God loves me? God loves me!

I know it's been awhile since I've posted a blog, and for that I do apologize. However, I had exams and come on people its Christmas!!



So here's whats on my mind today: Love.



What brought this up? A text message, plain and simple. Here's what it said:

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. . .Because you are precious In my eyes, and honored, and I love you. -Isaiah 43"



Those three simple words: I. Love. You.



Let's be honest, the first time you heard those words from a guy I know what 99% of women felt. Suddenly, there was a while meadow of butterflies in your stomach. You turned red, your adrenaline kicked in, and you couldn't think straight.



However, lets say your mom says "I love you" before you go to bed at night. Completely differnt reaction: You feel safe, secure, loved.





Now I have a tight group of friends and we all say I love you when we leave each other. No butterflies, not the security of a parent, but the feeling of acceptance.


The text I received was from one of my very best friends, and the reason I received it is because she knew I was going to face something hard for me that day. I had never read that verse or chapter before so it was new to me and what stuck out to me were those three words: I Love You.

God Loves Me. A simple statement, any child who has been to Sunday school can tell you that God loves them. It is another thing to realize He really does love you. It took me a minute, because when I read it, my thoughts went something like this: "God loves me. God loves me?"
In a world where 6th graders tell their boyfriends and girlfriends of 3 days that they love them only to break up with them an hour later, and a place where parents tell their children they love them, but ignore them, some people don't know love. It's a hard thing to comprehend and I'm not claiming I do. I do know this though:

I'm not perfect, read the rest of my blogs, I make mistakes I even make typos! I'm messy, skatter minded, irresponsible at some times, I lie, I've cheated, I'm vain, I've disobeyed my parents. I'm a sinner. I've done things I shouldn't have, I'm a long way off from being perfect.

However, the most perfect being in the universe called me by name. I am HIS. Not yours, not anyone else's, His. If I go through the water, when I can't see when I'm scared, He's there with me, holding me up like a dad holds his child up in the pool. In His eyes, I am precious. He loves me. I can't stop that. I didn't do ANYTHING to deserve it. Yet, He still loves me, sins, mistakes, and all.

Not just me, He loves you too. You are precious in His eyes. When YOU go through waters, He will be there with you too.

He loves US.

Remember that.

Embarassing!

Friends, family, randos on blogspot, and people that have been ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from me:



Welcome to what I anticipate to be one of the funniest Tiffessions of all time.



First, let's define Tiffession, shall we?



Tiffession- (n.) The act of Tiffany confessing things that others may find humorous.

That was the funniest Tiffession of all time!

Synonyms: Tiffmission, Tiffknowledgement, and Tiffclosure.





Now that we have that out of the way, on with the show!



Today, someone asked me an interesting question. They meant it rhetorically, as it was a rhetorical question, and it got me thinking. The question was this: "You don't ever get embarassed, do you?" Of course we all knew my answer..."Are you trippin?! Of COURSE I get embarassed! Probably more than most people!" As I said, it got me thinking, what are my top embarassing moments? Well I thought, and thought some more (a big task for me) and came up with this:

Top 5 Tiffessions List

5. Two years ago, I starred as Truvy in Steel Magnolias. During one of the practices, my line was "I am the epitome of Winter." I pronounced it "ep-i-tome" not "epid-i-me". To this day I still haven't lived it down.

4. Again, a Steel Magnolias story. At one point during the show, Shelby-a character who has diabetes- gets low blood sugar and almost goes into shock. Obvisouly this is a very dramatic scene. As Shelby is about to go into shock Truvy (I) put a mint in her mouth, but she spits it out. We had rehearsed this flawlessly. However, one night during the 2nd night of the show, when shelby spits it out, the mint managed to go down my shirt. Since it is very obvisous, the ENTIRE audience noticed and laughed, and I had to go through the rest of the first act with a mint stuck in my shirt- not very comfortable at all!

