Category Archives: Uncategorized

Here’s to the good stuff.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
26

Favorite moments this week:

(Collage by my lovely friend Becca)

  • Becca buying me food/happy hour and Tessa, later that night, buying me drinks downtown. I have super sweet friends who thankfully don’t let me use, “I’m broke” as an excuse to not hang out with them.
  • Speaking of Becca. In our shared religious course, she mistook the word “incense” for “incest” during lecture. Thus, instead of hearing  “All kinds of incense” in the church, she heard “All kinds of incest” in the church. Add the fact that my professor seemed really excited about this fact and Becca’s initial look of confusion and disgust, we ended up giggling uncontrollably for approximately five minutes in the back of the classroom.
  • New neighbors close to hubby and my age. They were outside today when I started my run and invited us over for “Beer and video games” sometime. Hubby may have found his neighborhood soul mates.
  • Receiving a really sweet secondhand compliment. Best friend Tessa informed me that our mutual buddy Brooks told her that there was just something about me that others are drawn to. Made me smile. It’s always good to know that people are talking good about you behind your back.
  • Going out with my best girly friend, a dude friend I haven’t seen in years and a new dude friend last night.
  • Funny/awkward moment of the night:I mentioned to new friend Scott that I was taller than him. He didn’t like this comment and set out to prove me wrong. We came across a group of women who I believe were celebrating a bachelorette party. Scott promptly asked who was taller. The consensus was that he was taller but that I was way hotter. Before walking off, one lady (or maybe it was two?) told new friend Scott, “She’s fine. You better treat her right.”  Err. They thought new friend Scott was my lover Scott. After said amusingly awkward conversation, new friend Scott went around to other groups asking not who was taller, but who was hotter. I definitely won. Hee.
  • Dancing on stage at a dueling piano bar. Though I have no dancing abilities whatsoever and I was still much too sober to be dancing on a stage, I had a blast.
  • Best dude friend Bryant messaging me pictures of our mutual girl crush, Selena Gomez. (No, We’re not quite pedophiles. She’s 19! And he started it.)
  • Upcoming fun weekend plans with my amazing hubby and wonderful friends.
  • I’m going to San Diego in two weeks!
  • So. Here’s to free happy hours, girl crushes, dancing on stages, upcoming vacations, being the hotter partner of a fake couple, new friends, old friends, the bestest of girl friends and all of the other good stuff, lovely moments and exciting adventures in between. Cheers,y’all!

Hello, I had a nice weekend. In other news, I giggle in the snow and still look 14.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
25

This weekend I….:

  • Had a mini dance party
  • Hung out with a few favorite peeps.
  • Laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe.

(Lookit! All white shirts! I’m easily entertained, obviously.)

  • Was hankering for an adventure. Went indoor rock-climbing with the dudes pictured above. (Pat and Deesh.) Sucked at it but had a blast.

(Look! No clippy! No, I’m not that dumb. This particular wall was a free-fall wall with squishy things to fall down on. Falling was as fun as climbing. Confession: Deesh laid down to take this picture as to make me look more bad-ass than I really am. I was actually only a couple of steps up at this point.)

  • Had the pleasure of acting as a beginning wing-man for Deesh and Pat. They’re single and I talk to everyone (including single females), so it all came pretty naturally.
  • Mini-golfed.
  • Went on a long run in the cold. I love running in the cold. I noticed a pitter-patter sound as I was running, but didn’t see any rain. I also love running in the rain, so I waited for it. About 1/3 of the way into said run, I realized what the pitter-patter sound was when it started coming down harder. Sleet. I was getting sleeted on! It kind of hurt but was kind of fun too. Eventually sleet turned into little bitty Texas-style snow particles. It was absolutely breath-taking, and I couldn’t help but smile and maybe even laugh with giddiness as I ran. So if you were in the greater Austin area yesterday and noticed a strange girl running and giggling as ice was pelting her and snow was falling, that was I. Do not be alarmed.

