Ladies, it's time to give it up!

As 2011 is nearing its end and New Years approaches, I have been thinking a lot about my year and how much things have changed. I moved into a beautiful townhome, transferred to A&M, got out of a long term relationship, joined an amazing sorority, and learned that everything happens for a reason. I have never really had a good New Year’s resolution, but since I want 2012 to be the best year I have had so far, I have been thinking hard about what my resolution could be. While surfing the web, I came across a website called CollegeCandy.com and I was instantly interested in it. Here I found an article titled: 9 things that College Girls Should Give up for Lent. Although Lent is still a few months away, this article helped me realize some good resolutions for the New Year:

(http://collegecandy.com/2011/03/13/9-things-college-girls-should-give-up-for-lent/)

9. Ex-boyfriend freakouts. Let it go, move on. Stop giving the “psycho ex girlfriend” stereotype anymore material to work with.

Having just gotten out of a relationship, I can relate to this and I agree that it is important to close a chapter of your life when its done and move on in a healthy direction.

8. Hating people in relationships. Let’s grow up and be happy for our committed friends.

Although it is nice to have a significant other, I have never really had a problem with this one. I said I have learned that everything happens for a reason, and I strongly believe that if I am meant to be in a relationship that it will happen, but until then, I need to live my life for me and enjoy the ride!

7. Hating your body. Let’s chill out with all the phrases like, “I hate my butt” or “I have flabby arms.”

This is something that I think every woman is going to struggle with her whole life. We are all naturally competitive human beings and even the most gorgeous woman in the world may have insecurities with a feature on their body. But I do want to try harder to look at myself and not compare myself to any body else, because everyone is beautiful in their own way.

6. Facebook stalking people you don’t know.

This isn’t a problem for me, but I can relate it to looking at photos or status updates on Facebook and getting distracted from schoolwork. I definitely want to do better at staying focused.

5. Late night snacking.

It seems like college students have their own time zone and every meal is later than normal. Sometimes you are eating dinner at 10 o’clock at night. To create a healthier lifestyle for myself, I need to work on eating earlier and closing down the kitchen so I am not wasting calories on late night snacks!

4.  Smack-talk. Quit Gossiping.

I had the nickname “Gossip Girl”, given to me in high school, and although it may be silly, it is not a reputation I want to possess. I want to be known as the girl who is a good, trustworthy friend to all and who will not judge others.

3. Late night texting/Drunk Texting

Again…. Not really a problem for me. But I do need to work on turning my phone off at a decent hour and going to bed earlier.

2. All-nighters. Let’s stop procrastinating.

I have never pulled an all-nighter and I never plan to. I am the type of girl who NEEDS at least 8 hours to be happy. I will be working on NOT procrastinating so I can maintain my happy sleep schedule.

1. Blacking out.

Well, I have never “blacked out” before. In college and being around drinking and parties, it is sometimes tempting to take that extra shot just to look cool or play another game of Beer Pong to impress the guy you like. In the end, is it really worth it?

Since joining a sorority and representing a group of amazing girls at Texas A&M, I want people to look at me and think of me as a classy, mature woman. I don’t want people to see me and think about me with my head in the toilet or acting belligerent drunk at a party.

I know this seems like a lot of resolutions or suggestions of changes to make to your everyday life. But none of these seem too difficult to achieve. I hope making these little changes to my life can create a bright, new year for me! BRING IT ON 2012!!!!


What are some of your ideas for a New Year's Resolution for 2012?

My best friend Taylor and I at her New Years Party last year

Stu(dying)

Did anyone ever notice that the word STUDYING has the word DYING in it??

ATTENTION: Finals are occurring right now, if you didn’t know that already… However, if anyone is friends with a college student on Facebook or Twitter, I am guessing you have seen the many dramatic posts about this week from hell.

Here are a few of my favorite posts via Facebook:

“soooooooooooo this is what it feels like to be dead. #finals”

“Studying will be the death of me.”

