Parents/Grandparents Visit me!

This past Friday, my parents and grandparents had planned on coming to College Station to visit me and take me out to lunch. My mom is the only one who had seen my apartment before, so I was really excited to show it off. The night before I clean swept the whole room: did dishes, emptied the trash, sparkled, dusted, etc. Finally I went to sleep, barely able to close my eyes because I was excited to see my family. Early in the morning, my boyfriend Cole arrived. He had a 6am workout for football and he came to College Station straight after. So we ate breakfast and got ready and around 10a, my parents and grandparents arrived. After the immediate hugs and kisses, I introduced them to all of the front desk workers. We took a tour of the entire apartment. I showed them the private theatre, fitness center, computer room, recreation room, tanning salon, cafeteria, and then upstairs to my room. They LOVED it. My Gram and Papa had never seen a dorm look so nice. Amalia and I were very proud! After catching their breath from the gorgeous room, my mom, dad, Gram, Papa, Cole, and I loaded up into the car and headed out to lunch. On the way to lunch I showed them the apartment complex I would be living in next year. We went to lunch at Fish Daddy's. For anyone who has never been to Fish Daddy's is it a casual seafood place with good prices and GREAT food. There is one in Austin and one in College Station, I don't know of any other locations, but I do reccommend going!

After a delicious lunch and a toast to celebrate me getting accepted into A&M, we headed back to my dorm and said our good byes. Before we left my mom gave me a present: A bunch of A&M stuff and the new movie Due Date!

I love visits from family :-) free meals and gifts, could it get any better then this?!

TF

I would like to thank...

Since there are so many great things going on in my life right now, I wanted to do a blog post and talk about a few very important people in my life and tell you why they mean so much to me.

Dad- SO incredibly hard working. You always Encourage me to be the best person I can be every single day. It takes a great man to raise 3 daughters so well. I love you daddy ;-)

Mom- One of the most supportive and openminded people I know. You always help me understand situations from every perspective. You have become one of my best friends who I feel comfortable telling anything to.

Cori (married to Jacob)- My oldest sister who is also one of my best friends. You give me your honest opinion on everything, even if it might not be what I want to hear. You give great advice that always helps and you can always make me laugh. I can always count on you. 

Ruthie (married to Jon)- My other sister who is my other best friend. I have often referred to you as my "voice of reason." You always help me make decisions or give me guidance through others. I am going to be an Aggie just like you, which is special. You are also always there for me. 

Love you both Sissys!

James (AKA Buggie)- My wittle baby. My 12 year old brother, who acts grown up but is still my baby. You are one of my role models because you have taught me how to be a better person. You are so mature and smart for your age. I know your tough athleticism and brains will take you far in life. I am proud of you in everything you do, and I know you are proud of me.

Kelli Ho- My only dog I have ever had. You are my 3rd sister and have taught me a lot. I love playing with you and watching you do all your funny things. Love you Ho girl.

Cole- Not many people could go through what you have and come out on top. You have a strength that I wish I had. The way you care for people is so deep and genuine, it makes me feel lucky to have you. You are ALSO one of my best friends and can always make me laugh. Love you doll!

Amalia- My besttttt friend and rooomieee 4 evaa. We have been togeth for SO long it is crazy. I am so happy to be with you through the "college experience." I would never want anyone else as my bunk mate. Thanks for being there for me and showing me the way through a lot of things. I can always count on you. Thanks and gig 'em.

As you can see, I am a lucky girl. I have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life. If I listed everyone who means something to me... it would take probably 1,000,000 blog posts.

I hope everyone has a great evening and thinks about those who mean most to them!

TF

I hate to say it... Beware of The Puppy Store...

I am cringing as I say this but... Cori, you were right all along.

Ever since I moved to College Station, I fell in love with the puppy store. Obviously you know that, if you read my previous post about loving the puppy store. My sister, Cori, always tried to persuade us to quit going because that store was full of diseases, but we never listened.

Well last week, Amalia and I went to the mall. We browsed in a couple stores, picked up some cheap stuff at Forever 21, then we, of course, made it to The Puppy Store. We held some pups, really cute ones of course! And then we left, because this was the weekend we were going to go home to Austin so Amalia could get her tattoo. When we left, Amalia developed little bumps on one of her wrists. They looked like little zits all on her wrist. She immediately got nervous, because it resembled staff infection. So the next day she went to the doctor in Austin and got the news....

She had picked up Scabies from the Puppy Store. It is a virus that animals can sometimes carry if they are not kept up properly. Amalia received cream and medication and she will be just fine. Later that day she called The Puppy Store to alert them that one of their dogs is carrying a parasite. They were rude and defensive and did not believe a word she was saying.

So as of right now, we won't be going back to The Puppy Store anytime soon.

