Hawaii

So in case you are the one person on earth I didn't tell, I went to Hawaii last week with Taylor and our friends, Matt and Stephanie. A-mazing.

Minus the sunburn that attacked me on our first day. It looks like I had an allergic reaction to the sun. Is that even possible? Who knows, but the wonderful splotches and inexplicable tan lines sure are lovely. I found out that the UV index in Hawaii is 10+. That's 10 more than Texas. I felt like Wall-E when he is flying through space and charges up by the sun. If you haven't seen Wall-E yet, please do so now so I don't sound like too much of an idiot.

That night we also went to a magic show. We were a little skeptical about it at first, because let's be honest, it's a magic show. Those can get pretty hokey sometimes. During dinner though, the magician came to our table and wowed us with a few card tricks. We were sold after that! He didn't disappoint in the main show either!

On our way to the magic show!

Of course no trip to Hawaii is complete without doing the touristy things like visiting Pearl Harbor and the Dole Pineapple plantation. Pearl Harbor was especially special. I'm no history buff like Matt, but even I could appreciate the magnitude of such a memorial. We had a good time learning some of the details of what happened that day and exploring some of the artifacts left over. The greatest sight that day was absolutely the Arizona memorial. I would go back to Hawaii just to see it all over again. While we were there, we got to talk to a few Pearl Harbor survivors. Old men are funny in general, but these old men were also badasses. One of them, Herb, even had his own stack of Oreo cookies that he took everywhere with him.

Taylor and I in front of the Arizona memorial

Herb liked to "take pictures with the pretty ladies"

After Pearl Harbor, we visited the Dole Pineapple plantation. This place is not only where they produce a ton of pineapples, but it's also the home of the World's Largest Maze.

I've decided I don't like mazes. Taylor and I had fun though trying to find the different checkpoints. Trying being the key word.

The next day we decided to go snorkeling on the North Shore of the island, but unfortunately we picked the wrong day and the wrong beach. It was so windy and rainy. I gave up early because my lips started to go numb from all of the salt water I kept inhaling. Talk about gross.

Taylor kept exploring though and got to see some exciting remnants from past beach visitors. Things like towels, sunglasses, and tires (?) of course. He did see one fish though, I can't wait to see the monster once he gets his underwater film developed. After we unsuccessfully snorkeled for a couple of hours, we returned our gear only to have the rental guy tell us we chose the wrong beach.

I wasn't too worried about it though, because I was trying to regain feeling in my lips still.

After the snorkeling "adventure" we got back to our hotel and got ready for the Luau that night. My suggestion to anybody considering a Hawaiian vacation--if you don't like coconut, just don't go. That is their favorite addition to anything they serve you. I'm just not a fan! The dancers at the Luau were pretty neat, there was even a NINE year old flame twirler. I'm sure that's every mother's dream for her child. And there was even one of Taylor's potential flight instructors from Del Rio right across from us at dinner!

On our last full day, after Taylor and I took Matt and Stephanie to the airport, we rode on a catamaran (sailboat) around the island. It was so peaceful and gorgeous. We got to meet a funny old man who trades the captains on the boat burritos and brownies for free rides whenever he wants. What a life, huh?

This trip was so much fun! I got to spend almost an entire week with Taylor on a beautiful island in the Pacific Ocean with great friends. I got to experience some history and some new foods, and I got a memorable sunburn. I wish I could go back right now!

Oh, a funny story! I can't count the number of people who asked Taylor and I how long we had been married or if we were on our honeymoon. Talk about awkward. I guess that's what happens though when you visit a family resort. It was pretty entertaining to tell people that no, we weren't married or anywhere close.

And because I don't like to take myself too seriously, here's a picture of me on our last day in Hawaii with my birthday present from Matt and Stephanie, complete with terrible sunburn. It was too sweet of them to get me floaties!

Twin-Tee Won!

In case you missed it...

I'M FINALLY 21!!

I can't believe the day finally arrived! It was such a special day spent with two of my favorite people, Vic and Sarah. After I got off work, Sarah and I went shopping for some fun Hawaii clothes and then we met Vic at Cheddars for some Happy Hour margaritas! (My favorite by the way) Then sticking with tradition, we headed to Northgate to have some more fun! I couldn't have a big blowout because I had to wake up the next morning and drive to Austin for my last day of teacher certification training (woo!) So we left Northgate at about 7:30 p.m. They should have given us the early bird special! It was good though because we missed the big Friday night crowds!

