2011 in Review

I really think I want to make this an annual tradition. I had so much fun making the photo collages from 2010 in Review last year! I also like looking back on all the memories of the year. I don't do a Christmas letter yet, but if I did, I'm sure it would be along the lines of the commentary here! Here is a review of some of the highlights of 2011.

I rang in the New Year in Phoenix, AZ with my absolute best friend. She and I were completely ridiculous, as expected, and still giggle about it to this day. I then got to watch my Sooners win the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day, making it the first BCS bowl victory in a while. I spent a total of about two weeks in Arizona with my best friend, and then made the trek home by myself to prepare for my final semester as an undergrad.

me, Katy, and Sarah on NYE in Scottsdale

Alpha Gams at the Fiesta Bowl

February seems to always be a blur to me. Maybe it's just because school hasn't actually started to get too busy, or maybe because it's the shortest month of the year. Anyways. I can tell you this. I partied. And it snowed a blizzard here in Oklahoma (during which Rags and I went from coworkers to BFF). And I had an emergency appendectomy that caused me to have to come back home for a week while I recovered. That week home made me miss a date party and the Thunder-Clippers game and the basketball game made me sad. But the good part of that is that I did get to see my baby brother play the last three games of his basketball career.

MARCH WAS AMAZING!!! The only thing I can REALLY tell you about is my spring break trip. Way back in my third semester of college, I decided that I wanted to save up money to take myself on a spring break trip my last semester. I asked my good friends to tag along, and we rented a beach house on Treasure Island in Florida. For the most part, we swam at the beach all day and then cooked and played drinking games all night. But St. Patrick's Day was the best ridiculousness ever. So many memories were made on that trip. Like cartwheels for everyone but me because my incision site still had a scab on it.

me and Katy on St. Patrick's Day

Most of the group-me, Colleen, Caroline, Max. Missing Katy and Cole

Katy and I on the beach at sunset

April was a typical busy month for me, filled with lots of tests, projects, our annual philanthropy, Relay for Life, and my last date party ever. With the last party also comes senior week, and as always it was sad and hilarious at the same time. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to my pledge class or my sorority, so you can bet your booty I cried A LOT that week. I also won my first ever intramural tournament for co-ed slowpitch softball with a great group of random guys and gals and had a lot of fun while doing it. TEAM USA!

All the people who played me

One of my littles. I'm dressed as Ally Sheedy from The Breakfast Club, she as "Baby" from Dirty Dancing

me and my date to the date party-Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy from The Breakfast Club

me and another little. She's from Tron

my amazing driver for the night :)

In May, I took my final finals of undergrad, celebrated probably wayyy too much, and then I said goodbye to the town I called my home for 5 years. Graduation was bittersweet. My baby brother and I graduated about 30 minutes apart, so the family was split on who came to my graduation. Instead of it being the full family picture outside Lloyd Noble I wanted, it was just me, Jared, and Mimi. BUT Erika DID surprise me, making me cry.

Mimi, me, and Jared on my graduation

I then returned home to Sperry, only to move in with my BFF Sean and his parents for the summer.


Not having a job got on my nerves quick, and I began to apply for bank positions at various banks here in Tulsa. I went through two rounds of interviews for one bank, and began my job on June 8. Unfortunately, I also said goodbye on June 7 to my oldest brother, as he left Tulsa for boot camp and would return the first week of November.

saying goodbye to my brother

July seems to be a blur with 4th of July, hanging out with my coworker Shawna all the time, and ending the the month with going to and meeting Ke$ha in concert. Concert of epic proportions. :)

In August, I said goodbye to the boy I had been dating all summer, and spent a lot of time hanging out with Shawna and some of our new friends. I got to spend time with Katy just before she left to go back to school for her final year, and then my youngest brother started college. I took an evening to go to Stillwater to take him and his friend to dinner. I also moved back in with my mom while I was waiting to move into my apartment complex.

In the first week of September, I said goodbye to the man who has been like a grandfather to me since a spring day when I was in second grade and went to his house to ask for a softball. If you asked him how many grandkids he had, he wouldn't say 5. He'd tell you about 20. That's just the man he was.

September wasn't all bad. I also got to meet new people, spend a lot of time with friends throughout the month (including a surprise visit from my friend Eli), and prepare for my move into my very first place.

The beginning of October was the best ever. I moved into my first ever apartment, I got a brand new phone, and then I got to Dallas for OU/TX weekend. And. It. Was. Fantastic. I also got to take my then-16-year-old cousins to their first ever concert at the Tulsa State Fair to see one of our favorite bands, Eli Young Band.

my first ever Oktoberfest with a coworker!

Eli Young Band concert

final score of the OU/TX game!

