Simple Ramblings

I miss a lot of my friends. For the past few months I've had several trips planned to see friends in different cities and none of them have worked out. I had hoped to never turn into one of those people who simply doesn't have time to work on relationships. Good try. I have friends as far away as California and as close as across town...several in Lubbock, Dallas, Fort Worth, Van, Tyler, Midland, Friona, Nashville, Houston, Early...the list goes on. I rarely see any of them. Thank goodness for phones, email and text messaging! To my friends who I haven't seen in awhile (which is most of you), please know that I miss you terribly and think of you often. I will come see you soon...hopefully!

I'm currently in love with the song New Soul by Yael Naim. Check it out.

I saw the movie Mad Money last weekend. Funny movie. I'd recommend seeing it. I want to see The Bucket List. Anyone seen it yet?

I love American Gladiators. I watch it every week. I grew up watching that show, and while I don't remember it being so cheesy and over exaggerated, I've rediscovered my love for the simple pleasure of watching men and women battle one on one in hopes to become the next American Gladiator. I'm also kind of into Celebrity Apprentice. Mind you, I can't stand the Trump family...they all get on my nerves...but something about the Celebrity part of it is intriguing.

January seems to be creeping by. Don't get me wrong...I'm not quite ready for February because its one of the busiest months of my life...but, January just seems to be so long. It's taking forever just to get to the end of the month. Anyone else feel that way? Thank goodness for MLK...having Monday off was wonderful!

So, I'm off for now. Hope to write again soon, but don't hold your breath. Peace to you all and best wishes.

The Great Return

Well, I'm not certain this will be a great return, but no less, it's a return! I can't believe I've gone this long without a post. Quite possibly the longest I've ever gone without giving the world an update on my life. I'm not going to write a ton in this post, however I do promise to be a more dedicated blogger.

Where to begin?! Work is great, but crazy busy. Since I last posted I've had over 20 lunches/dinners, Homecoming, pre-game parties, business trips and this week I have my first graduation. Never a dull moment!

Most of you who read this spent time with me in college and I'm sure remember me playing intramural football...you may have even played football with me. The fall semester after I graduated, I played again for our social clubs team and really felt that my time for intramurals has passed. WRONG! You can imagine my excitement when I was asked to play on an alumni team this semester! All girls who graduated within a few years before or after me...all from either GATA, Sigma Theta Chi or Alpha Kai Omega...and actually we had one or two who didn't go to ACU but they're doing their grad work here, so we recruited them. We called ourselves Sigma GATA Kai and we were great! It was so much fun! We made it to the 2nd round of playoffs before losing in a heartbreaking game...literally broke my heart. For those of you who have played with me, you remember how competitive I am. It was a great season filled with many memories...and injuries. I tore a ligament in my foot and busted open my knee cap. Sweat, blood, grass stains...heaven. Here are a few team pictures.





The next major thing that happened was Thanksgiving...well actually, it wasn't so much Thanksgiving, but what led up to Thanksgiving. My little brother...four years my junior...proposed to his girlfriend. Yes, I'm going to have a sister-in-law in approx. eight months. And yes, I'll be wearing a dress in their wedding...you guessed it. I'm a bridesmaid. My sister and I are thrilled. And if you know me well, you'll know it's impossible for me to be thrilled about wearing a dress! However, I am totally excited for my brother and his fiance. She's adorable, fits perfectly with our family and he worships her. Below are a few pictures of the two of them.






When I said she fits in perfectly with our family, I left out the part where she's about a foot shorter than all of us and she's tiny...well, shorter than all of us except my sister!

So, it's sort of been a whirlwind couple of months, but life is good and I have no complaints. Thanks to the few of you who have checked back with me and have not given up hope. I promise I will write again!

Anyone else crazy excited for CHRISTMAS?!

Something to Believe In

I read the following this morning and was instantly comforted. Out of the few of you who read my blog, I can think of several who are hurting right now. I can think of several who have hurt in the past and I know we will all at some point in time experience pain or heartache. Sometimes when you're searching for answers, they come when you least expect them. I pray you find the same comfort in these words that I did.

We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don't know what to do, but we don't give up. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. II Corinthians 4:8

A New Opportunity

Several of you know I've been looking into a new job opportunity for awhile and I want you to know how much I've appreciated your prayers and support. I'm happy to let you know that yesterday, it all paid off. I received the phone call yesterday offering me the position of University Events Manager at my alma mater. It's been a position I've been interested in for a few months now, and after much thought and prayer, the offer finally came through. It's such an exciting opportunity, but intimidating at the same time!

I turned in my resignation to my current company today, and without sharing too many details, I'll say that my day was pretty crazy. My current company is in a sort of tail spin right now since this came as a shock to the majority of our team. However, even with the begging and pleading for me to stay, I feel like God is leading me down a new path and I'm back on track towards my ultimate goal. Events are what I'm passionate about, so I'm very excited about this opportunity and hope for the best!