Ps: Review all of the above pictures. How old do I look? 14? Maybe 16? I’m about to turn 23! I should at least look legal by now. Oh well. I figure I will be thankful for this one day.

“It’s a heart.” and other happy things.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
17

I may be kind of delirious right now. Yesterday I left for work at 8:30 am and didn’t get home from school and then rehearsals until almost 10 (pm.) Yawn.

Things keeping me happy to be awake:

  • I came home after a long day on Tuesday to find wine,my favorite candy bar and mini Kit-Kats in the shape of a heart. Just to clear up any confusion, husband even wrote a note pointing to the Kit-Kats that read, “It’s a heart.”

As excited as I am for Valentine’s Day and the treats that come with it, these little impromptu surprises not attached to any holiday are even more special to me.

  • Speaking of my dude. We were celebrating his birthday at a friend’s house last week when Lauren, a girl I know from high-school, and I started chatting. She made me smile and blush a bunch when she said that Robby and I give her hope for this matrimony stuff and that we were what marriage should be like. Friends who really love each other. She then admitted to ‘stalking’  and loving every single one of my blogs. I was pleasantly surprised. I love being stalked by cool people!  This conversation also enunciated two opinions I already have:

1. My marriage really is the bee’s knees.

2. Girls? We’re all stalkers. Establishing this mutual understanding really makes for lovely conversations.

-Hubby and I are going to San Diego in three weeks! Confession: I found such a great deal on tickets but was so broke at the time that I only bought one ticket to San Diego. I just got finished buying the second one, and I managed to get Robby and I on the same flights and everything. There was a small chance that I was booking it solo to California. Glad to for sure be bringing my dude along now.

  • What I do at work:

For those of you who may be just tuning in, I’m not a killer motorcyclist. I’m a nanny.

  • Friend Deesh flattering me:
  • Friend Katie flattering me whilst making a funny:
  • 3,000 dollars in tax returns. Being a broke college student does have its upsides.
  • Receiving my script and also finding out that I get to work with a professional actor. Our short play (“The Philadelphia”) is meant to consist of two males and one female. However, so many more girls tried out that our professor was going to make do with an all female cast. I think she knew a lot of the humor would be lost without the two males, so she worked it out and found the professional for one male role. I’ll be the only girl in this particular skit, working with two amazing dude actors. I don’t know whether to be more nervous or excited. Let’s go with excited. Yes. Excited is a good summary to explain how life has me feeling lately. And sleepy. And nervous. And busy. But mostly excited.

Trying out.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
22

Copyright Adam Wright Photography

Early this week in my theatrical performance class, my professor gave a little speech that really stuck with me. She encouraged us to try out for the school play and stressed that once we get a bit older and graduate, the opportunities we have whilst in school oftentimes become more scarce (What with full-time jobs, kids, etc.) She enunciated the fact that we should take advantage of all we can right now, while there’s an abundance of choices ripe for the taking. What she was saying were rules I try to live by daily, but inspired me nonetheless. I had actually already signed up to try out, but this gave me that extra push to truly give said try-out my all.

Honestly, I was terrified. It’s been years since I was in high-school theatre, and being enrolled in a tiny private school, trying out was not really a necessity back then. I thought about it for a while before I finally just stopped thinking and signed my name on the audition list. I memorized a one-minute monologue, went over it probably over a million times, and still thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest while waiting for my turn to audition. Once in there and after reading my monologue, my adrenaline was on super speed after being asked to read other lines and to also ad-lib acting like a chimpanzee. It was insane. I was completely out of my element. I felt the need to cry. And laugh. And run away. And jump up and down and dance and high-five people because I did it. I actually did it.

