A Very Lucky Girl

I haven't been on any big trips since going to Dublin, but a lot of exciting things are coming up in the next few weeks and I can't wait to share them with you all! I've been saving my cash for my upcoming adventures and writing my final essays. I will be done with all things academic related on March 31st! Which means I'll have almost two full months to travel and just soak up Europe without the drag of having to go to 4 hours of class a week. Like ugh. My goal is to complete all of my assignments before Hannah and Megan arrive next week! I've finished one essay and am 1,000 words into my Shakespeare one. It's slow going, but I only have four days until Hannah gets here!! She arrives in Dundee on Tuesday and I am so excited, considering I haven't seen her since August. Megan arrives a couple of days after her and then we have a few days as a trio, recreating our SB12 vacation in NYC. I cannot wait to show them around my home. Being the obnoxious planner th...

After my first night in London I finally wised up and slept with my ear warmer on in order to block out as much street noise as possible. I still heard some but it was more muffled and I slept much better, even on a mattress worse than my one in Dundee. This was Kiera and my last full day in London and we still had several places to go. We mapped out our attack via the tube and started first at St. Paul's Cathedral. Because we went to the service, we didn't have to pay an entrance fee. The sneaky pictures I again tried to take are no match for the real thing. Even if you aren't religious, I urge you to visit St. Paul's just for the art and architecture. I was completely overwhelmed, and although the service itself was beautiful, I could hardly pay attention because of the gorgeous detail everywhere I looked. It was sunny for the THIRD day in a row and the sunlight streamed through the stained glass in entrancing patterns.  After the service we hopped back on the tube w...

In a dentist's office right down May Avenue...the power went out. In the middle of my routine cleaning.  I had handily scheduled my dentist appointment right after my endocrinologist appointment--so adult of me!--in an effort to get all business-y things done before my imminent Scotland departure (39 days away).  I was on an endocrine high, my ACTH levels were at 99 (the most normal they've ever been since I've been diagnosed), my doctor had willingly written a note allowing me to travel with drugs, and my TSH levels were non-hypothyroid, still!  So I drove to the dentist with elevated hopes, maybe this next appointment wouldn't be so bad, maybe  she wouldn't poke my gums to the point of bleeding, maybe this time she'd believe my lies, "yes, I floss twice a day!" Okay, once. Okay, never.  And it was going better than most of my dentist appointments go! I love my hygienist, she's so sweet and always asks me questions when her hands AREN'T in...

I am an avid supporter of running. I don't necessarily always love it, nor am I as good at it as my dad or other fanatics, but I do think a jog is a wonderful thing. Add colors of the rainbow to a 5k and I am all in. I've participated in The Color Run in Tulsa twice so when I heard about the Run or Dye race in Oklahoma City on September 28th I signed up immediately. The long-awaited day arrived, and with it came rainstorms of downpour proportions. The 7 AM Run or Dye check-in quickly turned into a Swim or Dye with several drenched, white t-shirt contest participants. I held out hope for the "rain or shine" start that Run or Dye advertised and so Megan and I were there, laced and ready to run. As we eyed the other runners taking refuge in their car, we scrolled through the Facebook updates, desperate for some news, be it yay or nay. Oklahoma residents are not strangers to inclement weather. We are aware of the split-second changes and often have "a little rain ...

On this auspicious day in history, the day Aaron Samuels asked Cady Heron what day it was in math class, I thought it would be appropriate to take a look at what I have learned from countless screenings of Tina Fey's infamous film. It's okay to have a routine.  Try new hairstyles. They might just work out. Don't overdue it when getting ready. Everyone is different. Embrace what separates you.  Diets are for squares. Glen Coco is the epitome of cool. As much as I and Gretchen Weiners want it to, fetch is never going to happen. No sex is the best sex. Thanks Coach Carr. The best hiding spot for anything is Gretchen's hair. Be flexible enough to make disasters fabulous. If someone says they like your outfit you should be suspicious. Meanness gets you nowhere. Gretchen Weiners is a closet terrorist. If you hang around with the wrong people long enough, you run the risk...