“Can't...study...any....longer....Need...sleep...now.....”

Today in the car, my best friend/roommate Amalia made an interesting observation. If everyone didn’t post about how stressed they were, how much studying they’ve done, how many tests they have, and how tired they are, would “Finals Week” really be that bad?

This got me thinking… Are a couple of tests in one week really comparable to death OR do college students have so much freedom that when some of that freedom must be dedicated to intense studying, we freak out and over dramatize how tough our lives are?

This is my third time to experience finals (fall, spring, now fall again) and I would like to share some tips and advice that would be helpful to people for next semester.

1)   Get off Facebook/Twitter/Pintrest/AIM… anything that has nothing to do with your school work. Instead of posting that you are studying at the library or tweeting that you are pulling an all-nighter, turn off your phone and just DO IT. Every college student is going through the same thing, so there is no need to post about it.

2) Make flash cards! I would put my LIFE on flash cards. Repetition is a great way to retain large amounts of information. NOTE: Do not make flashcards the night before the test… make them a week prior to your exam

3)   Find a good place to study, with a good group of people. Let’s be honest, I am a sorority girl who could talk to a wall for hours and not think twice about it. I am very chatty and sociable, but when it comes to studying, it is important to set aside time to focus on schoolwork in a place that will not cause distractions. That’s why the library is the best place for me.

4)   Last, but most importantly, manage your time. I know that’s cliché and everyone will tell you that, but it is true. I have made it through 3 semesters without having to pull an “all-nighter.” It is possible to be in bed at a decent hour… IF you manage your time. Think about it: If you are in 15 credit hours, that means you go to school 15 hours a week. In high school you went to school 35 hours a week! Realize how much free time you have and make a plan to study earlier.

If you do all of these things above and improve your study habits, it WILL help you become a better student. Good luck to everyone in finishing up finals!!

TF

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

If you had asked me a year ago where I would be today, I would have never guessed where my life would be and how happy I would be. So many things have changed, so many good decisions were made, and so many new experiences have occurred.


I am not going to tell you I quit school to pursue acting or I got engaged, married, and pregnant, so I know this seems a little overdramatic. But the plans and choices I had for my life changed and I could not be happier where my life is heading right now.

This summer I spent every waking hour I possibly could at work. I was a nanny for a family of 3 kids and I taught private swim lessons in my backyard. I was burnt out of summer vacation. The heat and my busy schedule were getting old. I was very excited to be starting my sophomore year at Texas A&M University and even more excited to be going through Recruitment to join a sorority!

I moved to College Station and the wonderful craziness began. I participated in Recruitment week (story about that coming soon!) and I got a bid from my number one choice of a sorority Delta Gamma! My sister Ruthie was a Delta Gamma at A&M and I fell in love with it the second I stepped foot in the house.

Since receiving my bid to be a member of Delta Gamma, I have made so many wonderful friends and felt happier than ever before. I have recently decided that next year I am going to live in the sorority house. One house, 50 girls, FUN all the time! Today I got the news that I am going to be Delta Gamma's new Director of Communication. The position entails keeping track of girls at events and taking roll. I am very excited!

In these past few months that you haven’t heard from me I have learned a few valuable lessons. 1- I am so YOUNG! For so long I was trying way too hard to plan my life around an idea I had in my head of what perfect was. I realize now that time will tell and you can’t force things to happen. I am only 19 years old and I have a lot of time left to figure life out. And 2- Don’t ever make decisions or choices for anyone else but yourself. I have almost passed up great opportunities because I was worried about how it would affect others. Don’t ever let a boy be a factor in your decisions, because if he loves you, he will be there in the end! For example, choosing living in the sorority house or spending quality time with your sorority sisters! Make choices for you because you only get one college experience.

I am not trying to preach, just trying to share some advice!

On a different note, here are some pictures of some fun I have been having this semester:

Me, Kristin, and Scarlett tailgating at an Aggie Football Game!

