The Holidays and Cooking

So this time of year has always been one of my favorites. It is holiday overload for three months; Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then New Years. Halloween is my favorite holiday mainly because you have a reason for wearing a costume eating a lot of candy and having your own scary movie marathon to get you ready for October 31. There is another purpose behind the Halloween goodies... they get your stomach ready for all the turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, pies, and everything else your family makes for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the holiday that everybody gives "thanks" for what they have and to eat, a lot. Thanksgiving is mainly focused around food and family. It gets people ready for Christmas because you get a dose of family for a day or two or three. Then you are ready to see some taillights until you have to see the headlights come Christmas. Christmas is another holiday, to me, about being thankful for what you have and giving to others. Of course it is mainly about the birth of Jesus, and remembering how he came and died for us. There is also a lot of eating that goes on as well. Pretty much the same type of food, at least at my house, as Thanksgiving, but family is around a little bit longer than Thanksgiving. I enjoy all the decorating for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is almost as if the holiday stuff just explodes in our house. Love it! But the last holiday is ALL about the party. New Years. Time to come up with a "resolution" to loose the weight you gained over the holiday season, turn over a new leaf, or just hope for a better year. Either way you are either about to blow your self up with fireworks, completely inebriated before 10 PM, or whatever.

The holiday season was the time of year that I gained most if not all of my cooking knowledge growing up. I learned from my grandmomma Billie, my mom's mom. My love of cooking began at an early age. I would always sit in my Momma Billie's cramped kitchen and watch her and my momma get the food prepared during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Over the years I was allowed to take part instead of just watching. My grandmomma was the one in charge in the kitchen, even when we started having Thanksgiving and Christmas at my parents. Over time she did less and less, and by default my mom and I did more and more. We still use the same recipes, some are written down others are from memory. I can prepare all the dishes from memory if need be, but we still pull out the recipe cards and pieces of paper just to have reference.

This time of year now is more about remembering than anything else. Just over a week ago marked two years since my grandmomma passed away. I remember the day very well because I was stressed out about German test I had the next day and I was working at the Thacker Mountain radio show when I really needed to be studying. I knew something was up when I was getting phone calls from my dad, mom, and my little sister. They all knew I couldn't answer past 5:15. I tried calling after the show but nobody answered. So I called my German study partner(s) to let 'em know I wasn't coming. I walked into my parents place and from the look on my little sister's face I knew. I then heard my mom on the phone. I don't remember much else from that night, but I was up most of the night not studying. The next day I had to go to my teachers and tell them what had happened. My German teacher made me leave class and not take the test, THANK YOU!! The holiday season was very different that year. It wasn't easy but it did get easier. My grandmomma Billie is missed dearly. If you spent any time around her you see whom I take after. Love her and miss her a lot.

So now come holiday cooking time it is just my mom and me in the kitchen. Others were kicked out of the kitchen because of planned sabotage, that is a whole other can of worms I will open at a later date. But, in the next couple of days the preparations will begin on making the broths for Thanksgiving. Too soon? Think not b/c it gives them more time to let the flavors meld together. Cooking for me is very therapeutic. If something is going wrong, bad day, stressed out, just because or a friend is having a bad day I'll cook. My roommates loved it and when I was at home, my mom would get mad b/c it was mainly sweets that I would make. I do cook full dinner menus, too. That is when I call my friends over or take left overs to them. But during the holiday season when everybody else is stressed out about when the food will be ready or stressing about what they have to get done, I'm considerable calm. I move at my own pace that sometimes bugs my mom (and others around me), but she knows that things will be done; it is when I'm thrown off that it isn't done on time. My mom has learned that over the years.

I hope everybody has kicked off this holiday season right. I will hopefully post again soon to show pictures of a green velvet witch's hat cake I made for my mom. Till then...

So it has been a while since I've been on here. I've been doing a lot of studying for the GRE. I have to do really well on the test to know that I have a chance of getting into the graduate school program I want to go to. The heat is on.

But obviously my life has been rather mundane. I get up on the weekdays no later than 6 AM and go run a few miles with my dog. Get back do a workout then clean up and get down to business of studying. My running has come on gradually since the summer and has been a good addition to my everyday routine. Some days I run at dusk to wind down my day. Not everyday, but some. I'm thinking about adding swimming to my morning routine b/c I know the lifeguards on the AM shift at the pool I use to work at... that would be a good AM workout... run there, swim 1/2 mile then run home.

A few weeks from now, my life will have more direction that it does right now. I will have the GRE behind, applications into my perspective school(s) and getting that ball over that hump. I like having direction in my life, but I also like to have adventure as well. I enjoy, at times, not knowing what is going to happen next. I know it is good to have a plan with your life and know what you are going to do, but there are times when I wish all that could fall to waist side and you can be with the one(s) you love, friends, or doing what you love to do and not worry about job interviews, applying to grad school, studying for tests, and whatever else. Not everything in life falls into place the way you want it to. If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right you'll more than likely never do much of anything. You either know that you want to do something or you don't. That is a line that I've heard most of my life.

I know what I want out of life. I know I want, Lord willing, to eventually get married, have kids/family, and have a successful career (whatever it may end up being). Hopefully the having kid aspect will come after getting married, that is what I'm planning on. Those are the major things I want out of life, and what woman wouldn't? Nobody knows what you really want, only you do. If you don't know what you want, what makes you think somebody else does?

Like sands through the hourglass... so are the Days of Our Lives

Where to begin… To say the least I’ve had some pretty interesting things happen to me in the past couple of weeks. Some things I’m choosing to leave out so I do not incriminate myself or others involved. So I’m going to tell you two different stories. The first story is one that will make you laugh and also wonder about the individuals, and the second one is well… a situation that nobody wants to be involved but find it entertaining when it is happening to somebody else. But with out further adieu…. Story number one…

I was in the lovely not so crowded Wal-Mart. So that is a contradiction in terms since I am living in a college town where college co-eds run rampant in the streets and Wal-Mart is somehow the local watering hole for the co-eds… during the day that is, but back to the story. I was there running an errand and just to waste some time while I was there, so I headed into the sporting goods section. As I was approaching I see three girls standing in the aisle of where the soccer balls were. These girls were looking at the soccer balls very intently but also with very confused faces. They had multiple soccer balls down and then I hear why they were confused. “I cannot find anywhere on here that lets you know if it is a right or left footed ball! It should be on here!” I’m not kidding. You cannot make this kind of stuff up. I saw the man behind the counter enjoying the mad confusion of these girls. He was doing everything he could NOT to laugh hysterically at them. He looks at me shaking his head and looks back at them. I couldn’t help myself. I walked up to them and asked them what they were looking for. So they told me they needed two different soccer balls b/c one of the girls was right footed and the other was left footed. The third girl had no idea if she was left or right footed. So what I did next probably was mean but I seriously couldn’t pass this up. I picked up two of the same sized soccer balls but in different colors. I held them slightly differently and said, “See you can see a slight difference in the curvature of the ball. It makes for a more accurate shot and control. But if you can shoot with both feet then you can play with (I’m picking up another soccer ball) this one. You can see that the curvature of this ball is perfect for playing with since it suited for both left and right footed players.” I somehow managed to keep a straight face during this whole scientific farce of an explanation. The three girls looked at me and thanked me for clearing things up for them. They bought the three soccer balls at the counter behind me, and left happy customers. They guy at the counter looked at me and said, “Where did you come up with that? I almost believed you.” All I could say was, “I couldn’t help myself. But they just bought three of the same balls in different colors.” The guy at the counter just laughed.

