Leg 1 of trip to Phoenix: complete.

I'm posting to inform you all that I am a little over half way to Phoenix and my best friend! (And NYE, and the Fiesta Bowl, etc.) I drove a very long time today. I left Tulsa (ish) at 6:15 a.m. CST and got to my hotel at 9:56 p.m. MST. (10:56 back home). It was a pretty long day.

Unfortunately, there is a HUGE MONGUS snowstorm hitting the Northern part of New Mexico, so once I hit Amarillo I had to take a detour to the Southern route. What does this mean? Instead of driving through a smidgeon of Texas and ALL of New Mexico, I instead drove through ALL of West Texas and a smidgeon of New Mexico. I really dislike that route. OH! Except for when the speed limit got up to 80 mph. That was heaven.

Another great part of the evening? I had to go through Border Patrol/Customs once I got into New Mexico. They had a drug dog sniffing out the cars, and then I rolled down the window to talk to the BP Officer and this is how the conversation went down:

BPO: Good evening, ma'am. How are you tonight?

Me: I'm just fine, thank you. How are you doing?

BPO: I'm doing great! Are you a citizen of the United States?

Me: Yes ma'am! I mean sir! Sorry! I've been driving a long time!

BPO: It's okay. You are good to go. Have a safe trip!

I then giggled as I drove off. Does anyone else see a problem with this conversation? Was that really all it took to get through border patrol? What if I wasn't a US citizen and I lied? I'm sure with my tags being from Oklahoma and my somewhat hick accent (it comes out the later at night it gets), the BPO had no doubt I was from here. But that's not the principle. (I also had other little fiascoes during my 1,026 mile drive that might make you giggle. [That's right, I knocked that out in a day. I'm a beast! But alas, I digress] I will have a post about all my adventures [and misadventures] once I have more time and am not sleepy.)

Anyone else ever had a similar experience with customs/border patrol?

The Bucket List: Mallori version

Well hello there readers! Sorry for taking such a long time to update, but with the holidays, everything has been SO CRAZY. And on the eve of my trip to Phoenix, I'm preparing for my little trip and just wanted to give a quick update. I got some amazing articles of clothing, and I'm very excited to be wearing them all! I also got enough money to travel to Phoenix, with a little extra from my grandpa for drinks. I'm hoping some desert sunshine will be what I need to help me feel better (I'm still not feeling 100%). Because I will be spending all day New Years with my bestest friend Erika preparing to and cheering on the Sooners, I figured today was as good a day as any to show you all my bucket list. This is something I've been working on for a little bit, and I will be adding more to it as time progresses. But as of 12/17/2010, here is my bucket list:

• Steal a pair of bowling shoes from a bowling alley.
• Apply (and get into!) Nursing School.
• Adopt children.
• Have one dog that I nurture from the time it is a puppy to old age (unfortunately, Jax doesn't count :[ UPDATE! As of 12/26, I have found the breed I want: 1/2 Italian Greyhound, 1/2 Chihuahua...they had them at the pet stop and they were SO PRECIOUS!!!).
• Go to a formal ball (so I can put two semesters of Ballroom Dancing to good use!).
• Go on a vacation with friends only (road trip is the only way to go!).
• Attend bartending school/be a bartender.
• Take guitar lessons.
• Take piano lessons.
• Coach a softball and/or a basketball team.
• See Aerosmith in concert.
• Attend a hunters safety course/get a hunting license/go hunting.
• Visit all 50 states.
• Visit Washington, D.C., and all the landmarks that implies.
• Visit New York City.
• Go on a cruise.
• Visit every Alpha Gamma Delta house.
• Attend International Convention for Alpha Gam.
• Attend National Convention for Alpha Phi Omega.
• Visit every school in our football conference for a game (thank you nebraska and missouri for changing it from being "Visit every Big XII school for a football game").
• Visit every Hard Rock Cafe (5 down).
• Two words: Las. Vegas.
• Backpack across Europe.
• Visit Dublin, Ireland.
• Visit Greece.
• Visit Australia.
• Live in London.
• Watch the New York Yankees play a game.
• Attend an NFL game.
• Go to a Bedlam basketball game at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• Have court side season tickets to an NBA team (preferably OKC Thunder).
• Gain enough courage to be completely honest with my feelings for other people.
• Make a positive impact on just ONE person before I die.

As I was compiling this list, I realized that a lot of the things I want to do relate to traveling! I knew I loved to travel, but I never really realized just how much I wanted to see the world! As you can see, I've got one thing down, and I will get to cross another thing off by the time I graduate :)

I am very blessed with everything and everyone in my life. Thank you all for being a part of it!

