Compliments and Courage

Ever had a random passerby tell you, "Hey, I really love that dress you're wearing..."? Because a very nice man told me that today at the mall, and it made my day! After sitting in an office for 8 hours with little to no human interaction, that was the best thing ever. And after leaving that office to work at the boutique in the mall only to find out that someone else took the shift, that compliment meant even more!

Upon leaving that man's presence, I began pondering what he had just done. He had made my day. By doing what? A simple statement. That's it. Maybe he thinks nothing of it, and of course I'm not thinking too far into it seeing as how I'll never see him again and I don't even know his name. But how fabulous is it that humans have such an opportunity DAILY to impact each other? I mean, wow! That's what I'm left thinking about, even an hour later. About how I should do that more often. He didn't know what my day had been like...for all he knew, I could be a girl that gets compliments like that ALL the time. And whether he recognized it or not, what he did took a certain amount of courage that I would argue many women look for, and are disappointingly not finding much of these days in men or society in general.

I guess that's my point. Never underestimate the power of a simple compliment. And never underestimate what a small act of courage could do for someone who you're walking past in a mall parking lot.

Home Sweet Mobile

So it's been a while since I've posted. But in my defense, it's been quite a busy few weeks, but I want to tell you about all the highlights in hopes of getting on a more regular blogging schedule for the summer after I've finished catching up.

The weekend before finals (thankfully no final for me on Monday) I went to Nashville with my fellow Encouraged Co-Founders, and our Greek editor, Callie. While in Nashville we attended and volunteered at an incredible event put on by the Springtime of Faith Foundation called "Springfest"-2013 V.I.P International Lay Person's Leadership Forum. While there we were blessed to meet some big names in the Catholic world who all were very supportive of Encouraged, the greatest adventure I've ever been a part of. If I were to go into much detail about this, you'd be reading for another 45 minutes. However, I do have a picture.

Annie, Katie, and I..Ireland buddies turned ministry co-founders.

After our fabulous journey to and from Nashvegas, finals week began in Auburn. My grades weren't as wonderful as I had hoped this semester which made for a very stressful week. Through all the stress college kids manage to find a good time...or find some icecream. Either way, we made it and me and my friend Marshall ran into Aubie in the meantime.

Being halfway done with college is a strange feeling. These past 2 years have flown by and if that's any indication of the 2 years to come, I'd like to freeze time please. I moved out of my dorm (last on-campus housing move-out for this girl) and promptly came home to see my family and friends that I've missed so much.

All packed up, see ya later Room 215

One highlight of being home was Mother's day. Liz and I decorated the kitchen all crazy and made some awesome cookies for mom to surprise her. We had a blast baking and decorating. Speaking of baking, another highlight was being invited over the the Johnson abode to hang out with some old high school pals and enjoy some delicious treats last night. In my search for the perfect dessert to bring I ran into this recipe on Pinterest and had to try it. M&M chocolate chip cookies are always a good idea, right?

They turned out pretty good even if the picture stretched!

So, that's life as of now. 

Oh, did I mention that I'm working in a cubicle for the summer? My uncle got me a job at a local computer programming place and it's been great. Definitely a challenge for this extrovert...but a challenge accepted. 

Welcome to my office...*cough*...I mean, cubicle.

More blogging to come... Sorry this one was a whirlwind. :) Happy Summer!

C is for Crutches

Maybe C should be for Clumsy on this post...

Last week I volunteered with my friend to "pet-sit" for another friend, Michael, and walk his dog. Leroy (the dog) is a 1 year old yellow lab who is super, super cute.

Bashful in front of cameras, but adorable none the less. 

Upon walking Leroy on trails at a local park, I rolled my ankle and re-injured some ligaments that have been having problems almost every year since training for my sophomore high school cross country season. So, naturally I kept walking thinking it was fine. But about 5 minutes afterwards, I decided shooting pains is probably an indication of things not being fine. Friday I went to the foot specialist in town, and was given a stylish new boot and some great crutches to go along with it. 

Just a few of Spring's newest trends;)

Saturday, I got an awesome opportunity! I stayed in Auburn this year for Easter because my Mom and Sister were in Atlanta for a volleyball tournament and my dad and brother were in Florida for a baseball tournament. Staying in Auburn alone would've been a lot more upsetting if I didn't get to see my sweet friend Alyssa receive her First Communion and be Confirmed into the Catholic Church Saturday night at the Easter Vigil. 

