P.S. to KJ and SM with love!

This is totally off the topic that I was just talking about, but I wanted to give a shout out to my best friend KJ, who had the sweetest baby girl in February. I recently got to meet that little bundle of sweetness, and she's amazing!!!

KJ, I love ya, I love your daughter (can you believe you're a Mommy??) and I am so proud to be "Aunt" Joy. Not kidding about babysitting, or about spoiling her. I want SM to know that her AJ loves her!!! :)

Isn't she precious? I'm about as proud as her Mommy's best friend can be! :)

Happy

So it's been a long time coming, but I realized recently that I was happy for the first time in a loooong time. Now I haven't been just a big cloud of depressiveness every day, I mean, I'm a generally "happy" person, so you wouldn't know it to look at me that I wasn't truly happy. I know now that the life I was leading for the last 4-5 years wasn't as great as I had tried to make myself believe. I wasn't close to God, or growing closer, I should say. I was dating someone that truly stressed me out unconsciously (I see that now) and every day was a struggle with him. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, it frustrated me all the time that I didn't know. I was sick, and doctors couldn't figure it out, so I was seeing doctors ALL the time. I was in a job that I hated, and I was constantly on the road, basically living out of a suitcase. But when I was going through all of that, I literally thought I was fine. I just had to keep going.

But now - lots of things have changed. I'm growing closer to God every day! I feel him working in my life daily. Not that he wasn't before...but I wasn't listening or paying attention! I broke up with the guy that I had dated for 4 years, and I am glad now that I did. There is NO way I could have been happy and spent the rest of my life with him. Now, given, not trying to put him down because he's a great guy and I really will always love him. I'm just stating the facts, here, about our relationship. Just wasnt' the one God intended. I now know what I want to be when I "grow" up, and I'm in school to do just that. I am definitley not as sick as I was a year or two years ago, and though I'm not 100 percent yet, I'm definitely getting better I feel. I felt that after I had that treatment of antibiotics in 2008. But yes, better. I'm no longer working in that job that I hated. I go to school full time, and I enjoy my master's program! I am also working on Joy physically, and all that entails. Gym, eating habits, you know, those things. I have time to devote to my family and friends when they need me. I'm not on the road NEAR as much as I used to be, it's definitely not every weekend. I actually feel like I'm living in the house that I own and call home.

It's amazing how God works in your life like that. I've def had a rough last five years - but it could have been a LOT worse. But now that I'm in a different place in my life - I can look back and see where I've been and say yeah, that sucked, but you made it! :)

I'm starting to remember what it feels like to be "happy." And I have new experiences and changes in my life every day. Things that I didn't even know I could or would experience. I dont' know who said it, but you're only as happy as you allow yourself to be. I'm allowing myself to be a lot happier than I have in the past 5 years because I am growing up. Everybody goes through times like I've described. I'm just elated that I feel generally HAPPY about where my life is going!! :)

A positive attitude is a powerful thing. My grandmother taught me that. Now I feel like I am truly living up to my name. That's why they call me Joyous, right? :)

Jan, Feb already gone...my how time flies!!

I am honestly in awe sometimes of how incredibly fast your days go by when you're busy. Even when you're not busy, they still fly. Slow down! I know we all feel that way :)

In the past two months, I have been busy busy busy busy!! Like my last post said, I was up in Lynchburg, VA at the Liberty University campus the first week in Jan for a class. Really enjoyed that time :) Then after that, I have been pretty much everywhere, into everything. Re-joined the gym I was at a couple of years ago, The Omni, so that I could work out with my little sister Erica. She's super hard core in her training, which is what I need, so I am working out with her. I began going to Athens Church and have been enjoying that - joined a small group and am enjoying learning about God, God's word, and His will for us in this life. I am LOVING learning about that!!

I have spent the majority of the month of February, well all of it, actually, (since Feb 1) in Greensboro, Ga. My grandparents live here, and they got seriously ill - both of them! - at the same time, and spent about a week in the hospital. After they got out of the hospital, they needed some constant care since they were both down and out for the count. This is where I thank the good Lord that I am in the flexibility of my schedule that I am right now in my life!! I have been down here with them ever since, being a 24 hour nurse :) I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, helping them, keeping their lives going while they are getting better.

