Twentytwelve.

Welp, it's New Year's Eve folks.

I'm at home. On my couch. Auburn game on the TV and a Diet Coke in my hand. 

But seriously, no complaints. 

I've never really been super psyched about New Year's Eve. 

Don't get me wrong, I'd love an excuse to wear a dress completely covered in gold sequins. However, I'd feel a little funny wearing that at high school reunion in somebody's garage and that's about all my hometown has to offer. 

Maybe if I ever live in some big swanky city.
(via Pinterest)

In the past, I've never really set a store by New Year's Resolutions.

This year I have some goals in mind. 

I'll try not to bore you with specifics, but I mostly just need to start living healthier.

More running, less excuses. More water, less Diet Coke. More planning healthy meals, less grabbing a kid's meal from Moe's because all I have is oatmeal at my apartment.

It's never too early to start preparing for the day that my metabolism slows down.

Another glorious ensemble.
(via Pinterest)

I see a lot of potential in 2012, but I can't really complain about 2011. 

Honestly, I can't really complain about anything. 

All of the people I love are healthy. 

I'm healthy. 

I live in America.

I know Jesus.

And my twelve year old Jeep is still kickin'. 

Let me know if I left anything out. 

Happy New Year's everybody!

Auburn is winning and Dad is in the kitchen prepping for the black eyed peas and collard greens meal that he has made every New Year's Day since I can remember.  

Wudduuppp 2012. 

Pinterest, circa 1999.

I helped my mom set up a Pinterest account a few days ago. 

I warned her that it can and will occupy way more of her time then she ever intended, but she didn't seem to take my warning too seriously.

Earlier this evening she came into the living room holding the box pictured below and said "Look what I found! I was into Pinterest before Pinterest was Pinterest!"

Slightly more cumbersome than a website. 

Bathrooms, window seats, fireplaces, laundry rooms,  design, recipes, etc...
Basically the core of Pinterest. 

Some ideas she tore straight out of magazines. 

And some she took the time to cut out, glue to loose leaf paper, and write what she liked and/or would do differently.

Two words that seem to describe life before the internet: bulky and inefficient. 

Mad props to the generations that went through college/life without it! 

And also, check out how cute my baby brother was at age 2. 

How adorable was that handprint border we had running through our playroom?  You rock, mom. 

If you are still living life without Pinterest and want to create an account, please feel free to ask! I would be more than happy to send you an invite. 

Big Easy on the brain.

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house, 

 A Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans was all we could think about. 

I saw a tutorial for a wreath made of Mardi Gras beads on Pinterest a few weeks ago and immediately added it to my "To-Do During the Measly 10 Days That I'm Home" List.

So Mama Lisa and I hit the Michael's/ JoAnn's/ Hobby Lobby trifecta in search of wreath forms that had survived Christmas. 

And then we sorted through the 200 pounds of Mardi Gras beads that my parents took home from our last family trip to New Orleans. 

"When we go back this year, we aren't taking home any beads. And I mean NONE. Actually, we can take home the cool ones. " - Mom
(Notice anything peeking out of that green bag? Like a cat?)

I would feel silly posting a step-by-step "how to" because the tutorial we followed was pretty much perfect. (click here)

Mine is on the left, mom's is on the right. 

It took the better part of an afternoon to start and finish them and I might have almost stormed off in frustration trying to perfect my bow. 

Purple, gold, and green decor: check. 

Jambalaya cravings: check. 

Currently watching a Saints game despite the fact I'm not even a huge NFL fan: check. 

The countdown until Mardi Gras has officially begun. 

Waiting on that Holy Night.

A lot of our lives are spent waiting. Waiting on the light to turn green, for our habitually tardy friend to show up for lunch, or for that gorgeous gray Patagonia fleece to go on-sale (been waiting on that one for a while now, folks). 

Christmastime is pretty much one big ol' pile of waiting. 

We wait for Starbucks to bring back the infamous Peppermint Mocha in its infamous red cup. 

We wait for ABC Family to start airing their 25 Days of Christmas programming of movies we have all seen at least 25 times.

