"This is where the cowboy rides away...." ~George Strait (title of the tour we went to this weekend!)
What a weekend I just had. I am pretty sure I am going to be sleep deprived for a month and that I gained 10 pounds. I also discovered that I am officially old when a wild and crazy weekend involves more Tums than beer. Yep. I'm that kid. (Not that I had any chance to escape this fate thanks to my genetics and a Daddy who is constantly carrying around a bottle of Tums and saying, "Don't worry, I'm packin' heat.") Anyway, let's chat about the weekend, shall we?
Thursday
Yes, when you are on sabbatical from the working world, weekends begin on Thursday. :) I have said it before and you'll hear it over and over again on this blog, but I have THE best friends in the world. Hands down, no question, don't even try to convince me otherwise. It's just the truth.
Last Thursday night, College Roomie and McCain picked me up to go to dinner at this restaurant that College Roomie has been raving about (no, seriously, she has an obsession with the sopapilla burger). So off to dinner we go, me dressed in flip flops, jeans, and a black shirt and hoodie. I'm yapping about something and not paying attention (shocking to know one who actually knows me) and I see my friend from law school and her husband. I think to myself, "What a coincidence they would be here too!" Then I glance over and see someone who looks a little like my friend Miss Texico. I looked back and it was Miss Texico. Being super bright and observant, I say, "Everyone I know is here!" Finally, it dawned on me.....everyone I knew was there for me!
Yep, College Roomie threw me a surprise going away dinner. It was just the best. I loved having so many of my friends from this chapter in my life together in one place. And she totally fooled me. I had NO idea, which was amazing because Brett-Brett and Mrs. Texas were in on this and both managed to keep a secret...a small miracle in itself!
Friday
Well Aunt Delta Dawn, Queso, Cousin Whitney and I were supposed to ride the Tram and cross that baby off my 30 by 30 list. But guess what? Closed for maintenance. Grrr. I'm not meant to ride that tram. The last time I tried, I had plans of taking this boy from Texas, but the State Championship basketball game got in the way. Guess I'll try again in a couple weeks!
What did we do instead? Packed my house. Cousin Whitney, God bless her, is a sort of packing genie. You've never seen someone be able to fit so much stuff into a box. I'm pretty sure had she not been here, I would not have been able to move. No, seriously.
And then, it was time for the main event. The King of Country. That's right kids, we hit up the George Strait "This Is Where The Cowboy Rides Away" Tour. And it was awesome. Like, there are no words kind of awesome. I'd seen him before, but honestly think this concert was 10 times better. He played a lot of old songs, which are totally my favorite. We had THE best time, and I couldn't have gone with a more fun group of ladies!
Waiting to get into The Pit
Best. Aunts. Ever.
The whole crazy group!
Me and Cousin Whitney
Me and my sweet friend who I hadn't seen in like 8 years!
This lucky b*%&# has THE best job in the world....hang out with him all day, stand behind him all night, and get paid for it!
Packed house.
George and Martina sang Jackson....maybe my favorite part of the night!
Saturday
Saturday morning brought College Roomie's Bridal Brunch. It was absolutely beautiful!
The hostess caught me poking at these and said, "Honey, you can eat them, they're real."
Donut Kabobs....genius!
All the un-married girls stayed away from these quiches....
Our lovely bride opening gifts.
Me and Aunt Jewel
Love this one!
Some of the loot.
The bride and the mamas.
Me and the sister of the bride. :)
The bridesmaids (minus Mrs. Arizona)
After that, poor Cousin Whitney and I packed for the rest of the night. She is THE BEST and somehow we managed to get my house all packed up and ready to move to Texas! I couldn't have done it without her. Well, here and the 90's country Pandora station. That stuff's pure gold, kids!
Sunday
Sunday begins the epic road trip to Texas with College Roomie. I say epic even before we leave because roadtrips of the past of held broken down vehicles, heart attack scares, and orange juice from the carton. We're crazy like that. To read her take on prior road trips, check out her blog here. No doubt you'll hear all about this one soon!