*This next story, names and locations have been changed to protect those involved*

The other night I met up with some friends I haven’t seen in a while. I will dub them as Elliott, Carrie, Gwen, Drew and some others met up and City Grocery to have some drinks and catch up. We were there for a little while and then went and had dinner at one of the hibachi grills in town. During dinner I get a phone call from a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. I’ll dub him Jason. He was calling to let me know he was in town for the night and wanted to hang out. I was up for it so we decided to meet at Rooster’s around 10:30 or so. So Jason and I are at the upstairs bar catching each other up on what was going on in our lives, and he was in mid sentence when he says, “Oh Shit.” This, of course, confused me. I turned to see where he was looking but before I saw anything I heard one of the doors coming in from the balcony slam shut with some ummph behind it. It was one of those moments when everybody, even the bartenders, stops what they are doing or what they are saying to see what is about to go down. Get a mental picture of an outlaw in an old western movie walking into the saloon. He is looking for somebody and everybody is getting out of his way as he is walking up to whomever. This is what it looked like but instead of an outlaw with boots and stirrups on, it was a scorned ex with red stilettos storming towards Jason and me. I have my drink in hand and I don’t know if I should jump over the bar for protection or haul butt out of the bar. So what do I do… I stayed on my bar stool and listened to what was about to unfold… “Just what the hell do you think you are doing?! What makes you think you can just come to town and not call?! AND why the hell are you with a slut like her?...” I was entertained and laughing, to myself, at what was happening right in front of me. The bartenders were like whoa!!! People around us were of course watching and were like whoa… People were even looking in the windows to see what was going on. Talk about making a scene. I finished my drink looked at the bartender that took our order and mouthed… “this was on him…” I got up waved inconspicuously by to Jason and walked out very casually but made sure that my back was never towards the girl. I was getting looks from people like… “Is she really just walking away and leaving him to deal with that?!” or “Smart move… I would have done the same thing…” Lets just say I called it an early night this night. But I did get a call from Jason a little bit later saying he was sorry about that and that they had been broken up for 4-5 months now and why I left the way I did. I told him it was an interesting point in the night and that he would have done the same thing in my shoes.

There are some other stories I could tell that has happened in the past week, but sad to say it, but story time has come to an end. Don’t worry… there are sure to be more stories to come.

Mississippi Wedding

The weather for this past weekend could not of been any better for August. I don’t think it got above 85° and there was the perfect cool breeze blowing in as well. Friday night I drove to Grenada with my dad to visit my grandparents then we went to the football game my sister was mascotting. It is funny b/c GHS is also the Chargers but their colors are blue and red, Oxford is blue and gold. Oxford ended up winning 42 or 43-12. But the best part of the weekend was Saturday.

A friend of mine from growing up sister had her wedding on Saturday. Over the years her and I have become friends as well. We had the wedding day brunch and got to see a lot of the out of town guests and catch up. It was a lot of fun surprisingly. The wedding itself was out at one of my favorite churches in Oxford, College Hill. Techniquely it isn’t in Oxford but regardless it still is. When the time comes for me to get married that is one of the two churches I wouldn’t mind getting married in. I could go on forever about the service itself but honestly my words could not do it justice. I think how simplistic it was and not so “frou-frou” is what I loved about it.

The reception was at her house. It was beautiful. She originally planned on having a large tent set up beside their lake but her dad commented saying that it was way to expensive for a tent when he could build a pavilion himself, which he did. It was amazing. Driving down their driveway the reflection on the lake from the lights on the pavilion and the lights from the house were amazing. Mason jars with candles lined the walkways and where hanging from the trees. The Motown band played and dancing was expected. According to the band, “Y’all gotta get out here and dance up a storm so A’s dad can lay down some more sod b/c I think he has some left over! So lets get to it!” It was so much fun seeing everybody and catching up. I don't think you can go wrong with good food, friends and a Motown band. I got to speak to A before she left. As we were talking one of her brides maids walked up and told us she heard a little girl say, "I want to be like A when I get married." "Now what is A like that you want to be like?" "She is eating. All other brides I've seen never ate on their wedding day." It was a priceless moment. I think another key part to the night was that it was in the 60s and there wasn't a mosquito in site! 

I've been to my fair share of weddings over the years. The ones that I've enjoyed the most have been in the same group of friends. They are all older than me but all of their weddings were distinctly unique. They are the ones I remember the most. Their receptions, the bands, etc were all fun and laid back. I have a handful I have to attend in the next coming months. A few in September, a few more in October, actually a few each month till the end of December. It seems like wedding season is never over. I am just glad I have a bunch of dresses I can wear now. Should be fun though. 

 

Today started out kind of crappy. Yeah everybody has those days when you are just out of sync with yourself. I'll describe how my morning went...

 

So I'm up at 6 and rolling out of bed to get on some running clothes. I'm not a morning person at all. I don't speak to anybody because I would much rather still be in bed. This morning I literally rolled out of bed. I had no idea I was on the edge. I hit my head on my nightstand and the picture fell off and broke. It is funny looking at it now... but one should know that you are always close to the edge when you are on a twin bed. So I pick up the pieces of glass and the frame. I managed to make it to the bathroom with a casualty. I turned too soon and my big toe decided to pick a fight with the door jam. Shooting pain up my leg is what really wakes me up in the morning. There really isn't a whole lot you can do w/ a toe that doesn't want to bend. So what did I do... still go running. Run through the pain. Yeah that makes sense. I should of just turned around and climbed back into bed and not run. But no... I pushed through and continue to get ready to go running. Wash of my face and teeth and head downstairs.

 

So I'm almost to the point of talking but I'm still not because of how my morning was going, it was better for everybody if I just kept to myself. I get my water bottle; grab my headphones and head to my car to get my iPod. I spent most of Sunday afternoon washing my car. It was getting a little dirty so I cleaned it. I even armoralled the tires and cleaned the leather seats. My car this morning looked like I haven't washed it in a while and leave it parked in a chicken coop all the time. My car was covered with bird crap. I think every bird in Oxford decided to hang out over my car or they had this clean car radar and decided to mark territory or something. By this point it is 6:30 and close to 80 something degrees. So I moved my car to the shade and hosed it off so the bird's love droppings wouldn't be so hard to wash off later. I finally got to my run @ 7:15. It was a good 3-mile run/walk. Had to walk more than run b/c of my big toe at the start, but running through the pain was the best thing. I lost about 8 pounds of water weight on the run. 