 Laurel, me, and Peyton on Delta Gamma Bid Day!

"Big/Little" Reveal

 My roomates Gabby, me, Chelby, and Amalia before a "Paint Party"

Best friends, Different Sororities!

Amalia: ChiO, Taylor: DZ, Tomi: DG, Jilly: ADPi

I was a 20's Flapper for Halloween!

Delta Gamma Backyard Barbeque Fundraiser!

Hope you enjoyed these pictures, definitely more to come!

xoxo,

TBF

It's been awhile...

I know I know!! It has been awhile... I'm sorry I have been so busy! I wish I could say it was because I have been partying, tanning, shopping, eating out, and relaxing... No no no!

For the past few weeks I have been working multiple jobs every day (nannying and swim lessons), moved my boyfriend back to school for football, and I started an "online" summer school class. Maybe that doesn't sound like a lot but it is tough to find time to sit down and spread my thoughts to everyone. Isn't it weird that when I am at school busy with class and work I find time to write, but during summer "vacation" I can't? EVIL!

Here is an update: Although I am too busy for words, I am loving the money that I am making! I am trying to save as much as possible and that is going surprisingly well. It is my birthday on Saturday! I will be 19. So I will definitely be doing a post about that to tell you about all the festivities that will be going on this weekend :-)

Here is a video of my favorite song right now!

CHA CHA CHA!

I have a new obsession and I want to shout it to the world... ZUMBA! Zumba is an aerobic fitness program created by Miami-based dancer and choreographer Beto Perez and two entrepreneurs, Alberto Perlman and Alberto Aghion. It originated in Colombia in the 1990s and is taught by some 20,000 instructors in 35 countries.


Basically it is a room full of women, poppin' it, shakin' it, and getting a great work out! I am a member of Lifetime Fitness and trying to get me to workout is like getting a stubborn child to eat vegetables. I have never liked working out, but I have realized that it IS something that I need to make a priority in my life. My sister Ruthie finally talked me into going to a Zumba Class. I am SO glad she did! I went with my best friend Amalia and from the beginning of the class until the end I had a smile on my face. We did latin style moves to modern hip hop songs. It can help you feel sexy and who knew dancing could give you such a workout?! 


It is my new favorite thing and I am going tonight :-)
If they have it at your gym... TRY it!

A Day for Daddy's

On this special day, I want to celebrate all the wonderful father's in the world, especially mine! It takes a special man to raise 3 girls, and when I was 6 years old he finally got his reward, a boy!

My dad has always been my number one fan and number one supporter. Whether it was in soccer or dance, he came to every event to cheer me on. I have always been a daddy's girl and I have always felt comfortable coming to him with anything, good or bad. He and my mom have always had high expectations for all of us kids and disappointing them was never an option in my mind.

We have a ton of old home videos and there is one I LOVE watching. I am not born yet, but my sister Cori was 4 years old and Ruthie was 2 years old. In the video, my mom follows around the girls, while they play, dance, sing, and then there is one part where they are playing in the basement with my dad. They were playing babies and barbies, and my dad was right in the middle of the game. He is smiling and laughing with them. He was only in his 20's! What man in his 20's these days wants to spend his Saturday night playing with dolls in his basement?! Not many...

I feel so lucky to have such a strong and inspiring role model to look up to every day. So here's to you Dad! Happy Father's Day!

Here is one of my favorite songs about the love a man has for his daughter:

It's time to give back

I have been blessed with so many wonderful opportunities and there isn't a day that I do not stop and thank God for all the blessings in my life. As fortunate as I am, I feel as if it is my duty to share it with the world. I would love to dedicate more of my time and effort to help others. I would LOVE to get involved in Haiti Relief and of course anything to do with animals! But for now...


My sister Ruthie introduced me to two EASY ways to give back and help out!


