A Very Lucky Girl

The presents have long been torn into and the wrapping gathered into trash bags and I'm left with wonderful blessings from a thoughtful family.  Several monetary gifts that make my journey to Scotland in Spring 2014 much less a dream and much more a reality. A beautiful pearl necklace. A new (stylish) pill case to hold my necessary drugs. Make up that will greatly aid my face. Socks to warm my toesies. Gloves to heat my handsies. Jewelry to decorate my ears and my finger. Garments to clothe my body. And one of my favorites, words to warm my heart.  I unwrapped a box from Sharbear that contained a slim, green notebook, sturdy envelopes, stamps, and a set of pens. Inside the journal I found an entry with instructions. Mother-daughter journaling by mail. One of the sweetest ideas I've ever heard and I almost want school to hurry up so I can write her back immediately! Sure, my school is only about forty minutes away from home. But that doesn't mean life doesn't

J P Rosenbaum and Ashley Hebert publicly married on December 1st in California, but shared their story with the rest of the world on ABC on December 16th. I was unfortunately (fortunately?) occupied with an incredible Christmas party involving all of my coworkers at Fuzzy's so I relied on TiVo to capture the moment. It captured most of the moment--right up until "coming up, the couple exchanges their emotional vows" thanks to a Wipeout episode that exceeded its alloted time.  Chris Harrison presided over the ceremony and the broadcast, highlighting the astonishing fact that this is the THIRD bachelor franchise wedding. Out of at least 20 seasons, I think...The odds are never in their favor. The camera cuts to "the life that JP and Ashley have already started building together" (aka: national television speak for living in sin) and flashbacks to their journey on Ashley's season of the bachelorette. Their first kiss appeared to be entirely left up to chance

Nothing puts me in the Christmas Spirit like some NSYNC. The entire album is a gem of the 90's. Christmas is my favorite holiday, hands down. The decorations, the food (we've made 3 batches of caramel corn in a single week), the family, and the generosity. I can't get enough of the season that celebrates the birthday of the ultimate Giver.  Traditions sweep over our home, like a familiar quilt, when December rolls around. Decorating the tree and wrapping presents with Sharbear ornament the days leading up to the magical 25th. Christmas Eve is spent at the candlelight service, followed by a meal at a Chinese restaurant. We've done that for at least 10 years now. A tour of the city Christmas lights and a reading of the "Cajun Night Before Christmas" come to fruition before setting out goodies for Santa ("you know, I think this year Santa is craving a cinnamon bun and a diet coke!") and skipping to bed, only to lay there for hours, anticipation crowd

judge away. Circa 11th grade Consider this an intervention. Trust me, I've had my fair share of selfies. But then I graduated high school. high school shopping swag These are some hard and fast rules of those pesky self-absorbed images: 1. Try to have another person in it. I have zero judgement for the visible arm holding out the photography device if there are two faces in the frame. Sometimes you just don't have a third person to take that perfect picture. We forgive you. 2. If a partner is unavailable then at least use a webcam and NOT a mirror. Myspace-esque photography ended at the same time as That's So Raven. And no one cares to see your current brand of toothpaste reclining on your bathroom counter.  3. Keep ALL clothes ON.  I cringe when I see those horrifyingly low slung shorts as people boast in their gym time. I'm proud of the mornings I spend running as well, but I'm not trying to plaster it across Facebook. Save it

This song, "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry, has taken on whole new meaning following the events that took place in Newtown, Connecticut last Friday. A touching song, I disagree with the line that declares "I've had just enough time." Charlotte Beacon will never have her double digits 10th birthday party Daniel Barden will never try out for the high school football team Olivia Engel will never be a teenager Josephine Gay will never get her driver's license Ana M. Marquez-Greene will never go on her first date Dylan Hockley will never be voted Most Likely to Succeed in the yearbook Madeleine F. Hsu will never have kids of her own Catherine V. Hubbard will never walk down the aisle to get married Chase Kowalski will never take a girl out on a date Jesse Lewis will never mow the lawn James Mattioli will never be a dad Grace McDonnell will never be Homecoming Queen Emilie Parker will never have that first babysitting j