3. Another theatre story: I was once in a church play, and form the time we had been measured for costumes and the time of the acutal play I had put on a few pounds, so I decided to wear Spanx. Now the way a mike works we women usually hook the battery pack onto our bra or pants for easier costume changes. Mine fell off as I was about to go onstage, and in the hurry I was in I got my fellow actor to fix it for me. Before I had a chance to tell him I was wearing spanx, he yelled into my live mike "TIFF YOU'RE WEARING SPANX?!" Yes, the entire audience did hear that. Yes, I did get comment afterwards. Yes, I was embarassed.

2. My family and I like to go to Great Wolf Lodge in the Summer, which is an indoor waterpark/hotel aka coolest place in the world. This summer when we went there were some very cute college boys lifeguarding. Now, they had set routes they had to walk on the side of the pool. So, if one were to jump in they would hear anything and everything they said before and after they jumped in. My mom is a rather loud person and enjoys emabarassing me when she knows I'll laugh about it later. This set up was no exception. Mom jumped in the water before me and right before she did she said "Tiff he's really cute!" The lifeguard was literally 3 feet away from me. I didn't hear her and jumped in. When she started laughing I didn't understand why and asked her, she then told me. The lifeguard heard her tell me and laughed even harder. Of course, I turned bright red and didn't talk to my mom for the rest of...5 minutes haha!

1. I was running late for a play that I was in, so being the kind of person I am I decided to just drive to the theatre and do my hair there. Now, this doesn't sound like a big deal to most people however, this entailed me driving to the theatre in full makeup with rollers in my hair. Now stage makeup is different than regular makeup in that it is 2 shades darker than regular makup and most people look...well...scary upclose. So there I was in my car, on the way to the theatre with curlers in my hair when I, of course, hit a stoplight. I was doing some last minute rehearsing when, lo and behold who pulls up beside me but they guy that I had had a crush on for 4 months. I didn't even notice until he beeped his horn. When I turned to look it was him and his 2 very cute friends. Thankfully the light turned green and needless to say I sped off as fast as my little infinity would go!

Toys R Us, creepy dolls, and epic Light Sabers

The other day, my friend Parker and I went to Toys R Us. (Or as my dear grandma whom I love dearly calls it "Toys of Us")





No, I'm serious. Hopefully, you would know that if you know me!





Here's how it went down:





We parked the car, and I immediately felt the familiar rush of adrenaline as we mad eour way toward the automatic doors. A gust of air rushed past us as we stepped through the threshold into what I consider one of the best places on Earth. Immediately, we are drawn to the first lightup fuzzy toy we see. After about five minutes I turn to my right and see the most awful thing in the world: A section devoted to Twilight.





Ok, for all you Twihards, I do not apologize. I've seen the movie (the first one, you are seriously disturbed if you think I'm paying $10 to see the 2nd) and read the wiki on the books. Not impressive. Personally, I think it is a bad influence for the teenage girls reading it. How many girls have you heard say "I want a guy just like Edward"? Case and point.





Moving on, I quickly skipped over that section and continued on our mission: Star Wars light sabers. Well, you all know me, I get distracted easily and this was worth the distraction. As I continued down the aisle, a wonderous sight I did behold: A Snuggie. Not just ANY Snuggie, oh no dear friend, a SASSY Snuggie! A PINK Sassy Snuggie to be exact! As I stood in awe for a moment, I realized: I MUST have it! So, I picked it up without skipping a beat and continued on. After awhile, Parker noticed and asked me about it. My response: I want it.

We continues on in search of our item: lightsabers. I'll take this moment to point out we were buying them for a "White Elephant" or "Dirty Santa" party for our Bible Study, RUF.

