2k11

Holee-days

I just realized that I haven't been on here in SO long!! Since October- and a lot has happened since then.

It's finally winter break and I am just now realizing how stressful and busy this past semester was. I feel like I have time to finally breath and hang out with my friends. I have realized that all of my hard work wasn't for anything. I accomplished a huge goal! I brought my GPA up a whole point. I feel amazing right now and am so proud of myself because it felt impossible.

Speaking of goals, I do think that it is that time of year again to start making New Years resolutions. So.. here they are::

1. Accomplish my resolutions ( I always make them and then forget about them two weeks later).

2. Get back down to a size 4.

3. Take a dance class. Religiously, like I use too.

4. Go Parasailing.

5. Zipline.

6. Save up to move out.

7. Get 4.0 (It was SO easy in high school! what happened?!)

8. Plan a better trip for me and Corey than the camping trip last summer. That'll be hard to top.

9. See Bullet, Framing Hanley, ADTR, Eric Church and Weezy in concert, again.

10. Volunteer.

Hopefully I can accomplish all of these! Wish me luck. Happy Holidays! :} <3

Gumbo

None of you probably know this because I try to keep it a secret but my Grandma makes the BEST gumbo in the world. It's so good that Corey and I fight over it. ha I am eating a bowl of it as I write this.

This week has been one of those "thank-God- for- my-friends" weeks. Last week my Mom took my brother to the doctor and they told him that he had strep throat. The next thing I knew, I recieved a text at work Sunday saying that he was being rushed to the ER. Probably in the top 10 scariest moments of my life. He may not know it but my baby brother is one of the most important people in my life.

I rushed to the ER and started freaking out. I. hate. doctors. I hate the smell, the look, the coldness, the medical equiptment. everything. He had a 102 fever and his body was covered head to toe in a rash from an allergic reaction to the amoxicillan. They sent him home with some medication and steroids.

Monday he encountered severe pain and itching from the rash so me and Corey rushed to Walmart and I think I bought everything they had to help ease the pain. Around 3am he had to be rushed to the ER again because the pain was too intense. The docs gave him a sedative to make him sleep it off.

Hopefully all of that is over with. It's not fun seeing someone you care about sick like that, especially in the Emergency Room. Through all of that, I realized what great friends I have. Almost all of the people that I work with called, texted or Facebooked me to see how he was doing. It meant a lot because I know everyone else has so much going on in their own lives so if you are reading this, I thank you for that.

On top of all of that craziness, I realized that this was a big school work week. I had two papers due that I hadnt even started on. One was even a book report for a book that I hadn't even read yet. Thank God for the movies and Cliffnotes :]. Now I have came down with a sinus infection.. surprise surprise. Hopefully these antibiotics kick in soon.

The Swamp

After two weeks of hardly seeing C-rob , we finally got to go on an unexpected mini vacation. Saturday night we were Nola bound and by 8 o'clock we still had not found our hotel let alone checked in. We decided to not go out on Bourbon as we had planned but instead to have a night in and watch Ghost Adventures. We stopped at a two story Target to grab a sandwich and snacks. It was amazing! They even had an escalator just for the buggies.

The next morning Matt and Maghan came down to meet us for the game. Saints won! So we did the most logical thing and went on Bourbon to celebrate. I finally got to have a few of my favorite drinks (hand grenades) and after loosing an intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Maghan rode the whale at The Beach. I really wish they could've stayed that night with us!

After saying goodbye to them we checked into our new hotel- Royal Saint Charles- and got ready to go back out.

Distraction: If you are ever wanting a nice, cheap hotel to stay at in New Orleans, stay at the Royal St. Charles! Our room was only $80 but it was the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in! Our room had a 180 degree view of the city with huge floor to ceiling windows and even a little sitting area. The staff were super friendly and there was even a little coffee shop inside the hotel.

Anyway, we went back out on Bourbon and got a huge Fishbowl ( it's literally a fishbowl with a thing to go around your neck just incase you forget how to work your hands. They fill it with a Hurricane all for $10. If you can handle a refill, those are only $5... this drink is uh-mazing). Since none of the clubs or bars would let us in due to our Fishbowls, we just ended up people watching and walking up and down Bourbon St. Apparently Marie Laveu's Voodoo shop stays open really late so I decided to show Corey the inside since he had never seen it. I ended up buying a ribbon bracelet in which you are suppose to make a wish and then tie it three times on your left wrist. When the bracelet falls off your wrist, that means your wish is about to come true. Now I don't know if this really works, but hey it was only a dollar.

I have been to New Orleans hundreds of times throughout my life and have so far learned the following things:

1. Everyone in the city of New Orleans has at least one thing in common: They LOVE to drink. Drinking starts around 8 in the morning and ends whenever the sidewalk begins to feel as comfortable as your bed back home.

