meet Parker!

I went to visit my BFF-Rachel a few weekends ago in Fort Payne, Alabama-- and I bought a puppy!
His name is Parker JULIOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Smith.

This is him on the way home from Alabama- he was freaking out a little, so he kept moving around- and ended up behind my head. FOR. THE. ENTIRE. WAY. HOME.
This is my BFF Maranda holding Parker- he's still so little! He'll grow to be about 10-12 pounds, but right now, he's TINY.
This is Parker and one of his toys. He was worn out :)
This is my favorite picture- I have turned into one of those "dog moms"- this picture is my screen saver on my phone. Love it.

Giant

You may not know this about me, but one of my all-time favorite movies is "Giant." Often times when I mention this to people, they have no idea what movie I'm talking about. For some reason, it's not carried the same kind of timelessness that "Gone With the Wind" or other epic movies of the same era have carried.



When I was a kid, my grandmother had the movie on VHS that she had recorded from TV at some point. It was split into two VHS tapes (that should take you guys back to a special place in your heart)- but I would watch it multiple times every time I went to Mississippi to visit my grandparents. It made me fall in love with the idea of creating a life with someone- even if that someone is nothing like you. Elizabeth Taylor plays Leslie Benedict who is a wealthy socialite from Virginia. Rock Hudson (who I am slightly in love with) plays Bick Benedict who meets Leslie while purchasing a horse from her father. They immediately fall in love, and they move to Bick's ranch in Texas. It's the story of their life. For better or worse. Mistakes and all. Love, loss, children, friends, fights. It's all there.



It's also a famous movie because it would be James Dean's last. He was killed in a car accident during the last days of filming. I love his character's story, too.Jett Rink came from nothing. Got lucky in oil and made it huge. But. He had nothing to show for his life by the end. A tragic story, but an epic one told my James Dean that makes me cry every time.
It's a special movie to me. I think because it always makes me think of those summers in Quitman. The other day my family was talking around the dinner table, and I said some movie was one of my favorites. My grammy spoke up in her barely audible, whisper of a voice and said, "I'm pretty sure your favorite movie is Giant." And, of course, she's right. It is.

blame it on January

My friend Micah wrote a song a few years ago, and I always liked the line "I blame my problems on January". Because, honestly, I feel like it has to be the worst month ever. (I'm 100% sure that now that I've said this, I'll get married and have all of my children in January.) I will now air my grievances with January.

1. I don't get paid from December 17th (ish) until the end. of. january. which, by the way, is a VERY LONG MONTH. It is truly the WORST thing about my job.
   
   
2. Football ends. Baseball hasn't started. Sports purgatory. I do not care about basketball. At all. I mean, hooray if Alabama wins, but I just don't care for the sport. And. Don't tell me I can watch the NFL or some other bogus sport that no real people like. I watch college football, Atlanta Braves baseball, and golf tournaments. None of those are happening today. Except on ESPN/CBS classic. Which I watch all of the time this time of year. And don't even me started on how much I hate SportsCenter/PTI/ATH this time of year- all they're trying to do is convince me that these "sports" that I don't like are actually valuable. Liars.
   
   
3. It's freaking freezing. And I am WAY over wearing a coat and not being able to move my arms properly. I feel like a tyrannosaurus rex. and I don't like it.
   
   
4. It's dark before I leave school. No, seriously. Middle school in Cobb gets out at 415, so I normally leave around 5. Which, in January, is dusk. GIVE ME SOME SUN LIGHT. I feel like I'm going to die of a vitamin D deficiency. Or at least, I think it's vitamin D. Right? I don't know. I could google it, but, well, I just don't want to.
   
   

I think I'm going to stop there. That's enough complaining for one day.

To combat the negativenancyness of that list, here are some things I love right now:
1. my iPad.
2. White Collar. To be more specific, Neil Caffrey.
3. My cowboy boots.
4. My lunch box.
5. painting

painting

Have you gone to these drink-while-you-paint painting classes? They seem to be all the rage in metro Atlanta, and I went to Sips-and-Strokes about a year ago with my school. In the past few months, one of my mom's bffs has opened one these places in west Cobb called Corkscrews and Canvas.

