Tell the World Tuesday!

Is it your favorite day yet? I'm very excited for this week's feature! I don't exactly remember how I found this blog, but reading the posts have been a lot of fun! This week, I bring you Jaimie from Legos in my Pocket! This lady is a lot of fun and has been participating in the photo swap that is hosted by Kendra (from three weeks ago!) I love checking her blog all the time, as she is one of the most honest people I know. She also featured me as her April Monthly Featured Blogger. After you read the feature, head on over and check her out!

1. First things first, tell me where you blog and a small paragraph about your blog.
-What is your main reason for blogging, how often do you post, what is your content, etc.
Legos In My Pocket is my home away from home. It's all about mine & my husbands adventures in life. I dabble in a little of everything!
Monthly Featured Bloggers (MFB), crafts, recipes, quizzes, even the Monthly scavenger hunt! I love snail mail, so I've joined in tons of Postcard swaps, and I love photo challenges that I normally post on my photo blog "Pocket Memories." I tend to get caught up in real life now & again, and rely a little to much on pre-scheduled posts, but I do my best to be active! Every now & again I get a little serious & will write whatever is stewing in my brain...
I use alot of colors, Bold, CAPITALS, italics, !!!Exclamation marks!!! & ...Dot...Dot...Dots...
In the end, I'm just me! :)


2. Give me 5 words you use to describe yourself:
Motherly, passionate, OCD, creative, & forward...(which some consider just bitchy ;))  

3.Do you use a real alarm clock or your phone? If you use your phone, what tune do you wake up to?
Uhm, I use both, but wake up to neither... my actual alarm has to be set to turn on the radio, which has to be set to a fuzzy station SUPER loud, but that apparently gives my husband, Ryan, heart palpitations, so he sets in to the quiet beeping so it wakes him up to wake me up. Unfortunately, he tends to be to sleepy to actually wake me up, so I normally have my cellphone set to go off 5 mins after his, with a Beethoven symphony on super loud on my side of the bed, so he has to lean over me to turn it off, which wakes me up. :D
(Ryan doesn't tend to like that very much...)

4. What (or who) inspires you most?
I try to find inspiration everywhere I can, but it tends to frequently come from a few common places:

My Hubby Ryan = can make a grumpy old gremlin break out into a giggle-fit

Any & All of the MINICrew = They are all pretty durn awesome yo!!

My Momma = probably not as much as she thinks, but she does, everyday.

And really most of all,
just taking sitting outside, or by a window
where I can see, hear, feel, & smell outside...
brings my mind to life.
5. Do you read for fun? If so, what are you currently reading; or what is a book you recommend?
ALL THE TIME!! I love to read... I'm currently addicted to a few different ones, (& yes, I'm reading more than one at a time!)
The House of Night series by P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast
The Stephanie Plum series by Janet EvanovichThe Immortal series by Alyson Noel
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner
6. What is something you've always wanted to do?
Oh boy, lots of things.... See my Bucket List Top 5 for examples...
but in the blogging world, I'd really like to do a giveaway, I've never done one before... but I don't know how to go about starting one...
7. What is your favorite part of the day, and why?
I love early mornings, sitting there in my jammies on the back porch with a cup of coffee
 watching the sun come up, & listening to the world awaken... Or in the middle of the day going for a walk with Ryan & Mazda, or just going for a drive... early evening sitting down with my family for a delicious dinner, laughing & talking about our days... but my favorite time of day is late at night, when its time for bed. After Ryan's turned off his Xbox & I've shut down the computer, when we snuggle down under the covers & cuddle up to talk & giggle about anything else left until we fall asleep. :)

8. Where is your favorite place you have traveled? OR where is a place you would like to travel?
My favorite place in the entire world to go is when we pack up all the MINICrew cars till we barely fit ourselves, & drive the 5-6 hours to Newport, Idaho where we have our cabin on Lake Pend Oreille.

(Click here to see more of the cabin!!!)
We normally stay for a week of un-interrupted sunshine, warm weather, & bliss.
But someday, I want to travel to Italy,

& experience everything it has to offer!

