Welcome to the Sunshine State!!!!

I made it safely people, to the land of sunshine, airplanes, and swamp! 

I get to spend the next six days in the sunniest place on earth...except for today (it's raining...)

Anyways, it's been a while since I've been to Florida, not much has changed. There is shrubbery and ocean, much different from home.

So the next few days will be filled with sand, Navy bases, and Lower Alabama. Woot, woot! It's so awesome to see my sister after so many months! Best friends come and go, but this girl has no choice but to love me FOREVER!!!! MUAHHHHHHH!



          

Merry Christmas Baby!

Can we all just take a second and talk about how it doesn't even sort of feel like almost Christmas? I mean really, it's tomorrow!!!!! Oh, Holy Night!

Me & my Big Sis

It's not that this semester went by too fast or that it was 80 degrees last week, it just doesn't feel like Christmas anywhere. Where is the holiday spirit? Get it together here people, Christmas comes but once a year!

But truly Christmas doesn't feel like it's here yet, for me at least, because it's about spending time with the family and it seems like my family is shrinking with each passing minute. Well, this is the first Christmas I don't get to spend with my older sister, she's stationed in Florida. Yes, I get to see her the day after Christmas, but opening presents Christmas morning will not be the same without her. It's strange to think after 20 years, this will be the first of many Christmases we don't spend together. One more downfall of growing up and being an adult. 

My Christmas Wish:

All I want for Christmas this year is to be with the people I miss the most, my Sombrero Family. I miss them all so much. 

Every now and again I have these moments where I completely zone out and think back to this summer. I'm driving down the road one minute, the next I'm remembering a camp fire and marshmallows, a four hour ride to Odessa Lake, a nap in the barn, a movie night with the whole crew. These moments creep into my day dreams, all the time and it makes me miss it even more. 

I know it sounds corny! Oh, I miss my blissful summer of fun, with more sleepless nights than I could count, and more adventures than I could remember, but hey, my summer was special, unlike anyone else's. My summer I found something that I wasn't even looking for, a family. A set of best friends, an amazing boy, a creeper boss, a herd of misfits all smashed together to create one misshapen family, but, in the words of Hannah Montana, "Nobody's perfect!" 

So Santa, I hear you're in the business of making Christmas wishes come true, can you please make just this one wish come true, for me?  

A Picture's Worth 1,000 Words....or less.

He did it again people; stole my heart, with a single click!

For Christmas, my Prince Charming with a Southern accent got me the one thing I've been secretly wanting for years! A camera!

I haven't always been obsessed, with photography, but I would like to pretend that I enjoy it more than the average human being.

I love pictures. My life, my room, my phone is filled with pictures. I love taking them.

My first summer at Sombrero I took a little over 1,000 pictures on my phone. I was designated official photographer and never found a moment that wasn't picture worthy. Of course I am no professional, but hey we all have to start somewhere.


Over the past few months, I have realized that I, like 98% of the collegiate population, have no idea what to do with my life. If you have read any past posts, you've noticed. But another thing I realized is, I really love this, blogging. I know I have literally zero followers, but hey I have a few hundred page views and a couple dedicated fans...I think. Any ways it doesn't matter, in the words of The Band Perry, "A penny for my thoughts, Oh no, I'll save 'em for a dollar, they're worth so much more after I'm a goner." So maybe someday when I've moved on from the world of blogging or I die, I'll have become the next Jenna Marbles.

Any who, in during my limited blogging career, I've begun to notice, blogs are boring...without photos. And what better way to combine my current obsessions then to continue this gem of a blog.

Enjoy my amateur work!

Finals Week!!!

Also known as....Every college students' worst nightmare!

How is it that you spend an entire semester in these classrooms, taking notes, paying attention, doing the homework, failing the tests, and yet you've learned nothing! And three days, 12 hours before the final test you decide to start studying.