 

Things continued on the rough path all morning. I was taking down my framed bid day pictures from freshman year and I some how managed to drop the one of the whole sorority, on my foot and managed to hit my pledge class group photos. So, more broken glass. So at that point I made a mental note.... DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING BREAKABLE. So I'm taking that photo and the pledge class photos to be re-framed.  

 

The turn of my day happened @ noon today. Ironic? Maybe, but the mail came early today. This is significant. There was a package in the mail for me. I love getting stuff in the mail. Letters, packages, post-cards, etc. I wasn't expecting anything, never am, but it was a nice surprise. I got a late graduation gift from our good family friends from Houston, TX. We might as well be related b/c they are as close as family to us. They sent me two cookbooks. I know this probably sounds mundane but I love cookbooks. I have about 20 or so books of all different kinds and none could top the ones I got today. One of the cookbooks was made/put together in 1949. It was an original. The “Home Demonstration Clubs” of Sunflower County put it together. There are hand drawings through out it and little notes and stains in it as well. The other was a copy of the 1899 White House cookbook. Completely different style of cookbook than what I'm use to. Each recipe is a paragraph or more w/o an ingredient list. You have to read the whole recipe to know what you need before you get started. That is one way to get somebody to read the directions before they get started. It made my day. 

I'm easy to please. If anybody every has any doubt on what to get me as a gift... if it is cooking related; I'm sure to like/love it. For instance, I was given an apron, a cookbook, random cooking utensils, and some spices one time as a gift... I loved it. I'm the kind of person that will go into an antique store and look for old cookbooks, cooking pans, pots or skillets, and so forth. Yes, I might look at the furniture, but I'm always finding myself looking at old kitchen stuff. These two new additions to my cookbook collection are amazing. If I every throw a late 40s themed food party I'll know where to look. So besides my rough morning, I hope things don't continue to dismantle around me.

Time after time

The story of my life for the past couple of weeks has been packing. I packed up my stuff from the house I've been living in and even though I hadn't been there very long it was the second time I've been sad about moving out of a place. I wasn't  sad when I moved out of my parents for college dorm life... granted I moved literally 3 minutes from home. 

Summer after my freshman year I moved into an apartment across town, now about 5-7 minutes from home, with a sorority sister and one of her friends. I had a rough end of freshman year and on into my sophomore year. I shall not digress into the details just that it was a time when I was shown the true colors of somebody I thought was my friend. But spring semester of sophomore year was when I became really close with my now best friend, Rebecca Taylor. She knows everything there is to know about me. She helped me decide on what I should do when I took time off from school. I was torn between staying in Oxford, going to Savannah, GA where my older sister was at SCAD, or convince my parents to let me do a NOLS course in Patagonia, Alaska, or in New Zealand. I ultimately decided on going to Savannah. When I moved in on July 2, 2006, I had very recently started dating a guy back in MS, like 2 months recent, and there was already drama from another female. But I was sad b/c I was in a place where I had no friends, just my sister. I admit I cried a number of times to sleep that first week. That first month there was hard b/c I didn't have a job just yet and the place I wanted to work kept giving me the run around. I gave the owner my resume 4 different times and each time she found something that was "unclear" and wanted me to clarify. The last time she did this to me, I told her that I obviously want to work here bad enough that I changed one word on my resume to clarify the reason why I wanted to work there. If she was not hiring or didn't want to take on one more person she should have just told me, and saved mine and her time. But I thanked her and never walked back through those doors.  

The last couple of times I had moved, I had my friends in the same town. Now I had moved exactly 598.6 miles from my parents driveway to my new apartment in GA. Granted, I met some wonderful people while I was there who challenged me spiritually and knew some details of my life. The RUF leader for SCAD became a big influence. He and his family were a big help more ways than they knew, and so were the individuals in the Bible study I became a part of. Savannah was a great decision on my part. I had job that made miserable and made me realize I needed to go back to college, but the people I met and became friends with are still apart of my life today.

I came back to MS Thanksgiving week, still dating the same guy, but fast forward to now. I've lived in three different places. There isn't any special attachment to any of the places. But last night for the first time since the Savannah move, I was sad about leaving a place. I think the main reason for my sadness was that I was moving back in with my parents. I'm frantically looking for a job and a place to live in the Chapel Hill, NC area. Why there you ask? Well, looking at grad school at UNC and I want to be able to claim in-state residency if and when I get in. But as I was packing up my things I was looking at all the pictures I had framed, collages of trips, and when I rolled up the rug in my room, I found a picture that I had been looking for since I had moved in. When I looked at the picture, all I could think was man we had a great time that night I want a repeat, but knowing that it wont. But it has been three years since Savannah to get to where I am today. Completely disoriented.

I'm studying for the GRE I have at the end of August. I have another phone call to make to the head of the graduate program I want to be apart of and also talking to my undergrad advisor about other things in grad school, and trying to remember which vacuum sealed space saver bag has my running shorts and socks in it so I can stop wearing my little sisters. My dad has hired me out to do a few tasks. Prepare some more meals for the family so my mom doesn't have an excuse to get out of packing and help with packing. So obviously while I'm digressing I'm putting off what I really need to be doing. 

The Grunt Monster

This is a photo of Cooper. He is a pure breed black lab. I love this dog. This was him at about 5 or 6 months. He was nicknamed the grunt monster from the start. If you have ever been at my parents house and Cooper is outside you understand why. He is one of the most vocal dogs I've ever encountered. He grunts and whimpers because he is excited. This picture was taken 9 years ago. He is now 102 pounds and intimidating. Anytime I go walking or running, he is with me. He is a protective dog, and he has actually scared friends that sneaked up on us; they quickly learned never to do that again. He has a mean growl and bark that it has stopped people that are about 20 yards away to reconsider walking in my direction.

Last night I took him walking over to the park, like always, and a cop was driving out. He stopped and told me that I shouldn't be walking alone at night at the park. Before he could finish his sentence, Cooper came and stood between me and the cop car with a little growl and muffled bark, hair on end. The cop looked at him then back at me, and said, "You should be fine with him with you." Cooper stayed there until the cop rolled up his window and drove off. Not even ten minutes later I was heading out of the park on the opposite side I came in and a kid that was playing tennis tops over the hill. Cooper was about 5 yards in front of me and when the kid came over, he growled and the kid stopped in his tracks. Poor kid started walking backwards and ran as fast as he could back over the hill. Cooper came back to me wagging his tail proud of what he did. 