9. What is your guilty pleasure (food, tv, show, etc)
This is going to sound really weird, but I love water. I always have it near me!
But I guess my guilty pleasure would be chocolate peanut butter dollar scoops from Baskin-Robins. YUM :D
T.V. wise right now I'm HOOKED on GLEE & Fringe... & When it comes to music, I will never tire of Linkin Park!
10. Give your favorite inspirational quote, photo, or both!
To be honest, we aren't very spiritual, but...
my family LIVES by this prayer:

11. What is the one thing you want to Tell the World today?
Be you. Don't worry about what other people think, act, or how they are going to judge you. In the end, it doesn't matter. In the end, all that really matters is how YOU feel about you. Say what you want to say, Sing when you want to sing, Do what you want to do, Dance when you feel like dancing, Feel how you want to feel, Love whoever you want to love. The ones who care don't matter, the ones who do matter, don't care. Just stay true to YOU. :D

Well there you have it, this week's Tell the World Tuesday! I love what she had to tell the world today (seriously, all of you ladies have been fantastic about this!) I hope you go check her out at Legos in my Pocket! I know you'll love her blog as much as I do!

Do you want to be a feature for Tell the World Tuesday? I would LOVE to have you! Comment here to let me know, or send me an e-mail to mbattiestOKU{at}gmail{dot}com and we'll get everything together for your feature!

Happy Tuesday friends!

Weekend Recap

So I don't know if you've checked out my corner of the blogosphere lately, but last Thursday I changed everything up. I decided that I wanted a cleaner space that was super simple, so I got rid of my background and changed up my header. I somehow deleted my signature and can't seem to get it back, something about formatting my HTML and having things all wrong. Lamesauce. However, with the new header and layout also came some new buttons. These buttons are summer friendly buttons! The old ones still work if you have them, but I just wanted to give you newer options!

Okay, on to the weekend recap.

Friday, I went out to eat with my aunt, cousins, and brothers. Once we finished lunch, I went shopping with my aunt and cousins to attempt to find some new cleats for my cousin. While we were out, I ended up finding myself some new tennis shoes. They are some pretty sweet Nikes that are black and purple. You should know by now that I love me some purple :)
That evening I went to watch my brother play in his last football game (potentially). he was selected as a Green Country All-Star. His team won the game 30-0, and he played quite a bit of defense and was on special teams.

Saturday was a forever long day. When I was at the football game on Friday night, my mom and i were talking about my upcoming final interview. She asked if I had professional clothes, and I told her what I had...she basically said it wasn't good enough, and that she wanted to take me shopping to fix this. There is a store here called NBC, and it's basically a thrift store. It's a HUGE thrift store, and anytime you want to find stuff, you have to devote at least an hour to finding things. We were there from 11 to 12:30, I found about 10 pieces of clothing, and then we left to go to my second cousin's birthday party. We were there for about an hour and then headed to my cousin Emma's softball game.
Out of the ten articles of clothing I bought, I didn't get a blazer with sleeves. Although the sleeveless looking blazer is very pretty, there is no way that is professional enough for a very important interview. So AFTER the game, my mother and I headed over to Owasso to check out TJ Maxx and Ross. We had no luck there, except buying a super thick belt for the dress that I bought at NBC. However, I did enjoy perusing through the home decor section to see what I could potentially use to decorate my hypothetical apartment :)
With no luck for suits at either TJ Maxx or Ross, we went over JC Penney (they're all in the same shopping center) to look and see if we could find something there. I SUCCESSFULLY found 3 pieces to a suit (pants, skirt, blazer), and spent about $65. This girl knows how to shop.
After the successful trip to JCP, we went back to Emma's tournament.

Sunday, I got up early to go to Emma's first game of the day, and then went and watched my cousins Edith and MacKenzie play basketball for the remainder of the day. I got to hang out with my grandma all day, and she took us out to eat dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. It was delicious.
Once I was back home, I got my car and went to visit Katy since she will be leaving for an internship on Wednesday. I took my friend Sam with me and we stayed there until midnight. We were deliriously tired by the time we left and were being completely silly.