Click here to learn more about what Scabies is
http://www.medicinenet.com/scabies/article.htm

Have a blessed day,

TF

BIG announcement to make...

I MADE IT INTO TEXAS A&M!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

I found out on Sunday night some of the best news of my life! I logged on to my Texas A&M application file and I saw that they had communicated a decision to me. I anxiously clicked on the link and saw the good news... "You have been accepted to Texas A&M for Fall Admission in to the College of Liberal Arts."

My senior year of high school, I applied to A&M and I got denied. So I decided to go to Blinn Junior College and transfer in after my first year. I worked really hard last semester and applied in January for transfer admission for the 2011 Fall semester. I just had to wait and wait and wait... and finally, I got my answer!

So I will begin the Fall semester as an Aggie and as a Communications major. I couldn't be happier or more blessed.

<3
TF

VERSA spa!!

LADIES!! We have all heard how terrible tanning in the tanning bed is, but we all do it or have done it in the past, because at most apartments it is free and it is convenient. But I have a safer answer to getting tan. Two words--- Versa Spa.

I first heard about this at my sister's bachelorette party. Two of her friends, that live in College Station, were showing off their tans and telling us all about their "Versa Spa." They have them at Tiki-Tan Tanning Salon here in College Station. It is a spray tan done by a machine, while you are standing in front of the machine. You get sprayed at every angle of your body, not just front and back like a "mystic tan" does. You can choose between 3 shades: light, medium, dark. I was told there was a $10 off coupon online, so I decided to try it.

I went to Tiki-Tan and redeemed my coupon for a "Dark" shade Versa Spa. The total came out to $15. I entered the machine and got sprayed down. After the 50 second spray and dry, I exited and could tell I looked tanner. You have to wait 6 hours until you can shower. So I waited and watched my skin get darker and darker. Finally after I showered I saw the final result. TAN and pretty! And the best result yet... I didn't damage my skin!

So ladies, hit up Tiki-Tan on Wellborn or Harvey Rd. and do the Versa Spa! Here is a link to Tiki-Tan's website to download the coupon, just in time for Spring Break ;-)

http://bcstanning.com/

Platinum Ink... One of the "weirdest" places in Austin

This past weekend Amalia and I decided to go home to Austin and take our east Texas friend Sarah with us. We were ready to tear it up and show Sarah a good time. First item on our list... Amalia decided she was going to get a tattoo! She had thought about it a lot and decided to get on her foot: Love conquers all in italian (because she is an italian guida!) We got home to Austin and we were getting ready to go. Amalia decided that she wanted to get her tattoo done at Platinum Ink. Platinum Ink is a tattoo/piercing shop in Austin, famous for their $15 body piercings on Sundays. We left and headed for the tat shop! I was getting nervous, but Amalia was very calm. We went in and Amalia gave her idea to the tattoo artist, paid, and signed all the papers. Her tattoo artist's name was Chaos and we could tell he was gonna do a great job. After waiting a little while, we finally went back into the room and Amalia was sitting in the "operating chair". I was definitely getting anxious and nervous for her, but I didn't want to show it and freak her out.

The needle turned on and my heart dropped. I do NOT like that noise! Amalia was so brave and didn't even cringe! I was very proud of her :-) It took about 5 minutes to do the whole thing and the finishing product is gorgeous!

Two days later, on Sunday, Sarah decided she wanted to get her belly button pierced. So we headed to Platinum Ink for the second time! Sarah paid the $15 and nervously sat in the other "operation chair." The piercing artist tried to calm her down and pierced her belly button quickly! She barely cringed and was also very brave.

All in all, it was a great weekend and successful trips to Platinum Ink. If anyone needs a piercing or tattoo, go to Platinum Ink!! To be honest, I felt a little left out for not getting any ink or piercings! Who knows what will happen in the next couple weeks ;-)

Frat Boys...

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people disrespect other people. Where it is through verbal or physical action, I don't like disrespectful people. Since I was a little girl, I have tried to follow the golden rule: "Treat others the way you want to be treated." Why can't everyone follow this?

My most recent example of witnessing disrespect included the floor of my dorm and a group of Fraternity boys. One Thursday night, it was late and I had just gotten back from babysitting. I was greeting my roommates when all of a sudden we heard a loud bang from the hallway. We rushed out there to see what happened and we came to find a group of 4 fraternity boys: dumb and intoxicated. They had punched holes in the hall and knocked down a hanging "EXIT" sign. Stunned to be witnessing what just happened, we asked what they were doing. Through their drunken slurs, they explained to us that they can do whatever they want because they pay to live here. My roommates and I explained how unfair that is because now the workers are going to have to repair the frat boy's stupid mistakes. They replied to us, "Who cares? That is their job. We pay money so they can repair this stuff."

After hearing this, I had to step back and think for a minute. 2 thoughts went through my head:
1- Do their parents really send checks to "repair holes" or pay rent?
2- I hope they get caught and are forced to repair the hall way.

