8 a.m. Natti?

First off, I need to give the disclaimer that I tend to believe that it's 5 o'clock somewhere.


Yesterday morning, I parked my car about a block away from school. At least I think it's a block. I actually have no clue how big a block is. I'm a country girl who only understands the concepts of county roads and made up names of those county roads. For example, I live between Lock and Dam Road and 2 Mile Black top. 2 mile black top is 5 miles long. So I park what I believe is a block or two from campus. I'm traveling West (or east?) and this kid is traveling North and is about to intersect me. He's wearing what I would call school attire (jeans, jacket, back pack)... not athletic attire. But he's speed walking like he's going to win the mall walk marathon of America. Well I look in his hand and he is holding 2 beer cans.

Do you remember the show Bobby's World? It was my favorite show as a kid. The problem was that I didn't quite catch the fact that all of his little adventures were his misinterpretations of common events (like a ring bearer to him was a grizzly that tossed rings). So, I, like bobby, tend to let my imagination get the best of me, which is probably the source of my sense of humor.

So I'm watching this kid speed walk with his beer cans and I'm trying to figure out what's going on (in about a 6 second time period). First, I've decided that he is a good Samaritan on his morning walk and picking up cans from the recent celebration of the Texas Tech Victory over... well we all know how that ended =). So he's a recycler. Another reason to love this school! People are just so good here. Then I can't explain his attire. Who goes on a morning walk with a back pack and boots? So then I decide that he is walking home from someone else's house and he's just taking in a hair of the dog that bit him from all of celebration of beating....the other guys. I mean, it's 8:00 a.m., but I'm not here to judge. It was a bid deal!

Then I let my imagination start getting away and decide that maybe he's had a bad break up. He's leaving his girlfriend's house after getting the news (It's not you, it's me) and he needs something to take the edge off. Probably not the most constructive means of dealing with your problems, but I feel kind of bad for him. Break ups are hard.


Then he looks up at me and says "I'm not drinking these, I'm just picking them up"

He startled me, interrupting the entire conversation that was going on in my head.

All I could think of to say was, "Hey! No judgment here!"

I just had to walk away and smile at myself. Maybe I wasn't so good at hiding my curiosity.

I guess he's a recycler.

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What's Been Goin' On

Whew.... we've been busy! Some things fun, somethings well... school. I really really like school, but the Ph.D. program is soooooooooo much more time consuming than the Master's program at OSU. We're reading all the time. I mean, I love to read, but ugh.. not this stuff. Turns out that I'm exclusively interested in Environmental Policy... and not so much theoretical Political Science as a whole.

We've been to a lot of football. I'm starting to like Football more. I guess actually having a mild understanding helps. Pistol is #3- the QB. Yes we made this. We've definitely got a lot of miles under our belts lately. And while we're at it... how 'bout them Cowboys?!? Undefeated?!? Ahhh it's great.
(The above paragraph might lead you to believe that I've taken in excessive amounts of caffiene. Not the case. I'm just random today).

Lately we have been trying to mix things up, so Matt has been meeting me in Lubbock before we head to OK. On a side note: I sing the Oklahoma song every time we cross the Red River. Anyway, the route to OK from Lubbock and you get to see some new scenery. But now that I am looking at this picture, I am realizing that it doesn't really give the view justice. But it was pretty, I promise!

I also have been cooking a lot. I even tried my hand at Butternut Squash Soup. It was pretty good, but it was so hearty that I don't recommend it as a meal. Perhaps a nice little side item at Thanksgiving.

Okay... I don't know if you have heard of this phenomenon called Pinterest, but you need to check it out. Wait, don't. If you're like me and don't have any extra time in your life avoid this website! You will feel an uncontrollable urge to craft all day and you just don't have the time for it!!

I made this fall wreath from inspiration from pinterest. It was so easy and it's nice to spruce up the place for fall. I also made another wreath that I'll post a picture of later and I am working on a 3rd. It's got to stop! I need to be writing my midterm! What am I doing on blogger??? (Just kidding.. I missed ya.. and I needed a reason to avoid my midterm).

