5 Years Later....

"The hardest part of saying goodbye is having to do it again every single day. Every day we face the same truth that life is fleeting that our time here is short and to honor the fallen we must live our own lives well." - OTH

Five years ago the world was turned upside down. I still remember that feeling. In two days, my brother's best friend, one of my oldest friends, and my friends father were all killed in two tragic car accidents.


Grief is a strange thing, and even five years later, I don't think it's something that ever goes away. So remember, life is short. Tell the people who matter to you how much you care about them. And please don't drink and drive.





Please keep the Garcia and Downey families in your prayers this weekend. I know it's a hard time of year for all of them.

"All The Single Ladies...." GUEST BLOG by Lyndse!!

"Think about it. If you are single, after graduation there isn't one occasion where people celebrate you. ... Hallmark doesn't make a "congratulations, you didn't marry the wrong guy" card. And where's the flatware for going on vacation alone?" ~SATC

Today's guest blog is by my dear friend, Lyndse! We met at OSU (shocking, I know) and she is honestly one of the funniest, sweetest, most amazing people I know! She's one of the foursome of girls I love to have girls weekends with every year. She always writes the cutest emails, so when she said she wanted to guest blog, I was super excited. She didn't let me down!

So.....drumroll.....here's Lyndse!

Let me just start off by saying that I am very excited to be one of Tiff’s guest bloggers, since I live in Oklahoma and do not get to see her very much, I look forward to reading up on the latest adventures of Tiff. That being said, I couldn’t think for the life of me what to write about, my life is nowhere near as exciting.

Then it came to me when I was checking my mail. I got the normal stuff, bills…blah, something for someone named Lisa (not me obviously) and two invites to a baby shower. Two invites to a baby shower!? How can this be? When did we become the age where we are getting invited to weddings and baby showers, not to mention bridal showers, bachelorette parties, etc.

Two things about this bothers me: One, that I am getting older (I turned twenty-five this year, yes I had a pity party, and no I am still not over it) and Two, this is yet another thing that I have to buy for. Yes, I said it. That I have to buy for. This probably sounds selfish but please understand this is not the point I am making. I am very excited for my friends that are having babies, for those who have already had babies and those that are getting married or have gotten married. Congrats!! Yay!! Couldn’t be happier for you. However, all these weddings, showers, and babies are getting expensive for me. I am a single woman, who is now on a budget. Who invented a budget anyway? It’s really for the birds (another soapbox, another day). Why is it that we are only allowed to register for things when we’re getting married or having a baby? I have a house, I need or should I say “want” things, why can’t I register? It’s really only fair, don’t you think. I do not think that I have to become joined with one for someone to buy me a blender or five for that matter. I would like to get pots and pans, towels, and fancy dishes that I will probably never use. Why does it have to come when I get married? I think us, young, professional, successful, single women who are on our own, buying houses, out in the world making a name for ourselves, and getting older should be able to register. For example, turning twenty-five seems like a momentous occasion maybe one that would require a registry, just throwing that out there!

Maybe I am just jealous that I can’t go to Target or Bed Bath and beyond and take one of those fancy guns, and scan any and everything that I need or think I need. I really am excited for my friends that get to register, really I am. And as for those baby showers, don’t worry, I will get them a gift, after all I do like to shop…its where that whole not working well on a budget comes in : )

(Our fabulous Girls Weekend 2008!)

Throwback Thursday #1: Traveling to Switzerland!

"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose." ~Kevin Arnold

So I enjoyed the idea of having themed days for the blog, that I've decided to do Throwback Thursdays. Let me explain. I was going through pictures from Europe trying to figure out which ones I want to get prints of. I thought, I sure which I had blogged while I was there so I would have that to look back on! That got me thinking....I can blog about it now.....while I still remember everything! So...Thursdays will be a throwback to the European post-bar Adventure that was. :)

Here goes day 1..... Picture it. Sicily...1947. No, just kidding.

It was Friday morning, July 31. I had finished the torture that was the bar exam on Wednesday. Spent all day packing and doing laundry on Thursday. My dear friend College Roomie stayed over to take me to the airport at the crack of dawn. I flew to Houston, where I met up with my cousin Whitney. We then flew to New York City. Well, Newark to be exact. We had a little layover before embarking on the 8 hour flight across the pond.

(Here we are....definitely post-long plane flight, but we didn't take pre-picture!)

We got on this HUGE plane...there were like 9 seats across and it seemed to go on forever. They played movies, so that was fun. They also fed us, real meals...they weren't too bad!

(Picture of the plane)

(Lasagna for dinner!)

They even had this really cool map so you could see exactly where you were flying. I was amazed to think that at this point in the picture below, I was closer to Africa than I was to home!