So, I've gone quite a few times. I've been more times than a normal person should go, but it's been fun! Honestly, I like the painting a lot- if I had a need for all of these pieces of "art", I would go more often, but it's already out of control. I've been giving most of the pieces away to friends and family who mention they like the piece. I mean, if you like it, you can have it! Here are a few of the things I've done so far....
So, I've been planning a birthday party at Corkscrews and Canvas for my friend Angie, and we were trying to decide what piece to do, and I took a picture of this sample from the studio. (My friend, Jill Alford, did this!)
We're gonna go paint this next month (hopefully!), but I was curious with my own artistic ability, so I decided to attempt it myself!

Mine is obviously a little different, but I really like it! It's hanging outside of my classroom! Adorable!

the end of my twenties...

today marks the end of my twenties. I can hardly believe that in less than 2 hours, I will be officially 30. I was talking to one of my precious friends the other day- and I was saying that it's not that I mind turning 30- it's more that I thought my life would look so different by 30. But I am grateful for my life and all of the things I've accomplished in the last thirty years. There are some things that are a part of my life that make me very happy and proud. some of those are:

1. being a teacher- like I've been dreaming of since I was in 4th grade.
2. traveling overseas- to Romania and Asia as a missionary- and living in China
3. maintaining meaningful friendships for a long time- people from high school and college- wouldn't trade them for anything
4. continuing to sing and perform- not always how I planned, but I've had the chance to sing with some of the most talented people I know
5. leading a small group for 7 years- continuing to pour into those girls now that they're in college


There are a lot of other things, but these are the things in the front of my mind tonight.

My life isn't what I planned: it's better.

baby names

My friend Kelly whoisnotreallymyfriendbutIreadherblogsoIfeellikewearefriends has a series called "Show Us Your Life" where she writes something, and invites you to write the same and then link back to her blog. It's pretty fun, but I usually just read and don't participate.


But today I am joining in because it's all about baby names. And I love baby names. I've been doodling them on notebooks, church bulletins, and napkins since I was in college. Go check out Kelly's, but these are mine...

Katharine Elizabeth (Katy Beth)

My first name is Katharine (yes, with an "a" in the middle- just like my mom and her namesake, Katine). And that's my cousin's name. And another cousin is Elizabeth. And my bff Maranda's middle name is Elizabeth. And I love double names. Like my sister, AnneTaylor. And I would spell Katy with a "-y" because that's how my best friend spells her name. I love that this little girl name has so much meaning behind it.

Austin Hope

When I was in the 7th grade, I knew a girl named Austin- and she was so cool. I def wanted to be like her. As I got older and actually thought about baby names, this immediately came to mind because it's my dad's middle name. I would love to use it for a baby name. THEN. Even cooler, my mom's middle name is Hope. My grandparents weren't being all sweet/spiritual- that's my grandmother's maiden name. I'm pretty sure she'd just go by "Austin", but the potential for another double name is def there.

Jake Smith

Honestly, I just love the name Jake. But I don't love Jacob/Jakob. So I would just name my baby boy Jake. And my last name is Smith, and I would love to use that as a middle name someday. Of course this will only work with certain last names, but I'm not there yet!

Cooper/Miller Ellis

Once again, I just love the name Cooper. Mainly because I love the nickname "Coop". There's nothing deep there. And I love the name Miller. I'm a little embarassed to even admit why I like the name, but here goes: I once read an article about Matthew McConaughey's brother naming his son "Miller Lyte". Well, that is the trashiest thing I've ever heard, but it made me LOVE the name Miller! And Ellis is my mom's maiden name, and I think it's a perfect middle name!

Well, that's it from me.
Keep in mind that I have no boyfriend, spouse, or children- so this may be a touch premature, but it's all good!

confession

I've always known that the Bible calls us to confess our sins, but if I'm being honest, I have rarely done this. Well, that's not true, I do confess. But, I'm more likely to confess things like "I'm not reading the Bible enough".... or "I am too selfish"... or "I've fooled around with guys more than I should have".

And nothing is wrong with these confessions.

Only that I'm not confessing anything. I'm being vague or choosing to only confess the things that aren't that bad.