And finally, good 'ol Texas Tech. They took the game against A&M very seriously. Kind of bummed for them that it didn't pan out. But anyway, on the big game of the year they decorate this statue with streamers. Who is the Statue of? Will Rogers. Where is Will Rogers from? Claremore, OK. I don't get it either.

So yeah, we're staying busy. I'll try to blog more often about fun topics rather than just treating this like an online journal. I have great stories coming from all of these adventures. I'd post some pictures of Lauren and I but we never take pictures together when she's here. She came to visit last weekend because now she lives so close. She's the new morning anchor in San Angelo. So yeah, we had a celebrity stay at our house last weekend. No big deal.
Tomorrow is Pistol's first birthday. We're throwing him a party. We're nuts. I'm okay with that.

Now I need to go grocery shop, read, write, do laundry, take care of those stupid tickets, prepare for the party, and hopefully watch Grey's Anatomy somewhere in there.

It never stops! Thank Goodness.

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Not 1, But 2

Hey guys,

Sorry I have been terrible about posting. A lot is going and I would love to share. I'd like to promise that I'll get better, but that could potentially be a lie. I am going to try to post later (hey! maybe today!) with pictures about different what not that has been going on.

But right now I am going to tell you not of the things since I last posted, but what happened this morning.

All before 11:00 a.m.

Well one thing we have done lately is Matt and I decided that it was time to trade in the old PT for a new car. It was her time. So I got a Ford Edge. Well it has some pretty cool bells and whistles (I've never had a new car before). One is that it has "adaptive cruise" which means that it will automatically slow the car down when in cruise if a slower car pulls out in front of you in order to prevent a collision (Matt was sold on the multitude of safety features of the car. I take a pretty dangerous road to Lubbock every week). Well with technology comes problems with technology. Something is up with my sensor and so I had to take it in to be serviced.

After 10 days of being away from our actual home, I got to spend an evening here. I slept like a rock in our bed. I woke up next to my sweet puppy, took a shower, and headed to Odessa to drop off my car. Odessa is about 30 minutes from the house. Well I decided to just go to the dealership. It can't be that hard. My car has navigation but I decided to go at this one solo. Well I got lost. I spend so much of my time in West Texas lost. Well I got there late and every thing was fine. I got my rental (Ford Focus...). I headed back to Midland where I was going to hang out at McAlister's and have a big ice tea and study. I was dying of thirst. The second I hit Midland I get a call. "Hello, Ma'am. Do you happen to have the keys to your car?" My car has the push to start feature that a lot of new cars have these days. So you can just put your keys in your back pack in the back seat and think nothing of it. And that's exactly what I did. I hopped out of the car and headed out. After they turned the car off, it wouldn't turn back on. So I turned around and went back (still soooo thirsty!!!).

As I drove back, I thought ya know, this isn't a big deal. If this is the worst thing that happens to me all day, I'm going to have a good day. So I drop off the keys and decide to take a more familiar highway home. Also one that included a place to stop to grab a drink. So I'm driving home and I get back to Midland. I go under the overpass and look up and realize that I just missed the loop, which is how I get home. I'm going to be lost again.

Then I see some crazy fool in the middle of the road. Pointing at me. Telling me to pull over. The entire City of Midland Police Department was just hanging out in the center median using the radar gun. "Ma'am, were you aware you were traveling 71 in a 55?" Sir, I don't even really know where I am. I am lost now and I just got done being lost in Odessa. I just missed the loop. Aren't I still on a Highway (the speed limit on the highway was 70). Then he says do you have your license and insurance? "Well that's the funny thing. This is a rental car. I just dropped off my car in Odessa with my insurance in the glove box." He tells me (and I swear he's so friendly and calm and nice. What is it with these West Texas people?) that he has to give me 2 citations but he's pretty sure I can get out of both of them. One requires me to take proof of insurance to the municipal court. The second requires that I take a defensive driving course. So I got not 1, but 2 tickets. As he wrote it up I just chuckled in my car. I'm usually pissed when I get a ticket. I guess the 1st one stings and the 2nd one calms you down. I chuckled because even the police are unbelievably nice here. It's like an alternate universe. I don't get it.