He is full of personality and has always been protective of all of us. The picture above is from Thanksgiving at the Lazy A. He was in heaven. He would sleep on the bean bags in the den area and pretty much had free reign of the kitchen and den area. He loves the walks up there b/c it is a lot cooler there than in MS. It is funny when you tell him to go get on his bed, he looks at you in a way that says, really? My paw is touching it. Isn't that enough? As he lays down he gives out these grunts as if he is saying "happy now?" I love Cooper.

He is very well trained. He just never had the hunting dog quality in him. The picture above was taken about 4 or 5 years ago, and if I had the after photo you will understand how trained he is. My sister commanded him to roll over and play. He decided that he would tackle me and play in the snow with me while continuously pinning me down. All the snow that was there disappeared. My mom and dad came out and started laughing because he was having such a good time rough housing with me. I love my lab Cooper.

When he is outside on my parents porch when I drive up our driveway. He is sitting and waiting by my usually parking spot. As soon as I'm parked and getting out he is in full swing of his vocal welcoming. Our two cats are there as well (that is a whole other blog about them). It is the best thing when you have a bad day or just in a bad mood, Cooper puts you in a good mood and brightens your day. There has been a couple of times I've brought a guy over to my parents house and Cooper didn't go up to the guy and wasn't vocal towards him. This is a sure sign that if there was any potential of the relationship being anything more... shot down w/ Cooper not liking him from the get go. The first time he did it, I should have taken note b/c that relationship ended on a very bad note. Cooper knows. 

I love this dog and I'm talking my mom into getting two more lab puppies from the same breeder so we can still have a lab around the house and so I can have a lab with me where I end up living. I need another protector. 

It isn't a good feeling when you are looking at your phone and then realizing that you know you didn't call or send text messages to certain people. I realized it this morning around 11 when I got a phone call from a guy friend asking wtf about a text and what I was referring to. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Then I realized what had happened. My roommate had used my phone in her drunken state on Saturday. She called and mass texted multiple people in my phone that she thought were people that she knew. Some happen to have similar names but are not the same person. It isn't fun doing damage control for somebody else's drunken mistakes. I was looking through the sent messages and I started dying out laughing. I should post these on the website TFLN I made phone calls to some of the victims just before my class. This is how the first conversation went....

SN - "So just out of curiosity... what the F*@$ did you mean by 'i want you more than anything right now...'"

SL - "Ha ha um hey, and I never sent you that. That would be just too weird and wrong."

SN - "Well, you sent it to me Saturday afternoon. Then I had some missed calls from you as well that afternoon. The voicemail was interesting and you sounded weird."

SL - "ha ha oh man... My roommate used my phone to call (her boy). I guess that conversation didn't go well. I guess she thought you were the ATO SN that she knew. Ha ha wow. I've got to check and see who all got that text and or phone calls."

SN - "You are going to have some fun conversations. Were you wasted on Saturday with her?"

SL - "No, would have been fun to be packing up drunk. Talk about an interesting unpacking experience later."

So that text "i want you more than anything right now..." went to 13 different guys in my phone. I have only been able to talk to 3 of them before my class started.  Out of these 13 guys, I know that 4 of them are in serious relationships, but I'm good friends with the girls; at least I hope I still am. They are the first ones that I called and they started laughing and were like what the heck. I know that some of the guys that were texted will let this text inflate their egos even more. I try to steer clear of helping inflate guys egos in anyway. This is an interesting situation.

I called my roommate during my classes break and she just laughed. She said she would help with damage control but would be pointless b/c she doesn't know any of the people she called and texted. I think all I can do in this situation is laugh at it. Though some of the victims haven't answered phone calls or even on facebook. This is going to be a funny story to tell later in life I think.

So this past month has been really busy for me. These past two weeks have been jammed pack with a bunch of crap I've had to do. The reason I'm able to post as often as I do now, I write while I'm sitting in class, but I later post them when I am at home. I'm admitting to this only b/c since the end of May I've been in four different classes. I just recently started the fourth class this past Thursday. I haven't had a summer break at all. My "break" from intersession and first summer session and now second summer session is one day between the sessions. I haven't been able to enjoy these days off or the weekends because of papers, or having to run to Memphis for my mom and dad or I'm having to take care of stuff in town. The reason I have kept up with doing these posts in class is b/c I've somehow managed to have a 4.0 this summer. Shocker. So why mess with something that is working? :) 

But a huge change is about to take place in my life... I'm finally getting my car. I've been talking with my parents a lot this past month. It has been back and forth about what to get and what I want. I've had huge vehicles my whole driving life. My first vehicle was an AMAZING piece of machinery. 

A 1993 White Chevy Van, the interior was this blue velvet feeling material. All the seats were like Lazy Boys. Was dangerous driving it home after any away games. This isn't the actually van I drove but pretty close to it. It was given the name "THE Great White." This is what I learned to parallel park. I started driving this at my parents surprise. It was my junior year of high school and was the first year that I didn't have an older sibling to ride with to school. When my brother started to drive when I was in elementary school. It was a drag race getting to school... he would speed to get me to school first then he would speed back to take my older sister to the junior high then he would manage to make it to school on time... we always left with 15 min for him to get to school. My older sister started driving by her freshman year of high school. I was still in junior high at this point. But when I was a junior in high school, the van that i wanted to drive, THE Tan Van, had been given away.  

It had a HUGE moon roof in the back, the captain chairs could swivel all the way around. I have so many stories about that van. It was a legend at the high school even when I was in high school, that was about 5 or so years after my brother graduated. But my Great White van was awesome. The first day of school, my parents said to me, "OK. You can walk to school, get a ride from friends, or we can take you to school." I looked at them, then saw the van keys hanging up. I reached for the keys and said that I would drive. They were in shock. My mom said,"What are you doing? The van hasn't been driven in a few years. Is that not an embarrassing thing to drive for you?" My only response was,"No. I don't want to catch rides or walk. It is in the driveway so why not drive it? Think of all the people I can pile in there?!" My dad started laughing my mom was still in shock. 

It only got 8 miles to the gallon in town, but everybody knew when I was coming. It had a V8 engine. It was loud for a van. I had a TV, VCR, and Nintendo in the back along with two coolers. On many occasions I had about 20+ people in the van. Going to any house party I always had a spot right at the front of the house mainly b/c it looked like a family was there. It threw the cops off a lot.  Going to school in the mornings was always interesting. When I was going to be the first one at the light to turn into the high school, there was always friends sitting at the light. I would lay on my horn as i saw the light turning to red. When i would get to the light it would be red but i would roll on through and wave to everybody in a way to say thanks. The school cop followed me. He was laughing mainly b/c i ran the light blatantly and I was able to parallel park this huge van. He proceeded to ask me why I ran that light... I told him that I was going to be late if I had to sit through that light and my friends knew I was coming. He laughed when I said that b/c he said, "Yeah I heard your van, too. You have a loud engine and a loud horn. Will you be doing this often?" "Yes, sir. If I know the cars at the light they will know I am not going to stop." He laughed and was said,"Only you could get away with this." 

