Two years ago today things really started looking up for me.

    It was a Sunday afternoon, I'd been in Jacksonville for 2 nights at a Young Single Adult Conference. I had enjoyed spending time with my two cousins Hilary& Blake that I went with, danced the night away and just had a great time. I was making new fried s left and right... I dreaded Sunday, because we were going home from another great trip. Yet it was time for the trip to end. Luckily for us Church wasn't until 1pm! When you've lived your whole life getting there at 9, you appreciate those kind of things. 

    So we slept in, lazed around and began getting ready. I had went all out Friday and Saturday- the cutest clothes I had and tons of makeup; Sunday I was not feeling it. I wore a plain black skirt and undershirt with a dark blue top, applied minimal makeup and added the tiniest braid into my hair.

    Finally we made it to the church building! I was in awe of the fact that an entire ward was made up of 18-30 year olds, isn't that awesome? So we filed in, getting in the second to the last pew. I was absolutely on a spiritual high that weekend. I opened up my scriptures to Matthew and began to read on the crucifixion during the prelude and during the sacrament. I remember feeling pretty shaken up, so sad for what my Savior willingly did...

    After Sacrament the doors opened and a few folks trickled in. Immediately I noticed a tall, handsome guy with a suit on, as well as a blue tie that made his eyes pop. He sat right behind me! Ample time passed and I did a simple hair toss to allow me to turn around and he was looking at me! Kind of embarrassed that he saw me checking him out I willed myself not to turn around again. 

    Finally it was time for Sunday School. To my surprise there were 2 different classes. All three of us had plan to attend one together, but seeing some new friends enter a room we split ways. Blake and I went to the left and Hilary to the right- I rationalized there were more cute boys in the left ;) The teacher began by introducing himself, and asked us to share our names and where we lived, while sharing what musical instrument we wanted to be the God of also. Around the room it went and I noticed the blue tied boy! He stood, introduced himself but I didn't catch his first name, only that his last name was Alexander and he'd want to be over the radio- to control all of it. Boy, did I hardly find that witty! Eventually, my turn came- I entered full Southern drawl mode, "I'm Lacey Mizell from Douglas, Georgia and I would want to be a singer!" Slight cop out but who cares.

    So on the lesson went, a Water Buffalo analogy came in and I began to see the boy staring at me!! I was absolutely intrigued, then once he turned around looking cross eyed as ever! I giggled but thought 'wow of he looks good cross eyes he must be gorgeous.' After a little playful eyeballing, class ended. Being by the door, I quickly left that room and waited in a hallway chair for Hilary. No one will understand my fascination when I say that this flipping gorgeous man came up to me! He asked my name, where I was from? I tried to coyly answer and he informed me that he skipped out on the Conference for a Gator game- then attributed their loss to him. I thought he sure was handsome while he kept talking. Finally we ran out of things to say and he walked off, as I continued waiting for Hilary. Well about two minutes later the boy was back again! This time he snagged an apple from a basket and mentioned my class ring- when did I graduate, how old was I? We spoke for a minute longer, I was impressed that he approached me twice! Sadly we again had nothing left to say and parted ways. 

    By now, my class had been over for 5 minutes- what could possibly be taking so long? I was desperately wanting to recap to Hilary all that had happened when I looked down at the coffee table next to me. There was a roster filled with the YSA's who attended that church- and at the top of that list was the name "GRAHAM ALEXANDER." The unnamed boy who had been coming up to me! I knew I would remember that name! 

    As soon as Hilary came out I spilled the beans. According to her, I spoke about it all afternoon- honestly I don't remember doing so.  I was just so excited by what had happened, how my day had been brightened.

    To be continued....

    Hilary and I on Saturday, September 17, 2011

    Blake and I on Sunday, September 18, 2011. The day I met Graham! Precisely what I looked like, just with a different top.

    An end to a great trip with two great cousins :)

Weekend Wrapup

    Friday at 3:30 Graham and I left Jacksonville for a quick overnight trip! Determined to beat the 5 o'clock traffic we jetted to Orlando (which is always jam packed anyway). 

