Watch Where You're Standing: Standing Everywhere I Possibly Can!

I love to blog, I've kept one since I was 13 years old. Before that, I kept a journal which started in 1996, which I currently still have kept away in a suitcase along with all of my other journals that have so eloquently documented my childhood years from 1996 - 2003. In 2003 I started my first blog and subjected myself to the public that is the internet.

Lately I find that I have to remind myself to update my blog, mainly because I feel as though my life doesn't have enough interesting "key" moments that I feel should be shared. Sometimes I visit my blog and I get sad because I wish I had posted more. So here's to trying harder!

What's been going on in my world lately? Let's start with what I spend 75% of my life doing, working! As an adult we spend 40+ hours a week at work, an average of 10 hours per week in traffic/in the car and (especially in radio) working 5 - 10 hours overtime due to events/promotional activities and planning. Let's just say....that's a really big chunk of our lives that we dedicate to our careers, especially if you multiply all of those hours by the 30 years that you'll spend before retirement.

Those are just the facts. I did this math 6 years ago when I made the decision to go into the field that I did. Can you put a price tag on that much of your life? Is it worth it if you don't enjoy what you do on a day to day basis?

Not to be confused with painting a picture perfect utopian job that provides complete and utter bliss every single day...let's face it...that just doesn't exist.We all have our days, our moments and even weeks where things just do not want to go our way and we really just wish we could go back to bed and start that day over, in hopes that maybe you just woke up on the wrong side.

I made joke at work the other day where I told one of my coworkers that as I go through my first year as the Promotions Coordinator for two radio stations, I feel like Drew Barry Moore in the movie "50 First Dates" because until you have completed a full year in this position, every day is a new day and every day you learn something that you did not know before, you are thrown a new project that you have no idea how to tackle, you are assigned an event to plan that you have never attended before. Until that 1st year loops around, sometimes I get that feeling of "It's my first day" all over again. Thank goodness for the consistency of stapling, making phone calls and highlighting ;) It also helps that I have the best coworker's hands down! We have so much fun getting the business done! They're helpful and (my favorite part about them) patient.

I'm really enjoying my position and my 1 year anniversary here is approaching, which I am looking forward to! (It has nothing to do with getting Dental Insurance either ;) .....)

Enough about work - my last blog post was all about my job and how much I love it, so I'll stop here. I actually do (believe it or not) have other parts of my life that I feel I don't recognize enough.

I'm really happy to say that Ronnie & I have found a church that we absolutely adore. We started attending Elevation Church on Providence earlier this year and have now made it our church home! Every time we attend...I think..."How did Pastor Steven know to preach that today? That's exactly what I needed to be reminded!" Every time I go I feel spoken to and lifted up.

Elevation is a very contemporary church, which isn't what I was used to. I grew up in the sweet mountains of Waynesville, NC where if you drive about 6 miles up a mountain you'll find a small, 800 sq. ft white church and you can hear the sound of the church bell ring at 12pm on the dot. We sang Amazing Grace, the preacher would stomp his feet, members raised their hands, and clapped when they liked what they heard and everyone "amen-ed" more than you can imagine!

When I first attended Elevation, all I could think was "There is so much singing, almost like a rock concert!" Little did I know, I happened to attend on a day where Pastor Steven was absent and they had filled the time with songs, interactive videos and communion. I was a little sad because I was I was looking for a church to really poke at me, to really get me up and moving for the Lord. Something told me to go back, so I did...and that's where it took off! Elevation is filled with people who are just overwhelmed with what God can do and what we can do to honor him. The sermon's are relatable, fair and down to earth. The church is filled with people my age, which is perfect since I'm still trying to build friendships in Charlotte. I don't want to speak for Ronnie, but I think we've enjoyed being able to go together too! It's been a lot of fun!

Recently, a few girls from church and I have started meeting on Sunday nights, just to spend some time studying the word, sharing our struggles and praying for each other. This is just so good. I'm excited to continue with this throughout the summer.

So not only have I found a job and a church that I like...but I've also started to find my away around and have a list of my "regular" and "favorite" Charlotte spots! As far as food goes, I couldn't thank my friend Hannah more for sending me recommendations, nothing is more frustrating than going to a new place and eating at all of the WRONG places!

