and in my mind-- the sun shines all the time.

did somebody request a list?

top ten things that have made me smile this week:

10. i just finished my 2nd semester of graduate school with a 4.0. oh. my. word.

9. "training" for the diva dash started today.

8. it's summer.

7. salt air does fabulous things to my hair.

6. my red sunglasses have been recovered.

5. fat harold's is just down the road.

4.i have my trademark sunglasses tan line. [and probably will for the next 3 months.]

3. i'm a seasonal resident at OIB.

2.white lake is less than an hour away.

1. i handed over the key to my apartment in the whee and wont get it back until august.

xoxo caro

end of semester blues.

the latest from the whee-- the pollen count is up, stress level is high, productivity is low, and my desire to be in the mountains is nonexistent. the severity of my 'beach fever' increases exponentially with every 80 degree day we have.

next week i'll be inching closer to sans souci, with a stop in winston salem for the north carolina dietetic association conference. poster? check. business attire? check. the 'kahunas' to get up in front of a TBD number of complete strangers to give an oral presentation? not so much.

i've already found one typo on my poster. cool.

i got a text from a friend a few weeks ago. he was serenading me with the lyrics to this song. so naturally, i've been listening to all of my old cd's. i'd like to rewind to like, age 17 please. all i really want to do right now is ride around white lake in 'ol blue, blaring blink 182--wasting gas and making my brother mad-- with my best friends.

a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.

i've spent my friday night watching the disney channel and trying to find the words for my participation page for relay next weekend. i could go on for days about why i'll be walking all night next friday, but there's a character limit and this is all they would give me room for--

I'll be on the UC lawn April 1st because I only got 8 years with my Granddaddy, I wish he was here to hug me and tell me he loves me "more than a hog loves slop", and I miss his belly laugh more than anybody will ever know. & My Mama Holland never got to meet my little sister. I miss my Mama's sweet smile every day and hope Callie knows what an amazing lady Mama was. If you can't be in the Whee to walk with me on April 1st, make a donation in memory of Norman Hawley and Margaret Holland.

so-- dedicated reader-- click HERE and make a donation in honor or memory of somebody you love more than a hog loves slop. xoxo c

you can take the girl out of southeastern NC-- but you can't take the southeastern NC out of the girl..or something like that.

i absolutely love the fact that, despite the 331.65 miles [but really, who's counting?] between me and sans souci, i'm still THE white lake girl to people. a few months ago, someone in the wal-mart parking lot noticed my 'nation's safest beach' tag and sparked up a conversation with me. before i could even get out of my car, she was going absolutely crazy, flailing her arms and embarrassing her son. apparently, she has family in wilmington and used to go to wl as a kid.

this morning, i was on a grand adventure in waynesville [big lots, no doubt] and a man stopped me in the parking lot to tell me he went to FFA camp when he was in high school--back in the 50's. naturally, he asked me if i live near the "camp site". when i told him that my house is on the other side of the lake he asked if i lived at the "fair". yes sir, i live in the wildlife exhibit. really?

this week, i was mailing my recommendation letters for the CRM internship [cross your fingers!] wearing my eb soccer hoodie. the lady behind the counter asked me exactly where in bladen county i lived. we chatted for a few minutes and i left because the lady behind me was getting impatient and wasn't interested in my conversation with the postmistress or her family tree rooted in clinton.

today, i found a letter in my mailbox addressed to 'white lake girl', asking my opinion on rental houses at the lake. ill see what i can do, margie. i sure do miss that place.

rant.

to the individuals shaping our future:

just because you used your dinner fork to eat your salad [which already has dressing on it, lady. that's creamer. it's for your coffee.], this doesn't mean you should yell at me when you don't have a fork large enough to shovel your food when you get your dinner.

it's jicama. a vegetable. branch out. eat it. stop whining.

you put chili on your veggie burger. your 'tude is not appreciated. if you're not a vegetarian at lunch, we don't assume you are at dinner.

no slice of cake is good enough to eat if you have to take a benadryl when you leave dinner. you're allergic to peanuts and the epipen makes me nervous.

thanks, caro

grab a happy thought.

every family has its own personal bedtime ritual. at the holland house, mom would ask us what the best thing that happened to us that day was, give us a kiss in our hand, and tell us to grab a happy thought in the other. sleep was out of the question for me if these three things didn't happen and i didn't have mr. blue bunny in one arm.
when i moved to cullowhee i made the journey with a kiss in one hand and mr. bb in one of the many boxes in the back of the civic. but, it's been a long time since i thought about the best thing that happened to me on any given day. cullowhee is a sad, sad place in the winter. the parkway is closed. the trees are brown. and the tuck just looks painfully cold. with the hopes of adding a glimmer of hope to the remaining days of winter on the hill, i've started thinking of the best thing of the day again. thus far this week, i've come up with--discovering the embers pandora station, the $2.50 sweatpants i got at walmart, and the news that i will be applying for the DI internship in the fall. oh heyyyyy Caroline Cooper Holland, MHS, RD! obviously-- it doesn't take much to make my day. xoxo c

breathe.

the first 6 dietetic internship spots were filled at WCU last week. [whoop whoop. go megan kelley lester!] thus, all of my free seconds the past few days have been full of worry about-- the thesis research that i'm starting, the daunting process of the internship preparation/application over the next year, the fact that i only get 5 chances to apply for the internship, the fact that only 50% of dietetic students in the us even GET the internship. do you see a theme developing here?
luckily, i have awesome people rooting for me and meg telling me on a daily basis: "everything happens for a reason. you're presbyterian. you know this!" ecclesiastes 3:1 has always been a popular verse in the holland household. [sorry the b-day celebration was so late, mom. hope you enjoyed your "birthday month".] i think about it whenever i'm getting overwhelmed with the life of a dietetic grad student [generally a minimum of three times a day].
i have a note card taped to my bathroom mirror that i have packed and moved everywhere with me since the days in 3202-308 [the good 'ol days] that says: 'may there be peace within you today. may you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. may you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. may you use the gifts you have received and pass on the love that have been given to you. may you be content with yourself just the way you are. let this knowledge settle in your bones and allow your soul the freedom to praise and love.' i read it every morning while i'm brushing my teeth-- just to remind myself to go out there, enjoy every hike to class & every wipe out on ice, embrace the opportunities i have, and take it one day at a time.
thanks to all of you who remind me how lucky i am every day. [and faith-- hey girl heyyy. thanks for appreciating my senseless rambling!] xoxo c