"I'd really like it if the Mexicans would keep the oil lids on more tightly so nothing would spill out into the Gulf of Mexico and kill the animals"--musings from Brother For those of you that missed out on the shenanigans of Brother and Sister from my summer full-time nannying experience, you can catch up here . There .  And here . Okay shameless blog promotion stops now. I'm scheduled to work for them only 6 full days during this break (the kids start school again on January 4th!? What is that madness?!), but those days already promise to provide fresh entertainment for me. And consequently, you. I walked in their door this morning (fueled with a java chip frappucino) and was immediately handed a large Christmas present. "Our elf on the shelf left this for you!" Oh no. They're one of THOSE families... (I'm still not sure where they stand on the whole is-Santa-real situation, but this wasn't a good sign. Neither were the "top secre

I was sitting in the Starbucks on Campus Corner during dead week, snatching a few extra minutes of studying before heading out into the brisk night, when a stranger haphazardly approached me. Our conversation transpired as follows: Would you switch seats with me? Uhhh why? Cuz I want to sit by the window. [nervous laughter] Well so do I. can I sit with you then? [indicates the entirely separate table merely shoved up against mine by a prior customer] Uh yeah you can sit there, it's fine. [buries head in notes, hoping to deflect any further advances] What's your name? Is that what I think it is? [touches rape whistle on my keychain laying on the table] Yep, it's a rape whistle. [not so subtle emphasis on the rape] Oh. so what's your name again? Taylor. What do you do? I go to school Oh I dropped out in 10th grade and got my GED. i might go to OCCC in january though. My boyfriend went there. [quick insert of boyfriend line. GOT EM.] Oh cool. What's h

Tyler and I are literally THE WORST at giving presents on the actual day of celebration. I think it's becoming more of a tradition than a faux pas. Who knows, we may end up celebrating Valentine's Day on February 1st or something equally ridiculous. I gave him his birthday present (originally designated for June 18th) around June 10th and he reciprocated by presenting me with my birthday gift weeks before my twentieth year of life. I had been working on his Christmas present since October and that's a really, really long time to keep such an epic secret. So I knew I wouldn't last much past Thanksgiving, when I completed the project. My gift to him was also time sensitive so I told him I needed to give it to him before Christmas. He caved to peer pressure and agreed to exchange gifts at the beginning of December. The plan was to decorate the tree at his house on November 29th, switch presents, and then watch Elf. We did all of that, except we opened presents on Novem

Tuesday night featured the closest thing to free porn debuting on TVs across the world. The Victoria Secret Angels and Justin Beiber strutted their stuff on the stage, making nearly every viewing girl vow to start the Spring Break diet now. I attended a watch party at the ever-popular Seven47 on Campus Corner hosted by my dear friend, Natasha. She has been the campus intern for Victoria's Secret Pink this year and I've benefited greatly from her job, scoring free yoga pants, underwear, water bottle, and duffel bags. I also may or may not have left the watch party with 14 Victoria's Secret Rewards cards worth up to $500 each. Granted, 13 of them were only worth $10, but I got one lucky $50! Prior to the kickoff of the underwear fest I scrolled through twitter and saw a plethora of updates, some directing me towards drinking games (i.e. Chug everytime an angel trips, sip whenever you hear someone around you say they aren't ever eating again) and others already demeani

So I mentioned in a previous post that Tyler would be guest writing to share his side of who he has found me to be, in rebuttal to my sharing the observances of him in a post that celebrated our 6 months together. He emailed me his words, complete with pictures, for your enjoyment. I'm sure that everyone who regularly reads Taylor’s blog has a pretty good idea of who Taylor Arceneaux is, but I’d like to give you a little inside scoop of what I’ve learned about her over these last seven months. Taylor Olivia Arceneaux was born on July 1, 1992 in Bloomington, Indiana to two spectacular parents, Paul and Shari “Sharbear” Arceneaux. She has one younger brother named Oakes who will be graduating from Heritage Hall this year. And I can’t forget her wonderful grandparents (with a free meal from Slim Chicken's and Longhorn Steakhouse, wonderful might be selling them a little short.) She has lived in Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, and Oklahoma over the last twenty ye

It's that time of year again when I need to study instead of writing blog posts. So I will be momentarily abdicating the throne as queen of averyluckygirl-taylor.blogspot.com until next Sunday, when I will resume the customary 3-posts-a-week routine. My sincerest apologies for not providing you with fodder for your procrastination attempts.  One final word of advice before posting the obligatory #finalsprobs tweets and status updates: your finals are not worse than anybody else's. Everyone's final projects and tests are the worst thing to ever happen to them in their opinion. So don't bother tooting your negative horn.  Happy finals from A Very Lucky Girl and may the odds be ever in your favor!