15 cups of coffee, 5 red bulls, 2 pizzas, and an uncountable number of gallons of ice cream consumed and you're not prepared in the slightest. You only stop for the essentials like a Pinterest break or a midnight McDonald's run.
Let's not kid ourselves here people, studying for finals consists mostly of attending every study session just to feel productive, going to your teacher's office hours and crying about your crushed dreams of grad school, watching lots of netflix, and pretending you have all the time in the world to study because you only have one final a day. 

Dead Day! We are given an entire day to do nothing! No classes, no obligations and what do we spend that day doing. Not studying, I can tell you that much!
Sleeping mostly, a non stop Harry potter marathon, if that's too big a mouthful to swallow, there's always Lord of the Rings too! 

We spend 85% of studying, not studying. We're blogging, Facebooking, or Instagraming our recently purchased Starbucks drink with a heart next to our misspelled names, hashtagging our way to a competition for who has the most stressful finals week. 

So I am encouraging you readers, to give up on the late night cram sess, the last minute Starbucks run, and buckle down, study your hearts out, get some sleep. And if all else fails I have 15 other posts that you can waste time reading! Because let's be honest, stats isn't gonna learn itself! So don't stress, take a moment and remember your finals in high school and be bitter about the fact that in those four years you learned absolutely nothing that would prepare you for finals week in college.

So study well my friends and may the odds be ever in your favor! ;) 

Happy Finals Week Kids!

For your enjoyment:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/spenceralthouse/the-33-stages-of-finals-week-a078

The Goodbyes', For Nows', and See ya Laters'

As the semester comes to a close I start to think about all the things I said I would do this semester. 

September

October

-The grades I would get

-Thee projects I would finish 

-The life I would lead...

And yet with one day of classes and three finals, I realized I accomplished very little. 

Yeah, I dedicated an extreme amount of time to my job, did all my homework on time, went to all my classes, and had a little fun here & there, but I didn't get nearly as much done as I thought I would. But isn't that how life works? 

We always promise ourselves we're going to change, become different people, nicer, work harder, break all our bad habits. I guess no one is really perfect, huh? 

November

November

  Well despite not accomplishing all of my goals this semester, I still had an amazing time. I got to help with calving season, made a ton of new friends, reconnected with some old ones, fell in love with my apartment, my job, my dog, my life all over again. I forgot how many amazing opportunities I'd been given and about the people who make me better. 

I made a lot of tough decisions this summer that changed my life for the better; I ended a relationship to start another, quit my sorority to live my life without the drama and guess what???? I could not be happier. 

For those of you most dedicated fans, I won't bore you with the details. But I really do love the boy I'm with now and I think he's made me into a better person. 

As for the sorority stuff, I hate to say I told you so, but everything happens for a reason and sometimes people suffer for those reasons. I never once regret leaving behind that life or making those decisions. But I know I couldn't have done it with out my lifeboat! Sometimes you just need a little push to get through it all, but in the end you know there are some people who will always be there to give it to you.

November

This weekend was one for the history books! After not seeing each other for weeks, Karli and I hung out all weekend and caused all kinds of trouble. It's days like those that remind me of all the good in my life. Despite the bad, I will always have those people, I will always have those memories, and I will always know how good it can be. 

December

Well I guess this is goodbye to my last fall semester in college. It's been a fantastic one filled with some life changing moments, breathless laughs, tears, pain, sleepless nights, and some pretty great friends!

I will never forget the memories, the friends, the mistakes I've made in college. And I'm thankful for a chance to spend at least one more semester being a kid, but I know soon enough I'll have to grow up and face reality. I will have to choose a career and settle down, but until then I'm going to keep laughing till it hurts, skipping out on sleep to hang out with my friends, and live every day like there's no tomorrow. 

Giving Thanks!

Happy Post Thanksgiving/ Pre-Finals Week!!!

So one of friends has been posted a new status every day about the things that she is thankful for! I love this idea and wish I would have jumped on that band wagon, but as soon as I discovered the numbers to each status coincided with the days of the month it was much to late...

Now just take a second and imagine how long it took me to discover this. Alright have a good laugh and just remember, you've read this far, some small part of you must really love me....or be that bored. (I'm hoping for the first one.) 