As you all know, I'm in the midst of a major life change. I have closed one chapter of my life and I'm looking forward to stating a new one in June. For the next two months, however, I plan on enjoying life as an unemployed gypsy! My days will consist of painting and decorating a new house, visiting lots of friends and family, helping with my family lamb sale, a George Strait concert, a half marathon, a trip to Europe, San Francisco with the parentals, two bachelorette events, and College Roomie's wedding. I'm tired just thinking about it all!
I feel like this may be one of those times I'll look back on in 40 years and think, "Man am I glad I had those experiences!" And, so, in light of that, I've decided to try and get back into my photography habit. I will be taking at least one photo a day for the next two months to capture this time in my life. And, obviously, I'll be sharing these with all of you!
So, without further adieu, here is the first week in pictures!
Saturday
Moving Cows
Old Friends
Sunday
Easter Feast
Monday
West Texas Windmill
Tuesday
Gran's Windchimes
Wednesday
Spring Has Sprung
Thursday
This is not artistic, but I forgot to take a picture of the day until I was
having ice cream at 9:00 at night with Cousin Whitney and the pharmacy
school girls!
"I live for the simple moments, the moments that make me smile, the moments that take my breath away, the moments that make me cry, but the moments that mean the world to me are the ones spent with friends...all the remember whens, and the times we finish each other's sentences, every second we spend together, are the ones that I want to remember forever." ~Board of Wisdom
On Easter evening, I made a little trek to northeastern New Mexico to see two of my dearest friends, Super Mom and ND Friend. I hadn't seen Super Mom in about 8 years, and I had never met her husband and sweet boys, and it was great to have ND Friend and Tiny Dancer closer than Chicago for a weekend!
Love these girls so much!!
We just hung out at Super Mom's house, played with the boys, ate pizza, laughed a ridiculous amount and had the best time. At one point, all of us--5 adults and three kiddos were in one of the boy's rooms just hanging out. There was a basketball game going, tractors being played, books being read. And at that moment I looked around and just tried to soak it all in, because it couldn't have been more perfect.
ND Friend, Tiny Dancer and the adorable oldest boy
Me and the oldest boy
Me and the middle boy playing tractors
You try to get two kids and two adults all looking at the camera!
Reading a book....I just love this child!
Our attempt at a group photo
I am so thankful for these girls (and their family) and their friendship, and an Easter visit was a the perfect way to celebrate that!
Remember my blog about reading 30 things every woman should know and do before she's 30? I read this book while laying under an umbrella on a beach on Costa Rica. And it prompted me to make my own list. I've been working on it for a couple of months trying to get it in final form, and I've finally finished it. My plan is to unveil the list a few items at a time for the next 7 months, and then publish the final list near my 30th birthday.
So, we'll kick this off with the first 5 items that every woman should know/have by the time she's 30 (according to me!)
Every Woman Should Know...
The difference between politics and people.
I have blogged about this before, but I firmly believe that there is a difference between politics and people. And if you ask me, what matters more is how you treat the people, politics aside. What's important is that you are respectful, kind, compassionate, and loving to others. Regardless of their politics, and regardless of yours.
I have friends who are gay. I have friends who don't believe in God. I have friends who are pro-choice and pro-life. I have friends that are OU fans for crying out loud. Just because I may not share their beliefs does not mean that I can't be friends with them. That I can't respect them. That I can't love them. And I think that this is a realization that every woman should come to.
This picture is unrelated but it has a heart in it, so good enough.
San Francisco / 2008 / Girls' Weekend
"Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
That it's okay to want things and go after them.
I don't know where this comes from, but I think a lot of women (myself included) have a hard time feeling justified in wanting certain things. We have to know that it's okay to want things---big things. It's okay to have big, crazy, wild dreams. We should never apologize for that. Instead, we should embrace those goals and our determination and go for it.
SF Half Marathon / 2011
"Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you." ~Marianne Williamson
Every Woman Should Have...
A good pair of heels and the ability to walk in them.
You have to realize that I grew up the biggest tomboy that you've ever met. I mean I lived at least a decade of my life in jeans, tennis shoes and a t-shirt. DECADE. Thank goodness that I've grown out of that at least a little bit and now enjoy a cute pair of heels and a skirt. I don't think a woman has to wear heels every day, but I do think that every woman should have a good pair of heels that make her feel confident and beautiful and like she is ready to take on the world. Oh, and if you get these shoes, please learn to walk in them. Because goodness gracious, there is nothing worse than a girl in heels walking like a duck.
