Fall 2013: Top S E V E N

Better late than never, right?

1.) Ole Miss Football

Whether it was spending the day in the Grove or going early to get a seat at the Library to watch Ole Miss football, I had the best time cheering on my Rebs for every single game! I secretly temporarily quit my job just for football season but can you blame me?

2.) Bulldog Bash

I ventured into the forbidden land to reunite with the Alternative Spring Break crew in Starkville! These kids and I bonded over building oyster beds in the ocean, handwashing our dishes in tubs, avoiding snakes in stream restoration, killing the foreign kids in volleyball and playing with inner city kids in Niceville, Florida in 2011.

3.) I'm feelin 22.

Celebrated my 22^nd birthday eating pizza and playing shuffleboard. Sounds about right!

4.) S H O O T O U T

It's always a good time at the farm. We had our 4th Annual Shootout this year!

5.) Buzzzzzz!!

Dressed up like a bumble bee and celebrated Halloween with my Mississippi Hippie!  

6.) Opryland and Ole Miss

Ended the year babysitting for the Ole Miss Athletics Staff at the Music City Bowl in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry and watched Ole Miss dominate Georgia Tech!

7.) GRADUATION

 

I graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and Nutrition with a Business minor...but we all secretly know....

10 Picture Summary: Summer 2013

   What a summer! Changed quite a bit, learned even more and had the best time doing it.­ As my last semester of undergrad kicked off last week, this post reflects on the positives of the last 3 months! 

I can sum most days up in a few words…

Work, tan, volleyball, square. Repeat.

 

Here's the long version...

1. Living in Oxford

 

There's nowhere else that feels like home quite like Oxford. I've only been here for a little over a year and a half but I have fallen in love with this little college town!

   

 2. Volleyball: High Pointe and The Retreat

Volleyball was the sport of the summer around here. There's a good chance I spent more hours in the water than on land these past 2 months. We plan on playing intramural volleyball this fall together at Ole Miss!

 

3. The Square 

  

#whynot

Haleigh, Shannon and I found ourselves bonding on balconies, patios and bar stools most nights. We started sharing clothes, secrets and drinks and found a sisterhood that we had been missing out on.  

 

4. Baptist Hospital

In June, I started working as an Admissions Rep in the ER and Surgery at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford. I've seen a few interesting things, fought through some busy 3-11 shifts and about froze to death but I am very thankful for the opportunity to work for Baptist!

5.) Celebrating America 

Haleigh and I channeled our inner America and went all out for July 4th. Complete with our America swimsuits, the cottage girls and I hit High Pointe to catch some rays and ended the day with playing volleyball in the rain.

6. Corvette

 

Single girl needs a single car, right? That's what I told everyone when they asked where this bad boy came from when I showed up in it in Oxford. I had some great nights with friends cruising around with the top off, star gazing, blaring country music with the occasional trip to Sardis. 

7. Going Coastal

Shannon, Jake and I headed south to visit Haleigh in her hometown – Waveland, MS. THE BEACH IS MY FAVORITE!!! We enjoyed bars on the beach, Haleigh's homemade jumbalaya, too many games of Apples to Apples, laying out on the beach, seafood, intense rounds of catchphrase and lots of cruising around with the windows down.

8. Casinos

My first trip to a casino was in Waveland, MS. I can sum it up with three simple things: 1.) Penny slots 2.) Creepy people 3.) Cheese fries. The best part? Clearly, the cheese fries. Typical.

9. NOLA

While we were on the coast, we drove about 40 minutes west for my second trip to New Orleans, Haleigh's 79^th and Shannon's first. They had a“Red Dress Run”going on at the same time we were there, which is a 5k where men and women wear red dresses to raise money for charity. As if the people down there don't dress eccentric enough as is, it was quite a sight. Nothing like the smell of Bourbon Street, beignets at Café du Monde, daiquiris, flying beads and street performers. We all have a new love for Pat O'Brien's.

10. First SEC Game

I understand that I've been in class all week but I have also found a way to still make it to the pool for a few hours most days. Summer will go on! OLE MISS BEAT VANDERBILT last Thursday and Oxford could not have had more energy (if people didn't already go into cardiac arrest). Everyone filled the pool area at High Pointe and we celebrated with some late night volleyball!

Highlights for the semester: 6 straight home football games in the Grove, some trips to the farm with the fam, turning 22, fostering puppies and COLLEGE GRADUATION!

Life is good. And I feel so blessed.

Until next time, 

13 Picture Summary: Spring 2013

1. Mardi Gras

I went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and got the full experience. From getting my phone and wallet stolen, to a few hand grenades, beignets for breakfast, some voodoo shops and even some shots fired on Bourbon Street.

2. D-NOW

Disciple Now is always a fun time to return to the church I attended in high school, worship and lead students, see old friends, eat junk food and dive into the Word for an entire weekend. 

3. Spring Break in Destin

Friends from Mississippi State and Ole Miss found a way to come together to share a condo on the beach in Destin, FL. We braved the cooler temperatures and enjoyed laying on the rocks at a place we deemed 'Mermaid Island', nights out at Baytowne, Krispy Kreme and a paint party.

4. Working at Della Davidson

 

I spent about 200 hours at this 4^th and 5^th grade school in Oxford this semester, tutoring students in math as part of my 300 hour volunteer commitment with College Corps. I really enjoyed my time there and met some of the best teachers and funniest kids.