I ended up telling him when I left to have a good day.

That's my day before 11:00 a.m. I'm a little afraid to leave the house now.

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Being Married

 Matt and I celebrated our 3-month-iversary last Sunday over a couple of Pepsis in a glass bottle (because we're determined they taste better that way). We're really romantic Matt and I.



 
It's been a really great 3 months. It's flown by so fast. It makes me want to savor every moment because the older I get, the quicker life seems to go buy. They say that life gets even better as you get older. Maybe I have a limited imagination, but I just can't vision life any better than this. So, as you can see, I'm a happy camper.
Being married is pretty cool. It's a really neat experience and there's a lot of things that occur that I wouldn't have really thought about until I experienced them. I love having "our" own home. I love that our little dog is our child. I love having someone to hold my hand and give thanks to the Lord with before meals. I love doing things to create our little family traditions. I love that I don't mind doing things for him like his laundry and cooking, because it's an action of love and each time I do something kind, it's an investment in our future. I even love that I'm learning that when I act ugly I am taking away from the investment in our future, so I need to do a better job of picking my battles. I'm learning to be a better, kinder person.
I'm having to spend a lot of time in Lubbock for school so I'm traveling back and forth and that kind of sucks for newlyweds, but we're going to make it work. Well yesterday I came home and I saw this.  

I thought, "What a sweet husband I have!" I was so happy and surprised. He took out time to do something sweet and special for me. I love being married! Everything is wonderful!

Then I saw this:

This is a sticky spiral tape used to catch flies so they can stick there and I guess starve to death. To give you some perspective, I took another picture:

Yeah, this thing is in my KITCHEN!!!! Matt and I have already talked about these things. They're disgusting and I don't want them in my house. I refuse to believe this is the only way to get rid of the 7 flies in our house. Call me old school, but we could invest in a fly swatter and them immediately disinfect any surface where the fly meets his bitter end. Ugh. SICK!

While things may not always be perfect, marriage is a good time. I'm looking forward to all of the crazy times ahead.

And here's a picture of Pistol from this weekend because he's cute.

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Friends Everywhere!!!

When there's long gaps in my blogging, it's typically because I've got too much going on (a.k.a. having too much fun to sit in front of the computer). I've got several topics that I want to post about, but last week was a blast! Danielle came to visit the weekend before last for my birthday. I was so excited, I could barely sleep. Luckily, she arrived nice and early Friday morning. We decided to go get lunch and get our nails done (my b-day present!!) and THEN go see Glee. We're such kindred spirits that neither of us knew that we had been addicted to the season on Netflix so it was only natural that we go see the movie together.

 

Danielle and I always have sooo much fun when we go out boot scootin'

There's "That Guy" in the picture. Thanks pal!

We had to take her to one of our favorite hang outs, Triple Threat.

We also took her to "Sedona" home of the Sangria Swirl and the CoronaRita. We went there before we got "Adult SnoCones" and went to the drive in to see "Planet of the Apes"

Then on Sunday we went to a RockHounds game (the local farm team). It was the perfect evening. It was the perfect weekend. I had missed that girl SO SO much.

Well earlier in the day on Sunday, I get a text from Lo: "Want a visitor for a couple of days??" Of course I said yes! I told her that I would be in Lubbock for the week doing Math Camp (don't ask) so she could totally just come with me. 7 hours later she was here!

We dropped Danielle off at the airport bright and early Monday morning. Tuesday night we sang Kareoke at this crazy bar close to my house. It was more like a concert by us though, because there were only like 8 people in the bar. Wednesday morning was a little rough at Math Camp...

Wednesday night we went and ate Italian food and went to see The Help. You should totally go see The Help with one of your best friends. It was such a good movie, and a great story of friendship.

Thursday it was time to try Chimi's and some boot scootin'. We met up with some girls and headed out (I also got a pair of sweet boots in a deal). Chimi's is a cool place to hang out. I see us going there a lot. We went to a place called "Wild West" which looks like it gets some pretty cool acts and some people are incredible dancers. It just wasn't "our scene" that night (a little young... and it had been a long week) but I could see us going there again.
As we were leaving, this happened.....