 

But I drove this up until I went to college. Freshman year of college I came in possession of the other family vehicle, a black two door 1994 Yukon. 

I love this Yukon. I've been driving it for five years now. It has 200K miles on it. It has a lot of stories to go a long with it. It is the most reliable thing our family has owned. There has been times when I've pulled up to boyfriends houses in the past and they are taken off guard when they see the beast I drive. It usually overpowers the vehicle that they drive. My all time favorite story from when I've been driving it was when I was leaving from the end of the road at Sardis with a guy friend of mine. The road was washed out to the point where if you didn't have four wheel drive you were going to have a really hard time NOT getting stuck. Well, there was a small truck that left the lake the same time we did. This truck was an old Toyota truck w/o 4 wheel drive. The guys following us out got stuck. They yelled at the guy that was with me (he was directing me so I wouldn't drive into a huge rut), and asked if we could pull them out. I tell him that I could just let me pull back in so I could use my front tow hooks. At this time in my life I had my sorority tag on the front tag plate. As I'm driving down towards the guys the mouths drop realizing the truck wasn't his but mine. I hope out all 4'11" of me and ask them where there chains or ropes where and proceeded to get them out. I could tell they had a huge blow to their egos. It was funny seeing their reactions, but that wasn't the first time I've had to pull people out. I have some country in me, and it comes in handy.

But the days of the Yukon are numbered. My brother and his wife will get it and be able to use it. My parents and I have decided on the car I originally wanted. But now the price had been reduced and they agreed to it. I'm glad I held out on them. I'm getting to pick it up this weekend...

It is an oyster grey '08 Volvo. It was a demo vehicle that only has 1,400 miles on it. It is the smallest vehicle that I have ever had as a daily driver. It will take some getting use to. Obviously by my car history, I can't be a road bully anymore. Sad day but it definitely gets better gas mileage and is probably half the size of my Yukon. I'm ready for some road trips in this car! The color of this car really catches your eye. It is beautiful and it is sweet! It is coming at the end of my undergrad career which is unfortunate, but it doesn't mean that this vehicle wont acquire stories. I'm excited about it and ready to put my own miles on it!

This weekend I went down to Jackson for a wedding; one of my first cousins got married. This was my first Episcopalian weddings. I always find it interesting how different weddings can be depending on the denomination. Baptist are the quickest weddings Presbyterians are a close second. The longest I would have to say would be Catholic and Episcopalian. But regardless, my cousin looked beautiful, and the reception was fun. The first time for me to be at a reception at a church and be able to drink wine and beer. First for everything I guess. 

But before all the wedding stuff went down, we had a HUGE dinner at a restaurant. There was 16 people in our party (when we got in we were too late for the rehearsal dinner so we got together w/ some close family friends of ours). It was a lot of fun, and afterwards the "of age" kids went out to a place called The 930 Blues Cafe. There is always an interesting crowd at this place. The liquor drinks are real pricey but really stiff, but the beer is cheap. 

There is a character at this bar that sings on Thurs. Fri. and Sat. nights. MS Jackie Bell...

 (*there is a video to be posted that will give you a better sense of this woman*) It is always a different show when you go. People dancing in the hot packed second floor room, drinking their beers or mix drinks from mini solo cups. I love dancing. It doesn't matter to what, how much I have been drinking, if there is music I will dance. But It is always more fun, without question, when you are dancing with somebody. My older sister made the comment to me that when she was showing some of her friends some videos of me and my little sister when we were mascots and some dances I've choreographed, she had to explain to her friends that she has never been able to move her body the way we can. My younger sister and I have received the same comments about being the mascot... They don't believe that it was/is a white female in the outfit. But back to the blues cafe...

I enjoy places like this. Off the wall places where you can sit back and enjoy the live music or get up and dance. I prefer the dancing part, but I do sit back and enjoy the music. 

Boom Boom

This is were I want to be... Alaska and camping. I actually enjoy camping and doing stuff outdoors. Getting to have a disconnect from everyday life. These two photos above are my brothers. He took these when he was doing the NOLS Alaska course. NOLS stands for National Outdoors Leadership School. I've been trying to convince my parents to let me go do this. They are not going for it. If I got to go, I would want to go to Alaska or Patagonia. Three months or so of being back to basics so to say. I was talking to somebody about it and he thought I was crazy for wanting to pay to go through this. His train of thought was if you want to see this stuff get a nice hotel and go out during the day to see what you want then get to shower. There are times when I like doing those things... get a hotel and get to see sites during the day but what you get to see and do at NOLS you don't get to do or see in little day excursions @ hotels. This was all a day dream while sitting in my class. 

I began my last undergrad class. The Blue and the Gray, history class on the Civil War. I've been wanting to take it for the longest time but every time i tried to sign up for it; it was always full. Took me two years to finally get into the class. I wanted a certain professor but he ended up not doing it this summer in Oxford, so I'm commuting to Tupelo. I'm glad that it is only meeting three days a week, don't know how much I would like driving to and from Tupelo Monday through Friday.  I know my dad does it but then again my dad is Superman. I say this b/c I'm the 3rd of 4 kids. My brother is the oldest at 29, my older sister is only 15.5 months older than me, then my little sister is six years younger than me. Back to my dad, while growing up, I can only think of a few things that he could not make it to. He was at my sporting events when I was younger. In middle school and high school he went to the football games on Friday nights that I cheered, then later mascoted, at, then would be at my cross country or track meets early Saturday mornings. He would even make it to my soccer games on weeknights or on the weekends. He even suffered through the dreaded cheerleader competitions. You have to keep in mind there were three others who were just as involved with extracurriculars. To this day I do not know how my dad did all that he has done. 

But being one of 4 kept life interesting to say the least. Last night at dinner, we were all telling stories. When this happens, you have to be prepared to sit for at least another 20 minutes. My mom went into how she would go to any length NOT to take us to the grocery store. She wants to know what the person was thinking when they came up with the mini grocery buggies. My mom had to put up with the three of us, my little sister wasn't in the picture just yet. We would cut up and get into more trouble than any mom would want their kids to be getting into. We all turned out pretty well I would have to say. No criminal records or serious jail time. Other families in Oxford still talk about some things that we got into together but didn't get into serious trouble, mainly because we were getting a lecture from the cops our families were friends with.  When you saw three teenagers like this:

What are you going to say? We all say that we keep my parents young, and we do. How many people say that their mom and dad would do the "jump on it" dance without hesitation if they heard it come on? That is a whole other story that I could tell, but I don't think I should at this time. Tonight should be another night of goofing off. We are all going down to Jackson tomorrow for a wedding. A cousin is getting married and so just imagine. Friday night we are getting dinner at a restaurant with a close family friends of ours. There will be 15-20 of us. My mom asked the lady on the phone if there were any of the private rooms open, and there are not. So my mom gave them warning that we all might get a little loud and want to kick us out, but the lady on the other end assured her that we should be fine. We shall see. 