    About halfway Graham asked if I'd drive (he is alway the designated driver) so I said sure. And what do you know but 5 minutes later he fell asleep! I could've kicked him for leaving me up to make the dreadful drive. But then it was kind of cute because he began these little snores! And I absolutely documented it, because he absolutely would deny it. And sure enough, he did. Luckily I was resourceful enough to prove my point.

    Here is my doll.

    So when we finally got to Orlando we visited the temple. Personally, it was my first trip seeing it at night in person. Gorgeous! It's so amazing because it is set up on a hill, so immediately this massive lit-up is eye catching. Here is a photo of the temple and us!

    So until now our plans had been spot on. The next trip was to Hollywood Studios at Disney! There was a special Villain party in honor of Friday the 13th until 1am. To my dismay, the place was said to be brimming with people. There is no fun to be had when you can't do anything! So we ended up going to Downtown Disney.

    Do y'all like Downtown Disney? I sure do! For anyone who doesn't know, it's basically an outdoor complex filled with restaurants, shops and activities- particularly Disney related. 

    For supper we stopped at Earl of Sandwich. I grabbed Mac&Cheese with Chocolate milk and Graham got a traditional sandwich. I include these details to expound upon how delicious they were and how hungry I now am. :( 

    After, we just explored the many shops we haven't entered! So many were there, filled with so many cool trinkets. There is a Lego store, varied restaurants, several gaming destinations and multiple Disney stores.

    My favorite mouse ears hat!

    An original Little Mermaid painting. Selling for $4,500.

    Pooh and friends! 

 

    World of Disney had the most adorable accessory. If you go to the princess section and stand in front of a mirror- like projector it transforms your image into a princess! I had the most exciting time. It was so adorable!!!

    I know the quality is terrible, but this is entirely built out of Legos! How amazing is that? 

    So finally we went to the hotel, bought our Disney SEASON PASSES FOR WHICH I AM SO GRATEFUL, and went to bed at about 1:30. 

    And 7:30 on Saturday we were right back at it! Hollywood Studios was the first destination. It is not my favorite park, but it does have several cool rides worth visiting. We started off with Star Tours, then Tower of Terror (this really terrified me the first time I jumped on), then Rock n Roll Rollercoaster with Aerosmith, back to the Tower of Terror, and finally on to Toy Story Mania! Now this Toy Story ride (there is another in magic Kingdom) is a ride that has baffled me- there is always a ridiculous wait time and no fast passes. 

    For example: we arrived to get Fast Passes (basically a skip to the front of the line ticket) at 8:15 merely 15 minutes after the park opened and we had to return at 9:40 use them? So we did, I was really eager to play! Well as we returned the waiting line was an hour (I think) and the fast passes had been bumped up to 3:30! Keep in mind that the park has only been open to the public since 9. But moral of the story: if you love Toy Story or shooting games- it's a winner. I even  tripled Graham's score! He complained that I cheated all day ;)

    As you can see I am hanging on for dear life on the Tower of Terror. 

    My foxy husband and myself with the hat.

    Next stop- Animal Kingdom! This was my very first trip there- talk about exciting. I loved it! Between riding Expedition Everest (Graham got sick at one point) then jumping to Dinosaur (Graham threw up after all the jolting and being a little sick before- luckily it was in the darkness ha) we had quite the time! Some other great perks were the Festival of the Lion King- amazing, a must watch- as well as the Safari tour! If anyone cares I know I rode Everest three times and it was so fun! But from now on I'll just have to go solo on that one, I guilted him into riding I think, then I felt so bad for little Graham when he actually did get sick:/ We had a great time all in all though. We have not experienced everything so of course we plan to return. 

    Just a little landscape on the Safari tour. 

    Graham's parents joined us in Animal Kingdom and spent the rest of the afternoon with us. 