We flew at night, which I think is the key to a long flight. It's dark and cool, they turn off the lights, you can go put your pj pants on and cuddle up in your seat. Then, you FINALLY arrive at your destination!

(I know this is horribly unflattering, but I want you to have the full effect)

(Geneva airport...welcome in English, French and German)

After we got our bags and met up with my Cousin Swiss Mister, we rode the train from Geneva to his home, traveling along the shore of Lake Geneva. We got a great view of the Swiss countryside.

(My dear cousin who was our host)
(Swiss countryside from the train)

Then we arrived in the tiny village of Cully (pronounced Cooey) where we would be staying.

(Tiny little street in Cully, Switzerland)

(View from Sean's apartment back door)

Then it was time for a little nap before our adventure fully began....

Day 2 will follow next Thursday---it's a hike around Cully and a boat cruise on Lake Geneva for Swiss National Day! Stay tuned....

Where do they go??

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." ~ Galileo

Pencils. Highlighters. One sock. Glasses.

These things in my life seem to mysteriously disappear, like a lot, and I just don't understand where they go. Please notice my annoyed face in the picture.

I mean really---how does a sock go into the washer (and I know it does or else it would randomly be in my laundry basket or on the floor) and not come out? Huh? And you never lose a pair---like I have three single socks I have lost a match to. Why don't I lose a pair that matches? I wouldn't even notice. But no. Never happens.


And how is it I can go through like 10 pens a week at work? I know they stay in my office, but are they on my desk in the little holder where they are supposed to be at the end of the day? No!

Now some things I lose frequently and find. And anyone who has ever lived with me, or even been at my house in a morning knows that I frequently engage everyone present in "Tiffany's Lost Item of the Day." Usually it's glasses. Those suckers seriously move around when I'm not looking at night! Sometimes the object of the game is the remote control. Sometimes my keys (although I have a hook now that helps). Once, in college, I lost my glasses for like 3 weeks. I found them...in my shoe.



I know this wasn't very philisophical or meaningful, but I was just really annoyed at this today and figured, why not blog about it? That's what it's for, right? So, now I'm off to go match up socks. Cross your fingers they are all there...

My Dr. Phil cousin says....

"To dream anything that you want to dream. That's the beuaty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed." ~Bernard Edmonds

So this weekend I got to go to Houston and visit my cousin Kevin. He's the one next to me in the blue jacket. He's one of my favorite people.....don't anyone tell him I say nice things, the last thing he needs is a bigger head! Anyway, we had some good chats this weekend, and he decided to impart some old person knowledge to me. He kept referring to himself as Doctor Phil, so I decided to stick with that for the blog title. He'll be impressed. He was insistant that he was far deeper and philosophical than I thought. I totally didn't buy it.

Anyway, part of his analysis really sort of hit me between the eyes. I figured I'd share. Maybe some of you can relate.

So we had been having a conversation about life and what we want and all of that jazz.... Anyway, on the second day of my visit, I was yapping about wanting to eventually live in a small, quiet town and have a few sheep and cattle. He looks at me and says, "Tiff, you have no idea what you want. You've been here 2 days and have talked about 5 different lives you want to be living. It's a good thing you're not married, because you don't have a clue where you want to go."

As much as I hate to admit it, he's totally right. I don't know what I want----one day I want to go down one road, then the next day, I'm thinking I want head down a completely different one. I dont' think this is a bad thing at all.....I think it's a sign of me being a person who is generlly happy in situations and knows I could be happy in several different places. Also, maybe that's why I'm not married. If my cousin can figure this out about me, I'm pretty sure God knows I am a big confused ball of dreams and maybe that's why my Mr. Right is lost somewhere in a forest. He's wondering around waiting for me to get my head on straight.

Crazy to think I get all this from a cousin trying to prove to me he could be deep and serious. Who would have thought?

Garth Loves OSU Too!

"You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due on Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does..." ~Tom Petty

Garth Brooks was recently a Homecoming Marshall at OSU. He was inducted into the OSU Alumni Hall of Fame. He gave a wonderful interview about why he loves Oklahoma State and how he wants to give back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJFX6TK84to

I am sure some of you (okay....most of you) get sick of me talking and blogging about Oklahoma State. But let me explain---when you have such great experiences somewhere, you cannot help but want to tell everyone about it. If you were going to make a movie about what college should be like, that would have been my three years. I just feel like everyone should be as lucky as I was to have this experience.

While I was in college I learned so much more than the material to pass an ag econ test. I learned who I was, how to be on my own, where I wanted to go, what real friends were. I learned to sing the alma matter, learned to wear orange on Friday, never to take a 7:30 class, and that free pancakes at midnight for a week are not good for the waistline! I learned what it was like to make my own decisions, how it felt to succeed at something I never thought possible, that I could meet and become friends with a huge variety of people, and what it meant to be proud to be part of a school. I could go on and on.

