A Very Lucky Girl

I have a new address. A new place with which to answer the question, "So, where are you from?" Houston is my new home.  My dad and I moved into the new house over the Labor Day weekend. It's in a great location, close to countless yummy places to eat (I think I gained 10 pounds in 3 days), and also near a great running park (in order to counteract those yummy eateries).  Houston is only about an hour and a half away from Beaumont, so I'm looking forward to being so close to Moriah over Christmas break and summer. My elementary school friend, Nick (except now he's Mathison and I keep getting it wrong!), will graduate from Rice in May and he introduced me to a great new church I'm looking forward to attending more often when I come home.  There's a lot of looking forward going on. I can't change the events that brought me to Houston. They are in the past. But over the years and moves, I've become a pro at making the most of where I am, physically ...

Paul and Shari need their own show. With special guest appearance by yours truly, because I definitely add a little bit of technicolor to their exchanges. We never see Oakes so he’s not really necessary to production. Shari has said to me before that she lives in constant dire fear of what I will tweet, Facebook, or blog about next. She will say something funny or blonde and I will just happen to be typing on my phone, and the next instant she’ll shriek and exclaim, “DON’T tweet that!” Sorry Mom, it comes with the territory. For instance: I went to eat with them at Slim Chickens this past weekend. I think it was karmic retribution for making Megan be a third wheel a few weekends ago because I was president of third wheeldom on Friday night. Dinner conversation somehow meandered to my age. Dad: I wish you were 21. Taylor: Me and you both. But why do you wish this? Dad: you could come to the bar with me tomorrow night and watch this show blahblahblahblahmojomen?bl...

As a college student, home has taken on a new meaning. I can refer to home and mean two entirely different geological points on a map: Norman and Oklahoma City. I feel like a potted plant in a Uhaul. It can be placed anywhere, but it doesn't have a permanent home. It can migrate from the living room to the kitchen, from Raleigh to Beaumont, but is constantly packing up its leaves and dirt for the next transfer. I can't wait for the time that I can be thoroughly planted somewhere (preferably not Oklahoma, like we already discussed) and put down worry-free roots. The college home is an independent place. But with my home at OU comes different struggles; constant interaction, constant academic mindset, and less rest. My family's home in Quail Creek has the drawback of consistent (though minimal) supervision, but the plus sides of free laundry, free food, a room of my own, and access to a car.  My family makes that home something wonderful to travel to. I can't wait t...

Nothing beats a well-thought out surprise. One that's just planned enough to be perfectly spontaneous. I absolutely love surprises. Doesn't matter which end of the surprise I'm at. I think the surpriser and the surprisee have an equally good time. The problem with surprises is that they follow Murphy's Law of wanting to bubble out and spill over, ruining the careful preparation. Yeah, kinda like that. But somehow I've managed to contain most of my surprises, and they have made memories that I hold close to this day. And some new ones will be made today ;) I'm most certainly looking forward to it. Literally CANNOT wait. Love these people. Love my life. Love, A Very Lucky Girl.

Friday. Just savor that word. Let it melt on your tongue. Friday. I am so guilty of favoritism towards Fridays. Don't get me wrong, I'd be upset if someone took my Saturdays away, but there is something about a Friday. L.M. Montgomery (author of Anne of Green Gables  and complete genius) said it best when she penned, " You mayn't get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them." Even if Saturday never came, I have all of Friday to think about what to do with that free time. The promise of a Saturday is, to me, more tantalizing than the day itself.  I dare Saturday to compete with my current Friday. Done with class at 11:15, finished at the gym by 12:30, TA application completed and turned in (in a manila folder-I've never felt so grown up!), well nourished by flank steak at the caf (one of the best meals I've had at OU), and in sweatpants, blogging, by 2:30 (oh wait-you mean other people DON'T o...