So we went through the Barbie section, and half and hour later came to the end of it. It took half and hour not because its that big, but because we...ok I wanted everything. We then crossed the invisble line that appears at all Middle School dances, the "boy/girl line". You know the line, it seperates the boys from the girls and NOBODY crosses it. Ladies and Gentlemen of blogworld, I crossed that line in Toys R Us. When we did, a terrible horrifying thing happened: We heard about 40, no lie, 40 babies giggle and coo. We looked at each other and said the same thing, "Where the heck did THAT come from?" We turned and saw a WALL yeah a WALL of motion sensor baby dolls. I of course not being freaked out by baby dolls at ALL laughed and went on while Parker proceeded to have a minor breakdown. Ok, all those who know me can now stop laughing and texting me telling me I'm a BFL (Big Fat Liar). In fact the opposite happened. Parker kept her cool while I freaked out. I hate baby dolls. They scare me. a LOT. It seems that whenever I'm in a stoer with my mom and there are baby dolls around, they mysteriously appear from around corners calling my name in a voice similar to my moms.

Anyway, we continued past the creepy baby doll wall- we have video- and after 10 minutes of searching found our prize: the lightsabers. Having wasted enough time as it was, we grabbed them and ran to the checkout. They were a hit at the party, especially after we started using people's lightsaber phone apps. To say the least it was epic.

So dear readers, I Wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Love, Tiff

Top 10 Favorite Things about Thanksgiving

I'll give you three guesses as to what this blog is about. 4th of July! EXACTLY!! No! If you guessed that you're wrong. So wrong in fact you need to stop reading my blog...now.

For those of you left: my select dear friends, randos on blogspot, and those who disregarded my instructions (I'll find you- mark my words) Yes, this is about my top 10 favorite Turkey Day traditions/food.

10. Butter.
It's in everything, and I love it. One day I hope to eat a fried stick of butter.



9. The awesome night's sleep you get after eating a turkey.
Not SOME turkey...A turkey...a full blown "gobble gobble" turkey.



8. No School.
Duh.



7. FOOTBALL!!!
Insert laugh here.



6. Stuffing.
It's basically really buttery bread you can put gravy on and put on top of turkey...or anything. Like a roll, only you can put more gravy on it.



5. Rolls.
Warm, buttery delicious, fluffy, buttery rolls...did I mention buttery?



4. Black Friday
Technically the day AFTER Thanksgiving, I don't usually go out on that day (usually sleeping off the 500 lbs I gained the day before) but I love sales, and just knowing there's one going on makes me happy. Ok, I'm not that much of a shopaholic, but sometimes the sales go longer than Friday (like SATURDAY).



3. Tukey.
It's Thanksgiving, nuff said.



2. Sweet Tea.
I'm addicted anyway, but it just tastes better at Thanksgiving. Maybe because everyone else makes it with like a pound of sugar! As much as I love my mommy, we both know I think she needs more sugar in her tea. =) (And before she rebuttles this: Yeah I know I'm not supposed to have too much sugar....haha. But that's what makes her a good madre)


1. GRAVY.
No, I'm NOT kidding. I LOVE gravy. I need turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing to go WITH my gravy. As I told one of my friends once, "If I could put gravy in an IV, I totally would do it."


Yes, I realized "Being with Family" isn't on the list. Why? They drive me crazy!! No, just kidding! Actual reason: Being with them is so great its off the charts. =)


So, in closing. Friends, family, randos, and mildy less smart people who didn't know what month we were in:

Happy Thanksgiving! I Love Y'all!

<3 Tiff

The Lorelai to my Rory- A Tribute to Sweet Mama T

This week was my mom's birthday and, no, I'm not telling which one (it's in the 2-digits).





With birthdays comes the inevitable question for friends and family of said birthday girl/boy "What do I get them?"




See, this was particularly hard for me to answer because no present would be good enough for my mom. Not because she would thing it wasn't good enough. Quite the contrary, I'm pretty sure if I made her a macaroni picture, she'd love it. No, I wouldn't think it was good enough. Personally, the only present I think would be good enough for mom is this:

For those uneducated in the world of Tiffany & Co. allow me to explain. That is the Tiffany Diamond, one of the biggst diamonds in the world, only worn by 2 people the latest being Audrey Hepburn. As much as I love Audrey, my mom deserves not only to wear this but to OWN it.

