes
Day 30: A picture

I think this is a good way for some of you to learn some new tidbits about me. If you're reading this, you should join in the fun also!!!

See you tomorrow for Day 1!!!

Mind Games

I havent blogged much about my running or training schedule, so here goes...

I need to run 11 miles tomorrow.

I just have to convince myself that it's not really going to kill me. So much of running (for me) is a mind game, telling myself to put one foot in front of the other. And something that i've been struggling with the past 10 days is consistency. 2 weeks ago I ran 9 miles with no problems. Sure I was tired, but my excitement over actually finishing greatly outweighed the jelly legs. Since then, I can hardly make it to 4 measly miles. I've got 15 days left until the Rock & Roll San Antonio Half Marathon and tomorrow is the pinnacle of my training, because next week I'll taper off.

So here are my goals:

1. Run 11 miles tomorrow.

2, 3, & 4: Finish the half marathon; Beat my PR; Cross the finish line in 2:30.

I hope that I'll be motivated enough after this half marathon to continue running consistently. Maybe I can find another race in January to sign up for and keep me on track. Someday, I'd love to really enjoy running. I toy with the idea of someday running a full marathon, and I think maybe --just maybe-- I'm stubborn enough to go through with it.

Anyone want to buy me a treadmill for my efforts??

Overtime

We hosted another Overtime this past friday night at FBCR. This event is also known as Fifth Quarter- it starts as soon as the football game is over and ends sometime around midnight. Its a place for students to go and have fun and this past week was no exception.

3 words: Sumo Wrestling Tournament.

We also had ping pong tournaments going on. The gal playing on the right table won last night AND won the first tournament, which was held a few weeks ago at a prior Overtime. I think it's safe to say she lives up to her player name: "Rockstar!"

The sumo wrestling was a HUGE hit. (get it? HUGE?? hahaha)

We'll host one more Overtime before the end of the football season. Ultimately, we hope the unchurched students who come to have fun will return and get plugged in. Who says good, clean fun doesnt exist anymore?? We had somewhere around 75ish students stop by to ping pong, eat pizza and bump around in sumo suits. Success!

Fall Retreat 2010

It's taken me long enough to post about this. Life has been hectic and packed with goodies for the last 3 weeks and things have now slowed down. I am excited just to have a lazy day and finally update my blog in a good way (and not the cop-out way... see last post for an example.)

The FBCR Student Ministry Fall Retreat 2010 (for girls only!) was great. I was massively nervous about this weekend, but in the end, everything went really, really well.

Girls in a Circle

We had a total of 24 girls come by throughout the weekend. What a blessing!!!! Because of the busy fall sports, some girls made it Friday night, some came for Saturday night and lots came for both nights. I'm hoping that next year, we can have the retreat in an out of town location. (Yes- I'm already dreaming up next year's retreat!!!)

Holly Matthews came and led music for us and was AWESOME. She was sweet enough to spend the night Friday and stay all day Saturday, getting to know the girls and facilitating relationships.

Dont let this picture fool you, the girls didnt actually sleep.

Hahaha... the van shot... pre-"shenanigans." I want to say thanks to Destiny for being my official weekend photographer. (as I was a little busy with other things)

I'm really excited that the folks we "visited" were so tickled by our outpourings of "love." We even received some forked cupcakes at Tribe on Sunday night. Hilarious!

I hope that some of the gals who participated enjoyed themselves. I also more importantly hope that they spent some serious time learning God's word. We covered topics like loving yourself, loving God and loving other people. We talked about modesty and purity. It was nice to even remind myself how important it is to spend quality time reading the Bible and improving my relationship with Christ.

What a great group of girls!!!!

Blog Neglect.

The last week has flown by at a ridiculously fast pace. Hang in there friends, there are fun stories and pics to come.

Here's a ridiculously fast update:

1. Girls retreat = success.

2. Deidra's house post retreat = Trashed.

(2.5 Deidra & Holly = Love these ladies!!!)

3. Hair = brown.

4. Tomorrow = 9 mile run.

5. Mauve's new BFF = Tinsley Pazera.

Chicago

We spent last weekend visiting the windy city! It was our first trip ever to Chicago and we specifically went to see the sights and catch up with our good friends Philip & Samantha. You may remember them from the Disney World trip & subsequent blog post. Yes, they were kind enough to both put up with our whining for a week in June and then let us stay with them this past weekend!

I had entirely intended to write about this much earlier, but my week has been consumed with work and preparing for the Girl's Retreat this weekend! It starts tonight and I've still got a few things left to accomplish. I'd say i'll write about this weekend on Sunday when I get home, but I'll probably spend the afternoon catching up on the sleep I didnt get over the weekend! (that and I need to run 7 miles on Sunday! Woohoo! That calls for an ice bath!)

Anyway.... a quick pictorial of our Chicago trip:

When we arrived Thursday afternoon (gosh, could I look any more tired here?), we met Philip downtown and ate some real Chicago deep dish pizza at Gino's East. Asking someone from Chicago where the best deep dish pizza is located is kind of like asking someone from South Texas where the best mexican food is. Everyone has a different opinion. My opinion? It was yummy and filling! One piece of pizza was like a gut bomb!

