There's a (cute) reason behind my sporadic posting...

I promise, there's a really good reason as to why I haven't been writing a whole lot. You see, I needed a couple days or so to organize my thoughts and pictures into what I would want to share about my trip and how I wanted to share it.

Then, that Saturday night after I returned, I went out with one of the girls I had been going out with weeks before my vacation to our usual spot. There's a local bar here in the town I live in that has PHENOMENAL drink specials every weekend. And it was at this bar that I met a boy (man?). That's right, I met a boy. The girl I am friends with knows the guys he is friends with, and we both came to this bar with our sets of friends off and on in the months before we met. But every time he went, I wouldn't, or I would, and he wouldn't. But that night was one of the bartenders' birthday, and we both made sure that we went for it.

The night that we met, I couldn't figure him out at all. He first complimented my cowboy boots. But then with every exchange between us the rest of the night, I couldn't tell if he was just being super nice or if he was trying to make a move. I purposely sought him out at the end of the night when I was leaving, hoping he would use the opportunity to ask for my number, or anything, and he didn't. So I just shrugged it off to him being a very nice guy. Meh.

The next day I texted my girl friend to tell her I was sorry for not coming back after the little mini concert I went to (it was Free Tulsa that weekend, a big music festival in downtown Tulsa), and then I was going to eventually ask her about him once I figured out how to say what I wanted to say. Just before I got the courage to ask about him, she texts me and says "PS, I think D has a lil crush on you :-)"....basically the conversation ended with her telling me he had added me on facebook and that he had asked about me all day while I was at work.

I got on facebook and D and I messaged each other back and forth for about an hour before we finally exchanged phone numbers. The next thing I know, we're still having a conversation at 2 o'clock in the morning. No big deal for him since he doesn't work Mondays, TERRIBLE for me.

So what to know about D? He's wonderful. And a gentleman. And we laugh SO MUCH when we're together because he's kind of silly. And I have been my normal special self around him, and he still likes me for some reason.

I introduced him to the best friend last week, and she approves. And now she and I are trying to figure out how to plan our social lives now that I am the one with the boyfriend around, and her boyfriend is back at school. Because I do not usually have boyfriends.

Oh, and another thing about D? Yeah, he's boyfriend :)

......and a picture of us from Saturday if you don't follow me on instagram...

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!

Fat Tuesday 2012

So this past Tuesday was Fat Tuesday. I've never celebrated before because most Wednesdays during school, I had an early morning Wednesday class. That, and not many people wanted to celebrate either.

I decided I was going to change that this year. I didn't have to be at work until 10 on Wednesday, and I had just gotten back from an AMAZING weekend, so why not continue that celebration into the week?

If you've been around for a while, you should know that drinking holidays are some of my favorites. St. Patrick's Day? LOVE IT. Cinco de Mayo? CERVEZAS FOR EVERYONE! 4th of July? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 'MERICA! HAVE A BREWSKI!
Because of my love for those holidays, I really have no idea why on earth I've never celebrated Mardi Gras before. So while I was in Norman last weekend, I texted a couple of my buddies to force convince ask them nicely to come out with me for Fat Tuesday. One of them didn't text me back until Tuesday, and by then I decided that my plans had changed. The other one was sick, but he so graciously agreed to join me out in downtown Tulsa for Fat Tuesday.

Before I went out downtown, I went to Taco Tuesday with Shawna. WHILE I was with Shawna, I got some exciting news about Mr. Attractive from banker class. But that story is still to come. I'm making y'all wait another post!

It was SO. MUCH. FUN. I met up with John and his friend Chase, and we went to a couple different bars in downtown. We started hanging out around 8:30 or so. We slowly made our way from downtown to just East of downtown to a place called Mercury Lounge. AWESOME drink specials there, by the way.

While at Mercury, I ran into two of my cousins. One of them and I used to hang out a lot when we were kids, so it was kind of fun to hang out with her again. I said goodbye to John, Chase, and Patti around 1 a.m., and in doing so I definitely stayed out wayyyyyy too late. Lucky for me I slept pretty good for having stayed out so late.

It was such a fun night and I can't wait until I get to celebrate Fat Tuesday with Katy next year!

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!

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!

Well, I don't have strep...

