breakthrough-literally!

i am currently in cullowhee, nc attending a seminar on "Daring to Lead". it is a week long seminar done by NCCAT (north carolina center for the advancement of teachers). the focus of this week is not about leadership styles or techniques, but about who we are as individuals and what about us makes us a good leader. it has been great so far. today we had the pleasure of hearing from a motivational speaker named brian biro. he is a great motivational speaker and is full of energy! i'll admit that i was skeptical of him at first. he was for sure a bit corny and i thought that he had way to much energy for the 9 am meeting. but then he took out a piece of wood-not just a thin piece of plywood, but a rather thick chunk of wood. he held it up and said that by the end of our time together today that each and everyone of us would breakthrough a similar piece of wood with our bare hand!!!!!!!!! HE GOT ME THEN! i got really nervous and thought all about how i was not going to be able to do it! but as he poured out his energy and confidence in us i began to get excited and think that maybe i could do it. our 3 hour session flew by and it came time for us to break the wood. brian gave us each a piece and asked up to write on the wood something that we needed to breakthrough in our lives. it could be anything from breaking a bad habit to being a better mom to being a more effective teacher. i very carefully decided that i needed to breakthrough my fear of failure. i wrote my words on the wood and then it was time. i was so nervous. several people went before me and were able to do but that did not ease my nerves! then it was my turn. i walked up to brian-handed him my wood and he asked me to focus on him and NOT the wood. i hit the wood-nothing happened. i hit it again-nothing happened. then i looked into brian's eyes and i saw that he truly believed that i could do. then i heard the loud, chanting and cheering..."Jennifer! Jennifer! Jennifer!.....i got in position and i hit it again and it split clear in half! wow! what an awesome feeling!!!! i know that i was only able to do it because of the look in brian's eyes. it wasn't the fact that i had seen several others do it before me, or that we had been taught how to do it correctly, or that 25 people were cheering my name. i was only able to break the wood because i knew someone believed in me.

what a powerful lesson that was for me, in so many different ways. as a leader i saw how important it is to surround yourself with positive people who believe in you, so that you can get things done. on a spiritual level i thought of god and how he looks at me with similar eyes all the time and tells me that i can do it! i can do anything, if i just fix my eyes upon him. yet i still act in fear. so, today i leave the fear behind. i agree to move forward with my plans and to stop living in fear of what will come. i will pursue my master's degree in administration, i will be myself and i will rely on my lord and savior and be CRAZY for him!!!!

so watch out peeps-fearless halsey is here :)

(the picture shows exactly what we did-except we used our hands. i will hopefully have a real picture of me in action when i get back. )

miscellaneous

well, i don't have anything exciting to blog about right now, so your just getting an update on my life. i've been back from new york for 2 weeks now and its been nice to still be on "vacation". sometimes i don't know what to do with all my free time and i get a bit down-but i'm not complaining! i have been doing some babysitting jobs and still working at aqueduct. this week i went out to dinner with ryan and we had such a great time. we had lots to catch up on and he was really talkative. we went to chili's because i had a giftcard, so we only spent $4!!! we went to coldstones afterwards and we started talking about being "single". ryan said the best thing to me-as he was trying to cheer me up about being being single (and fat). he said "if what was on the inside was what people could see on the outside-you would be the most beautiful girl in the world...and me, i would be so single." ryan is a great brother! i also watched two good movies this week, alpha dogs and children of men. both are intense movies that i enjoyed. alpha dogs has lots of bad language though :(
i'm hanging out with renee tonight, we have lots of catching up to do. we are doing sushi and then coffee. yay! two of my favorites! then on monday morning i leave to go to cullowhee, nc for an NCCAT conference. it is called "daring to lead". i am excited. we get to go white water rafting!!! i have wanted to do that for a long time. well-that's really it, not much to report. i hope everyone is having a great weekend.

i think i have a drinking problem...

not the kind you think though (thank god). i went to the grocery store today and i realized that i went there just to get drinks! i left with 3-four packs of flavored seltzer, 2 things of crystal light, and a case of diet coke. it got me thinking about my drinking! and i realized that i am always drinking something. if i am going out to run errands i always have a water or d.c. with me. when i am home i am always drinking a seltzer or crystal light and when i go out to eat i take advantage of free refills like its my job. my mom even noticed this habit when i was younger and she took me to the doctor to see what was wrong with me. she thought that i had diabetes or something. thankfully i don't have a medical problem. i'm not even thirsty all the time-i just like to have a cold drink...ALL the time.
that's my story and i'm sticking to it :)

Permission to nap

I love to take naps, but I'm also well aware of how napping is frowned upon by our high pace society. I've heard people say that if you nap you are lazy, unproductive, etc. Well, I was happy to see an article in the News & Observer this morning about NAPPING! The article not only promotes napping, but talks about its many benefits. Including increased productivity, alertness and health. Yeah! I have been waiting for this for a long time. I now will have no guilt about my napping!!! Christy will love this article too :)

Signs

This sign was at the shrine too. (I put my phone on vibrate...you never know when he might call!!!)

