To the Girls Living in Our College Apartment

To the Girls Living in Our College Apartment,

Welcome to Stillwater, Oklahoma, the happiest place on earth!  And welcome to that little two bedroom apartment with dark green carpet, a couch named Snuggles, and wood paneling.  It's not fancy.  There are no granite counter tops or marble shower or hard wood floors.  Moving in this time of year is hot, humid, and kind of miserable. 

But that little home on Duck Street holds many a memory for me, and I can only hope that when you dawn your cap and gown and walk out that screen door to your graduation, you can say the same.

Some of the most fun moments I've ever had started in that house.  College Roomie became my best friends.  The epic Calf Fry weekend of 2006 began in that living room.  Law school acceptance letters were celebrated.  Beds were jumped on.  Hangovers were nursed.  Tornadoes were avoided in the bathtub under a mattress. A natural gas explosion nearly occurred.  Half of the ag college did homework there.  We sold electricity to tailgaters out the back window.  BFF slept a lot on Snuggles. Icing was eaten out of a can.  More than once.  Lots of 21st birthday candles were blown out.

Some of my most heartbreaking days occurred there as well.  It was there I got a phone call that my brother's 15 year old best friend had been killed.  And it was there I went to mourn the next day when one of my dearest friends and his father were killed in a separate accident.  What we thought was love turned out to not so much be.  I watched the coverage for hours in St. Peter's Square as Pope John Paul II was dying. Those walls saw lots of tears, heard lots of prayers, and offered a place for healing.

So, take care of that apartment for us, will you?  Enjoy your time there.  If you'll let her, she'll help shape who you are and prepare you for where you're headed.

Welcome home (and don't leave the gas on....),
Tiffany

Worth The Read/Listen

I've collected a few great blog posts, articles, and a song for your listening pleasure!

*  Opening Up.  My friend Lori wrote a beautiful blog (click here) about raising her sweet son who has some developmental delays.  She is honest and loving and this post is just beautiful.  There is one line in there that just rang so true with me and that I think everyone should read and think about.  "I believe that my son sees things differently because the world needs people who see things differently...Your kid is exactly who he or she needs to be - and maybe together, all of our 'different' kids will take the world in a 'different' direction that it truly needs to go."

*  We Said Yes Too. This article (click here) was written by a Catholic mama who has suffered multiple miscarriages.  She discusses how she has to deal with judgment and negative comments because she does not have more children.  I've had good friends who suffer with judgment for the opposite reason, folks thinking they have too many children.  The bottom line is that we never know what someone is going through and instead of commenting or judging, we should just be loving and supporting them.  Period.

* 5 Years, Yo.  My sweet College Roomie recently celebrated the 5th anniversary of her first date with her husband.  I am proud to have been a part of their meeting.  She did a great job of telling the story of that fateful meeting and following first date.  It's hilarious and I'm a genius.  To read her blog, click here.

*  Jayton and Jill.  Zane Williams has my very favorite song right now called Jayton and Jill.  I love everything about it.  The music, the story, his voice....everything.  When I went to go pull a video so you guys could listen to it, I learned that he wrote the song after taking 10 random words from his fans and putting 9 of them into a song.  The words?  121 North, Bearcats, Jill, Oil, Ephesians, Jayton, sarsparilla, flamboyant, 4th of July.  He couldn't make the 10th word (roller skates) fit.  Amazing!  Give it a listen here.

Happy 30th to.....

....the Pinky to my Brain, my other half, best running buddy, skating partner, favorite roommate, matron of honor, and best friend.

You break my canister lids, burn the popcorn, color code your closet, read for hours, are not a lake person, sit in silence, threaten to sneak out of our house when I send you to bed, eat strange items on your pizza, encourage me to run faster to get pictures of the naked people, suck at ice skating, let me eat the leftover food from your dates, want to pick up hitchhikers who don't know the words, and puke in the bathtub (because it's cleaner than the toilet).....and I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything.

I am sure glad you were born 30 years ago today, and that somehow the quiet bookworm ended up sharing a basement dorm room with the loud mouth football fan.  Couldn't have worked out much better.

What a ride.....our husbands should probably be worried about what we'll pull in the next 30 years!

A Tribute to our Alma Mater

The girls and I sort of have a signature photo.  A tribute, of sorts, to the school that brought us together.  We've taken this picture in a variety of situations.  Drunken nights at the Copper Penny.  Wine tasting trips in Napa.  Post-half marathon races.  On top of Lombard Street.  At birthdays.  Bachelorette parties.  And, as of late, the post has appeared at a lot of weddings. 


Homecoming - Stillwater - A long time ago...



Girls Weekend - San Francisco  - 2008

My birthday weekend - Albuquerque - 2010

Half Marathon Weekend - San Francisco - 2012

LOKG's Wedding - Tulsa - 2012

College Roomie's Bachelorette Party - Santa Fe - 2013



BOKG's Wedding - Oklahoma City - 2014



My Wedding - New Mexico - 2014

I'm a believer in the idea that you find your best friends at college.  These girls are the reason why.  Go Pokes!