But lately, that's been changing for me.

A few weeks ago at Sublime, I started talking to a group of girls- and before I even realized it, I confessed one of my darkest sins. I mean, it's a biggie. And before that moment, no one knew. I mean, no one (who would hold me accountable spiritually) knew. I had managed to only let people know who wouldn't consider the spiritual ramifications of my choices. I had never told anyone that would want to know how God felt about it.

The sin that I confessed had been worked out with God. He and I had already dealt with it, but I had never invited anyone else into that process.

The coolest thing about that moment with those senior girls is that God totally used my sin to teach them something big. My honesty in that moment helped them understand the spiritual ramifications of sin like mine. He used my confession to bring glory to Himself. Only God can take the bad and work it together for his good- and ultimately, my good.

What I learned in that moment is that confessing my sin doesn't result in condemnation (assuming you're confessing to Godly people). In fact, it was the opposite. The girls were able to hear my mistakes and be so relieved to know that I'm a "real" sinner too. I recently heard someone explain the difference between conviction (from the holy spirit) and condemnation (from people). Condemnation says that YOU are something bad. Conviction says you DID something bad. A small difference but a huge difference.

Confessing my sin doesn't mean that I can no longer be influential. In fact, more of the opposite. He used my confession to make a bigger impact on those girls than I ever could have if I had just been quoting scripture or passing on information. My friend Denise is a Christian author and speaker- and a few years ago, her marriage tragically ended in divorce. She decided to take a year off from writing and speaking to kinda collect her thoughts, but then came back a year later to speak at a church. Then God called her to speak about marriage. Of course, she was SO annoyed that God would do such a thing- she had just gotten divorced! And, in His small and mighty way, he asked her if she still believed in marriage. And of course, she did! And God told her, your mistakes do not have baring on my truths. My truth is STILL truth no matter how many times you mess it up. When Denise shared this with me, I thought I understood. But, now that I have lived- and confessed- I understand it to a level that I never thought possible. God's truth is STILL truth- no matter how badly I have blown it.

Once I confessed the one time, it made me know that I could do it again. The next night I sat down with one of my best friends- and confessed a slew of sins that needed confessing. And once again, there was no condemnation and I didn't lose my ability to be influential.

I'm not saying that I'm gonna start telling everyone all of my mistakes, but for the first time REALLY in my life, I truly understand the healing that James is talking about when he says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." (James 5:16).

God is a healer in so many ways, but right now, for me, he's healing me through my own obedience to confess.

update. in bullets.

1. So, my lungs are much better. I haven't had any more issues since the weekend before Christmas. I am happy. Not sure what was going on then, but I'm glad it's no longer going on.

2. As I already knew, I was VERY well-behaved this year. Santa confirmed this with his generosity on Christmas morning. Pictures to come asap.

3. Am trying to make resolutions. Not sure just yet. Will keep posted.

4. Started drinking more water. Began yesterday. Victory thus far. (Keep in mind that I just said more- which won't be hard because I was drinking close to none. Ooops.)

5. Playing "Words With Friend" on my iPhone. this is possibly the best decision I've ever made. You can play me! My username is CamiSmith.

6. I want a UNC Tarheel's shirt. I'm an Alabama fan, but since I lived in North Carolina for a few years, I love Carolina too. My love for the Heels is NOTHING like my love for Alabama, but I feel like I need a shirt. Also, I tend to look smashing in that shade of blue.

7. I hate New Years. Least favorite holiday. After Columbus Day, and Stab Yourself With Your Fork Day. Ugh. But, I have plans.

8. Cleaned out my closet. 3 bags for Goodwill. Officially have too much crap.

9. Excited to go back to school. SO much to do to get ready!

10. Love my family. Lots. Maybe more than last week.

the past few days of my life. in pictures.

Sunday night. ER. asthma attack.
regular breathing treatment didn't work. continuous nebulizer.
that wasn't working fast enough. IV drugs.
oxygen level at arrival to ER: 82%.
by the time I left: 98%
5 days of steroids. make me hot. and hungry.

In the words of my dad, "It's not Christmas unless Cami's going to the Emergency Room"

smacked in the face

I read Stuff Christians Like. You should too.