Lots of college kids were in town for Easter this year! 

On Easter, I went over to Alyssa's apartment for a delicious brunch that she and her parents had cooked for their family and some of Alyssa's friends! There was all kinds of yummy, brunchy foods and she has a very sweet family! I was the last one to leave brunch because I wanted to hang out with Alyssa, her sister Cody, and our friend Alli for a bit longer. After leaving there, I went to the McDonalds by the interstate where I met my Mom and Sister, Liz, on their way home from Atlanta. 

Lovely Easter picture in the parking lot. 

Last thing I did on Easter was cook dinner, and watch a movie with some good friends. What an eventful weekend!! So blessed for everything that's happened, and so happy that it's finally Easter!! Alleluia! He is Risen!! 

Blessed to be Busy

I live such a busy, busy life! Always running from class, to another class, for coffee, then more class, homework, then maybe more coffee, eating at some point is usually good, then off to the races at night with all sorts of things that go on. From Lifeteen, FOCUS, to Mass, and Adoration I feel as though I'm always truckin' along. The best part is: I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am truly living the dream. College life, so many friends, great family, working with youth ministry, working with FOCUS, oh and can't forget JESUS!

Anyway, this post is just a fun little post about how my Tuesday and Wednesday have gone this week!

Tuesday was great, and it went a little something like this:

Breakfast/coffee at 7 a.m., Journalism test at 8 a.m. Showered and getting ready for the rest of the day from 9-10:30. Just a little quiet time is enough:)

History 2 is at 11-12:15. Then I ate lunch, looked over some notes and headed to my next class at 2-3:15. Then I went back and changed to a cuter outfit for the rest of the night which would include my dear friend Erin's 21st Birthday!

my outfit for the evening!

Then off to grab a snack and Living Stations of the Cross practice with the local Catholic Youth group from 5-7:15, and then straight to Erin's sweet Mexican Fiesta of a birthday dinner!

isn't she the cutest!?

After birthday dinner, I was pooped so I dropped my car off, said hello to some friends and then fell straight to sleep only to wake up shortly after at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday to start the day off right with Mass at 6:30 a.m!

Then off to class at 8, and class again at 9! Worked on homework between 10:00 and my Chem lab at 12! Ate some snacks, and now I'm blogging.

 The rest of my night will be awesome:) The Youth Group is performing their Living Stations of the Cross tonight and I am so excited to have been a part of it. 

This was a shot I snapped during their practice yesterday! 

LAST Thing I'll say: I made a really cute headband out of an old t-shirt on Monday in between activities because my hair looked like it needed a little something extra. This is how I did it!

Just a little extra flair to hold your hair back, and help get rid of some of those old t-shirts!

You could totally add some cute rosettes made of fabric, or some buttons, or other appliques for added fun if you're feeling super crafty! You could even dye it! 

Here's to hoping that everyone's week has been as fun/busy/fulfilling as mine has:) 

So, this is my first blog post, and I'm super excited! I figured that for this post, I'd just say a little about myself and why I'm blogging now!


I am Catie, and I am in college at Auburn University. I am Catholic, and I think Jesus is awesome. I am majoring in Apparel Design and Journalism which is a lot of work. I'm really just testing out the Journalism waters more than anything... I could be just an Apparel Design major one of these days depending on how it goes. I have an awesome family who I love a lot, and SO many wonderful people in my life that I'm blessed to call friends. I am laid back and southern, and I love to laugh. There's a lot more to me than just these things, but these are the current highlights, and I'm sure if you keep reading my posts to come that you'll learn a whole lot more about me and my personality.

Upon pondering the prospect of a new blog I started realizing that I had to have an awesome name that I thought I could grow with over the months...maybe even years. I started considering things that I love, and what makes me tick. I was making lists, putting words together... you name it, I did it. Brainstorming away, I realized an overwhelming majority of things about my life and things that I love had one thing in common... they all start with the letter "C" and so does my name!

I decided to start blogging because a few ladies I really look up to have blogs themselves that I absolutely adore. Sheena, and Lauren have awesome blogs and they rave about how awesome it is to think about things that go on in life and write it out. I'm excited to begin posting regularly with all kinds of posts: funny, crafty, exciting, thoughtful, etc. It should be very therapeutic  and I am hoping it helps me see how many cool things God is, and will do in my life.

Let the blogging begin:)