Today, I lounged around all day and did laundry. I'm also nervously awaiting my interview tomorrow. I got a phone call on Friday afternoon to confirm what is hopefully my final interview. Interview success = first big girl job = first big girl place = Mallori is all grown up. It'll be a huge change of scenery. I'm super excited for my potential apartment! I've already made plans about all kind of things!

Here's to looking professional, rocking an interview, landing the job, and being a semi-adult :)

Have a great (short) week!

Job Update + Reading List

I have applied to be a full-time bank teller at a bank here in Tulsa. I've gone through a phone interview, a bank teller simulation, and a first-round interview. I am waiting to see when my second interview with the branch manager will be able to meet with me. It will be a full time hourly paid job, but it will be plenty of money for me to start looking for a place to be on my own. I'm nervous and excited! Nervous because this is my first "big girl job," and excited for the potential of being on my own. Wish me luck!

I also realized that I read A LOT, but I don't ever write about what I'm reading. So with that being said, here is a list of books I have finished since January (in the order read):
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
After I saw the first part of The Deathly Hallows movies, I decided I needed to read the book again. A lot of times when I am reading, I want to know what happens so bad that I speed through books and read them as quickly as possible. It was just as good the second time around :)

2. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
YOU HAVE TO READ THIS! No seriously, it is SO ADDICTING! It took me a little bit to get into the book because I was dealing with packing stuff up to head back to Norman for my final semester, but we got snow days and I had to wait to get the second and third book in the series. They didn't get here fast enough!

3. Awakened (House of Night Series), Kristen and P.C. Cast
This is book 8 in the series. It's set in Tulsa, so naturally I LOVE the series, but I'm beginning to wonder if it'll ever get wrapped up. Each chapter is a cliffhanger, and each book is a cliffhanger. It surprisingly also takes place over a span of about 4 months (from what I can tell). If you want a pretty easy read, you should check these out. I'm going to love them because it's set in a place I know :)
I whizzed through this book while waiting to receive Catching Fire.
First book is titled Marked. 

4. Catching Fire (Hunger Games Trilogy), Suzanne Collins
Book two of The Hunger Games, and it throws a curveball right in the middle of it. Seriously, I couldn't put this one down either. I took it with me to meals to read while I was eating. So addicting!

5. Mockingjay (Hunger Games Trilogy), Suzanne Collins
The final chapter of The Hunger Games, and it's just as addicting as the first two. I really want to talk about them a lot, but I want to encourage you to read them because they are totally worth it!

6. The Maze Runner, James Dashner
This is the first book of a trilogy. It was recommended to me by a couple of people, especially because I liked The Hunger Games.It was really hard for me to get into, and then my appendix surgery happened while I was trying to read it. But once I got into it, I couldn't put it down!

7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
I was a little apprehensive about this book because so many people told me it was awful and they hated it. I took it with me and started it during spring break on our way back from Florida. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this book. It was another one of those that was kind of difficult to get into at first but I couldn't put it down once it started to pick up. I thought it was so good that bought the second book The Girl Who Played with Fire about 10 chapters before I finished this one. Loved it.

8. Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Again, this was recommended to me by quite a few people. I also wanted to see the movie, but I like to read books before I watch movies. I LOVED THIS BOOK. It was absolutely beautifully written. I even teared up a little bit during it.

9. The Giver, Lois Lowry
This was given to me by my aunt who is an English teacher for middle school. She couldn't believe I hadn't read it. It was another one that took a while to get into, just because it was so far into the future that my mind couldn't comprehend it. I liked the book, but the ending was a little bit of a disappointment.


As you can see, my book tastes are all over the place.
I feel like I'm missing some stuff here and there, but this may be all that I've read...I feel like that's not very many books for 5 months. I'm kind of slacking here.

Right now, I'm reading Storm Front by James Butcher, and rotating in with it The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson.

I've got quite a few more books on the bookshelf that I intend to read, including The Scorch Trials (James Dashner), Eat Pray Love, The Kite Runner, and starting three separate series: Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood on HBO is based off these books), The Gossip Girl series, and the Pretty Little Liars books.

I also plan on buying Bet Me by Jenifer Crusie, per recommendation of my friend Sam.

I LOVE READING. I'll read just about anything. And I'm the type of person that will finish a book no matter how hard it is for me to get through it.  Any recommendations? Have you read any of these and loved them? I'd love to hear what you have to say!