Today's entry was all about forgiveness. And Kanye West. And how I expect and receive it for myself easily with no problem, but I am super quick to withhold it from people I don't deem worthy. Maybe they've done too much. Or gone too far.

But mostly.
They just got found out.
And I'm still hiding.

Years ago my uncle left his wife for her best friend. And it destroyed me. I could NOT understand. Didn't understand how he could cheat. Didn't understand what the best friend was thinking. It was horrible. My aunt and I were very close, so it was even harder. I had a horrible time even talking to my uncle and his new wife. I could barely think about looking them in the face, much less forgiving them.

Then it happened. I found myself caught up in a similar situation- where I was the bad guy. No, he wasn't married. No, he didn't leave her for me. But, I got so caught up in my sin that I wasn't thinking about anyone but myself. And it was at that point that I realized that I was no different from my uncle and his new wife. God is so gracious. And luckily, so are my family and friends.

God, teach me to forgive like you do. To love unconditionally like you do. Because you love me. And I am so undeserving. And so unworthy.

my GLORIOUS weekend

FRIDAY NIGHT!!!
Britney Spears at Phillips!
Box seats- AMAZING.
She was SO SO SO good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK FOR REAL.
ALABAMA.
Rough start to the day- but fought hard- and earned that win!
It's gonna be an awesome season!!!
McElroy!
Maze!
INGRAM!!!! SEC player of the week!!
Touchdown!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday Night.
NAVA.
Favorite restaurant in Atlanta.
Sonoma Jack Cheese Fritters?
Scallops and Grits?
Key Lime Pie?
Don't freaking mind if I do.
And I love the girls I went with- they make it even better :)

no wonder!!

I've been freakishly tired. And freakishly sickish.

Finally went to the doctor today.
Sinus infection.
Double ear infection.
Acute bronchitis.

Way to go, body. This is a good start to the school year.

Good grief!

Top 10

I ran across the blog of an old friend- well actually, Amber is my brother's old friend. But I like her. So, I consider her my friend too. She's hilarious. I had to make myself stop reading in class because I was laughing too hard. To the point my stomach hurt. It was not good. I mean, it was good. But bad. All at the same time.

One of my favorite things on her blog was her Top Ten List- this is her intro:
Due to so many people being currently interested in my romantic status, I have decided to lay it all out there for everyone. Thus, I have composed a list of the top 10 men I would date. If you know one of them, feel free to set me up. If you do not have connections with any of these 10 men, do not set me up. I'm tired of going on dates with people who resemble wolverine (and I wouldn't even go so far as to say he resembled the pseudo hot version of wolverine as done by a handsomely hugh jackman) or who want to take me on a tour of their church. Yes this actually happened...on the first date. Therefore, either follow these guidelines, or don't set me up. It should all be rather simple now.

I am now following in her footsteps. Here is my Top Ten: (in no particular order)

10. Anderson CooperSmart? Witty? Rugged looks? Looks hot in a suit? Sounds like a win-win-win-win sitch to me. I love him. I don't always agree with him, but I do like to look at him. And I think I would love to sit and talk to him for a minute.

9. Luke Danes from Gilmore GirlsEverything good about men is summed up in Luke Danes. I know he is fictitious (as are a few men on this list), but I just adore him. I like that he's no-frills, no-nonsense, down-to-earth-- but still a nice guy. Sometimes the girls on Gimore drove me crazy, but Luke Danes could never do any wrong for me.


8. Tyler WattsAlabama quarterbacks are usually cute. Just sayin. (See John Parker Wilson) My first college football crush was on Tyler Watts. He played for Alabama when I was finishing highschool/starting college- so we're the same age. And this is important. Because it meant that (in my mind) we could actually end up together. Maybe this didn't happen. He's still around Alabama football- calling games and stuff on Saturdays in the fall. But, I still love him. A lot. And he looks good in a suit too.

7. Jarrod SaltalamacchiaHe played for the Braves for a hot minute. And it was over. I got nothing else. I just think he's adorable. And if you're gonna have a ridic last name, might as well go big, right?