Basically, Pop got a bad stomach virus that was floating around Greene County. Then, of course Grandmother got it, after caring for him. Their doctor put them in the hospital, in teh same room because they were dehydrated and it was really kicking their tail. Then they got to come home, and Grandmother kept feeling bad. We did some more tests with the docs, and they found out that she had C.Diff - a SCARY bacteria that they say could have killed her if she hadnt' gotten any help. And guess where she picked it up at? The hospital. Of course....my poor Grandmother. If it's not one thing, its another :( And she is still battling her lung cancer. Y'all please say a special prayer for my Grandmother!!!!

We got her some new meds, a specialized antibiotic (for $1,200, it better be!) and she's starting to feel better now. Pop, he's getting better, definitely. He didn't get C.Diff, thankfully. So I'll go back home to Athens after they get back on their feet completely. I've been just fine down here, brought my desktop computer down here, and have just been doing all my schoolwork in between everything :)

Speaking of schoolwork, I actually got a 100 on a paper a couple of weeks ago. The professor sent me an email and said that he had NEVER EVER, as long as he had been teaching, given out a 100 on any of his papers. I was his first - he said he honestly could not find a single thing to take even one point off for. Wow! I was definitely thankful and flattered. But seriously, I did a dang good job on it ;)

This weekend is Alumni weekend at my alma mater, Georgia College & State University. Man, would I love to be able to go down there for that! Maybe next year....

Anyway, more later on. Much love to all!!

Best,
Joy

Liberty University trip

So I just got back a few days ago from spending a week in Lynchburg, Va., home to Liberty University. For those of you who don't know, I am getting my master's in Professional Counseling from there doing the distance learning program. Three times throughout the course of my 2 year program, they have classes called "Intensives" in which we have to physically be there. January 5-9 was the first of these three weeks.

I must say first that I love the campus and the city of Lynchburg! It's a small, quaint little town - much like Milledgeville (where I got my undergrad at GC&SU). I flew up there and rented a car - and as soon as I drove onto the campus of Liberty, I felt at home. That is a big deal for me - I always know I'm where I'm supposed to be when I feel a sense of warmth/comfort/easiness about any situation I'm in. And just driving around Liberty, I knew I was right where God wanted me to be!

One of the first things I saw when I got on campus was the famous Thomas Road Baptist Church, where the late Rev. Jerry Falwell preached. His son, Rev. Johnathan Falwell, is now the preacher there. I was not able to attend a service while I was there - but next time I will plan ahead so that I can go!

The rest of the campus was amazing - and they have a real sense of school spirit on campus there. Everywhere you looked, everything either had LU on it, or the LU Flames and mascot. I'm talking on the sidewalks, on the streets, on the posts that have the street signs, on stair railings, everywhere! And the facilities for all their D1 sports were magnificent, too. Especially the basketball arena...what I woudlnt' give to play ball in there! :)

So anyway, my class was Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In the morning from 8-12, we would have lecture period with our professor, Dr. O'Hare. She was a wonderful and very animated teacher - I learned so much from her! One of the other things I like about Liberty is that before class starts, most teachers either pray or have some kind of devotional time. Dr. O would play a contemporary Christian song for us as we closed our eyes and worshiped God during that song. Then she'd pray over us for the beginning of the day, and I LOVED this incorporation to the class. It made me more relaxed and ready to focus.

Then we'd break for lunch and then from 1-4:30, we were separated into groups with a clinical consultant who works out in the field full time. My clinical consultant's name was Trish - and she was the best cc out of all of them! :) In these afternoon sessions, we would take what we learned about in the morning session and take turns counseling our fellow students. We'd break into groups of three - and one person would be the counselor, one the client, and one the observer. Then we'd switch, until everyone had had a turn in each position. I really liked the girls I was in my triad with - they were so sweet! I really learned a lot from Trish and from her afternoon sessions.

