Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Dreamer

I went and saw the movie Dreamer this past weekend with my mom and sister. It was a toss up between Elizabethtown and Dreamer…Dreamer won due to time constraints. For those of you who don’t know, Dreamer is the movie based on a true story about the race horse with Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell. I’m completely into horse racing now!

Bottom line: Cute movie! It was a feel good movie with good acting, a wonderful screenplay, and a great message. Plus, how refreshing to sit through such a good movie with little language, no violence, and no sex scenes. I totally recommend this movie.



Monday, October 17, 2005

A SpectACUlar Weekend

My favorite event at our university has passed. We celebrated our Centennial Homecoming this past weekend and everything was simply wonderful. God certainly smiled on Abilene this weekend and blessed us with absolutely beautiful weather...high of 85, sunny, cool breeze...we couldn't have asked for a more picturesque weekend.

I've been anticipating this weekend for quite some time now for many reasons. The main reason being that all of my closest friends from college would be back in the same town for two whole days. I often miss my friends from school...the majority of those friends being my GATA sisters. I miss the late night talks, weekend trips, making costumes, parties with friends...knowing that at any given moment, I always had someone to call if I wanted to go eat, watch a movie, drive around town, play at the park or just sit and laugh at stupid jokes that no one else would find funny. I miss those times. I miss those girls.


The other reason I was so excited was because it was our Centennial Homecoming! How many people get to experience that?! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was absolutely thrilled to be a part of our school's history! I knew Homecoming would be great this year.

The weekend kicked off Friday morning with Homecoming chapel. Chapel was wonderful. 4,000 people singing, seeing old friends, balloon drops, confetti cannons...It was a great start for our weekend. The rest of Friday was filled with the Queen's tea, golf tournament, the carnival and JamFest. All of which were fantastic events.

Saturday morning began bright and early at 6:30am with GATA breakfast. It was my first breakfast to attend since I pledged...so we're talking like 4 years. It was wonderful! I don't know if I was more excited to see all of my friends or just excited to be at GATA breakfast! I had reserved a table for all of my friends...wouldn't you know that when we arrived, my table was at the very front of the room! Seriously, we would have been just fine at the back...and probably would have had more fun...we tried to behave at the front of the room, but we still laughed A LOT! After breakfast we all went to the parade. I enjoyed watching the parade with the girls...then it was off to the Pre-game Party. The Pre-game Party was my event. It went off well, and we had about 250 people in attendance. After the Pre-game Party, it was off to the football game. We were slaughtered by WTAMU...I left the game a little upset at our team. Seriously, who can't score on the first yard line on a second down...or third down...or fourth down? We had three prime chances and blew it! That was only one of the many mistakes in the game, but I'm over it! After the game I had a reunion dinner, which was really easy, and it was nice to see many of the older people I have gotten to know with past Golden Anniversary Reunions. Then, after the dinner...it was off to my house!

This was the highlight of my weekend! Most of my closest friends all gathered at my house Saturday night for food, fun, games, costumes, pranks and a lot of laughter! I so miss times like we had Saturday night. My house overflowed with "catching up" conversations, stories of new jobs, updates on who is living where and who is engaged. It was just like old times. We sat around and talked, reminisced, laughed, ate, played games, listened to music and were perfectly content just being with the girls. We all made sacrifices to be there. Some left their husbands, some brought their husbands, some left their families, some gave up sleep, some came after the musical...some came for only ten minutes, but the important part is that we were there together. Nothing got in the way of our friendship that night.

Sunday afternoon several of us met to eat lunch and gather together one last time for the weekend. We said our good-byes, wished everyone well, and told them to be careful on their drive back home. It was a great ending to a wonderful weekend. It was a reminder how important friendships are. How important it is to maintain close relationships. Thank you to those who made our Centennial Homecoming so great. Here's to the next 100 years!

Thursday, October 06, 2005

October is Here

Today is an absolutely wonderful day! It is 51 degrees outside, cloudy, rainy and I’m loving it! Fall is finally here, although today feels like winter. I love October! It’s a month of change for me. The weather begins to shift, trees start to loose their leaves, the holiday season kicks off, and I turn one year older. Unlike many of my friends, I love my birthday. My birthday is MY day, and I love it! I love it almost as much as Christmas!

