one of the best days of the summer EVER

Remember how I told you I needed to tell you about one of my best days ever? Yeah, that day was June 4. And I kind of forgot how awesome that day was until I started going through old texts.

I had both the 4th and the 5th off from work that week, and the 5th just happens to be Katy's birthday. I started my morning off pretty early by going to get fingerprints done for work. For those of you who don't know, I am a banker. So I had to get them done to be able to do home equity stuff.

Anyways, Katy and I had decided the night before that we were going to take time to go look at the new apartments we want to move into and put in an application. So I went and picked her up and we headed downtown.

Katy and I have kind of already decided that's where we want to live, but the lady who was showing it to us didn't really sell it very well. We also told her it would be a few months before I was out of my lease and we'd be able to move in. Oh, and we also had to ask to see the showroom. Don't get me wrong, we still love this apartment, this lady was just awful.

So after we viewed the apartment, we headed back to my place to go swimming in my pool. The Saturday before, me and one of my coworkers at my old branch had decided that we were going to hang out that day and she was going to bring over her almost 2 year old daughter to swim. The four of us ended up swimming for like 5-6 hours and chit chatted about life and stuff.

Then we started getting hungry and a Thunder playoff game was on that night, so we dispersed from the pool. Katy and her friend Brett had been texting throughout the day about watching the game together, so I told her that he could come over too! When he decided that he did want to join us, I cleaned up the place well enough for it to look presentable while Katy went a couple miles up the road to the grocery store to get a few frozen pizzas.

Katy and I sat and watched the Thunder win that night, and Brett ended up coming over after. He also brought with him his friend David, and another friend of his and Katy's named Rachel. Actually, Rachel had called and asked if it was okay, and I had met Rachel before so of course it was okay! They had brought over a case of beer, and Katy and I had a few during the game.

Then someone got the idea to play card games. So basically, an impromptu party of 5 broke out at my apartment around 11:30 that night. It was so much fun!! And then we got to be among the first to tell Katy happy birthday once midnight rolled around :)

Recap:
*looked at new apartments
*swam for forever
*Thunder win
*impromptu party

It's pretty easy to see why it was one of the best days ever.

recap of two weeks ago

I know I've been completely MIA the past couple of weeks. I haven't really been home much at all, so that means I haven't been able to sit down and type out a post. I've just been busying myself with anything and everything I can find to cause a little bit of trouble. That's right, I've been enjoying being young and single.

It all started with March 16. My brothers got a little bit of a back child support settlement check, and were nice enough to split it between the three of us. My brothers came over that evening to bring me the check, and the three of us hung out for a little bit. Then I read on the McNellie's facebook page that they were having a special pint night in celebration for St. Patrick's Day, and all you had to do was come in and buy a pint of Guinness and you'd get to keep the glass. I do love me a good pint night, but I didn't think that I liked Guinness. I convinced Jared to go with me anyways, and we went downtown to get a glass. Then after we had a beer at McNellie's, I joined up with my friend John at a local country bar called Caravan.

Then on St. Patrick's Day, I left my house around 10:30 a.m. to take my check to the bank and get some cash for the day's festivities. I had a fantastic time hanging out with some friends from work, my family, and a few of my friends. I stayed out until roughly 1:00 a.m. It was AMAZING. If I remember correctly, I got take out and rented movies on that Sunday.

That Monday, my mom and oldest brother came over and we cooked hamburgers and pan fried potatoes. Tuesday evening, I went out and bought my cowboy boots, put them on, and walked around the mall in search for the perfect things to make for my Teller Supervisor's beach flip flops. I walked around the mall for a few hours and eventually gave up. I found a couple things but ended up not liking them. The next day (Wednesday 21st), I returned to the mall in my boots and returned some things. I also went to my favorite store to try to find a top to wear out for Thursday night.

Thursday night I went to Caravan with John. He and I had made plans to go together so he could teach me how to two-step. Before I went to Caravan, I went downtown to listen to my cousin play a show. I loved hearing him play, and he and I had a good time. While I was out at Caravan, and I met a cute man. I forced him to dance with me a few times, and at the end of the night I gave him my number and he kissed me on the cheek as he was leaving. But that's all about him, I haven't heard from him at all.

The next day (Friday), I had to stay in. I had a little too much fun on Thursday night and it kicked my butt on Friday. It was a good thing too, because I actually had to work that Saturday. I got up and went to work on Saturday morning, then after work I hung around and got ready for what was to come on Saturday night. On Saturday, March 24th, me and my coworkers threw a surprise bachelorette party for my teller supervisor. We had fajitas and quesadillas catered, and made yummy margaritas and danced the night away. It was fantastic. Now I've caught you up on two weeks ago, I think that's a good basic explanation of events, and I'll come back again and talk about last week!