Holy...

When I was home I went to this Catholic Shrine that I had recently read about in the book, Fast Lane to Heaven, by Ned Dougherty. This shrine is only 20 minutes from where I grew up, but I can only remember going there once when I was little to see the manger scene during the Christmas holiday. Anyways, they have some beautiful crosses, statues of Jesus, Mary, and the apostles, as well as the stations of the cross. As my Mom and I walked around we noticed this sign. It made me laugh so I had to take a picture of it.

I disagree with this sign. God did not make me a soft spoken woman! I'm a bit loud and I embrace my loudness. I can handle dressing modestly, but not all the time!!! Anyways, I know that my place in heaven will have a sign that says something like this "This is not a Holy place, come as you are and we will praise the Holy one!!!" AMEN!!!!

Home sweet home

I am finally back and happy to be here. I missed my cozy apartment, my bed, my big bathroom, and even my dog. I got back last night after being gone 24 days! I had a great time traveling to Long Island, Rochester and Elmira. I put over 2000 miles on my car and listened to every CD that I own more than once while driving for way too long. Today I am back to laundry, cleaning the apartment, washing my dead bug covered car, and unpacking. Life is good...

And in other news....

Heather Doss took a break from her busy filming schedule to spend a relaxing holiday weekend in the Hamptons. She was spotted at hot spots like Backbar, 75 Main, Mt. Fuji and Goldberg Bagels. On 4th of July she took to the streets of Southampton and went on a shopping spree at some of Southampton's trendiest boutiques.
Doss, known for her paparazzi dodging skills, was also seen at Cooper's Beach where she seemed to be collecting rocks. Doss spent the holiday weekend with her long time friend, Jennifer Halsey. The owner of Breezin' Up on Jobs Lane in Southampton said that Doss was a pleasure when she stopped in to purchase a t-shirt. "She looked radiant, just like she does in the movies, she was sweet as could be, " said Breezin' Ups owner.
Doss returned to Raleighwood on Saturday and resumed the filming of her up and coming film, yet to be named. There is already oscar buzz surrounding this film, also starring Brad Pitt and Kate Hudson.

A picture speaks volumes

My dad cooking yummy steak!

Rose garden at the library.

Cooper's Beach...my favorite!

I don't own a digital camera (yet). But my parents do and I love to snap pictures and then with the click of the mouse have them on the computer! So here are some random shots of my vacation. They say more than my crazy blog entries!!!

My best friend

This is my best friend Kelley. We have been best friends for 14 years, we met in 8th grade. Kelley lives in my hometown and I rarely get to see her. We talk on the phone, email, myspace, ect. when we are not together...but being with Kelley is half the reason I will always travel back to Southampton, NY...even when all of my family members have moved away.

When Kelley and I are together there is a unique bond between us that I can't really describe. Whether we drive around aimlessly for hours, go out to eat, go out for drinks, or she kidnaps me to run errands-we have a great time. If I had to to choose one person who I had to be stranded on an island with the rest of my life it would be Kelley! And as an added bonus to the wonderful Kelley, she has an awesome husband and cutie-pie daughter that I love too. I am so blessed to have a friend like Kelley. She knows me so well, maybe too well sometimes :)

We have seen each other through so much. I will never forget when I got to go to the prom when I was a junior in high school. I was dating a senior and we had been dating for a long time. Kelley was single and it was hard for her to constantly be around me and my boyfriend. Being the loyal friend that she is, she came over to see me all dressed up and to send me off in the limousine before the prom. But when Kelley came over and saw all the "couples" and all the fun we seemed to be having it hurt her and she got upset. She tried so hard to hide it and to be happy for me. She kindly gave me a kiss and told me how beautiful I looked and then she left out a side door so that I couldn't see her tears. It broke my heart.

Well, fast forward a year and the picture was reversed. I was single and she was dating one of Southampton's most eligible bachelors. That was hard on me, but Kel was always aware of how I felt because she had been in my shoes before. And now, fast forward 9 more years and Kelley is still with Southampton's most eligible bachelor, except that he is not eligible anymore! He is happily married to Kelley and their adorable daughter Rielly is almost 4 years old. And me..well you know that story-I'm still single. But thank God I still have Kel to cheer me up when single life gets to me.

So Kel....I love you and thank God for you always. Thanks for being the best friend I could ever ask for. Miles will never weaken the special bond we have.

Sunset from my parents porch....