    And finally we headed to our last destination for the day- Epcot! I have only been to Epcot once but boy do I love it! Half of it is full of quick rides and the remaining half is set up as countries with restaurants and activities. As soon as we got there (by the way we traveled by boat) we decided to go to a few of the busy rides. We weren't able to get on Soarin' but we did ride Test Track and Project Tomorrow (aka the big ball).  These are my favorite rides there for anyone who cares to know. We finally had to quit to head to Mexico. Once inside Mexico we waited for our reservation at San Angel Inn, a place that is on the water (well the water for a boat ride, not lake or anything haha). It was so cute inside! Very scenic.

    Our photos on Project Tomorrow.

    Can you tell we liked Test Track?

    San Angel Inn inside of Mexico in Epcot. (Wow long title) 

    After we had eaten it was 9 on the dot. We rushed out to the the fireworks show (always fun), but I was entirely too tired to enjoy it. We had to get back on the boat to get to our car and I fell asleep on it! I was so exhausted that I slept the entire way home, leaving sweet little Graham to stay up by himself. Luckily we were able to make it home safely. 

    Sunday was the total opposite of Saturday- utter relaxation. We went to church (I have so many funny stories from Primary- they literally should just be recorded all day long) then napped for several hours. Finally our home teacher came over, who we truly love, sharing with us a great message. 

    Sunday weirdos.

    Ugh I love weekends way too much! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband, who loves to have as much fun as me. Running around doing fun stuff together is what I enjoy! 

Serendipity and Mishaps, again

Well well it's that time for another annoying alliteration! 

Marring Mishaps

 - My look at the dentist is constant ridiculous. I feel foolish every time I enter that place. 

- Wanting a hairstyle but with no direction to give a stylist, I digress.

- A cousin sent me this after a look a old photo albums. I daresay WHAT am I wearing? And why is my hair looking so atrocious?

- Working early in the mornings this week! Which is forcing me to sacrifice my beauty sleep. UGH. I need to be awoken feeling recharged! Not dismayed that I feel beast like. 

Serene Serendipity

-Watched Pride and Prejudice twice in a 24 hour period. Marvelous. How did I miss out on this. 

- Brought back the pig tails. 

- PF Chang's for the first time!

- Listi sent me several videos of Kellan! They were adorable! Seriously it was so sweet of her, she knows how sad it makes me to miss out on seeing him often.

- Faith in God girls was this week! We had an adorable "Candy Land" theme complete with a scriptural version of the game. Also I made this beauty! Kit Kat Ice Cream Cake! Booyah 

- We are both leaving town early tomorrow for the Temple and Disney! Could there be a better pairing? NO WAY JOSE.

- Graham's best friend Sunny had a birthday party this week. Thanks for inviting us to celebrate with you, Sunny!

- Sunday my angel baby was blessed at church, we had to sacrifice it for another important occasion, lil Graham gave his first talk in our new ward! 

- The Granger, Lacey and Graham trip is in less than a month! Eek I just love my brother. 

9-11 Memorial

    Usually I avoid listening to the typical mainstream radio stations. This has definitely been something Graham and I just started. It was fairly coincidentally too, both two weeks ago we both ironically listened to different stations for a day (no real reason why) came home to tell the other person and we felt much more at ease. So Graham listens to Christian Rock music (I just can't get into it- I don't feel the spirit with any type of rock music, Christian or not). I listen to a station that plays jazz, movie scores and other harmonious tunes- I love the various music plus I don't feel guilty about listening. 

    But I haven't quite been able to quit cold turkey. The only time I listen to other stations is during my commute to work. There is a particular station that had a host of radio personalities that keep me rolling. Every morning they do a funny segment about calling people anonymously that I usually try to catch. Well today I was listening and the topic was quite different. Today is 9-11. 

    You know how some memories get etched into tour brain, sure to never move? It is one of those for me. I remember that day easily in 2001, even though I was only 9 years old. My fourth grade class was working on a worksheet when several teachers came inside to speak privately to my teacher. My teacher left for quite some time, someone was assigned the coveted position of Name Taker. Finally my teacher came pack wiping away tears. "Children the World Trade Centers has been hit." I had no clue what that was. Before explaining, she left again to go back to the library to watch it on the news. 