Everything really is bigger in Texas. Even exhaust pipes.

We headed back to Midland on Friday. Lo had a friend fly down to ride back up to Tulsa with her (good friend!). We picked him up and headed..... where else??? Boot Scootin! Good times...

Saturday we enjoyed a nice lunch, hung out, and headed to Sara's birthday party.

 

 What's pitiful is that in all that time together, this is the only picture that Lo and I took together. We really need to work on that.

It was the GREATEST 9 days. This summer has been more than I could ever ask for and I am so so thankful. And guess what?? 2 weeks til Cowboy football! Yay!!





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Staycation

Well my birthday came and went and it was a lovely birthday. Matt gave me a pink and purple golf bag and had my name embroidered on it. If that's not a hint, I don't know what is....

Matt and I went to a really nice dinner and drank wine and just celebrated my quarter century. Matt does a wonderful job of reminding me of how much I love him on my birthday. Good catch that one is.

 Picture taken with a timer. I am working on it! It's an art!

Originally, we were going to have a big big party for my birthday. Well my parents decided that the beginning of August wasn't the best time for them to come visit because it was hay season, and Joe was getting ready to go back to school and every one just had a lot going on. Danielle was also going to come but her work required her to come the following weekend (WHICH IS TOMORROW!!! YAY!!) Matt's parents had vacation 2 weeks later. And the list goes on. Basically, everyone that was going to have to travel had a few restrictions and it just wasn't the best time to throw a big party. So we decided to do something smaller since every one couldn't make it. We knew we would invite friends from here, but at the same time we couldn't be sure how many can make it. No matter how big of a deal I think my birthday is, I have to be considerate of the fact that other people have lives (can you imagine?!?).

But if you come to a get together thrown at our house, we're going to be prepared. Perhaps too prepared. We had a lot of ideas of what we wanted to make, so we just made them all. Matt wanted to make stuffed jalapenos so I told him to go for it.

 What's with the mask? Well jalapenos can be tricky. They can get in your lungs and make you cough which is awful. If you get the seeds on your skin, which can very well feel like your skin is burning off your body. There's only some experiences that you're willing to have once. Plus I thought it was funny...

 Matt's favorite dip. Wait a minute... who's birthday is this???

Super cool birthday cake made by HEB. Nothing really compares to the cakes that my mom makes, but this was a close second. That poor woman that took my order was probably swearing about me in Spanish all night. She wants so many details!!  Yellow cake with Irish cream icing??? Yep.

 Are tortilla pinwheels not the greatest food on earth? That and fresh pineapple. I'm spoiled.

 Matt's shirt is hilarious! He just marched himself to Dillard's and picked it out himself. I feel like he's going to wear this shirt until all of the buttons fall off. It will be "that shirt" that we all wish he would just quit wearing but he'll refuse. I see many Hawaiian shirts in this man's future. Hawaiian shirts and boat shoes.


When is she going to talk about the staycation??? Isn't that the title? Okay okay....

I needed to lead into the staycation decision. You see, we were going to take a trip. We were thinking about either Austin, San Antonio, or Santa Fe. We went back and forth and looked at places to stay and who would take Pistol and yada yada. Meanwhile, we have either been out of town or had company every weekend... basically since we've been married. I had an epiphany.... lets just stay here! Check out Midland! What say you?!? First he say... NO. He wanted to go check out Santa Fe because it's supposed to be a really cool town and our lives are about to get crazy again with me starting school and work and football season is quickly approaching (for the record, I never ever thought football season would be considered a significant event in my life... more proof that the good Lord has a sense of humor) so we should go have a little get away before this all happens. We finally agreed that we should just stay here. For a town out in the middle of no where, there's actually quite a few things to do. When my brother came to visit, I asked him what he thought and he said "It's a lot bigger than I had pictured. In my head I pictured an old western town with dirt roads and saloons." Glad we made it to a relevant century.... Yikes... Poor West Texas has a bad rap.
So Matt took the Friday off and we made a 3-day weekend out of it. Friday we went to the YMCA together which was nice. We're trying to spend more time exercising together and we are going to start training for a 5k which is Sept 17.  And yes...we need to TRAIN for the 5k, leave us alone.