1- http://www.thebreastcancersite.com


This is the breast cancer site and you can go on it every day and click a button and it provides a FREE mammogram to a woman in need. According to Breastcancer.org, "About 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime." Hopefully providing free mammograms will prevent this statistic from increasing further.

2- http://www.freekibble.com


This is a website where you can also go on everyday and there is a fun trivia question. If you answer it (RIGHT OR WRONG), Kibble will donate 10 pieces of dog food to a needy dog! 69,605,060 pieces of kibble donated since April 1, 2008. There is also a link on this website to answer a trivia question to donate cat food! 

Please try and do it everyday!
TF

This song has nothing to do with me but...

I cannot related to this song right now, but I love it!
Maybe someone out there can relate to it, if you are going through a hard time.

Enjoy!

Date Night!

Last night, I finally got to go on a date with my boyfriend Cole! We planned to go see Bridesmaids at the Alamo Drafthouse. Little did I know... my sisters and their husbands were doing the exact same thing! Seeing Bridesmaids at the Alamo Drafthouse... one in Dallas and one in South Austin! Sister telepathy I guess?

I had heard GREAT things about this movie and so I was anxious to see it and have a laugh. We got there and sat down and immediately ordered because we were starving! The movie started and literally from start to finish I was cracking up!! I love when a movie can do that for me. I was Maid of Honor for both of my sister's weddings and the only thing that was unrealistic was the fact that the ladies in the movie were so overly stressed about the wedding it drove them nuts! I had a blast with my sisters during their engagements. Whether it was a shower, bachelorette party, or a fitting, I was smiling and enjoying every step of the way. If planning your wedding is THAT stressful... maybe reevaluate doing it ;-) JUST SAYING!

I totally recommend seeing this movie! Boys or girls, everyone will love it!

Here is a clip from a very funny part in the movie! The ladies are headed to Vegas for the bachelorette party and Annie (Kristin Wiig) has a fear of flying, so she took a muscle relaxer and drank!

Real Housewives of Steiner Ranch

I started a summer nannying job with a family in Steiner Ranch. It's a family that I have been babysitting for since I was in high school. It is the perfect set up... all day we either swim or play X-box kinect! Tough job huh? I love it though. I love hanging out with the kiddos and being active all day!

The funny part about the job I have is one of my best friend's Taylor is nannying RIGHT around the corner from me and our families know each other. So hopefully we will get our kids together (Saying that makes me feel like a mom!!)

One of the greatest compliment I have ever received was on my way to South Padre, I was wearing a velour sweatsuit and Taylor's boyfriend Dom saw me and said: "Dang, you look like a Real Housewife," (referring to the reality TV show!) Hopefully nannying in Steiner Ranch gets me one step closer to becoming the next "Real Housewife!"

;-)

Although Scotty was good...

Scotty McCreery, the winner of American Idol Season 10, was extremely talented. But for some reason, I can not get Lauren Alaina's voice out of my head! She was PHENOMENAL! All I can remember is her amazing audition and how lucky she was to get to sing with Steven Tyler from Aerosmith.

One of my favorite videos!

Bieber Fever

The other night I rented Never Say Never from Red Box and I invited some girls over to watch it. I have always thought Justin Bieber was talented and cute but I had heard so many good things about this movie, so I was anxious to see it.

It is a documentary style film that follows Justin around and counts down to his performance in Madison Square Garden. Along with present performances and interviews, it shows home videos and previous performances that Justin did. It was SO good. I didn't stop smiling the entire movie. He is so talented and sweet, there is no way to dislike him. He seems like a down to earth 17 year old boy, just trying to do what he loves.

So to EVERYONE out there that says he is gay or dumb or anything negative like that... I guess you are just jealous because he is AWESOME!!

I definitely have Bieber Fever and I don't care who knows it!

Here is one of my favorite videos of Justin Bieber:

Doggy Day-Care

My brother in-law Jon was out of town and so my bored sister Ruthie came over for a sleepover! She brought along with her, her baby french bull dog Ernie. If any of y'all read her blog, http://ruthiehart.blogspot.com/, you are very familiar with Ernie Hart.

