Who I am...

Ok, so here it goes. I have entered blog land. I have always thought that blogging was just for married people or families: a place to highlight engagement pics, wedding pics, and baby pics. No offense to my friends who are married (which is a vast majority of you) or who have kids (which is becoming a vast majority of you), because I love nothing more than catching up and reading about other people’s lives on their blogs. I just have never felt that I have fit the category of someone who should become a blogger. I always thought that no one would really care what I have to say (which may still be entirely true seeing how a lot of my day consists of me talking about things such as natural gas spot prices, liquidity, and debits and credits….I know I know you are all thinking “Boring!”). However, being the fact that I speak Accounting language for 8-14 hours a day (I am dreading busy season already!), I decided that I need a creative outlet in my life. If anything, this blog will simply be a way for me to remember how I felt and what was going on in my life at any given moment (If I keep up with it, which I strongly intend to do). Of course I would love to have readers, but besides my mom (love ya Nance), close family members, and a few friends that I send this blog link to, I am not sure who else will read it. However, I do not really care; I think me just taking the time to write is a wonderful release from number crunching and will help me stay a sane person.

So with all that being said, let me tell talk a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in Ardmore, Oklahoma, a small town just north of the Oklahoma/Texas border. It was a great place to grow up. My dad is a high school baseball and football coach, so my twin sister and I grew up always going to games and having a blast running up and down the bleachers and across the field. It was just my sister and I, and with being a twin I always had someone to play with (love ya sis), which made it fun no matter the size of the town. Now that I live in Dallas, I miss those days where I could get across town in 10 minutes flat. Now, I have to allow at least 20 -30 minutes to get to certain areas of the city.

I left Ardmore in the fall of 2003 to attend the University of Oklahoma, where I graduated with a Master’s of Accountancy degree in May of 2008. While in college, I was mostly involved in working and Greek life (Go KAPPA!!). Work for me (from the time I was 16 until I started my first real job) was at a fabulous place called the Cloverleaf. Maybe you have heard of it, maybe not. It is a fantastic women’s store that sells gifts, clothes, jewelry, and has the best eclectic feel. My mom’s friend, Heidi Chapman, owns 3 Cloverleaf stores: one in Ardmore, one in Oklahoma City, and one at the Winstar Casino just north of the Texas border. She has the best eye and wonderful vision when creating fabulous things out of what most people would call “junk”. This vision helped her land a spread in Country Living in 2008 and I am so very proud of everything she has accomplished. I miss working at the store, but still help her from time to time (mainly when it’s time for her to get things ready for her taxes! haha). I could not have asked for a better fun learning experience. It was a pleasure helping her over the years with everything from displays to picking out clothes for mannequins and helping customers shop. You never know what you are going to get with Heidi. Some of my favorite experiences with her from 2001 – 2008 included all of the many garage sales, road trips, Canton and Round Top stops where she has collected everything from old carousel pieces, to a large wrought iron chicken, and a 1970s car that had been turned into a Mexcian Taxi or the “Tijuana Taxi” as it is now known. When she showed the Taxi to my mom and I her words to describe the car, as she turned the key several times in the ignition before it finally started, was “It drives real smooth….”. We then took a drive around town and received several honks and stares by the people in town. It is these kinds of moments that make me realize that no experience I have ever had or will ever have with Heidi while on pleasure trips or on the job can be considered “normal”. But that’s what makes every memory with her and the Cloverleaf so great. Can you tell I miss the place? I always stop in the store when I am in town, and I still get to see Heidi and all of her recent “great finds”, but it is just not the same as walking into the store at 10am with no idea what to expect for the day ahead.

This is the Ardmore Cloverleaf.  I have always loved all of the stuff out front!  And here is the infamous Tijuana Taxi... I mean how great is that?!!!

Kappa was one of the best organizations I was ever involved in. Not being from a key area (aka Tulsa or Oklahoma City), it took this small town girl a year or two to get my bearings and make friends. However, quickly after moving into the house sophomore year I realized that some of these girls would be lifelong friends. Moving in a house with 90 girls is not something you get to experience a lot, and as hard as it was having to coordinate shower times, study times, and a quiet place when I needed a piece of mind, I also wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Some of my favorite moments from living in the house consist of late night fire drills, watching the Bachelor (it was on tape not DVR back then), and my friends Jenny and Sarah catching a fraternity guy on our balcony who was trying to sneak into the house and wasn’t wearing any shoes. We coined him “Spiderman”. It is experiences like this that make me look back and be thankful that I decided to go through the whole Greek thing. I enjoy all of my friends in my pledge class so much. We even took a trip during the last year of college when we all went on a cruise together. It was a great experience and a great way to end college. I miss my Kappa friends, but truly enjoy every moment I get to spend with them at weddings, football games, or reunion get-togethers.