    I went home on the normal bus and dashed inside. To my surprise the news was on my television at home- I don't recall any other time seeing the news on so early, we were a nightly news family. So I sat on the armrest of the couch and watched with Mama a replay as the first tower was struck. I listened to the reporter yelling as the second one was hit on live tv. I still didn't grasp it though- why did this matter to us? I remember Mama was emotional as well, which was out of the ordinary. I asked her that question, she tried to explain to my young mind an appropriate answer.

    Ugh. aNow I can see why. It becomes more real as I've gotten a little bit older, the depth of the situation more clear. I can not help to imagine the questions that surely poured into every mind... Is that the end of the attacks? Did I know anyone involved? Will this take us to war? Who could do this? Am I safe here? 

    It is scary to relive that. But once a teacher told my class, "that was a terrible incident in the history of America, but we as citizens were never as united as we were then." The sheer love of our country brought us all together, one nation and one purpose.

    So earlier I spoke of the radio hosts I enjoy in the early morning- well guess what? They're located in New York. So today they recapped what it was like 12 years ago: a massive chaotic day as listeners call in with shattering news, tearful confessions and seeking some consolation from their newfound fears. They finally stopped. Just stopped their bits in their tracks. It was too much.

    Then they had the horrible dilema- to stay at home tw next day as the hoped for sadety or to return to work? On September 12 they came back on air, when they almost stayed home so shocked by what had just happened. I want to (roughly) quote from a host who worked at the station: "It turned in to listeners calling in, everyone helping each other out. Some called in their address if people needed socks, others for shoes. Then we got calls from crews on site saying 'keep playing! Keep doing your job! We need you guys!' Laughter was medicine for them." 

    Personally, it was very touching to hear of the kindness and determination of those individuals. 9-11 will always be a memorable day... I certainly do love my country. Truly I pray that God will bless America 🇺🇸

Who will I become..?

    Ugh! Today is just one of those excruciating, grueling long days when you realize it's only 3 o'clock and you've done enough to be ready in bed already. Thats me; I'm exhausted in so many ways. But on days like today when sleeping isn't an option my mind always wonders in all directions to keep itself from shutting off- anyone else's? Maybe I'm the only one who does this, but in a sea of 7 million, I doubt it. If anything is continual recurrent is this disjointed thought stream there is a great likelihood that it is an important topic. Ayi-Ayi-Ayi; there is one that I just can't ward off today- I'm going to try to tackle it in writing. 

    While minding my own business, I was taken back by a recent situation. Someone confessed to my husband they knew I did not like them. He let me know... I was sort of shocked. Not because it wasn't true- no, it was undeniably correct. I disliked this person a great deal. I voiced it many times, particularly to Graham. Then apparently I voiced it to the wrong source and they relayed the message. What shocked me about the situation what how I felt about it. Initially I was smug, happy they knew. Why wouldn't I want them to know about it?! Then I began to think it over and couldn't quite fathom why that would make me happy. Surely that made them uncomfortable knowing somewhere there was a person who disliked them enough for it to be made known. Did they feel ashamed, confused? How did they feel about me after learning that? It led me to think about many things, mostly an analysis of myself.

   You see, it's hard for me to see my own faults sometimes. I like to poke fun at myself, but true underlying weaknesses I typically brush under the rug and refuse to bring to the surface... There are even a few things about me that I don't even like. These are all things I deal with at times: I can be painfully stubborn, I tend to hold a grudge for long periods of time, I allow ill feelings take up too many of my thoughts. 

    Okay. I've said it- I don't know whether recognizing them makes me feel better or worse about myself, but now you all know a little bit more about me. 

    Aren't they horrible? Seriously! All three of them combined can leave a fermented mind. I can tell you that it is not something I enjoy. Sometimes I find myself being stubborn or holding a grudge or just thinking unkind thoughts and I resolve to stop it immediately- but then my little companion Pride gets in the way and all is lost. I wonder if I am correctly portraying this- allowing one thing to affect mecan allow access for many to affect me. 