Hope you all had as good of a weekend as I did!

My Amazing Weekend pt. 2

So I left off with my entirety o Friday. As you can imagine, lots of ridiculousness ensued from the copious amounts of imbibing occurred between me and my friends on Friday.

Saturday, I woke up way too late, and then promptly showered. I hung around the house for a little bit until Katy and Marc came and picked me up. We went to this little hole in the wall near campus called The Greek House. As you can imagine, it serves authentic Greek gyros which are AMAZING and HUGE. It's not too bad of a price either, with the gyros being about $7. It's totally worth it. I couldn't finish it, and I was STARVING. It was kind of unfortunate how much food I ate because I was meeting my APO little Nageen for dinner around 6:45.

After we had our very late lunch, the three of us drove around Norman for a little bit before going to hang out at Michelle's for about an hour. Once 6:30 rolled around, Katy and I parted ways and I met up with Nageen and her little, Dolly, at Padthai for dinner. I tried a different style of noodle and it was fantastic. As always. Then while we were at dinner, I decided that I wanted to see more of my fellow APOers, so I went with them across the street to the campus for the APO big/little ceremony. I got to see so many of the people in all three different families while I was there for about an hour. It was fantastic.

After I stayed way later on campus than I had intended, I went back to the sorority house to change tops. While I was there, I kidnapped the girl who lives across the hall from Katy and made her come with me, Katy, and Marc to another local restaurant called Blu. Blu isn't really my scene, but the drink specials were amazing. House brews were $2, and well drinks were $2. Make it a double for $3. I had a couple drinks, and then we ordered some appetizers. We seriously only meant to stay for about an hour, but then the four of us got to talking and never left. We were then joined by my good friend from APO, Eli, and he sat with us and talked until closing time.

Kaitlin drove us home, where I ended up sleeping way too late the next day as well. Then Kaitlin and I hung out all day until Katy and Marc came back over to the house. Then the four of us went to dinner at a local Italian restaurant, Gaberino's.
Funny story about dinner. While we were at Gaberino's we noticed a girl there that we had seen the night before at Blu. But this time she was with a completely different guy. And she was in completely different clothes than the night before. The night before she had worn super high heels and pleather pants. This time, she was in Toms and skinnys. It was highly entertaining to the four of us.

Sunday evening, Katy, Sam, Rennie, and Kaitlin and I hung out in Kaitlin's room while they all did homework. Then Monday I got up, showered, and came back home.

I had an amazing weekend, and I really did not want to leave at all. I truly do miss being around my college friends all the time. They're some good people. I love them, and I'm so glad I decided to take Friday off to have such a long weekend with my friends.

How were your weekends?

My Amazing Weekend pt.1

I have some really exciting news concerning the attractive man I met last week! But more about that later...

So I had a FANTASTIC weekend. I decided to take last Friday off and sneak away to Norman to visit my friends. Since Monday was President's Day, it was technically a bank holiday, that meant I had weaseled my way into a four day weekend.

After I got off work on Thursday, I hurriedly packed and then headed out to Norman. While on my way, my Soul Twin texted me and asked where I was going that night. To be honest, I hadn't planned on going out at all, just thought I'd settle in and go to sleep kind of soon-ish because I like to go to bed early now that I have a job and stuff. Well, Andy and I decided we were going to meet at a local pub so he could get a study break in and I could get my weekend started off right. Andy and I had a few, joined by Katy, and then we went and picked up my friend Steven to take him home from Campus Corner. Then Katy and I escaped to the sorority house where she and I talked for a solid 3 hours or so just like we used to when we lived together.

Friday morning, I woke up way earlier than I had originally intended, but I was completely okay with it. I rushed downstairs to see three of my favorite people, Mike, Dennis, and Lawanna. These three people have worked in the sorority house for a very long time, and me being the person that I am, made them get to know me as soon as I could because I wanted to know who was cooking my food and was going to be in and out of the common areas. After I bugged them half the morning and got them completely off their routine, I just hung around the house all morning. Then I texted my good friend Michelle around 2:30 and told her it was time for a fishbowl. What is a fishbowl? There is a small taco shop on campus corner that has AMAZING drink specials. A fishbowl is one such good drink special. It is a gallon of alcohol, and requires four IDs in order to be bought. That's right, IDs. Michelle grabbed her boyfriend Matty and I drug Steven out of bed so we could have our minimum 4 IDs. And so it started. Around 3 p.m., we had our fishbowl. The party continued on to Joe's Taverna, and then to Michelle's apartment before Katy left to go to the date party.

The four of us hung out again for a few hours, and then Steven and I went to his place so I could see my best friend, who also happens to be his roommate. Rags was hanging out with their buddies TJ and Chris, and the five of us stayed up entirely way too late having an awesome time hanging out.