As is stated in my title, mom is the Lorelai to my Rory, it's a Gilmore Girls reference. (and if you don't know what I'm talking about get out from under the rock your living under and google or wiki it.)

If I screw up (which is often) Mom's there to not just tell me what I did wrong, but to tell me how to fix it, prevent it, and to forgive me.

She has sacrificed so much for me, I can never repay that.

Even after going through so much, she is still one of the strongest Christians I know, and someone I can look up to.

Like Rory, I can live in my own little world and like being alone. Mom, like Lorelai, tells me when I've gone into "hermit" mode and pulls me out of it.

If I need advice, I know where to go. Even if I don't want it, I'm gonna get it. And usually, to my dismay, she's right.

Correction: In all my experience whenever I say "You're wrong" within and hour to 6 months I'm going to come back with a "Oh...by the way...you were right"

When I was little, she scared the clowns from underneath my bed...even tho she was one once (true story)

When I had my heartbroken she was there to tell me "All boys can be stupid"

If I had asthma problems late at night, even after I fell asleep she was the one still awake making sure I was waking up to do my medicine.

She taught me how to do my hair, and which shade of foundation to buy.

She's the one I can always go to, even if we're not seeing eye to eye, I can count on the fact she will be there for me.

She knows me better than I know myself, again, to my dismay at some times.

She can still hang with the college kids (don't believe me? look at her wall!)

She makes anything fun. Even running through the rain...in dresses and heels...

She puts up with my insanity...not an easy feat.

She taught me how to make people laugh

She pushed me when I said "I can't"

She stopped me when I said "I can" and shouldn't have

She made me laugh when I wanted to scream, made me smile when I wanted to cry, and made me laugh when I was just smiling.

She did my hair and makeup for Prom, and made me feel like a real Princess...she even defaced one of my friends while doing THEIR makeup for Prom to make me look better =)

She helped me improve my art

She wasn't afraid to tell me "you can do better"

Even though I know I can drive her crazy, and vice-versa, I know I can count on her. My mom is the best, and I challenge anyone to defy me. I hope that when (if) I grow up, I can be half the person my mom is.

So Mom, Happy Birthday, I love you.

5 Similarities between College Students and Kindergardeners

Yes, you read right. College students and kindergardeners have many things in common. Don't believe me? read on...

(As a side note: I am guilty of all of these things)





5. [This applies mostly to freshmen] You see nothing wrong or out of the ordinary introducing yourself to everyone you meet that is remotely your age.

(Ok, seriously y'all do NOT act like you haven't done this.)

4. Coloring Pages are a prime source of entertainment and decoration.


Honestly, I can't tell you how many dorm rooms (mine included) I've seen that have had coloring pages as their main source of decoration/entertainment. I mean seriously, they're just so much fun and so pretty!





3. If a food comes in the shape of a dinosaur, cartoon character, or any other abnormal shape it automatically tastes better. Therefore, we must have it, the original shape is NOT and option.

(Say what you will, if it's Disney it tastes better)


2. 98% of them do not look both ways when crossing the street.

Kindergarden excuse: I forgot!

College excuse: We have the right of way! (I prefer the kindergarden excuse...because in reality the 5 ton metal block going 45 mph gets the right of way)



1. Both are terrified about going to a new school and learning new things...and when their mommies and daddies leave them both burst into tears (don't even deny it boys!) but in the end realize that it might be the best thing ever!

Terrible Case of the Mondays....

For those of y'all who don't know me that well, I am not a morning person...at all. If you have ever been around me in the morning (meaning before 11 or 1 depending on if its a weekend or not) then you know how I can be. When I wake up I will be in one of 3 moods:

1) The "Hermit" mood, I won't talk to you and you would have the best idea to probably not talk to me until I've had my tea or Dr. Pepper.