I met lots of great people while I was up there, which was fun! It was nice to put faces with some of the names I had seen in my other classes, and then meet new people that I will probably have other classes with too. Even though they weren't kidding when they called this class an "Intensive" (because it really kicked my behind) I enjoyed every second! :)

All in all, I know that I am in the right field because God has called me to be a professional counselor. And I cannot wait to learn more so that I can serve Him with this profession! I'm so excited about the new avenues I'm going down in my life and SO very thankful for all these new experiences!

Yes, I'm alive...

I feel really bad that I haven't written a blog since SEPTEMBER. Geez, what kind of a blogger am I? A slacker one, I know. I plan to change that. Please forgive me for my small break from the blogger world. Things have been a whirlwind of change for me.

I just finished my first semester of my master's program in Professional Counseling with Liberty University. I made all "A's"! One of my classes was pretty challenging, but I made it through and ended up learning a lot more in that class than I thought. I took three classes this past semester...an undergraduate level Developmental Psychology class (a prerequisite that I needed), a class in Counseling Ethics, and a master's level version of the Developmental psychology class. I really enjoyed all three, and I have learned A LOT in just one semester.

The format of my classes was perfect...I really like doing my classes online. There are discussion boards where students are required to post and interact with one another, and the professors are always just an email or phone call away. But it takes a lot of determination and will power to do the readings and the assignments, you have to be on top of your game all the time since you aren't required to be in class. I have gotten my routine down and I LOVE being in school. Especially when I am learning about things that I am passionate about!

Health wise I am doing pretty well. I am walking in my neighborhood 3-4 days out of the week, and really enjoying the exercise. For the first time in four years I have more energy to even get out there and exercise. I believe that the massive rounds of antibiotics I was on helped so much. My body is completely recovered from all the antibiotics now, and I feel pretty good. Bella (my sister Lisa's Pug) and I get out there and go to walk and its good for both of us!

I am seeing a doctor at the Medical College of Georgia now, and he has truly been a Godsend. He is working with a couple of my doctors up here in Athens to run tests and keep abreast of what is happening with me. They realized in October that my liver and spleen were abnormally LARGE, so they have been trying to figure out the causes and tests are being run. I don't seem to be in any imminent danger because of the enlargement of those two organs, but we are taking all precautions and they are keeping an eye on it. All in all, I honestly feel better than I have in four years. I still have bad days, but there seem to be less and less of them. I am beginning to feel like a "normal" person again, and I think that everything I am doing to relieve stresses, keep up with my doctors, take vitamins out the wazoo, exercise, eat right, and get lots of rest is helping :) I am thankful and excited about feeling better. When I get out of the woods, so to speak, when I don't have to see doctors anymore, I will be doing even better!!

As I mentioned, my life has been a whirlwind of change. In August, I left my job at UGA. I began my master's program in August as well. And then in November, I broke up with my boyfriend of 4 years, Tim. That was truly one of the hardest things I have ever done. Ever. I've had hard times just like the next guy, but this was hands down the hardest thing ever. I love Tim, always have, always will. He was my best friend, my partner, my other half. I truly did want to spend the rest of my life with him. Within the last year or so, the Lord has been showing me in small ways here and there that as much as I wanted to spend my life with Tim, that just wasn't what He wanted. God had other plans for me, and unfortunately they didnt' involve Tim as my husband. I agonized over this for months, and it was eating me alive because I loved him and his family and all our friends SO much. Most of all, I didn't want to hurt him. I honestly was afraid of what life would be like without him. I didn't want to face what God was showing me point blank because I didn't want to leave him. But I finally became at peace with the fact that this is what the Lord wanted for both of us. God had someone else in mind for BOTH of us when it came to marriage. I am not sure that Tim understood that, but I hope he will in the future.

You don't realize how much your life is intertwined with someone else's and their families until it's all gone. I miss Tim and his family so much...I was very close to his family. They always treated me like one of their own, one of the family, and for that I will always be grateful. I enjoyed being a Zingleman for four years. I hope they all realize that I love them all, and I'm truly sorry that things had to happen this way. I was very truthful with Tim, and to have married him would have been much worse of a breakup in the long run. I just didn't want that for either of us. My hope is that they will forgive me for hurting their son and brother and know that I truly loved him. I pray every day for Tim and that the Lord will show him down the path that He wants him to go, just like He's showing me. I just want Tim to be happy, that's all I care about now. I hope he realizes that when I say I will love him until the day that I die, even though we are parting ways, I am not lying. He will forever have a piece of my heart.