This is way more detail than I thought it would be. So I'll end it with Friday and continue on the rest of the weekend in subsequent posts. You'll just have to wait a little longer on man update, because I also have my Fat Tuesday celebration to share....stay tuned!

Weekend Recap

I really didn't get too crazy this weekend.

My hetero life partner went to Kansas with her boyfriend this weekend, so I was left to hang out at my house or with our friend Emily all weekend long. Initially, Emily and I had made plans to watch the OU football game together, but I flaked out :(

Friday after work, I decided that I was going to go with my grandmother to the high school football game this week. Part of the reason is because I am no longer going to homecoming (it's OU/TX weekend), and part is because I honestly did not have anything better to do. I went and cheered on my high school, and the boys unfortunately lost by one point. It was slightly heartbreaking. I did enjoy getting to chat with a few of my friends though, and it was a fun night hanging out with my grandma and my cousin.

Afterwards, I decided to go to bed early, as I had a funeral to attend Saturday morning. This funeral was the father of another close friend of the family. What makes me sad about this is to realize that the friend is not even 40 and now has neither parents living. But her father's health has been declining recently, and I honestly think that him not suffering anymore will help put her at a little bit of ease.

Saturday afternoon, I went with my aunt Annya to the meat markets to pick up stuff for their dinner(s). I then went up the hill to my aunt Jessica's house, where I began sorting through junk. My junk that has been stored in her attic since they moved into their house. I went through eight 5-gallon totes, and one 20-gallon tote full of crap. Seriously, it was all pretty much junk and clothes I haven't worn or even thought of in years.

I've been wanting to have a t-shirt quilt made, so I cut out logos of all the shirts I would like to have. 2 totes of t-shirts were dwindled down to not even a quarter of the 5 gallon tote. So that tote now has all my shirt logos (and I still have more to go through here) and quite a few of my keepsakes. I have one 5 gallon tote packed and ready to go to the apartment, and I'm working on what to put in my 20 gallon tote because too much stuff makes it too heavy. A total of three 5 gallon totes went back into the attic; one with the keepsakes and t-shirts, one with a bunch of purses, and one with books. Three totes are here with me, waiting to be packed with stuff for the apartment, and one still needs to be rinsed out to get rid of all the dust it's collected. I had a total of 6 (maybe 5) trashbags full of junk.

I did find some interesting stuff though. LIKE A GREEN AND PURPLE WALKMAN! AND MY BEANIE BABIES! I threw the walkman away. I was having a real hard time throwing away the beanie babies (even though they have no resale value whatsoever), and Jessica gave me a good "excuse" to keep them: take them to the apartment with me so my youngest cousin can have something to play with when she comes to visit. I GOT TO KEEP MY BEANIE BABIES! :)
One of them I was going to keep anyways. I apparently have liked squirrels for a while; I had the squirrel beanie baby. As soon as I saw it, I immediately put it into the tote to go to the apartment. I'm going to use it for decoration :)  [for those of you who don't know, my sorority's mascot was a squirrel]

I watched the game with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, and then came home and passed out.


Today was absolutely gorgeous outside, and I got to spend a FANTASTIC 2 hours sitting on a picnic blanket with my good friend Eli from college and APO. I had not seen him since December, so we had a great time just sitting and talking and enjoying the beautiful weather. I had my camera with me, and for some reason didn't take a picture of us. womp womp.

Afterwards, I went to work at the concession stand for a few hours. I had a good time visiting with Sean.

After dinner, I finally got to see Emily and Shawna. The three of us and Shawna's boyfriend Andrew met up for dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, and we spent the couple hours that we were there talking, laughing, eating, and comparing fantasy football teams. Which mine SUCKED this week, in case you were wondering.

Today was an AWESOME day filled with great friends from start to finish!
Now I must get to bed before I have to be at work tomorrow. And I get to continue packing in preparation for my big move that will be occurring in NINE DAYS! I'm super excited!

Meet my BFF Jill #1

So this past weekend, I truly discovered who the women are that I consider my BFFs. Do you remember the old cell phone commercial that was about a mom and a daughter, and her mom asked who she was texting, and the daughter says "IDK, my BFF Jill?" Well that's where the title comes into play. And I decided that I talk about these ladies enough, but have yet to tell you enough that I am satisfied with the entire situation.


Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my BFF Jill #1, Miss Erika Lynne (other middle name) Kettler:

The stats on EK:
Born: December of 1987. That's right, I'm older than my big.