We ran around all day, ate left overs, and just enjoyed each other's company. I even began the process of changing my name, which is something that I have been procrastinating a little. It's such a process so it was nice to have Matt there with me.

Then we decided to go to the next town over and play BINGO. Are you aware of how complicated BINGO is?? I got my dobber out and was ready to purchase x amount of cards (I had no idea how much they would cost). No, this is all electronic and you're playing 66 cards at once and the computer tells you if you win. It's all so confusing. We very well may have won and we never knew it because we were trying to figure it all out. People are also very serious about their BINGO so it was fun to just people watch. I made a video on our FLIP camera, but I'm turning into an old person who rejects technology as soon as it gets hard and I can't figure out how to upload things on to blogger... I'll try to work on that.

We had a lot of wine/sangria left over from the party (pansies!) so for some random reason, we decided to watch jeapordy and make it a drinking game. You drink if I get it right. I drink if I guess and I am wrong.

Then we decided to carry the drinking game to Mario Kart on the Wii. Turns out I'm kind of good at Mario Kart despite never having any type of gaming system as a child. Haha, look at me, I am so serious.

We decided to do a small home improvement project so we picked out a crepe myrtle for the back yard and create a small flower bed to... cover up the propane tank. Being married is so weird sometimes. I never thought I would care about the aesthetics of propane tanks.

We are also thinking about putting in a back splash in the kitchen. We figured out all of the supplies, the cost, the dimensions yada yada. I thought this would be like a 4 hour ordeal after we got started. Matt told me it would take at minimum 5 days. Then I was out. Because this also meant that my kitchen would be destroyed for 5 days and Danielle is coming on Friday and I just can't handle it. I'll be out of town next week and maybe Matt will be really ambitious and do a project.... We'll see.

We decided to go to a movie. We went and saw Friends with Benefits. Funny movie. Don't watch it with your parents. Movies are getting a little raunchy lately. I mean, I expected a certain level, hello the title. But I'm kind of surprised and what lines movies are having to push to get viewers... I guess I am getting old.

Ya know what's great about a staycation? If you want to, you can totally just take a nap with your little best friend. Those are my 2 favorite boys right there.

 Meanwhile, I was researching products for a business we are looking to start.

Saturday morning, we went to the local Farmer's market. It's kind of small, but I do enjoy the opportunity to buy local products. It's unreal how much squash and zucchini Matt and I have ate this summer. I am also going to try my hand at egg plant Parmesan tonight. Yikes!

You know what you can do on a staycation? You can go to 2 movies if ya want! So we did. We went and saw the Change Up. It was really really funny, but there were also some parts that were highly highly inappropriate and honestly took away from the movie rather than making it funnier. I think if you saw it, you would agree with me on some parts. Maybe not. Oh well, soap box...

So basically we just had a great time together. We also didn't have to have a long drive there and back to where ever we would have ended up going.

And we ended with a glass of wine and Big Brother. What a perfect weekend!

And a family picture!!!

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Things I Have Learned in a Quarter of a Century

Folks, today is my 25th birthday. I have been swearing for years that I was going to just stay the last age that I was. For example, when I turned 23, I decided I was just going to stay 23 and for years any time when someone asked my age, I would just reply 23 and call it good. I struggled with turning 23. I felt old. I felt my youth slipping away. Now that I'm 25, I have decided that I am okay with it. 25 feels like a good age. Not old, but not too young. At 25 people can start taking you seriously. I can say I am proud of my achievements as a 25 year old. I learned on The View the other day that Lady Gaga is 25 as well. Boy has she been busy. It makes you think, what have I been doing with my time?!?! Just kidding... Sorta....

I've been thinking about getting older and what I have learned in the last quarter of a century (so... I'm dramatic, it's my birthday I can do what I want).

