A Year to Remember

Or, "My Cliche Post Detailing the Past Year of My Life"

I've been doing a little bit of reminiscing on the amazingness that has been 2010, and I wanted to share some highlights. A short summary beforehand: 2010 has been berry berry good to me.

• I started dating Tracy. That was good. Still is! Yay.
• I traveled to Wyoming, Las Vegas, Miami, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, Tampa, and Colorado. I also got over my intense fear of flying by "deciding" that I was adventurous. Seriously, it works. Just get on the plane and continually tell yourself that you're adventurous and that's why you're flying.
• I graduated college.
• I finished student teaching.
• I moved to Florida!
• I got a good score on my GRE and it made me feel smart.
• I went the entire year without getting sick even once, despite being among the diseased (AKA small children) on a regular basis.
• I'm getting a Le Creuset French Oven from Tracy for Christmas... Some of you won't know what that is, but those who do, please join me for a moment of silence for the beautiful French Oven in Caribbean... Thank you.
• I'm welcoming 2011 with my favorite person in the world tonight, and that makes me happy.

... And many many more, but I would probably be typing till after midnight, and that's a lame way to ring in 2011. Happy New Year!!!

Family Time

It's Christmas Eve! Guess what? All my gifts are wrapped and under the tree... That's pretty magical all by itself. I absolutely love shopping for Christmas gifts (especially if I have a good idea of what the person would like), but moving 20-something hours away from my family was really cramping my holiday style. I mean, how do you pack your suitcase with enough clothes for more than a week AND fit in presents for your 3 siblings, brother-in-law, and parents? Well, you don't. So it took a little bit of creative calling of Oklahoma stores and begging them earnestly if they would hold presents for me so that I could just pick them up when I arrived in the correct state. They were nice and did so, so Christmas shopping was really pretty non-stressful and pleasant. One quick trip to Norman, combined with a little online shopping, and I was done. Now I'm just relaxing in (chilly) Enid, Oklahoma, and it has been nice to not have anything pressing to get to for a few days.

Last night, we drove to the small town of Cherokee for Christmas with my mom's side of the family. It was good to see everyone, especially since that side is experiencing some baby-mania and most of the females are pregnant. Not me, however, in case anyone was concerned. There were some little kiddos running around, plus some good food and lots of family time. Today, we had planned to do Christmas with my dad's side of the family, which is smaller, but that was kinda thwarted because my grandma got sick... We still met up with my one cousin and her parents, then visited my grandpa at the nursing home. My family had a nice little visit with him and delivered some peanut butter crackers and sugar-free candy, so he was pretty pumped. I think we're planning to try to visit again in a few days when my grandma feels better.

As much as I'm enjoying being home and seeing family, as well as a few long-lost friends, I'll be ready to get back to Florida to see that crazy doctor kid again. He's in Wyoming with his family for a few days, and I'm glad he gets to have some quality family time as well, as much as I wish I got to go to Wyoming and see his family for a little bit too.

Hope everyone's holidays are relaxing, enjoyable, and filled with family and good food. Merry Christmas!

You May Now Breathe a Sigh of Relief

Oh, it's a beautiful day. Birds are singing, babies are laughing. It's Saturday, and that means I'm about halfway through another excellent weekend full of happiness and relaxation. Oh, did I mention that I did quite well on my GRE yesterday??? The test told me I was smart! Not genius smart, but smart enough to be above the average score for the speech pathology program I'm trying to get into-- which is smart enough for me! To celebrate my newfound intelligence (ha), Tracy and I went out to dinner and a movie to celebrate! Since the movie was starting within an hour of us deciding to go out, we just went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which is an east-coast chain that serves, well, just burgers and fries. If you're looking for a good greasy hamburger (and we were), this is the place for you (and it was). We then went to a real live movie theater! The Tourist with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp was out, and it was very entertaining. We'd both recommend going to see it.

Just wanted to put out a quick little post so that anyone who cares knows that I did not bomb my test and that I can now breathe easy for awhile. Hope everyone else is receiving a little relaxation time this weekend!

Yes, I Do Still Exist

Yet again, it's been awhile since my last post. It seems that each time I go back to Oklahoma for a few days, it throws off the whole blog routine. Oh well, we all lived. While I was on my little hiatus from blogging, I happened to finish my internship in student teaching! Yayayayayay! I hate to say it, but it was a really good feeling walking out of that school. I've had 4 days of true freedom since then, and it's been really great to wake up and say, "Wanna know where I'm not going today? The middle school!" Haha...

On the downside, I've been spending this whole week studying for the GRE. Everyone I've talked to says this test is super easy, I don't even need to study, blah blah blah, but I honestly think it's kinda difficult. I've been trying to learn as many new words as possible this past week (my knowledge of vocabulary is no match for this stupid test), and I'm still encountering tons of words that make me scratch my head in confusion on the practice tests. That might be the most frustrating part of this whole thing-- no matter how much I study and add new words to my vocab (perspicacious, anyone?), there will most definitely be words on my test tomorrow that I do not know. It's not possible to know all the words... Argh. Anyway, I'm going to continue to cram as much as possible into my brains today and just do my best on the exam tomorrow. Eeeeek!!!

Once the test is over, the true fun begins: Christmas shopping! I've done very little shopping, and I'm pretty excited about picking out lots of gifts for people. I love Christmas... Speaking of Christmas, since I'm not gonna make it to Wyoming for Christmas like originally planned, Tracy's awesome sister Kelly sent me Christmas gifts in the mail! She picked out a big heavy cast-iron skillet and the Pioneer Woman cookbook! I was like a kid on Christmas morning, no pun intended. The cast-iron skillet is getting used for the first time tonight, and I've already read all the way through the cookbook (I mean, what? I've been studying nonstop for the GRE....). All in all, perfect gifts for me.

Since Tracy is still on his pain management rotation, we both have the weekend off this weekend! No plans so far, but we shall see if something pops up. Maybe a movie or something, as several good ones are out right now. Anyway, hope all are staying warm in the December-y weather (even here... it's been in the 20s in the mornings!). Have a great week and keep me in your thoughts as I take the first test in awhile that's important to my future!