I went to the doctor at 2:30, and they told me I do not have strep throat. At least not bad enough that the strep test picked it up. He told me that it's not strep YET, so he sent me home with a prescription for an antibiotic and instructions to do some at-home remedies for a sore throat. So I get to gargle warm saltwater! yay! If my throat isn't better in a couple days, I am to get the antibiotic prescription filled and take it as instructed.

The Miranda Lambert/Justin Moore/Josh Kelley concert last night was amazing. I'm so glad that I talked myself into buying tickets. She is a phenomenal live performer, and she played just enough songs that it included a majority of her hits (including my 3 favorites: Kerosene, White Liar, and More Like Her--I decided to link them rather than embed them) but not too many songs that the concert lasted until 1 a.m. I got to go with roommate and another girl from my sorority. Here's a picture of the three of us before the concert, and a picture of each of the singers:

Garrett is a magic photographer. I look thinner!

Opening act #1: Josh Kelley

Opening act #2: Justin Moore

MIRANDA LAMBERT!!

As you can tell, I was kind of far away from the stage so all three of these were taken with digital zoom. But I was still close enough to be able to see well :)

It was Elizabeth's first concert, and she enjoyed it a bunch. She is now a lover of concerts!

If you didn't catch my feature over at Pocket Legos last Friday, do so now! Then go to their post from today and answer the question! There will be a new question every week that I sent her, and we are both interested to see what you all answer! So do it!! NOW. (You could even make a post about it if you'd like!!)

I was also a guest post person over at KT's Refinishing School for her Spring Break series on Monday (I told you all I've been busy!) So if you want to read about my St. Patrick's Day (with lots of pictures), head on over to her neck of the woods. My post is here.

AND, because that is enough about me for you to check out, you can also read the stories behind my two tattoos! The very pretty Lindsay of scenic glory allowed me to share my Tattoo Story(ies) as part of her Tattoo Story features. You can read that post here.

WHEW! did I throw enough links at you yet?? I hope you get to take a look at all the places aiukli is featured in the blogging world! I have another busy weekend ahead, and be expecting pictures from all of my adventures!

Happy Weekending!

(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!

I promise I'm still here!

My Dear Friends and Readers:

I know that it seems that I have kind of been M.I.A. for about a week, but I promise I am reading all of your comments and things and will respond to them soon! I have a bunch of my 30 Days of Truth posts scheduled, so they automatically show up. Right now, I'm still working on getting into the routine of school and whatnot.

I am starting a new refereeing job (basketball) in the next couple weeks, so I have been doing training for that since Monday. Tonight concludes our training, but I really think I will be busy until around 10:00 tonight. Tomorrow is 500 kinds of busy as well, and then I am driving home for basketball homecoming tomorrow night. HOPEFULLY, with the little bit of free time I should have on Friday morning/afternoon, I'll be able to respond to all of your comments!

I promise I am reading all of them and I love it when you take time out of your day to read and comment on my posts! I really do appreciate it!

I will talk to you all soon!

p.s. Did you see I figured out how to add a signature? I'm slowly learning :)

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!

Insert Creative Title Here

As I sit here in Phoenix for my SEVENTH morning to wake up in this beautiful state, I'm kind of at a loss for words. I know, I know, this is a big shocker. This is partly why I didn't update yesterday (the other part is because I was attached to Lego Harry Potter on the Wii ALL DAY. I'm obsessed!). I love this town, I love this state. I know for sure that I want to come back again. Heck, I may even change my mind and want to live here at some point, instead of just visit. Everyone here says "Wait until you feel the heat of the summer," but I love the hot summers! I love them in Oklahoma when it's 100% humidity! (Okay, maybe loving the humidity is stretching the truth a bit. No one actually loves feeling like they're sweating when they're not actually sweating.)

Last night, Erika scored us some free tickets to the Phoenix Suns game against the L.A. Lakers. I LOVED the game! It was so much fun to hear the entire crowd get into every aspect of the game! (even the RUDE Lakers fans behind us) A lot of times when the Suns were on defense, you could hear then entire crowd shouting "DE-FENSE!" I loved it. I wish OKC fans would get into it as much, maybe I would try to go to more Thunder games than what I already do. And of course, seeing Steve Nash play was pretty freakin' sweet. I don't keep up with NBA too much, but I have heard about him of course. He's definitely a team-oriented guy. ANYWAYS. Erika and I spent 3 hours cheering on the Suns to a very close loss to the Lakers. It was one hell of a game.