That’s what trying out was about for me. I know that there are things I’m much better at than acting, and I didn’t go into this expecting to get a role. I did it because I wanted to. Because I love the thrill of performing, if only for 10 minutes in the form of an audition. Because facing fears feels fabulous. (Say that five times fast.) I did this for me. I was vulnerable and scared and shaking and it felt amazing. I all too often wait until I feel I’ve “accomplished” something or am “successful”  to announce it to others. But this is me announcing that I don’t know if I got a role. But I accomplished trying out for that role. I was successful in that I went through with something that really,really freaked me out. I am succesful in that I feel more alive and proud of myself because of it. And that’s enough for me.

I have a call-back tomorrow morning. This may not mean anything. But that’s okay. My old-man husband is turning 29 on Monday, and his parents come down tomorrow to spoil us with food and stuff. I have fun nights and adventures planned with friends this weekend. I am doing the best I can at living and fear-facing every day. That’s what this life stuff is all about I suppose. Not always getting everything you want, or accomplishing every goal, or always getting a lead role. But always trying out.

Vacations,Dandelions,Little Jeans and Liking Life.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
20

“Up in the mountains, Down by the ocean,

Where, it don’t matter

As long as we’re going somewhere together;

I’ve got a quarter,

Heads Carolina, Tails California”

It’s official! Husband and I are going on vacation at the very beginning of March! As we’re on an extremely tight budget, I’ve been scoping out the best deals online for about a week now. By this I mean I’ve been obsessively searching for (practically page refreshing, but not quite) airline tickets on the internet. I didn’t really care where we went, as long as we found ticket prices under 200 dollars a pop. I actually loved the spontaneity and excitement of knowing we were going somewhere together soon, but not yet knowing where. Last night I finally made a decision when I found a deal I just couldn’t pass up. So Guess what, Guess what, Guess what? March 1st, I fulfill an eight year long dream of visiting California. I can’t put into words how giddy I am. But I shall try. Right now. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! <<< There you go. That’s a tiny part of my giddiness put onto a computer. I feel like a kid on Christmas right now (Or really, just me on Christmas.) San Diego, here we come!

Other giddy moments lately:

  •  Finding and blowing/wishing on dandelions with the littles ones I nanny. Being around kids so much really helps keep in tact the magic of life.
  • Date night with my boy.
  • A fellow classmate/new friend did the sweetest thing for me yesterday. She knew I hadn’t bought my book yet and that we have an upcoming test. I planned on just studying notes and googling terms. Last night after class, she walked up to me and handed me her book. I was confused. “Won’t you need this to study?” She responded with a shrug, said she already studied and I could give it back to her on Tuesday. I gave her a hug and left the classroom feeling heart-warmed and relieved. No googling terms for me this weekend!
  • My friend Becca and I share a class together, and have taken to writing one another notes this week. Above you can see the page we filled up with random doodles and words. I love sharing a class with this chick. Not only does she make the time fly faster, but she has taken to bringing me random treats to class. Candy, Girl-Scout cookies and once even a whole meal. I have sweet friends.
  • The above picture is me trying on a pair of size 5′s. That were too big for me. I did a happy dance in the dressing room. I haven’t been in the size 3 arena since I was a teenager. I’m doing another little happy dance right now, just thinking about it.
  • I really like life right now. Life seems to really like me right now too. Hopefully that doesn’t change anytime soon.
  • What have you been liking about life lately?

In case of a city wide blackout, I’m your girl.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
21

A couple of weeks back, a guy friend of mine posted this on my facebook:

“Your effing neverending happiness could power New York City for 24 whole hours in the event of a blackout.”

I’m not sure how I was supposed to take this, but I was both tickled and pleased. I love that friends know all too well and can tease me about my freakish amounts of joy. It’s something I’m proud of, because I feel I choose it. To be happy. To see the good over the bad. To love the rain. To plan trips when broke, knowing the memories will one day compensate for said brokeness. To take a long run when I’m feeling extra stressed. To catch some of the silly things I fuss about–A bad hair day, too much homework, a messy house–and know that this is what others would kill to complain about. To be thankful for my youth, knowing it’ll probably go by faster than I want it to. To laugh as much as possible. To focus on the little details that make life spectacular: The smell of a new book, Hour long talks with girl friends, Hot showers, Pretty skies, The first sip of my glass of merlot, The taste of a fresh-baked, Husband-made cookie, Holding hands with someone I love, The candy a friend brings me to class, Hearing my dog snoring, Long kisses, Sweet words, Random treats, The gift cards left over from Christmas that support date night on a really,really,really tight budget. It’s things like this that give me the potential to power New York City in the event of a black-out. (Ha-ha.)

