Old and Spicey...

Ok, so at our house we have been laughing hysterically at this commercial. I mean, just watch it and I feel for certain you will whole-heartedly agree.

http://www.oldspice.com/videos/

Enjoy. Watch them all. It's ok if you cry. We all have.

egd

the little valentine gift to poplar

this is "little calf who's yet to be named" born on valentine's day. note the heart on her little head. so precious, i'm in love....can i go home now please!!!

since it's valentine's day...

here are some things i love. thanks to my roomie katie, i've been reading the pioneer woman's blog...and i just read her list of "love's". oh to love the simple things!! (these are in no particular order...) happy valentine's day! kdo

- Jesus :)

- diet coke

- splenda, and that it sweetens everything...i couldn't live without it.

- my family

- my friends/relationships

- my major

- meeting new people, learning about their lives, and then cleaning their teeth haha. i saw one of my patients yesterday in a goodwill thrift store. it was the oddest experience, i'm not sure why...

- beth moore books, now reading one called "insecurities: you've been a bad friend to us".

- rooster kitchens

- rainy days

- being active, especially running. i feel like i can "get away" from things. it's a great escape!

- rainboots

- a good cry

- good movies

- good food

- tcby

- creativity

- MUSIC! i do everything to music---drive, run, clean my room, shower, etc.

- COFFEE! i am an addict. without it, i crash and burn.

- playing the piano, although i don't do it that often. i wish i had the time to!

- the office and LOST

- honesty: the best policy!

- proverbs

- tenth avenue north!

- clean sheets and laundry and putting the clothes on right after they get out of the dryer!

- randomness/spontaneity

- geocaching

- pictures

- driving with the windows down and a good song blaring to go with my mood

- kids/imaginations

- fruit, espec canteloupe!

- a good shopping run to supertarget

- reading blogs, and blogging

- listening to my dad's wisdom and stories. i don't think i've told him how appreciative i am that he likes and wants to share his wisdom with me out of love. i definitely take it for granted.

- leggings

- patience

- when people are on time!

- my morning routine

- reading isaiah

- mission work

- talking to new people

- text messaging

- rocking chairs

- beaches!

- spring time

- uplifting quotes/encouragement from friends and my mom

- being at home :)

- bowling with bumpers

the end!!

i wish i could think of a good title...

so i'm taking a study break to write. o this is kitty! of coarse i think that you probably could've figure that out by now because studying owns me. ugh. i'm trying to have a positive attitude about school, but it's hard and it makes me want to cry practical everyday. which i'm not a crier...i cry about once every 6 months. expect me to cry in august again, since i had a breakdown last friday. mans was my witnesses, as i vented to my mom about school being stupid, wanting to move to naples and marry for money, and that i wanted to jump of a bridge. ha yeah i said the last part, but i'm not serious...just stressed. anywho moving on. so i was reading in this devotion book this morning that kdo gave me and it was about the situations that God places us in. it was talking about how God brings us though hardships in order to draw us closer to him... whether it be school, work, relationships, etc. i know that seems so elementary and you are probably like umm ok i've heard it before!!! this is true, but we need to hear this over and over because we are stupid broken people. i can think of so many different ways i wanted my life to look right now....i would've graduated from auburn, i'd be engaged, working as a RN somewhere, living on a farm...but no God has me still in school, in memphis, single, thinking why in the world do you want me in this major, living on poplar. yeah and if someone would've asked me two years ago if i'd ever move to memphis, i would've laughed in their face. this makes me thing of romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called so according to His purpose." wow i'm an israelite. john a. whitmer saids about this verse "the things themselves may not be good, but God harmonizes them together for the believer's good because His goal is to bring them to perfection in His presence. Even adversities and afflictions contribute to that end." so true. back to studying about babies.

All Around......

People talking, music, typing, ESPN on the TV, coffee brewing, door opening and closing.....These are the sounds around me. I am sitting a coffee shop reading and then decided to check out facebook which lead to looking at our blog. I've wanted to post for awhile but for some reason didn't feel like I could because I didn't have an interesting story or something wise to say. But then I realized who cares! So here I am at Republic blogging! hahaha I am blogging, that makes me laugh. I haven't done a blog like this since livejournal! Livejournal, why did I ever do that. Any who!