Years I've Known Her: 4 years

How We Met: We initially met at the sisterhood retreat in the fall of 2007 for our sorority. I was blindfolded and we were doing a ropes course, and I inadvertently groped her. We should have known then that it was love at first feel. :)

Reasons Why I Love Her: BECAUSE SHE COMPLETES ME. But seriously, there are way too many reasons to list. However, I am going to attempt to do so here:

• We're slightly the same person
• We can go months without seeing each other, but our friendship still remains strong
• She lets me crash at her apartment in Phoenix for a couple weeks at a time
• She went to the Fiesta Bowl with me
• SHE IS SO SCANDALOUS THAT SHE TRICKED ME INTO BELIEVING THAT SHE WAS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO MY COLLEGE GRADUATION, WHEN IN ALL ACTUALITY SHE WAS A LITTLE SNEAK AND SURPRISED ME. And I pretend like I'm angry because my graduation was a sensitive issue to begin with.
• She knows all my flaws, but for some reason she still wants to be my BFF Jill.
• We try to talk on the phone about once a week, but she doesn't judge me when she calls me at 8:30 (her time) on a Saturday night, and I'm already drunkenly walking around downtown Tulsa because it's 10:30 my time.
• We have a lot of the same obsessions....Hayley Williams, Natalie Portman, college football, irresistable boys that are bad for us, just to name a few....

I seriously feel like I could go on forever about Erika, but we don't have enough internet space for that.

I love her. You should love her too!

p.s. She also had no idea I was doing this today. :)

A Very Merry Un-Birthday to Me!

It is, however, someone else's birthday!

THIS LADY (on the left):

is having a very important birthday today!

My little (#2)/best friend turns 21!!

Unfortunately (for me), she is in Washington, D.C., for an internship, so I do not get to celebrate with her. But I love her very very much and I wish I could be there with her to celebrate.

Katy I love you a lot! I hope your 21st birthday is amazing, and I wish I could have surprised you in DC :(

Go wish her a Happy Birthday here!

(30 day photo challenge will be back later today)

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

I must say, I am definitely a lover of all holidays that give me an excuse to have an adult beverage or two (or three). New Year's Eve? Hello to good times with friends! St. Patrick's day? HELLO GREEN BEER! 4th of July? HELLO AMERICAN BEER! Cinco de Mayo? BRING ON THE MARGARITAS!

But I must also admit that this particular holiday I will be hanging out high and dry.You see, there's this thing that's coming up in 8 days (graduation) that has sucked my bank account dry. And the sad thing about it is that I still haven't gotten everything I need for it (like a new dress and paint for the top of my cap). LAME. So what will I be doing this evening to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? I will be the Designated Driver for this guy:

This guy is (unfortunately for him) stuck with me as his best friend. As you can so clearly tell by this picture, he is a lot of fun and today he turns the super super old balls age of 24!

I'm kind of jealous that his birthday is on a fun holiday EVERY YEAR, whereas mine only happens on a holiday every couple of years.

Tonight after all of my classes, I'll be heading over to his place to give him a hair cut, then we'll be hitting up the bars around campus. I can't wait to spend this special day with him, as our friendship has grown exponentially over the past couple of months! We've been working together for a little over a year now, and he has definitely been a major part of my last semester here.

So to you "Rags," I leave you with this wisdom: May you have a night of fun that you'll never remember with friends you'll never forget...but I must warn you, I'll remember EVERYTHING and you can bet your ass I'll be giving you hell about it tomorrow! I love you!

Weekend Recap

I'm hoping that I will have a person to feature for Tell the World Tuesday next week, but instead you get an update on my weekend. It was an amazing and fun weekend!

Friday I laid around in bed for what seemed like all day. Then my friend Samantha came over, and she and I went shopping for some necessary items. We were gone for about 2 hours, and it was a very successful shopping trip! We followed up our shopping with dinner at What-A-Burger (you know it's my favorite), and spent about an hour there talking about life and stuff. We returned to the sorority house and put in the movie Juno, but we both fell asleep during it. I had about an hour and a half nap before I got up and went to work. Then after work it was my friend's 22nd birthday celebration, so I quickly showered and headed out to campus corner. While I was out, I ran into one of the girls in my major, and she was WAY drunk. I spent the remainder of the evening taking care of her.

Saturday, we got up around 10 or so and I finally took her home. She refused to tell me where she lived the night before, so we crashed at my friend's place. I then spent the rest of my Saturday mid-morning to afternoon lying around, and then around 2 I showered to get ready for MY SENIOR DATE PARTY!! A group of 12 of us went to dinner at Ted's Cafe Escondido, and then I returned home to put on my costume and go pick up my date. Like I said before, we went as Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy from the breakfast club. Unfortunately, I didn't get full-body pictures of what we looked like, but here's a head shot:

I definitely hated having my hair in my face the entire night. But I spent the evening hanging out with my girls, drinking a little bit, and dancing the night away. Then later that night, I got to hang out with my boys. I definitely had too much fun, if that's even possible.