Ruthie had to work the next day, so my mom and I were hosting Doggy Daycare for Ernie all day. His day started out by running errands with my mom. He seemed to love Lowes and the Pool Store. When he got home we tried to get him to go swimming... that didn't work so well.

Ernie didn't leave my mom's side and continued to make us laugh all day! I would say it was a successful day!

TF

Oprah, I’ll be seeing you

Wednesday May 25^th marked a bittersweet day for a lot of people, including me. Oprah aired her very last talk show. We all knew this was coming and the countdown had started but I felt like it came so soon. Ever since I can remember, my mom watched Oprah every day. And once a year during “Oprah’s favorite things” my mom had a party and invited all of her girlfriends over to watch. I always knew who she was and I always knew she did good things, but it wasn’t until I got a little older that I fully understood the impact she had on people’s lives. Whether she was giving away a car, interviewing a drug addict, or congratulating a celebrity on their movie, Oprah remained positive and nonjudgmental every step of the way.

Her last week began with a surprise extravaganza that was planned for her and it was hosted in the United Center where the Chicago Bulls play. There were over 10,000 people there! It started out with Tom Hanks, then Tom Cruise, then Dakota Fanning, then Beyonce… I cannot even name every celebrity and supporter that attended the event. On day 2 the surprises continued. There was Michael Jordan, Josh Groban, Jerry Seinfeld, Will Smith, and Usher (plus many many more). Every person shared a story of how Oprah has touched him or her and how her legacy will live on. It was very emotional and seeing Oprah cry, made me cry.

On her very last episode, Oprah sat with her audience and thanked each person who has every watched her show. She explained how even through the darkness of her childhood and past, she knew that she was meant for greatness and she knew she had a higher calling in life. She proceeded to explain how every one has a calling in life and never stop searching for that calling. It was very inspiring, especially for me, a college student searching for a higher calling everyday. I sat with my dad and watched Oprah and her closing remarks and we both agreed that we had lumps in our throats and tears in our eyes.

I HATE GOOD BYES! But Oprah said this is not good-bye, she said: I’ll be seeing you.

TF

Bad at being bored

I got done with school on May 10, and I moved home that day. When I got home I knew it would be enjoyable because I had a couple weeks off before I started working on May 30^th. Little did I know? HOW BORED I AM!! I am not the type of person who likes to sleep till noon and lay around watching TV all day. I like being busy. These past few weeks I have been so bored! All my friends and boyfriend have been busy with work and such, and so I have been stir crazy. Luckily I start work soon! Some things I have done to fill my time:

1- Organize my room

2- Clean out my closet

3- Go shopping with my mom

4- Watch a LOT of Real Housewives Episodes

5- Organize my room… Again.

I know I should not be complaining and I probably sound like a freak for being bored. I guess I am not meant to have time off. If anyone else is bored out there, this video ALWAYS helps!

TF

Where are your eye brows?

Right now I have blonde-ish hair. My natural hair color is a light brown color. For some reason my eye brows are SUPER light and very scarce. I feel like they don't match my hair or skin tone. So I went on a search for a brown high lighter or some kind of product that could fix my proble,. At HEB I found Color Stay Brow Enhancer by Revlon. It was on sale, so I decided to buy it. It is a pencil type product with the color you choose. I got light brown. I went home and Amalia and I decided to play with it. I put it on, evened out my eye browns, and I loved the results! Here is a before and after picture to see what I am talking about:

 Before & After

It made my eye brows look more defined and clean. I am using it everyday now! Any blondes or girls with eye brow issues, I definitely recommend this product.

TF

Curse you economy..... NOT!!

For the past 3 or 4 years, every summer I have had at least one job lined up. Whether it was working at a smoothie shop, nannying, or teaching swim lessons... I knew that if I wanted "extras" or "fun money", I had to earn it myself.