Sometimes, It's the Simple Things...

Today I'm doing another link up (I promise things will get to normal posting around here soon!) called "The Simple Things" found over at Jesslyn Amber. What's the idea behind The Simple Things? Well it's quite simple (tee hee hee), but I'll let the words of Jesslyn explain:

"I came up with this idea because one of my main goals is to remain optimistic and positive about life and everything that happens in it. Life's a struggle and a challenge, and sometimes we forget all the things that make it so special.

I want to learn to appreciate the simple things and I want to encourage you to do the same. Life's not a race or a contest, and it's definitely not something we should take for granted. Life is about enjoying the little, special, simple joys of our every day!

There will not be a certain structure for this link up! You can participate however you want to. Some days I may simply post a list of things I stopped to appreciate throughout the week...I may only post pictures...or I may write about one specific thing that stuck out to me. It doesn't matter how big or small your post is. I just want to take time to love the little things that make life so wonderful."

So there you have it. Keep it simple and remember what it is that makes you happy. Today's first Simple Things post will be kind of all over the place, so just bear with me.

The Simple Things in life that I love, and that make me smile:

*When my youngest cousins run and attach themselves to me when I come home from school

*Getting to sleep in

*The pretty colors the sky turns when it's been raining all day and the sun starts to set

*Getting text messages that say "I miss you!" because the sender has no idea how much I ache to be in their presence!

*This picture:

Mimi, me, and Jared on my graduation day

*Oh, and this picture:

my best friend Erika and I cracking up

*And how about one more picture for good measure:

Check out my face--in the Florida Gulf ocean for spring break 2011

*This song:

Idiosyncrasies

Today, I have a fun post for you that was featured over at Laugh Until Your Cheeks Hurt last week! (You can find the post here.)

idiosyncrasy –noun, plural -sies.

1.

a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.

2.

the physical constitution peculiar to an individual.

3.

a peculiarity of the physical or the mental constitution,especially susceptibility toward drugs, food, etc. Compare allergy ( def. 1 )

-via dictionary.reference.com

So here it is, a list of my idiosyncrasies!

1. I habitually count my steps as I am walking. I've read multiple places that this is a sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I've even counted my steps as I was running, like when I ran my half-marathon last November!

2. I have to make sure that my college class ring, which I have only taken off for my appendix surgery since I got it, is on my finger straight. If it starts twisting to either side, I move it and double check to make sure it is on perfectly straight.

3. When I have my DVD's on a shelf, they must be in alphabetical order. Another sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder. They must also be put back in alphabetical order as soon as I get done with the movie.

4. Books on a book shelf should be lined up by book height. Do you think I'm crazy yet?

5. I'm impressed by people who can spell well and use proper grammar. I may not always type on here using proper grammar, but if you can send me a text message with perfect grammar, you just went up in cool points. Proper grammar was stressed while I was growing up because both of my aunts were English majors. So I fall hardest for the boys who can speak eloquently!

6. To this day, no matter how much you try to teach me, I cannot snap my fingers and produce a sound. Every now and then I'll get one or two sounds, but I have to produce about 30 snaps to get one or two. I can, however, frat snap :) [click both words--"frat" will take you to urban dictionary; "snap" will take you to a video]

7. To add on to other things I cannot do, I can't burp on purpose. No really. I know that may be a good thing, but it's embarrassing when you're in a public place and one slips out. And it hurts when you like beer and can't burp that ferment out. Have I grossed you out yet?

8. I cannot stand lint between my toes when I take my socks off. I seriously sit there for a couple minutes after I take off my socks and use the socks to get it out from between my toes.

9. I'm so practical in what I wear that I have a really hard time buying a bra that is any color other than nude. I just can't bring myself to buy something that makes me have to strategically pick what color of shirt I wear. However, when I bought my last couple of bras, I had a friend go with me and she forced me to buy one with a pattern. Baby steps!

10. I hate making a bed. I mean changing sheets and making it daily. I just don't see a point in making my bed first thing in the morning if I'm just going to get into it again that night. But I do it every now and then.