November was a busy month. I hosted a Scentsy party, welcomed my oldest brother home from basic and AIT training, celebrated the best holiday ever (Thanksgiving), and then I also celebrated my 24th birthday. I'M TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OLD. It's weird.

me and the twins at The Christmas Train

In December, I started working out with one of my coworkers (KK) to help us get a little more healthy. When we went this past week, she said she can already tell that she can run and do more than she ever has before. I don't feel like I'm getting much better, but it's nice to know that I am helping someone else accomplish so much!

I also got to attend The Nutcracker with two of my best friends and then we had an epic birthday bash at our local pub downtown. I also went to lots of Christmas parties and had a dang good month of December. I closed off this past weekend with spending time with Shawna for her birthday, and then ringing in the new year with my BFF Katy. It was a great evening.

Adam, me, and John at the epic birthday bash at The Max

me, Shawna, Morgan, and Emily at The Max

me and Katy at The Max

These are just highlights of what happened in 2011. Going through the pictures, I realized just how much I had forgotten to mention, like going to the World Cup of Softball in July with my cousin Emma, and coming home in February for MacKenzie's homecoming. 2011 was great. Had some ups and downs like any other year, but I'm excited to see what 2012 has in store for me!

Dear Friday

Dear Body,

You can stop getting sick now. I'm tired of shivering.

Dear Crazy People Who Come Into the Bank,

You can stop being hateful anytime. I know the holidays are stressful, but remember it IS Christmas. Remember the reason for the season.

Dear Self,

Take note of that last sentence when dealing with said crazy people who come into the bank.

Dear Katy, Jared, Jacob, and Nick,

Thanks for letting me cut loose on Saturday and in return making sure I made it home safely.

Dear Cash Drawer at Work,

Ouch.

Dear How I Met Your Mother (or HIMYM as I so fondly call you),

Thank you for providing me endless hours of entertainment. You have no idea how much I sincerely appreciate it!

Dear Christmas,

SERIOUSLY?! Can you slow down a little bit here?! I mean I JUST graduated two weeks ago! No? Okay. You got me. But seriously.

Dear Time,

Please read Christmas' letter.

Dear Readers,

I hope I don't lose too many of you after this post :)

New Year's Resolutions

If you know me in person, you would know that I NEVER make New Year's resolutions. The reason why is because most people make resolutions that seem to fail within the first three months of the new year, setting themselves up for failure. Typical New Year's resolutions consist of losing xx amount of weight, or eating properly. Those are excellent resolutions, but I know they aren't possible for someone like me. I enjoy unhealthy foods and beverages way too much. I already have a gym membership and a workout partner (even though we've been losing motivation), so working out more is out of the question too.

No no, instead, I decided to make resolutions I would be excited for!

For 2012, I resolve to eat at one new local restaurant each month and read a minimum of twelve books. That's right, twelve new restaurants and twelve books.

I feel like both of those resolutions are ones I will want to keep and be super excited in trying to achieve.

I picked these two goals because I have realized that I tend to eat at the same restaurants in town over and over. There are lots of places that I always say I want to try, and then never do. I also have been watching way too much TV and reading less and less. I still read occasionally, but it's just not as consistent as it was once I graduated in May.

So there you have it. Twelve restaurants. Twelve books. Get it? Hold me accountable.

January's restaurant of choice is The Brook on Brookside here in Tulsa. I've been told by many coworkers that the mac and cheese is the best mac and cheese you will ever have. Can't wait to try it!

random at its finest

I've been slacking. Not just in the blogosphere, but in life in general. I waited too late to buy the present for the cousin that I drew, and ended up spending almost double to have it shipped express. I waited until last night to finish my last homemade gift. I haven't bought any other gifts for people. Partly because I never realized how difficult it is to budget money. And somewhere along the way, KK and I lost motivation. We started strong, going every weekday, but recently we haven't gone to the gym together at all. It's not where I wanted to be at this point in exercising.

The upside to all of this is that even though I've slacked in some areas, I have had a lot of fun over the past week or so. Wednesday I attended my sorority's alumnae club Christmas party, and it was a blast! I enjoyed getting to know the women involved in the club so much more. And I'm going to try to get involved Relay for Life, but we'll see how much I can commit to it. Friday I went and watched my cousins play basketball. I've been to all of their games but one, and I've enjoyed cheering for them and being THAT fan. Yeah it's okay, I admit it.

Saturday was a day of epic proportions. On Saturday afternoon, I went to watch The Nutcracker with Shawna and KK. That was my Christmas present to Shawna and the three of us enjoyed the two hours away watching the beautiful arts. The ballet was so pretty.

Then Saturday night was the quad birthday extravaganza. Good times were had with my brother and best friends (Katy got to come too!) and many drinks were imbibed.

I've spent the past couple of days watching lots of TV. Sunday I had a How I Met Your Mother marathon with Jared and Katy, and then last night my brothers came out and we watched it again. It was a great evening just hanging out with my brothers doing absolutely nothing.