SO DO I. And that's the best part about it! I am in awe of my own awesome-ness. I recap a television show every week, but let's BIRTHDAYCAP!  The hours leading up to midnight on July 1 passed.so.slowly.  I donned a striped dress and headed to Megan's, ready to begin the festivities. Hannah, Megan, and I headed down to Edna's, a bar in Oklahoma City famous for their "lunchbox" drinks. We arrived a few minutes to midnight and were just in time for me to down a free Scooby Snack birthday shot. I followed the shot with a Lunchbox, an Adios Motherf*cker, a Fireball, and another free Washington Apple Shot from super short David The Bartender.  And this is when I learned strangers in bars will ask the most inappropriate questions. I quickly caught onto the "turn and ignore" strategy.  Leaving Edna's in my more than slightly inebriated state, I mistook a taxi for a cop and grew nervous. I don't know what about, I'M 21 AND INVINCIBLE OBVIOUSLY...

God, I'm so bilingual. Nahhhht. Another week, another check. And I haven't had to work past 4 PM yet this summer. So far, so good. This week I: corrected grammar: "She jamped!" No, she JUMPED.  made breakfast: chocolate pancakes. They asked for extra chocolate chips AND syrup. AM I mean for refusing? sat stonily when they tried to tickle me overused the word/sound "shmeh" to the point where they have begun to mimic me avoided Sister's cuddles at all costs. She is always wanting to hang on me in the heat of the day. CHILD, IT'S FAR TOO HOT FOR THAT. Learned that Pluto is officially no longer a planet Learned a continent named Oceania exists was stumped when asked, "how many movies have you seen in your life?" Overall, a pretty uneventful week in the life of A Very Lucky Nanny. Except for when I impaled my shin on rocks by the creek after our picnic lunch on Wednesday.

dragonfly...? trash can diary key Do you remember the adventures of Brother and Sister (E and C) from last summer? (If you need a refresher, you can look back on the months of June and July from 2012 in the right side bar).  They're back. And I'm back. And we're already sunburned. I also add two of their friends (Mc and Mk) to the mix on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after swim practice.  They never cease to keep me laughing (at least inwardly) and I'll highlight the best of the week in a post every Friday. Quotable Quips: "Are we there yet?"-C. "Has the car stopped moving?" You may think I'm sassy for a nanny, but I like to think I'm real.  "How far away are we?"-C. "Everytime the tires move we get a little bit closer!"  When C was eating her lunch on Thursday (turkey and cheese on crackers), she asked, "was this cheese already sliced?" Yes, that was what was in your fridge. "Oh." She set do...

This might be cheating because Beignet Gibson Arceneaux is my baby canine. Except I guess she qualifies as a full grown dog now that she is NINE years old. However, she still acts more like a 7 month old puppy. Up until my 6th grade year, the only pet that had graced the Arceneaux household was a fish that lived for three days. Oakes and I asked a few times for a dog, but the answer was always no. I'm still not sure what changed in that year for "dog" to become part of Sharbear and Paul's vocabulary, but one Saturday afternoon we all piled into the car for a trip to PetSmart to gawk at the Second Chance Adoption dogs. After talking Paul out of a pit bull, we fell in love with Beignet, then named Arwin. She had a buddy named Frodo. Rescued from a puppy mill sometime in December, she entered our family around April-ish. Her foster owner dropped her off with a caution that it could take some time to change her name. False. She answered to Beignet almost immediately--...

Justin Buchanan and his wife Sarah entered my life when I was in the 6th grade living in Raleigh, North Carolina. Justin was the middle school youth pastor at BayLeaf Baptist church and he still remains the best youth pastor I've ever had. Famous for his pranks and silly shenanigans, he still made sure that we were constantly growing and learning in our faith. My first youth group trip at BayLeaf was the winter ski trip as a 6th grader trying to fit in with all of the macho 8th graders. We caravaned to South Carolina in stereotypical church vans and stayed in giant rooms with multiple bunk beds. I don't remember whether I was selected or if I volunteered for the chopstick game, but either way I found myself blindfolded and then led into an ominously dim room. I took a seat in a metal folding chair, face-to-face with Justin, with the rest of the youth group behind me, and a set of oversized chopsticks in my hand. After Justin swiped warpaint on my cheeks I learned the rules...

