Thursday, October 31, 2013

{October Recap}

I just realized that it has been a month since my last post.  Clearly I am not so good at this whole blogging thing.  October was a crazy busy month...lots of places to go & people to see so here's a recap {be prepared for a picture overload}.
 
The first weekend in October was the Washington County Relay For Life.  I was the team captain for the Blue Bell team & in the end, we raised $7900 for the American Cancer Society.  Relay changed things up this year: it was held in October instead of April & it was a 6 hour event instead of 12.  I personally loved the changes & hope they continue doing this in the future.  My team was awesome & participated in most of the games...and kicked butt!  I mean, how many people can say they are the Cheese Ball Throw Winners?!?  GREAT job Brenda & Lisa!!

 
The following weekend, I joined several other member's from St. Paul's Church & we {ok, mostly them...but I was there helping & that's what matters, right??} built wheelchair ramp #50 for the Texas Ramp Project.  It rained for a while & we got soaked, but it's definitely a rewarding experience to be able to do something like that for those less fortunate.   
On October 20th, several friends, family members, & I participated in the Graffiti Run in College Station.  Nothing like having to get up at 6am on a Sunday & freezing your butt off {temps were in the low 40's}, but it was So. Much. Fun.  I had colored powder in places I didn't know possible & my tennis shoes are now permanently pink...but we definitely want to do it again. But ladies - we have to definitely work on the cool socks and/or outfits for next year!
 


I also had the honor of being on the 2013 Camp For All Gala committee.  My sister-in-law was one of the event chairs so she suckered my friend Carol & I into decorating for the event {just kidding Amanda! I really did enjoy it}.  The theme was Celebrating the 80's & despite all the hard work and a lot of stress - we had a blast!  And yes, we broke out the crimping iron...check out that hair!! =)  They raised LOTS of money for a truly remarkable organization. I was able to tour the facility for the first time a few months ago & they really do amazing things there. 
  
 Aggie football was still high on my priority list during October.  Unfortunately, it was a month of ups & downs {which seems to be the norm for us Aggie fans}.  We pulled out a very close win in Oxford against Ole Miss, but weren't as lucky the following weekend with our 41-45 loss to Auburn.  I was about to start going thru withdrawals when a friend offered my cousin & I tickets to the Vanderbilt game on the 26th.  It was a beautiful day for football & thankfully it wasn't near as stressful of a game as the previous few.
And - last, but certainly not least - the most exciting thing that happened in October is that I FINALLY signed the contract on my new house!!  I am still not sure when construction will begin {hopefully in the next month or two}, but this was a huge step.  I cannot wait to go pick out all the fun stuff like paint, brick, tile, etc. & I definitely can't wait to actually start building.  It is hard to believe that it has already been 5 months since I sold my house & moved back in with my parents. It really & truly has not been bad, but I am so ready to be back to town!  I am definitely a "city" girl.
We are heading into my most favorite time of the year...I absolutely LOVE the holidays {except gift buying - I hate that part because I suck at it}. I am sad that I am not going to have a house to decorate or to host a Christmas party at...you can bet my tree would be going up this weekend if I did! ;) November also brings our road trip to LSU & December brings my trip to NYC.  Lots of fun & exciting things coming up so be sure to check back soon!! I am going to try & do better at posting...promise!!  Happy Halloween & trick-or-treating!!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

{On The Road Again...}

Everyone knows by now that I LOVE Aggie football.  There is nothing quite like game day in Aggieland.  But, our move to the SEC means some pretty awesome road trips.  Fortunately, I am friends with a group of ladies who love Aggie football as much as I do so as soon as the 2013 schedule came out, the planning began.  Last year, we visited Ole Miss {which we loved}.  On the agenda for this year: Arkansas & LSU. 
 
This past weekend, we traveled to Fayetteville to watch the Aggies BTHO arkansas & it did not disappoint.  We left Friday morning {with enough stuff to last us a month...even though we were only going to be gone 3 days}. 
10 hours & lots of potty stops later - we arrived in Fayetteville. We checked into our hotel & then headed to campus to check out the football stadium & assess the parking situation for game day. Fayetteville has an area along Dickson Street which is much like Northgate in College Station - lots of bars & restaurants - so we headed there.  After supper and drinks at Grub's Bar & Grill and a stop at a bar called Lit, we headed to Springdale for Midnight Yell.
Saturday was game day!!  Unfortunately, there was a 70% of rain predicted for that afternoon/evening.  Major disappointment because I was REALLY hoping for some "real" fall weather while we were there.  No such luck.  After spending a few hours downtown Fayetteville, we headed to the stadium to tailgate.   


Right on cue, at about 2:30, the rain began.  And, it rained. A LOT. So for 2 hours, we hung out in the Student Center. Not quite the afternoon of tailgating we had planned.  Finally at around 4:30, it slowed enough for us to head to the Blue Bell tailgate for about an hour....RC Slocum even stopped by for a while!  Kickoff was at 6:00 so we headed into the stadium around 5:30. Nice stadium & awesome seats! 
 

Fortunately, we had a break from the rain during the first half of the game.  The Aggies scored on their opening drive & it looked like it might be a runaway.  Until Arkansas answered by scoring on their first drive.  In true Aggie fashion - we lived on the edge of our seat & really didn't know if we would pull it out til the 4th quarter.  Unfortunately, the rain returned in the second half so the last 2 quarters were pretty miserable.  Thankfully we pulled out the win so it made it all worth it!
 

 
 
It was an awesome trip!  I am so very fortunate to be able to do things like this.  The older I get, the more & more I realize just how short life is & how I need to enjoy it each & every day.  And that is what I am doing.  Thanks again ladies for another memorable road trip & I cannot wait til LSU...52 days & counting!!