"Life is short. Buy the shoes."
Go-to songs for every event
I love music. I've pretty much got a radio or cd or an iPod playing non-stop. A girl needs to have a list of go-to, never fail songs for certain situations that are going to pop up in her life. Here are the ones that I've come up with.
Weddings: The Bride by Trick Pony (please note that I'm a single girl before you put this one on your wedding play list)
Break Up: So Good Without You by Jessie James
Dancing: Billie Jean by Michael Jackson (if I'm dance partying it by myself); Ain't Goin' Down 'Til The Sun Comes Up by Garth Brooks (if I can dance with my brother...we're seriously killer good at this song)
Sad: Cry Out to Jesus by Third Day; Homesick by Mercy Me
Love: Feet Don't Touch the Ground by Stoney LaRue; Hey Pretty Girl by Kip Moore
A cause that she is passionate about.
As you've read before, one of my main causes is Make-a-Wish, for which I volunteer as a wish granter. I don't care what it is, every woman needs to find something that she is passionate about and that she believes in. And the beauty of this is that we do not all have to pick the same thing. Some of us might want to volunteer at a dog shelter, some want to go do mission work in Africa, some want to serve at a soup kitchen in the inner city, some coach 4-H judging teams. I firmly believe that God places different desires and pulls on each of our hearts. And I think He does that because he cares about all of these things, and that's the best way to be sure that attention gets paid to all of them.
"Father, break my heart for what breaks Yours. Give me open hands and open doors. Put Your light in my eyes and let me see,that my own little world is not about me." ~Matthew West Stay tuned next month for my next 5 items!
"I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.” ~Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum
Dear Mr. Right,
Last Sunday I overheard a daddy tucking his son into bed. I watched as he carried the pajama-clad one year old into his bedroom room. And then I listened as the daddy said prayers with the son and then softly sang Jesus Loves Me. This man's man--a cowboy who wears boots and sorts cattle all day and who served a tour in the army in Iraq--took the time to gently say goodnight to his son. And my heart melted.
"Being friends, that's just something you are. . . But, I do pick you. . . We've been friends too long to pick, but if we could pick, I'd pick you.” ~John Green Now it's time for our second installment of Transformation Tuesday. (If you missed the explanation of this little series, click here.) BFF is one of my oldest friends. When he introduced me at his wedding rehearsal dinner he said, "This is Tiff. She's been my friend for.....well, I don't remember a time when she wasn't my friend." That pretty much sums it up.
Track Meet 2002 - Chase's Wedding 2012
I met BFF when we were 9 years old at the County Fair. I couldn't even venture to guess the number of hours that we have spent together in the last 20 years. In high school it was everything from judging camps to basketball games to track meets to dances. In college it transformed into lunch multiple times a week, him taking frequent naps on my couch, fights at the golf course, drinks at the Penny, my threatening unworthy girlfriends, and many long conversations over tubs of Oreo ice cream. Once we both had to leave the glorious mecca of Stillwater, Oklahoma, the friendship transformed again into my favorite phone calls and text conversations. I do not think there is anyone who is better able to talk me off a ledge, understand what I'm feeling, or tell me when I'm just being stupid. Oh, and he gives the best hugs and always laughs at my jokes. No matter what is going on in my life, he has the uncanny ability of making it okay. Twenty years of knowing a person does that for ya, and I love this kid more than these pictures can say.
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
On Friday, I closed a chapter in my life. It was my last day at my first "grown up job." I couldn't have asked for a better first job, better co-workers, or a better experience. As excited as I am about the next chapter, I am sad to see this one close.
Law Firm Going Away Dinner
Goodbye visit from two of my favorite kids
That's how life works, isn't it? We have to move on from one good thing to spread our wings and try for another good (hopefully even better) thing. And it's scary. So scary that some people never do it. But I've never been one to sit still. So I have to give it a try, to make the leap, to see where the next chapter will take me.
Will it be good? I hope so. Better than this chapter? Maybe. Would I regret not doing it? Absolutely. And the answer to that last question made my decision easy.
via Pinterest
And so ends my prior beginning...onto the next one!
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