Anyways, in light of the recent holiday I figured I would give you all a short list of the things in my life that I'm thankful for! I know you're all dying to know...me too. 

I'm thankful that everyday I wake up I know that I have a ton of people that love me. I know in recent years that hasn't always seemed like the case with tuition bills due and my silly life goals, but every day I'm alive I know I have at least one person that loves me. 

I'm thankful for this last week. My boyfriend of four months flew out to see me for the second time this month! What?!?! I know it was exciting for me too, people.
*For those of you that don't know, I am currently dating the one and only Prince Charming with a Southern accent! Feel free to drool ladies.
But really though, I am dating the man of my dreams! He's every kind of sweet as he is tough and chivalrous and adventurous. He can fix a flat tire, rope and ride, cook, and love me unconditionally! And I got to spend the last 10 days with him! WOOT WOOT! I am extra thankful for finding him. 

I'm thankful for my amazing friends who have gotten me through the last four years of college. To the new and the old, the ones I never see and the ones I might see a little too much. I love every single one of you. 

I'm thankful for the little things in life! The things like my dog when he is about to explode with happiness EVERY TIME I come home! The two half gallons of ice cream in my fridge that I could finish in one sitting if I so chose. The five new books sitting in the passenger seat of my car waiting to be read. The chick flicks and pasta roni that will inevitably be made this week in my apartment. My first date with my boyfriend that I will never forget. Living in Estes Park. Watching the sun set while the moon rises on the highest continuously paved highway in the United States. Remembering the good rides. My job. My friends. Getting a chance to get a college education. My ever looming graduation date! The crazy ideas I have and have the potential to fulfill them. Larry. 

There are a million things in my life that I am thankful for, but most of all I am thankful that I get a chance to share them with you all, whoever you are. That I get to keep typing and know that someone, anyone, might read these words and smile or laugh. That someone might enjoy these words and think about all the things their thankful for! 

So do me a favor readers, after you finish this post, take a second, think of one, two, ten, a million things your thankful for and smile about it, just because you can. 

Overwhelmed, To Put it Simply!

So I've been slacking...clearly. Almost ten days since my last post! Did you miss me?!?!? Yeah I didn't think so. 

Well life has been a bit overwhelming since my last post.

I am over my deathly illness known as the common cold, though I'm threatening to cough up a lung at any moment. 

WTF Day! (Where's the food, without the farmer?!?)

My car failed its emissions test. For those of you that don't know, Larry is a beast! (Yes, my car has a name and yes I refer to him as such). He is a 20 year old Dodge Spirit with a little over 101,000 miles on him. Pretty good for a man his age. Well he's still an old man and things tend to breakdown at that age...I pray I never get to that point! So he failed, but I got the Jeep for a week! I would like to let you all know, my coolness factor just increased times 1000. But no one has seen me drive it, except my boss and my roommate...alas, the story of my life. 

Thanksgiving is a mere two days away! OH YEAH, UH HUH!!!!! In addition to Thanksgiving, it is also my roomie's 21st birthday!!! Oh yeah, uh huh!!!! So the girl plans to party without me. :'( #foreverunderage

Anyways! Who's excited for TURKEY, STUFFING, and CRANBERRY SAUCE!!!! This girl!!! I love Thanksgiving, mostly because I never help with the cooking! This Thanksgiving is a special one, my boyfriend is in town! You know the one I'm head over heels, ready to jump in front of a speeding train for! Yep he's here for 10 days! BEST THANKSGIVING EVER! 

I can not wait for just this day to be over! The struggle of having two classes a week is minor, but when all the projects, papers, and homeworks are due on the same, a girl can get a little stressed. I'm there right now!

In addition to working on extensive amounts of homework, we are almost done with calving season and lambs will be coming in a few months! We'll start weaning cows and lambing and I can not wait! 

It's been a rough and busy few days, but I think I might possibly get through it! Wish me luck you oh so dedicated fans! 

