Between Shades of Gray

"Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning my brother's was worth a pocket watch." Ruta Stepetys

Between Shades of Gray is a book I recently read that is such a powerful story I had to  write about it. Its about a girl named Lina and her family back in 1941, she lived in Lithuania. Did you know that the prisons and concentration camps for the Jews were not the only type of wrongful slavery going on? The Soviets came in to Lithuania and Latvia and imprisoned families just as Hitler did the Jews. Theo only difference was Stalin and the Soviets hid this from the rest of the world, including the United States. The men were separated from their families and sent to prisons, and the families were stuck on trains with what belongings they could carry for days and days living off rations and what food they were able to bring with them. The outside of the trains were marked "prostitutes and criminals." There were no doctors to heal the sick or broken bones, and there wasn't enough food to go around, but the soviet guards were eating like Kings. They were then sent to something similar to a labor camp and if you were unable to work you did not eat. Some were then transferred to the Artic where they were forced to build huts out of drift wood or anything they could find, and were not given any heat. The story is of how Lina survives and the steps she takes to protect her brother and friends she has made along the way.

It really made me grateful for everything I have here, the luxuries of just being able to eat a home cooked meal. We all take so much for granted these days, and complain when our power goes out because we can't watch tv or charge our cell phones. These people had nothing to eat but bread, if that, and had no forms of communication with the outside world, they didn't know if their families, fathers, husbands, brothers were alive, or if they themselves were even going to make it through the night. It really makes you step back and look at what you have and say Thank you Lord for blessing me in so many ways, because honestly we are blessed more then we could ever imagine, even if we don't have all of the expensive clothes or gadgets.

So from my heart to yours, go to  your local library or bookstore and get this book. Read it, and remember that you are blessed.

 

http://www.betweenshadesofgray.com

Just a short update... :)

So It's been a little while since I posted but I am back. Life was hectic with work and Christmas so I'm just going to do an update...

I just want to let everyone know that I am officially a student at South College and will be pursing my degree in Medical Assisting. After a lot of praying and talking with the hubs and parents I decided it was the right place for me to be. I start classes the 10th of January. I'm going to be taking math, English, medical terminology and Anatomy & Physiology. I am super stoked.

My husband is back at work (he was temp laid off) so lets just hope its permanent :)


We have decided that once I finish school and get a job, as long as he is still working we will then start trying for a baby. So that will be in 2014. So I have a lot to look forward to in the next upcoming couple of years.That's not set in stone, just something we have talked about, things may change by then so who knows what's in store, all I can say is I'm excited for the journey.

PS- my only new years resolution is to finish school! 

From my heart to yours....an update on me. :) Whats new for 2013 for yall?

Future...

Today I felt like my future was ripped out from underneath me. I went to a college today to see about their Medical Assisting program, and let me tell you the school was amazing, and the program was perfect. It was a perfect fit for me until I went to the financial aide office to see about a pell grant, and since I got married this year I had to include both of our incomes and even though we made LESS than 40,000$ I do not qualify for a grant. I know there are people out there with worse problems, trust me I know. But it scares me half to death to get a loan. I have been praying and praying and I just don't know what to do. I don't want to jump into this and screw up again. I jump into things and mess up, and I just don't want to do that here. I want to make something of myself, but I don't want to screw up by going into debt. I am just so conflicted. I honestly don't know what to do.

Life as we know it..

Sorry for the delay my blogging friends! I have been working a lot and have not had time to sit down on the computer!


I have been thinking about this the last couple days though....what if your life was portrayed in a movie? Would it be interesting? A drama? A romance? Have you done anything exciting that's worth being in a movie? Even though I am happy with my life I can't help but think that its boring. I feel like nothing exciting ever happens, and I guess that I am just not looking at it clearly. I find myself looking into Tv shows and books and wishing I could do what they do, but then again, I have my own little love story to tell with my husband. I don't know, it's just something that's been running through my mind and I needed to put it out there.