So I am readjusting my life now, and even though that has been difficult, I am doing quite well! I'm very happy, enjoying where God is taking me. I am learning more about myself, making some sense of what my plan in life is to be. I just went on a cruise into the Western Caribbean, and it was amazing! I really enjoyed that, it was my first time in Mexico. We left out of Tampa, sailed down to Key West, then across the way to Cozumel/Cancun and then back to Tampa. I met a lot of people, saw a lot of new things, experienced a lot of new things.

One of the best things I was able to do on this cruise is that I went snorkeling in Cozumel. Acutally, it was in Playa del Carmen, not too far from the island of Cozumel. And it wasn't just your average snorkeling experience, either. Where our group went to snorkel was a common feeding place for Sea Turtles!! We swam and snorkeled with the sea turtles, saw about 10 or so, and I even touched one! We weren't supposed to touch them because they are protected by the Mexican government, but I snuck a touch in. It was SO cool, and they are such beautiful creatures. We also saw a few sting rays (that was kinda scary because we were snorkeling in 5-10 foot water, and they were really close) and of course all the colorful fish and coral along the reef. I had a blast that day - and I also had my first experience with bartering in the Mexican market there in Playa del Carmen. Quite the experience, if you've ever been to Mexico or places like that, you know what I'm talking about. But I got a lot of good gifts and soveniers from the vendors there on the streets of Playa del Carmen and in Cozumel. Overall LOTS of fun!

Now I am looking forward to going up to Virginia in a couple of weeks to the campus of Liberty University. Throughout the course of my program, there are three courses that we are required to be physically present in the classroom, called Intensives. My first intensive is in January, and so I am so very excited about that. I will be up there for a week, going to a class M-F from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. When I am done with that week, I will be through with that class, except for a couple of post-class assignments. I'm super excited about the opportunity to see new things and to meet some of the people I've been talking with in the discussion boards!

Well, all in all, my life is changing, but I feel good about where it's going and overall am doing quite well :) I promise (really, I do) to keep up with the blog a little better this time! I hope you all are well, and had a great Christmas. Happy New Year! Can't believe it's already time for 2009...

All the best,
Joy

Wow, she's actually posted a blog!

That is what many of you (ahem, especially Mr. Anonymous in Brunswick) are thinking...it's about time she wrote another blog. Yes folks, I know. My original intent was to keep up with this thing, and well, like other excuses, life got in the way. We'll see how well I can keep this new trend up, though. So...what have I been up to, eh?

Well let's start with that I left my job at UGA on August 8. I don't think I had officially posted the blog on here about it, who knows, I might have. But anyway, I decided to leave my full-time job to pursue my master's degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. I needed time to devote to school, and I needed time to devote to myself to get well. So I began classes on August 18.

Well, backtrack a couple of days - my 26th birthday was on August 11. I had a marvelous celebration - with family and friends that lasted a couple of weeks, really. Tim even took me on the actual day to the Georgia Aquarium - which we both loved seeing. Marvelous place!

So my classes started on August 18. I'm just about to start week four of my semester, and things are really going well. I am taking three classes - one of them a prerequisite undergraduate class that I didn't take the first time around because I wasn't a psychology major. The other two are the beginning classes of the master's program. So far, so good - I am 4 weeks into the prereq Developmental Psychology class, and my second class will start September 15. With the distance learning program (aka online), you have the option to tier your classes so that they don't all start and begin at the same time. So I have three eight-week courses that will start at different times, it is designed to help with the course load of non-traditional students (those with families, jobs, etc.). For this semester I'm trying it out so I can get used to class and college again, and then I'll probably opt for the classes to be all at the same time.

I am really enjoying my class on Developmental Psychology. We are basically learning how the human body/brain develops from birth to death. I have already learned so much - everything is absorbing a lot more this time around, probably because I am motivated and actually enjoy what I am learning!

