A Very Lucky Girl

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 ...

I've shared before my dream of studying abroad. On Friday I was informed of my acceptance to the University of Dundee for Spring 2014. I've been saving and saving to make this dream a reality and I'm hoping to make my savings stretch as far as I can. And I am talking geographically. I'm thrilled to be moving to Dundee, Scotland for a semester, but I'd love to explore as much as Europe as I can while I'm in the vicinity! My location bucket list includes: Italy: This is my number one, would-pee-with-happiness-if-I-got-to-go, destination. Rome, Venice, Florence. I'd love to do it all, but I'd settle for just Rome. Also, POMPEII, PLEASE. Mount Vesuvius is practically the only thing I remember from middle school history.  Ireland: This is a far more realistic location, considering it neighbors Scotland. Also, St. Patrick's day will occur while I'm abroad, and where else would I celebrate such a holiday!? England: I'm coming for you, Prince H...

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...

I factor in naps at every opportunity. Done with class for the day? Naptime. Just finished dinner? Naptime. Stressed out? Naptime. I don't know what is so satisfying about snippets of sleep during the day. Maybe it's the rush of doing nothing while the world keeps going on around you. Whatever it is, I'm addicted. I was asked at CRU what national holiday I would add to the already full repertoire. Without missing a beat, I blurted out "National Nap Day!" Obviously. Taylor had the next best thing, Second Christmas. Squeeze that bad boy in between July 4th and Flag Day and everybody wins. You'd never have to wait 365 days for Christmas again! What a concept. Anyway, back to naps. I probably use them most as an escape mechanism. Forget vats of alcohol or scores of heroin. Give me a good nap, where homework assignments cease to exist, phone notifications go unnoticed, and all that remains are my covers, my blanket , and me. Anxiety escapes me during REM cycles...

Just one, actually. A new one! I am an officially employed member of the Sandy Beaches team. I quit my position at Fuzzy's because I decided life is too short to work until 4 in the morning every weekend.  I was looking for nearly a month before I found a great new challenge in Sandy Beaches. I've never worked at a tanning salon before so I constantly feel a little mentally slow when trying to finagle the computer and speak the lingo. Low, bronze, premium, and 360 beds were all the same to me until I started a week ago. Now I can tell you how long you should spend in each bed, the difference between a maximizer and a bronzer, and sign you up for a monthly membership (only after five phone calls to another coworker to make sure I'm typing in the correct codes, of course).  I was terrified to close by myself the first time, but I managed and feel more confident now since the initial lone shift is complete!  I'm looking forward to camaraderie with new people and steady p...

I'm sure many of you know of my fellow blogger, Miranda or Life Measured in Coffee Spoons , but you probably don't know our history. I met Miranda in sixth grade at St. David's School. She was (and still is) one of a kind. And also one of the smartest people I know! We passed notes all through middle school. These were not your average crinkled scraps of paper haphazardly stuffed into lockers...we caught the writing bug early. We would fill pages and pages of real notebooks and pass them back and forth in between class, detailing our experiences with our peers and our intense crush on Fibi. We planned to perform in the middle school talent show together and practiced everyday after school in her mom's van. Hilary Duff serenaded us with "Someone's Watching Over Me" and we followed along with our respective solos and subsequent duet. We were pretty impressive, not going to lie. And then...I chickened out. I gave up and broke down and went against everythin...

Conflicts are not my forte; I don't like feeling at odds with another human being. But I've learned through the years that relationships grow through disagreement. I found a journal entry from about a year ago documenting one of my first fights with Tyler. After all was said and done, I ended with, "I love solving problems with him." Because I do love the aftermath of a good fight. Whether with a significant other or a friend, conflict makes for furthered communication. LifeChurch taught on disagreement during their marriage series last summer and I took away a big lesson from it, despite being unmarried. I should never fight to WIN, I should fight to RESOLVE. I should fight for a relationship, not for the upper hand. Pride often makes me want to be RIGHT. But being right isn't the point, being reconciled is a far greater goal.  Conflict is healthy. It indicates growth and personality. I am never, ever going to agree with everyone about everything. It's just...