2) The "Suzy Mary Sunshine" mood, I most likely didn't sleep at all and am slightly hallucinating. Do NOT be surprised if I break into (Disney) song/children songs, complete with hand motions and choreography. I love everything and everyone (in a creepy over-loving way) and I let them know it. I remain this way until I crash at like 3pm, afterward I go into Hermit mood.

3) The "Crap I'm late!" mood. Kind of speaks for itself, basically I woke up late, and I'm running late. Easily Classified by: smudge mascara from the day before, sweat pants, glasses, a look of bewilderment, and most likely a chain of events where everything went wrong.



So, with that out of the way onto my life yesterday. I woke up Monday, the best day of the week (note: extreme sarcasm) in a "Crap! I'm late!" mood. So, being the smooth concise person I am, I jumped not out of but across my bed. I am not a coordinated person and I ended up falling off my bed. Which was just the first domino in the effect that was my morning. Out of the house I run, sweats and flip flops into the arctic weather that encompasses Lynchburg in the wee hours of the morning now a days. By the time I got to my car, a total of 5 seconds outside, my toes were blue and my nose almost fell off from frostbite. When I reached my car I realized it was no longer a car, but an igloo.
Late, cold, and entrapped in ice I tried to figure a way out of my David Blaine-esque predicament. So, I turned on the heat which didn't help me at all because it was on defrost. 5 minutes later, still cold, even later, and now entrapped in a slushie I decided to just go for it I could kind of see out of my windows, what's the worse that could happen? Now, I am not the best driver in the world, and my friends would call that an understatement. My driveway is a basic straight shot down a steep hill and since I pulled into the driveway I was backing down the hill. I thought I was doing fine until I felt my car going backwards, involuntarily. By this time I was at the bottom of the hill and realized what had happened: I had gone off the driveway and into the ditch. Being the confident and wonderful driver I am I handled this with my usual calm demeanor: I stepped on the gas and brake simultaneously. Not realizing I had done this, I freaked when my tires spun and caused smoke to come around and in my car through the air vents. Then, I did what any normal 19 year old girl would do: I got my mommy. We traded places and while she calmly got my car out of the ditch, I shakily tried making Daph's pbj whilst smelling like I had been drag racing. After my car was safely back in her spot, and mom had dropped Daphne off at school we began to try to figure out what I did to my car.
Up until this point I had not realized I stepped on the gas and brakes because I was blocking it from my mind. Then mom got home and in typical Sweet Momma T fashion, helped me sort through it all and realize that all I had done was spin my tires and my car was not in fact going to combust. Although, it smelled like burnt rubber until this morning.
That even all in itself was like a giant domino landing and crushing all of the smaller dominoes of my day. They were still there, but that one domino overshadowed them.

Then, the day got better.

The sky turned blue, the earth warmed up, the birds sang, woodland creatures came out of the woods to help me clean and do my homework. All because of one thing: Panera. For those of you who just read this and are thinking "What is she on?" trust me. Go to Panera, get anything with a french baguette, a sweet tea, and a good friend and life looks better.

Moral of my Case of the Mondays: God and Panera can turn any day around. Actually, only God can, because lets face it God created Panera for "those" days.

Following the crowd...

For once in my life, I am following the crowd and blogging about my (probably not that interesting) life or my reality as I call it. Most people claim they have the best friends in the world. I apologize, but I'd have to call their bluff because there is absolutely no way their friends are better than mine. My friends are a HUGE part of this blog, and so is my family. My mom, sister, and puppy are my family and they are always there for me...even through my weird phases and even when I'm in trouble (which I'm hardly ever in of course!)

So, basically this will entail all the goings on in my life, a fair amount which are humorous because...well things happen to me.

With that goal in mind...off I go into that great cyber-place called a blog