 We wait for the socially acceptable time to put the Country Christmas Pandora station on full blast throughout the apartment. 

And then we have the Advent Calendar, whose sole purpose is to aid the countdown to December 25. 

And on December 25, the wait is finally over. 

It's finally Jesus' birthday. 

The birthday that was prophesied repeatedly throughout scripture. 

The birthday when God sent us a way to know and experience His love. 

The birthday the whole world had been waiting for. 

Matthew 1:18-25 on the chalkboard wall in my apartment.

And my oh my, is this birthday a cause for celebration.

 We celebrate that the creator of the entire universe chose to humble himself to the form of a baby in a feeding trough. 

We celebrate that he then grew up to live a perfect, sinless life amidst the temptations he faced as a human. 

We celebrate that he chose to take on the wrath and punishment of the whole world's sins, therefore saving us from our own. 

We celebrate that through his life, death, and resurrection, we can know him personally.

We can know His love, His grace, and His freedom. 

And I think a celebration like that is well worth the wait. 

Merry, merry, merry Christmas to you all.
I hope you are having as much fun being home with your family as I am with mine! 

O, Holy Night is my absolute favorite. Especially when Carrie Underwood sings it.

Treasure Hunting.

I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME!

After a full thirty-six hours of parents, brothers, cousins, dogs, food, and last minute Christmas shopping in the metropolis that is Stuart, FL, I felt like spending some quiet time in my room. 

And by that I mean spending 2+ hours looking through old junk drawers, shoe boxes, nooks and crannies hoping to come across embarrassing/heartwarming artifacts. 

My findings did not disappoint. 

"Brother for sale, he's only 50 cents!"... Basically my anthem from years 1995- 2003.

On my 18th birthday, my Nana and Papa gave me a cardboard box...

...chock full of newspapers and magazines that they bought on the actual day of my birth.

Significant hair accessories:
1. From my private school days.
2. From the year my high school volleyball team won a state championship. I wore that every single game of the season.
3. From my club volleyball years. I think I wore that during every game of every tournament for a 3 season stretch. Apparently I wasn't too concerned about personal hygiene. 

The hermanos and I with our chocolate lab, Chip, dressed as a plan bag of M&Ms.
If I am remembering correctly, he won 2nd place in our church's pet costume contest.
I won 1st place for Ugliest Haircut.

The only thing I really remember about Girl Scouts is that my troop leader went into labor the day before our camping trip.
Life handed my 9 year-old self lemons, so I camped out in the backyard.

And last, but certainly not least, the cast of Two-a-Days in the cover sleeve of  my binder from age 16.
Clearly foreshadowing the obsession that is Friday Night Lights.

Not pictured: my diary from my freshman and sophomore year of high school. As expected, the entries were melodramatic, cringe-worthy, and a little too personal to share. My favorite entry was a poem entitled "Teardrops" and it sounded like a pathetic collaboration between Taylor Swift and Nickelback. Like I said...embarrassing. 

Happy Christmas Eve-Eve!

And it keeps me turning home.

I've been an emotional wreck lately.

Not the depressed kind. Just the kind that cries at Modern Family episodes, country songs about transitioning into adulthood, and that flash mob "Home for the Holidays" T-Mobile commercial. 

Basically, I'm 12 different types of homesick and I really miss my family. And my house and the layer of dog hair that covers it. And doing asinine things with my brothers that drive my parents to say things like "I can't hear myself think". 

source

Waiting to go home for Christmas break has kind of made me obsess over my family. My immediate family, my extended family, and the people that fall somewhere in between. How much I love them, how much they love me, and how sad it is that there are people who don't look forward to going home. 

Maybe this is all because I've watched 17 hours of the show Parenthood in the last 48 hours. Or maybe it's because I haven't been home in over four months. Or maybe its that every person I know is Facebooking/Tweeting "HOME SWEET HOME!!! SO HAPPY TO BE BACK!!". 

(Seriously people, grow some creativity.)

I'm planning on pulling into my driveway in 4 days. 

And I reeeaallly can't wait. 

Title: Turning Home by David Nail. 