'Tis the Season?

WOW! I seriously CANNOT believe that it is already Christmas! WHERE HAS 2010 GONE?! I can hardly believe that a year has already passed since I thought I might not get to spend Christmas with my family (that was completely scary!). So, with that being said,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I hope you get to spend lots of time with those you love, and that this holiday brings you more happiness than your heart knew it desired!

Unfortunately, I've been sick for the past 4 days, so it's kind of hard for me to completely feel like it is that time of year again. I had the misfortune of spending almost my entire Christmas Eve in bed while the rest of my family got to cook and get to spend all kinds of time bonding over the cooking! I seriously enjoy the cooking part of Christmas Eve. All I have to say is, I better feel well soon so I don't have a rough time while I'm in Phoenix for the Fiesta Bowl...

Speaking of, my relatives gave way more than they probably should have, and I'm pretty sure I got plenty of money to fund my trip to the Grand Canyon State :) I'm very excited to be spending time with my big, yet again. We will be spending New Year's Eve together, and then cheering on our Sooners to what I hope to be a bowl victory (and that one of my wants from this post will come true!)!

Again, MERRY CHRISTMAS! May you be blessed to be surrounded by those you love....and per my beliefs, Jesus is the reason for the season, so remember to give thanks to Him for blessing each of you!

what made you want to run your half and how do you feel now that it's over?

This was another question I got on formspring! I love the questions I'm getting! (Blogging world, if you don't want me to post EVERY question I get, I'll just start posting the really good questions!) Thanks again for asking!

Honestly, I wanted to run my half to prove to myself I could do it. I've always kind of been fascinated with people who could run them. My friend Sam who goes to Arkansas is what made me get my butt up and decide to train for it, as she was always encouraging and an inspiration to me because of the obstacles she had to overcome to complete her full.
How do I feel? Relieved. Inspired. Accomplished. Happily ecstatic. I want to run more. It's kind of like an obsession. I still don't think I'll ever run a full, but that may change. We'll see.

Ask me anything!

It's that time again.

Well friends, a couple years ago I made a facebook note that was 2008 in review, pictures included! I can't remember exactly when I did it that year, but I feel like it is close enough to the end of the year that it JUST MIGHT be appropriate for me to do it now :) (Plus, I don't know how much time I'll have between here and New Year's to sit down and think about everything, especially with my trip to Phoenix coming up so soon!)

So without further ado, here is 2010 in Review: (he he, that rhymed! Unintentionally, of course!)

I rang in the New Year with my friend Kevin in Norman:

Kevin and I at Seven47

February is kind of a blur, with a few memories of a high school stereotypes-themed date party, and my Valentine's Day Date with Erika:

Erika and I; my date Craig and I

March was fun with spring break and birthday parties, and the end of my 4th year at OU coming on the horizon:

Me, Lisa and Caroline; Katy and I (pre-hair cut); Janelle and I: where the friendship started

April is one of the busiest months in sorority land, with our International Reunion Day, Annual Barbecue, Spring BIG/little, and of course more parties to celebrate the school year coming to an even closer end:

BIG/little: G-Lil Jessica, Lil Kristina, me, Big Erika; IRD: Katy, Meghan, Colleen, me, Hannah,  Kaitlin

BBQ: me, Katy; BBQ: me, Mallory; IRD: me, Katy

May brought the end of the school year, which included a date party (with my brother in attendance), Erika's graduation, returning home for the summer and attending Tulsa Drillers and Tulsa Shock games with Caroline, and beginning my summer job again:

ALL 3 SENIOR DATE PARTY: Sam, me, and Erika, representing the World Cup; me and Jared, with Jared representing Hawaii; me and my date Derek

[L-R, top-bottom] Caroline and I at Tulsa Shock; Jared and I at Tulsa Drillers; Erika and I at her graduation; the group I went with to the senior date party (World Cup): me, Derek, Sam, Jesse, Erika, Gio

June meant the beginning of my summer class, the wedding of a good friend from Freedom in Greece, still working that summer job, my first ever no-adult float trip, and a concert back in OKC:

Lady Antebellum on stage; Kevin and I at the concert; Tim McGraw on stage

In July, I finished up Physics II, worked a very long 4th of July tournament, celebrated 4th of July on the 5th (maybe even the 6th), a wedding in the family (with another wedding missed), bought the last things I needed for recruitment, welcomed Katy back from China, and went dancing at the Caravan with Casey. For some reason, I didn't take ANY pictures in July :(