I am reading A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller. So far what I have read has been super encouraging and eye opening. Many times when I pray I feel like I have to say the right thing and sound more like I am reading a script instead of saying whats on my heart and mind. Then when I pray at night I am already tired from being up late, have finished reading, and then I fall asleep during my prayer. Recently I have actually had a conversation with Jesus. I have talked to him like I would talk to a friend. It really is a different experience and feels more like personal relationship!

I am listening to a CD that Kitty made me and I love it!!!! For a long time I thought I knew a lot about music but I have recently come to the conclusion that I don't! This CD is great! I have listened to it everyday, not even kidding!!! Just took a sip of my coffee and its cold, terrible! Has such a different taste than hot coffee. Well, my killer is still out there!!! For those who don't know we are playing mission impossible with RUF and we were assigned someone to kill/eliminate within one week. Well I am still alive, but there is still time for me die! I have not eliminated my person yet either but maybe she/he will go down! Anyways I have stayed out of social situations so I wouldn't die and all my roommates are protecting me as well! But I am still looking over my shoulder and making sure my killer isn't here!!!!! Friday Valentine's Day comes out!!! We are having a girls night and going to see it!! I am really excited it looks awesome!!!! Oh hopefully my next post will consist of pictures from our random snow day and our new protector, Jasper(who by the way is still standing! very impressed with our skills)! Well until next time........

ars

i love blogging!!

so i am still awake in the loft...about to go to sleep. i just read emily's post and amanda's and it inspired me to blog before i go to bed. i loved that quote that kiersten sent...i also cried when i read it. i've felt so unmotivated with life lately---with school and spending time in the Word. i just feel like i'm at the end of my rope and i don't see the "light" that i know is at the end when i graduate and am done with school. i just feel really discouraged right now about school and that this is consuming me. but i am "waiting" also. "waiting" to graduate, to move on in life, to get a job, get married, etc. and the Lord has me here where i am also, and i need but rest in that. waiting, resting=new theme of life. for everyone. done.
emily i was laughing out loud at your facebook stalking...i spend way too much time too!! and self-control is not my strong point either.
valentine's day movie comes out friday! who's excited? poplar5 is buying tickets...TOMORROW.
goodnight!
kdo
ps- i'm reading through isaiah. what stubborn people, and oh how i can relate!

Waiting--not for the faint of heart

My loves, Mans here. I come to you frustrated and flustered. I feel like I've been pushed around and bullied by the concept of WAITING. I feel that all of us are waiting for something, whether it's waiting to get out of school, get a job, get married, find that guy of your dreams, etc. We are all players in this crazy game of life and our opponent is the ever menacing villain dubbed, waiting.

I feel like I've been in this same chapter of my life for ages. This chapter where I am single, in school, working part-time jobs, and living with a bunch of girls. And though none of those things are necessarily bad, I'm tired of it all. I'm ready to move on. I'm ready to get married, have loads and loads of babies, find a cute house and decorate it with items that I've circled in a Pottery Barn magazine. But that's not where God has me right now. I'm exactly where I should be, which is a hard pill to swallow sometimes. Because along with that pill, I have to throw in the painful reality that God's plans for me are more important than mine. His are perfect, while mine only deal with my present circumstances rather than the bigger picture.

When things don't go my way, I turn to my closest companions--sarcasm and cynicism. But of course God wants to use us even in the periods of our lives when He has called us to wait. Ugh, it's so much easier to just be sarcastic, because I'm really good at it. When it comes down to it, He has called me to rejoice. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." Philippians 4:4.

Kiersten sent me this poem by Russell Kelfer today that caused me to weep, because of my skewed view of God. I'm viewing Him as this prison guard, holding my hopes and dreams under lock and key until the decree comes that He can give them back to me. Here is the poem, I hope it pierces your heart like it has mine:

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate...

And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.

"Lord, I need answers. I need to know why!

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming Your Word.

"My future and all to which I relate

Hangs in the balance and you tell me to wait?

I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign.

Or even a 'no', to which I'll resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:

I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

As my Master replied again, "Wait."

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,

And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting... for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine...

And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.

You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.

You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;

You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me

When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love

When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of My comfort late into the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight.

The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask

From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.

Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,

But oh, the loss, if I lost what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.

And though oft My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all is still... wait."

I mean, really?

