Old Friends, New Friends.....

So with all the changes since graduation the topic of missing my friends is a pretty common one. Within in the next month my friends will reside everywhere from Dallas to Little Rock to Texarkana to Michigan to Chicago (thank goodness we are all in the same time zone). I have a conversation pretty much weekly that goes along the lines of missing my old friends, how I want to make new friends in Fayetteville but I just really miss my old friends. New friends are great but they take a while to meet and become close with and I just want my old friends back. My old friends that I had routines with whether it was staying in on rainy weekends and watching some crime television show to missing the order of the places we'd go on Dickson and knowing how long we'd stay at each one. Or on a more serious note missing the people who celebrated the day with you whether you got the internship or simply had finally finished your paper, you know the ones you did everything and nothing with day-in and day-out. While I was having a sad, "I miss my friends" moment God gave me a little insight that made me laugh, here I was talking about my old friends that not that long ago were my "new college" friends. I can clearly remember back to sometime sophomore year when my "old" friends were my friends from high school and my "new" friends were the people I had met in college. Isn't it funny how these "new" friends are now so seamlessly mixed in with my old high school friends. These people who were so new two years ago are some of my closest friends now. They are the ones that I literally can cry thinking that I don't get to see them daily and create countdowns for reunion weekends (28 days till Texarkana!) that excite me so much I can't sleep the night before I see them. God is so faithful to have provided me with so many wonderful friends and while I miss them terribly I am anxious to see what new people will enter my post-grad life and excited to see how my "old" friendships will change. Sorry for the random post but it was on my mind and I figure I should really try to get back on track towards meeting my new year's resolution I think I'm only 70 post or so to go, ha! Love you new & old bloggy friends!

Happy Birthday Dad!

So I've been seriously slacking on the blogging but I couldn't skip a birthday post for my Dad for his 50th! Especially if I did one for my mom! So how should I begin well let's start with the obvious, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! I am so blessed to have the best Dad in the entire world so I figure for the birthday post I'll try and narrow it down to the top ten reasons why he is indeed the best dad in the world. So here's the countdown:

1. He's my biggest cheerleader, he always has faith in me even when I don't think I can do it. Example one, going to school in Fayetteville which I thought was so scary and big but he kept telling me I would love (which I did.)

2. He taught me to drive, this seems like a silly one but seriously the fact that we both survived this fairly unharmed is pretty amazing. Push and pull are confusing concepts and that combined with the confusion of a yield sign really put some strain on the learning to drive thing.

3. He hates talking on the phone but still talks to me everyday at least once, usually twice. While we don't talk long I love that he answers when I call whether it was when I was walking to class or now when I'm on my lunch break.

4. We have a secret handshake. How many Dads do you know who have a secret handshake.....exactly.

5. When I'm home he picks me up and takes me to Sonic and when I have to head back to Fay he sometimes slips me a coupon for free sonic or coke money for the road. It's a little thing but he knows it makes me really happy.

6. He sat through more dance competitions, recitals and half-times than I can count. I'm sure my Dad would have rather been watching a sport but he supported me in everything I did including going running with me a whole summer so I would be ready for high school dance team.

7. He is full of good slogans, his favorite saying, "it's only as fun as you make it."

8. He gives the best pep talks and really is the only person who can calm me down from the 'freakouts' that happen when I feel really stressed, my mom doesn't even try anymore on the big ones and just passes the phone to him.

9. He works so hard and never complains so I could have the childhood other people only dream of.

10. He always has time for me. I never have to go very long without seeing him because if I haven't come home in a while I can count on him to come see me.

Happy Birthday Dad, thank you for everything! You really are the best!

May!

It's already May! Seriously time is flying by! I can't believe how quick the past couple of weeks have gone by. It is now officially less than two weeks until graduation, I have two classes left and one project. How CRAZY is that! I'm starting to get excited about the future even though I am a little sad to say good bye to everyone! We have senior night on Thursday which should be a lot of fun, especially if the crazy weather we have been experiencing decides to go away. Today was such a rainy Sunday, I mean it is May doesn't that mean April showers should be over?! Today I probably did the most homework I have done all semester, I finished my advanced practices paper and worked on my group project for media planning and then ended the day with dinner with one of my favorite engaged couples, Kara & Daniel. Daniel was showing off his cooking skills today and cooked a super yummy dinner! It was fun to catch up with them together, I get to see Kara a lot (which I love, but I don't really get to see Daniel that much so that was a lot of fun). Well I know this post is super jumpy and random but I really have to catch back up on my blogging and it's May now so I have to do some serious catch-up! Good night blog friends!!

Today it started to hit me....