Sunday afternoon I watched the last quarter of the Thunder game (THUNDER UP!), but unfortunately they lost. whomp whomp. Then that evening, we had our senior re-dedication tea, in which the seniors get sort of re-initiated into the sorority, but only as an alum. It was a pretty cool little ceremony. I then attended my LAST chapter meeting as a collegian.

Since then, I have taken a final, written a paper, gone to class, and just finished up practicing for the second part of my piano final. I've got 10 days until I'm graduating, and I hope this weekend brings more fun for my final weekend as an undergrad. It definitely has potential, it is my friend Michael's 24th birthday (old balls).

And just because you know I love pictures, here are some more from Saturday night:

Roommate/Little and I (she's Tron)

Little Josalyn and I (Dirty Dancing)

Jessica and I (80's Rocker Groupie--the bottom half of her outfit was HOTT!!)

Rachel and her boyfriend Jordan (Reagan and Gorbachev tee hee)

4 out of 5 generations: my great-grand little Stacie, my great-great-grand little Brittany (that makes me old balls), my little Josalyn, and I

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Weekend Recap

I am so sorry for not getting this out earlier today. Remember how I said this week is College Bowl week? Well I also had about 5 other things to do today. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Friday
I was the responsibility champion and I got shit done. No seriously. I got capstone paper revised (again) [I forgot to mention that I got to talk to my big the night before, I miss her so so so much], I got all of my College Bowl stuff worked on, and then I even got a few pages of notes from a class copied before the family arrived in town around 6:30. I drove from Norman to Moore, where Edith was so patiently waiting for me while Jessica and Ryan went to the VA hospital (Ryan was having abdominal pains). I watched Kenzie play two games on Friday night, and then I took Edith and MacKenzie to meet up with Ryan and Jessica to Taco Cabana for a late night dinner. Upon my arrival home, my roommate was passed out and I got to read a little bit before falling asleep in bliss because of my family :)

Saturday
I woke up a little extra early to really fix my hair, and then Edith and I went on an adventure to wal-mart to buy a new headlight for my car. On our way to Moore, we stopped at What-A-Burger for breakfast. I'm sure you know by now that I got a honey butter chicken biscuit :)
I watched Kenzie play a game, then we went to Saltgrass for lunch, and then she played a second game. I took the family to Fuzzy's Taco Shop on Campus Corner for dinner, and then hung out in their hotel room until I was sleepy.
I came home to roommate and Kaitlin in my room talking and watching The Ugly Truth. Rachel came in and joined us later, and they were in our room until 3:30 a.m. I had fallen asleep before then.

Sunday
I got up SO FREAKING EARLY to go watch Kenzie play one game. It was so freaking cold that I almost fell asleep at the fields from curling up into a ball. After the game, we went to Cheddar's for lunch, and then the family headed back home with some taffy and Classic's (similar to Sonic, but better) in tow. I was really sad to see them go, but I also was super tired so I passed out for a 4 hour nap. I meant to only nap for 2-3.
Chapter was longer than it should have been, and I was late to my college bowl meeting. Once I got there, we were informed that the fourth team member had no questions for us. I came back home to write more questions and more lightening round questions, and ended up staying up until almost 3. By the time I hit the pillow, I PASSED OUT.


Today, I was lucky enough to have both of my morning classes cancelled, so the only class I had began at 1:30. I inadvertently slept until noon. Once I got done with class, I had a couple hours of downtime before I had to work (I'm a referee for soccer) and then once I was done with work I went straight to College Bowl.

Tonight's college bowl rounds were a lot of fun! I didn't realize how much I would like reading questions off :)

My best friend Caroline who went on spring break with us ended up coming over for a little bit after college bowl, and she and I went and got some food at Classic's (like Sonic, but better), and now here I am updating you on the weekend and my super busy day. I unfortunately didn't take my camera out to the ball fields so I don't have any pictures to share :(

But on a good note, I have a cool Tell the World Tuesday feature coming up tomorrow, and my little piece of blog world was featured over at scenic glory as a part of a group sponsor post. Seriously, if you haven't checked this site out by now, you are missing out.

Now it's off to bed, tomorrow is busy too, practice for piano between classes (exam part 1 begins Wednesday) and then College Bowl all evening. I hope every single one of you had a fantastic start to your week!

I promise I'm alive!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am back at home in Oklahoma. I have been reading your comments all week, and will be responding to them ALL when I get another small nap in.

My spring break was AMAZING. What more could a senior ask for than to get to hang out with good company and good food all week long by a warm beach? I think nothing. Also! I got to cross this off of my bucket list:

• Go on a vacation with friends only (road trip is the only way to go!).

So very excited to be doing things that I want to do!

