on the rodeo

Now, if you don't/never have lived in any place where there are Rodeos it'll be hard to have a visual of what I'm talking about. :)

I went to the Houston Rodeo last night with a really good friend of mine. She had made plans with someone else to see Brad Paisley, but fortunately for me she bailed so I got to go see one of my favorite country singers. ;)

There are a couple of things that I want to address though...

1. Leave really freaking early. If you're planning on attending the rodeo for any reason whatsoever (livestock show, carnival or concert) plan on leaving pretty early. The traffic is horrible and so is looking for parking and walking. Me and Krystina were stuck in traffic for an hour and it took us another thirty or forty-five minutes to find parking. At that point we just paid a little shuttle golf cart to take us to Reliant Stadium cutting out the forty-five minute walk it would have taken us from cash parking. So, go ahead and leave two/three hours earlier than the rodeo is actually supposed to start.

2. When you shop, take your time. The prices of the popular, rodeo-only season items such as studded belts, belt buckles and just about any kind of country cowgirl queen clothing is crazy expensive (TWO BAR WEST!). And that makes sense because girls like me will willingly pay $100 for a cow hide studded belt. But, seriously, look around at all of the booths and set a limit on how much you want to buy. It can drain your bank account easily. So look around and go back for the things that catch your eye and you absolutely need to have. :)

On a side note: Brad Paisley was fantastic and I sung along loudly to almost all of the songs!
And there was a couple sitting in the seats directly in front of us. They were fairly young and the woman was pregnant (the super cute, petite early second trimester kind of pregnant) and when Brad Paisley was singing one of his best songs (in my opinion! Also it's my favorite love song he's written) "Then" the boyfriend/husband had his hand on her little belly and was singing the song into his wife/girlfriend's ear and she started crying. So naturally I started to cry a little as well.

I'm just a big fat sucker for romance!

on family

This last week I got to spend time with family I hadn't seen in about four years. That means they haven't seen me since my freshman year of high school, and if you knew me then, you would know I not only am a completely different person, but I am also a completely different looking person!

This won't really be an advice post, but more like a look into my life for once. It's hard to give advice on family since each and every person's family is so different.

I was picked up by my cousin Erica and her daughter Taylor. I hadn't seen either of them in forever. Taylor is only a year younger than me, but we've always been incredibly close.

One of the highlights of the trip were getting to meet my two younger (second) cousins. Hannah is five, and yes I "met" her when she was about six months old, she didn't interact much so seeing her again was like meeting a whole new person. And Molly is three and completely adorable. Below is me with the girls and my cousin Cheri on my grandmother's boat in Florida. They were a handful, but completely adorable.

I spent a lot of time with the girls since I stayed at their house, but I didn't mind. I legitimately enjoyed helping them get ready for daycare in the morning and getting them ready for bed at night. I just love kids. :)

The last day was spent down at the beach and it was pretty interesting. We got a hotel room closer to JAX, since my family lived pretty far from the airport, and just enjoyed my last day there. It was awesome. :)

I miss them already and can't wait to go back!

I should be driving back up there with my mom and my brother's family in April for my great aunt's birthday. So hopefully I'll be seeing everyone again!

on dorm rooms

I, personally, cannot wait to FINALLY move into my apartment (which I will be sharing with three great friends) for many many many many reasons.

Some people may not agree with me (like my boyfriend who plans on living on campus all four years), but many of you lovely ladies may agree with me.

Here are my reasons:

1. I won't have a roommate I know. I got really lucky when I got such a great roommate (Thanks Bailey), but she will be living off campus next year and I don't have anyone that would be available to live with me in my dorm. I don't want to got pot luck and get a bad roommate. Like I said before, I got really really lucky with my roommate.

2. My closet is minuscule. I don't even have enough drawer space for my clothes, let alone hanging space. And that also leaves me with little-to-no space for my shoes. I'm a girl. I have a lot of clothes and shoes. I can't help that I want and need more space.

3. With that said, my room isn't big enough either. I believe the dimensions of my room are somewhere around 11 x 14 ft. And that includes both my roommate and my beds, along with our desks, our sink and cabinets, and our closets. It can be pretty cramped. We don't even have space for our TV without giving up one of our desks.

4. I have to walk up and down four flights of stairs to do laundry. Need I say more?

In my apartment, not only do I have my own room and bathroom, but I have a large closet, a laundry room AND MY OWN KITCHEN. 

Oh, I know that that sounds like a stereotypical woman thing to say but I love to cook and bake. And, yes, my dorm has one but it's tiny and the appliances are ancient and it's diiiiirty. I would rather have a kitchen that has my own appliances and I don't have to lug my supplies up and down all the stairs that I mentioned before, let alone risk them getting stolen because I leave them in storage in the kitchen.

***DISCLAIMER***: Living on campus you're first year is a great idea. You get to be on campus and close, and you also don't have to worry about going out getting groceries, etc. if you don't like to cook. Also, living on campus can make you appreciate your personal space more, and that can lead to being more responsible once you do sign a lease on an apartment/house later.

Of course, that's my two cents.

on airports

Well, to start, apparently you're supposed to take your laptop out of your backpack when you go through the TSA thing. Because if you don't, people freak out. Maybe I'm a terrorist in disguise; I don't know.

I get here SUPER early (the required two hours because I try and be punctual) and now I'm sitting here with only 45 minutes of free wifi. I was going to play a game of League of Legends to pass the time like a nerd, but now I can't. :(

I'm sure I'll have a nice long flight to rant about later considering flying is probably my least favorite, but most encountered, pastime.

Here are some of my flight tips.

1. Bring a backpack full of goodies. I brought my laptop, DS, iPhone (on airplane mode!), Nook and bought like three magazines and a sudoku book. I mean, I'm going to be cooped up in this airplane surrounded by people I don't know. That means I need a lot to do to make sure I don't get creeped out/on and make the three hours of torture bearable.

2. Bring your own food/snacks. That way I'm not subject to any fees, and I get to snack on whatever I like. I also buy bottled water to bring in with me so I don't have to deal with a little cup that will spill every time we manage to hit any kind of turbulence.