Today was the first day that it finally started to kind of sink in that I really am graduating in 25 days. I can't believe that in 25 days college will be a past tense, that I won't be going to Chi O to eat lunch every day, that I won't live in the same town as 95% of my friends, that in 25 days I have no idea what I will be doing with my life, that in that amount of time I somehow have to find the motivation to finish my school projects, that I have no need to order any more Chi O shirts, that Chicken Finger Friday will be a thing of the past, that I won't be walking across campus talking on the phone, that the center of my world won't be the University of Arkansas, that I'll be beginning to box up my room in a house I swear I just moved in to, that gym shorts and sorority shirts won't be my constant outfit, that I'll have a college degree, that the best four years of my life will be wrapping up, that I'll be done with school forever, that I'll be leaving the school I was so scared to start, that the same place that caused tears at the thought of moving away from everything I really knew now causes tears because I can't imagine my life just like this. Sorry for the incredibly long run on sentence but it's exactly what's on my mind right now. Like the blog title says I'm still trying to enjoy the moment and I am I think I am really appreciating each moment with my friends a little more whether it is a quick chat on the way across campus or running errands or watching a baseball game I just love it all so much! Here's a few random pictures of some of my most recent favorite college moments!

Lazy Friday Night

Today is one of those rare, cold, wet, all-around dreary nights. I got off work and had plans of going to eat with friends then we would head to the baseball game but the chilly temps and rain called off the second half of those plans. Katie & Heather & I went to eat at Chili's and made the executive decision that movies and cookies back at the house would be a much better end to our week than freezing at the baseball field. So currently I am sitting here listening to music and typing this while they are watching a scary movie on the TV. Lucky for me because they know me so well they also rented Billboard Dad so once this scary movie is off we are watching that! I just really can't even put into words how blessed I am to live the life I live. I just LOVE it so much and it literally makes me want to cry when I think that I graduate in less than a month and won't have the same faces to greet me each day after class or work. I know God has great things planned for my future and I'm excited to see what those plans look like but at the same time I just love my life right now so much I can't imagine it being much better, but I said the same thing about high school and college proved me wrong again with more fun and more friends so maybe the real world won't be as scary as it seems. I'm trying to play catch up for my little blog break, I still have some posts I need to do that will include pictures but right now I just felt like typing out all the little thoughts hopping around in my head. Happy Friday blog friends, I hope you have a great relaxing weekend!!

SBK2K11 (Spring Break 2011)

So I know this post is a little late, but I'm going with the philosophy better late than never! So let's see Spring Break was amazing! Around 30 Senior Chi O's headed to Galveston to go on a week long cruise. We spent the first two days at sea laying out by the pool and eating the AMAZING food! On Wednesday we ported in Jamaica and got so lucky to have a "tour" by our taxi driver, James. We ended up getting off the boat so early that we made it to Margaritaville before it was open so he took us all over Jamaica to see some of the not so touristy stuff. I can't even tell you how different lives there are from my life here in the states. We got to see some really neat stuff including a Jamaican school with kids playing out in the school yard in their super adorable yellow and blue jumpers! We also got to taste pineapple that James bought for us from a local street vendor. That day we got lucky and the taxi driver on our way back to the ship took us to a shop that if you bought anything would let you have a free phone call back to the states (let's just say I'm pretty sure that was my mom's favorite place I went, ha). Thursday we ported in the Cayman Islands and did an excursion that took us to a coral reef and then Stingray City. I can not even tell you how amazing it was to snorkel in the reef! I seriously can't imagine how anyone could see something so beautiful and stunning and not just be in awe of how big and creative God is. After swimming around the reef we went a little farther in the boat and got out and swam with the stingrays. I'm not going to lie I was a little nervous but it was such a cool experience. A stingray swam right over my leg and then we got to touch them, they are such neat creatures! Friday we ported in Cozumel and caught up with some people we met when we were boarding the boat back in Galveston to go scuba diving. Lucky for us these people had found a great deal and shared the knowledge with us. We got to snorkel and scuba and layout and see a sea lion show and then shop in the town! The weather was super hot and sunny, just the way I love it! Saturday was another day at sea that we spent laying out by the pool. Overall the trip was amazing and just absolutely wonderful. I could go on and on but instead I'll just post some pictures :)