In August, I moved back to Norman for what would be my final recruitment and final year as an undergrad at OU. With Katy being my roommate, the school year was looking to be amazing. The first couple weeks were spent preparing for the girls coming through recruitment, and once recruitment was over we had a few days to relax. I got my second tattoo, and went to a couple parties with my friends. Once school started, I quickly realized just how bad my senioritis would be:

Senior Pledge Class; Harry Potter Day

me, Kaitlin, Rachel, and Katy at my first-ever toga party; "The Sarcastic Trio"-Nicole, Piper, me

Josalyn, me, Katy on pref night; me, Kathie, and Sam on Bid Day

September began football games, and my never-ending semester of tests, projects, and papers, but not without having a little bit of fun and attending the first date party of the semester. I also joined Alpha Phi Omega, and found within it some amazing new friends:

[L-R, top-bottom] Lydia, Kaitlyn, me, and Kate for Lydia's 21st birthday; Andy and I (#STL); me, GinnyAnn at OU vs. Air Force; me, BIG Brook, Twin Courtney for some APO BIG/little love

October is another busy month in sorority land. It was my final OU/TX (celebrated the right way), more football games, another date party, the beginning of initiation, BIG/little, and of course, what is October without homecoming? During homecoming weekend I got my class ring (which I am obsessed with)! I got to go home and watch my baby brother play a couple games his senior year, and the family came down for family weekend, where Jacob and I got to run the State of Oklahoma flag at the football game. Jared was hit by a car, and that saw me returning to Sperry for less than 24 hours. This was when I realized that life is way too short, and tell those you love how you feel about them all the time. I also continued to make new friends through a couple guys I met at the Oklahoma State Fair:

OU/TX: Paige, Kelly, Rachel, Katy, Elizabeth, Michelle, me; our homecoming float; me, Jared, Jacob, Mom, David for family weekend; fall BIG/little (top to bottom) me, Katy, Kristina, Josalyn, Madisen, Rachel K, Abbey (Michelle is missing), Tricia, Stacie, Hailey, Hannah, Elisandra [MY FAMILY IS HUGE!]

Kaitlyn, me, and Colleen for the Flappers and Fedoras date party; Jacob on the field at his game

Jared, me, Jacob before running the flag vs Colorado; Katy, me in the West End during OU/TX

November was a pretty busy month for me! We initiated 66 girls into our sorority (quota!), my senior pledge class had a pub crawl, I RAN MY FIRST EVER HALF MARATHON, I attended the bedlam game at Stillwater, and I got to spend a lot of time with friends. I became GOOD friends with a group of guys (Chris, Chris, and Aaron), and got initiated into APO:

me, Sam after I finished my half marathon; me, Lara after APO initiation (yay stats buddy!)

Senior Pub Crawl: Colbi, Taylor, Johanna, Kelly, me, Lydia, Karen, Piper, Kristina, Nicole, Corrie; Daniell, me, and Tasha at Cory's birthday bash; Zach, me at Stonewall for my 23rd birthday

ALL 3 APO INITIATION: Max and I, my pledge class, Andy and I #STL

Now that December is here, I have attended the Big XII Championship with Janelle, wrote papers, taken tests, done projects, finished my second to last semester of undergrad, celebrated a 21st birthday, came home for Christmas break, attended many Christmas parties, GOT ON THE DEAN'S HONOR ROLL, and have been preparing my trip for the Fiesta Bowl coming up next week:

me, Josalyn for Josalyn's 21st

Josalyn, Cade Davis, me, Beau Gerber out on Campus Corner for Josalyn's 21st; Katy, Michelle, Ryan, me for the Kappa Alpha Order Dirty Santa Christmas date party

There are so many other memories that happened throughout the year that I didn't even put on here! These are just some of the highlights! I think it's safe to say that 2010 was a great year filled with many memories and personal accomplishments. With Christmas coming up, I can't wait to close out the year in style! Here's to 2011: May it be just as fun and unforgettable as 2010, with many more years to come!

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at the craziness I got into, and if you do a similar post, let me know! I wanna see the memories you've made this year as well!

Well, this post is a bust

Tonight was going to be a post reflecting on the past year, but I am taking a bit longer with the pictures than I had originally intended. I got a tip from my friend Sam at Love Never Fails to help out with saving a little bit of room on my photos, and it's taking a little longer than it should. I'm a newbie at this, but I'm working on trying to make everything a little bit more friendly to the eyes!

Look forward to my reflection post that is (hopefully) coming tomorrow!!

