happy happy happy 4th of July!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 'MERICA!!

Today, I will be sporting these  :)

Lord, give me strength, to not break my ankles in these just before I go on vacation.

Here's to a wonderful day with my family and amazing food.

Hope yours is just as awesome and colorful and LOUD.

Not Your Typical Independence Day celebration

I really don't know if I will finish the photo challenge...I'm stuck on the day that is a picture of something that has made a large impact on your life recently, or something along those lines. So while I get that figured out, the challenge is on hold.

My family celebrated 4th of July last night, because many of us have to be at work tomorrow and didn't want to stay up super late and be sleepy for work. This is the second year in a row that we haven't celebrated on the 4th; last year we had a tournament at the ball fields so my family celebrated on the 5th. Usually we start fireworks at dark, and they will last until almost midnight. For some reason, the fireworks didn't last that long this year. we were done by 9:45, which was perfect for me because I have become a morning person and don't enjoy staying up as late as I used to. Thanks big girl job. ha ha

This year, our celebration was different than normal. It was strictly a family thing, we didn't have friends of ours come over, and not any boyfriends/girlfriends either. Even mom's fiancee was with his family. It was the first holiday without Jared around, and Josh and I agreed that it just wasn't the same without him.

We did our usual; my uncle grilled hot dogs and brats, we had our usual sides, and I had my usual crackle balls that I love. Mimi had just returned home from her vacation in California. The Smiths (who might as well be our family members) joined us for the food and fireworks, minus a couple of them. Jared's girlfriend stopped by for a bit, but it wasn't even an hour. The family played kickball. I spent the entire afternoon before the celebration with Edith, MacKenzie, and their friend Hannah at the mall. It seemed to me like a typical Sunday, except there was added fireworks, cupcakes, and red, white, and blue strawberries.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer about the holiday because it's one of my most favorite ever. I guess because this is the third barbecue my family has had since I returned home, it was just like a special dinner. I really miss my brother, and I know it's selfish of me to wish he were here all the time. He'll be back before I know it, but it really isn't the same without him here.

I received my first letter from him on Saturday, and I know that he is probably doing better than he realizes. It was short and even had me laughing, but I really miss him. This is where my sappy-ness comes in...

Whatever you're doing in celebration of today's holiday, I hope you are enjoying the time spent with good food, good friends, and loving family! Be safe and have fun!

Thank goodness that holiday is over.

Friends,

I'll be the first to admit that I have some reservations about love. I don't think it's too bad of me to feel this way because I've been hurt in the past, I've been used, I've been cheated on. I know what I want, I know what will make me happy, and I'm not entirely sure that I will find anyone who is willing to go on all these adventures with me. (And if by some chance I do find that person, I'm snatching him up quick.)

I HATE Valentine's Day. Everyone says that just tells the world you're single. So what? I hated it when I wasn't too. My whole thought on it is that if you really care about someone, tell them every day! Take them to a nice dinner or buy them flowers randomly, instead of on a day where everyone in the world is getting flowers and a nice dinner. To me, that's more thoughtful than getting them on Valentine's Day. (And it's quite a bit cheaper as well.)

I know some people love this holiday, a chance to go all out for the one they love. Reading people's updates helped me feel the love they were radiating from this special day. But I just don't like it.

I got 2 valentine's day cards yesterday, and honestly the best one I got was the handmade one. It's very pretty, and to me it's more heartfelt:

This mediocre scan does not give the card justice to how beautiful it really is.

Last night, roommate helped me remember when and why I started hating Valentine's Day.
It's all about expectations.

When I was in elementary and even middle school, everybody got to decorate a box and return home at the end of the day with lots of little cards and candy in tow. Valentine's day is the best ever when you're a kid.

Then in high school, you only got something if your parents, friends, or significant other sent you something. Okay, no big deal.
But my sophomore year changed my view on V-Day. I had my first semi-serious boyfriend on this particular Valentine's Day, and he had a very nice evening planned for us. He was two years older than I was, so he was all about treating me well on this day.

He planned a nicer dinner at an Italian restaurant in the downtown area of his hometown, so that we could get a break from our usual dinner dates. He gave me roses that he picked from the neighbor's rose bushes (which I thought was more thoughtful than anything else).

Little did he know the Italian restaurant had a special menu just for this day, which was SUPER expensive and had things neither of us liked. I asked him if we could leave and just go to "our restaurant" that we ate at every time. After much convincing, he finally consented. But then he didn't talk to me much the rest of the night because he was upset that the evening didn't go as he planned. That alone kind of ruined the night for me. It easily could have been spun into something to laugh about.

Fast forward to V-Day my junior year, and I had been "talking" (what is it with high schoolers and this term?!)  to a boy for about a month or so. I wasn't expecting anything from him, but at the end of the day I got a notice saying I had flowers. I immediately thought my mom and aunts had chipped in to buy me something (why I didn't know). I was happily surprised when I got the two red carnations from him. But then I went to the basketball locker room, and he had also given two other girls the same thing. I still loved my flowers and nurtured them until they died, but the two other girls basically berated the boy for getting all three of us something. It kind of made me feel like I didn't deserve them.

That same boy from junior year was also my "valentine" my senior year, and he wanted to take me out. I refused and basically asked him to take me out to dinner on a different day for two reasons: 1. I hated the holiday, and 2. We both were playing basketball on that day. So we went to our favorite sit-down restaurant (Chili's) a day or two after. It was a nice "Valentine's Day" date, and I enjoyed that more than anything, just because he allowed me to hate the holiday and still did something nice for me :)

So folks, two bad Valentine's Days in a row can cause for any person to become a cynic. That explains my hate for the holiday.

Now St. Patrick's Day? That's my kind of holiday! I'm always Irish for a day... :-D

The Bucket List: Mallori version

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

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

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

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