21 Plus 1, The First Anniversary of my 21st Birthday, aka Turning 22

So I celebrated my 22nd birthday in a way I have never done before for the first time in my now 22 years of life I did not wake up in my bed in Conway or see my parents on my birthday. I know this is not a big deal to most people but if you even mildly know me you probably know I am a family girl. I was born 6 weeks early and I'm pretty sure God gave me my birthday because he knew that I wasn't going to be okay with being away at college on my birthday. My parents came up the weekend before my birthday to do a family celebration which was fun. We went to dinner and opened presents and they brought up Ed's petite-fores which are my favorite! Then my mom came up again later on in the week to help me pack for spring break and she left some stuff for me at Jacob's apartment which included a card that said not to open until Saturday. The card was by far the coolest birthday card I have ever seen you opened it and it had a picture of a cupcake with a light up candle and when you "blew" out the candle the card started singing happy birthday! It made me super happy because even if you are going on a cruise a 10 hour car ride on your birthday is not the most exciting thing. Luckily Kara had made me a birthday car care package that included Glee cd's, gum, etc. My sweet friends made the best of a car birthday by letting me sleep most of the way there since the week before had worn me out. When we got to Kathryn's Aunt's house it was Kat's cousin's birthday (whose name is also Katie) too! So they put candles in cakes for both of us which was so nice and sweet of them! We went out for a little while in Houston that night which is definitely a very different city than Fayetteville, ha. I'm keeping the birthday celebration going this weekend when Dani and I are doing birthday dinner followed by a night out in Fayetteville on Friday! I'm super excited for that! I want to post pictures but I'm not really sure where my camera is currently so those will come at a later date! Thanks everyone for a FANTASTIC birthday! Lots of love!!

OMG Em's Engaged!!!!

So my best friend since birth, literally birth our parents are best friends, got engaged over spring break to her boyfriend of forever. I turned my phone back on once we got to port in Galveston (the cruise will be a separate post, as will my birthdayness but this engagement takes priority) and had a text from Emily that said something along the lines of get out of the ocean and off the boat because I'm ENGAGED!! I literally screamed when I read it and preceded to psycho dial her phone despite the fact it was 2 am in Hawaii where she was, whoops. I finally text her mom at 5 am Hawaii time and asked her to have Em call me AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, you know in case Emily's phone had fallen in a volcano or something like that and she had missed my seven phone calls and multiple text messages. I am dying to go home and see her and her beautiful ring and talk all things wedding with her! I can't believe I now have two engaged friends, I'm so excited for both of them even if I do think my life is quickly turning into 27 dresses. I'll post pics once I get to see the ring in person! Lots of love bloggy friends!!

I sound like a broken record, but.......

So back to the same topic that comes up a million times a day in my mind and pretty much a million times on my blog, which makes sense because everything in my blog is what has been floating around in my head. Future...it's the big scary word that my friends and I only half-jokingly took a break from saying because it is so scary/exciting. I can't even tell you how many times a day I have a conversation with someone that revolves around this concept and with graduation approaching the topic of the future just keeps coming up more and more. Today while blog hopping I came across a post that reminded me of something really important, something I tell myself but have never really visualized. The idea is that while the future looks like a really big bolded question mark to me, it doesn't to God. Such a simple concept, right? I mean I have said it a million times, "God has a plan" yet I have never actually thought that God doesn't just have an idea type plan, he has a real, legit plan that he can see. I don't know why this is such a revelation to me but it really is a thought that I have never taken much time to imagine. God can see my future, he knows exactly where I will be in 6 months, what I will be doing, where I will be living, etc. I'm so thankful he knows exactly what my future looks like. While I am extremely eager for a peek into this future I am so grateful that my future doesn't look like a big question mark to Him. I'm mostly writing this post because I know sometime in this question mark of a future I have I will be clicking back through old blog posts and really get a good laugh at what I was doing a week away from my 22nd birthday when I was freaking out about a future I can't foresee. I know this will be the case because when I look back on my senior English scrapbook where I had to write a letter about my feelings toward high school graduation and college I just laugh and laugh. When I read the letter I can't help but giggle at the things that worried me that just played out perfectly in ways I could never have imagined. My parents tell me constantly to quit worrying, it will all work out and I think I am getting better (keyword better, not good) at that but its the reminders like the letter from my senior year in English that really cement the idea in stone for me. I could have saved so much time and energy if I would have just quit worrying and enjoy life the way it was meant to be. And back to enjoying life I'm going to call it a night because tomorrow I'm back to the lake to finish up the second half of my scuba certification! Sweet dreams bloggy friends!

I Made the Paper....

