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



Taking My Time...

Why am I taking my time? I want summer to slow down! I'm tired of the days flying by and I haven't been able to do everything I want to do or everything my mother wants me to clean! Although I have remembered why I am a morning person so my days are longer for me. I started my math class at "Harvard on the Colorado" Monday. It's going to be a piece of cake as long as I can keep my routine of waking up around 6 a.m. to make it to class at 8. I can certainly get up early for school but that's not always the case when I want to run in the mornings. I've started back up with lifting weights, now 3x a week, and I plan on doing some sort of cardio during the week. But I enjoy having the rest of the day after my 2-hour class to nap, workout, clean, and just do different things that randomly come up.

Sometimes I'll count water skiing as exercise too! I remember when I learned to ski with the bar at Lake McQueeny a very long time ago. I did okay, I guess, but was too scared of the dark water, turtles, and snakes to get behind the boat. Lately, my "brother," Cade Radley, just jumped in and went all the way down the river, jumping the wakes and little tricks so I decided to try it out. I don't trust a lot of people to pull me behind the jetskiis but Steve-O is more than happy when I ask him. It took me 2 tries to get up but it was awesome! It was soo much fun! I learned how to kneeboard last summer. If we invest in a better kneeboard, maybe I'll get someone to how me how to spin and do tricks on that too. This past weekend, some friends were on their boat on the river so I hopped on for the ride & they pulled me on my skiis too. One of them wakeboards and he just started this summer. I'm sure if he can do it and Taylor Martin can, I can do it too. So that is my next thing I want to accomplish on the water.

Finally, I have to report that I will be dove and quail hunting this fall with my dad and Scott and the guys. It's something that I've requested for my birthday a couple of times but my mom never wanted me to shoot a gun while I was still playing softball. At some point in my 4-H career, I shot competitive skeet. I was pretty darn good! Well that was then and yesterday, Taylor & Scott Neimeier invited me to join them in a few rounds. My adrenaline was pumping and I was sort of nervous since I haven't shot a gun since the 8th grade. Well I didn't hit all the clays but I'm adding this and a hunting trip to my list of things to accomplish and become successful at.

Here's me a year ago at the river for a family graduation party. Boy, was I skinny & tan!