I'm sad that my time here in AZ is coming to an end, but I know my family back home is ready for me to return. And I'm sure once I get back, I'll be ready to be home as well, but for the time being I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE. Leaving means returning to Oklahoma to enjoy my final semester as a college undergrad (YIKES!). It means I won't randomly score free tickets to an NBA game (although I am going to the Clippers/Thunder game in February with HESSA.) It means going back to having responsibilities. But the best part of going back to Oklahoma? Returning to my family and friends that aren't here with me. This 10 Day vacation has been a fantastic break, but I kinda miss my brothers and the little rugrats that are more like sisters. But I'm sure once I graduate, they'll be ready for me to go back to school :) And, I kinda miss my littles. They're pretty legit.

Hopefully upon my return, I WILL NOT fail Capstone, and then maybe Erika can return to "God's country" to see me walk across a stage. If not, she has big girl responsibilities now, and it'll be during season. I will love her anyways.

longest post ever!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

!!!!!!

ok..so here lately, I've just been in one of those "the whole world sucks and I'm ready for it to be over with" kind of moods..I don't know what it was about today, but I'm in a strangely happy mood. And I can't explain it.

maybe it's because I haven't skipped a class yet this week =) lol but I did sleep through two ((oooooops.)) HOWEVER I did not skip my Choctaw class at all this week [and in case you didn't know, I HATE that class!]

maybe because it has been raining all week AND I LOVE THE RAIN.

maybe because I went to Paradigm tonight.

maybe because even though my....whatever you call it...with Bobby is NOT AT ALL where I want it to be, I sat back this week and realized that that relationship is just one part of my life that kinda sucks. I love him tons, but honestly, I have a pretty amazing life, filled with some pretty amazing people =)

maybe because Bobby has taken the initiative more times this week than he has in a LONG TIME to talk to me.

MAYBE because I have the best two brothers in the whole world =)

maybe because I started the week off right by going to church with the family!

maybe because I have two little blonde girls that light up my life when they walk into the room and almost tackle me to hug me!

maybe because I'm making an A in Zoology! ((but then again I'm making a C in math =/ ))

maybe because I'm finally starting to realize that it's ok to cry and be sensitive =)

maybe because I'm finally gaining back the confidence I lost so long ago.

maybe because I've gone to the gym 3 times this week and really worked hard!

maybe because I'm getting my flirt on ;-) {{maybe because I missed FLIRTING!}}



or maybe, just maybe, it's all of these things combined =)

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND HAD A TIMMY!

If you are wondering what a Timmy is, it's a pimple that is so big it has it's own name! It's really irritating too because it is on my chin, so it's not like I can hide it or anything..grr..

in other news, I was on time to all my classes today! You know, I really, really hate my Choctaw class..I don't feel like I'm learning anything, and I feel like it is a waste of my time and money.

Shane stayed at my house last night..that would have been awkward if I was home.

so it looks as if I won't be going on a date this weekend..Amanda told me that if Ashlynn doesn't come by Friday, she has to go in to be induced. which means I'll be going home this weekend *sigh* I was really looking forward to getting to hang out with Daniel, and maybe try something new =)

Our intermural basketball team is amazing. we are 2-1, and the one loss is when we only had four girls show up. you only have to win 3 in your pool to qualify for playoffs, and we have another game this week! I'm pumped!

I really don't want my friends to get salmonella.

RaNdOm facts about my life at the moment.

1. Lisa is sleeping on my bed right next to me after a long night of fun.

2. Today is Katie's 19th birthday and her parents came up and brought us cake =)

3. I'm seriously thinking about not talking to high schoolers so much. I have had some unnecessary drama in my life the last couple of days.

4. I had a great weekend with my friends, but now the reality has set in and I have to return to school tomorrow.

5. I chickened out and told a boy I think he is cute online. Not in person.

6. I don't know how Bobby will take that last one.

7. I'm going to be a godmother any day now. My godbaby was due yesterday.

8. I'm actually hoping to go on a date this next weekend =)

9. Honestly, I don't know what I want to do with my life right now.

10. Caroline may have salmonella poisoning from peanut butter =(

11. I'm so sick of hearing of Anna Nicole Smith and her death. Seriously, I could punch you in the face if you bring it up around me. =)

12. I'm not a liar. I don't have a reason to lie to you. And no it doesn't make me "feel good" to start stuff between you two. It wouldn't be started if you had told me the right story.