I'm sorry, but I don't believe teenagers when I hear, "I can't find a job, the economy is SO bad." No... Not true. Lower your standards, maybe you can't get your dream job, but YES there is a job out there. My best friend Amalia had a job lined up for the summer and it unexpectedly fell through, so she went out and literally in ONE day had a job at Palm Beach Tan.

Maybe it is just me, but if I wasn't working, I would be poor and BORED out of my mind.

GO TO WORK!! ;-)


TF

Since U Been Gone?!

Yes... I do realize I have taken a little time off... Ok.. A LOT! Since I have been gone a lot has happened!

I took my finals, finished my LAST semester at Blinn College with a 3.2 GPA :-), moved myself home from College Station, and then... became VERY sick. It has been a lot!

I got home and immediately came down with a fever. Along with a fever came sore throat and nausea. I was 100% sure that it was strep since my boyfriend Cole had strep the week before. So I went to the doctor and the bad news came... It was not strep. It was canker sores in the back of my throat. This is something I am pretty familiar with.

My dad always gets canker sores from stress and he passed that down to my sister Cori, my brother James, and me. I have had to change tooth pastes to a preventative tooth paste that could hopefully reduce my chances of getting a painful canker sore. I have never gotten one in my throat, but my dad says it is very normal. OW! It is so painful and scary that it caused a bad fever and nausea.

Finally one week later, I am feeling a lot better. The canker sores are still there but not hurting as bad (I know this is so nasty!)

Today, I am heading to James Todd's basketball tournament in San Marcos for the night. Go Dawgs!
More and regular blog posts to come!!

TF

Another Tardy Tuned in Tuesday!

WOW! Today is my official last day of my freshman year classes. Tomorrow my finals start! Which is why I couldn't post yesterday... too busy preparing!!

For my Tuned in Tuesday, I want to share a song that gets me pumped up and makes me want to dance. It is called Get on the Floor by Jennifer Lopez ft. Paul Wall. I am a huge fan of her and wish I had her body and her dance moves. She is HOTT! The other night after watching the music video I was trying to practice and do some of the moves... I am not even close to being good....

Anyway, here is the song and I hope you enjoy it!

TF

My New Hobby

The other night, I turned on TLC, (one of my favorite channels), Extreme Couponing was on. It is a show that follows diferent people every week and watches their crazy couponing tactics. People spend up to 60 hours a week clipping coupons and planning for their trips to the store.  A lady bought $600 worth of grocereis and after her coupons were scanned her total was reduced to $6. How is this possible?!?!

Every Sunday, I will skim the paper for coupons and if there is a good one for toilet paper or deodorant, then I will use it. But I have NO idea how people can get over $500 off a bill with coupons. One man on the show explained how he was $17,000 in debt, so he and his wife decided to start clipping coupons. A few years later, they are debt free! My friends and I were thinking about starting to do this. Hopefully I will get good enough to be on the show.... OR NOT!

TF

Teen Mom Let Down

One of my guilty pleasures is reality TV. A few of my favorites are Real Housewives of every city, Teen Mom/16 and Pregnant, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and Say Yes to the Dress. I just got finished watching Teen Mom 2 with Chelsea, Jenelle, Kailyn, and Leah. At the end of the season, their drama seemed to simmer down and we got to enjoy a peaceful and loving moment between Leah and her boyfriend/baby daddy Corey. With their twin daughters, family, and friends we witnessed Leah and Corey getting married. They seemed perfect for each other.

Yesterday I was reading US Weekly and it had an article about Leah and Corey filing for divorce already. It showed the court documents! Tabloids are hard to believe so I got online and did some research. According to Starcasm.net, it is confirmed that they are divorcing http://starcasm.net/archives/95347.

Who knows what will happen? And I am sure people are thinking... Who cares?! Well when you are a reality TV junkie, things like this interest me. So maybe I sound dumb, but I wish them both the best.


