Tacky Christmas Part 3 (and 5)

So apparently soon in my world can mean a month later. Sorry, but the holidays are simply pure chaos every year. Pure joy, but pure chaos at the same time. I'm hoping to fill everyone in on the other things that have been going on in my world these past few weeks, but I promised tacky Christmas in my last blog, so I must deliver.

Besides decorating the apartment, one of my absolute favorite parts of the Christmas season is Tacky Christmas. This year marked my third time to host Tacky Christmas, but since it was Ashley's 5th time to throw this amazing party it was technically the "5th Annual Tacky Christmas Sweater Party". For those of you unaware of what a tacky christmas sweater party is, just imagine the typical teacher holiday sweater and you get the basic idea. If you are above the age of 50 and reading this blog, please don't be offended or worry about wearing your favorite Christmas sweater, it's all in good fun. But, if you are still crimping your hair or wearing troll earrings, such as Ashley and myself in these pictures, we might need to talk. Overall, the party was a success. Lots of yummy food, great friends, and some amazing outfits. I hope that everyone was able to go to at least one holiday party that was as fun as this one was. Looking forward to 6th Annual Tacky Christmas!


Getting ready for the party!


We called for reinforcements from those who have helped host Tacky Christmas in past years.



Small Group girls at Tacky Christmas.


The hosts of Tacky Christmas for the past two years (Ashley, Ryan, and me)

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Sweaters that have the back of a Christmas symbol on the back are especially amazing. Extra points to Sam for wearing a sweater he actually wore in the 80's.


Not very centered, but a picture of some of the boys who went all out (Adam, Sam, and Danny)


Some of my favorite girlies! (Lauren, Ash, me, Blythe)


Me and Ashley with our display of food.


Love these people! They make my life wonderful and special!

Thanks again to all of my wonderful friends who got into the spirit and made this another fun Tacky Christmas!

Baby Jesus is Born

One of my favorite traditions at 431 is decorating the Christmas tree. Ashley (I've given up on code names, but Laughs a Lot would probably be fitting for her) and I put on Christmas tunes (this year it was Garth Brooks Christmas - AMAZING), and get to work. Normally we have to set timers on our cameras to capture the event, but this year we hired a photographer. I will let the pictures show you how the evening went.




Fluffing the Tree




Excited to have found our extension cord!



Halfway There!



Hanging Ornaments



Prom Pose 1



Prom Pose 2



The Finished Product!



Merry Christmas From the Family!

PS - Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Christmas? Look for a Tacky Christmas post to come soon.

When I Count All My Blessings, I Get a Smile on my Face - 1st Addition

In honor of the holiday season, it seems like a good time to reflect on the things I am “thankful” for. As cliché as it might be, whenever I stop to think for a few seconds about how incredibly blessed I am, I get a little overwhelmed. Since I am trying to keep to my promise of writing BLOGS rather than novels, I will pick what I think to be my 3 biggest blessings, even though it is by no means the end of the list.


1. My Savior. Lately I am learning so much more about forgiveness and God’s grace. For a good part of my life those were honestly more just words to me than something that I really felt. When I think about this aspect of God though, it is overwhelming and wonderful. I’m thankful that the Lord loves me so much, no matter how little I might deserve it.
2. My Family. I don’t have a large family like many, but those that are in it have blessed my life tremendously. I have parents who are an example to me of how parenting should look. Their love and support is endless. They are my advice givers, people who would drop anything and everything for my needs, and they are two of my best friends. So many people are not blessed is this area and I realize the Lord’s love even more for me because of their presence in my life. I am also thankful for my extended family. For my cousins (and their little ones) who bring so much love and laughter into my life. Specifically, for my cousin who shares in my faith, encourages me in my walk, and is constantly reminding me that he loves me. For my aunts and uncles who’s relationships with my parents and me make me wish that I wasn’t an only child. And, for my grandmothers (my grandfathers both died before I was born) who had such a large hand in making my family an amazing one.
3. My Friends. I have had a theory for a while now, that since I don’t have any brothers and sisters, God has blessed me tremendously in the area of friends. All the friends in my life support me and encourage me in different ways. They bring so much joy to my life…those I’ve known since I was 11 and those I’ve known just a few months. Specifically (in no particular order), I am thankful for my friend who will drop anything to come help me move classrooms on a Friday night in a time where my life was turned upside down. I am thankful for my lifelong friend who has known me longer than any other, has had a tremendous impact on my spiritual life, and who will forever be a sister. I am thankful for my friend who is giving me constant hugs, calls me out on the things I need to be called out on, and doesn’t mind a midnight phone call for advice. I am thankful for my friend who I have so many happy memories with, specifically European travels, and our friendship that has remained unchanged despite distance and busy lives. I am thankful for my friend who reads my mind in a way I don’t really get and is willing to work to try and understand me better. I am thankful for my friend who shares most of my college memories and who is part of the new tradition of annual mother daughter trips. I am thankful for my friend (and his wife) who leads my church group, is a tremendous example of leadership, and also understands my running obsession. I am thankful for my friend who knows that donuts with sprinkles is the best distraction on a rough day, who can make me laugh more than any other friend, and can finish my sentences because she connects with me on a level that is hard to explain. I am thankful for the rest of my friends who I could continue to list and give specific reasons as to why I am thankful for them but then I would probably be bordering on a novel, which is against the rules (although I think I’ve already done that)

So clearly I can go on and on about my blessings. Good thing I just picked three. Happy Thanksgiving (a day late) and get ready for CHRISTMAS!!!!

