Night Owl

I told myself this break I would be getting my rest, working out, and catching up with my family and friends. Well I have a week left and I have been averaging about 6-7 hours of sleep a night, working at Miss Sallie's instead of working out, and mostly being lazy when I'm at home consuming my time with Pinterest and television = watching House or football and thinking about the things I could make from Pinterest. I've really enjoyed this Christmas break because...

I've gotten closer to my friend Cassey Janak (no relation to Courtney) who is the athletic trainer at the high school and 2 school grades my elder.

I went on my 1st duck hunt with my guy friends in Matagorda. Thank the Lord for safety and their gun knowledge since my gun got jammed but we were REALLY successful!

A week later, I went on my 1st dove hunt with my dad and his buddies. I shot down 5 and had a swell time hanging out and talking with a bunch of "wise" men.

Had an amazing Christmas with both sides of the family. Santa was even kind enough to keep my subtle hints in mind and brought me a 20 gauge shotgun! Later, Big Steve traded it for a 12 gauge and got $100 back. Scott Arbuckle said I should've become the rightful owner of the Benjamin but I'll ask for it later for the horse show I'm going to do in February.

I was able to stay at my Aunt Lori & Uncle John's for a night and take Sydney (almost 15) to the El Maton dance and get the horses their shots the following day. I CANNOT BELIEVE that Santa brought me Rocket 10 YEARS AGO!!! I really miss that horse but I just don't have enough time. Hopefully I can keep him long enough for him to become my kid's horse.

I helped Mom & Dad organize a little New Year's Eve party. It turned out really great. I hope everyone had a splendid time and is having a Happy & Healthy New Year! I skipped out on the champagne toast and sang at 11 pm Mass that night.

I spoke to 8th graders at the middle school's College Day this Tuesday. I had a good time with the group I was with and got my "Growth Points" paper signed to turn in in March for when I start planning my December graduation.

I attended a beautiful rosary of an amazing lady who passed away on the 30th. Please keep Mrs. Nancy Krenek and her family in your prayers. She touched a lot of people's hearts and is continuing to as she is smiling down on us from Heaven.

And on Wednesday, I helped out St. Philip's, where Mrs. Krenek was an aide, so the faculty could attend the funeral. I got to substitute a 1st grade class. They were so cute & full of EVERYTHING! Before we went in from recess, I let them race me. I was nice and gave them a 3 second head start. I beat them. Oops.

Thursday, I helped Miss Sallie out before heading to Houston for a defensive driving class from 4-10 pm. I got a ticket in October so better late than ever to get it done before school starts the 17th and I have no time to do extra things. It was supposed to be funny but the instructor made his jokes into death jokes and it wasn't really funny. So the SIX of us caught on and started making fun of his jokes and the time went by faster. Supposedly if he would've let us out earlier than the required 6 hours, we could be fined $30,000 and his fine would be double or triple that amount!!!

Hope all is well in your neighborhood!
Gig 'em & God Bless!

Sorry I don't have pictures! I need to sync my phone...especially so y'all can see Dad's dog Harley!

Destressing at Home

It's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. I don't understand why people stress out about Christmas because it get blown over proportion and becomes materialistic instead of spiritual.

"Jesus is the reason for the season."

I know this sounds like the same old story everyone says now-a-days but I would like to destress while I am not in school for 4+ weeks. I do work at The Crossing and I truly enjoy helping out Miss Sallie but then I come home and want to relax, workout, do some crafty things and/or bake and I feel like there's something else for me to do with Dad, Mom or whoever. I'm okay with that...sometimes. Truthfully, I would love to chill out, not talk or text for a couple hours, play my guitar/piano, do some pinning on Pinterest, wrap some presents, and maybe sit by myself in my room (or go to church) and talk to the Lord. And I think that everyone needs at least 30 minutes of that kind of medicine a day. Some of us do it by watching t.v. or reading a book or maybe even...I don't know. I drew a blank. I don't mind helping out around the house. I know figured out why we were given chores when we were little.