I've fallen in love with places like The Original Pancake House (where you'll sometimes find Ronnie and I at after church when we have the opportunity to treat ourselves) They have the best breakfast food and free coffee, plus I just can't bring myself to order anything differently than the Chorizo Omelet, it's just too perfect.

For dinner, I like going to The Peculiar Rabbit, which has the best view of the city when you get to sit on the roof! I also like going to Maggianos in South Park when I'm feeling savvy and classy at the same time. I like it because you can order a meal (which I can never finish anyways) and then the chef makes you a whole other brand new meal to take home with you! So it's like getting 3 meals, which is perfect for the next day! For pizza, we like to go to Mario's, especially before going to see a movie! For lunch my favorite spots are Crisp, Savor Cafe & The Little Village Grill!

I have a few more favorite food spots but those are just a few worth mentioning! A few habits that I have picked up since I moved here are my bimonthly trips to Kings Drive Farmer's Market!
I get all of my vegetables there AND that's where I bought my tomato plants! (Which, in case you wanted to know, are doing fabulous and are blooming like champs!) I hear that there is a Fish Market and much bigger Farmer's Markets here, so I'm on a mission to find them!

I've also developed this love for going to Whole Foods....now...I usually go in there wide-eyed and end up leaving with a $2.99 bottle of white wine that they carry. I'm convinced it's purely about the experience for me, I enjoy it...so what the heck!

A few really neat things that I've had the opportunity to enjoy lately are Taste of Charlotte which is a huge food festival where a ton of the best restaurants in Charlotte gather in the heart of Uptown and offer samples of some of their best meals! It was very cool!

I attended the BOB Awards (Best of The Best) where some of our on-air personalities were honored and I got to enjoy a Moulin Rouge themed awards party full of delicious food, dancers and champain! For my birthday we got the chance to go to VBGB which is a great place that offers live music, food, drinks & life size board games and beach Volley Ball! I even found myself venturing out to Speed Street where I got to put on my cow girl boots and listen to Randy Houser & Jamie Johnson do their renditions of the 90's country hits, and I liked it ....and I loved it ...and I wanted some more of it.... (Okay, I'll stop that...haha)
In May I also got to go on Lake Norman on a Yacht for our radio station's annual Link Yacht Party! I love that part of this area and I need to make more of an effort to go up there since it's so close!

On other notes, I've been building on my photography ( www.morgancarverphotogrpahy.com ) and trying to build up myself in my new environment! Having a hobby that is so exposed, can be really intimidating. I appreciate all of the positive feedback and those who have been uplifting! I'm really pumped that I'm growing with it. Between May & June I will have completed 8 sessions! It's keeping me extremely busy on top of everything else, but I wouldn't trade it for anything right now.

I laugh sometimes because I now find myself catering to my two patio tomato plants and going to painting classes. I love this! I'm extremely lame - I know this! Haha.

Graduate school is also going really well! It's kicking my butt both mentally and financially, but I'm on a mission to come out of this debt free and with a 4.0 GPA. (It sounds funny when I say it out loud, but it really is my goal, I'm just praying I can keep it together until I graduate next December, so far so good...most days! Haha) ;)

I'll wrap this up - I actually did not intend to share this much, but once I got on a roll I just couldn't stop! I've honestly been having the time of my life and I've been trying to leave no stone unturned, to try new things and yet find the places, people and things that make me feel comfortable and at home. Right now life is one big roller coaster. Some week's I feel like I have everything under control (vital signs that this is true is when I have a fresh jug of Sweet Tea in my fridge and a clean car) other weeks I want to break because I don't understand how my car could need new breaks the same week that my rent and summer tuition is due. I honestly don't know the mysteries of how that happens, but I've made it through that and I'm sure those same struggles will reoccur time and again throughout my life, and that is just fine! If I can afford to get Starbucks twice a month, attend the semi-annual Bath & Body/VS sales at least once a year and buy my $2.99 Whole Food's Wine...then I'll be okay ;)

I think God has done a lot of work on me and my relationships with other people lately and even my perspective and expectations on life, myself, Him and others and BOOM that feels good!!

Until next time -

Morgan

"Instead of bashing what you hate, promote what you love"

Here are some photo!