I have been re-reading one of my book series, and its the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld and basically its a series of 4 books. It breaks down to talk about a city, a new city thats based in the future where everyone has an operation at 16 that makes them "pretty." Making everyone look a like, but the truth behind the operation is not only do they alter your body...they alter your mind as well. I can't help but think is what if we lived in a world like that.  Can you imagine looking like everyone else in the world? Everyone being perfect? I can see some advantages (SOME), like disease and obesity and things. (Because the city feeds you and keeps you healthy...basically controls you) but other than that, you would never know what it feels like to be different. you would loose ALL creativity, individuality....I can't even imagine it. Its like you loose your brain, the city thinks for you, takes over you, makes you who they want you to be. When you first look at the books its as if they are all about appearance, but it goes deeper then that. It makes me thankful for the freedom that we have today. I personally hate to be controlled, and I couldn't imagine living somewhere that controlled every aspect of our lives.

If you havn't read the series I defenitley suggest you do.




From my heart to yours....happy Sunday!

[instert title here]

Has anyone else noticed that the hardest time to write is when you WANT to write? I have enjoyed writing my blog so far, but I have to say after working ALL day today, I have zero inspiration. I will say that I was really looking forward to going on a motorcycle ride with my sweet hubby tomorrow, but unfortunately he is helping his uncle out. Looks like this will be a short post today, but from my heart to yours I'd like to leave you with a quote from my all time favorite series...
[yes I am a Harry Potter nerd]

 “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” Albus Dumbledore.

Who are you?

I once heard, that its not about what you do in life, its about who you are. That statement couldn't be more true....When your life is over is it really going to matter if you were the most popular girl in school, or had the most friends? The people who matter, the ones who are by your side the most are going to remember you for who you were, the person who made them laugh, or who let them cry on your shoulder, your faith in God, you taste in music, the quirky faces you made when you were happy, sad or even mad.

So remember that the next time you get discouraged when something doesn't work out the way you want it to, or you don't accomplish everything you set your mind to...because honestly nothing is perfect, that's life and you being you, and trying to be all that YOU can be is what i comes down to in the end. I often struggle with this myself, because lets face it failing is hard! NOT fitting in is even harder sometimes, and even in adult life its something that happens.

You look at other peoples lives and think man they have it so easy! I wish I could get a job like theirs, or I want a husband like hers, or the worst...wishing you had the money someone else did. Reality is we have no idea what happens behind closed doors, even in our friends and families lives. Things are not always as they appear, and they are definitely not always black and white. I think that if we stop worrying so much about other people, and their happiness, maybe more of us would be happy. I don't know if it is human nature, or just who we've all turned into over the years, but we judge, and get judged whether we want to admit it or not. I am in no way saying I'm innocent here, but its something I struggle with daily. My guess is, a lot of other people struggle with is as well, even guys/men, (just probably not as much as us women). We probably judge more on looks than anything else, but I guess the only saying "first appearances are the most important" is probably true. Well I'll leave yall out in the blogging world to ponder on that....from my heart to yours, be happy <3

From the South

Being from the south is something we all take pride in, (that is if your from the south), but what makes  a true southerner? Sweet tea and cow boy boots? I think not, even though those are two wonderful things, a southerner is all about having manners, treating a lady right, listening to your mama, saying "bless your heart," and always saying grace. Being southern means having manners (and momma enforcing them!),having a big heart, helping out your neighbors,having faith in God, keeping a bible close and keeping up with your families traditions. I read something on a website one day that just really hit being southern on the nose "Southern means caring and paying attention to details and giving your guests your best-- materially, socially, and spiritually. Southern means taking time to smell the roses in concert with others." (source: http://www.greensborodailyphoto.com/2011/07/southern.html) I couldn't have said it better myself. Yes, down south we have an accent and most of us hunt and fish and wear out our jeans but being southern is a whole lot more than that. The south is where you come from, and its where I want to stay. Sweet tea is our water, NASCAR & college football are family gatherings, and family is always first. You haven't had hospitality until youve been in a southern home! We like our country music loud and our trucks big, and I personally like my man in wranglers. Yall and aint are apart of our vocabulary, and not because we don't speak properly, its just how we were raised.

From my heart to yours, my thoughts on being southern.