Wish You Were Here

I'm still amazed by how much songs remind me of certain people. When I get lost in thought because of these songs, makes me miss hanging out with this person or persons. Cliché song of the moment is "Wish You Were Here," Incubus version. You realize over the years, well, let me rephrase that... I've realized over the years how some people I have hung out with have all gone our separate ways. I have very few close friends but a lot of acquaintances. I don't mind this. Odd, because I love hanging out with people and having a good time, but I find myself now hanging out more often with my younger sister and my older brother and sis-in-law. I know I have said a lot about my family but I have a lot of fun hanging out with them. But anyway...

So excited that I only have a couple more days of class... I only have one day break which kind of sucks but then I'll have three day weekends all of July. Kind of excited b/c there are some concerts I want to go to in Atlanta and Birmingham. I'm also well overdue for a road trip. So we will see what comes together. Still trying to get a job lined up for when I'm finished. Don't mind if I'm not working immediately in August but much rather have a job sooner rather than later. Hopefully I'll be able to do the traveling and interviewing for the MS Arts Commission. I would be able to go all over the South/Southeast doing interviews research and so forth. Talk about road tripping and getting paid. That would be the best thing.

Last night I wasn't able to sleep b/c roommates were up socializing till the wee hours of the morning. So decided to watch a movie and suggested to me was The Boondock Saints. I always forget how much I like this movie. I've always been more of a fan of "guy" movies than chick flicks. But I do like my share of certain chick flicks. I could go on for days about the movies that I love but that could and would get too redundant. 

I get to enjoy my afternoon for once and not be sitting in a classroom... love it when I get emails saying class is canceled. That always makes my day so much better not matter how good or bad it is. So I'm off to enjoy the afternoon by the pool. 

So the other night when I was leaving my parents house, it felt and sounded like summer for the first time. Well, I guess the first time I really noticed it was summer (apart from the humid hotness of Mississippi). I was at my parents grabbing something to eat and telling them about my classes and work, discussing recipes with my mom and what we can do to add to them or to make them healthier, talking with my dad about when we could go up to Memphis to see a Redbirds game. The conversation wasn’t what made me realize that it was summer; it was when I was leaving. Walking down the three steps out the back door had to be cautious since there was already dew coving the back patio from all the humidity from the day. When I was about to step off the patio I hear a familiar sound that I hadn’t heard or noticed till that moment; the crescendo of the cicadas, the random light patterns of the lightning bugs, and there being enough moonlight to see, the temperature was perfect, and the faint scent of the honeysuckle. At that moment I wish I were able to just relax on our swinging bed on the porch. These are the times when full moon nights in Oxford could last a lot longer than they do.

But my brother and his wife have moved back to MS from NC. The weekend they moved back my older sister was back from Europe. All of the Little kids were back living in Oxford for the first time in about six years. It was crazy thinking about that. The only time we have all been together is during Thanksgiving and Christmas. I asked my dad how it felt to have all of his kids back in Oxford, his response was... "it wears me out." this was said with a huge smile on his face. I love being one of four kids. We range in age from 29 to 17. We keep our parents young and there is never a dull moment around our house. I love my family.

I'm ready for my summer school classes to be over with. It is scary to think that I will be done with school come the end of July. I've been looking at the GRE and potentially go to grad school. I really want to go to UNC Chapel Hill. They have a great program there that I want to be apart of. My mom at first like the idea, and then she is second guessing it, then she's back to liking the idea. I don't know. It is something that I really want to do. We will see.

So since I have mentioned school, I have to read for my classes. OH the joy.

So, over the past couple of weeks I have been in summer school. Taking two classes... both are lit style classes with a lot of reading (survey of Southern Lit and African American Lit in/or since the 1920s). Both are great classes and I'm glad that I'm taking them just a lot of reading. But besides classes I've had some great baseball games to attend! 

I love college sports! I can sit and watch any collegiate sport. I guess I like collegiate sports so much is b/c I know them or in classes with them. The competitive atmosphere is different from that of pro-sports. I like to watch some pro-sports but I prefer collegiate. College baseball for instance is great! I attend/attended THE University of Mississippi. We had an amazing season this year and I hate that it is over. I was hoping to be able to go to Omaha this year, hopefully next year. I have to hear about those MSU fans that live in Omaha that have that sign saying that Ole Miss isn't there again. I mean come on... I don't see MSU is post-season play this year. I guess I would be like them too IF I was a State fan. 

I took one for the team this weekend... I got a major sunburn. I put on sunscreen and everything. It was 30 SPF, and I put 55 on my face. I have water blisters on my back and I even have them on my ears. I got the burn yesterday at the game. I felt the pain coming on after the game... I felt like I had been hit by a 2x4 on my back. So I have become best friends with my Aloe vera goo. Its funny seeing my trying to rub the center of my back... I'm in slow motion while doing it. It should feel better by the end of the week... just wish I had somebody around to rub my backdown with the aloe vera...

I have a midterm tomorrow that I need to get to looking over the material. It shouldn't be too hard. I've mastered the art of being able to write a lot but not on a whole lot. So I should be able to fill up the blue book then some.

15 steps... motivational song for cleaning... ha

So I'm finished with my May intersession course... so glad it is over. It was a great class and great experience for future jobs. Because of this class I'm planning on working for the Mississippi Arts Commission doing field work similar to what I've been doing this past two weeks. I really enjoyed doing everything that I got to do. Went out and met and interviewed people about their lives and how they got involved with music. It was awesome. The individuals I met wanted my co-worker and me to come back anytime for their church services, and I have an open invitation to this juke joint out in the middle of nowhere. I think I have mentioned this before, but if not... I'm looking at graduate schools. The one that I really want to go to is UNC Chapel Hill. I want to do the masters program in Folklore. I've been looking at the program and it looks like a whole lot of fun... well with a lot of work along with it. Who knows, i hope things work out to go. 

So now I'm using this friday to relax and get my mound of dirty clothes washed and put away... It is disgusting how much I have to clean. Obviously I'm putting it off right now since I'm sitting and writing this out. ha I'm currently listening to "15 Steps" by Radiohead... 15 steps is how far away my dirty clothes are. So if I just take those steps to get there I'll be that much closer to getting it over with. ha

Last night I went out with some friends that I haven't hung out with in a long while. It was a lot of fun, and we are planning on doing it more often. But I'm going to go ahead and bite the bullet and go and clean. Joy of my life....

stressing my mind...

So its been a while since I last posted... almost a month since. Well, since then I was rushing to get things done for the end of the semester, then had to cram for finals. Finals week was an interesting week. But I made it out alive my last spring semester as an undergrad. 