On a completely different note, I'm not typically one that makes New Years resolutions, but the one that I want to voice and do for 2012 is a fun one! I've noticed lately that when I do go out to eat, I always go to the same places day in and day out. So I have made it my goal to try one new local restaurant each month. I'm pretty excited to try new places each month, and this is definitely a "resolution" that I will enjoy and not feel bad about giving up on after 3 months. But I won't be giving up on this one, we all know I like to eat!

This post is kind of boring.

I'm trying to be a more consistent blogger. I really am. But honestly, I feel like I have nothing to write. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but I'd like to write posts that you all want to read. And then I think, you know what? This is MY blog. I should write for me. And that's the truth. But still, I'm not quite sure what I want to write for myself.

I guess I could write that I have a hard time waking up at 4:30 a.m. now, but each day that I do, I feel better and better about myself. I've only been going to the gym for a week, but I can already tell that I have so much more energy than before. I can also already see a difference in my body. It's not huge, and no one else probably notices, but I do, and that's all that matters too.

I guess I could write that I have a completely committed relationship with my DVR. And how much I love it. And TV. And I never realized I loved TV.

I guess I could write and say that I poured my heart out to someone, only to have nothing in return. It's okay. Friends is okay with me for now. I know myself well enough to know that eventually I won't be okay with it.

I guess I could write and say that because of my committed relationship with my DVR, I'm slacking in the book reading world.

I guess I could write that some super exciting stuff is coming up in my life within a year, but I'm not revealing too much until plans are set.

I guess I could write that I have been at my job for 6 months! It's crazy to think I've been there that long already.

I guess I could write that I made a 94% on my Teller Level II certification exam yesterday. Meaning I'm a super teller. But then I'm just bragging.

Yep, I guess I could write about all that stuff, but some of it's kind of boring.

So what's up with you guys?

Tuesday Tunes

If you have been following this blog for a while, you know that I used to have a feature called Tell the World Tuesday. However, it's been roughly 6 months since I've featured anyone, and I love Tuesdays. So today, I bring you something fun that may appear every now and then on a Tuesday. I've seen this around before, but I never participated because of my feature.

My first Tuesday Tunes is going to feature ONE song. Now that I don't have papers to write, tests to study for, and parties to go to (as often) because I'm a semi-adult now, I watch TONS of TV. No seriously. Probably too much for my own good. I have a serious relationship with my DVR. Anyways, I watch a show on the CW called Hart of Dixie, and this song rolled in the final credits of the last episode. AND. I. FELL. IN. LOVE.

I give you Ho! Hey! by The Lumineers:

you can find their website here:
http://www.thelumineers.com/

...and just like that, it's been over a week since I posted

This week has been EXHAUSTING. But in a good way! Tuesday morning, KK and I embarked on our daily workout journey. I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4:30 a.m., got up and drove to the gym, and she and I just spent almost an hour on the elliptical and stationary bikes. I opened Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, so our amount of workout time was limited all three of those days. All I can say is thank goodness I got off work at 1:15 that day, because the first day back in the routine was a little more tiring than I thought it would be.

Wednesday was good though. Wednesday we actually had quite a bit of time to do more than just cardio, so we spent about 2 hours at the gym. It was nice. Then the dreaded third day hit. It was SO HARD to wake up on the morning of the third day, and I had to yell at myself a little more to make sure that i didn't chicken out already. But I pushed through it, and not only went Thursday, but yesterday and this morning too. I'm bound and determined to get healthier and hopefully back into racing shape. I miss running, everything about it. KK is just as determined as I am to get healthier, and it's very easy to get into the routine when there is someone as dedicated as you to push you day in and day out.

All this week, I have been driving back and forth to Sperry to watch my cousins play basketball. They are juniors in high school, and have been in the starting lineup since last year (maybe even their freshman year, I'm not sure). They have been doing a fantastic job, and have started off the season with a 5-0 record. This week they have been playing in the Sperry tournament. With them being 5-0, that means they will be playing for the championship tonight in the Sperry tournament! This is the first time in I couldn't tell ya how long the women's basketball team has begun the season with such a good record, or that they have played for the championship in their own tournament!

Tonight's game will be no easy feat by any means. They play Pawhuska for the championship, and they're usually a pretty tough team, and they've been scouting the girls all week. It'll be a tough game after an exciting win over a team they weren't supposed to beat on Wednesday!

This week starts the Christmas parties for me. Tomorrow I will be attending my office Christmas party, and then I have an alumnae Christmas party on Wednesday.

I. LOVE. THE. HOLIDAYS.

Such a great time for family and friends, and it helps me to remember to be thankful for all the blessings I've had in my life. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way about the holidays either!

I'm hoping to be a better blogger throughout the month of December. Honestly though, I'm more concerned about getting myself back into shape and getting healthier. Although to me being "healthy" is also taking time for me, and blogging is as good of a way as any to have some "me-time."

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend!