Procrastination

So I practically promised everyone I would keep them updated on our South Pacific trip but does to show what I prepared for! There was internet available at our hotels but for a fee! Gosh, people are so stingy these days! Then I remembered that I could post blogs through text messages. Well...1) I forgot what number to send them to and 2) I turned my internet off on my phone while we were away. So smart thinking Miss Alexis!

Hopefully soon I will get my pictures printed although my mother has not asked Shelby and I about ordering albums yet to put our photos in. Plus, our group will have a picture party to exchange group pictures and other pics that we want or our cameras died...lol! So I'll post a handful of great shots on here soon!

Excitement Begins and so do the Nerves...

My day began very odd. I actually slept a full nights rest and woke up when my alarm started singing "Stick Around" by Reckless Kelly. I knew I had to get up and clean my room but what was really happening today didn't sink in until about 45 minutes ago and now I feel rushed and anxious. You see, every time my family takes a vacation or just an important trip, I can never sleep the night before. But because of the frequent flyer miles and anxiety management, I seemed to have the best night of sleep I've gotten in about 3 weeks. I'm glad I did because my ticker is going to be really off the tick-tock this evening when we fly out from L.A. at 11 pm and jet down under to Auckland, New Zealand. I'm going to try my best to keep you all posted as the trip progresses. Hopefully, I can find a computer with a good internet connection to keep in touch with my family and friends. Also, please pray for us as we travel the South Pacific & the Thonsgaard & Jones' families, who lost loved ones in a tragedy this past weekend.

Have a great beginning of y'alls summer! xoxo

This Time Next Week...

I'll be on a plane from Dallas to L.A. to begin our trip of the South Pacific! This week is going to be jammed packed with getting things buckled down, packed, and settled before we leave on Monday, the 8th for a two-week trip to New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii. There is only 10 in our group and will be joined by three other groups from Arizona, Tennessee and Utah. My two high school softball coaches are our sponsors/caregivers. And mainly close friends are going on the trip, my best friends, Emily Bergstorm and Kristi Michaelsen, my birthday twin, Lindsey Marik, and my sister and one of her friends, Megan Martin.

Before the time comes, today I helped Mrs. Kresta, my HS yearbook sponsor, catch up with the yearbook sales at school. I was in charge of the money the past two years so it wasn't that hard for me to get back into the groove of things. I'll probably go back one more day to help create ads and import data/pictures. Shelby is having a graduation party at the river Wednesday but Mom is having china cabinets installed so I volunteered to stay home with the carpenters. Oh well, I'll get some quality packing time in! That evening, I think Mom and I will travel to CS to get some more clothes of mine and to clean a little at my house, which is really needed. Thursday night is the first summer fun-filled dancing night at National Hall in El Maton. The Emotions always put on a great show and my group of friends have been dying to be ALL together since I missed out when they went to Kyle Park in CS without me. My friend, Bay Dickey, who is related to Haley English, is coming down from Huntsville to spend the weekend with us and her boyfriend and one of my closest friends, Trey Kulak of Boling, TX. Bay and my best friend, Laura, share the same major at TAMU.

Friday, Shelby graduates at 8 pm. I can't believe it. It feels like this year has flown by. She is graduating 20th out of 236 in her class...I think and will be attending Texas A&M with me in the fall to study Finance! I feel old...I've lived by myself for a complete semester but now that I am back home, I don't know what to do with myself. Well, I do but I'm just not doing it right now. haha...I'm going to go play a few new songs I have found on the Internet with easy chords. Maybe one day, I'll sing at the ol' Texas Hall of Fame!

No times a wastin' here!

Do y'all recognize that from a song? Well it's the song "Time's A Wastin'" by June Carter. I'm actually babysitting wittle Brooks Goerig, who is now snoozing, while I watch the movie Walk the Line. So that's where the song comes into play.

Not much has been going on since I arrived back in EC but it seems I'm either really busy or really bored. I've finished with softball for the summer and I'm not sure when I have to return in the fall. I also know what classes I'm taking when I return to Aggieland. Right now, I'm registerred for 12 hours consisting of: Women's Psychology, Music Theory, State and Local Government, First Aid, and Fundamentals of Coaching. I may add Biology if I can get into a class at Blinn that will work with my schedule. I may have stated that I might add another minor but I'm really wanting to take floral design with Laura so that could go towards my Ag Journalism minor in fact. ;)

Before returning to EC, I layed out by the pool with Jeanne and Alex Arbuckle, cut a few inches off my hair, run a lot of errands, and even got a massage! I took a trip through Houston before I came home to EC and picked up some beads and stones off Harwin to start making my own jewelry! So far, so good! Shelby and I have researched dogs and I don't know if we can officially decide between a Minitature Schnauzer or a Boxer. Our concerns are the small backyard we have and protection.