Finals week... wow. It was laid out perfectly schedule. My first final was on Tuesday of that week and the last one was Thursday night. Besides the fact that I had 3 finals on Thursday it was a good schedule. I pulled an all nighter on Wednesday night, b/c I had a final @ 8A.M. then Noon, then at 7... well the last one was really at 6 but I miss understood and thought it was at 7. I still got to present my project for the class and I wasn't the only late person, so that was good. One thing that helped me was taking part of Ole Miss's FLASH RAVE! Talk about getting your adrenalin going and getting a good study break. I got everything done that I needed to get done. A guy friend of mine came over and hung out for a bit. It was sad b/c it was his last night in Oxford and he was leaving for home the next morning. He already had his car packed up and everything. Ready to hit the road when he was done with his last final. Lucky duck. 

I hope I am able to stay in contact with my friends that I have made over the years at Ole Miss. I have had some good times while I have been here. Sad that they have to come to an end. But this past week I have participated in graduation ceremonies, and then started an intersession class (2 weeks of intense class to get a semester credit). I'm ready for the weekend b/c I'll be finished with the class. I'm thinking about a road trip. That would be great. Trying to find somebody to come with me. Or maybe just drive up to see the Aiken's in Johnson City, TN. That would be a nice break for me. Go to the lake and relax and get away from everything for a few days.

I have been flirting with the idea of graduate school. I kind of like the idea too. Scary thought that I'm at that age I never thought I would reach... I'm able to apply to grad school. I talked to my mom briefly about it and her eyes lit up, in a good way. She thought it was a great idea. The school I'm thinking a lot about is UNC Chapel Hill. It is one of the toughest to get into, but they have one of the best programs for what I want to study... Folklore. It would be so awesome. It would be about 13 or so hours away from home. I'm still flirting with the idea. If I do it, I would like to live in Chapel Hill for a year so I can establish residency to be able to claim in-state. I have always wanted to live in NC. Could be an adventure moving somewhere where I don't know a soul.

I need to end this now b/c I do have some work to get done. Love school and deadlines for work.

So you know it is crunch time in the semester when you can't remember what day it is and you are on autopilot. That is how I am right now. I go day to day doing assignments, and when it comes time for bed I'm still have the feeling that I'm not getting everything thing done that I have to. I get up early in the mornings to get to work by 6:30 in class pretty much all day and when I'm not I feel like I'm all over town getting stuff in order and pictures taken and so forth. I'm taken pictures around Oxford now because I want to have pictures for later so I can somewhat remember how Oxford was when I graduated from college.

Yes. I said it. I'm graduating from college. Never thought it would happen, but it is. The time has come for me to hang up my kids shoes and put on the grown up ones. I have my resume in circulation, which in itself is scary. A piece of paper being a representative of you. Looking at places to live once I am done. Getting off the parents payroll. But tomorrow is a big day... ha ha. Well, I guess you can call it a big day b/c it is my birthday tomorrow. Turning another year older is great b/c that means you have made it another year. I still have to get through today to get there but regardless; I'll claim that I have made it through another year. I don't have any big plans, that desire to go big on my birthday puttered out long ago. 

Birthdays are big deals but when all your friends are all over the map makes it hard to make it an event. Or even if they are in town and blow off what you had planned doesn't make for a good time. So I try to steer clear of those situations now. Once it has happened to you, makes you not want to do it again. This weekend is also a big weekend... Double Decker and the Ole Miss/ UGA baseball series. I'm really pumped b/c  I'm considering it my birthday weekend. I just hope that we win the baseball series. 

Finals are around the corner, then graduation, then my last few classes this summer in summer school. Kind of nerve racking since that means come the end of July I'll have to have a job. AHHH! An actual 9-5 job! I guess now a 8-5. Well, I have to stop procrastinating and actually do some work/study/school stuff now. Hopefully I won't wait so long to make an update.

Holla!

Gone to California...

so I'm here. Its kind of cool. Not the most easy to get around city. You have to drive everywhere. To get somewhere that is only about 15 miles away could take up to an hour or two to get there! I couldn't get use to that. I mean at least in Chicago you have the subway... that cut out a lot of time of navigating the city. But i did get to meet this HAWTY!! Ha I wish. (Filming in Vancouver)

Seriously though, I got to drive down Rodeo Drive... When I become a famous actress or become really ridiculously wealthy, then I'll shop on Rodeo Drive. 

Today I got to layout at Redondo Beach. Plane on being Malibu's Most Wanted! B-RAD! ha 

I just thought I would give a little update right now. I'll be making another post at a later date. Can't believe it is already Wednesday of my last Spring Break! ahhh... I want to re-start the week please! At least less than 2 months will be graduation!

about dat time...

So it has been some time since my last post. I have my reasons for that... nothing really exciting to post about. School has been crazy busy. Projects left and right, book after book to read,  just all around craziness. 

SPRING BREAK! ahhh haaa... It begins Friday the 13th at 11 A.M. so i guess t-minus 12 hours. I should be continuing to review my English notes and readings for my midterm that I have tomorrow morning @ 10.... I'm not too worried about it but I have been reviewing and doing it again in the morning when I'm a little bit more focused. Back to the topic of SPRING BREAK! Tomorrow I had planned on leaving and heading on down to Jackson, MS to visit the one and only, Mr. Zach Adams. Change of plans... taking my younger sister, Court, dress shopping. Checking her out after her 5th period class and we are heading with my dad to do the shopping. THE ONLY REASON my dad volunteered to go shopping with the two of us is b/c we don't take hours looking... we have a general idea of what we want and we walk through a store to see if anything catches our eyes and if not we move on to the next store. It is a technique that Court has adapted to and is the only way she likes to shop now... So that is why my dad likes shopping with the either one or both of us... we don't piddle around shopping trying on everything we see.If we don't like what we see we don't bother but anyway.

GOING TO LA!!! Yes! I'm so excited b/c I've never been to California. I'm getting there on the 16th and then back home on the 22nd. I can barely contain myself right now.  I will post some photos when I get back b/c I don't plan on posting while out there. I'm just ready to be on the beach and relax and try not to think about school even though,  I know I will...

Somebody has a case of the Monday's...

I really don't like having those kind of weekends when you don't get a lot of down time and then you have a busy week. Yeah... had one of those.

Worked a lot this weekend. There was a swim meet this weekend... 450-500 kids ranging in ages from 6-18... craziness. I worked 15 hours Friday and Saturday alone. 12 of those hours were on Saturday... it was painful. I had to keep reminding myself... you are getting paid for this... you are getting paid for this, not enough, but getting paid none the less. 

I wanted to destroy my phone this morning because of it waking me up... yes I did have to get up and I knew that it was going to go off, but I just don't like getting out of bed in the morning.  Doesn't matter if it is a song I like or just something to scare me out of bed... I don't like alarms going off in the morning. This semester I'm seriously up and down with the sun. Sometimes a handful of hours down after the sun.  You've gotta do what ya gotta do.