I never fail to blush furiously when I reread my old journals. There are pros and cons to keeping track of my life events since the 6th grade. And a pro is seeing the growing up process and discovering 8 specific things I'm SO glad I have left in the past: 2007-"...he said I was smart, funny, clever, and beautiful. And made him feel like he could be himself. How does he always know what to say?" I outgrew the terrible trait of fishing for compliments by asking that awfully annoying question, "but, like, why do you like me?" of guys I talked to, and actually believing their answer. Side note: Tyler tried to tell me I didn't need to fish for compliments, and without reading what this unnamed previous guy had said, began to tell me, "you're smart and funny..." Oh. Well, that's familiar. 2008-"I also wrote a sonnet about NH." I haven't written a sonnet since. To be fair, it was an assignment for a class, but the subject ma...

I was thrilled to spend Easter weekend at home this year. Tyler generously drove me to OKC where we found Oakes had recently asked his prom date to the dance in an Easter bunny costume befitting the season. On a sudden inspiration, I asked to borrow the costume.  Tyler and I took off in the Prius for our destination, only stopping at Krispy Kreme, because why not? I arrived at her apartments, donned the ridiculous outfit, and armed myself with her favorite donut (cream-filled with chocolate icing) and an Easter basket brimming with souvenirs from my Spring Break trip. I was a little short for the costume, but I waddled over to her door, the butt of the bunny hanging somewhere around my knees, and knocked. Tyler positioned himself to the side, hidden from her view, but able to take pictures. No one answered the door. So I awkwardly knocked again, no small task with hands full of goodies. Her dog began to bark so I stepped back, sure that she would answer. Nothing. Tyler and I wh...

The thing about inner staterooms on board a ship is that they are extra dark. It could be 3 PM and it's as dark as if it were 3 AM. So on Monday morning I woke up well-rested around 9:30 AM and immediately scouted out a lounge chair in a sunny corner of Deck 11. I regret to inform you that I did not don any sunscreen on this day....which in hindsight was a poor decision, especially considering I spent approximately 5 hours laying out. I do this every year. Foregoing sunscreen for the inaugural tan time, but then religiously applying SPF 4 for the remainder of the trip. During one of those sun soaked hours on deck a busybody chair neighbor pointed out my jewelry: "I notice you have a medical alert bracelet on, what's wrong with you?" Several things actually, sir....Are we talking mentally? Physically? Emotionally? Narrow your nosiness, if you please. I stealthily crept away from the gentleman and continued to furiously read the novel Sharbear supplied me with before m...

Once upon a time (a week ago), in a city fairly close by (Norman) a girl and a boy woke up at the ungodly hour of 3:15 AM to begin the drive to Galveston, Texas in order to embark upon a dream cruise. Tyler and I met the rest of his family across from Riverwind Casino and fought the urge to get caught up in some wake-up slots. I settled into the front passenger seat as Tyler's brothers, Josh and Chris, slid into the back. I attempted to nap in a few unnatural positions, but to no avail and grew increasingly frustrated. My mood is often directly related to the amount of sunshine in the mornings and the pitch black night sky made Tyler's typically endearing air guitar tendencies begin to grate on my nerves. As the McKee brothers began to quote Arrested Development among each other, I jammed on my headphones and jabbed at the volume to wake up Carly Rae Jepsen. Could I get a girl to call me maybe? I knew the exact moment that we hit Houston, not only because of the HEB on ever...

The women follow their dreamboat, Sean Lowe, to St. Croix. I missed the first half of this week, but I caught the second hour of the show at Tyler's house after we attended the OU basketball game against TCU where the Horned Frogs had a rather poor showing. Boomer Sooner! But I think all that I really missed was a lot of screen time of the Tierraist, so I call that a win-win. I caught Catherine, Des, and Lindsay mid-date on the beach with Sean. Lindsay cuddled up next to her man in the sand and I strained to hear their conversation over the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. There was an unmistakable blemish on her left cheek that I could not stop watching--guess her waterproof concealer didn't quite live up to its promises. Catherine replaced Lindsay a few minutes later and shared some history of her dad with Sean. Her father will not be at the hometown date because he resides in China after bouts with depression and a suicide attempt when she was 14. I think her main...