We finally got a stupid wireless router in this house about three weeks ago, after being here almost a year. It is horrid. I came to my room at 10:30 to get some sleep because I was exhausted, and what did I do?I facebook stalked everyone and their mother; looking at updated pictures, checking up on high school friends, just doodling all my time away on useless mess. My eyes are fixing to fall out of my head. Awesome. I can only imagine the mischief my room mates are in at the moment, but I believe them all to be doing the same thing, if not sleeping (aka the loft girls). Misery of miseries...obviously self-discipline is not one of my strong points.

ed

say what you need to say...

so my advice to those of you who are debating whether or not to speak your mind to someone...maybe there's a friendship you need to mend or a relationship you feel is beginning...whatever it might be you are going through that you're not sure if you should speak up...you should. i don't usually follow john mayer's words in his music...but say what you need to say is my new motto (sort of). from a Christian perspective, you obviously need to pray about the situation, but then if a door is opened and the Lord is leading you through it, you go with gut and say what you need to say. so, john mayer, this post is a tribute to you- thanking you for your wise advice to us young people who may be too timid or over-analyzing to say what's weighing on our hearts.
Have no fear for givin' in.Have no fear for giving over.You better know that in the endIt's better to say too much, than never to say what you need to say again.Even if your hands are shaking,And your faith is broken.Even as the eyes are closin',Do it with a heart wide open.Say what you need to say
ALSO---unrelated quote from beth moore that goes along with job 23:10---"whenever you feel like you've lost your way or you don't know where to go from here, my Friend, take heart! He knows the way that you take. stand still, cry out, and bid Him to come to you! He'll lead you on from there and miraculously, when once again you see the light, you'll be able to see the footprints you made in the dark. never will He hold your hand more tightly than when He is leading you through the dark".
ps- blissful day: walk to kroger, p90x video, deep cleaned poplar all day, clean sheets, wrote a few letters, studied this morning and tonight, bonded with the roomies, ate homemade rolls/gooey brownies/chicken casserole, made a snowman named jasper.

I just can't stop...

So, I really have no mercy, or heart, as I continue to express our affection/curiosity for our back-house neighbors.

Here's the snap shot we received in our Christmas card from them; it was addressed to

"Ary, Emily, Danielle, Amanda and Katie". If you can't tell, it is a printed off, cut out picture of Bert. They doodled a very festive ornament and sprig of holly. Thanks for the treasure, neighbors!!

¡Hasta Luego!

o dear... snowed in part 2

this day brings me back to the farm. first off beth and i were stirring restlessly in our beds. the chirping of beth's telegram kept going off throughout the night!! it gave warnings of a killer trying to assassinate their target...which happened to be our dear roommate and sister amy! we were both in disbelief of this madness. why someone would want to take little amy's life? i felt like i got a total of one hour of sleep. i don't know why i was so restless...if it was the fact that my dear colts lost the big game or that my calling in the morning was to help nurse nightingale deliver babies. o i was a mess. then at 5:06 am the chirping was set off yet again! it was a message from beth's friend informing us that school was cancelled because it had snowed over night. we looked out of the window in our anne frank room and i was as if we were in the land of narcia! just snow sprinkled the ground like betty crocker had a flour accident. o what was i to do?! i knew that nurse nightingale would need my help delivering little ones today because i was informed last week that weather like this cause pregnant women to go into labor. as my rooster crowed i received a telegram from my future nurse friend that said hospital day was cancelled! o what a morning. i was so thankful because with my one hour of sleep i knew that it was going to be a long day. so beth and i were like "sleep!!" but umm no, we couldn't keep our eyes closed. so beth made some coffee and we sat around the fire and have our quiet time and studied. after a couple of hours had passed we decided that it was time to work out. so we walked 2 miles in place and did some insane ab work out that some crazy guy told us to do. after our working, beth said that she had to go to the store. since our horses were covered with snow we had to walk! we dressed in mismatching clothes and boots and headed out on our adventure to the market. we were walking down the road, just carrying along, talking about life and all it's wonders then a huge, i mean huge, wagon drove right into the puddle that was on the side of the road! the slush of melted snow hit us and weakened our bones! o how were we going to make it to the market and back home now with our clothes just soaked??? we had to, we just knew we had to. we didn't have another choice except...DEATH! so we adventured on. we finally crossed the river and an old man that smelled of cigarettes asked us to spare him some change. we avoided eye contact and informed the man that we had nothing to give. his response was "god bless you..." we kept walking and didn't look back. o we finally made it to the market and then treked back to poplar. some indian man in a buggy yelled good morning to us. we laughed and carried on. the journey seems it went on for days, but beth informed me that only an hour had passed. once back at poplar our other sisters were still in bed. o how we wanted to wake them and tell them of the snow news! once inside the warm house the other sisters awaked and talked of making pancakes over the stove. marmie and sister woods slaved over the hot stove and made the perfect pancakes for this perfect winter day. as sister, marmie, and amy play...beth and i are locked away in the anne frank in hopes to gain some knowledge about teeth and babies. o the joys of no school on a wonderful snow day like today.