Sickness = no fun

I have spent the entire day in bed sleeping. Not because I am still catching up, but because I have been sick almost the entire day. I don't really know what it is that I'm sick with, I had a fever that broke and my chest hurts terribly. But instead of boring everyone with the pity party, I just wanted to challenge everyone to participate in a fun little project with me and my friends at A Grimm Tale called the photo swap. Last weeks post was a lot of fun for me, as it's my first time to participate in something across blogs! I'm also anxious to see what this next week's photo swap brings, as I'm sure many people will include holiday-fun photos!

For now, I'm going to watch my Gossip Girl and enjoy my home-made hot chocolate that my mommy made me :D (The hot chocolate is very yummy!)

If you see my tweets on the left hand side of the page, you might notice that I had tweeted about wanting to change things up with my blog. I think I've decided to do something a little similar to this photo for my banner:

However, I've got a couple ideas to make this photo more my own. I feel like it ties into what it is that I feel about my blog...searching for the beauty in things, but maintaining that everything can be seen as beautiful. I'm going to play around with it for now!

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

This was the question that someone asked me on formspring! Thank you so much for giving me a question to answer! Here is my answer:

Honestly, my favorite holiday tradition doesn't have anything to do with Christmas. You see, my two favorite holidays are Thanksgiving and 4th of July, because it's tons of family time with no stress over finding the "perfect" gift for everyone.

With that being said, fave Thanksgiving tradition is making the cranberry salad. I don't think I make it all that great, but my family loves it.

4th of July is definitely sitting, relaxing, having a cold one, and watching fireworks. What else is better than that?

Ask me anything!

It seems I want a little bit of everything

Thanks to -Sam I Am- at Love Never Fails for the idea for this post!

Some honesty straight from the brain and the heart, and just in time for Christmas!

I like.

• I like the feeling of my freshly shaved legs when I cuddle up in my bed!
• I like my University. I actually kind of love it.
• I like my class ring.
• I like my major (even though it tends to be a little redundant).
• I like to laugh until my stomach hurts and I can't breathe.
• I like my family, no matter how much my brothers try to say I don't like them anymore.
• I like my friends who might as well be family.
• I like to take pictures as often as possible with friends.
• I like to dress up for special nights out (honestly).
• I like my short hair :D
• I like purple. Probably a little too much.
• I like plaid.  A lot.
• I like fall more than any other season, the colors are breathtaking.
• I like having the feeling of security.
• I like my dog, even though the little shit doesn't mind at all.
• I like my blog, even if I have few readers.
• I like making posts that people actually want to read.
• I like both my fraternities A LOT.
• I like running, even if I don't do it as often as I'd like to.
• I like a whole lot more than this. If I kept going on, I would never get to the next part . . .

 I want.

• I want to be as happy as I am now forever. If not as happy, even more!
• I want to see the world, but want to start with my "own back yard" and see the 50 states.
• I want to look back on my life with no regrets.
• I want to see the Sooners win a bowl game this year!
• I want to make a positive impact on just ONE person before I die.
• I want to be a good example for my 2 brothers and 4 cousins.
• I want my mom and I to regain the friendship we once had . . .
• I want to work in IHQ for Alpha Gam (or volunteer to be an advisor!)
• I want to adopt minority babies :)
• I want to do something like Teach for America!
• I want to love so much it hurts. And not necessarily a romantic love.
• I want those I love to be able to appreciate the love, and not abuse it.
• I want to love my career.
• I want people to look at my life, and say that I did everything that made me happy.
• I want to be 23 without acne problems. That's annoying.
• I want to see the lunar eclipse tonight :)

Anyone else, please feel free to join our little like/want list!

It's kind of cool to figure out what your deepest desires are!

You can make your own post and give me the link to your page,

You can comment 1 or 2 things on this post,

or

You can even tell Sam 1 or 2 things on her post here

(I promise she'll like to hear them all!)

She's a lovely lady who enjoys getting to know new people :D

So get to telling us!

coma, coma, coma

So I was very excited to be going to my very first adult Christmas party last night! As in, it was the first Christmas party with people who all have real jobs and stuff that I got invited to. HOWEVER, the "adults" were just as, if not worse, bad as all the college parties I've been to! They were being ridiculously inappropriate, getting so drunk they were puking, and being overly dramatic and crying! I was slightly irritated at everything, and couldn't believe that I had thought that adults could handle partying and their alcohol...

The fun part of it was when we went to a bar just around the corner, where there was karaoke, pool, darts, and plenty of people wanting to buy drinks for us. The drinks were very very cheap too. bad thing about it? A lesbian hit on me. It was so freaking weird. So weird. So so so weird. Whatever.