Is this what the world is coming to? Is this what the men of my generation are going to be like? How can people be so disrespectful?!!! If it is not your property, don't mess with it. PERIOD.

Final word to the frat boys, girls are NOt attracted to ignorant, drunken boys with immature behavior!
;-)

TF

Buyer's Remorse Sucks

I was beginning to think about my upcoming Spring Break Trip to South Padre and decided to try on all my swimsuits from last summer and take inventory of how many new items I would have to buy for this season. Fortunately, a lot of my tops were TOO small. And this is a wonderful excuse to buy new swimsuits! So I went to the mall and dragged my boyfriend along with me. While he was sitting on a chair playing on his I-Touch, I spent at least an hour trying on every suit they sell at Victoria's Secret. After narrowing it down to two bathing suits, I finally left the dressing room and made my way to the checkout.

The first one was a black bikini with built in push up! The second one was a blue patterned bikini that was so fun and cute! I am checking out and whipping out my debit card, so proud to be making this purchase, when all of a sudden, the cashier said: "Your total is $150.46." My jaw dropped.

How could two bathing suits be $150?!
&
Why did I spend over an hour trying things on and NEVER check the prices?

So I, confused, asked the worker why the total was so much and he told me the top of the black bathing suit was $50. BUMMER! As much as I loved it, I knew it would be dumb to buy it. So I only got the blue patterned one for a total of $57. I left Victoria's Secret a little dazed and confused but still happy that I got one.

After I left the mall, I started to doubt my purchase. 2 swim suits is not worth $150, but is 1 swimsuit worth $57? So 4 days later, I took the walk of shame back to Victoria's Secret and returned the swimsuit. $57 was deposited back into my checking account.

I hope you are proud of me Dad...

Study Study Study

Since my roommate Emily was sick as a dog with the flu (poor thing!!), we decided to leave the dorm and head to the Medical Sciences Library to study for the night. My best friend/roommate Amalia and our two friends, Kaylie and Sarah, began our trek to the library. From our apartment it is probably a mile away, and since it was a gorgeous evening, we decided to walk.

Amalia always studies at the library and I never understood why she couldn’t just study in our room at her desk? But now... I finally know why! We arrived and I immediately liked what I saw: Huge building, big windows, bright lights, tons of computers, and a lot of QUIET people. We went to the front desk and rented laptops and rented out a study room, so if we wanted to talk we wouldn’t disturb anyone else. I had a Spanish and English test to study for. I can honestly say, I have never felt so productive as I did at the library. I did all of my homework and then some. I studied for both of my tests for a long time.

In conclusion, I would recommend to anyone who is looking to create new study habits, go to A library. It doesn’t have to be the Medical Sciences one, there are many to choose from. Being at a new location, other than your apartment is nice so you get a change in atmosphere. So if you hate your roommate, cant study because your TV tempts you too much, or simply are just looking for a way to shake your study habits up, definitely head to one of the facilities that A&M provides. You will be happy you did.

Chuy's Tex-Mex!

Like I said, I am from Austin and we are known for many things: Live music, 6^th street clubs/bars, and the cool “hole in the wall” restaurants you can find all over the city. One of the most famous restaurants in Austin is Chuy’s Tex-Mex. It has a cool atmosphere, nice people and great food. When I moved to College Station, it was a bummer that I was leaving Chuy’s behind in Austin. Little did I know, but construction was in full force and the College Station Chuy’s was scheduled to open in February of 2011. As we counted down the days and our mouths began to water at the thought of tortilla chips and jalapeno ranch dip. Chuy’s finally opened on February 2, 2011. I did not go the first week it was open, because it was WAY too crowded. But the following week, I went two days IN A ROW! People of the legal age really enjoy Chuy's due to the great Happy Hour prices and specials. So if you haven’t already, head out to Chuy’s Tex-Mex located on Harvey Road in Post Oak Mall parking lot, (you can’t miss it!)

TF

P.S. It IS as good as the original Chuy’s in Austin!

http://www.chuys.com/

That's what I love about Sundays

I went to Grace Bible Church this past Sunday. After hearing so many good things about it, I wanted to try it out. I went to the 11am  “College Service” and I could tell, immediately, that this church was great, based on how many people came pouring in through the doors. We entered and the service began. It started by worshiping through modern Christian songs, ones that I was familiar with. Prayer, readings, and a relatable message from the pastor followed singing. It reminded me of my old church in Austin, where I was confirmed. The only bad thing about my experience at Grace was the air conditioning being broken from the day, which obviously will be fixed! Besides that minor hiccup, my experience was an overall positive one. I would definitely recommend it to anyone (especially college students) and I can’t wait to go back!