In addition to the 6 day Thanksgiving holiday, I only have 3 more days of classes left before finals!!!! Bahhh, where did this semester go! It seems like yesterday that I was packing up my bunk at Sombrero and saying my goodbyes, now I'm making plans for winter break and wondering how I'm going to pass my finals! 

Oh the life of a college student!

Little inspiration for the week: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BylRObFjmaE

#Collegekidprobz

Hola readers,

As  the title of my blog includes the word COLLEGE, I felt that I should talk a little more about the college aspect of my life and stop talking about the after college part. Which, in case anyone is wondering, is still up in the air.

 10 Things that are Guaranteed to Happen At Least Once (a million times) in Any Given Semester:

1. You will contemplate lighting your kitchen sink on fire, in order to avoid dishes for the 17th time that week.

2. You will fail a test or seven.

3. You will got through some form of a life crisis, wither it be that you are forever alone, will never graduate college, have no friends, or are broke as a joke.

4. You will contemplate dropping out because you can not handle one more clicker question, pop quiz, or random extra credit assignment.

5. You will become increasingly overwhelmed by homework and put it off to finish and entire season of insert cheesy comedy here in less than 24 hours.

6. The words: Challenge Accepted, will become part of your daily vocabulary, as you plan to finish a 6 page essay 3 hours before the due date.

7. You will get sick! I'm talking coughing up a lung, ears bleeding, nose so stuffed you can't breathe, want to lay in traffic after beating your head against a wall, kill me now, sick. Yep it's gonna happen.

8. You will get fat. I don't wanna hear, "I go to the gym 17 times a week and eat only organic carrots and almonds as my survival technique." We've all been there and given into the $4.50 Cellar milkshake, the party tub of cookies and cream ice cream, the $1 menu at McDonalds, because let's face it people, we're lazy and broke.

9. You will spend excessive amounts of time and money on finding the perfect outfit for some event that doesn't exist, then tell yourself, "Oh, yeah sure I'll totally wear it to...my 8am class, my TA's office hours, or that frat party I wasn't invited to." Let's face it people we are on edge and very privy to making irrational decisions, i.e. purchasing "the ugliest fing skirt I've ever seen" -Regina George. (Thank you Mean Girls)

10. You will waste everyone of your breaks in between classes. Your choices may include the occasional Starbucks run, an extended lunch, an entire afternoon on pinterest, or just being lazy. But let's be real with ourselves now, we are never going to study for that quiz next week or make progress on our next essay, because with only 3 and a half hours to kill, ain't nobody got time to write an essay.

Those most of my words of wisdom come from the female prospective, I would bet cash money that the male population is just as guilty of the previous offences.

Just remember people, college is only the next 2-20 years of your life, depending on how successful you plan to be. In 10 years, no is going to ask you what you got on your first Stats test or how much you loved your English 101 teacher. No one will remember what your dorm room theme was or who your fourth roommate was. No one will care that you partied at every frat on campus or that you finished all 6 seasons of Gossip Girl in 3 days.

Though the skills we develop in college are hardly ever learned in the classroom, just know that we paid thousands of dollars to consume our body weight in ice cream whenever we wanted, to slept socially unacceptable amounts of hours, began to harbor words like totes and presh into our forever vocabulary, and that the # will always be an acceptable means of communication.

So study hard my friends, because in the real world none of these things are possible...

Oh Darling, Let's be Adventurers!

Did you know that growing up means that you have to make real life choices? You have to say yes. For once in my life, I don't know isn't an acceptable answer. 

I know that recently I've been posting a lot about my life crisis, but I think it's finally hitting me. I can't just stick my head in the sand and pretend that the world around me isn't happening. I've been watching Jen fill out job applications and go for interviews, listening to Keegan talk about his plans for attaining his MBA, and even Dillon has some idea what he wants to do.

So I started looking at requirements for grad school. I'm thinking Agriculture Communications at K-state, OSU, or Tennessee. What do we think? 

. 
What I really want to do is pack a bag, grab my passport, and move to Europe. Do I speak a foreign language? Nope. Have any skills that I could apply there? Probably not. But, do I want to see the world? Of course.


