Do the Shuffle

It's been awhile but the next challenge is the "iPod shuffle." I'm about to share with you the first 10 songs that come to my iPod shuffle. I will even give a little bit of an explanation or story behind them (especially if their embarrassing)!

1. Your Side of the Bed- Little Big Town
          --After seeing them in concert last summer I fell in love with this song!

2. Cruise- Florida Georgia Line
          --A friend told me about this song long before it became popular, I have a hard time listening to it now because I think it was overplayed just a little bit :)

3. Indian Outlaw- Tim Mcgraw
          --Apparently I like country. This song always gets me moving.

4. Until You- David Barnes
          --Sappy, little, love song. Love it on those lovey days.

5. You Belong With Me- Taylor Swift
          --Can't say I love this song that much anymore, but I definitely was on the Taylor bandwagon for        awhile.

6. Breathe- Taylor Swift
          --I'll be honest this is probably my favorite T-Swift song. Love the lyrics!

7. Somebody's Heartbreak- Hunter Hays
          --Love him! Can't help but sing to this as loud as I can in my car!

8. Blood- The Middle East
          --From one of my all-time favorite movies, Crazy, Stupid, Love!

9.Strangely Dim- Francesca Battiselli
          --Just a fun upbeat Christian song

10. I Need You- Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
          --Love this couple and this song. One day I'll try and sing it to my husband ;)

There you have it. My first 10 songs on the iPod. I'm a sucker for country! I crave sappy, love songs. And I'm always looking for something upbeat!

~Holly

Top 5 Pet Peeves

Top 5 pet peeves is hard because only one pops into my mind at first ! I'm sure I can think of more, but my very top pet peeve is:

1. Breaking plans.

Let me explain. I would rather have someone tell me that they are not available at all, or don't want to do anything then have them break plans. I am a pretty schedule person and look forward to things. When plans are broken I have a hard time accepting that. I understand if it's an emergency and breaking plans is a must, but if its an up in the air thing, I'd rather not plan it all. Basically, don't tell me your going to do something if your intentions are not to do it.

Woah! I know that sounds harsh. I believe I practice a lot of grace with this pet peeve! I'm not that mean ;)

2. Heavy Breathing: I only mean heavy breathing in quiet areas like a movie or church. If I'm trying to focus on something, it gets pretty distracting.

3. Tangled Earbuds: I really hate that. You could lay them on the table untangled, walk to the kitchen for water, come back and some how they managed to get into the hardest boy scout knot ever!

4. Slow Walkers: Okay, so I'm not the most patient person (I'm working on it). I walk pretty fast cause usually I'm just trying to get from point A to B. When someone is walking slow I just really need to get around them!

5. Being Sticky: I really don't like to be sticky/dirty on my hands. It just gets really distracting and irritating!

There they are, the top 5 things! Please don't use them against me. :)

~Holly

10 Years

Where would I like to be in 10 years?

Hmmm.... that's tough. Situations and perspectives are constantly changing. So, I guess the question right now is "at this very moment where do I see myself in 10 years?" (Even then that's challenging, cause I honestly don't know.) Since the last post was about relationships, I'll start with that. I would like to say be married and maybe having, or close to having, my first kid. At this rate though who knows what will happen:) Seriously though, I hope to be married to the man God designed for me, the man of dreams (cliche I know!).

I hope in 10 years that I am thrilled about what I am doing in life. I want to be involved in a church community of friends that I love living life with. Taking trips, attending kids soccer games, having BBQ's in the summer, ya know all that jazz? I hope to have other families that I can share life's crazy adventures with. I plan on camping lots and traveling to places I have never been!

Marketing is what I have a passion for, sports marketing. Even more specific, event planning. So, if I could obtain some type of job with sports marketing and event planning that really would be a dream come true. I absolutely LOVE the Broncos. We don't miss a Sunday! Ideally, that is where I would want to be. Working for those beloved Broncos.

In ten years I hope to be in better shape than I am now. I hope I continue my passion for fitness and eating right. I pray that I stay motivated and am able to implement that into my families lives. 

Most importantly, in ten years I hope I am seeking Jesus in every aspect of my life, more and more each day. I hope that my relationship and love for him is overflowing. I know that sounds so cheesy and "Christiany" to say, but I really do pray that. I realize that I may not even make it to 10 years without Him.
So why not take the next 10 years with him, growing closer and closer, and becoming who he designed me to be. 

In all, I hope to be a married. Loving life and my job. Fitness guru. Adventure taker. As well as, enjoying being in His presence daily. 

~Holly

The Challenge

As you can see I am not the best at keeping up with my blog. Life gets busy and sometimes blogging just slips my mind. I enjoy blogging, or writing, because it helps me unwind. It helps me dig deep, think logically, and express myself in a manner that I sometimes struggle with. So, I decided to take a challenge. For the next few weeks I will be writing about different topics to not only help my well-being but give you a chance to get to know me a little better. My promise is to be honest, brutally honest, so that you have a better understanding of who I am.

The first pressing topic is.....current relationship (or lack there of)! This is always an awkward topic for me. I mean when your not in a relationship and you can't rant and rave about your significant other than there isn't much to talk about haha. Well, I have been through my fair share of love (sort of) and heartbreaks. I'll break it down for you. I don't think I've ever been in love. I would consider it being in "infatuation." I say that because I think love is always reciprocated. There is a mutual love for each other, a selflessness. The boy, and I mean boy, I was dating at the time didn't reciprocate that same love. We semi-dated for a few months and both realized that it wasn't what we needed or were looking for. I was heartbroken, but I've realized it was due to the fact that I was more fond of the idea of him, rather then he himself. It took me awhile to realize that. Fortunately, we're still friends (we have been since high school). 

A previous friendship that has really shaped my perspective on relationships was with one of my best friends from college. Since we met we were great friends. He was my "go to." Throughout college my roommates were all pretty much in serious relationships (the ones that are married/getting married now). So, he and I did pretty much everything together. He always had some intentions of dating but after a gentle turn down we remained friends. You know those typical boy/girl friendships, being "best friends" but not sure if we would be good together type of thing? Welp, that was us. About a month after I graduated we decided, or I guess I decided, to try it out (sounds like I'm trying a new food or something). Things were great and I really valued the foundation of friendship we had before any sort of relationship started. However, things ended pretty sourly. We had our differences and his perspective really changed. I later realized how much of a blessing that really was, and how God was in complete control of the whole thing. 

Currently, there is no man in my life and I am okay with it. Lately, I've realized the importance of my friendships, the foundation and basis for successful relationships. In both previous instances it has really benefited me and "him" to know each other before deciding on what to do. Although, neither of them turned out the way I would have planned I am still thankful for their outcomes. 

Most importantly, I have realized you can't love without God. God is love. Try and grasp that, GOD IS LOVE. He is the secret to love, because he IS love. There is no love without him. Mark 12:28-29 states that clearly, saying,

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”

It is the Great Commandment. It is so important that our foundation is founded on the Lord's love. I am by no means an expert on relationships, but I know the importance of modeling a marriage after God's love, cause like I said, He is love. Since all relationships are based on God's timing, I am patiently waiting in His love. I'm fully embracing that love since there is none like it. There is no greater love that the love he provides for me daily. 

~Holly