I hope summer doesn't pass by too quickly because I have so much to do and see and participate in. I say that because Emily wants us to run a half-marathon or something like that with her. It's possible and do-able but that's a lot of hard work! I just got back into running but we'll see!
So I'm going to pay attention to this movie because I've never gotten to finish it!
Happy Trails! (in my southern accent...lol)

And they rode off into the sunset...

Today was a bittersweet day. Although I'm finished with softball games, I'm going to miss the seniors very much. Holly, Erin & Savanna made this season worthwhile after the long hours and strenuous practices I endured. I do feel selfish for wanting the season to be over but it wasn't as enjoyable as it should've been if we were winning and having more fun. Mary and I made the best of our last weekend hotel stay together for our first spring season but we sure did tear up with those three girls had to leave their cleats at the field. We'll be back in College Station tomorrow evening and I'm not sure if we'll have to report to work on Monday or not. I know we have some organizing duties but I don't think it'll be that much.

As for school, which officially ended the 13th, I didn't do too bad for having a demanding job and trying to manage my time better than last semester. I think I'll be receiving two A's in Nutrition and Bowling, a B in Kinesiology, and two C's in Sports Psychology and Nat'l Government. Kinda disappointing but I'm going to work on that. I plan on graduating TAMU with a 3.0 or higher! I have also been wanting to add another minor or maybe double-major? I'm not sure yet just that I would really like something with Journalism if I ever wanted to pursue a dream job of being a sportscaster for ESPN! lol...Yes, I know, dreaming big aren't I?!?

As for the summer, I'm sure I'll be back and forth between EC & CS until Shelby's Graduation on June 5th. We'll be leaving June 8th for a 2- week EF Tours-guided trip to New Zealand, Austrailia, & Hawaii! It's going to be amazingly awesome especially since my two besties are going - Emily Bergstrom & Kristi Michaelsen! After that excursion, I'll be prepping Shelby for the big move to our house before her New Student Conference July 1-2. In between working for Dad and helping Mom around the house, we'll be playing down at the river on jetskiis and relaxing in the "lake." Oh I can't wait! So much to do and I know time is going to fly by until July 13th rolls around and Shelbs & I start a math class at WCJC at 8 am! That'll be everyday for a month and my parents & I will scoot sis off to Fish Camp and I'll party it up and get stuff ready for the fall semester. Currently, I am enrolled for 12 hours at TAMU but I'm trying to add Biology or Chemistry at Blinn to correspond with my class and work schedules.

Well I'm going to finish reading Twilight and start reading the second book, New Moon, this week! I hope to see y'all soon and hope that everything is well and hot in Texas!

Home Stretch

And so the finals begin! I am up sort of studying but about to call it quits to get a little shut eye. I'm sorry I have not updated y'all whatsoever but life is just too busy to write about right now on here. Yes, Mother & Father get calls everyday but I'm sorry that the rest of my family and friends don't! I will make up for it soon! Good night!