6. Seeley BoothOh. My. Word. This man makes my heart jump. Seriously, he loves God, kids, monogamy and fighting crime. What else could you possibly want in a man? If you don't watch Bones, you should. Now. Like, right now. Get up and start watching it.

5. Nathan ScottHe may be a work of fiction, but he is the perfect mix of bad boy and southern gentleman. Good grief. Nothing angers me more than when the writers of OTH try to mess with Nathan.

4. Eli ManningI mean, he played SEC football, won a Super Bowl, and is related to Archie. Uh, yes please.


3. Adrien GrenierI feel in love with Chase in Drive Me Crazy. Then he showed up on the greatest show ever- Entourage. If you don't like him, I really do not understand.

2. Jason Morgan
If you're thinking WHO? Let me tell you. This is Jason Morgan. Used to be Quartermain. But. He got hurt. And didn't remember them, so he got a new name and a new life. Now he works with Sonny Corinthos in the coffee business in Port Charles. Sometimes he dates the most annoying people ever (ie Sam), but that's his only flaw. Oh. Yeah. He's on General Hospital. I love him. And have loved him for about 13 years.

1. Anthony DiNozzo, NCISHeaven help me, I love this boy. He plays the perfect mix of bad boy, smart guy, and sweet heart. I love him. And he reminds of one of my favorite people on the earth, Heath. He is one of my bff's from college- and DiNinozza reminds me of Heath SO much. And I love DiNozzo... maybe more than Heath. It's still a toss up. But he's my number one. Done. And DONE.

Favorite

Color: pink. duh.

Smell: the beach. sunscreen.

Food: chips and salsa

Snack: uh. chips and salsa.

Alcoholic Drink: Miller Light... sometimes fruity nonsense, but usually just beer

Non-Alcoholic Drink: Diet Coke. Or Cheerwine.

City: in the world-- Budapest, Hungary..... in America--NYC

Country: China

Book: The Outsiders, The Great Gatsby

Poem: Don't really like poems... but I do like The Homework Machine by Shel Silverstein, Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost, and Tell all the Truth but tell it slant by Emily Dickinson

Quote: I love quotes, so this is actually pretty tough....

Film: Remember the Titans, The Sandlot, Grease 2, The Italian Job

Television Program: One Tree Hill, Biggest Loser, Bones

Song: All time- The Piano Man by Billy Joel, Jessica by The Allman Brothers, On the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding. Recently- Do not hook up by Kelly Clarkson, Blame it by Jamie Foxx, People are Crazy by Billy Currington

Album: Live at Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers, Carencro by Marc Broussard, Brother Bring the Son by Dave Barnes

Boy's Name: Blake, Grant, Smith (yes, as a first name), Brody, Eli, Jake, Ryne,

Girl's Name: Emmalee Anne, KatyBeth, Mary Tanner (could I BE more southern with all of my double names!?)

Weather: summer. hot. with a breeze.

Hobby: being crafty, reading, laying out

Chore:uh. chore? can you have a favorite chore? um. no. sorry. that's why it's a CHORE. dumb.

dog movies

Last night my friend Jesse made me watch Eight Below.
He told me I would love it.
I doubted him.
This was foolish.
For multiple reasons.

Number one.
Paul Walker. Do I need to elaborate?
I didn't think so.

Number two.
I learned that the scariest animal I've ever seen does actually exist. Excuse me, but do you know about leopard seals? Hands down the scariest thing I've ever seen. Outside of a dinosaur. In Jurassic Park. (Felt the need to clarify since the dinosaurs in Land Before Time are precious and make me want a pet dinosaur.)
Number three.
It's a dog movie.
And dog movies, by definition, are great.
And sad.
I'm not going to lie when I tell you that I cried in this movie. Not a lot. But enough. I am a movie cry-er anyway, but dog movies? Please. Game over. I honestly do NOT understand people who don't cry in dog movies. Because even the ones that are good, are sad. Seriously. I cry in all dog movies.

Example 1. Homeward Bound. They get home in the end. I know. But when Shadow comes over the hill at the end? Game over. BAWLING. hot mess. Cannot even contain it.