   How do you get them to stop? Is there a way? Okay, in truth I know the answer to that. And I think that I have in small, small ways tried to diminish them. My biggest determining factor is Jesus Christ. It astounds me to think of a utterly perfect man. When I feel discouraged, I like to think of the apostles blessed to learn directly from him yet who abandoned the work shortly after his crucifixion. One of the best General Conferences addresses I can remember on this topic was given by Jeffrey R Holland titled "The First Great Commandment." If you haven't read, please do, it is a wonderful talk. If you have heard it, just reread it. For all you lazy bums (me) there is even a video! Here is the link:

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-first-great-commandment?lang=eng

 

    If you choose to read it, I guess I am (definitely in a small way) comparing myself to it. I've had the knowledge to know better than to allow certain feelings dictate my actions, to change who it is that I become. All day this same thought has plagued me: is that who I want to become? Will I let small insignificant acts or words change who I am? I can honestly say- nay. While I may find myself in a struggle with some of my characteristics, I can hardly tell of my desire to help my Savior in His quest!! I want to feed His sheep, to proclaim of His divinity, to be the best I can be as I stand as a witness for Him. I refuse I let unimportant things get in the way, from here on out. I aim to rid myself of dislike towards any person, deserving or not. I can only hope that I haven't caused many ill feelings with people, if I have I shall do better.

    Lastly I have contemplated what to do next. Certainly strive to better myself, but what about the act of restitution? An apology is definitely called for (I hardly know how to approach that one my ego is so big) is that all that I should do? And with an apology how should I go about it? Any recommendations? 

    I find myself falling short so often. I know that I am going to do better, to be the best I can... Starting by liking everybody ;) 

Too late at the Library

    So it is 11 pm Graham and I are at the library at his old college. It's freezing in here, like 66! I prefer a 76 average temperature. Not this frozen wasteland, too bad you left your jackets at home nonsense. 

    Anyways I am trying to cram in completing all my schoolwork into one month like always. Online school has its advantage for sure! I love being on my own time tables, then again I always use it as a disadvantage ;) So I procrastinate, Graham scolds me like a child and every final month before a semester ends I pray that I'll have the strength to complete my tasks! What makes me do this? How can I stop? 

    On the plus side, I'll graduate with my teaching degree next year! Hallelujah on the end being in sight. Then I can have a real job that doesn't invoke baby bibs, trying to teach Spanglish and cleaning up things no one should ever see on a floor. 

    I can not wait to be a teacher! I hope that I love it as much (well more) than I loved substituting. Keeping my goals in mind encourage me to get to the finish line :)

    Thank goodness for deadlines which require perseverance!  

Labor Day Weekend- LATE ;)

    I know my last blog was talking about how thankful I am for work (and I am)- but dang if I don't love a break now and then. Actually I had a Friday- Monday off so I have been extra spoiled. It seems to take forever to type all of this out on my phone- this post has been a work in progress for four days! ;)

    Friday was just one of those utterly relaxing days. To start it off I slept for 12 hours! I haven't been able to do that since getting in a regular sleeping schedule. Even when I woke up basically I just folded clothes while watching Phantom of the Opera. I don't know if that sound like fun to y'all but I watched it two and a half times (my family did not enjoy it enough to finish the last half sadly), each time blasting it out through my surround sound system (it's a small one, but still gets the job done) and reading the subtitles to sing merrily along. Strangely enough, the last time I have watched it was about 5 minutes after we became engaged last October. So it brought back many memories and evoked a series of emotions.  

    After that, nearing the 6 o'clock mark Graham finally came home from work. He insisted that a package was downstairs for me but he wasn't sure if was delivered to the correct Alexander's- his brother living across the street- after a little complaining I finally went to check to see what all the hubbub was about. it was a PRESENT!!! Eeeeeeeek. Opened it up to see the cutest little bear, but, wrapped around its' neck was my wedding band! Oh my gosh it is so adorable and I am obsessed. It is so gorgeous. Check it out!

My new ring!

 

     So Friday. Just a fantastic lazy  day... We finished it up by grabbing a quick meal from Maggiano's, watched an episode of Sherlock and finally Graham played video games at his friends' house for a bit. After he had ample time to gun down a few pedestrians (I really hate that game) we left for his parents house to stay the night. 