You gotta learn to do it on your own some day so might as well start young!

Now, while I am not trying to sit here in my bed and complain because I've been told twice to clean my room from the tornado I brought back to EC with me, I really just want to say that I do listen. I can clean up after myself. I love coming home. I love hanging out with my parents and family and friends. I want to have a better relationship with everyone.

And how do you think I can accomplish all of the wants and loves? The Big Man Upstairs, of course!

Just a little praying and bible verse reading here and there plus some singing = strengthening my faith.

I hope that we all can strengthen our faith in Him, ourselves, families, friends, etc. I wish you all a very joyous and blessed Christmas season and you will be getting cards with cute photoshopped pictures soon! I just ask that you pray for my family members who are sick. If you ever need a prayer, shoot me a text and I would be happy to be mindful of your wish.

Gig 'em & God Bless!

P.S. An amazing Christmas CD to listen to is Peace on Earth by Casting Crowns. My favorite song on there is I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Very beautiful and moving song.

P.S.S I went on my 1st Duck Hunt with 3 of my close guy friends in Matagorda. I bagged 5 redheads and one of the boys got a Canvas Back. Made me really want to ask for a Benelli shotgun from Santa! But Santa brought me neoprene waders instead...hehe



Rings and Things

A lot has happened in the past month...smiles and tears, hot and cold weather, good and bad grades, and some other rollercoaster happenings. But let's focus on the good because the smiles always are more memorable...

Late October, I participated in my first Dressage Schooling Show. I know a lot of my readers (a.k.a. Family & Friends) don't know much about what I'm doing in the english saddle but I would like to inform you a tad bit on it. Dressage is a French term for training. Its purpose is to develop a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform. At a horse's peak, it should respond to minimal aids while the rider is in a relaxed state. I wish I could show you a video of my test but I haven't asked Aubrey for it. There are a lot of YouTube videos out there and the ones that will pop up are the most advanced level (FEI World Cup or Grand Prix).

I really enjoyed my dressage show and came home with 2 Blue Ribbons with decent scores for my first outing with Strutt, 21 y.o. Quarter Horse. I am going to wait until my first few eventing shows to decided what I really want to concentrate on. I like to jump but Mom and Dad would like my seat to be more safe in the saddle than up in the air over jumps!

Now the super exciting stuff...

Shelby Suzanne got her Aggie Ring this past Friday! Whoop!

I was the photographer so of course, I have wonderful photos to show you of Shelby's amazing milestone!

Deanna Bosse, Lindsey Marik, Shelby, Courtney Janak & Me

Of course, being the silly sister she is, she has to get in the fountain!

Thank the Lord there weren't any cops around!

Having a little fun with Courtney!

Yes, we're sisters. Yes, we make funny faces. Yes, we love each other.

2 Generations of Aggie Rings - '78, '12 & '13

...and hopefully another generation to come in the future!

...a ways down the road of course...

My beautiful brunettes!

And there was a little more excitement after Friday...

We dunked our rings after we BTHO kansas! We were ladies and did "chugger" size. I drank Michelob Ultra and Shelby drank Mike's Hard Lemonade. She's a beast and downed it fairly quickly. I, on the other hand, kept the ladylike persona and drank it slow and steady because I wasn't about to puke like some of the boys did!

Meadow Creek Girls - Me, Taylor Lange & Shannon

Here we go!

And of course, the boys were drinking right after the dunked but I can promise y'all, I will not have beer for a good while.

Gig 'em!

 



Click, Click, BOOM!

That's exactly what my volleyball team did tonight. They rocked it and beat a local team in 4 games to get the W! It was probably the best game they've played all season. I'm hoping they keep going at it and keep up the momentum into next weekend when we go to Dallas to play in a Homeschool tourney. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I love the girls and they've come a long way but I've heard that the teams that play there are pretty Bad-A. Win or lose, I love that I was able to have this opportunity and hopefully can have another year coaching with the association.

Let me just catch up y'all up with the rest of my life:

School - It's hard. I'm only taking 12 hours but they're tough. Chemistry 2 has a lot of work and the lab sucks. Psychology of Learning is eating my lunch because I have a different professor right now...long story...and my Motor Learning & Control class is interesting but is getting harder every day. I'm hoping to catch up a little bit this weekend.

Health - I've been battling a nasty sick bug for a week and a half. It was weird how I felt it coming on but it hit me hard! I got meds called in and took those but I was still feeling under the weather and coughing horribly. So the doc gave me a steroid shot and cough pearls. I'm on mucinex max strength and nyquil. It's working but my voice is still working on coming back. Hopefully it does since I'm singing at Daily Mass tomorrow.

Horses - My parents were very gracious to pay for the clinic I'm doing this weekend in Bryan. Ralph Hill will be coaching a few people at a time all day Saturday and Sunday in Eventing. My photo on the top of my blog page is actually from the clinic I participated in with Ralph in January. I can't wait to get going with this one. I've come a long way according to Aubrey, my trainer, and hopefully all of the dressage training we worked on this summer helps me out this weekend. Just pray for all our safety and that I have trust in my horse and he has trust in me and COURAGE! I need to grow some balls... haha

Birthday - Yes, I'm 22. It's a weird age but I'm learning to embrace it. Mom and Dad were in town for the football game so they stayed for my birthday on Sunday the 25th. We went to St. Mary's as a family and even though we had to sit upstairs because 10 am Mass is always packed, I still thank them for going with me to worship the Lord and have a new and good start to the week. We then went to brunch where Duane and Jeanne Arbuckle joined us and had a great time with good food. Meemaw gave me a lovely piece of crystal then we all laid down for a quick siesta. It was just what I wanted.

And there's a lot of other little things going on in my life and I'm happy as can be! Just a little stressed every now and then but faith has brought me to be happy, strong, courageous, and grateful for everything I've been doing lately.

Here's some photos from Ring Day! WHOOP!

Finally!

FRIDAY is THE DAY people!!! I am finally getting my Aggie Ring with the most awesome class year on it every - 12! Whoop! How lucky did I get to have the awesome meaning of 12 on my ring?! Of course, other important years in my Aggie family are '78 and '13!

So with all of the school work I must complete, along with the quiz Friday morning, I just cannot contain the excitement of this upcoming date at the Alumni Center! My ring time is at 2:15 and hopefully we get a lot of pictures because I need to frame some things finally. So I feel if I get Ring Day pics developed, I'll start framing other pictures from the past few eventful years. I'm terrible at thinking about picture taking and framing, which is probably part of the reason why I can't remember all of the fun things I do. I definitely won't forget this day though!

 A little history of the Aggie Ring...


1) Shield: The protection of the good reputation of the alma mater.

2) 13 stripes on the shield: Original 13 states



3) Five Stars: Phases of development of the student: mind, body, spiritual attainment, emotional poise, and integrity of character.

4) Eagle: Agility & power & the ability to reach great heights and ambitions

5) Olive wreath encircling the state seal: Achievement of and desire for peace and the strength to fight.

6) Ribbon: Marks the joining of the two traits to accomplish their ambition to serve

7) Cannon: Signifies that the men of Texas fought for their land and are determined to defend it

8) Saber: Stands for valor & confidence

9) Rifle & Cannon: Symbols of preparedness & defense

10) Flags of the US & Texas: Recognize the dual allegiance to nation & state

These things signify why I should be proud and humble to be an Aggie. I may never fight for my country but I know I would like to make a difference in some way with the things that I learned and am still learning here.
I won't be able to attend Midnight Yell this week because Laura is dunking her ring! But next week, I asked Mom if she would attend Yell with me for my birthday! I'm so excited for her! So if y'all are going to be in town for the Oklahoma State game...come into town Friday night and come to Yell Practice with us!!

Gig 'em!