Pretty city. I think that while I am a city girl at heart, I also love owning a house that doesnt cost a ridiculous amount of money. Also, there was a small period of time in H&M where I got a little claustrophobic from the crowd. I'm over that now.

Yay Bean Picture!

Anyone who has read my blog for even just 5 minutes knows that I cannot turn down Sprinkles. So of course, we made a trip and it was divine as usual. I got a strawberry cupcake (my fav!) and a vanilla cupcake. I should've gotten out of my comfort zone and tried a cinnamon sugar or chai latte cupcake but oh well. There's always next time!

Philip & Samantha insisted that we try Molly's cupcakes also. This little shop was right around the corner from their old place in Lincoln Park and is super cute! After we got home, we noticed while flipping channels one night, that they were competing on the Foodnetwork show Cupcake Wars! (Being that I'm no longer a reality show fan however, I did not watch it and therefore dont know if Molly's was victorious.) The cupcakes were pretty tasty and the flavors were a little more eclectic than strawberry, vanilla or chocolate. We got a peanut butter & Hazelnut cupcake and a cookies & cream cupcake.

In the end, there was a clear winner in our cupcake war.... and I'll give you one guess as to who that was.

I cant wait to visit Chicago again... although it'll probably be next April or May. My warm-blooded Southern self just cant handle the cold!

Giveaway Winner & A Work Funny

My husband was roped into a very scientific and fancy method of choosing the giveaway winner. I told him to pick a number between 1 and 27.

So .....

Congratulations Becky!!!

Everyone go visit Becky @ Arms, Farms & Fam and tell her how jealous you are of her new *FREE* goody! She has some yummy looking enchiladas on her blog that I may just have to test out soon. Thanks to everyone who entered & be looking again for another giveaway soon!

Other things a-comin soon... Chicago! With pictures!

And now a work funny: A patient comes in to be induced. I walk in the room to put the monitors on the patient. I like to make small talk with my patients. It usuallly seems to facilitate bonding, but then there are sometimes where I can hardly contain the chuckles...

Me: So how far dilated are you? Did your doctor check you in the office?

Pt: (silence. She looks at me like I am speaking greek.)

Me: (thinking I dont know why this question is so difficult) Has. your. doctor. checked. you. to. see. if. your. cervix. was. dilated?

Pt: *whispering* Like check me with with his hand?

Me: Ummmmmm...yes.

Weekend Away

We're spending the next few days with our fantastic friends Philip & Samantha in Chicago. I'm super excited to catch up with them, get some great shopping in, and eat my weight in deep dish pizza.

Mauve the destroyer will spend her weekend at the Doggy Hotel

Doubtful that such a sweet pup could be destructive?

The chew toy for "extreme chewers." Guaranteed to entertain Dogs & their owners...

If you consider picking up hundreds of chewed rubber chunks out of the carpet "entertainment."

Oh and apparently, she likes her animals un-stuffed. Thank You.

I'm sure we will all be having fun with our friends this weekend.

Dont forget to enter to win the LimeTree Gifts Giveaway! Leave a comment (see post for details-- click the link!), win a prize! Here's another perk: become a blog follower and give yourself yet another entry!!!!

What I'm loving right now!!!

I love Chorizo and Egg Taquitos from Arandas for breakfast. Yum!!

I love finally being free from Grey's Anatomy. I had planned to catch up on my Tivo'd shows last night and Grey's was one of them. Halfway through, I was so bored (and I remembered how ridiculous last season became), that I deleted the rest of the episode and cancelled all the to-record episodes! I'm done with Grey's and it feels good.

I loved having a time of prayer and supplication with the high school girls this morning during Sunday School. Im really looking forward to our Girl's Retreat coming in October.

I love that this Thursday, I'll be in CHICAGO visiting the Millers!

I love Sunday afternoon naps. I'll be indulging this love shortly.

I love BLOG GIVEAWAYS!!!

Doesnt everyone love blog giveaways??? I know I do, and Jill over at LimeTree Gifts has been generous enough to giveaway a sweet little prize! LimeTree Gifts is all about monogramming and personalization. I got an awesome monogrammed soap dispenser and made a home for it in my master bathroom!

Isnt this engraved tray a perfect wedding gift??? Or new baby gift! Or Bridal party gift! It can be a catch-all for your desk. You can have a party and serve food on it (Dishwasher safe!!!). It would look awesome holding your Stella & Dot Jewelry!

Just had to throw that one in there.

Need some new Christmas ornaments? She has 2 types of personalized ornaments!

These bracelets have to be one of my very favorite items on her site! SO CUTE!!!

What you'll win:

So Here are the Rules:

1. Travel on over to Jill's etsy page. Look around. Her prices are so stinkin cheap, you might as well just get a few things. Here's the link: LimeTree Gifts

2. Come on back here and leave a comment about your favorite monogrammed item! Please leave your email address also.

The giveaway will end next Sunday, October 3 at midnight! I'll announce the winner sometime Monday October 4. The winner will get an adorable personalized keychain (see pics above!). Mention it on your own blog, twitter or facebook and give yourself an extra comment entry.

Happy Shopping!