I am so thankful for family who also happen to be great friends. Vic and Sarah made me feel so wonderful!

I feel like I've waited for this day for SO long and now that it's finally here I realize that it's not any different! I mean, sure I can order drinks now at dinner but I'm still a big dork.

I guess being 21 also means I'm officially an adult now. WEIRD.

Although, asking for Disney's Princess & the Frog for my birthday probably negates that whole fact so we're still good.

Whenever my birthday rolls around, I always reflect on the past year. And I think 20 was pretty darn good!

First of all, NO SPEEDING TICKETS!

I got to visit DC!

Taylor still loves me!

I got my Aggie Ring!

And I had a blast in between!

I wonder what 21 will bring? Hopefully graduation and a big girl job! I can't wait!

Confessions

Because I like to keep it real, I thought I would post some "confessions". These are just a few things over the years that I have done and have no idea why. And I think they're funny. And I like to laugh at myself. Because I think I'm hysterical.

1. When I was 10 I was grocery shopping at Wal-Mart with my mom and decided that I needed some lipstick. Trying to deter me from my purchase, Mom told me that I would have to pay for it myself. (I am my father's child-usually this threat works.) I wanted the lipstick SO badly though that I actually did attempt to pay for it with my own money. Along with a bag of skittles. The cashier said my total was something like $1.50 and the only thing my 10-year-old brain could think was, "yeah! what a great deal that lipstick was!" Then I got my receipt and saw that she had only charged me for the skittles.

I stole lipstick! I felt so bad about that for DAYS. And then again when I left my hijacked lipstick in the car and it melted. I don't think I ever wore it anywhere but the house. I do remember that it smelled delicious and tasted weird.

2. I locked both sets of my mom's keys in her car. At 10:00 on a school night.

Because I was 15 and TOTALLY needed a set of my mom's car keys in my purse.

It was the night before a pep-rally at school and I was trying on my cheerleading outfit to make sure it still fit from the week before. (honestly, I don't know why I needed to try it on.) I needed my shoes to complete the outfit, but they were in the car with the rest of my closet. So I went outside to get them and put my mom's set of car keys on the passenger seat while I looked for my shoes. Then I pressed the "unlock" button for the back door which actually turned out to be the "lock" button. Then I shut the front door and discovered my mistake. Dad ended up having to call a locksmith to drive TWENTY miles out to our house to unlock it and paid something absurd like $150. Which of course came out of my savings. And then I got the extra set of keys taken away.

3. When we were little, I used to play "cars" with Jesse. We had this big plastic mat that was an entire suburban city. Complete with Fire Station and grocery store. We had several different types of cars that we used to play with: the bigger ones that you could open the doors on, the tiny matchbox cars, and some random plastic ones. At the beginning we would line them all up and then take turns choosing the ones we wanted. Somehow I ALWAYS talked Jesse into letting me choose two at a time.

I think it all ended up fair though. If I so much as even got near one of his cars while we were playing, he would say my name just loud enough and just in the right tone for mom or dad to come in and make me go play somewhere else. Turd.

I'm sure there are a million things I'm missing, but honestly there's not a whole lot I got away with when I was younger. I still don't get away with anything. My entire life has been trying to figure out a way to dupe my parents and almost 21 years later...NOTHING WORKS. Maybe I should have spent all those years telling the truth.

Although, I probably wouldn't have all of the weird LBMM stories now if I had.

Also, here's a picture that I had taken last weekend while I was at home. Yes, it's a picture of me, but I don't have kids or pets and this blog really is all about me. Sorry.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

I have this problem. When I go shopping, I always find so many pretty things that I want. I know how hard it is to resist the temptation of simply buying them all, so I rarely try things on. If I do happen to try something on though, I talk myself out of buying it for one reason or another. Then I force myself to leave the store thinking to myself how much willpower I have shown. Then I get home and kick myself because I look at my closet and all I see are jeans and t-shirts. (I'm the kid that always whined to my mom, "BUT I HAVE NOTHING TO WEARRRRR." It's a never ending cycle!

This past week I did just that. I found this really cute tube dress at Old Navy that would be perfect for Hawaii. It was even on sale! So I tried it on, and yes, it was a little long...but I have learned to overlook and deal with things fitting like that. It turned out to be really cute on and so I of course debated whether or not to buy it. In the end, I walked out of the store empty handed. Regretting it, I decided to go back to the store the next afternoon and go ahead and buy it. They didn't have my size anymore so the store ordered it from a different store in Houston. It arrived today and I have to say...