Katie

Hazaa!

I am getting super nervous/excited as I type right now, and I don't know why! Ah, where to begin. I'm Emily, aka Marmie, and the fifth, and final to write.

I decided to add a picture of where and what I would rather be doing now, as I lay exhausted from hanging out with Jr. High kids. Five hours of running around and "watching" the Super Bowl (aka Snooze Fest 2010) was great and all, but yikes. I tried to think of the last time my feet were this tired, and it was probably after Jessie's wedding, after wearing 4" heals, and standing/dancing for what seemed like days. Back to the pic. Oh, to be with my Mexican friends, playing softball and running around in Esperanza with Raul and Isela, awaiting the glorious meal of Coca and panuchos. True love.

Working with Jr. High kids is awesome. They are ridiculous, dramatic, hysterical, and so hard to talk to. It is a challenge being with them and trying to figure

out where they are emotionally and spiritually. It is such a God-given grace when I get to have a "real" conversation with one of them, and hear how much they know and love Jesus. So, the bad/good part about this job is that my sin is constantly before me. Whether it be a comment or conversation I have, and I can hear what my heart is really saying, or be it one of my girls relaying a blunt, "Emily, you are..." It is unbelievable how much I have learned about myself from them. It's not pretty.

I love knowing that God is always good; that even though I am a butt, and treat others terribly, and live for my own glory, He remains the same, and can use even me, the most foolish, spiritually immature, prideful, young girl to do His will and share His Word. What a gift.

One of my favorite (NOT!) things about hanging out with the girls is that people never know that I am older than all of them (I am at least 10 years older than all of them, mind you!). For instance, I take 5 girls to breakfast on Thursday mornings, then drop them off at school. So, one morning, this past December, we went to Panera, like usual, to eat. The girls are always chatty and loud when we are together, and they love talking to strangers (they think they are hilarious). One of my girls begins to order, and the lady at the register asks where they went to school, how old they were, etc. Then she asked who had brought them. They all turned and pointed to me, and the woman behind the counter shouted, "No WAY! She can't drive, she's no more than 15!" The girls DIED laughing, and said, "Actually, she's 23!" I then had to explain to the woman why a 23-year-old would be hanging out with five 13-year-old girls.

OH! I feel so HONORED that I will be the FIRST to introduce you to our back-house neighbor, Doc. Doc lives behind our house, with his son Nigel, and his other son Bert stops by occasionally. This was Doc's car. Well, he told 2 of us he traded it in for cash-4-clunkers, and then it showed up again, parked in the backyard...Weird.

So, this is what he got in his cash-4-clunkers deal! It is a beautiful iridescent green, with champagne undertone, Kia Soul.

As you can tell by this beaut, Doc has style, he has flare, he's not the nanny, but, maybe he is? We don't actually know what he does, but he's told us that he is a screen writer and is actually starting to film his movie starring Matthew McConaughey THIS WEEK! We, according to Kitty, will be getting his filming schedule so we can be extras! Lucky!

We'll have more Doc stories for you soon...don't worry!

¡Hasta Luego!

God's perfect timing...