At the same time, I won’t lie and say that the extra goodness life throws my way doesn’t maybe help out said happiness. This weekend for example. Chilling downtown and cruising in a Hummer limo with my best friend and other cool peeps. Neat, unforgettable experiences like this may indeed aid in some extra boosts of happy power. Ahem:Not to mention, the calmer joy of catching up with loved ones I haven’t seen in much too long…. 

I definitely have my occasional grumpy days. My sad days. My mad days. But more than all of these combined, I have good days. Great days. Loved,bright, wonderful days. And the bad days I do have are me being blessed and spoiled enough to complain about my silly first world problems. The fact is, life is good, and I’d be stupid not to choose happiness. I know that my positive feelings probably never will be enough to power any sort of city in case of black-out, but that’s okay. Right now, I’m watching the sun set from my window and I’m about to go get all fancied up for gift-card date night with the husband. And I couldn’t be happier.

The beauty of being a grown-up

Posted on by Christina Does It All
21

Life has been getting hectic again lately. A happy hectic, but still hectic. School is back in full swing, my hours at work have gone up since last semester, and lots of fun plans,projects and adventures are already in the works for this year. Husband and I are planning a vacation for somewhere between our two birthdays (February and March), my friend Becca and I are planning a trip for May (We just made it final by virtually pinky promising) and I’m introducing husband to a slew of northern states while simultaneously visiting my best friend sometime in July. That’s three vacations in 6 months time! My friends love to tease me and inform me that I’m always going on a new vacation, but I can’t help it. I get major ants in my pants after three or more months of no traveling. I’m going on a little over three months now, and the antsy-ness has officially arrived. So I’m excited, super excited, but also a bit overwhelmed trying to get finances together while also readjusting myself to a busy day-to-day schedule. Luckily, I have a lot of lovelies in my life who melt away any little bit of stress I may have.

There is not much I adore more in this world than time with my girls. They are a constant source of inspiration, laughter, love, relaxation and joy. This past weekend was no exception. I was able to see a few of my favorite ladies for four days straight. Hot-tubbing and a sleepover at Jenn’s place. Sharing a bed with and cuddling up to my best friend Tessa, who also was sweet enough to buy me brunch the next day. (Cuddling and free food the next morning? Wouldn’t she make a perfect boyfriend?) Listening to live music, strolling through quaint book-stores and making fun of ugly ducks at the park with Melody and, again, my best friend Tessa. Drinks and giggles with Brooke and Emily for happy hour. A pizza buffet and retail therapy with my Little (of Big Brothers Big Sisters), who is growing up too fast and doing so quite gracefully. What I’m getting at is….Oh thank goodness for the ladies in my life. Sometimes I just break into smile thinking about them, our memories and how lucky I am to have stumbled across some of the most amazing chicks on the planet. How cool is it that I get to journey through life and explore the world with the greatest girls in the world?

Pictures help the words come to life: 

Tessa and I were talking on Sunday, and I mentioned that I’ve always liked being an adult better than I liked being a kid. I had a really sheltered childhood, and I’ve always loved and have been completely exhilarated by the freedom of adulthood. Later that same day, my best friend wrapped my thoughts up perfectly by saying something like, “We can do whatever we want. We can do anything.” That,in a nutshell, is exactly what I find absolutely spectacular about being a grown-up.The excitement of making new experiences, meeting new people and doing these things whenever I want to. The beauty and wonder and spontaneity of endless possibilities. The fact that I get to explore these endless possibilities with amazing people by my side just makes life that much more beautiful.