I was doing laundry the other day and effectively procrastinating reading Chapter Six for Social Problems when I happened to notice the top 10 most played songs on my iTunes. I commenced furious blushing. WHY must Apple record every single play of my songs? Some of them I am proud of, letsbehonest. But Grove St. Party? Really? And TWO explicitly labeled hits? So THAT'S where the need for a swear jar comes in... Gavin DeGraw's "Not Over You." I wish I could say I played this 1,740 times because I really liked the musical quality. But no. I was a sucker for the lyrics last January when all boys were stupid. Taylor Swift's "Ours." "Don't you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine" are words for any and every occasion so I am only mildly ashamed of the 1,734 plays. It's a bit excessive. Waka Flocka's "Grove St. Party." There are no words. Cady Groves' "Ugly." It could be argu

Forever, regardless of age. Sharbear and I typically shop for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes this time of year, but life is changing. So when Tyler suggested we grab Christmas Wishes from Life Church a few Sundays ago I was definitely on board. I scanned through the names and requests and landed on one-year-old Isaiah, figuring he'd be easy to shop for.  Except then I got in the car and couldn't brainstorm a single age-appropriate toy. So I texted Sharbear, since she had a one-year-old ginger at one point in life and I figured they are pretty similar to real babies, and asked her opinion on what to get Isaiah for Christmas. Our conversation went somewhat like this: Me: What do one year old boys like? Sharbear: Their mommies Me: Okay, well...he's a foster kid so...next best thing? Sharbear: Things that light up and make noise. Buttons to push. Trucks. Soft things to hug. Me: Older boys like those too.... The observation is completely true. Boys of a

Remember when I didn't suck at running? I know, it's been awhile. Seventh grade began my cross-country and track career. Paul and Sharbear required a sport of me, and this one didn't require any hand-eye coordination so I decided it was worth a try. I ran all summer in preparation for the cross-country season (it didn't hurt that my coach lived in the bedroom down the hall and would know if I dared to skip a single scheduled day) and the first race at Ravenscroft dawned on an autumn day. I ran the requisite 5K and crossed the finish line in a decent place, much to the dismay of my parents. Wait, Taylor can do sports?  Our St. David's School Varsity girls team finished out that season as State Champions in our division. Sharbear overheard some indignant runner-ups complain, "uh yeah, we could run that way if we hadn't hit puberty yet either." Irrelevant, since we had some talented high-schoolers on the team as well.  Eighth and ninth grade didn'

I wandered the aisles of Barnes and Noble the other night with Megan Goebel, searching for a book for her to take on her Thanksgiving trek to Kansas. We both walked out empty-handed, but I had an arsenal of photographs on the camera roll in my phone.  I immediately logged into Amazon (yeah they remember me, what's the problem?) as soon as I arrived back at my dorm and searched for the used/reduced priced version of 5 different titles. Bought them all. For the low, low price of $48.40. Damn shipping gets me every time. But I'd rather pay approximately $10 a book than the atrocious $15.99 that B&N was offering. And there's not a single fiction book among my selection! Will wonders never cease... My mailbox should soon be stuffed with words from Ellen Degeneres, Mindy Kaling, and others. A Very Lucky Girl plans to lurk the post office faithfully until her orders arrive.