So this past weekend we (Kathryn, Schuett, and I) headed down to LR to watch Dani finish the LR half marathon! She did AWESOME, I mean there is absolutely no way I would ever run 13 miles unless my life depended on it and let's be real even then I would probably die before I made it the full 13. So proud of her to have the dedication to train and run it, not to mention it was freakishly cold that morning. After the race we headed to Cozymel's to eat some delicious lunch before we headed back to the hill. Well, now we are getting to the name of my post, today at work my phone started to blow up with text messages asking if I had seen myself on the cover of the paper. Well, obviously, since I was at work I hadn't seen any papers and had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Turn to find out that I managed to be in the background of a picture from the marathon. Poor Dani, she actually runs the marathon and I ended up in the paper. Not only was it the cover of the paper but it was the cover of the Democrat Gazette which is the statewide paper meaning that everyone from my grandma to my friends at school got to see it and thanks to one of my lovely roommates sticking it on the back board at Chi O I'm pretty much a celebrity. As embarrassed as I was when I first saw it I figure I might as well just own up to it and enjoy my little (very, itty bitty) time in the limelight, ha. So this post is mostly so I will just remember that I did make the cover of the state paper even if my name isn't mentioned. I posted the picture from the paper and a picture of Dani crossing the finish line for your viewing! Night, night bloggy friends!

Quick, Little Post

Hey friends! I figure I should try and do a quick little post before I fall asleep. Yes, I know it's only 10:30 but I have to work tomorrow, ha. The past couple of days have been so great. I love how my Tuesdays and Thursdays remind me I'm still in college and how I think I enjoy them even more since I'm so busy on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Today was one of those amazing spring days that make living through a Fayetteville winter well worth it. The weather was gorgeous so Meagan and I hit up Sonic and then headed to Wilson Park to walk and talk. It was so nice to catch up and catch a little sun in the process. To make the day even better I was grabbing dinner at Chi O when I saw Chan and Britt and we had a little impromptu trip to Orange Leaf. I haven't been there in forever and the yogurt was so so so good! The past couple of days I have been trying to take notice when people do nice little things and then pass them on in return to others. Earlier this week I needed to get my homework turned in to my teacher's box before 5:30 when my class started because I was going to be absent for the senior service and I happened to mention to Kara how I hoped I would have time to run over there on my lunch break that day and instead of me spending my how lunch break trekking it across campus she just took my assignment and dropped it off for me. Then yesterday, I ran into Walmart to buy one thing and they only had three lanes open each one fairly long with each person in line having a ton of groceries, so I got in the shortest of the long lines and the lady in front of me insisted that I go in front of her to check out. I know this is a really little thing, but I was tired, it was late and it just really put a smile on my face. Then today during class I was coughing up a lung due to the lovely little sinus infection I have and my teacher tossed me some cough drops. I know her main motive was to get to quit being such a distraction but I still found it super nice for her to dig through her bag to find me some. I know all of these are really small things but it reminds me to take the time to do the little things for people because they really do brighten their days, or I know they sure brightened mine. Well, I'm off to bed so sweet dreams blog friends.

My Mom's a Hoot, Mom's Day 2011

This past weekend was Mom's Day for Chi O. I love Mom's day, mostly because it consists of three of my favorite things, my mom, food, and shopping. Mom and Rebecca got up here around 7 on Friday night and we headed to Mojitos (my new fave Mexican restaurant) for dinner and then headed back to Jacob's to watch a movie. Jacob was so nice, more like forced, to let us all stay with him for the weekend. Let's just say I bet he is looking for a roommate as we speak so that we can't keep having sleepover's at his apartment, ha. We ended up watching The Sandlot, which I had never seen. It was so good! I loved it, even if I fell asleep before the end and had to finish it on Saturday. Saturday morning we went by Bliss and picked up some cupcakes before we headed to the auction and brunch at Chi O. We had a good time looking through all the things and visiting with everyone and their moms. After that we went down to Rogers to do a little shopping. It was so weird, I actually wanted to shop for work clothes, I feel like they are pretty much all I wear anymore and I know in the next few months I'll have to wear them basically everyday. We managed to find some good sales (which we LOVE) and I picked out some cute stuff for my birthday (which is 18 days away in case anyone is counting). After a roundabout night of trying to figure out where to eat that wasn't going to have a wait of an hour or more we ended up at Mellow Mushroom with Nat and her mom and Dani and her mom. It was so much fun to just chat with everyone. It always cracks me up how much of someone's mom you can see in her, whenever I say this all my friends just laugh and say really since they seem to think my mom and I are really similar. I'm okay with that, I figure if they think I'm like my mom I'm doing okay since she's pretty fab! Sunday, Mom and Rebecca headed home after we all went to Waffle House. I just caught up on some homework and laundry before the week started. I can't believe March starts tomorrow, seriously where is the semester going?! I want it to slow down a little, I'm not ready for this to be over! Well, lots of love bloggy friends, sweet dreams!