I hope you all had an amazing week, and I can't wait to finish up reading all of your posts!

Also, be on the lookout tomorrow for my four photos from Florida in the Photo Swap. It was so hard to choose just four!

You all are amazing readers :)

(My) Life is Beautiful

first things first, I am reading all of your comments, and I abso-friggin-lutely love that y'all still check out my site and have stuff to say about what's going on in my life! you readers rock my socks off!

Other than that, I just wanted to update you on what's going on down here in sunny Tampa Bay, FL. Me and all my spring break roommates slept in so that we could recuperate from our 24 hour drive from Oklahoma to Florida. Colleen was the first to explore the beaches, and then all of us quickly followed in her footsteps to get some sun and enjoy the day.

We spent all day out on the beach laying out and getting a tan for our white bodies. Caroline had to write a paper, so when she wasn't doing that she was with us on the beach. We've enjoyed cocktails and beers all morning, because what is the beach without a little something to drink?!

I also realized that people from other places are nowhere near as friendly as people from Oklahoma. I tried being nice to random strangers on the beach today, and they all looked at me like I was crazy. It kind of made me mad at first, but then I realized that it was okay to be friendly even if others weren't. If that group next to us would have been friendly back, I would have given them a deck of cards, fo' freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! but whatevs.

Tomorrow we are going to pick up our last roommate from Tampa International Airport, and then all six of us will be spending the week together :) I'm so glad I decided to treat myself to a very fun last spring break week :)))))))) <---that means I'm super duper happy right now!

Happy Monday!

p.s., don't forget to check in for tomorrow's Tell the World Tuesday! Unfortunately, it's the last scheduled one I have. So what does that mean?? you should e-mail me at mbattiestOKU{at}gmail{dot}com so you can be my next Tell the World Tuesday feature!

What I'm loving Wednesday

I've seen this one done on quite a few other blogs, and today I decided I wanted to participate, even if today is the only day that I do it!

It's going to be random, and you're going to love it (or else! ha!)

• I'm loving that I finally finished The Maze Runner by James Dashner. It was very slow to start with, but it picked up and was hard to put down.
• I'm loving that I got such good feedback about the Tell the World Tuesday posts! (I'm not loving that I only have one more for you guys before I have to start begging people to answer my questions.)
• I'm loving that I have three of the best littles ever! They not only got me the paddle I have been waiting impatiently for, but they got me a VERY beautiful paddle, and exactly what I asked for!:

I have been blessed with so much more than I deserve

Follow my blog with bloglovin

I have never denied that I am blessed beyond measure. I haven't always known of how blessed I am, but as I am getting older I understand and prize my blessings more and more each day.

With that being said, if you ever want to find out how many people care about you, have something happen to you like an emergency appendectomy.

The house mother and Josalyn were stressed out trying to get me to the hospital. The roommate was so upset when she found out I had appendicitis that she couldn't go back to sleep, and it was roughly 4 in the morning after she had passed out from being so exhausted. I can't tell you how many people have called, texted, and written on my facebook wall since I went to the hospital on Sunday night. Even people who I've only thought of as people who are a little more than acquaintances have checked in with me almost daily to see how I am doing.

However, along with that you also have people who ask about you publicly, I guess to show others that they "care," but have never tried to contact me personally. These are people who I know have my number and who I thought were my friends. I guess that's part of what comes with it.

I can say though, that for those of you that have been calling/texting/e-mailing/tweeting/facebooking/skyping me to check in on me are amazing. I am blessed beyond measure to have each of you as my friend!

And yes, that even includes some of you blogging friends, as I have been getting get-well e-mails from some of you! My readers/bloggy friends are just as amazing and bless my life just as much as my real-life friends. Thank you all so much!

Sunday was not so Funday.

Here is a timeline of my Sunday-Tuesday:

• 12 NOON: My friend Josalyn and I went and ate lunch at a semi fast food Mexican grill called Chipotle.
• 1:00 p.m.: We headed across the street to campus to go into the gymnasium to the gym.
• 2:00: Wrestling dual began.
• 4:00: Wrestling dual ended, my stomach starting feeling funny. I thought this was because I got too hot in the gym after eating Mexican food.
• 6:15: I had spent the past two hours preparing for my phone interview, and my stomach did not feel much better. I pop in a couple Tums to help ease it to get through my interiew.
• 6:40: My interview began. Stomach still felt funny so I thought maybe I was more nervous than I realized.
• 7:01: Phone interview ended. Decided I probably needed to eat.
• 7:30: I arrived at the apartment where APO was hosting a baked potato dinner, and made myself a baked potato.
• 8:00: Stomach was feeling worse, so I sat for about 5 more minutes before I left.
• 8:15/8:20ish: I got home just in time to get sick. There went my dinner. I took some Pepto Bismal for the nauseated feeling.
• 8:30: saw the PB again.
• 9:15ish: Josalyn and our house mother put me in the guest room in case I have something contagius. Stomach pain is so bad I can barely stand at this point. Stomach hurts worst on my right side now.
• House mother and Josalyn look up the symptoms of appendicitis at this point because they are afraid that I might have it.
• 10:00 I have now called my mother twice, talked with our friend of the family who is a nurse tech, and have had my symptoms googled/webMDed. Friend of the family and Josalyn say I need to go to the hospital and have everything checked out.
• 10:30: Arrive in the ER
• 11:30 Have a blood and urine test to make sure there are no bacterial infections in my intestines. At this point, I can only lay down if I'm curled up in the fetal position, and I had my first-ever IV put in.
• 12:30 a.m. (Monday): Results of blood and urine tests come back okay, am instructed to drink something to prepare for the dye for my CAT scan
• 1:35 a.m: Went back to take my CAT scan
• 3:35 a.m.: My ER nurse comes in to ask how my pain is. I let him know it's coming back. He says "It should be because, well she'll tell you, but you have appendicitis." My response: "yayyyyyy."
• He then left the room and I burst into tears.
• Doc came in and let me know I have appendicitis, it hasn't ruptured, and the surgeon on call will be doing surgery on me on Monday morning.
• I called my mother. She woke up my grandmother. I talked to my grandmother on the phone, she told me she would be leaving Tulsa soon.
• Josalyn tried to call the roommate, but the roommate was conked out. So Josalyn called her roommate and had her wake up mine.
• 3:40: Chris showed up with a blanket and hot chocolate for Josalyn. He stuck around and lightened the mood by making us laugh. Well I giggled because laughing hurt.
• 4:15ish: Roommate arrived.
• 7:30ish: My mimi arrived, just in time for a surgeon to come into my room and inform me that there are no empty beds in the hospital, which is why I am in the ER room still
• I was asked if I minded being transported by ambulance for free to the Moore center for the surgery.
• Katy goes back home to get some sleep.
• 8:45ish: I finally fall asleep
• 9:30: I get woken up and moved to a gurney to be transported to Moore.
• 10:00: I arrive in Moore and am taken straight into OR prep room
• 10:15: I start heading back to the surgery room. I remember being wheeled there, asked to move beds, and to stretch out my arm.
• 11:30 I wake up from surgery and am about to wet myself. I can't go until I wake up. Finally wake up, and going makes me nauseus.
• 12 NOON: I get to my room where my Mimi, her sister, my two aunts, my brother Jared, and my uncle Ryan are waiting for me. They head out to get lunch and let me sleep.
• 2:45: Mimi and her sister get back from lunch. I am told that Jared will be staying the night with me to bring me to Sperry when I am released, since I am not allowed to climb stairs.
• 4:30: everyone starts heading back home
• 5:00: I finally decide to eat something
• 5:30: roommate arrives with Sam, my laptop, and my phone charger.
• I plug in the phone and it goes crazy (Thank you to everyone who called, texted, and wrote on my facebook wall or tweeted at me!)
• I continue to eat while they are here
• The visit until they have to leave around 7:15
• 8:00: I get a little bit of sleep
• 9:00: Mom and brother Jacob arrive
• At some point, the nurse asks me if I want to be taken off my liquid diet. Yes please, as in like 6 hours ago. Jared gets me crackers.
• They visit until they have to leave around 10 (Jake has school and mom has work on Tuesday
• 10:15: I fall asleep
• 10:30: The youth pastor from my church back home and a kid that goes to OU that graduated from my high school stopped by to visit. Jared didn't wake me because I hadn't been sleeping much throughout the day
• 11:00: I wake up to get vitals checked. I am informed of my visitors.
• 12:30 a.m. (Tuesday/today): I finally fall back asleep
• 3:30 a.m.: I am woken up for vitals again
• 4:00 a.m. I get taken off my electrolyte IV
• 7:30 I am woken for vitals.
• I texted my family and friends to let them know about the diet and IV

Now I am just waiting to speak to the surgeon at some point and see when I will be released. I will be going back to Sperry with my brother for the rest of the week while I recover from surgery

See why Sunday was not so Funday??

p.s. here is a silly picture roommate took of me at about 5 in the morning. I said "I'M A MARTIANNNN"

Friday Story Time

Sit back and relax, and let Mal tell you a story. . .

Once upon a time, there was a wee little freshman who moved into the dorms very excited and very nervous for her first year in college. Coming from a small town, she didn't know what to expect about not knowing anyone or anything to do with the little college town of Norman, OK.