TF

RUSH RUSH RUSH!

I registered for Sorority Recruitment for Fall 2011 and I could NOT be more excited :-)

My entire life I have been involved. Whether it was soccer, swim team, dance or cheer, I loved working as a team and having people to hang out with all the time. This year when I went to Blinn, I didn't have that. Maybe I could find a club to be involved in at Blinn but school and work were my #1 focus. Well now that I will be a sophomore and I will be attending Texas A&M, I am ready for some involvement! I want to keep an open mind so I can have the full "rush" experience.

I think if I didn't dot this I would end up regretting it. College is all about trying new things and meeting mew people and I want it ALL!

When it starts in August, I will definitely be posting about it ;-) !

Wish me luck,
TF

Tuned in Tuesday

For the past year almost, I have mentioned to everyone that I really want to watch the movie Space Jam. I don’t know why but I hadn’t seen it in FOREVER and I really wanted to watch it and remember why I loved it so much. I checked Red Box and Blockbuster, but I couldn’t find it on DVD. I was planning on ordering it on Amazon.com. While I was at home this past weekend, I was channel surfing and what do you know… SPACE JAM WAS ON TV! It was on Cartoon Network, so I immediately recorded it. When I watched it, it was as good as I remember. And so in honor of that movie, this week’s “Tuned in Tuesday” is Space Jam by: Quad City DJ from the movie Space Jam. When I listen to this song it gets me hyped up and brings me back to my childhood. I hope it does the same for you ;-)

TF

Happy Easter Blog Bunnies!

Wow! I cannot even begin to explain how busy I have been. All I will say is thank goodness for Easter, because it was a great break to recharge my energy.

On Thursday afternoon, right after class, I drove home to Austin and immediately transferred to my mom’s car. We were leaving right away to go to my lake house. My lake house is located in Kingsland, TX on Lake LBJ. We have a boat, wave runners, and a beautiful beach to relax on. For Easter weekend, we were having a ton of family friends out there. Everyone arrived on Good Friday and we did not waste any time. We all spent the whole day laying out, playing football and bean bags, and riding on the wave runners. It was the exact weekend I needed. On Sunday morning, all of us got up and had to head out to our separate Easter activities. Some headed home to do housework, some went to church, and my family went home to get organized, go to church and prepare for a party we were going to later on. We went to one of James friend’s houses for dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt. We had a fabulous/delicious time.

Even though I am in college, the Easter bunny still visited me this year. He brought me a gift card to get my car detailed ;-) BEST GIFT EVER! Thank you. It was a perfect weekend and I feel very blessed to have gotten to share it with my family, boyfriend, and good friends.

Hope everyone else had a peaceful weekend.

TF

Summer 2011

Never have I ever had a relaxing summer. That gets too boring for me! So for the 18th year in a row, I have a jam packed summer full of school, work, family, and lots of sun!

*School- I will be taking Texas Government as an online class at Blinn College. I was told by the professor of the class to take it at Blinn over the summer because it is cheaper and easier ;-) Also, late in July I will be travelling to A&M for my New Student Conference, where I will be registering for Fall classes.

*Work- For the 3rd year in a row, I will be teaching Private Swim Lessons in my back yard. My sister Cori created this business when she was in high school and then she passed it onto Ruthie and then she passed it onto me! It is a great way to make money, get some sun, and help a ton of children along the way. Along with swim lessons I will be nannying twice a week. I am a college student!! I have to make money.

*Family- The only vacation I am going on this summer is to Chicago to visit my family. My mom and dad were both born and raised in Illinois and met each other at Illinois State University. Two years after I was born we moved to Texas. So this summer we are going up there to visit my dad's side of the family... I am very excited!

Hopefully sometime this summer I will find some time to kick back and relax a little bit... but what fun would that be?!?!

TF

Here are some pictures from last summer... GOOD times!