i am so excited about this blog...this is danielle, one of the pop 5. although i didn't move in until august really...and still don't feel i have "officially" moved in even though i've been there for 6 months. i am NOT a creature of change, i am a homebody, and i don't take stress very well...which that combination made it very hard for me to "move in" to the unknown world of the poplar 5. little did i know that i would love it and have closer, deeper friendships. i feel like an "other" on lost...haha. and i live upstairs in the scary loft/ann frank room/creepy, haunted room. i wish my life wasn't consumed with school and studying and being stressed all the time---i want to embrace and enjoy my time at pop w/my roomies :)
where to begin? well dental hygiene and the stresses of school have taken over my life and claim me until may when i graduate. i have so many things on my plate right now to deal with, i'm trying to take one thing and one day at a time without going crazy! so that's basically my life in a nutshell. stress...stress...stress.
and even though this semester holds so much stress and so many things i have to get done, there is a silver lining...which is a deeper longing for Jesus in all of it and being reminded daily that this world is not all there is. and learning to find contentment and rest in prayer and His Word, because those are the only venues in which to find that comfort and strength. my discontentment comes from wanting to be graduated and through with school, be married, and have a family...which are all longings/desires that turn my heart and eyes to look at Jesus and to pray for a revealing of His Will timing and simply trust. and His "Will" right now is for me to live out the Gospel and live kingdom-minded.
this is funny because i just opened my Bible to find some parts that talk about doubting and wondering why you're going through suffering or trials you are facing...i turned to job 23:8-17. here are the verses:
"behold, i go forward but He is not there, and backward, but i cannot perceive Him; when He acts on the left, i cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, i cannot see Him. but He knows the way i take; when He has tried me, i shall come forth as gold. my foot has held fast to His path; i have kept His way and not turned aside. i have not departed from the command of His lips; i have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. but He is unique and who can turn Him? and what His soul desires, that He does. for He performs what is appointed for me, and many such decrees are with Him. therefore, i would be dismayed at His presence; when i consider, i am terrified of Him. it is God who has made my heart faint, and the Almighty who has dismayed me. but i am not silenced by the darkness, nor deep gloom which covers me."
i like this passage because like sister woods mentioned, we need to be honest with our words and requests to the Lord...but also, we see that those situations and hard things are from Him and we trust in and hope in the fact that His ways are better and they are leading us to a deeper walk w/Him.
anyway, this was a long first post. i am avoiding studying and decided to blog...
- "the other"

And presenting...Sister Woods

Hello beautiful world. It's Amanda here, or Mans, or the latest development in my life--Sister Woods. That is right, by the rights of Aly in Huey's last night, I was officially "nunned" Sister Woods. And why might I want to be "nunned" since I am NOT Catholic and actually very fond of boys? Because, who needs the hassle of the male gender? Now don't get me wrong, I am NO man-hater, I just feel that it's worth taking that problem out all together. So here I am, almost 23 and the unofficial nun of the Poplar house. It is quite the responsibility. I've only been the nun for a single day and I can already feel the weight of such responsibility. For starters, I have to decide what type of nun I want to be. Do I want to be a nun like Whoopee in Sister Act or Julie Andrews in Sound of Music? You see, the battle has already begun. But both sing and dance, which I already have down. Whew...too many decisions!

Other than my vows, life has been pretty uneventful. That sounds silly when I reveal that I have 4 jobs to my name at the moment. I know, ridiculous. But somehow I kept acquiring them like mismatched socks and I like having a lot to do. I am a nanny for an 8 month old girl named Mylan, who seriously makes me want to give up everything I'm doing right now and become a mom. I baby sit for a few other families during the week that drive home the notion even further that I want a house full of kids someday (that is, if the nun gig doesn't work out...). I also work at a non-profit in Orange Mound part-time helping with their youth newspaper and their after school tutoring program. And last but not least, I work at a gym. I know, me at a gym? Thankfully my only tasks include checking people in.

So there is my week in a nutshell. I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, even though I'm in grad school. Crazy right? I thought that surely by now I would have a few things figured out, but that was where I was sincerely mistaken. God has taken me on this crazy roller coaster ride that I have absolutely detested. I've screamed, pouted, cried, laughed, cursed and so many more off the wall emotions along the way, but the Lord has been healing my heart in so many ways, and probably in more ways that I cannot yet see. I feel that I'm boldly honest with the Lord; telling Him things that most people wouldn't because it's not "right" to say. Honestly, I don't like the plan the Lord has for me now. But I'm holding onto the promise that someday He will prove me utterly wrong. But until then, this is Sister Woods signing off.

so this is katie/kitty/meg. one of the fab 5. and i have a question...what are boys so stupid? i would think that after growing up with 3 brothers that i would know the answer to that question, but i have no words. i just don't understand why it's so hard for a girl to find a descent guy friend in this town. i feel that if you try to be nice to a guy they think that you must like them. i mean seriously??? don't flatter yourself. i'm just saying that i'm in a major with 100 girls that are emotional time bombs waiting to exploded at any minute and then you got the murses. o and i live in the little women house (which i love)...i'm just saying that i've had my girl fix to last me til the end of time. i guess this is the part of me that is use to watching sports games on the weekend, playing sports, and working on the farm. ugh i'm just flusterated. yes i just made up that word. ok so i'm off my soap box now and back to my books. i know who would know the answer to my question....e elliot

ICE STORM!!!