I realized how stinking old I am compared to others I work/hang out with. The conversation I was having was about going out on the weekends. I don't do it a whole lot because if I care to have a drink I can buy my own alcohol and enjoy it in the comforts of my own home. Nothing against going out to the bars or anything, I personally don't like paying a $10 cover to get into a place that sells mix drinks at about $8. The places that normally have the covers are the ones that have bands/DJs and usually are 18+... always crowded and you can barely enjoy yourself. But anyway the conversation... I asked a girl I worked with if she would like to come hang out and get some drinks after class... she was like um I'm not 21 yet... I just turned 20... I was like wow, I forget that I'm actually older than the others I work with. I'm not the baby anymore. Lets just say I have to really hunt out people to get drinks with. Now if  Zach was in the same town as me I would definitely would call him up and tell him to meet me somewhere for a few drinks before din din time. There are those days that I have the want for a drink or two after classes. To each his own though.

I guess embracing the dork in me and studying more leaves me little time to really have afternoons of going to get a drink with a friend or going out on the weekends to enjoy myself. Not this past weekend but the one before, I was in Mobile for a Mardi Gras ball... The idea of it was fun (3rd year to go), but being ill while there was not so much fun. The day before leaving to make my way down to Jackson to meet up with Zach, I became really good friends with the porcelain... I was hugging it b/c I was such good friends with it. I rallied and forced myself in the car, had my water and propel beside me and I played freeze out by myself on the ride down to Jackson. I was so stinking cold but it was the only thing keeping me from... well... you know. People driving by were looking at me like I was crazy for having my window down, but if they only knew. Same thing with the car ride from Jackson to Mobile... Thank goodness for duel a/c control. I get hot easily anyway but still... thank you whomever invented that! But I had a great time on the trip down there, I need to get a copy of the photos from that weekend so I can post some on here. But, until then, I hope I have something "blog worthy" of posting.

Rodeo, Yazoo, Bonfire, Vicksburg, umm don’t know you and my truck…

So my schedule this semester leaves me a lot of time to study... so I embrace the dork in me and go to the library. Which isn't a bad thing it gives me no excuse to why I can't have something done on time. Now to the reason why i mention the library in this post... there is a story I can't resist in telling...

So today I'm wearing a baseball cap to cover up the fact that I was unable to shower this morning before I left for work (had to be at work @ 6:15). Of course that isn't all I have on... scrubs and a t-shirt... comfortable clothing choices of the day. So back to the story... I'm buries in a book that I have to read for a class I had this afternoon... it was about 10:30 or so in the library and I'm sitting on a couch/love seat thing head down totally engrossed in the book, highlighting and making notes... I hear a cat call whistle and a girl's name being called. I don't look up b/c that wasn't my name and I don't really go for the cat calls... not really my thing. This guy keeps saying this girls name, and I'm hoping this guy realizes that this girl is probably ignoring him  and that I hope he shuts up soon. The next thing I know is this guy is sitting down next to me.. like almost on top of me and has his arms around (one behind me and the other draped over my book). The guy starts to talk but as I look up he stops and has a look of "oh shit... what now?!" Of course I have this look of W.T.F. and all I could get out was... "Umm hey I don't think we know each other..." all he got out was "Uhh... Ummm.. yeah we don't... Sorry." Gets up and walks (almost sprints) as fast as he could where ever he was going... I was doing all that I cold to not bust out laughing...

But anyway this past weekend for me was a lot of fun. I got make my way down to Jackson to visit Zach. First time in about three weeks since we have seen each other last. Friday night on a very last minute deal, we got to go to the rodeo! Yeee haw! I enjoyed myself I have to admit... probably think of me as a red neck now but so be it. Chad is who we got the tickets from. His brother plays with the group Lady Antebellum, who happened to be playing during the half-time/intermission of the rodeo. We left after they played though... Saturday was the most fun though... Zach and I went Yazooing... Went and saw the Everitts... T-Train (Thomas) has gotten so big! He is almost 2 years old... There is another one on the way... Harris. So excited. It was so much fun hanging out with them catching up and playing with Thomas. It is probably funny hearing a 23 year old say that enjoy hanging out with a married couple that has a kid and another on the way... Don't be fooled... they still know how to have fun!

That night Zach and I made it to a bonfire cookout birthday party... I'd much rather call it a "burning of the green" cook out birthday party since there was a small Christmas tree farm in that bonfire. I promise you that the flames were up to probably 20-30 feet... But we all went old school and made 'smores. Then we all got into a great conversation of how there is an exact science to make the perfect 'smore... "OK, pay attention. First you take the graham. You stick the chocolate on the graham. Then you roast the mallow. When the mallow's flamin', you stick it on the chocolate. Then, you cover it with the other end. Then... you scarf. It's kinda messy, but it's good." (yeah i busted that movie quote out...) SO after the bonfire... Zach, Chuck and I went to the boats in Vicksburg... we definitely didn't leave until 4 or so. It was fun getting to hang out with everybody/seeing pretty much everybody. The drive home on Sunday on the other hand was rather difficult... but the sacrifice of sleep was worth it...

But since it is Monday I should mention the best way to start off a week... getting your vehicle backed into! Wooo weee. ha ha... Yeah, it wasn't that bad of a hit it is just the location of the hit... just behind the drivers door and before the rear wheel well... that whole back end side is one piece... not excited about getting it fixed... The call to the parental figures wasn't enjoyable and then having to go home to show them wasn't a barrel of fun either. But hopefully the week can only get better from here... if it gets worse I just might cry... but I do have a Mardi Gras ball to look forward to this weekend so I'll just think of that when I think about my truck today...

One last spring...

So that time has come in my life when I can actually say it is my final spring semester... ha ha wow. Scary thing that I'm going to be out in the "real world" working. Networking and getting job interviews lined up is a scary thing. This isn't some summer job or one to have some extra money after rent... This is for a career... huge gulp. Lucky for me I have mobility with my future degree. I can either be in a high school teaching or at a college. I would love to do either. 

Ok, big deal for me now is getting all my ducks in a row for classes this semester. My parents want to know who I am and where is their daughter... yeah so I'm not having much of a social life since I have to do well in all my classes and I rarely if at all go out on the weekends. 

I'm also getting back into shape... starting off slow but have to start somewhere. I've started running and I hope to get up to running 4 miles by the end of this month. I wish it wasn't so cold outside so I can run outside that way. Come warmer weather I sure will be running outside. My goal with all the running is to run in the Double Decker 5K in April. I hope to have at least sub 8 minute miles. I think that is a good goal to have. 

I should be going to sleep now or finishing up my response for a class tomorrow. But I think I'm choosing sleep over reading and going to catch some Sportscenter...