I slept all day today to try to let my brain recuperate. I think my Mimi thinks it was because I was out so late, but I took three naps today.

This post is completely boring and I apologize for it. But my brain is still in a coma.

Also, I would love it if you would visit the formspring box on the left side of my page and ask me a question. Or two. Or 50. I haven't been asked anything in two months, and it makes me very sad :(

excited doesn't even begin to describe.

Readers, I can't even use the word "excited" to begin to tell you how I feel right now. I woke up 17 minutes ago and Hopped straight out of bed to finish packing. What is all this excitement from? I GET TO BE IN MY HOMETOWN TODAY!! I know I just saw my family at Thanksgiving, but I didn't see my house that weekend. And yes, I was there the weekend before that, but honestly, there's just no place like home. I've just got to finish packing and then I have a lunch date with Soul Twin before we both head out of town. AHHH! I'm so excited!

So last night while I was waiting for laundry to dry, I decided that it was about time that I actually write down my bucket list. I've always had an ongoing list in my head, but never anything concrete. So last night I started it. I think I'll work on it some more and maybe post it here New Year's Day, if I can find time (don't forget that's the day of the Fiesta Bowl). Even though I'm not that big on New Year's Resolutions, I figure there probably isn't a better day to write life goals than on New Year's Day. So get excited for that coming up! Until then, I'll give you a little teaser:

• Two words: Las. Vegas.

There are some others that are semi-serious too, but today I'm in such a great mood that I wanted a semi-silly one :)

Thank you all for reading!

Hello there brain?? Ah yes, nice to have you back.

My dear friends,

As I said last night, thank you so much for bearing with me throughout the past week with both the lack of posting and the very crazy and very random few posts I did. finals week always makes me lose my mind just a little bit. Like I said before, I hate that professors give comprehensive finals and such. I feel like it's a sick joke to have students be sleep deprived.

Today I have just been letting my brain recuperate from the madness of finals. Recuperating brain entails laundry, attempting to pack, and movies. As I'm sure none of you are surprised, I watched Love Actually today. I have also watched Spiderman 1 & 2, and now I feel like I need to go buy the 3rd. I've never seen the 3rd one, and I love the first two.

I got to go out last night with one of my very dear friends Kaitlyn. She is graduating tonight and her parents came in town to help her celebrate. We went to a restaurant called Louie's, and spent the entire night eating and having a couple drinks. I'm not all that sad about her graduating because she will still be around next semester, living and working here in Norman. It's so crazy to think that in 5 months I will also be walking across a stage and get my diploma holder!

I will get to head back home tomorrow afternoon, and I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED to be around my family again! It's going to be a whole month(ish) together, and I couldn't be happier!I say month(ish) because I will get to go to the Fiesta Bowl this year, where my Sooners are taking on the University of Connecticut. I get to go spend time with my big Erika in Phoenix, since the game is in Glendale, AZ.

I know this first one "back" is soooooo random. Hopefully tomorrow I will begin to make complete sense instead of a small tiny bit of sense...

I DID IT! (again)

Dear readers,

Thank you for not shunning me throughout my week of personal hell. I am beyond thoroughly exhausted that I am completely incapable of making a post worth reading. Just wanted to let everyone know that I just so happened to have survived my second to last finals week of undergrad . . . barely.

On a good note, I made up with an old friend today. Hopefully that relationship will grow exponentially stronger!

Until I have my wits about me (hopefully tomorrow), all I can do is leave you with a link to a very fantastic YouTube video. Embedding is not allowed for this one, so unlike my usual YouTubes, you have to actually go to the site. Sorry about that, but please, enjoy.

You are ridiculous, Bruno Mars.

Ok, so typically when I am in the bathroom getting ready in the mornings, our hallway has a radio playing. Obviously we've been playing Christmas music for a while, but someone changed it back to the pop station this morning. This song was on when I was getting ready:

Now, I've been listening to this song pretty much since it came out. I mean who doesn't love some Bruno Mars? His voice is so soothing, and damn it if I had someone sing "When I see your face/There's not a thing that I would change/'Cause girl you're amazing/Just the way you are" to me, I think I would first soil my pants and then tell them they have no choice but to be my husband. I mean you gotta admit, that's something EVERY girl wants to hear her love of choice say to her. The beats along with the lyrics are pretty damn catchy too. But this morning, I actually LISTENED to what I was singing. BRUNO, DITCH THE BITCH. KICK HER TO THE CURB! If you would do all these things for her and she "won't do the same," I say it's time to find another girl that can appreciate you for basically protecting the one you love. Find a girl that would do the exact same because trust me, unrequited love SUCKS. That is all.