11. I go on sports obsessions. This shouldn't be new, but seriously. College football season? I will spend ALL DAY Saturdays watching pre-game stuff and games (ask my youngest brother, he wanted to watch Saturday morning cartoons one weekend when I was home, and I made him turn it to Game Day at 10). It doesn't matter who's playing just as long as I get to watch the OU game. And I seriously spent all day Monday looking up stuff about the OKC Thunder in preparation for game 4. I figured out the ages of everyone on roster, looked up and studied James Harden, and I obsessed over my new jersey!

FEAR THE BEARD!

What are your idiosyncrasies? Write up a post about them and head on over to Laugh Until Your Cheeks Hurt: Idiosyncrasy link up and share with all of us!

Tell the World Tuesday!

You know how much I love Tuesdays! I'm very VERY excited for today's feature! Today I have for you the very funny and beautiful Lindsay from TexaGermaNadian: My Life in Three Countries. I don't exactly remember how I found her, but once I started reading, I fell in love! For real, this lady is funny, and she is one of the best comment back people ever (you just have to remember which posts you commented on)! She leaves pretty sweet comments too. And she has some pretty sweet design work as well (she created one of my ad buttons!) She recently came back stateside, so she's been super busy, but I was lucky enough to get her to answer my questions! So without further ado, I give you Lindsay! Take it away, TGN!

1. First things first, tell me where you blog and a small paragraph about your blog.

Somehow or another I met my hockey-playing husband in Texas. I know right, ice hockey in Texas? :) Since our paths crossed in 2007 we have traveling all over North America and now Europe making a home for ourselves while living the hockey life abroad. My blog is a creative, er, rather sarcastic take on our life in Germany (as well as the culture shock we get when coming back to North America).  I actually blog in 3 different places (Texas, Germany, Canada = TexaGermaNadian, ahhhh, moment of clarity, right?!). Right now we are back in Texas until July, then a quick trip to Canada, and on to Germany in August to do it all again!

Hockey in Germany can be pretty cra-zay

2. Give me 5 words you use to describe yourself:
determined, observant, creative, silly, engaging

3. Do you use a real alarm clock or your phone? If you use your phone, what tune do you wake up to?
I use both! Between the hubs and I, we are paranoid that it won't go off. When we really have to wake up for something important, there might be as few as 3 alarms set. You say crazy, I say playing it safe :)

4.  What (or who) inspires you most?
As corny as it sounds, I think I have to say my husband. Just like any hockey player, he has had some major ups and downs in his career. I am constantly amazed at his ability to bounce back and reach and surpass his goals. I'll brag, I'll go there :) After a crap-tastic hockey season in 2010, he was able to come back and win the scoring title and the championship this year. Now that is determination.

Just after the big win, already celebrating on the ice!

5. Do you read for fun? If so, what are you currently reading; or what is a book you recommend?
 I do like reading for fun, but I ran out of good English books in Germany. And I refused to pay 25 Euro for an English paperback there, yikes! So crossword puzzles are my go to.

6. What is something you’ve always wanted to do?
I've kinda always wanted to be on TV in some way. No, not a reality star. And definitely not an actress. But more so like a host or presenter. I think it would be so fun and I wouldn't totally suck at it :)

Enjoying Oktoberfest!

7. What is your favorite part of the day, and why?
It is a tie between that moment of quiet time I get while having my morning coffee and shaking the cobwebs off. And the beautiful light of dusk. The day is ending, but the fun night is just beginning.

Day trip to Strasbourg

8. Where is the favorite place you traveled? OR Where is a place you would like to travel?
 Greece for sure!! The Aegean Sea and the  beautiful sun-baked islands, not to mention the awesomely fresh Greek food. I don't think life gets much better than that!

9. What’s your guilty pleasure (food, tv show, etc.)
Oh geez, do I have to admit this?! Any of the Real Housewives series. Although I am currently obsessed with the Beverly Hills bunch. Those bitches be crazy! The hubs think I am mentally ill for watching those shows...I agree.

10. Give your favorite inspirational quote, photo, or both!
It is not so much inspirational, but a quote that means a lot to me and our nomad-ish lifestyle.
"Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."
~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
So true!