TF

http://www.grace-bible.org/home.aspx

Busy=BETTER

Maybe it is just me, but I feel like college students do better, the busier they are. For my first two semesters, I have taken 17 credit hours; (this is 5 classes, two of which have a Lab credit hour.) I didn’t necessarily want to take that many hours but A) Since I was trying to transfer and B) I figured I could handle it at a Junior College, I registered for them.

Along with school, I am also a nanny. My sister met this family of 4 kids at church and she babysat for them when she went to A&M. When she graduated, I came in and took over. I normally work between 15-25 hours a week for them.

As you can see, this keeps me very busy… but I LOVE it! My dad always says: “Tomi works best when she has to schedule in study time.” And last semester, I proved him right. I ended with a 3.6 GPA and this semester I want to do even better.

So although I am very busy, I am thankful for it because if I was only taking 12 credit hours and not working, I would be bored and probably slacking in my classes!

Just something to think about... <3

TF

Valentine's day

Today is Valentine's Day, and everyone is feeling bipolar about this holiday. If you go onto facebook, you will see 100 status's saying: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY or I love my boyfriend! or Thank you so much for the flowers and chocolate baby. Then you see 100 other status's saying: Happy Single Awareness Day or I hate valentines day!

Why do you have to be either REALLY HAPPY or really sad about valentine's day? Maybe you don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend to share it with or even a crush to try to impress, but this holiday is about love! Love your friends, your family, your teachers, or the staff at your apartment. Take this special day to show people how much you appreciate them. Like in elementary school, when you were required to get everyone in the class a valentine. Let's go back to that, and bring back the fun to this holiday!

Hope everyone had a great day <3
xoxo

TF

College Station Puppy Store

One of my favorite past times here in College Station is the infamous Puppy Store! It is a store located in Post Oak mall where little puppies are sold. You can find all kinds here: huskies, pomeranians, chihuahua's, pit bulls, chow chows, anything! My favorite are the pomeranians, because they are so tiny.

So you go into the store, they make you sanitize your hands and then you can start holding the puppies. The employees walk around encouraging you to buy them or take the little guy home, but most of the time we just came here to give some loving to them!

There are two downsides to these puppies:
1- They are very expensive
2- Most of them probably came from a puppy mill and so they probably have diseases.

check out this website to learn a little more about puppy mills/stores:
http://www.barkrescue.net/puppymills.htm

Although they could have diseases, it isn't the puppies fault!
So if you are ever in CS, go to the mall and stop by the puppy store ;-)

Cyber Bullying... not cool

After a long day of school and a long night of nannying, I went over to my friend Gabby's house. While we were there, she received a phone call telling her to look at this guy (from high school's) Facebook Status.

It reads: "Tomi Fanning used to be skinny."

Three thoughts immediately popped in my head:

1- How has he seen me...? We aren't friends...This is creepy!
2- Does he really have NOTHING else he could be doing right now besides this?
3- What would his mother say, when she sees he is disrespecting women?

After my initial shock wore off, I was upset. Not at what was said specifically but the fact that people are allowed to post things like this about other people and get away with it. This is the type of behavior and bullying they talk about on the News and on Dr. Phil about how "Cyber Bullying" needs to stop. I, myself, had never experienced it and now that I have... it sucks!

I live my life treating people the way I want to be treated and striving everyday to set an example for people and lead with class.

To address gaining weight, when I was in high school I had a 12 year old body.... no curves, no shape, no "womanly figure". My senior year of high school, my body started changing and maturing and so that is how it is now. I almost find it comical that people who I don't know nor have any interest in knowing take such an interest in my well being.

Bottom line, to everyone, don't ever post mean things on Facebook, or things that could be perceived as mean if you are on the other end. Go back to kindergarten and learn that if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all!

I am looking forward to a great weekend with some great people!
<3

TF

FIRST blog ever!

So I decided that life as a college student is SO exciting that I want to document it and share it with friends and family! Also, since I am majoring in Communications and might go into Broadcast Journalism, I thought it would be a fun/cool way to get experience with this kind of stuff! 


In this first post I am going to tell you more about myself...


My name is Tomi (yes that is my real name!) 
I am from Austin and love it! I have the best family. My parents Todd and Jimi are so loving and supportive! I have two sisters named Cori and Ruthie, who are both married, one little brother named James and a puppy named Kelli Ho. I have been dating my boyfriend Cole for 2 1/2 years. I live with my best friend of 15 years, Amalia, in a dorm. Like I said I am a freshman in college. Right now, I am at Blinn Junior College but I am transferring to A&M in the fall :-) I go to school and I nanny a couple times a week for a family here in College Station (LOVE THEM! I will probably be talking about them a lot on here)


 I am looking forward to the next four years and excited to see how everything turns out for me.... And blogging about it along the way ;-)


Well 1st post DONE.. Gotta go, time to babysit! 


Make it a great day!
TF