2. The speed limit is not 35, 40 or 50 mph but instead, however fast your car will go.

3. There is no sense of "weird".

4. There is no greater music than Jazz music.

5. Sweet Tea, PoBoys and Beignets are just an everyday thing.

6. You can tell who the tourist are & you can tell who the locals are.

7. You can talk smack all you want against the Saints but once our team beats your team you will immediately regret all the things you said before the game because our fans outnumber your fans. If the Saints lose, its okay, there are always Jim, Jack and Morgan to wipe away your tears.

8. Never ask what that is on the sidewalk. You don't want to know. You probably also don't want to know what that is dripping on your head from off of the balcony.

9. Ghost are sort of like imaginary friends. Nothing scary. Just people who don't pay rent.

10. From a little thunderstorm, to Katrina, nothing can ever take the heart and soul out of New Orleans.

Labor Day Weekend

I was really nervous when I saw that a tropical storm was head towards the Gulf Coast during Labor Day Weekend. Not because I hate bad weather but because I had been planning on going to CPR Fest ever since I saw the lineup. Bullet for my Valentine, Seether, Three Days Grace and Avenged... how could I miss that concert?

Even the morning of I didn't know if we were going to be able to go because I heard the streets in Biloxi were flooding and some roads might be closed. Plus I don't like being on the interstate period much less in a tropical storm. It wasn't until Corey said " It'll just be one of our many adventures" and I was convinced on going. We have

never had a bad one so I knew this trip was going to be worth a little rain storm.

We went to eat with my family at Wintzels and then we were on our way. We got to Biloxi around 2 and after seeing the beach I was nervous about having to drive home in that mess. After swimming through the parking lot to wait in line we were finally there and settled for a while. We spent the next 2 1/2 hours people watching and there were some WEIRD people. When I say weird I mean skittle colored hair, fish nets, black bulky boots etc.

They finally opened the doors at 4:45 and we got a really good spot on the floor (I never understood why people come to concerts to sit down). Escape the Fate came on shortly after and I think every single weird or annoying person in that arena decided to stand by us. Once Escape got off state I looked back and realized exactly how many people were behind us.

Next to hit the stage was Bullet and they were AMAZING. All of the bands were amazing except for Seether. They were kind of a let down. :/ Even though I had already seen Three Days Grace when they came to the Wharf, I could not wait to see them again. Out of all of the bands that played though, I think Avenged Sevenfold won the award for best stage setup and for one reason: they had fire! Anyone can put on a good show if they have fire blowing off of their stage. :]

After the show we were starving so we searched trying to find some place to eat. We ended up sitting in the Wendy's parking lot pigging out on chicken nuggets and frostys. Its moments like these that I realized exactly how much I love him.

Anyway, in the end

Im so glad that me and Corey decided to go because we wouldv'e missed out on a great experience. Hope ya'll had a great Labor Day weekend as well!

I'm Ray Charles to the BS.

These past few weeks I've learned a lot of things. Like...

1. Mom knows best.

Remember that kid your mom always told you to not hang out with or date? Yeah that kid! and even though JUST because your Mom said don't do it you did it anyway, well... DON'T DO IT. It will save you a lot of trouble, time, and drama in the long run.

2. There is nothing my dog won't eat.

This includes: rocks, toilet paper, pencils (the wooden kind), reciepts, socks, cords, grass, lizzards, dirt, dust, etc.

3. Don't skip class.

It will bite you in the butt in the long run.

4. Be friends with weird people.

It is ALOT more fun. :]

5. Karma does exist.

Last week I decided to not chew out that lady that cut me off in traffic. Instead of yelling at parking services for screwing up my permit registration, I asked nicely. Besides wanting to wish bad things upon someone that did something bad to me, I prayed for them. What did this get me? I went to Regions bank to cash my check, and instead of taking the $10 out of my paycheck- which they normally do because I do not have an account with them-the lady decided to give me my whole check in cash, no fees taken out. This made my day. ( Hey- $10 is a lot of money for a college student.)

6. Relationships are about TWO people.

Not the two people in the relationship, their mother, their cousins, their best friends, their dog, their next door neighbor, or their school teacher. Don't let outsiders influence your relationship with someone. And please, do not publish every single detail about that fight ya'll had last night on facebook, twitter or any other social network.

7. Weezy has the right idea.

He doesn't care what others think. Love yourself and others will love you too.

8. Get your priorities straight.

and stick to them.

9. I feel like my life is being taken over by dogs.

I cannot even take a shower without a bodyguard.

10. Last but not least, watch where you are driving.

I was going down University the other day and a metal rod/crowbar type thing flew under my tire and into a pipe underneath my car. I was pissed someone would leave that in the middle of the road so someone could run over it. Not only that it could've hit somewhere else in my car and my car could've either had a blow out tire, had a broken windshield OR blew up.

Okay, maybe thats a little dramatic but you get the picture.

The end.