Cap & Gown Day

Today I picked up my cap and gown for graduation. I'm not going to lie, it made me really sad. I am excited to see what the future holds but I absolutely LOVE college and can't believe it has been four years that I moved to Fayetteville and started school at the UofA. If you have known me since high school, you know that I felt the exact same way when I graduated high school. It's so weird that it has been four years since I stood in the long line waiting to pick up my Conway blue cap and gown at the West campus. I remember that day clearly, it was yearbook distribution day and that managed to keep my focus off of how sad I would be to graduate. Today I dreaded going to pick up my cap and gown from the bookstore, in my mind it's like this is just the start of all the things that signal my college career is coming to a close. I'm so excited to start the next chapter of my life but at the same time I'm going to really miss all the fun things I do in college and won't be able to do anymore. I can't imagine a time in my life when I will ever be so free to do and go as I please. I guess I can't dwell on how much I will miss it or I really will miss out on enjoying the few months I have left. I'm hoping that this next chapter will hold wonderful things I can't imagine now, similar to how college was better than my wildest dreams. I don't think I could've imagined what things would change over the past four years and how much I would grow up and love the life I'm living. I'm so hopeful that things for the future will pan out and that in four years I'll be writing a post talking about how I can't believe I've been out of college for four years and just how in love with my life I am at that point. Well, it's almost 11 and tomorrow's a work day so I'm going to bed. Sweet dreams bloggy friends!

Hello World, How've you been? Good to See You, My Old Friend

So really the post title has little to do with the post other than the fact that this song is stuck in my head. Sorry if you got excited because of the title, whoops. The past week has been crazy busy/crazy wonderful. Between work and school, life is still really busy but I'm super lucky because I really love both right now. In addition I have had lots of little moments of happy sprinkled throughout my days (I know, it sounds cheesy, but I like cheesy). Examples of little moments of happy include:

• How most of my friends have a lunch break at the same time that my lunch break falls. I know this seems small but being able to jet into Chi O and catch up for even 20 minutes before I head back to work or class is so exciting. All of our schedules are busier than ever and it keeps all of us informed of what is going on with everyone else.
• Today I got to go grab a bite to eat with Sgibs, I haven't had a chance to catch up with her in forever and it was so nice to be able to just pick right back up where we left off.
• Seeing my roommates before I go to work. On Friday, Dani woke up before I left and on Monday Chan was awake before I left. I know this seems small but on days when I know I won't get to see them again before at least 10 pm this definitely puts a smile on my face.
• Today's spontaneous Target run with Schuett once we got out of Bible study made me so happy.
• Today I got a totally random text from Meag that didn't say anything in particular but it still put a smile on my face. I love that we've been friends for so long and that I don't have to explain myself to her, she already knows all the background stories because she was there for them. I miss getting to see her more but things like our random text convos and quick trip to grab food last week gives us time to catch up.
• At work yesterday I got one of those super cool computer screens so I can connect my laptop and work off two displays. All the "real" people at work have them but until yesterday none of the interns did so this was really exciting.
• New t-shirts. Ok, so this sounds a little lame but we got new Chi O shirts last week and I am completely in love with them. New t-shirts always make me super excited.
• Mom's day is this weekend and I am so excited to see my mom on Friday. I can't wait to get off work and kick it with her all weekend.

That's all the happy moments I can think of at the moment. Love y'all bloggy friends!

Random Ramblings.

This is a real blog post in terms that I'm counting it towards my 90 for the year but other than that it is strictly what is floating around in my head currently.

• In something around 12 weeks I graduate college.
• In a month I will be floating around the ocean on a cruise with some of my favorite people.
• In less than six months my former roomie/bestie will walk down the aisle and change her last name, being my first friend to do this.
• I really should be working on my assignment that I need to email in tonight.
• Instead of working on said assignment I'm writing this blog and watching the Parent Trap.
• Last night we got to go underwater and use our tanks for scuba, it was AMAZING.
• I have never had less of a clue as to what my future is going to look like, today is a day where I'm really just having faith that God has a plan, because I sure as heck don't.
• I'm really liking my internship still, which is a huge positive because if I didn't I would have to seriously reconsider if I had majored in the right thing.
• I'm super excited for Mom's Day next weekend.
• I feel like I think about me way too much (see above points, all of them use the word I).
• I'm starting to realize that not only do I not have a plan past May 14th but that my life is going to change radically as to who I spend the majority of my time with.
• The above point makes me really sad, I love my friends.
• Sorry for all the bullet points, just felt like blogging all the random thoughts that are bouncing around right now.
• Off to work on the paper
• Sweet dreams bloggy friends.

Oh Happy Day!