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

The power of friends getting together and making something fun and amazing is an awesome thing to encounter. Sometimes we're pessimistic about birthdays because it means we're getting older and time seems it's passing by quicker. I don't think that's the sole reason for Shelby to tell Courtney & I that "we better not be throwing a surprise party for me." That's just what we did and it was a huge success!

Courtney had thought of the idea a few months before Shelby's actual 20th birthday. With some great planning and secrets and help from friends and our parents, we were able to hit it off with only a few bumps in the road the weekend before her real birthday. Our original plan was to have Dad take Shelby to the softball game while Mom stayed home with a migraine and I do not remember what I was suppose to be doing. Well Dad took Shelby and we tried to get her friend, Taylor Hayden, to take her to the movies. Well Dad wanted quality time with her so they drove around for almost 2 hours after the game trying to keep her occupied! All that time, Mom ran to pick up our Mexican food dinner. Courtney rounded up the troops and I got liquor and other stuff of sorts. A lot went on that day and thank goodness, a slew of her friends showed up. As you can see in the picture above, she was crying. Here's the initial reaction...

Everyone had a great time and Shelby was every bit entertained since her real birthday weekend would be celebrated again at Chilifest. She had a good time at that too!

The point is that family is most important. Friends may come and go but the true ones will stick around and bring joy and laughter and awesomeness to your life. I'm very blessed to have the family and friends I have. Without them, we wouldn't have given my amazing sister a great surprise party!

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

Wow, this is a hard thing to think about. I have been very close to a few people for a couple of years that I know I couldn't live without. Sometimes, I don't talk to these people for days but eventually, we shoot a text and see how each other is doing. It's great to be in Aggieland with friends that I can count on. It's also great to be only 2 hours away from home so seeing my parents is nice during a busy semester. Especially this summer, they'll have to come up if they would like to see Shelby and I because we're bogged down with school. I'm also very busy with shadowing Physical Therapists, volunteering for various organizations, riding horses, and starting on the 20th, coaching volleyball.

I thought about it and I knew who I wanted to say for this day's topic. But after our spiff at lunch today, it made me think a little more about our relationship. If you haven't guessed who it is, it's Shelby.

Yes. The 18-month younger sister who lives with me but bosses me around is the person I couldn't live without. We interact with each other every day whether we talk or not. She does NOT like to talk to anyone in the morning. She's my best friend and enemy sometimes. I love her very much but....ooh, she can make me very angry. We go to lunch and dinner together. Sometimes she is bad about leaving her food out at night. Never takes out the garage to the street. She never wants to go work out with me but she does go on her own. She's intellectual in her specific areas of expertise and so am I. She's just like my parents - anal about cleaning and organization. I've come to terms with it and I have been doing better this summer. She motivates me to increase my lexicon = vocabulary, which I need to start working on for the GRE next summer. She doesn't necessarily care for my cooking. When I state that I want to make cookies, she gets mad and says, "I WAS going to make cookies!" So I give in and let her do it because I'm a people pleaser. That is why I have a hard time not raising my voice or arguing with her because she is very independent and hard-headed. I can't disagree with her about that because I can be the same way but I just gotta love her.

I'm not trying to harp on my sister. We have good and bad days. We can't help that we fight because we live together. At some point this summer, we will need a break from each other. But I can say that one day, it's going to be hard if we live more than 2 hours apart.

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.

I try not to be a materialistic person but the Lord has blessed me with many talents and gifts in my life. I have a few things that I am exceptionally thankful for...

My latest treasure was given to me on my 21st birthday. Mom & Dad gave me a very simple Rolex watch. I had no idea I would be receiving anything else than what I had gotten from my friends and other family members. The party was enough but I had one last gift to open after dinner. I do not know a lot about Rolex watches but mine has a pearl face and it is gold & silver. Sometimes I wonder if my parents even know me...I don't care for the color pink. I don't like shellfish. I dislike eating after 7 pm. I don't like tight fitting shirts...but they picked the perfect watch that I wear when I can.

I'm always thankful for my family. They are truly the biggest treasure of my life. I couldn't get through a day without them.