For so much. So, so much. The blessings in my life so outweigh any negative, major OR minor. I think the number one thing I am thankful for is drugs. I'm talking those little 5mg hydrocortisone tablets, 25mg DHEA pills, tiny halves of fludrocortisone, and the synthroid that I'm slowly getting weaned off of (wean-hate that word. Searched for another and came up blank). My drugs are awesome and amazing and I am so thankful for medical insurance and for parents that are willing to shell out cash to prolong and maintain my fulfilling life. I'm thankful for a heart that's sometimes too sensitive, but one that is often attuned to the feelings of others. I'm thankful for legs that are learning the nuances of running all over again. I'm thankful for people that enrich my existence everyday. I'm thankful for family that knows the value of laughter I'm thankful to work with dedicated and motivated students. And I'm extra thankful for the sucker t

I'm well into the second step of preparing to study abroad, which in my case is saving, saving, saving. I met with a study abroad advisor a few weeks ago to discuss destination options and we came up with three different ideas. Reading, England. Dundee, Scotland. Hertfordshire, England. I'm already in love with the idea and opportunities that Dundee has to offer. I still need to wade through the process of selecting which courses I could take that would match what OU offers for my major. The worst case scenario would be to come back from a life-changing journey, only to discover that my credits won't transfer. I am determined to graduate in 4 years, after all.  That is one daunting sheet of financial math. And unfortunately, I did all of my math right for once. So I have a question for all of those that have traveled and studied abroad. Is this an accurate assessment of cost? What would cut back on expenditures? Obviously, keeping outside travel to a minimum would s

I was very intrigued when I looked over the blog statistics the other day, especially by the top ten most viewed posts. Bachelorette Recap: Premiere The Sleeping Dragon What's Black and White? Half a Year "Uhhh...Could You Spell That?" Life Curves Wait...I Said What!? Brother's Getting Old Pisses. Me. Off 5 and Counting What makes those subjects most appealing? Moriah informed me over my visit last weekend that she only reads the ones that have interesting titles. Well, then. Tyler has a possible theory, since two of the most popular posts include him and tidbits from our relationship, that humanity is innately curious about matters involving the heart. The more personal a post is, the more attention it receives. But then that still leaves the Bachelorette Recap sitting in the cold. Because that one is certainly more sarcastic than sappy. When I share the posts on social media, I hashtag the life outta 'em. #Bachelornation is clearly alive and well on

It's official, I am a trained employee of Fuzzy's Taco Shop. Working brings a new, not entirely unwelcome, dynamic to my free time. That was the main purpose for my midsemester venture into the working world. I'm too good at prioritizing my school assignments...and was left with miles and miles of unscheduled hours. So why not get paid to smell tacos for a few shifts? Exactly. Fuzzy's serves alcoholic beverages so I am in the process of obtaining my liquor license and compiling all of the stories of schwastyfaced individuals into a heartwarming blog post. Stay tuned! I work in constant fear of having to clean up puke. #fingerscrossed I've had two drunk strangers profess their love for me, one tell me "forreal doe, if you ain't married I'm comin' back to talk to ya. I'm serious", and another ask me what special skill I would bring to the table in a zombie apocalypse.  Despite the constantly sticky hands from cleaning up queso (seri

This budding blogger hit 10,000 page views at 10:24 AM on Sunday morning, November 11th.  I never thought that my meager words would reach so many corners of the world. People in Russia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Latvia, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Australia, Egypt, Japan, the Netherlands, India, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates (what?), Brazil, and several other nations have faithfully lurked averyluckygirl-taylor.blogspot.com.  I don't know how you found me, but I'm grateful to you. For silently encouraging me to do something that I love, even when it gets hard.  And to the 12% of you that are using Internet Explorer...a special shout out to the patience you must posses waiting for the page to load. You should be rewarded.  Why stop now? A Very Lucky Girl could go for 15,000. 

"Can't say I'd say no to being Kate Middleton for a day or 10."-@AVeryLuckyGirl I totally just quoted my own twitter account, but it's totally necessary. I adore Princess Kate and it was a very factual statement.  This is not a new fascination: April 29, 2011 i'm literally watching history in the making. the wedding of kate and prince william. i'm freaking about it. i've been up all night thx to 2 3G chargers [boosts of caffeine available for Jamba smoothies] and 2 cups of coffee. i'm recording it on TLC and NBC and now i'm watching the preshow. i cant even begin to tell you how much i wish i was in london for this. i started a tumblr and i've been frantically blogging about this wedding. i feel like this wedding is continuation of diana and charles' story finally getting a happily ever after. i'm obsessed with finding out what the dress looks like! me and megan hunter are going to be heytelling about it at 3 am. it's ab