Run, Drive, Sleep? Repeat.

A few weeks ago I was able to take part in something that I would consider a once in a lifetime experience.  In fact, it's part of the reason I started this blog.  I just HAD to share this weekend in my life with others.  I am talking about a race that I took part in called the Ragnar Relay. Back sometime in June I was asked by my life stage pastor at church if I was interested in running in a relay race that his brother was setting up.  The way this race works is that a team of 12 people run from San Antonio to Austin.  Each runner takes on three different legs that differ in mileage depending on what number runner you are.  I agreed without really thinking about it (I had just been "rejected" -also known as not getting in on the lottery system- from my dream of the NYC marathon so I figured I needed something to keep my running on track) and went on my merry way.

Then came the first team meeting.  This is where I found out that I would be running in a race that was 24 hours straight.  That's right, through the night, no sleep.  What the heck?  I can't live without my sleep.  Also, there were hills.  I love me a good run, don't get me wrong.  But I don't do hills, I'm kind of a baby like that.  So I begin to panic a little, but I can't be that girl who backs out at this point, so I suck it up, continue with my training, and wonder if I will actually ever be able to survive this thing.

Flash forward to race weekend.  We began in San Antonio at 11am.  I was runner #2 so I was able to do my first run (6.8 miles) shortly after this.  I wish that I could say all my training and the adrenaline that comes from running a race made this run super easy.  Instead, I have to confess that it was harder than the half marathon I ran last year, harder in fact than any run I can remember since I have become a "runner".  The hills and the heat KILLED me.  However, being the girl who didn't want to let the team down, I refused to let myself walk.  As I continued on my difficult run I began to notice the neatest thing.  Something that is a rare thing to see these days.  Humanity at its best.  Sadly, not often do we get to see kindness and encouragement from total strangers, but this race showed me just that.  The way the whole thing works is that you have 6 runners in a van.  While 1 of the runners is running the rest of the runners ride along, stopping every mile or so to give water to their runner, provide encouragement etc.  As selfish as we all are, you would think that people would encourage their runner and go on.  Not so.  I found that every single van of runners that passed me on the road would honk and cheer.  Those standing on the roadside waiting for their runners were equally enthusiastic.  It was this kindness and goodness that kept me going.  Kept me going so much that I was able to set a personal record during each of my runs!  God is so good in the way that He provides us that encouragement just when we need it.

In the end, we all did really well.  My next two runs (5.1 miles and 4.7 miles) went better than the first and I was able to pick up my pace with each run.  Totally God, not me, I promise!  Our team did SO well that we ended up finishing in a little over 25 hours, crossing the finish line in Austin around 12:30 on Saturday.  We finished 7th out of 38 teams (and I have to say that 5 of the teams in front of us were mens teams, where as we were a mens/womens mixed team). Praise the Lord for giving each of us the ability to run and for keeping us all healthy (minus a bunch of blisters, one dead toenail -mine- and one possibly broken leg -not mine-) and in high sprits.  I know that I must be crazy when I say that I would love to do this race again, but I would in a heartbeat.  We'll just have to see what next year holds!

The Adventures of Coming Up With a Blog Title

So I have sworn up and down that I would never be a blogger.  My excuses have included things such as "I don't have time to blog", "Nobody cares what I have to say", "I'm not really deep enough to blog", and so on.  Now while all of these might be true, I have decided to join the generation of bloggers and see what happens.  Not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous.  Putting my thoughts out there just really isn't my thing, but hey I'm up for the challenge.

My first hurtle as a blogger came immediately.  In order to create a blog you must come up with a title.  Not being a creative one this proved to be somewhat difficult.  All my friends who blog have these crafty, thoughtful, interesting names.  How can one compete with such wonderful bloggers with unique blog titles?  So I thought and thought (a whole 2 minutes) and started by going: through song titles (a good option my roommate always falls back on) but came up with nothing.  (Perhaps if I had given it more than 2 minutes I would have gotten there, but then there is that whole time issue thing...)  So back on track, I came up with "5 Pages on a Pencil".  Where does this come from you ask?  Let me explain.  

I can be a bit long winded.  Those of you who know me well are nodding along right now.  My friend BSmith (can you use names on here or is that illegal?...I don't think my code name is very good) always talks about how in college I could write papers that were 10 times longer than hers and that I could probably write 5 pages on a pencil.  Sadly, this is true.  I have come to terms with my long windedness (that's probably not a word, deal with it), so those who read my blog will have to as well.  This is also why my address is "carrieleighsramblings" because that is mostly what you will find here: ramblings.  And I just like using my middle name, how often do we get to do that?  I figure I have given fair warning now so continue to come back and visit when you feel like you have the time, or are just THAT bored.  I promise to try and keep my ramblings short (for me) and that I will try to find more interesting topics than a pencil.  Until then be kind or I might just have to return to being a non-blogger.