Actually, that is not all. Does anyone else think Mr. Mars should keep his hat on? He looks like a completely different person. Also, seriously, don't for real jump in front of a train for that cheating whore. Seriously, that is really all now.

p.s. I'm not all about hate today. I'm slightly brain dead from lack of sleep, and you must forgive my ridiculous post. It's still finals week, with my last test being at 8 a.m. I will not be sleeping tonight, I can promise you that :)

p.p.s. Here are 3 pictures from my Little's 21st birthday this past weekend. I realized today when I was adding them to my computer that I never updated on that. Please forgive me! If you really would like to hear all the crazy shenanigans that went down, I can update that with my next post. I just don't want to bore anyone with something that happened almost a week ago. :D

Me and the Birthday Girl Josalyn!

My friend Sam and me

Sam, our friend Chris, and me...I really don't remember why we took the picture like this.

 Wish me good luck on my last final in my second-to-last semester as a college undergrad!

Case of the Mondays

After feeling like this due to finals week all day:

And reading these tweets from various friends on twitter:

• just having an off day...
• Ready to go home, curl up in bed, and escape from the world. By far the worst day I've had since living in Phoenix.#depressingtweet
• can i just go to bed now?? i'm tired of being frustrated. and irritated. and cold. ugh
• Today = SHIT. For the most part.

I decided that todays post is going to be filled with fun and happy YouTube videos. So watch these 4 of my personal favorites and have a good little laugh. After all, Monday is JUST ANOTHER DAY! I hope you all have a good remainder of your Monday!

And one of my personal favorites:

The woes of a (5th year) college senior

I can not, for the life of me, motivate myself to study. I don't know what the deal is here. The good thing about it is that I don't have my first final until 1:30 p.m. on Monday, but nonetheless it's AWFUL. I really dislike the idea of finals week at the end of every semester. I honestly think that sometimes, Universities like to put it on to torture the students, and professors get a good little giggle out of seeing students break down into tears in the middle of a test because of lack of sleep. THIS IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT PEOPLE!

That is all. I will (again) attempt to study for exercise physiology laboratory before I go to a Christmas party tonight and the OKC Thunder game tomorrow evening.

To all of you done with finals, don't speak to me. Just kidding. I'm just jealous. To all of you taking finals this week, good luck. I feel your pain. We should study break together to keep some ounce of sanity.

*Starstruck*

So, if you follow college football at all (and again, YOU SHOULD) you might have heard this guy's name dropped once or twice in his years of being a Sooner. (Please note the sarcasm in the once or twice.) Well, if you can believe it, I met him last night while out on Campus Corner! Sadly, I don't have a picture to prove it. He explained that he can get in BIIIIIIG trouble with the NCAA for taking pictures inside a bar since we have the Fiesta Bowl coming up on January 1. *sigh* that would have been a pretty legit picture. I told him I understood, and that I will be at the Fiesta Bowl to cheer him on. What was his response to that? "We're gonna win it for you." Freaking amazing!

Shortly after meeting him, I met a couple more famous Sooners! I was oober excited because these guys came came to my sorority house last semester, and I didn't get to meet them because I got called into a shift at work. They were super nice, and this is the SECOND time I've met Beau Gerber. His exact words to me were "You don't want a picture with me, I'm old news! You probably don't even know who I am." I said, "I know exactly who you are, you're Beau freakin' Gerber!" That convinced him to actually take a picture with me. Now if you know me in real life, you know I'm not short AT ALL, but dang they make me look SHORT! It's okay though. Congrats on your win last night guys! Wish I could have been there. That would have been even more legit to meet them after cheering them on!

By the way, if you're not a Sooner fan, pardon this post. But when you are a Sooner fan and you meet the athletes you cheer on, it's pretty freaking exciting! I'm still starstruck!

thoughts, excitement, and gifts

Today, I realized I will be graduating from college in 156 days. That's a scary thought. If I knew what I were going to be doing right away, I don't think it would be that big of an issue. Granted, I did have all these plans for myself way back in October when I decided with my first post back that I wanted to consistently start blogging again. However, because I had a couple deadlines sneak up on me, the LC option is out. And that makes me very sad. However, I still have the Teach for America option, and I don't really know when I'll complete THAT application.

If I could have any down-time job, I would LOVE to be a bartender. I just think being in that atmosphere would be the most fun I could have while "working."