Upon meeting her roommate (whose name was Meridith), she discovered that the new roommate was normal, and that the year should bring on lots of adventures. Little did she know that the adventures together would begin that night. Meridith had a boyfriend who was already a student at The University of Oklahoma, and he invited Meridith and her new roommate to join him at a little Irish pub called O'Connell's. The freshman and Meridith then began to take showers and get ready for a night out, shaking their booties to "Ms. New Booty" by Bubba Sparxxx.

O'Connell's, Lindsey Street location, across from the football stadium

The freshman wasn't quite sure if she was ready to take on the whole college thing, and was completely nervous when she stepped into this pub. However, once she sat at the table inside the pub, she realized that Meridith's boyfriend was good friends with a guy named Taylor, who also came from the exact same small town she was from! This may not be so bad after all! Once at the table, the 4 people of age ordered a couple "beer rockets" and many glasses for the 3 of us under age. The freshman fell in love with the place and returned to this pub many, many times in her college career (not just for drinking, but for eating and birthdays too! The pizzas are fantastic!)

If you couldn't tell, I am the freshman. I LOVE the O'Connell's location on the corner of Lindsey and Jenkins. However, at the very end of my freshman year, the horrible University bought the land out from underneath the location. Since then, they have been "closing" 7 different times. I have been very sentimental about this place, as I have had some amazing memories there. Not only that, but the pub itself has stood in its location, across from the football stadium, since 1968. My roommate's parents drank there when they were in college.

O'Connell's is really closing its doors tonight. Tomorrow they are having an auction and auctioning off almost everything inside the pub. The O'Connell's franchise has opened another location on Campus Corner, but it's just not the same. This one is more of a pub feel, whereas the one on Campus Corner feels like just another bar on Campus Corner.

So to celebrate the last week, I went and visited my original watering hole on Wednesday for Karaoke and $5 pitcher night, and then returned there last night for 99 cent happy hour specials from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. (I wasn't there for 12 hours I promise!) My friend Kaitlyn and I had decided when we were roommates for Fall 2009 that we wanted to do the Aggie tradition of a ring dunk. I wanted to do it at the old O'Connell's (the Lindsey St. location) just because of the history of the bar. What an Aggie ring dunk is, from what we both understand, is for each person with a class ring to get a pitcher of beer, drop the ring in the beer, and chug (don't swallow the ring!) Well, we aren't that hardcore so we just got a pint and did a ring dunk. We were at O'Connell's from about 7:00-12:30, enjoying the various 99 cent specials (such as chips and queso at 8 p.m.).

I love this bar. I don't want it to close, but I'm so glad that I had all the friends there with me to celebrate my last night in the first bar I ever went to. Thank you to Kaitlyn, Katy, Rachel, Michelle, Matt, Lance, and Rockie and Craig (for the couple hours or so you were there) for helping me make my last night memorable.

And thank you to the old O'Connell's for hosting many memories throughout my college years. I truly will miss the pub atmosphere of the place.

Thank you readers for letting me tell you a story about me breaking the law when I was 18. Please don't report me ;-)

p.s. You know what today is. Fab Friends Friday at For the Love of Blogs. So head on over and find some new great reads! You won't be disappointed!

Back in my Second Hometown

I returned to Norman yesterday afternoon. I wasn't going to come back until tonight, but a friend of mine texted me late Saturday night and told me he was throwing an MLK Jr Day party last night. Of course I wasn't going to miss out hanging with my friends, so I decided to come back earlier than my original intentions.

We started out at his house, sitting around and talking and catching up and having a few beers. One of the Aarons brought a new girl over named Amanda, and she was one of the coolest girls I've ever met! I enjoyed meeting her and I hope she comes around more!

Around 11 (it might have even been earlier than that), we all decided to go to Campus Corner here in Norman. I immediately thought of a friend of mine when I got there because she had gone to this bar for New Years Eve and has a funny story about that. Sam Bradford was also there, and one of the Chris' informed me that Gresham was there too (I never saw him). We all sat around at the table talking, laughing, and drinking more, and just enjoying the evening for what it was: The last night before classes start for a majority of us, and spending time with friends whom we haven't seen in a month.

I'm not going to lie, it was a hott mess all over the place. We definitely had a couple of DD's, and Josalyn (who didn't go to the Corner with us) even came over around 2:30 to make sure I was okay. hott mess all over the place.

Tomorrow, I begin my last semester as an undergrad in Norman. Holy crap. Kind of freaking out about it, but also nervous and excited. Tomorrow is a fairly easy day, I begin at 9:30 with my capstone class, and then I have a workout class at 1:30 followed by Freedom in Rome at 3. And then that's it for my Tuesday. My entire semester is kind of like this, so it will be a good last semester without too many papers and projects due.

Wish me luck!

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!

*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!