Here's a few things that I have picked up along the way:

Remember when you're a kid and your parents tell you not to worry what other people think, because it really doesn't matter? Well I hate to admit it, but they were right and I was wrong. Sometime in college it occurred to me that all that time I spent caring what any one else thought was a giant waste of my quarter of a century. Pieces of time that I will never get back! The truth is, people aren't paying nearly as much attention to you as you think, and any one that judges you is dealing with their own problems. It's not that I just completely disregard every one's opinions and concerns, I just take the thoughts of most people with a grain of salt. Plus, I have learned to just laugh at myself. Yep, I'm a little ridiculous, but boy I sure do have fun doing it!

To date, I have never once regretted being generous. What I have regretted is where I passed up opportunities to be generous. The truth of the matter is that I am extremely blessed ( and I even mean that beginning with the fact that I live in a country where I am free to worship the Lord and anything on top of that is a bonus). In my next 25 years I am going to work to be a very generous person because 1) The Lord calls me to give back what has been given to me and 2) It gives me a lot of joy to give to others (so why don't I do it more?!?!?!?) (I'm starting to sound like a Tim McGraw song)

Education is the best investment you can make, because no matter what happens (economic collapse even) no one can ever take your education from you. My Big, Krissy, told me that once and she is absolutely right.

(On a weird side note: Just because I don't always take good advice, I do always listen. My dad accuses me all the time of not listening to him, but in reality I take in every word. Be careful what you tell me!)

You're lucky if you get 1 best friend in life. 1 person that you can always, no matter what the circumstance,  can count on. I have a best friend who is such a blessing to me. She's a piece of life's insurance. Of course I am talking about Danielle. We've been pretty much inseparable for over a decade. Even when we are apart, we pick right back up again like no time has gone by.

(To my extreme good fortune, I also have some other pretty great, very close people in my life. You know who you are)

Money doesn't matter. I mean, it helps. It's nice to have. But if there's a will, there's always a way. Focus on what's important. Money comes and goes. You can't ever get back great memories or the relationships you build. Those are the only things worth investing in.


Marriage is nothing like what you see on TV or read in books. At least not for me. Marriage is such a unique experience that the Lord has created for us. It's really fun, it can be challenging, and it's a reminder that you had the big party and did all the pretty things, but what you really did was give up your opportunity to be a single selfish person. That's going to take CONSTANT work, but that's what I signed up for. I truly believe I will be a better person having married Matt. Not only do I receive the blessings of having him as a husband, but as a wife I have a lot to learn about myself. They don't seem to tell you that in the movies, I suppose that it's different for every one. I am just really excited that the next quarter, half, hopefully three quarters of a century are walking hand in hand with him. Well one hand holding Matt's and the other hand holding the Lord's. We've only been married for a couple of months, but I don't think we could ever make it without His guidance. I'll also be handing in my pride on a regular basis, asking for help and admitting when I am wrong. This is going to be an adventure!

But we're getting too deep. Here's a few things I learned on a less serious note:

You can train a dog to do anything. We taught Pistol this trick. We look at him and say, "Pistol, would you rather be a Sooner, or a dead dog?" then he rolls over and plays dead. It's priceless!! Kind of morbid, but priceless! I'll put it up on YOUTUBE soon.

No matter how much I argue with myself, I can indeed run a 5k. My knees also creek when I go upstairs now, but I can do it.

Bungee jumping didn't kill me (Hello 21st birthday!) but I probably wont do it again.

EVERYTHING seriously EVERYTHING is negotiable.

Being a big sister is one of the coolest jobs I have ever had.

It doesn't take much to dent a PT Cruiser bumper.

A parent's love is so strong that they will eventually forgive you if you almost burn down the house. It's not strong enough to let it go though.

When cooking, if at first you don't succeed, make your husband eat it any way. Make amendments next time.

Ask for forgiveness, not permission. Rules are made to be broken. It's also kind of fun to rattle uptight people.

Always tell people that you love them. Even if it makes them uncomfortable. I'm not guaranteed any time on this Earth, so when I go,  I want you to know how I feel about you.

It's been a great 25 years. I try to savor every moment. Everything is a blessing, even the hard times. I am so happy and joyful for all the wonderful things in my life, none of which are "things." Thanks for reading and giving me an outlet to reflect on all of the things that I am thankful for. If the next 25 years are anything like the first, look out world!

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