Eventually, I do plan to go to nursing school. In fact, I even think I've found the perfect career for me: a travelling nurse. I don't have any marital/child commitments, so why not?

I'm very excited for part one of my beautiful little's birthday extravaganza! We will be attending an very nice dinner at Legend's here in Norman, and then heading over to Campus Corner for a night of 21st birthday good-ness!

As my last thought for the day, remember to be yourself and do what it is that makes you happy. You never know what it is that may impact another person's life. I say this because I got this pretty little frame as a Christmas present yesterday from a best friend, and I didn't realize that she thought that about me:

It's kind of hard to read, so this is what it says:

Women Who Change the World

There are women who make things better...simply by showing up
There are women who make things happen.
There are women who make their way.
There are women who make a difference.
And women who make us smile.
There are women of wit and wisdom who ~ through strength and courage ~ make it through.
There are women who change the world every day... women like you.

-Ashley Rice

Talk about a powerful little gift!

I'm obsessed. It's a problem.

I'm obsessed with Love Actually. This is seriously like my 6th time to watch it since it was returned to me last Thursday. Yes, that's almost a once per day average. It's a problem. I can't help it. It's a damn good Christmas movie, and a good movie to watch in general. I think Natalie is one of my favorite characters, and I think it's because her first line is "Hello David, I mean sir. Shit I can't believe I just said that. And now I've said shit. Twice." That's the best ever first line for a character if I do say so myself.

So the reason why I am able to blog today is that I have now completed 2 of 5 finals, and my next one is not until Monday at 1:30. So I have quite a bit of free time! Last weekend was completely insane. Friday I went out with my little and grand little to a fraternity date party. That's right, the two fraternity date parties I've been to, my dates have been my family and one of their boyfriends. I like to think I'm a balla like that. We spent the evening dancing and drinking and having such a fun time! It was a Christmas themed party, and here is a picture of me and my three dates:

Then Saturday morning I drove to Dallas to watch my Sooners beat up on some Cornhuskers. See ya later Nebraska, enjoy the Big Ten.

Sunday I had sorority meetings all day, and since Sunday I have been doing homework, projects, reports, and studying for finals. Wish me luck on the remaining finals I have!

Please excuse my lack of posting.

Well folks, it's that time of year again: Dead week this week and then finals week next week. I am apologizing for this week and next week because I won't be posting much. It's not because I don't love writing, I just have SO much to be studying for. I'll update when I can, but I may just be checking out until Thursday, December 16.

HOWEVER, I do promise that I will relax during the two weeks, one of my littles turns 21 on Friday! We have a fun night planned for her, so be expecting an update on that!

Love my readers.

SOONERS ARE BIG XII CHAMPS!

So just in case you don't follow college football (and you should), The University of Oklahoma beat The University of Nebraska Saturday night 23-20. I was there for it. I have a picture of it on my phone but I'm still trying to figure out how to blog from my phone. (I may go in later and edit this post to add the picture of my view. It was a great view!) I stayed in Flower Mound, TX with my friend Janelle and got to cheer on the Sooners. It was fantastic.

I'm thoroughly exhausted from little sleep tonight, so I just wanted to give a quick update about how much fun I had, and to leave you with this picture that I got from Sam at Love Never Fails from when I finished my half. I was so excited about it and I wanted to share how great I felt after I finished! I cannot express to you how grateful I was to have her there to be able to see a familiar face when I crossed the finish line.

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

bloggers, I'm afraid I'm stuck in a horrible rut.

Ok, so I know that I don't have many followers so I'm hoping to get some random stumbles for this one. During finals week, I typically like to have a book to read for pleasure to help me keep my wits about me. I love reading for pleasure, and a lot of times this little mental escape at the end of the day just before I fall asleep is what calms me down and quiets my mental static. However, being the creature of habit that I am, I find it difficult to just pick up a random book without first hearing others' opinions on them. Currently, I am reading this book for my book report/final project in my Human Sexuality class:

Now, this book was very interesting, but it was slightly redundant in the information. I mean, how many times can an author say that girls mature so much faster than they did in the 1700's? Anyways, finals week is in two weeks, and I am afraid that if I don't find a new book that is something other than out of this series,:

this series,:or this series:

then I might possibly go stark raving mad. So I am begging you bloggers, please save my from my pre-teen novel misery and give me something that I might possibly enjoy reading during my mental health breaks. Not saying that I don't thoroughly enjoy all three of these series, but there are only so many times I can read each of these books without looking like an obsessed freak.