Busier than a Bee

Yes! Spring has arrived and so have the April showers! Oh man, did it pour as we were trying to leave for Oklahoma on Friday! Gosh, I think it could've filled up my rainboots in 5 minutes! The drive wasn't too bad and Saturday became a beautiful day to play softball until we couldn't come through with a W and lost 7-3. That evening, Mary (manager), Jarrett (student trainer), & I had a quiet dinner at On the Border right around the corner from our hotel in Norman. When we dashed around after dessert to find a deck of cards to end our boredom but that was a negative. Sunday ceased the "springy weather" and I promise you if you didn't watch the game on ESPN, that the wind chill was in the 50's! Needless to say, Kimbo told me to take warm clothes & all I had was my maroon windsuit & we lost 3-1. Gosh, when am I ever going to pack right?! I will for Austrailia at least! I can NOT wait until we leave June 8th! It's going to be awesome, amazing & wonderful!!! Two weeks with my best friends, former coaches, yes, my sister, & her friends. I'm pretty sure I have a little over a month until our departure and Shelby's graduation. But before then I have sooo many things to accomplish before May & June arrives and let me catch y'all up on has happened since Easter:
April 12th - Could've enjoyed a nice day at the river after the rain subsided
13th - Returned to CS to make my 11:30 am class & see the dermatologist at 2 pm who gave me a simple Rx which cured my mystery neck rash & terribly dry skin!
15th - Had my Kinesiology 1.5 mile walk test & improved by 1:30 to make a C - Folks, this lady is an awesome Professor but a nazzi! We played Baylor here & came back to upset them with a Home Run from catcher, Erin Glasco. Went out to Harry's with my friends to a free concert by the Josh Abbott Band!
16th - Woke up super early to register for my fall classes; worked out at 8 a.m; attended Nutrition; swam at the Rec; did some usual errands before practice; went out again with more friends to the Hall to get my dance on until there was only 3 guys in our group to dance with out of 20 girls!
17-19th - in Oklahoma for softball; Happy Belated Birthday Terry Arbuckle! returned to CS in 5 speedy hours! Whoop!
20th - cleaned my house (it's a miracle) because Miss Sallie & Bob Wilkins came to have the tour; studied the rest of the day...phew!

And now, I'm about to continue my studying for the 3 exams I have this week and when I have time, I'll give y'all the scoop on the most dreaded week of my life - next week! Aaaaahhh! More to come - Keep it real, home slices ;)

Hoppy Easter!

It's awesome to be back at home in El Campo! Of course, there is not much to do here but I had a quiet evening with my parents. I totally pulled a prank on my sister, telling her that I couldn't make it home because Jeanne didn't want me to travel in the bad weather and she'd rather have me stay with them. Of course, she did invite me but home was calling and Shelby is such a dork because she didn't even notice my car in the garage! I wonder who should really be the blonde in the family...hmmm. I love being blonde so she can't take that spot physically! The family is coming over tomorrow thus there will be lots of cooking and cleaning in the morning after Mass. We were supposed to go to the river but if it rains, those plans would be a disaster! So thankfully I'm here to help my mom prepare and I have someone to attend Mass with me in the morning! Ever since I became Catholic 3 years ago, I am thankful for those people who supported me and sat with me. When I started becoming a faithful Christian when I was 15, I went to church alone unless I was singing in the choir. It was sort of depressing but I didn't show it and just prayed for those who couldn't attend with me.

This weekend, the Lady Ags played tortilla tech at home and we won the series, 5-4 on Friday night and 6-0 today. Our senior catcher, Erin Glasco, hit a homerun last night in the bottom of the 7th with 2 outs to give us the win! It was super exciting and I think everyone was yelling and tearing up with joy! Today, our girls did their job - they played like Aggies should play every game so it was a great outing. But before the game, our athletic trainer asked if Mary (the other manager) or I could help with some of the girls' treatments. Of course, I jumped right up and said heck yes! I did the "heva-mat" on a shoulder & an elbow. The machine sends an electrical current through my body to the other person to alleviate pain, muscle soreness, and swelling. It was pretty cool until I shocked them! Ooops!

I can't wait to get back to CS because I don't have any exams this week but just a few assignments. The excitement will come Wednesday & Thursday night when my friend, Trey, has already planned to go out from Wed-Sat, maybe Sunday too, because he is free from exams until the following week like me! He's a biomedical science major, looking to go to into orthodontics. He's from Boling and we have an awkward friendship. NO, not like that but we've done many things together not knowing each other until we met through a friend last spring and became great friends last semester. But we're going to Hurricane Harry's on Wednesday to see Josh Abbott Band and Thursday night to the TX Hall of Fame, to get our groove on. Trey & I learned how to do all the spins and what not together so we considered each other all-time dancing partners! We even have an inside joke in our "family" - our "wedding song" is Relentless by Jason Aldean and we only dance with each other to that song. Funny, I know!

I hope you all have a wonderful & blessed Easter! Hopefully the rain doesn't keep the Easter bunny away!
Peace out!