13. I started my weekend on Thursday as soon as I got done with my math class.

14. I really need to do my homework.

15. I want to get a tattoo.

16. You want to find your way to my heart? bring me Mountain Dew and cheesecake.

17. Honestly, I have the most gorgeous friends on campus. It's true, no one else has as beautiful of friends as I do:



18. I did pretty good on my first tests for Zoology and Pre-Calculus. I wish I had done better on Zoology though.

19. My friends helped me point out that I have a thing for "Daniel's" this weekend. (yes, the boy I'm hoping to go on a date with is named Daniel)

20. The people on my hall are so freaking loud sometimes, and then there's a group of people that play a card game called Pit and it keeps all of us awake they are so loud.

definitely interesting weekend.

ok, so this weekend was amazingly fun, but I don't want to have another one like that for a while.

Friday night, me, Katie, Lisa, and Caroline decided to have a mini-girls' night out. We got all dressed up =) and went to OKC to take Lisa's MAC to the MAC store. Then we went to Bricktown for dinner...we wanted to eat at Zio's, but it was an hour wait. So we decided to try out a new restaurant called Othello's. It was ok. I've definitely had better. it was an "American" restaurant as Jessica said--it served pasta, steak, and seafood. lol what an assortment.

Anyways, the waiter was hott. seriously. I wanted to ask if he had a big enough to-go box for him to fit in =) but Katie and Lisa wouldn't let me.

after dinner, we came back to the dorms and hung out til about 10:30. me and Caroline got ice cream, and then we went to party #1, a Phi Delta Theta house party. it was overly crowded and I was not having fun. plus I was driving so I really hated it being that crowded.

so me, Caroline, and Lisa left that, and went to the Delta Upsilon house and that was fun, because it was a much bigger house and a lot less people =) and it was two blocks away from the dorms =) =)

so when Katie met up with us after her Raising Caine's fiasco, we walked back to the dorms and I just left my car at the frat house cuz I figured I could get it in the morning.

well Saturday morning was our OU Women's basketball white out, and I really wanted to go. So I was going to ride with my friend Clark [because it was snowing!] but I couldn't find my ID. so he took me to my car to see if it was there, but no ID =( so I didn't get to go to the game. I was very depressed.

so Katie took me to lunch, then we came back and napped =) ..then Caroline and Lisa came over, and we all went to Burger King and ate some more. then later that night, Katie had a sorority thingy, and Kyle asked us if we wanted to go with him and some guys on his floor to a Hornets basketball game. Since I'd never been to a pro ANYTHING before, it sounded like a good idea! =) so me, Caroline, and Lisa got in my car and took trip #2 to Bricktown to watch the Hornets. =) it was fun!

then me and Katie had a little fiasco in Wal-Mart, and we didn't speak the rest of the night, but it's ok now =) after Wal-Mart we went back to Kyle's room to watch Saw III and it is so freaking good. I love all 3 of them, but I think 2 is the best so far!

Sunday I was going to get up early and go to church, but I slept right through my alarm and didn't wake up until 10:30. I wasn't very happy about that, but I couldn't change it. So I did some homework and laundry.

and because I didn't have my ID, I only ate what I had in the room--beef jerky and the last of my cereal. so basically I starved myself on Sunday.

but on Monday, I got a temporary ID and ate in the cafeteria!! [[I finally ate!! yay!]] but not eating Sunday made me sick.

I talked to Bobby, and he did REALLY WELL at his pro-exposure camp thing this past weekend. I'm happy && excited for him, but I worry. we already don't talk much, and this is coming up fast. will we completely stop talking when he goes pro? I know I shouldn't worry, and that if we're supposed to keep in touch we will, but I can't help how I feel. it's unfair, he still has my <3>

but I read a quote online tonight that said "Love isn't supposed to be easy. if it were easy it wouldn't be called love." boy is that the truth for my situation. I need to go to bed.

p.s. a guy at the DU house found my ID, and I'll be getting my real ID back tomorrow!