A Running Picture

Today I'm linking up with Ladie Okie for the monthly runner's link up.

When I saw that the theme for this month was "A Running Picture," I knew right away what photo I would be selecting.  There was really only one option.

Bay to Breakers 2010.  A day that will live in infamy.

Allow me to set the stage.  College Roomie and I wake up crazy early and ride the bus downtown.  You then stand in line with tens of thousands of people who are mostly dressed in crazy costumes and randomly throwing tortillas in the air.  Then when the gun goes off, you begin the 7.5 mile run from downtown San Francisco (the bay) to the ocean (the breakers).  Along the way there is a literal party in the streets.  People cheering and drinking at 7 am.  Folks hosting house parties and waiving from their balconies.  Many people doing multiple things that would be illegal on a normal Sunday morning.  But anything goes for Bay to Breakers.

Including nudity.

We were maybe a half mile into the race when it happened.  We saw our first naked person.  Old, hairy, yucky, naked person.  Who was ironically wearing a hat.  I screamed to College Roomie, "OMG, there's a naked person up ahead!"  She said, "Go, go get a picture, I will catch up."  At this point, I begin sprinting all out to get up close enough (but not too close because ewwww) to snap a photo.  And so I did.  I ran as fast as my little legs would carry me.

The photo itself is not blog appropriate.  But here is our reaction afterwards.

The best part of this whole scenario is that 7 miles later at the finish line, we had seen so many yucky naked people, that it just wasn't that exciting any more.  Turns out we didn't have to sprint off to catch that first guy because there would be many more just like him.  Old, hairy, yucky, naked people.  Fun fact for you:  It's never the guys you want to see naked that are running naked.

And so there you have it.  A race picture and a story.  And a recommendation that if you want to run what is absolutely, hands down, the most fun run of your life, sign up for Bay to Breakers 2015.  You won't regret it.  (To read my full blog on the event, click here.)

Throwback Thursday #64: OSU Mock Trial Team

My senior year of college, I was on the mock trial team.  We weren't very good, but man alive did we have fun.  And made some great friendships with people who I otherwise might never have known at OSU!  After getting to see one of my teammates last week for the first time in about 8 years, I realized I had to share some pictures of our major mock trial trip!  We went to a tournament in Dallas in the spring of 2006.  We won a round or maybe two.  College Roomie won an award for being one of the best witnesses in the competition.  And I kick myself for not having a blog then to remember all of the funny stories.  It was a great experience with even better people!

The team at Regionals

We may not have been Olympic material...

Team Dinner

Little bit of a flat tire adventure.

We may have been better here than in the courtroom.

College Roomie and I

Girls and the skyline

College Roomie, Trey and I
 

Skating at the Galleria

 



So....what do we say kids?  Team reunion??

 




Retiring a Holiday

For several glorious years of my life, the last weekend of April/first weekend of May was a major holiday.  The incomparable Calf Fry in Stillwater, Oklahoma.   Live Red Dirt music.  Dancing.  Drinking.  Laughing.  Pancakes at IHOP at 3 in the morning.  Our favorite security guard, Wally.  Forgetting about upcoming finals.  Friends.  Fun.  A house full of people sleeping it off.  The great outdoors.  Usually mud was involved.  It was everything good.

 

First Calf Fry - 2004

Funniest night of my life - Calf Fry 2006

Three of my best friends from high school - Calf Fry 2005

Talk about looking young....BFF and me....2004

He was very excited - 2006

The New Mexicans - 2006 (night 1)

Happy couple - 2006

Meeting Alex Weeden

2006...the girls who stayed in our 2 bedroom apt (plus the guy taking the picture)

2009-ish?

Trailerpark Bryan made friends with the afro - 2006

We all got the white memo.

Calf Fry 2006 pre-party

Calf Fry 2004 - The NM crew

And now, 10 years to the day after my very first Calf Fry, I think that it is time I finally retire the holiday.  I'll do so with memories I will never forget.  The funniest night of my life, hands down, happened there.  While in college, we blew off finals, snuck out of a relay for life, and pulled vehicles out of mud to get there.

Some of my favorite quotes and inside jokes happened on these weekends.  "You saw nothing!"  "If you throw pickles at him, he'll stop playing."  "But the Australians liked us on the real world!"  "I don't know the guy on the couch, but make him leave before you do and don't let him steal the silver wear." 

There was great music.  Chris LeDoux.  Miranda Lambert.  Daryl Worley (who was equally cool in Ihop when Cole announced him to the restaurant).  Cross Canadian Ragweed about 100 times.  Jason Bowlin.  Eli Young Band.  Randy Rogers Band.  Everything good.



So, you crazy college kids, I'm giving her to you.  You've got big shoes to fill.  Lots of fun to live up to.  Great memories to make.  Don't waste the opportunity.  Do us proud.