Happy,Happy,Happy.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
24

The past few weeks have been near perfect. I just feel so alive and young and loved and ready for anything and everything. I’ve been kind of permanently excited lately, and sometimes for no particular reason. I guess it’s just because I’m living. Because I can use all my senses. Because I have the ability to walk and talk and breathe and love. It’s a beautiful thing, no?

Some happy pieces lately:

  • All red and pink in my package of Dots! If that isn’t a reason for excitement, I don’t know what is.
  •  
  • School started up again this week. I really love my classes this semester. Probably me favorite is ‘Theatrical Performance.’ It’s just started and already I’m falling in love. Though yesterday was a little strange. We were practicing relaxing and focusing, a couple of qualities which obviously help on stage. To practice these things, we partnered up and practiced moving each other’s limbs around. Head, legs, arms, the works. I thought I was relaxed, but my partner kept shaking my body parts and telling me to, “Let go.” I apparently do not know how to let go. Control freak problems. The instructor noticed this and used me as one of the guinea pigs next time around. Next thing I know, five people are moving around different parts of my body, whilst I lay on the ground giggling nervously. I kept my limb-movers laughing and amused by saying things such as, “Watch out for the stubble.” and “I think this is the most awkward moment of my life.”, but I never did learn how to be totally limp and trusting. Maybe next time I find my body being simultaneously maneuvered around in odd places by five almost (albeit kind) strangers, I’ll be better. Practice makes perfect!
  • My friend Becca has just started training at the Cheesecake Factory. Yesterday, being the wonderful and thoughtful person that she is, she brought me a box full of yumminess to class.
As I opened my take-out box of goodness, she took the time to write me out a menu. It read:
“The grilled chicken is ‘skinnylicious BBQ chicken’
And the crusted one is Idk
And the pasta is tomato basil pasta with cheese.”
The crusted one, whatever the hell that was, was my favorite.
  • During my week, I have about a 35 minute break between work and school. Instead of lounging or eating, I’ve started to take this time to work out at my school gym. I’ve been running on the treadmill and have started lifting light weights (A New Years resolution!) I’m also doing ab work-outs three times a week and am starting to see traces of a 4-pack.  I’ve cut out all fast food (even my beloved Chipolte) and soda from my diet. I feel awesome and constantly energized and I’m currently in the best shape of my life. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long!
  • Tuesdays and Thursdays are my long days. I leave for work at 8:45 and don’t get back home from school until around 7:30. Last night I came home,exhausted, to the aroma of a home-cooked dinner. Hubby had made me chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy. Later, he made chocolate chip cookies. I put the picture of him slaving away in the kitchen up on my facebook. A couple of my favorite comments:

Girl Friend: “What a sweet ol’ house husband.”

Dude Friend:  “Look at that piece of meat! Also the steaks look pretty good…”