Texas Weather

So as I finished a week full of exams, the softball team headed off to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Mizzou Tigers in a double-header on Saturday afternoon. We left Friday to fly from Houston to Kansas City. Many of us were very confused if we were in Kansas or Missouri since the town resides in both states. We ate dinner before hauling 2 hours to Columbia for our weekend stay. Saturday was not the best of days for the team. We were able to sleep in a little but it was very windy and chilly outside. We were playing both games on Saturday because there was supposed to be a bad storm coming in. Unfortunately, as we were in the middle of the first game, it started getting warmer as each inning passed. Many of the girls and staff were shedding their layers. By the end of both games, we had lost in 5 innings, 8-0 and 9-1. Let's just not say much more as for the scores speak for themselves. That evening we ate a local sports bar and they had a lot of choose from but they recommended the BBQ. So I had a mixed platter of pulled pork, brisket, and the best, ribs. So we quietly returned to the hotel and some of the girls had studying to do but I set off to run and stretch around the lit parking lot. I got some good exercise in before heading off to the Barnes & Noble across the street. I bought two good cookbooks - one that I have been eyeing for awhile called "The Sneaky Cook" and the other a slow-cooker book. I'll have to try some recipes and share the good ones with y'all! So Sunday was a little colder. Mary, the other manager, and I had planned on sleeping in later and skipping breakfast until Kelsey Splittler, our left fielder, decided to come wake us up at 8:30! So I tried going back to sleep until I realized I needed some coffee and to say some prayers since I would not be fulfilling my Christian obligations on Palm Sunday. But I'll make it up to the big guy upstairs when Easter comes...otherwise that is one of the disadvantages of my job. I love going to Mass and singing and listening to the great priests here at St. Mary's in CS. Back to the weekend schedule, we left Columbia at noon and were headed to Kansas City to eat lunch before we got on a plane back to Texas. This is when we found out about the two different Kansas City's. We ate and flew out of Kansas but for the most of the weekend we stayed in Missouri. I'm sure there were a few blonde comments about the confusion. This is where the headline comes in! As we all jumped off the bus to go eat, it started sleeting and the wind was blowing super hard so we were in a miny blizzard hence the heavy snow. It was weird to go from hot to cold so it reminded me of the Texas weather especially since it's supposed to be in the 30's tonight!

Well I don't have any exams this week but I'll be working on my class schedule for the Fall and getting things accomplished for Shelby's Birthday and Easter. I hope y'all have a wonderful and blessed Easter and I can't wait to update y'all from this upcoming weekend!

btho t.u.

A little biography of what my life has been doing this semester...

January - Christmas Break was very long and my Spring Semester at Texas A&M started on the 25th as well as softball practice. For y'all that didn't know, I became the softball manager for the softball team so my student-worker life began. Over Christmas break, I worked at The Crossing for Sallie Wilkins and I wish I could just make a career of it because it's soo hectic but fun during the holiday season. So while I made a little money, my parents and sister traveled to College Station a few times to prepare the house that I would be moving into. Shelby had her Senior Serve on the 25th and it was really great! She surprised Mom & Dad when she sang during dinner but we really surprised everyone when she made a "guest appearance" during the talent show and I joined her.
February - School was under way and I was busy with school, softball and trying to keep some of my social life alive. Living by myself wasn't all too bad! I had a lot of time to study and do whatever I please except for cooking which only happened about once or twice a week. I loved the Valentine's Cards I got in the mail! At work, the other manager quit and I was left by myself for about two weeks. I handled it quite well since I managed to manage our first home and away tournament.
March - Spring Break was finally near! But before that I sent Mom a birthday card in the mail and Dad hassled with the telephone company for charging us for things I didn't need! Softball was going well but some of my grades were suffereing by missing most of my Friday classes. But a long awaited tournament finally arrived where we flew to Florida and I was able to go to my first PGA tournament at the Doral course in Miami and go lay out on the Ft. Lauderdale beach! I was even more excited to get to take off work and go home for 2 days during the break and spend time with my family. So when I returned to College Station, it was back to school and back to work. And now it's April Fool's Day and we have about 7 weeks of school left! It's gone by so fast I can't believe it! I haven't gone dancing but twice this semester!

Well I will try to keep you all posted as frequently as possible! But most importantly, the softball team is playing t.u. tonight or Hump Day as Aggies call it, at 6:30 p.m. Hopefully we can Saw 'em Off! So stay tuned & I can't wait to receive some comments!

Howdy Y'all!

So I've decided to start a blog to keep y'all more up to date! Plus, it'll keep me off Facebook a little bit more! I'm always running around very busy & I felt that it would be easier to make short blogs rather than one long e-mail once a month. Plus, all of y'all and your friends can see it as well! So I'll keep everyone posted once I get it up and running starting with Spring Break.