I don't like it as much anymore. I don't even know when I'm going to wear it after Hawaii so it's going to just sit in my closet like half of my wardrobe already does. I've already decided to take it back.

So the moral of the story is, if it's not worth it the first time, it's probably still not worth it the second time.

Oh and second lesson learned today. I need some self-tanner on my legs ASAP. I can't remember when these things saw the light of day!

Pretty Faces, Pretty Places

These are just a few of my favorite memories from the past couple of years. I have had so many adventures and they just keep getting better and better.

Some Highlights:

The people. Every single one of the people in the video are special to me. Obviously, or else I wouldn't have let them in the video. DUH.

The places. Most of these pictures came from Texas, Colorado, and all the miles in between. With a quick detour to DC of course! The memories from these locations are ones that I will have with me forever.

The song. I'm a music fiend, snob, weirdo...whatever you want to call it. I spent 15 minutes picking a song for this slideshow because I like songs that have meaning and go perfectly with my mood or in this case, the mood of the pictures!

You don't have to tell me how weird that is, because I'm already painfully aware.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy! And if you were with me in the making of some of my favorite memories, I love you.

p.s. not sure what's up with the sound. but I spent 20 minutes uploading it...so it stays like it is. :)

Warning: Side effects may include over sharing.

Are you all ready for a slice of LBMM's life? I know you're your fingernails are suffering in anticipation hearing about all of my new adventures so I'll just go ahead and get started.

The past two weeks for me have been...long. We'll just go with long because really it doesn't seem like February was just last week. I wake up every morning and think to myself, "SURELY it must be at LEAST April by now." Then I realize that I'm an idiot.

Anyways, a couple of weekends ago I went home to Frost to visit my family because I knew how ridiculous March was going to be for me and that I wouldn't get to see them until April. So when I get there on Friday, Jesse was laying on the couch mouth-breathing in the middle of the afternoon. He had come home from school early because he had a sinus infection. As it turns out, EVERYONE in my family had sinus infections.

The family that gets sick together stays together apparently.

Now, I only get sick a couple of times a year and when I do, it's a sinus infection. If someone else has a sinus infection within a 10 mile radius of me, I'll catch it. So needless to say, I was thrilled to be spending all weekend spraying Lysol on everything I touched. I started to feel the tickle in my throat on Sunday night. Then we had the wonderful weather change of the century that I'm sure helped speed things along. Finally by Tuesday night there was no denying that I had a sinus infection. (If you're still reading, congrats. I know how gross this is. Just keepin' it real.)

On Wednesday morning I went to the doctor because, let's be honest, I am the world's biggest baby E-V-E-R when I get sick. I need whatever will help me get better a.s.a.p. and OTC drugs usually don't cut it. I told the doctor my symptoms and that I had just spent the weekend with the Infected, so he examined my throat, stepped back and said, "Well, it looks like strep."
"Is it?"
"Well who knows, but it looks like it is."
I know my student health fees are going places, man.
So he gave me an antibiotic that would, "knock out whatever it was," and sent me on my way.

Luckily, the next day in class I had three rather lengthy assignments due. Which meant, strep or not, I had to go to class. I got everything turned in and then slept for the next 36 hours straight. No lie. The one upside to being sick is having the excuse to sleep whenever possible. Mmmm, sleep.

To be honest, I've been sitting here for almost 5 minutes trying to remember what else I did in the past two weeks. I actually think most of it was spent sleeping.

I discovered sushi! I had it once before while in Colorado but I was suffering from not getting my way that day and refused to enjoy myself. I can't believe I just admitted that.

Anyways, I feel like my world has opened up and I'm constantly suggesting reasons to my friends to go again soon.

Due to the length that this post already is, I'll sum the rest of my activities up in a list!
1. I got my oil changed. I like to keep things adventurous so I went about 7,000 miles before I finally got it done.
2. I had approximately three meltdowns due to my calculus homework. WHO'S idea was it to make that class mandatory? We need to have a talk.
3. I avoided fast food for two weeks. Until today, when I forgot to pack my lunch for my 8-hour teacher training.
4. I ordered my cap and gown and my invitations. Now, let's just hope I can pass my calculus class. All jokes aside, I'm seriously extremely worried about it. I work and work and work on all of the problems and I make it through the homework only to BOMB the tests. I don't understand where I'm going wrong. Just make the test questions like the homework! So, if you don't mind, I would appreciate ALL prayers for this class.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to focus all of my attention on The Incredibles.