Mooooovie Night

Every Thursday, a group of girls and I go into our movie theater downstairs in my apartment complex and have girls movie night! We started this a couple weeks ago and it is quickly becoming a regular Thursday night tradition.

The first week we watched Burlesque. For any girl who hasn't seen it, I would recommend it! It is a fun musical with a cute story line. I love Christina Aguilera, so I love it!

The second week we watched Love and Other Drugs. This movie is not as upbeat or lighthearted as Burlesque. It is about a bitter young woman with Parkinson's disease who doesn't want a relationship with anyone. Then she meets a young, hott pharmeceutical sales rep (Jake Gyllenhal) and warns him not to fall in love with her. I am not going to tell you the ENTIRE movie but I would reccommend it to ADULTS... too much "love" for the kiddos eyes.

Then we watched Inception. Amalia had seen it before, thankfully, because it is very confusing! It is a very bizzare and twisted movie and I am not going to try to see what it is about. But definitely see it... it makes you think and anything with Leonardo Dicaprio in it is a good time!

Next it was Tangled! It is a new children's movie about the story of Rapunzel. It is so cute and good for all ages.

As I have said before, I LOVE movies :-)

TF

Senioritis already?

Last semester I worked really hard and I got a 3.6 GPA. I was planning on applying to A&M for Fall 2011 and after my first semester, I was sending in my grades and hoping for admissions. Well, I got in!! Like I had posted before, I received transfer admissions for Texas A&M as a Communications major. When you transfer to Texas A&M your credit hours transfer but not your GPA which could be a good thing or a bad thing!

It is good because if you did poorly on a couple of your classes, you can start fresh at Texas A&M in the fall. It is a bad thing because if you worked your tail off to get a 4.0 those grades would not transfer. Since I have already gotten into A&M, my spring semester grades really do not matter. I am required to meet a 2.5 or higher... EASY!

This is a GREAT thing to be able to relax a little this semester. But a dangerous thing to lose some of my motivation, since my grades do not matter. DON'T WORRY DAD! I am not shooting for a 2.5 and slacking off. I am still working hard and studying a lot, but it is nice to have that 2.5 minimum to fall back on ;-)

Keep pushing college students!  Less then one month away till we are done.

TF

A Somber "Tuned in Tuesday"

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10 

This past weekend one of Cole’s good friends and teammates Collin Buteaux passed away in a fatal car accident. I have looked online to find details or a news story but they are not available yet. He was a student and football player at Blinn College in Brenham, that is where he and Cole became friends. Then this past semester he transferred to Navarro Junior College to continue playing football there. I had the pleasure to hang out with him a few times and everytime I was around him he made sure to keep everyone laughing.

Here is a picture of Cole (Left), his friend Ricky (Middle), and Collin (Right). This was during summer school and summer practice in 2010 when the boys were so sore and tired that when we went to Wal-mart, they had to use wheel chairs!

While I was thinking about losing someone, I stumbled upon the song “There You’ll Be” by: Faith Hill. It was a song used in the movie Pearl Harbor and the lyrics are very appropriate for the loss of Cole’s dear friend.

Keep Collin Buteaux and his family in your prayers. Here is his web page that was created after his death to allow people to post pictures and memories about Collin.

In Loving Memory of Colling Buteaux 

TF



MyTube

When it comes to videos/movies, I am an expert. Ever since I was a little girl, my Gramma always tells me... I would always ask her to watch "Moomies (aka Movies.) Now that Youtube has become so popular, I have discovered a few videos that are my absolute faves and I wanted to share with everyone. (Most of these come from my sisters sharing them with me)

1- Baby scared of Mom blowing nose

2- Guilty Dog!

3- Ares trying on shoes (this is actually my sister Cori's youtube page, she is video taping her "nephew" Ares.)

4- Baby Falling asleep on couch

5- Britney Spears on Drugs

6- Erica Ross

7- "Saturday" Parody

8- One Man Disney Movie