  • My best girl friend has been begging me to get a Twitter for some time now. I usually just blatantly ignore her requests. I am extremely slow and hesitant when it comes to being comfortable with different social networking devices. It took me a good year, maybe even two, to transfer over to Facebook after everyone else had.  The same best friend finally convinced me, and even helped me register and uploaded most of my pictures to Facebook. I still didn’t use it until almost everybody had left Myspace. Even knowing how stubborn and reluctant I am, Meggie is quite persistent. She asks me or tells me about once a week to get a Twitter. Last night, she resorted to bribery. I said something on a blog comment that she found quotable (“I’m sure if men ever ‘fixed’ women, they’d be quite bored anyway.”) and then she informed me, “I’m quoting you, Tina. But I’m doing it on Twitter so….you should get one.” Sigh. I’m still not convinced. But she is slowly but surely wearing me down.
  • I mentioned last week that I was a promotional model for an event in San Antonio. I also mentioned how completely amazing the people I met were. I miss them so much already. Morgan, one of the girls that I miss dearly, left a comment on the rest of our little group’s facebooks that wrapped up our time together pretty perfectly :, “Sooo yeah I already miss yall so much. I miss our long hours of goofing off, eating lollipops, changing our hair every hour, singing, taking as many breaks as we can to walk around, and long talks about boys. Let’s PLEASE reunite soooon. Y’all are so great :) “   I never went to summer camp as a child, but from watching movies and stuff, I feel like these are the kind of bonds that I missed out on back then.
  •  
  • While I was working this event in San Antonio, I came upon an older man with the last name, ”Wagemaker.” How neat is that?! I informed him that I loved his last name and he informed me that if I was a bit older I could have married him and had that last name too. Christina Wagemaker. I like. But Christina Boudreaux is pretty nice too, I suppose.
  • I made a video blog! It’s been too long. Unfortunately, my computer is having all kinds of technical difficulties. The colors are very off and at the end my voice distorts to sound like one of those creepy phone callers from horror movies. I’m trying to work through kinks because a couple of girl friends and I are about to start a project with said web cam. Thought I’d might as well show y’all what I came up with:
  • One more class until my weekend begins! I have lots of lovely plans with buddies this weekend, including exploring and hot-tubs. All the more reason to be excited and happy.

Warning: Mushy-gushy, Lovey-dovey, Hubby-wubby stuff.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
24

I usually try my best to keep from writing about the mushy-gushy, lovey-dovey, hubby-wubby stuff. For the most part, I like to focus on my adventures, friends, experiences and the rest of life in general. After all, those are huge parts of my world and there is only so much you can say about a wonderful relationship before making everyone around you want to puke. Thus, even in my day-to-day life I really don’t talk about my husband with others too much. When friends make comments on how cute we are or how great we are together, I probably tend to quickly agree, maybe blush a little and then change the subject. There’s no need to ramble on and on about what most already know: Robby is–without a doubt–a lovable, amazing person and an incredible husband. (He kind of has to be to put up with me. It’s a prerequisite.)

That being said, every once in a while I really do just have to gush, if only just a little. Because he is wonderful, and I very rarely give him enough credit for that. I forget that this world is made up of billions of douche-bags, and that I did not get one of them. Not even close. I got Robby. Robby, who is patient and understanding and calm when I’m frantic. Who allows me to over-analyze everything out loud and doesn’t mind that I’m insane. Who loves educating me on the simple things in life, such as Star Wars and Back to the Future marathons and cheap Mexican food. Who simply chuckles and looks at me with love-filled eyes when I dance obnoxiously or pronounce a word wrong. Who gets up to bring me water when he’s already laying down in bed, just because I don’t feel like going to get it myself. Who will be an amazing daddy one day, and who loves to annoy me every month by saying, “Yay! We’re pregnant!”, even when we both know that we’re definitely not. Who loves my friends, who love him right back. Who is always on my side and never fails to put me first. Who allows me to drag him to things he doesn’t really want to go to, and has a good attitude about it just the same. Who gets excited everytime he sees a deer. Who is always happy and rarely not smiling. Who is selfless and faithful and oh-so-handsome and the best listener I know. Who constantly is able to surprise me, in a good way. The other day he made homemade butterscotch cookies. They tasted like those Great American Cookies you can buy at the mall. Among everything else, the dude can bake. Apparently he learned from home-ec in high-school. Just when I think he can’t get any better, or that our relationship is at it’s best, he proves me wrong. He always gets better. And we always get better together.

To top it all off and for reasons that sometimes surpass my understanding (I mean, the guy knows everything about me…), he seems to think I’m pretty great too. The other day I received a typed love note that was just too sweet not to share. I did make sure I had husband’s permission before I showed y’all though. As it is a little sappy, I was relieved that it only took asking him, “Pleaseeeee?” a few times.

“Dear Christina,

A few of the many reasons I love you.

You have dinner ready for me after work.