    Bright and early Saturday morning we were up! Graham was going with his Dad to watch the first 2013 Florida Gators game, I was headed home to wait for a posse of Mizell's to arrive. So we parted ways, which I must be way too crazy about him because I was definitely missing him all day, each destined to have fun. So all I know about Graham's day was that he spend quality time with his Dad, ate a monster snow cone, watched UF beat Toledo, and saw his Nana for a bit. 

    Well about 11am my caravan of people showed up! My mama, sister, youngest brother Granger and Grandma Marilyn all came down just for me- okay well Listi came to shop- but the rest came because they love me :D 

    To be frank, I have cleaned like a mad woman for the past two weeks trying to sort out my guest bedroom which quickly became converted into a storage room after we moved in. Ugh, cleaning this room was rough. After all that time though,I thought I did a pretty decent job! Until my Grandma saw the room and promptly gave me the look of shame. I died a little on the inside and am determined to finish sorting everything out. 

    But I was so enthused to hear that my sweet little dearest baby brother really wanted to see his big sister! I was a little teary eyes thinking about it. Since the day of his birth when the nurse let me hold him before anyone else, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for him. Plus he's my brother and all my siblings mean the world to me. 

    So all day we did all kinds of fun things! Ate at the outback with my Mother-in-Law Camille, shopped til we dropped at Ross (I only made one purchase and it was NOT clothes for me. Yay for avoiding temptation!), and finally hung out at my house for the rest of the afternoon. 

    I know I say it all the time but I will say t again- I LOVE my family!

    So on to Saturday evening. To be brief- my peeps left, we got a Pastry Ring (HUGE YUM SOUND ADDED HERE) and I looked over my lesson for the Sunbeams.

    Fast& Testimony meeting (basically we share our testimonies with the congregation and also skip to meal on behalf of some cause for all my non LDS readers) was Sunday- I think it might be my favorite Dubday of the month. Graham or I haven't been able to share our testimonies since May (Um, I try to ever month so this was a big deal) because we had too many speakers lined up or being in Georgia. Alas, I was determined to speak! I did eventually sneak up there; I love sharing my testimony. And even my boy had the chance to before the Bishop had time to close the meeting out. He actually referred to me as his "new beautiful wife" to which I blushed and loved him more than ever. 

     In Primary I discovered the Sunbeams are awesome! They are beyond quirky and advanced, I can see that they are taught at home. They were definitely disappointed that I had no treats so I promised to do better next week. One little girl requested "pink things with the white middle?" Um, pink wafer cookies is the best guess I can come up with. 

    Well after church we headed up to Abbeville Georgia, to go to my uncle and aunt's cabin on the Ocmulgee River. As a brief pit stop I visited with my Uncle Luke, Aunt Kelly and the three sweet boys. I don't know what it is that makes me love them as if they were my children but I do.

    Even Graham likes the baby. Let him deny- I have the photos :)

    For the remainder of Sunday and Monday we spent a fabulous time at the river! We grilled, kayaked and just had a wonderful time together. As we left Graham said, "wow your family is really redneck!" Haha- he didn't know it would be accepted back home as a compliment. Thank you Uncle Joey and Aunt Sharon for letting us stay! I am eagerly awaiting the next trip to Abbeville :)

    Granger stayed in the water the entire time. I love my baby brother so much!!!

    The dock after an intense rain session! This is the new dock by the way.

     Hayden sure loved the cake we had in honor of Uncle JD's 76th Birthday hahaha!

    After a short lived kayaking trip. We wanted to kayak for an hour long trip, but less than a minute from when we were dropped off it began to rain heavily! And typically, it was freezing. 

(Sidnenote: We saw something suspiciously gator-like and, of course, Graham had to paddle over and get to the bottom of it. Well as he hit it with his paddle he fell out of the kayak. Not sure if I mentioned it was raining on us intensely. And the rest of us were several yards from him! Luckily it was not an alligator.)