Us at the Christmas Markets in Germany

11. What is the one thing you want to Tell the World today?
I'll use this space to give a very BIG CONGRATS to Mallori and her 2011 College Graduation!! What an accomplishment, girl. Awesome :) And thanks for having me on Tell the World Tuesday!


Aww shucks, Lindsay! You're too kind! Thank you so much for the congrats! It still hasn't hit me yet, and you are quite awesome yourself! And thank you for agreeing to do this! I know my readers will love you as much as I do (if they haven't checked your site out already)!

So readers, go check out TexaGermaNadian and leave a little love! You won't be sorry you did!

Do you love Tell the World Tuesday as I do? Do you want to be featured here? I'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU! Send me and e-mail at mbattiestOKU{at}gmail{dot}com and I'll get everything squared away to have you right here for more people to get to know you!

Happy Tuesday!

Meet Me Monday

I bring you Meet Me Monday again, brought to you by All Things Ashley.

-Her post for M.M.M. is kind of similar to how I feel about my life: Perfectly Lonely...I have no problem being single, I enjoy it quite a lot, but sometimes I miss the companionship of being in a relationship. There's something new around here, and right now I'm just seeing where it goes!

-I'm one of the laziest hard workers you'll ever meet. What does this mean? It means that when I work, I WORK. But when I have time off, I'm soooo lazy. And I think that's okay.

-I'm crazy obsessed with James Harden from the OKC Thunder. I don't know when or why he became my favorite player, but I am patiently anxiously waiting for the Harden replica jersey that I ordered for myself as a graduation present to myself (yes I buy myself presents). You bet I'll be sportin' that thing with pride when it gets here today, just in time for game 4! (I will also post a picture once I receive it as well!!!!)

-I slept for 11 hours last night, and it was fantastic.

-I'm a HUGE family person. I spent all day yesterday in the hot sun sweating my booty off (literally) to watch my cousin play softball. It was probably one of the most fun days ever :)

-I hate looking for a job.

I think that's enough for today. Earlier this morning, I tweeted a video from YouTube (click on the word "YouTube" to be taken directly to the video). It's a pretty much blacked out video, but it's a first-hand account of a person who went through a tornado in Joplin, MO last night. I'm not going to lie, it made me cry. I can't imagine the terror they went through during all of this. Stop and say a prayer for those lives lost in Joplin, those saved, and those heroes that are helping them out today.

Have a good Monday!

contrary to popular belief, this girl is a SAP

Well, I was going to have a video for you today, but for some reason Chevy hasn't uploaded the video I was going to share with you onto YouTube. So I will describe it.

Okay, so I'm pretty sure it starts off showing two young kids, two boys, and then pans to a Chevy vehicle driving up to the curb. The younger of the two kids runs to the curb, and smiles up at what I'm assuming is his father, getting out of the car fully dressed in his army garb. The little kid smiles and then salutes his dad.

I'm a sucker for any type of soldier homecoming. I know what it's like to wait at a base airport hoping to just get a glimpse of a loved one because even though he says he's going to be there, you won't believe it until you can physically see him. Naturally, I saw this commercial last night and pretty much started crying. This was after I had fixed my makeup in preparation for going out to watch last night's NBA game of Thunder (up!) vs the Mavs. [Thunder won, by the way, making the series tied at 1-1 with the next two games in OKC.] So I tried my hardest to get it locked up without ruining my makeup.

But then, THEN the stinkin' commercial decided to play DURING THE GAME. I had to turn away from the TV.

Please tell me I'm not the only person who watches a soldier's homecoming and is a crying, blubbering mess...

Update on the job hunt: I have my resume completed, thanks to some help from Erika and her "I just graduated from college and have had odd jobs" resume. I got it completed in one page, just like they tell you to do now a days. I have applied for a bank teller position, and am now looking at applying for Health and Wellness coordinators at various places around the country. That's right, country. I need to get a couple of certifications before I can even apply to some of these positions, but I think it might be something that I enjoy. I took a couple classes over it, and enjoyed them a lot. And who knows, if I get into them and like my job a lot, I may just push back nursing school for a little bit to make some money to pay off loans. I'm still going to be a nurse.

Have a good weekend!