You do Christmas shopping for my family on the most hectic day.

You do all those things around the house. Clean laundry and much more.

You keep me from being a total hermit.

You love our dogs as much as I do.

You go out and help make money for us.

You are a very determined person and an achiever.

You’re my light in the darkness.

There could never be words strong enough to express how much I love you. You’re my everything. I love you so much,baby.”

If it’s not clear yet, we maybe like each other a little bit.

As a side note, husband really isn’t much of a writer. He actually kind of hates it. So the fact that he typed this up was a heart-melter all in itself, though I couldn’t help but giggle about the “light in the darkness” bit. I was also pretty proud of him for how great his grammar was. I didn’t have to make any punctuation or spelling changes when typing it up, and only had to capitalize a few things. Props to him! (And me, for the English lessons I’ve given him over the years. Hee.)

The All American Bowl

Posted on by Christina Does It All
25

The first week of 2012 has turned out to be a big one for me. I kind of thought it would be but didn’t want to jump the gun, so I kept my mouth shut for a while. A couple of weeks ago, I applied online/sent pictures to SCW Models representing The All American Bowl. The All American Bowl is like the Superbowl for high schoolers, and this Superbowl for high schoolers all over the country happens in San Antonio. Army sponsors the whole thing, and the promotional models for this gig run Army’s booths. It’s a pretty huge event that receives a lot of hype and support. I’ve expressed lately how I want to follow through on more things. How I stumble upon or seek out a lot of great opportunities, but sometimes don’t attempt finishing them. When I got a call back, a phone interview and then the job offer from SCW, I knew this was my perfect chance. So I took the job. Why wouldn’t I? The pay was great, the experience sounded amazing (and is awesome to put on a resume or portfolio) and I had a place to stay with family nearby. The only small issue was that I was slightly nervous as hell. But that’s a really silly reason not to live life, now isn’t it?

So I forced my brother to be my driver/mini road-trip buddy to San Antonio (He’s a good boy.)

Booked it to a hair institute to dye my hair a golden brown. (I’m too pale for blonde now and it makes the green in my eyes show better. I’ve only been able to show a few loved ones, but comments are super sweet so far. My best friend said she wants me to keep it forever and my husband is excited I’m a brunette again.)

Spent some much needed family time with my cousins, aunt and uncle.

And made my way to the Great American Bowl.

I worked 21 hours in two days. It was exhaustingly fantastic. Gaining this kind of experience was definitely a plus, but still just a part of the wonderful time I had.

The bonds I made in two long days were the best part. Michael and I hit it off right off the bat. As noted and respected by one boss dude, we traveled to other booths as a pair. A few asked how we knew each other. Our answer was always a tickled, “We don’t. We met a few hours ago.” We constantly giggled and would occasionally sneak off to ride the plane-life simulator, or to go find food, or to get pictures from the photo booth. Near the end of the first day we were placed in our permanent booth, which registered people for Army info and gave away free water bottles. This is where we met Mandi and Morgan, and once again, we all hit it off immediately. Despite working our booties off, we still made plenty of time to bond by dancing,singing, laughing, wandering, playing, eating and chatting about nothing and everything.

I wish I could describe in words how incredible and once-in-a-lifetime this whole experience was for me, but I really can’t. I made so many memories and met so many people that I’ll never forget. I’m still glowing from the past couple of days. I am thankful and happy to have started this promotional modeling gig and especially to have met the lovely people that I did. As completely tired as I was by the end of last night, I was still sad to leave. Luckily, my friends are all from Texas and love traveling from their respective homes to downtown Austin, so hopefully it won’t be too long before we all meet again.

As of right now, I’m feeling ready to go out there and conquer more goals. I’m feeling confident. I’m feeling like the whole world is at my fingertips. I’m feeling like the possibilities in my life are endless and awesome. I couldn’t possibly think of a better way to knock off about a handful of my newly made resolutions or to spend the first week of my 2012. And I’m feeling ready for so much more.