Wordless Wednesday

(Spinach leaves, feta cheese, couscous, grape tomatoes, red onion, balsamic vinagriatte)

(idea inspired by Pinterest.)

Playground politics.

A classmate used these clips in his presentation today and we all just about died laughing.

Granted, it was a class of Social Science Education nerds. 

But, still. It's funny. 

Africa

North Korea

And my personal favorite...

Canada

Pretty brilliant right?

Lemme lemme upgrade ya.

Notice anything different?

Like a new title? New URL? New header design?

It was time to change things up and obviously the best time to do so was the week before my final exams.  I pretty much hated my old URL (mynext20years-amanda.blogspot.com) and I wasn't crazy about the title either (Roots and Wings).

So welcome to Sweet Tea and God's Graces DOT COM. 

I bit the bullet and payed Google $10 for my very own domain. 

I think it'll be worth it. 

I literally know nothing about HTML codes or templating or web design, but imma try and get this thing looking swankier over Christmas break.

What do you think?!

Title Reference: Upgrade U -  Beyonce

Christmas according to my iPhone.

I don't know if I formally announced it in the blog world yet, but this is a biggun folks...

I CAVED IN AND BOUGHT MYSELF AN IPHONE.

With the amount of time and effort I dedicate to social media, it was time I joined the modern world and upgraded from a $10 phone that had three apps: text, talk, and listen. (Right, Papa?!) 

And it was well worth the wait.

One of my favorite features is the swanky camera and all the picture perfect memories that my fingertips are now able to capture. 

Disclaimer: If you follow me on Twitter, this is probably going to bore you.

Decorating Christmas cookies and ornaments with my CRU community group.
Love 'em.

Yes, these are Circle K employees.
Yes, it is 2 in the morning.
And yes, Santa is smoking a Black 'n Mild.

(Pictures from work: part 1)
Sumo Claus and his elf, Sumo Elf.
Par for the course for a 4th grade boy. 

(Pictures from work: part 2)
Feliz Navidad, y'all.
Obviously my job is really hard.

I hope you all have enjoyed the early stages of Christmas preparation as much as I have!

Can you think of any iPhone apps that I sorta-kinda-absolutely-gotta have?

You guys and y'all.

I come from Martin County, FL. 

A slice of small town heaven north of the concrete jungle that is South Florida. 

The county north of us is full of thugs and rednecks. The county south of us is full of Yankees and Really Rich People (which are frequently one in the same). The Atlantic Ocean is to the east and the county to the west is full of cows, citrus, and camouflage. 

So that leaves Martin County with a population of neutral accents. Half say you guys, half say y'all. 25% sound like Southerners, 25% sound like Northerners, and the rest of us sound like American mutts.

So as an amateur (very amateur...) and aspiring linguist, I've spent a lot of time thinking about and observing the differences between the English language's two forms of second person plural. 

You guys and y'all.

Probably not completely accurate, but you get the point.
(Source)

 I mean, some people say you guys, some people say y'all. Some people like Coke, some like Pepsi. To each their own right? Mmmmm, not quite. At least in my opinion.

Besides the fact that y'all sounds much more warm and endearing than its Yankee counterpart, y'all just works better in the English language.

Y'all is concise. Y'all is gender neutral. Y'all has a plural form. 

Y'all just makes so much more sense.

Examples?

If I am talking to a group of girls: 

Hey, do you guys want to go to get some frozen yogurt? 

Girls are not guys. 

Hey, do y'all want to go to get some frozen yogurt?

Y'all is gender neutral. It works.

Let's say I want to ask a group of classmates about an assignment that was just handed out:

Hey, do your guyses packets have three pages or four pages?

Um, what? What does that even mean? How do I even spell that?

Hey, do y'alls packets have three pages or four pages?

Ah, much better. Y'all has a plural form. 

Let's say I am asking a group of people about their plans:

Are all of you guys going to the Chili Cookoff tonight?

Not too much of a mouth full, but I'd rather say...

Are all y'all going to the Chili Cookoff tonight?

Y'all is concise yet all encompassing. 

Like everything else in America, the English language is full of freedoms and choices. 

Some great, some mediocre at best. 

So choose wisely, y'all.