Now, when I said “unlike many of my friends” I mean my friends in Abilene. I make this distinction because all of my close friends in Abilene are 30 or older. We’ve all seen it in our lives…as people around us get older, they begin to dread their birthdays. 30 is old to them…40 is over the hill…50, you’re half way to 100…60, you’re close to a senior citizens discount…70, Medicare is in full swing…80, the nursing homes are knocking at your door…90, well, you’re just lucky to be here. That’s how many people view age these days.

I’ve thought a lot about age lately. One of my friends turned 30 last month, and I think…that’s just 6 years away for me. Where will I be at 30? One of my friends will turn 31 on Saturday. She doesn’t even want to have her birthday…she just wants to skip this one, and the next, and the one after that and be 30 forever. 30 used to seem old to me…but now that I’m six years away, it doesn’t seem that old anymore. Just think…where was I six years ago? It seems like yesterday.

I often get in a hurry to grow up. People try so hard to grow up so fast, and then spend the later part of their life wishing they were younger. I get told all the time to just enjoy my twenties. Enjoy being 23, 24, 25…single, free, hardly any responsibility. How am I supposed to do that when all of my friends are in their thirties and married? They can’t enjoy their twenties with me!

I’m not writing this entry to complain about my age, or the age of my friends, or where I am in my life right now. I truly feel that I am where God wants me to be, and I know that He constantly works in my life. I guess I just wonder, as I stare 24 in the face, where I will be at 30. Will I care that I’m 30? Will I want to stay 30 forever? Will age affect me as it does my friends? I guess I’ll know in a few years. Right now, I’ll just enjoy being 24 and enjoy the rest of October. It’s a cold, crisp day outside…I couldn’t ask for anything better!

Monday, October 03, 2005

I Love Random Surveys!



10 years ago I was:
--13 years old, about to turn 14.
--Living in Van, TX
--Attending Van Jr. High
--Hanging out with my three best friends, Jennifer, Nicole and Meredith
--In the middle of volleyball season, about to start basketball

5 years ago I was:
--18 years old, looking forward to 19
--First semester of college
--Wanting to leave Abilene
--Had already changed my major twice
--Living on the first floor of Nelson

1 year ago I was:
--22 years old
--In my first job after college at the T&P Event Center
--Getting to know two girls who are now two of my closest friends
--Doing many things that I shouldn't have been doing
--Wishing I had more friends in Abilene my own age

Yesterday I:
--Went to church
--Went shopping, bought some new shirts and pants
--Went to one of my best friends house
--Watched Desperate Housewives/Grey's Anatomy
--Stayed up late playing with my new satellite tv system

5 things I would do with $10 million:
--Give to my church
--Get a new car
--Give some to my mom/dad and brother and sister
--Buy a vacation home
--Put the rest in savings

5 places I would run away to:
If I seriously needed to run somewhere I'd go to:
--My parents house
--Amber and Frank's
--Jama and Mike's
--Jamie or Lisa's
--Mel's house in Lubbock
If it was just to run away for the heck of it:
--My parents
--Michigan
--Los Angeles(if I still had 5 million)
--Hot Springs
--Dallas

5 things I would never wear:
--fish net pantyhose
--red skirt/white shirt/red shoes/red lipstick...oh wait...been there, done that!
--daisy dukes
--pantyhose on my arms and legs, blonde wig and a green tinkerbell outfit...um, did that too
--Blue and orange Alpha Kai Omega jersey


5 favorite TV shows:
--Desperate Housewives
--Grey's Anatomy
--Law & Order (all of them)
--CSI (all of them)
--Golden Girls

5 bad habits:
--PROCRASTINATION
--Leaving dishes in the sink
--Speeding
--Spend way too much money on...just about anything
--Taking care of my car

5 biggest joys:
--Laughing so hard it hurts
--Seeing old friends
--Knowing I've succeeded in something
--Slowly losing another pound
--Finding money in unexpected places

5 fictional characters I would date:
--Dr. Andrew Shephard on Grey's Anatomy
--Mr. Big on Sex and the City(he also looked amazing in The Perfect Man)
--Jake in Sweet Home Alabama
--Nick on CSI

I stole this from Kim. That's a brief look at several random areas of my life.