Tell the World Tuesday!

I have another exciting feature for you today! This week's feature comes from Valerie at Threads and Thoughts and Things I Love. This amazingly beautiful and talented lady was introduced to me again by my friend Sam, and I'm so glad that I decided to follow her blog! Her blog showcases a lot of her sewing talents, and it makes me wish I was as talented as she is! But now I'm blabbing on, I'll let Valerie take it away!

Valerie (middle) and her whole family drinking butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

1. First things first, tell me where you blog and a small paragraph about your blog.
I'm Valerie and I blog at Threads and Thoughts and Things I Love. I have been sewing my own clothes for about 4 years now, and I was getting tired of sending e-mails with attachments of pictures of my creations to my mom, grandma, and any of my friends who cared. So I decided to start a blog and post my sewing there instead! My mom and grandma are two of my most loyal readers :) The sewing community actually has a huge presence in blogworld as well, and several sewing blogs I read on a daily basis inspired me too. I knew I didn't sew enough to be able to blog ONLY about sewing (I've got a full-time job, after all!), so I also like to throw in tidbits of daily life with my husband Scott or things I find around the web that I like. My blog name basically sums it all up: I write about threads, thoughts, and the things I love!

Valerie and Scott at Central Park

2. Give me 5 words you use to describe yourself:
Seamstress. Wife. Christian. Friend. Laugh-lover.

3-picture collage of a recent sewing accomplishment

3. Do you use a real alarm clock or your phone? If you use your phone, what tune do you wake up to?
Alarm clock! Nothing like an annoying BEEP BEEP BEEP first thing in the morning, right?


4. What (or who) inspires you most?
When it comes to sewing, I easily get inspired just being at my sewing machine. I love to just be there, stitching along, getting lost in creating a piece of clothing from what was previously just fabric and thread.

Valerie's sewing space

I am always staring people down on the street, checking out what they're wearing, trying to figure out how it was made, and then bringing it back to the sewing machine and really trying it out.

Valerie and Vanessa, her dressform

5. Do you read for fun? If so, what are you currently reading; or what is a book you recommend?
I was an English Education major in college and taught middle school Reading for two years, so YES, I definitely read for fun! I loooooove to read! For myself, I am currently reading a young adult novel, part of the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty, called Fourth Comings. For my book club, we are currently reading Bossypants, Tina Fey's memoirs. For our next book club meeting, we're going to visit the Upright Citizen's Brigade, where Tina herself occasionally shows up!

Valerie's book club

6. What is something you've always wanted to do?
Be on Dancing with the Stars. I have no idea what I would possibly do to be famous enough to be on that show, but perhaps being featured on Mallori's blog is a good start? :)


7. What is your favorite part of the day, and why?
Every day after work, I come home and immediately make dinner (as my husband is always absolutely starving by 5:00 PM). It just happens to always work out that I get finished making our meal just in time to bring the plates to the couch, sit down beside Scott, and watch Tosh.O on Comedy Central. Somehow that became our dinner-eating tradition, and I love it! It's the signal of the real end of my work day, and I know the rest of the evening I get to relax.


8. Where is the favorite place you traveled; or Where is a place you would like to travel?
I spent a semester abroad in college, living on an American Air Force base in rural England. Every weekend, the group of girls who were there with me would set off to a different country - it was an experience I am so grateful to have had! I can't choose just one place as my favorite, so I'll choose two: the west coast of Ireland and Florence, Italy. In Ireland, we spent a whole weekend just driving around on dirt roads in the countryside, riding horses through green Irish pastures, and spending the day at the Cliffs of Moher - absolutely breathtaking. Florence feels like a city frozen in time. We really immersed ourselves in Italian culture there - saw tons of art, ate tons of carbs, and climbed the steps of the Duomo. I haven't been back to Europe since (that was four years ago!), but I would love to go revisit some of the places I've already been, and see some new sights as well.

4 girls in Florence, Vaness on the right

Sitting above the ocean on the Cliffs of Moher

9. What is your guilty pleasure (food, TV show, etc.)
I'll name this one because I know most people would classify this as a guilty pleasure: I am abnormally obsessed with the Backstreet Boys. Like, still. To this day. As a 26-year-old woman. I've seen them live twice in the past year, and have tickets to see them again with New Kids on the Block in June!