I am LOVING the sunshine & warm weather! Today is one of those great days where I really don't have that much on my plate, I've already worked out and done my homework! Woohoo! I don't have any class on Tuesdays which is kind of random but really nice. It gives me time to get stuff done that I don't have time to do on Mondays and Wednesdays when I work till 5 and then have class until 8:30 or 9:30. All I have tonight is Bible study, I feel like I should be doing something really important right now but I'm just loving the weather and the time to catch up on life. This is one of those just day to day posts that I'm sure no one will want to read but I'm just in a happy mood and felt like blogging. Let's talk about how excited I am to be going on a cruise on spring break, I'm so excited! I can't wait to spend a week just hanging out and catching some rays with my faves! Sorry for the random post but I hope everyone has a fantastic sunny day!!

Happy Birthday (A Day Late) Mom!

Whoops, I really meant to write this yesterday but I got a little too busy celebrating at home, so here goes (we can just pretend this was posted yesterday). HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST MOM EVER! Seriously, I know lots of people say they have the best mom in the entire world but I would put my mom up against any of them. I never realized how much my mom does until I came to college and realized not every one's mom does the same things. My mom did and continues to do so much for me that I just put in the category of well of course she does, because she's my mom but apparently it's not that way for everyone. I had no idea that it isn't required of moms to make breakfast everyday before you go to school because my mom did. I didn't know that every one's mom didn't take them three different places each year to buy school supplies because she knows how important it is that they get just the right things. I didn't know that every one's mom doesn't give a million pep talks a day about how you can be a big kid and go to a real internship and answer a thousand questions about what she thinks I should wear. I didn't know that every one's mom doesn't sound happy every time they call because even if it is my 100th phone call that day my mom still sounds happy to hear from me. My mom doesn't have to do any of the stuff she does for me but she does because she's the best mom EVER! And I hope that she had the best birthday ever because she deserves it! Thank you Mom for being the best and I'm so glad that I got to come home and celebrate with you! I can't wait to see you in two weeks for Mom's day so we can do what we do best, shop!! I love you Mom, thanks for being so awesome! I hope that I can be at least a fourth of what you are someday! Happy Birthday!!

When It Snows, It Pours

It is still snowing. It's day four of the snow storm and to say that the positives I found to make the top 11 of snow storm 2011 are quickly fading is an understatement. I'm a little over the cold and the snow. I have literally done next to nothing over the past four days. Today was the day that I had hoped to break free of my house and venture out into the real world but that didn't really pan out as planned since the weather decided to start pouring down snow around 9 this morning, boo. If you're wondering what kind of activities I've been doing to pass the time I'll let you know. I've watched more movies than I usually do in a six month period, I've done a little schoolwork (the rest of that is on the agenda for tomorrow), we deep cleaned the house (thanks Chan for starting that process), I played outside in the winter wonderland (that only lasted about 30 minutes on the first day), I've watched a lot of TV, I've facebooked a lot, I've slept a lot. I know all those things sound really exciting but in reality I need to get back to my real life. I just keep trying to stay positive (I know this blog post really didn't support the positive nature I'm trying to have, I'm sorry but I had to vent) and think of it as God's way of making me take a little break from the normal. I'm sure in April when I'm exhausted from school and work that I would love a break where I had to be trapped in the house. Unfortunately, I might get another break the middle of next week when the next weather system is scheduled to hit. Hope you are staying safe and warm and not going too stir crazy bloggy friends!

Top 11 of Snow Day 2011

So I'm snowed in for my second day in a row this week. This is our third snow day of the semester so far and we're only in our third week of school so to say I'm never going to memorize my schedule is an understatement. As we all know I am not a winter girl, bring on sunshine and tan lines those are so much more my style but I'm trying to be a more positive person so I figure why not make a top 11 list for snow day(s) 2011. Here we go:

1) Hot chocolate, duh. I love hot chocolate especially when I can sip it while looking out on the freezing world.
2) Movie marathons. I never watch movies and its been so fun to watch three movies in the past day or so.
3) Friend time. I love that I'm having a chance to hang out with some of my favorite people. Dani, Channing, Schuett, Heather, Natalie, and I have all been piled in our house for the past two days and being stuck inside isn't quite as bad with these girls.
4) Playing games. We've played catchphrase and a question game which both have been so much fun and activities I feel like you can only really do when you're stuck somewhere.
5) Catching up on sleep. I was so tired by the end of the weekend that having a chance to catch up on some zzz's has been great.
6) No class. I really do love my classes but a little break is nice too. Though I am really bummed about no scuba tonight.
7) Snow pictures. I'm really not a big go out and play in the snow girl but I do know that pictures in the snow are super cute so I bundled up and lasted all of 30 minutes outside yesterday for some super fun, cute pictures (to be posted later because they are on Dani's camera).
8) Catching up on life. I've been able to use the down time to catch up on the Bible study I'd unfortunately fallen behind on and work on some school work that I wouldn't have had time for until way later in the week without the snow days.
9) Cooking with the girls. We never really cook much at our house since we all still can eat our meals at Chi O but since we we've been snowed in we've been fixing some snacks and meals over here. It's just so fun to get in the kitchen with my friends and realize how little all of us know about cooking.
10) Bumming. Bumming on snow days is just the best kind of bumming because you don't have to feel guilty since there isn't anything else you could do.
11) Story time. I feel like when you're stuck inside together for so long you really start to here stories from your friends that you wouldn't here otherwise.