I've been preaching lately about living life to the fullest and my version of that is seeing the world. No applying for graduate schools and spending another two years in a classroom. But without a masters I can kiss any chance at a good job, good-bye. Would it be completely unacceptable if I just packed up my life and moved away?

If I was being truthful to you ever so dedicated readers and of course, myself, I would tell you that I'm praying for an amazing internship in Oklahoma, then I plan to spent a winter at Sombrero and save up all of my money, then once I've saved enough for a plane ticket, I'd leave. Dangerous, I know. Stupid, I'm even more aware. Unrealistic, completely. 

Will it happen?  
yes.

Mine Would Be You....all!

You miss it, huh? 

                                       No! Not at all. 

                                           Well maybe a little. 

                                                 Yeah...

                                                     YES, MORE THAN BREATHING!!!!

Of course you would miss a part of your soul...a bit dramatic I know, but you were never a part of it. 

Is enough drama built yet? Has anyone guessed what I'm talking about? No? Want a hint? 

I'll give you four choices...

A. My ended relationship. 

B. The sorority I dedicated my life to. 

C. My old life. 

D. My summers in the Rockies.

*pause for dramatic effect*

A. My ended relationship. 

B. The sorority I dedicated my life to. 

C. My old life. 

D. My summers in the Rockies.

You guessed it people, I miss my Rocky Mountain Summer. Not just because of the romance, the drama-filled  free zone, the constant flow of cash, getting to ride everyday, but because of the people, the views, the little things.

I miss being woken up every morning by the lamp post across the street, the crew neck I wore to bridle in, the feeling of grain dust covering my every inch. I miss the rush of our breakfast routine and the five minutes we gave ourselves to look presentable. I miss the morning banter over loading breakfast rides, breakfast rides. I miss waking up to the thin air of the most magical place on earth.

Gosh, I need to get a grip. What is wrong with me? I sound like some love obsessed teen drawing hearts around a name!

But really people, I keep thinking that eventually I'll forget about it. Maybe not forget, but that I'll stop remembering every detail of this summer, stop wishing I was waking up in a bunkhouse filled with my best friends. I keep thinking that if I dive into school work, become obsessed with a new series, or go out more, I'll stop wishing I was spending my Wednesday nights at Cactus. I'll stop replaying the best moments of this summer over and over again.

Like the blog says, coping with life after. It's going so well....

If you, like me, are going through the same withdrawals, reach out! Help a girl think she's less crazy. If you are perfectly content with your football drinking games and selfie Sundays, leave me here to rant! Otherwise, I miss you all and hope that you are missing it just as much as I am. And always remember even though we were hundreds of miles from home, we're never without family. 

Book Worm!

Speaking of Nicholas Sparks, one of my bucket list items is to read every single one of his novels.

So if you all are hunting for the perfect Christmas gift, I'll make it easy!

And I have began to make a dent in that list, thanks to a certain boy (we can talk more about him later), by reading his new novel The Longest Ride.

Needless to say, I'm obsessed. Not only because it's a cheesy romance novel, but because I love his books! My roommate and I have recently given up the Netflix (don't worry the sweats are still being worn and Oreos still being consumed) to gorge on a few novels.

Thus far this semester we have read: 
-Halo
-Hades
-The Blue Dahlia
-Dear John
-American Sniper
-Icons
-The Wrangler
-Christmas in Stone Creek

Cheesy list I know! But we're girls with an obsession for cheesy romance novels and fantasy!

Who Has Two Thumbs and is Giving Up?

This girl!

So I officially have no idea what I wanna do with the rest of my life! Its t-minus 7 months until graduation and all I can think about is how I'm gonna make it through the rest of this semester, sleeping, and missing him.

I've chosen to spend my days without class, sleeping...what is wrong with me!?!?! I'm a bum.

I was supposed to spend my day filling out applications and working on the Jackpot Show. Anyone think I did that? ...barely.

With some help from my grand little, today I made a flyer, sent an email, worked on one application, made a shirt design, and sat around. It's 6pm and I've officially been up for 3 hours now. Oh yeah, the struggle, I know!