I know that OSU is not the only place to have a great experience....but I think it's the best place! Garth apparently agrees. I knew I liked that guy! :)

Forgetting the Cell Phone....

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." ~Confucius





So I recently left my cell phone at home one day. That meant about 12 hours of no phone for Tiffany. You know what? I liked it! I didn't have to worry about answering texts quickly or who was calling or who I needed to call.....it was peaceful! This got me thinking....




Made me think of the other two times in my life I've had no phone service for a long period of time--my cruise to Mexico and my journey in Europe. Also great. When we got back, I almost didn't want to turn the phone on!

When I was working (i.e. playing) for the summer in San Francisco, they gave us blackberries to use for the summer. I hated that thing too. I carried it around but never used it, unless I needed to see where we were meeting for drinks on the weekend!

Sometimes, I wonder if technology has led us in the wrong direction. Why is it when we forget our phones or blackberries or whatever, there is a peaceful feeling? And you know what? When I got home, it was kind of exciting to see who called during the day. Like a big surprise! Maybe these are the little things in life we lose by becoming so much more sophisticated.

Now---all that said---you guys know I love to talk on the phone! So please don't think I'm telling anyone not to call me. I am ALWAYS ready for a good chat!

First Weekly Guest Blog by College Roomie!

"The media tends to report rumors, speculations, and projections as facts...How does the media do this? By quoting some "expert"...you can always find some expert who will say something hopelessly hopeless about anything." ~Peter McWilliams


I'm so excited for the first guest blog! Several of you have talked to me about doing this....so you should! Just email me something by Thursday night and I'll put it up! :) I fear my friends may be more interesting than me and everyone will want guest blogs all week, but I will cross that bridge when I get there!

The first guest blog is one of my best friends....College Roomie! We have known each other since high school, but she thought I was stuck up. Then we were roomies for three glorious years at Oklahoma State, where she saw the error of her thinking. :) So......drum roll please.....HERE'S COLLEGE ROOMIE!!

I’ll preface this by saying that in general I’m a pretty laid back person. I don’t like conflict, arguing, or even ruffling feathers. If I’m annoyed by something, I’ll typically keep it to myself. But when I was expressing a current burr in my side to Tiff, she said that I should write about it on her blog. So here goes: every time I hear someone say anything about the economy or about the swine flu (which I really prefer to call the H1N1 virus--poor piggies), it makes me want to scream. Both of these things are serious issues, and it is not my intention to undermine either one of them. But I’m tired of hearing about it. Wash your hands frequently and don’t spend money you don’t have on things you don’t need. Oh and enough about Michael Jackson. I blame the fact that all three of these topics have been exhausted on the media.

I want to end this on a positive note. The holidays are just around the corner. Cold weather clothes (scarves!) are fun. And we live in the best country in the world where we can practice (or not practice) the religion of our choice, come and go as we please, and (guest) blog about whatever we want. And I personally need to remember these words of wisdom from some unknown source:



(Clever bar advertisement from San Francisco Girls Weekend 2008)

The next time you feel like complaining remember: your garbage disposal probably eats better than thirty percent of the people in this world.

Mother Theresa's Daily Prayer

"Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting." ~Mother Theresa

(photo I snapped of one of the frescas in the Vatican)


This was Mother Theresa's daily prayer. I would probably know more about her, because I bought a book of her daily writings off of Amazon. However, it never got to me. Apparently someone stole it off my doormat. I hope they learn something from reading it!


Dear Lord: Help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me, but only you, O Lord! Stay with me, then I shall begin to shine as you do; so to shine as to be a light to others. The light, O Lord, will be all from you; none of it will be mine; it will be you shining on others through me. Let me thus priase you in the way you love best, by shining on those around me. Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to you. Amen.



(Photo of Pope John Paul II that I took in the Vatican)

And do you know what?

"We shouldn't feel the need to apologize for depriving other people of the fairy tale." ~ Better Single Than Sorry

I'm really not this jaded, so nobody worry about me! I relly do plan on getting married, so keep an eye out for my Mr. Right! However, I think this is funny! :)

Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl "Will you marry me?" The girl said, "NO!"

And do you know what?

The girl lived happily ever after and went shopping, dancing, camping, drank martinis, always had a clean house, never had to cook, kissed whomever she pleased, in fact, did whatever the heck she wanted, never argued, didn't get fat, traveled more, had many boyfriends, saved lots of money, and had all the hot water to herself. She went to the theatre, never watched baseball, never wore fricken lacy lingerie, had high self-esteem, never cried or yelled, felt and looked fabulous in sweat pants, and burped, swore, and farted whenever she pleased.

THE END!!