5. Spring Parties

 

Sarah came into town for Sigma Nu's spring party this year and we took a bus to Castle Hill Resort dressed like rednecks for crawfish, a band and free drinks.

6. Baseball Games

From beer showers after home runs to Hotty Toddy cheers, Ole Miss baseball is one of my favorite parts of spring.

7. Double Decker Festival

Double Decker weekend is always a fun weekend in Oxford. From live music, terrible traffic, the craft fair, rides on the Double Decker bus and carnival food, it is always a good time!

8. Engaged in Orange Beach, AL

Biggest life event thus far. He put a ring on it!

9. SEC Championship

HOTTY FREAKING TODDY! After going to nearly every home game and watching the away ones around Oxford, I was stoked to see my Rebels win!!

10. Visitors

 

 

High school friend Sarah, cousins Avery and Payton, Matthew and fellow USAFA girlfriend Alex came to visit Lauren and I at the cottage this semester!

12. The Lake

I got to to to the lake a few times to visit the fam, fish with my dad and relax!

13. Cottage Love

Our cottage neighbors have become a little family and I love every single one of them and their dogs!


N E X T   S T O P: my last college summer. And so far, it is off to a ballin start!
 

15 Picture Summary: Fall 2012

1.) Fostering puppies

Chance, Macy, Wendy, Dallas, Lily, Sophie, Hudson, Ally, Watson, Piglet, Diesel and Socks made my semester. I love puppies. As anyone who follows me on facebook, twitter or instagram knows, I had the opportunity to foster these 12 puppies for the Oxford Lafayette Humane Society this semester and I genuinely loved every single second of it! Letting them go is always hard, but knowing they have a good home makes it all worthwhile!

2.) College Corps

 College Corps is a minimum requirement 300-hour volunteer program that has recently consumed my life! I work at Della Davidson Elementary School in Oxford tutoring 4^th and 5^th grade math and I really do enjoy it. Although it is challenging sometimes, I have recently become more interested in public health and school nutrition intervention so I am confident that it is worth putting so much time into working with these kids.

3.) Living room makeover

My lovely uncle decided Lauren and I should feel at home in our new cottage and let us give our living room a makeover! We had so much fun visiting tons of furniture stores, sitting on what felt like thousands of couches and finally putting everything together. We love it!

4.) First Ole Miss football season

It wasn't my first experience in the Grove, but I sure do love Ole Miss football game days! It helped that we were much better this year than in the past! Cody got to come to the Egg Bowl with me over Thanksgiving Break and we won!! Hotty Toddy!

5.) Parents weekend (Aug. 30-Sept. 3)

Shortly after the semester started, I made my way to Colorado with Cody's family for my 3^rd Parents' Weekend. We got to spend our 5 year anniversary together, I went to some of his classes, we tailgated before the football game, celebrated Blake's 22^nd birthday with a cookout, drove to the mountains and went fly fishing. His family rented a house and as always, it was a really good time.

6.) Hanging out with Landon

I was living in Colorado when this little joker was born, but it has been really nice to be able to see him start to grow up and start walking! His momma and aunt are pretty cool too :)

7.) Weekends at the farm

What is really nice about Ole Miss is that it is about 30 minutes from the farm, where you can find most of my family every weekend in the fall! My favorite things were jumping on hay bales with Lauren, the 3^rd annual shootout, riding fourwheelers, deer hunting with Cody, shooting my new .38 special and letting my puppies run free!

8.) Colorado for Cody's birthday (October 5-8)

Cody's friends at USAFA paid for my flight to come spend his birthday weekend with them in Colorado. Blake picked me up from the airport and took me to Cody's room to surprise him. We somehow kept it from him for a few months, which is a miracle in it of itself. We had a really fun weekend camping and fishing. They even wakeboarded in 30 degree weather…crazies. 

9.) My 21st birthday

The title says it all.

10.) Trip to Mississippi State (October 19-21)

I went to visit Kellerhouse and EK on a football weekend for my first time back to State since I went to school there….April 27, 2011. It was good to see old friends and we had fun in the cotton district and tailgating…sooo much catching up to do! I'm not going to hate but I am proud to be a Rebel! 

11.) Decorating the cottage

As soon as Lauren and I moved into our house, we couldn't wait for a holiday to come so we could decorate. My mom has a box of things for us for every holiday and we deck the cottage out! It has been so much fun living with Lauren and decorating our little cottage!

12.) Made it on MTV's: Pranked

 A few friends played a joke on Lauren and I awhile back by throwing a big frog down on our living room floor beside us one night and Lauren completely and totally flipped out. Someone from MTV got ahold of the video from youtube and we were aired in their Pranked, Season 5 in November!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J59zy_PnFw

13.) Trip to Indiana (November 1-4)

Lauren and I road tripped for 12 hours across 5 states and through many corn fields to visit Alex at Indiana University! We enjoyed seeing Bloomington, staying in her sorority house, seeing what the frats were all about and playing in the mud at the football game. We picked up a couple of new favorite songs and treated ourselves to Lambert's on the way home! We're hoping to go back soon!

14.) Trip to Birmingham (December 1-2)

Lauren, Adam and I headed out to Birmingham for the weekend to surprise Sarah for her 21^st birthday! We decorated her apartment, pop, locked and dropped it, and somehow missed out on krispy kreme…what a shame.

15.) New Years Eve

 Cody and I successfully ended 2012 with an intense meal of ribs, baked beans, a baked potato and potato salad. I think it was the first time we had actually cooked together, and it wasn't a total disaster so things are looking good!