Thank you again to all of you who have lended support over the past month or so. My last day in my current role is August 16. I ask that in your prayers, please ask for a smooth transition for my team and that in the end, they be taken care of as well. This decision was bittersweet for me. Such an excellent opportunity, but I'm also leaving a great team of people who worked under me. I learned a lot in my current role, saw a lot of interesting things, met a lot of great people, made many friends, and grew a lot both professionally and personally.

Life Is Beautiful

So, this may turn out to be a long post...just warning you!

In the previous post, I promised great pics from my travels during the week of the 4th. But, before I tell you about the amazing week I had, I'll tell you about the rough weekend before that.

My alma mater celebrated its Centennial last year and I was privaleged enough to plan many of the major activities for the year long celebration. I was blessed with many things during that year, but one of the biggest blessings I received from that experience was a best friend. She came to me as an intern and ended as a roommate. In the year of knowing Lindsey, we had many adventures...made many memories...had thousands of laughs...took tons of pictures...and became great friends.


On Saturday, June 30th, Lindsey left Abilene and moved back to her hometown in California. I've known from the first time I met her she was destined for things bigger than Abilene, so it wasn't a shock that she had decided to move. The opportunities that await her in California are endless and I'm so excited she has begun her career. But, at 5 on that Saturday morning, nothing in me wanted her to leave. The Thursday night before, several of us took her for a night on the town in Abilene and I've posted a few pics below. I said my good-bye, tearfully, Saturday morning standing in our driveway and watched as her red Eclipse pulled onto the street. She's gone. Now, of course I'll see her again. We've talked on the phone, through email and through text messaging many times since she's left. I'll visit Cali and she'll visit Texas. But, its still not quite the same.




Ok, onto happier times! After the sad weekend, I needed a break. I took the next week off of work and my great friend Caddie and I headed to the Big D! Now, some of you might be thinking "why go to Dallas for a vacation." Well, it's close, cheap and you can have a freakin' awesome time! Plus, the fireworks in Dallas are much better than the ones in Abilene! We stayed in a great hotel, ate fabulous food (with the exception of a meal at Cheddars), slept late, and caught several fun activities!

Caddie is not a spontaneous person. She's a planner. Monday I mentioned to her that Lone Star Park was having a fireworks show after the horse race and it might be fun to go, but I received less than impressed feedback from Caddie, so I figured we'd have to find something else entertaining for Tues. night. So, you can imagine my surprise when while driving down I-30 about to pass the park, she suggested we just stop by the races and scope out the park. I jumped on the opportunity! We quickly wound our way through the parking lot, found valet, paid the $9 to conveniently receive curbside service, bought our general admission tickets, found excellent seats and watched 5 races. It was thrilling! Our seats were right on the finish line. As they moved the starting gate closer to us, Caddie trotted to the fence to get a close up picture of the horses. (Sidebar: the two of us are dressed in casual, yet preppy, outfits. Polo shirt, button-down shirt, nice jeans, cute hair etc. so we didn't exactly fit in with the other general admission folks if you get my drift.) As little Caddie struggled to get a good place on the fence, a kind woman looked down and said, "Oh, do you have a horse in the race?" I told her she should have lied and said yes, but Caddie simply replied "no, I'm just trying to get a picture." When we return to the races, we will purchase a box suit. Then we can act like owners! The races were exciting and the fireworks were breathtaking! Here are a few pics...



Next activity on the agenda was 4th of July at the Rangers game! Can you honestly think of anything better than baseball and fireworks while America celebrates its independence?! My friend Kim joined Caddie and I at the game and the three of us had a blast! The Rangers won, our seats sucked but we didn't care, the food was great, the drinks were even better, and most importantly, the fireworks were spectacular! Here are a few pics...





Ok...I told you this would be long!

We headed back to Abilene Thurs. where we stayed for approx. 12 hours before getting back on the road. We headed to Lubbock because we both have friends there we haven't seen in quite some time. I dropped Caddie off with her friend Jenn and then I headed to spend some time with my friends Julie and Mel. Friday was spent catching up with the girls, chatting, eating, and getting some much needed frozen custard! Saturday we went to see a movie, ate lunch, hung out and prepared for a night on the town. We met up with Caddie and her friends and ate at a swanky wine bar in the Depot District of Lubbock then went to hear a great band afterwards. It was another great night! We headed home Sunday and both Caddie and I looked forward to a night in our own bed!






So, that's pretty much my holiday week in one post. I said good-bye to a best friend, took a road-trip with another best friend, visited with ones I hadn't seen in a long time, cried some, laughed a lot, put several miles on my car, and built many memories! Life is beautiful!