10. Give your favorite inspirational quote, photo, or both!
"When it's all over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms...
I don't want to end up simply having visited this world."
-Mary Oliver, from the poem "When Death Comes"


11. What is one thing you want to Tell the World today?
Find something you love to do, and be passionate about it. Do it all the time. Tell people about it. Be proud of it. Share it. Don't let it get put on the backburner. Whatever it is, do it big.


And here are some more photos she sent me:

Val's and Scott's smooch at their wedding!

Valerie and Scott with their friends Heidi and Marshall, who will be getting married soon!

Valerie and her besties on top of a mountain they climbed in Arizona

What she has to tell the world today is something pretty powerful! Make sure you follow your passions! Now head on over to Threads and Thoughts and Things I Love and spread the love to Valerie! You won't be disappointed, and you'll most likely be inspired to start sewing projects (because she makes it look so easy!).

I'm an alumni!

I know, I know that I have been a complete slacker all week. I had intended to post a couple of times, but really, I had nothing to write. My brain was completely lazy all week long. Tuesday morning I took my first test. It wasn't that difficult, and really you couldn't study for it. It didn't affect my grade in capstone either.

Wednesday, I slept in way later than I had intended to, and then ended up studying for the remainder of the day. However, I took a break that night to watch the OKC Thunder play game 5. It was fantastic :)

Thursday morning, I took a test at 10:30 a.m. I think it seriously took me 11 minutes to complete the test. It was a lot easier than the midterm in that class. I then went back to the house and studied for the remainder of the day until my test at 4:30 p.m. That test took about 30-40 minutes to complete, and I got a 90% on that one! However, that brought my grade to an 85% overall in the class. lame.

So Thursday evening, I went shopping to find a new dress and shoes to graduate in. I'm not usually successful with shopping at all. I found not one, but TWO new dresses within 20 minutes of getting to the store! Score! But the shoes gave me a hard time, I think I went to probably 6 different stores before I found a pair that went well with my dresses. So what was I to do on my last night in Norman? Hit up Campus Corner, of course! I called up a few friends and met them out at my favorite hangout for a few celebratory drinks. Afterwards, I went and hung out with my friend Michael ("Rags") until WAY too late. I enjoyed the night with him, but it also made me sad to know it was my last night in Norman.

Friday I had a Native American student recognition service, and then went to the Commencement ceremony to listen to the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. It was a good speech, and he was actually pretty funny. OH, before I forget. Remember how my brother and I were graduating on the same day? Well, a majority of the family went to his graduation. Then my big tells me she has to work and won't make it. My roommate also had other stuff to do, so she couldn't make it to my ceremony where I got recognized. So needless to say, graduation has been an emotional drain on me. Well my big LIED to me and took work off to fly into Dallas, pick up her mom, and come to my ceremonies. So after the commencement, her mom took us out to dinner. I was very happy because more girls on our hall joined us for dinner :)

Saturday, I overslept, walked across a stage, packed, visited Rags for 15 minutes, and moved out of Norman for the last time. It still hasn't hit me yet because I just feel like I went home for the summer. But I know once August comes around, I'll be a mess.

The family had a barbecue for me when I finally made it back to Sperry. I was thoroughly exhausted and sat quiet for a lot of the night. Except when the family was cracking me up.

Yesterday, I attempted to sleep in, but got woke up by Jake. Then I got called into work. I still had stuff in the back of my car! I worked for about 8 hours and then came home to talk the living situation with my mom and grandma. Unfortunately, I have already moved in with one of my best friends. Not that I'm sad about living with him, I'm just sad that I don't get to stay with my family.

Now I'm looking for a salary job so I can start looking for a place to rent on my own while I try to get where I'm going. Anyone hiring? ha ha

And now pictures:

one of my favorite professors, Dr. Hofford

Ballroom Dancing partner for two semesters

some of my favorite people from Health and Exercise Sciences Student Association

roommate from first semester sophomore year

good friend in my major

"The University of Oklahoma College of Arts & Sciences"

Mimi, me, and Jared after graduation