Example two. My Dog Skip. I took my little sister, her bff Anna, and Anna's brother Will to see this movie in the theaters when it came out. We were all crying our eyes out by the time it was over. Seriously. If you've never seen this movie, I highly suggest you stop reading blogs and locate it and watch it now. No seriously, right now. Go. Heart wrenching. (And- bonus- Luke Wilson is in this. And I love him.)
Example three. Marley & Me. My god-brother Bo pointed out that this "family movie" came out on Christmas day. And (spoiler alert) the dog dies. I'm sorry? Family? Christmas? It's almost as bad as The Family Stone (which I love, but is SO sad). I dare you to watch this without crying. If you win, you have no soul. I'm just sayin.

My friend told me that I needed to update my blog. I do. I have been crazy busy. Out of control. All good. But busy for sure!!

Here's where I've been....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Went to Walking Wisely at Sharptop in Jasper- UH-mazing. This is me w/ some of my girls before the first night of worship. Such an amazing weekend-- I'm gonna miss my girls SO much next year!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Voddie Baucham came to my church for a 2 day conference. To say he wrecked me is a VAST understatement. And my BFF Adam came into town for the conference. Double win. Epic. If you've never heard Voddie, you are SO lacking. He is a thinking man's speaker. Absolutely challenged, pushed, and encouraged by hearing him speak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Went to Tuscaloosa for Alpha Phi initiation (so, I'm actually greek. Weird.) AnneTaylor and I made mom take a million pictures of us around the stadium. We're precious. We know.

We had to climb the wall to jump up here with these two fellas. Worth it? I think so.

My favorite pic. Cute of us. Over the greatest name in Alabama football history.

With THE Coach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More to come soon. End of the 9 weeks is upon us. I'll have more time soon!!

Sorority Girl

I'm a sorority girl. Or at least, I will be.

In a few weeks, I'm going to be initiated in Alpha Phi (pronounced "fee"- it's correct. if you care why, ask) at the University of Alabama

No. I'm not in college.

No. I didn't go through rush.

No. I don't go to Alabama.

But, my sister did/does all of those things. And Alpha Phi is a new sorority on campus there.

Alpha Phi was the first sorority ever. It's not a huge deal here in the south, but up north, it's like ADPi or PhiMu-- everywhere.

But, one of the things it does for new chapters is invite the female family members of sisters in a new chapter to join. So, my sister asked my mom and I to do it.

So, here we are.

I'm an Alpha Phi!

**And PS- this is possibly the worst writing I've ever done. So choppy, no organization, ugh. But, whatev. It's Friday afternoon.

UFC

Normally, when it comes to sports, I am smart. I don't mean like, oh smart for a girl. But. Actually smart. Like, I watch SportsCenter and PTI and GameDay on my own. I read sports blogs (PFB, RBR, etc), have an ESPN button on my BlackBerry, and subscribe to Rivals.com.

Yeah. I love sports.

I love college football. (Roll Tide!) I tolerate the NFL. (Go Falcons!)

I love MLB-- really the Braves, but I love the game of baseball.

I love college basketball- not like I love football, but I still love to watch. (Go Heels!)

I love teams passionately (Alabama, UNC, Braves) and hate teams with all that I am (Yankees, UGA, Auburn, Duke).

I love sports.

But.

Fighting?

I got nothing.

But, my bff Jesse loves fights. (And Michigan. And the Pistons. And the Lions. Don't hold any of this against him. He's awesome... this is us at New Years.... ridic)

And in hanging out with him, I have been able (forced?) to watch different mixed martial arts fights. Mainly UFC, but I've watched WEC too. And a lot of it makes me kinda feel sick to my stomach. But, I have found myself really enjoying it.

The other night I went with a bunch of my friends to watch UFC-- the main event being BJ Penn vs. George St. Pierre. I had a lot of fun.

I had no idea what was going on. But, I had fun. Jesse sits beside me and tells me who I'm cheering for and what is good and what is bad, and I ask really asinine questions, and he's super sweet and just answers them and only looks at me like I'm a little stupid.

Then.

It happened.

I was flipping through the channels last night, and saw a fight on.

And stopped.

And watched the whole thing.

Texting Jesse asking dumb questions.

So, I think I'm a fan?