The word stress has been ripped from  my vocabulary and traded for LAZY! I need to get my life together. GIVE ME SOME MOTIVATION HERE PEOPLE 

Though I did spend all day yesterday being productive. Brownie points for that right?!?!? In addition to spending the whole day in class, I went to the gym and a meeting then made an appearance at an event that I was certainly not welcome. That last one definitely reassured why I left...sad to think I dedicated three years of my life to something so fake and superficial. 

In the words of Nicholas Sparks, no future employer is going to say "I noticed here that you helped choreograph the dance number that helped to put Chi Omega at the top of the sorority rankings your junior year. Frankly, that happens to be exactly the skill set we've been searching for in a museum career."

So for those of you that are curious, no I don't miss it. And it's not because I'm bitter that I don't matter anymore or that people don't notice my absence, though it is funny to realize how easily you are forgotten. It's because I don't plan to spend my last year of college being caught up in the drama and being fake to people I don't want to be friends with.


I am enjoying life thus far and I plan to spend the rest of the semester doing exactly that.

And for your entertainment....baby cows!

Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November!

Well doesn't that just make it easier.... Three years ago tomorrow, a boy who I thought would be my forever asked me out....funny what changes in three years. 

Quick update: 

   We dated until July of this year. First long term relationship...ever. Two houses, three roommates later, we were still going strong. An intervention or two and a summer in the Rockies, I ended things. 

Do I miss him? Somedays.

Do I regret it? Never. 

Shortly after that unfortunate heart break, I met the man of my dreams. 

I didn't think so at first, but after a three hour vent sess, a bumper car first date, a night on the top of the world, star gazing in a truck bed, and several unforgettable weekends. This girl = sold. Yep people, I'm declaring it. As sappy and gross as I never am, he's the one. I get it, I really do, how dumb of me! After only four months, I am ready to call off the search...forever. 

So, I shun those that post these sappy, "I'll love you forever" crap. And I am currently shunning myself as I continue to type, but lez be honest...no one is reading this, so I'm gonna keep being gross. 

In addition to realizing that this relationship is straight out of a romance novel, I want the world to know that every love song ever written could also be applied to my life as well. You're welcome. Alright prep yourself, cause it's about to get gag worthy. 

There are few people who get lucky enough to marry their best friends, who find their other half, there (dare I say it) soul mate. I know it's ignorant of me to say this, but I did! 

I can't say that I didn't have to kiss a few frogs to find my prince, but I did and I'm never letting that go. 

It's been a roller coaster of emotions for the last three years and I'm finally happy. Not just with him, but in my life too. I've cut out all of the bad and now I spend my days laxing and watching Gossip Girl. I spend it dreaming of the future I have no ideas about, about the life I'll lead 5, 10, 15 years from now, and of the friends I've made, lost, and plan to keep. I know my life has never been littered with trauma or heartache like the lives of many people around me, I'm lucky and I know it. 

But being lucky has showed me that I've lived my life on the safe side. I know now that I need to live in the moment, by the seat of pants, like there is tomorrow. Thinking back to this summer and the last few months, I know I've done just that. 

But my advice for you all, whoever you are is....

-To never be afraid of what is ahead, change is a good thing. 

-Fear should never hold you back. 

-Laugh.

     Cry. 

       Be happy. 

         For no reason at all. 

-Live in the moment, but don't forever about the future or the past. 

-You are who you are today, because of who you were then and who you will be. 

-Love unconditionally, no matter what your better self is telling you. 

-Don't stress over the little things. 

-Be stupid, while you're young, wild, and free. 

-Travel, see the world, if even that's a state away. 

-Fall in love everyday with everything. 

-Don't do it if you don't love it! Life is too short. 

After three years of emotional turmoil and poor decisions, I'm finally content. I love my job, my classes, my free time, my inner nerd, my boyfriend, my dingy apartment, my best friends, my family, and the opportunities that I've been offered. 

So never go to bed angry because tomorrow is a new day, you can always start over!!!!