Well even with the top 11 of snow day(s) 2011 I have to admit that as great as it has been summer is on my mind and if I don't see snow again until 2012 I'll be okay with that. Happy snow day bloggy friends, hope you are all warm and safe!

Back to Reality, For Real this Time

So last week marked the first "real" week back to school and "real" non-break life. Last week was the first week where snow didn't interrupt the week and I started all my classes and worked Monday, Wednesday, Friday at my internship. I'm definitely not used to being quite so busy during the semester but so far I'm really liking it. I love routine and having to be somewhere from 8-5 MWF means that I have to be productive in my off time and that I have to get up around the same time each day. To celebrate the end of the first week back to real life Dani, Heather, Chan, and I took a little trip to Stillwater to see Chan's boyfriend and a bunch of his/our friends. It was so much fun, those boys can just spin you around the dance floor all night long which is one of my favorite things to do! Saturday we got to watch the boys do some work on the farm/ranch, I'm not really sure what to call it. After they finished that up we rode four-wheelers; it was such a beautiful day and it was so nice to be able to enjoy it outdoors. We got back earlier today which gave me some time to finish up my homework and do some laundry and just get resettled for the week. Unfortunately the weather for this week doesn't look like its going to be as sunny or warm with a chance of winter weather for the middle part of the week! I'm hoping it doesn't cancel my scuba class because this is the week we get to get in the pool with the tanks on and learn some real skills, I'm so excited about doing that on Wednesday. I have pictures to put up but its cold outside and my camera is in my car and I don't want really want to venture out there right now, ha. Happy Sunday bloggy friends! UPDATE: I added the pictures :)

My last first day of school...well sort of

So today classes started, my last first day of school, except I didn't have any class. My actual first day of school will be tomorrow when I go to scuba! I am so excited for scuba! There are three other chi o's who are also taking the class the first 8 weeks so we will all be certified to go scuba diving while were on a cruise for spring break. I have always wanted to go scuba diving and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn and then have a pretty much immediate chance to actually go somewhere cool and dive. As excited as I am for spring break I don't want it getting here too fast since that would mean half of the semester is over and I really don't want that. So far I'm loving being back in Fay and catching up with everyone again. Tomorrow is my welcome back to reality day where I have a half day at my internship and then class. I'm hoping that since its the first day the lab part of the class won't go the whole time so I'll be able to make it to US Pizza for a birthday party for some of the girls whose birthdays fell over the holidays. For the most part I'm ready to get back into some sort of schedule for the semester and have an idea of how my weeks will look. Happy Tuesday friends hope your week back to reality is going GREAT!

Back to Fay

So I made the trek back to Fay yesterday. It was sad to leave but great to be back. I went to one last breakfast at Stoby's before I headed back which was a perfect way to end my trip back in Cway. After that I finished loading up big red and headed back, I have actually managed to get unpacked and pretty much settled back in. Its so great to be back and get to see all my friends I haven't seen for 5 weeks! We all just picked right back up like it had been 5 minutes, ha. The girls (Katie, Dan, Kat, & Meag) all went to JJ's for dinner before we headed home to get ready and hit up Dickson. It was so much fun to see everybody! I felt like everyone was out last night and it was just so much fun to see all my Fayetteville friends in one place. Today me and Meag went to church before I headed to a wedding shower for another chi o, I swear it feels like everyone is getting married right now, ha. Here's a few pics of last night, love these girls!