Below is the Kappa House, it was built in the early 1900s....so classy!

Here is a pic of me with most of my Kappa friends from my pledge class, love these girls:

After college, I moved to Dallas in August of 2008 after a brief 3 month stint living with the parentals, (which by all accounts, was not really that bad….Nance was a little needy at times, love you mom, but other than wondering what Lifetime show or movie we were going to watch that night there wasn’t much else to speak of). I did leave that summer with an unhealthy appreciation for the TV show Reba, which I would rather not go further into. I moved in with my cousin Casey and began work for Ernst and Young, who I am currently still working for (about to be promoted to a Senior Accountant in October….eeek!). I absolutely love living with Casey and living in Dallas. It is a great city with a lot to offer people of all ages. I could never imagine living alone; Casey brings me so much comfort in sad times and laughter in good times. We have always been close, but have just never lived in the same city. Now, I cannot imagine my life without her. The biggest issue we have is that she loves coffee and I hate it (although this isn’t mutually exclusive to Casey, every roommate I have ever had likes coffee….I will never understand why). Other than that Casey describes herself as “not a morning person”. She sat me down the first night we lived together and told me not to be offended if she didn’t talk to me in the morning, which I found extremely humorous that she even felt like I would be offended by that. Casey really helped me plug into living in Dallas, and she introduced me to the The Village Church, which has been such a blessing to my life.

Here is a pic of Casey and I on a recent trip to Napa and San Francisco!  It was so great!

My other cousin Jenny is two years younger than me and my sister.  She lives in Denver and is an Engineer (miss Smarty Pants!)  Casey and I recently went to see her.  Here we are at the Rockies Game. 

While we were there we also climbed a mountain...Casey and I definitely looked like posers...but we did it!

Other than Casey and Jenny I have three other significant friends in my life. One of them is my sister. Amy just recently got married (June 12, 2010, which has such a nice ring to it I think) to a great guy we grew up with, Chris. I am very happy for her and where life is going to take them. They moved back home and are working at the church we were involved with in high school. Although I don’t think I would ever choose to move home, I think it is the right choice for them. Amy and I are very different, yet we have a very special bond and understanding of each other and I am extremely thankful to God that he placed us together in life.  Here we are below at the wedding:

Then there is my best friend from Kappa, Sarah. I did not know Sarah my freshman year and did not truly get to know her until sophomore year when we moved into the Kappa House. Within probably a month or two Sarah and I had formed a remarkable bond (mainly over country music! haha). Over the years we have been through a lot of fun times and trips together, and we continued to live together for two years after moving out of the Kappa house. She is my go-to person anytime a new country music song or video is out, or if there is any good celebrity gossip. While she still lives in Oklahoma, thanks to text messages we talk several times a week. I love nothing more than getting a text from her or sending one to her….some of the best lately have been “How have we not talked about Ryan Seacrest and Julianne Hough?” and “I know! And have you seen her new video? I’m pretty sure it’s soft-core porn!” It is moments like this that truly brighten my day.  Here are Sarah and I with a cutout of Keith Urban....one of our best concerts ever!

Finally, there is my other best friend Holly. Holly and I met almost ten years ago. We worked at the Cloverleaf together for several years in high school and college. We were just friendly work acquaintances at first, and I honestly cannot even tell you when it changed into a deeper friendship. We have also been through a lot together. I cannot really describe our time together better than to say that we have true “experiences”. Holly and I love to people watch. If we have somewhere to be we are totally content lounging before or afterwards to simply see the people around us (case in point: most recently the Lady Gaga concert….we had more fun watching the dressed up freaks walking into the concert than watching the opening act). And there have been times before where we have gone to dinner and not done anything but talk about the other people in the restaurant. Who are they? Are they on a first date? What do you think they are arguing about? I know when I am talking to Holly and she looks straight past me that something good must be going on. Holly is the easiest person to get along with; I don’t even think in 10 years we have ever even had so much as an argument. Unfortunately, she used to live in Dallas, but has been back in Oklahoma for a while. But, we run up and down I-35 every chance we get to hang out with each other (always saying a little prayer at mile marker 55, which was the scene of a car accident we were in together back in college; no worries – we both walked away without a scratch….the Nissan Pathfinder however did not make it through). Holly’s mom Cathy asked me once how many miles do I think Holly and I have traveled to do different things together and my response was “I don’t even want to know”. Holly is my go-to travel partner. We both are constantly looking for our next big adventure. We love road trips, flying together, and exploring new places every chance we get. The biggest adventure we have ever been on was Greece last summer, and we are in talks of taking a trip later this year. Stay tuned!  Here is a couple of pics from our Greek adventure:

         Us at dinner one night.

The place we stayed.  Absolutely gorgeous.  I forgot to mention that the hotel thought that we were two lesbians on our honeymoon....ah the joys of being 25 and single!  haha!

The town of Oia.  So beautiful.

And then there is my family. I have a fantastic family that I am extremely close to. My parents have been married for over 30 years and are about to move to Wylie, a town just a little north of Dallas (which I lovingly told my mom, might be just a little too close for comfort…). The key to their success is my mom likes to bitch about most things and my dad is very laid back and can handle it. He has nicknamed my mom “Jewell” which is the name of a mean aunt of my dad’s. Apparently the real Jewell would look outside in the morning, see rain, and respond with “Well shit, it’s raining!” Situations like that would completely ruin her day. Let’s just say she wasn’t much of a silver lining person. We all joke in the family about it and I am lovingly referred to as Little Jewell a lot of the time (aka, when I am being bitchy). Now don’t go thinking I think my mom is bitchy….she just likes to bitch….there is a strong difference. And I can’t say anything negative about my mother….I am an exact replica of her. Which is a pretty funny thing; the best example is shopping. We could go shopping at the same store in different cities and end up picking out the exact same thing. It’s quite funny. The only thing where I am not like my mom is her anal side (which Amy amazingly picked up; so I guess if you put us together we would be our mother exactly). My mom is very Monica Geller; she would be the type to get a small vacuum to clean up the dust that gets collected on the lager vacuum. She used to tell me my room was a mess when the remote wasn’t in the right spot. This is why we love her.

And then there’s my dad. He is your typical coach. His favorite things are football, baseball, and beer. And he has no interest in any kind of activity that doesn’t involve one of those three things. Which makes buying presents for him a very easy task as all I have to do is buy him a 12 pack and some Ranger Tickets and he is good to go. My dad is a great guy and him and I am so thankful that I grew up with such great parents. Not everyone I know can say that.  Here is a picture of the whole family this most recent Christmas:

I also am extremely close to my mom’s sisters and my grandparents. They have all been a part of my life since day one. My grandmother even now at 84 remembers that I don’t like nuts on my chocolate cake and leaves a section of it completely nut-free. And she makes the best vegetable soup that my mom claims she also makes in the same way but for some reason my grandmother’s is just better. And my granddad is the biggest OU fan on the planet. He has had season tickets since the 1950s and just gave them up this year because he never goes anymore and didn’t see the point in continuing to purchase them as they were just getting more expensive. I love my grandparents more than anything, and I am so lucky that I have had them in my life for this long.  Here are my grandparents with all of the cousins at Christmas:

I realize that this post has become more of a biography of my life. I promise that they won’t all be this long; I just wasn’t sure where to start. I used to journal in high school, but quit once I got to college. Now, over 7 years later I feel like I need to start over. I need to tell you where I came from so I can learn where I am going.

I will say that I want this blog to be light hearted and fun. I plan to talk about some of my favorite things which will consist of: church, shopping, celebrity gossip, music, movies, travel, and my opinions on various topics including bad reality TV, which I personally LOVE. Feel free to email me or leave comments on any opinions you might have. And, before I get started I have to thank the author of my favorite blog from someone I actually know (because I actually read a lot of blogs by people I don’t know….I hope that doesn’t make me a weirdo!). My friend Allison Davis (used to be Niebes) has the most fantastic blog (it’s called Sweet and Sassy with Sprinkles, see the link to the right). Allison – I don’t even know if you are going to read this, but I love keeping up with you through your blog and I hope things are going good for you in Chicago!

Until then, Ciao for now!