I have also made some significant progress in the arena of my health. I have begun a detox program, which is aiding in how much energy I have every day as well. Now that my body is pretty much recuperated from 3 months of hard-core IV antibiotics, I am indeed feeling better than I did when we began. That is a positive! I still feel some of the lingering effects of the disease some days though - so I know it's still here. I think we killed a good bit of it, though, with the IV treatment. I have recently gotten an appointment with a good doctor at the Medical College of Georgia (thanks so much for the recomm. MI and Citystreams!) and hopefully he can help me continue on the road to recovery.

I have been getting more sleep at night, eating better and exercising more. I have enjoyed walking in my neighborhood, going to work up to 5 miles a day, that is my goal. I used to walk that much when I lived with my grandparents for a year after college down at the family lake house. When I was walking 5 miles a day down there, I lost 50 pounds relatively quickly. It is my hope to accomplish the same goal and more again. I have lost a few already here and there, though I don't have an actual number because I refuse to look at a scale right now. I can just tell it in my clothes.

The stress level in my life has reduced significantly. While I enjoyed most of the folks I worked with at UGA and enjoyed working for UGA in general - there were daily stresses that literally shouldn't have been daily stresses that kept adding up. I have erased most of those stresses from my memory, simply becuase I want to look back at my days at UGA and think of them fondly.

But I will say I am indeed glad and thankful for the new change in my life. I welcome the challenge of my master's degree and the challenge of my health because it was time to step up and make some changes in my life. I cannot tell you how much happier I am because I made the decision to do so! The good Lord has patiently been right beside me, guiding me to where I need to be. Even when I was impatient and wanted to make all kinds of hasty decisions, He was there to make sure that I didn't because He knew when the right time would be. I can see that now. And that is all part of God's amazing grace - the fact that sometimes the puzzle pieces just don't seem to fit, but in good time, they will all make a beautiful picture.

What else can I tell you about what has been going on? Well, Tim got bit by a black widow spider. Yikes, I know. He's been very sick now for a few days, but he's hanging in there pretty well with it. My grandparents are celebrating today, actually, their 62nd wedding anniversary! Hard to believe, and they are still as precious as ever. My littlest sister, Erica, will be turning 21 on Tuesday. Again, hard to believe! I remember the day she was born...

Oh, and my other sister, Lisa, you know who lives with me at my house, recently got a baby Pug and she has just been an absolute delight to take care of and love. Her name is Bella, and she is the most precious thing ever. She loves to give kisses - and loooves to play. I mean, what puppy doesn't? My kitties have recepted well to her arrival - and so Lisa and I are adjusting to having a 'baby' in the house.

Well, I think that after a massive post after a massive amount of time without one, I will draw this to a close. I can't make promises that I will update this every day, but I will do my very best :)

All the best,
Joy

Alaska Pictures

I recently went to Alaska with my father and my sister Erica on an Alaskan cruise. We had an absolute BLAST! Loved every second of it. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in going to Alaska - going by cruise ship is really the best way to see a lot of it (well, if you do the land and sea tour, that's really the best, but the highlights are good on just the sea part!)

We flew into Anchorage a couple of days before we had to be on the boat, rented a car, and drove up to Denali to try to see Mt. McKinley. After that, the next day we boarded a bus that took us to Whittier, Alaska (about 40 or so miles south of Anchorage) and we got on the ship! The ship took us from Whittier, Alaska, all the way down the inside passage of Alaska to Vancouver, Canada. We took a bus to Seattle from Vancouver and then flew home from Seattle.

On this trip we saw lots of wildlife, and everywhere we looked was picture perfect scenery. The weather was nice - anywhere from 40 to 70 degrees the whole time, depending on where we were. So it wasn't too cold at all! We really had a wonderful time, can't wait to go back :)

Please click on the links below and take a gander at what we saw while we were there! I know there are many, but trust me, it's worth it to look through all!!

First Day and Denali, Alaska

Anchorage and boarding the cruise ship

College Fjord

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

Skagway

Juneau

Ketchikan

Canada and Seattle


Best,
Joy