3 Down, 87 to Go

So the goal for this year in the blogosphere was for me to blog 90 times. I've only done two so far, well this one makes 3 and I'm already struggling, ha. I refuse to start falling behind when I have no excuse so here goes. Let's see today was mostly spent trying to get organized and ready to head back to school. I start my internship on Wednesday and I am so excited/nervous/excited/nervous basically every 2 seconds my feelings change. I am really excited to get some really great experience at a place that I have been wanting to intern/work since my freshman year of college, but at the same time if you know me at all you know new things make my tummy hurt. I get so nervous when it comes to doing something new, I'm really trying to get better at not worrying and I think I've made some mild progress. I mean I was the kid who had to take mylanta for six weeks straight because kindergarten gave me separation anxiety...embarrassing, I know. I'm just ready to be three weeks into my internship and semester so I can know better what to expect and what I'm doing. To help me knock out one of the things I'm worried about my mom is going to help me try and figure out some work outfits tomorrow. I know this doesn't seem like a big deal but if I don't have to worry about creating some business outfit pre-8am the less stressed I'll be. Ok, so sorry for the ramble but that's basically all that has been on my mind for the past couple of days. The break is winding down which is always bittersweet. I am so excited to see my friends on Saturday but I'm also sad to leave home and my family.

So on to a more fun topic, this past weekend I went to a friend's wedding in Tulsa. This was my first friend/chi o wedding and it was SO MUCH fun! Dani and I stayed with Heather and she showed us around her hometown. The wedding was gorgeous and Kristen made a gorgeous bride. It was so much fun getting to catch up with all the Chi O's a year older than me who were at the wedding! All in all it was a GREAT weekend. All the pictures in this post are from the wedding reception!

A Look into 2011

So since I did my post looking back on 2010 I figure it is time to do the post looking forward to 2011. I am so excited about this year even though it has to be the first year I have no clue what-so-ever as to what to expect. I've always looked ahead into a new year knowing that I would finish the spring semester have a summer vacation back in Conway and then head back to school in the fall. Of course there were many unknowns when looking ahead, who would I hang out with, would I stay friends with all my old friends, who would become new friends, would I enjoy my classes, would I find a summer job. These thoughts were all concerns I used to have and different years other things would cross my mind as my life changed. This year I will graduate college in May, how did this happen. Everyone always told me college would go by even faster than high school but I never really believed them but its so true. I can't believe that I will be done with school in May it doesn't seem real. After graduation I have no clue what I will be doing, where or if I will find a job, who I will live with and where, but strangely these thoughts would have set me into a mini panic attack most years but this year I'm trying to just go with it. I'm currently okay with not knowing, its exciting that in a year I can reflect back on a year that my life made big changes. I'm so excited! Don't get me wrong probably in a week, or maybe even tomorrow, I'll be back on here panicking that my life is in a downward spiral with no direction, but right now I feel okay with it. There's my little spill on that, ha. Additionally, this year is the same year that I will be in my first wedding for a friend, my roommate from freshman and sophomore year Kara is getting married in August and I am so excited to get to be a part of her big day. I'm so excited for Kara and Daniel but its still strange that people my age are old enough to get married. So here's to a year full of exciting new things and events I can't even imagine. I can't wait to see what this year holds. My new year's resolution for blog world for this year is to write 90 blog posts, I wrote 45 posts in 2010 and want to double that number this year. I only have to write 2 a week and I'm hoping that this is a realistic goal. Happy SUGAR BOWL TUESDAY bloggy friends!! Woo Pig Sooie, GO HOGS GO!!!

Happy New Year!

So before I get started on all the exciting things ahead for this next year I figured I should try and do a highlights of 2010! 2010 was an AWESOME year with lots of great times! So here we go on the best of 2010! I think the easiest way to update is a month by month play by play!

January: We celebrated Nat's 21st, went to the liberty bowl, and I started an internship with AAO.
February: Threw a surprise party for Sgibsy, came home for Mom's birthday, started the extreme countdown for my birthday. (I'm starting to see a trend that my friends and I love birthdays)

March: I turned 21! We continued my birthday with a week of celebrating in Panama City.
April: I went to Dallas with PRSSA and got to go to a Rangers game, went to the races with the fam, and we had formal unknown!

Summer (May, June, & July): Finished up my junior year, went back to Conway to work at CVCC for the summer, went on vacation to Florida, moved into a house in Fayetteville with my faveies.

August: Time to move back to Fayetteville, had a fantastic time on rush team and ended up with a new pledge class of 104, started my SENIOR YEAR

September: School is back in full force, time for Yippie Chi O ( one of my favorite functions), football & tailgating season started.

October: Owl-O-Ween and football pretty much sum up this month.
November: Finished up football season (except for the Sugar Bowl!), went camping for the first (and more than likely last/only) time, lots of girls nights outs.

December: One of my favorite months of the year consisted of lots of Christmas-ness with family and friends and an amazing internship opportunity with a PR firm in Fayetteville which I can't wait to start in January.

I think its a safe bet to say 2010 was my best year yet!