I'd Like Better

"Enjoy yourself. These are they good old days you're going to miss in the years ahead."

(My dad and brother)
Paul Harvey writes:
We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches, I really would. I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated. I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car. And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen. It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep. I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in, I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom. If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books. When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head. I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole. I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend. I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle. May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays. I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

(Branding last Thanksgiving...home sweet home!)

What's Cooking?

"I don't like food that's too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture, I'd buy a painting." ~Andy Rooney

So I realize this will shock no one.....I'm totally non-domestic. I never really learned to cook. I blame my mom who would try to teach me, only to end the conversation with "STOP eating that before it's ready and get out of my kitchen!" Sorry mom, you know it's true. In fairness, I don't know how moms get food on the table for a family every night after work. I'm exhausted and it's just me!But, I have discovered a few really good recipes and thought I would share pictures of a couple.

First: I love this magazine! It's seriously like cooking for dummies! Most cookbooks use tons of ingredients I have never even seen in the store, tell you to do things I have never even heard of, and take forever! Not Kraft's Food and Family Magazine. This thing has easy, healthy meals made from normal ingredients. And they are really good! (I should hit them up for some advertising money!) You can also get the recipes online. http://www.kraftfoods.com/

Okay....my recipes. These are Southwest Chicken and Rice Wraps. These are actually not from Kraft....I got them out of a coupon book. I know, classy. Anyway, if you want the recipe, hit me up!

Here is Slow-cooker Lasagna. http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/slow-cooker-lasagna-114123.aspx Best part is you can throw it all together in the morning and it's done when you come home!

I haven't made this one in a while, but it's good in the winter. Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie. http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/grams-chicken-pot-pie-108692.aspx When I make it, I only put half the cheese they call for--otherwise I think it's too cheesy.

This is one of my favorites---it sounds a little wierd, but trust me. BBQ Cheddar Chicken Roll-Ups. http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/bbq-cheddar-chicken-roll-ups-113612.aspx Of course, I add some green chili.....

So....here are just a few things cooking in my kitchen. If anyone has any recipes to share, I'd LOVE to have them! So feel free....

Every woman should....

"If you're gonna screw up, do it while you're young. Older you get, the harder it is to bounce back." ~Winston Groom

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to...

something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

a youth she's content to leave behind....

a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....

a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

one friend who always makes her laugh...

and one who lets her cry...

a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal, that will make her guests feel honored...

a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to fall in love without losing herself..

how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...

when to try harder...

and when to walk away...

that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

how to live alone...

even if she doesn't like it...

whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...

where to go... be it to her best friend's kitchen table.. or a charming Inn in the woods... when her soul needs soothing...

What she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month...and a year...

It's more than homecoming....

"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away, but a generation of Cowboy memories live forever!" ~2008 OSU Homecoming theme

....it's coming home!

I write this post with a heavy heart..... because I'm not going to homecoming this year. I know, I know. But I had just missed too much work for weddings and fairs and funerals, so I am going to have to wait until next year to enjoy the orgnized chaos that is an OSU homecoming!

You guys that have never been have NO idea what you are missing! It is hard to even explain and the pictures won't do it justice. OSU has the nation's greatest homecoming celebration! Here's a rundown, complete with pictures from prior years.

First things first, they dye the fountain in front of Library Lawn orange. LOVE IT!

And we all go out and pretend we never had to leave the happiest place on earth!

Friday is Walkaround. It is something like 70 thousand people invading campus and the surrounding area. The sororities and fraternities do "house decs" made by "pomping" that are unreal. Pomp is taking the little bits of tissue paper and sticking them in chicken wire. They end up looking like this:

Then early Saturday morning is the parade that goes through downtown Stillwater.

And, of course, there is the big game! GO POKES!!

I think that a story about my last journey to homecoming sums it up. My friend Miss Missouri, her brother Mark, and I were driving in after having flew in and met up in OKC. As we were pulling over the rolling hills into town, Mark (who graduated and moved away like 5 or 6 years earlier) saw Stillwater and said, "It sure feels good to be home!" And that's OSU..it's more than homecoming, it's coming home!

BREAKING NEWS: Guest Blog Friday!!

"My friends and I live a life that most would love to read about, but we will never write about."

So, I have decided that at least for the next month or so, I'm going to have Guest Blog Fridays! This means I want my friends to write a blog entry for me! It's gonna be fun--it can be short and you can write about whatever you want!

So.....I'm looking for volunteers! Especially those of you who have been subjects of prior blogs! If I don't get any, I'll start harassing you! Several of you are on my list.....College Roomie, BFF, SoulMate Friend, Connie J., Little Brither, Gonzaga Friend, Teacher Friend...it's gonna be fun!!

First Guest Blog will be next Friday, Oct. 23 by....College Roomie!!