As many of you may know, Memphis experienced an ice storm that kept many indoors for the weekend. When you are trapped inside for awhile one might experience something called Cabin Fever.

The Ice decided to come on Friday Jan. 28th. It started early that morning and when we all woke up there was white blanket that covered the city. Four of the roommates, Amanda, Danielle, Katie, and Emily all took shelter on Poplar. I, Aly, was in Southaven with my family. Danielle's birthday was that Friday so they had a breakfast for her in the morning and then later that night we were all going out to celebrate her birthday. I decided to leave Southaven and brave the roads to come back to Poplar and hang out with the roommates. I arrived safely back at Poplar and heard about all of the things they had done that morning.

Once it was decided where Danielle wanted to go, we all started to get ready for dinner. We did our hair, put on our best, and braved the ice roads. We went to Carrabba's for some good Italian food. A bunch of our friends came to wish Danielle a Happy Birthday, and then once we were done we all headed back to Poplar for cake! Katie made a delicious homemade red velvet cake with cream cheese icing, yummy!!!! It was really good! After cake we watched Stanger than Fiction and after the movie everyone left and we all went to bed.

We all wake up Saturday to see that everything was still covered in Ice/snow and the roads were still a little scary. All 5 of us decide to watch Little Women, and while we are watching it to pick out who we all were. Amanda and I fought over who was more like Joe. I lost. Amanda won. Danielle, before the movie started, volunteered to be Beth because she was the nicest. Here is who everyone ended up being:

Emily: Marmie
Katie: Meg
Amanda: Joe
Danielle: Beth
Aly: Amy

For the most part our characters were kind of accurate, but there is still some debate on who is the real Joe.

After the movie, Katie and Danielle retreated to their bear den(upstairs) to study, Amanda, Emily, and I decided to go outside and play. We put on our jackets and hats and went out to play on the Ice. There were certain parts that were pretty icy and really fun to skate on. We were playing in the front yard when a car, belonging to a girl in our youth group(Emily and I work at a church with the youth). They were heading for the golf course behind our house, Galloway Golf Course. We decided to walk over and check it out. There were a lot of people with sleds and even some snowboards on the hills of the golf course. We watched some of the people sled around and then decided to frolic in the snow. We went stomping around for a long time, almost 2 hours, and then headed back to the aboad.
Later that night, Amanda went to dinner with some friends, Danielle went to dinner with her boyfriend, and Katie, Emily, and I stayed home and made dinner. Emily made homemade pizzas, that were delicious, and Katie made homemade breadsticks. We had a feast!!!! Miss America was on so we watched that while we ate and chatted. Then, after we cleaned up, we decided to have our own Miss America/Poplar pagent. We found dresses, shoes, did our hair and makeup. Then we went and strolled into the living room and strutted down the catwalk. After we did our walks and waves, it was time for the talent portion!!!! We all had the same talent, singing, and then we all sang together for a final performance!!!! It was hilarious!!!!! Pictures will be posted soon!!!

This is the end of our Ice Storm adventure!!! I hope you enjoyed the Adventures of Poplar 5!

Aly

Some background....

Well, there are Five of us here: Amanda, Emily, Katie, Danielle, and me, Aly. We moved into the Poplar House on June 1, 2009 and that is the beginning of our adventures. How did we all come to live in the Poplar House? Well we need to start with how we all know each other.
Danielle, Emily, and Amanda all went to school together and graduated together. So they have known each other the longest. Danielle, after graduating from ECS, went onto Auburn; this is where Katie enters. Danielle and Katie became friends and when they both were moving on from Auburn to go into dental and nursing school they both came back to Memphis. Katie was living with Danielle when we all met. I knew Emily because she worked with my sister, Jessie, and we became friends through that. Amanda came to Poplar after she graduated from UTC, and she was moving back to Memphis. We all needed somewhere to live so we began looking. At this point in the story is when good ole Poplar enters. Emily's sister lived in the house before us and they were all moving out. We looked into it and fell in love. It was a spacious house with 3 bedrooms downstairs, one big room upstairs and 3 full baths. It was perfect. So, began having roomate meetings and talking about the house and living situations and who would stay where. Then on June 1st we moved in. We were offically roomates! The rest is history...........