Another thing that I would LOVE for you to help me out with is finding where I can update my blog layout! The template I have on it now is a nice change from the boring black I had before, but I want to expand my blogging look even more. I may not have the time to completely update the layout now, but I'm open to new suggestions to tinker with it over the upcoming Christmas break.

To my fellow bloggers, I hope you have a fantastic weekend! Sit back, curl up on the couch, pop in my personal favorite Christmas movie (seen below), have a cup of hot tea (/hot cocoa/hot coffee), and ENJOY THE WEEKEND! I will try to update some more this weekend, but again, I can't really guarantee much because I will be going to the Big XII Championship tomorrow evening to watch my SOONERS take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers for what will most likely be the last Big XII Championship in history. BOOMER SOONER!

And again, pop in this favorite Christmas movie of mine and think of me when you do!:

longest post ever!

I sincerely apologize for not blogging before now. I know my two readers may find this hard to believe, but I missed it so much this week! UNFORTUNATELY, the woes of being a 5th year college student HAD to come before writing down everything that has gone on in the past week. I neglected to take a book home that I had to write a report over, so my Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were filled with that. Then the end of Tuesday and yesterday were all about a very difficult personal training project that I had to complete by 7 p.m. yesterday. Needless to say, I got little social networking in since I returned to Norman on Sunday evening.

I'll start with my fantastical Thanksgiving break. Since I was going to the Bedlam game on Saturday, I drove straight from here (Norman) to Poteau, OK to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with the fam! My great aunt and I met up with our family friend for a very nice steak dinner at a place called Warehouse Willy's (I believe I already blogged about it). Then the family started to arrive on Wednesday afternoon, and we all spent the day hanging out and watching TV and movies. I went and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 for the second time with my uncle and female cousins. It was just as fantastic the second time around.

Thursday was filled with fantastic food and wine, and card games. Then, Thursday night, I embarked on my first ever Black Friday shopping experience with my three aunts (Annya, Jessica, and Margie) and my uncle Ryan. We were going to go to Toys 'R Us at 10, but when we got there, the line wrapped all the way around the little strip mall. NO THANK YOU. So instead we went to another little strip mall where there was an Old Navy and a Best Buy. I volunteered to wait in line at Best Buy while they went and shopped at Old Navy when it opened at midnight. We were in line at Best Buy for a total of seven hours before the store opened at 5 a.m.! I was in line by myself until about 1, and then me, Ryan, and Jessica took one-hour shifts until it opened. We didn't get everything we wanted, but we still got some amazing deals. I got my brothers' Christmas presents for an amazing price.

After Best Buy, we met up with my mom, great aunt, Mimi, and MacKenzie for breakfast, then we headed to the mall. It's been a long time since I have pulled an all-nighter, so I threw in the towel and went and took a nap. After all the mall shopping, we went and ate at a Japanese steak house, and since it was the day before my birthday, I guess you can say it was kind of my birthday lunch. We then returned to Linda's house, where I took like a 5 hour long nap and then headed to Stillwater.

Once I arrived in Stillwater on Friday evening, Zach, Megan (his girlfriend) and I went to a laid-back bar called Stonewall, where the drinks are cheap and strong. Needless to say, I didn't need very many drinks. Once midnight hit, I went around the entire bar telling everyone it was my birthday. It was slightly ridiculous. After the bar, Zach took Megan and I to Mickey D's because he didn't want us getting sick, where we got McGang Bang's. Ever had one? Me neither. But when you are intoxicated it's quite possibly the best thing ever. And it was ridiculously cheap. It is a double cheeseburger with a McChicken patty between the two beef patties. Heart attack in a bag.

Saturday we napped all day while watching football, then went to the OU/OSU bedlam game. Fantastic game. Would have been a hell of a game even if OU had lost, but OU winning was a pretty legit birthday present for me. Because of being out in the cold so much during black Friday and the bedlam game, after the game I did not celebrate. Instead, I ate and then passed out. Sunday I drove back to Norman, whoopee.

Like I said before, I have been doing school work the entire week. HOWEVER, tonight will be a fun-filled night. It will be amazingly fantastic. Our annual alumnae tree trim is tonight, and then after my plaid family is having our 4th annual Plaid Christmas party. This isn't your typical holiday party included with dirty Santa. No no, instead, we get dirty gifts, and play dirty Santa. We also include adult beverages for the legals, and spend the hour or so bonding and getting to know each plaid a little better. We are the mafia, and we are very loyal to each other, and we love each other a lot.

I can't believe how close Christmas break is! I'm so ready for the holidays, it's unreal.