Sunday, November 27, 2011

Going back

I postponed my drive back to tomorrow morning. I'll leave around 7 when dad & Lin also leave to go to work/school.

Hope I can get a good night's sleep!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Semi-Finals game

The Cougars lost today to Midland Christian 49-7. The loss hurt, but we were the first team to score against them since the playoffs started! They will most likely end up winning State next Saturday.

In other news, Mississippi State won against Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl 31-3. I'm sad I missed it, but I'm way more happy with my decision to stay here & cheer on my brother.

I'm going to church tomorrow morning with my family & then I'll head out afterwards to go back to State. I only have one week of classes left & one final so I'll be back home in about a week. I don't wanna leave, but at least I won't be gone long!

Before I go, here's a pic of Lin putting his stuff on the bus this morning when they left at 7:30. It was awesome sending them off, standing in the pouring rain!

And here's another picture of Naomi & me. We made matching hats & wore crazy blue eyeshadow & eye liner to cheer our Cougars on! (this pic is courtesy of Naomi. Once I put on my gloves I couldn't use my iPhone!) Aren't we adorable? :)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Regional Championship Game

I can't believe it's been a week since I've last updated this. It's wonderful being home, but it has also made me slack off... I've only been on my laptop once since being home. I keep thinking "I should update about what's been going on" and then I manage to convince myself to push it off to the next day.

Well, here's the recap of what's been going on.

Thursday, I got in around 2 to Tyler and went straight to see Mom at Memaw's house. I then went to see Lin after school/before football practice and then went home after a quick stop at Brookshire's to pick up a few groceries (man, I missed that store!). Mom made pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and homemade bread! Nana had intended to come & eat with us, and then John, Naomi, & Hazel also ended up eating with us. They didn't intend to, but it wasn't hard to convince Naomi once she heard we were having fried okra!

Friday I went with mom to aunt Leah's and we visited for a while. We went back home and got ready to leave for Lin's football game. Grace played Northland Christian from Houston for the Regional Championship. It was in Buffalo, TX at their new stadium there. A bunch of our family came. It was a great time full of football, cheering, & laughter. I forgot how much I desperately missed high school football games! Grace ended up winning 28-21. It was such an awesome game. We were standing most of the time, ringing our cowbells, and being as loud as we could!
Naomi & Me after the game was over!

Me & my sweet Mama after the game

Me & My brother... can't believe he's taller than me now!

A bunch of pictures from after the big win!! We now have 3 trophies!
We celebrated with the team for a while after the game. The field was new, so Buffalo wouldn't let us go out on it like we usually would after a game. Coach Maddox was awesome, though, and led the team out to the bleachers where we could all crowd around them and pray and congratulate them. It was a wonderful night!

I slept in a little on Saturday and then went over to my sweet Nana's for biscuits & gravy she made me for breakfast (my absolute favorite!). We helped her hang some pictures & do little things around her house. We went back home & just messed around until around 1 when Lin got back from watching film up at the school. We unloaded a trailer full of branches from a tree they cut down, and then came back to the house to watch the State v. Arkansas game at 2:30. It was a sad loss, but it was still nice to be able to watch the game with my family. That night Lin & I went to Tyler with our cousins Abbi & Gray to get some ice cream & hang out a little. It was great seeing them. It's weird how we all grew up together, yet now we hardly see each other.
Some of our adventures in Barnes & Noble. I love how crazy we are together!


Sunday morning we went to church and it was awesome being able to go to a service at Grace again. I forget how much I love it there. And it's really nice now because John & Naomi have started attending church there with us. I basically spent the rest of the day with the family doing stuff around the house and just enjoying being home.

On Monday, I pretty much spent all day over at Naomi's. We visited during the morning and then went to town with Patti to get some ornaments & materials I needed for a project. Then when we got back to Naomi's house, we got working on my Toms. I've worn the pair Nana got me last year out and they were starting to get holes in the toes. I wanted to save them somehow & decided on covering them... let me tell you, it's much harder to do than it sounds! I think they're going to turn out awesome, though!
My recovered Toms project
Tuesday was the big Dallas trip. Nana had a catering job she did for a company and all we had to do was drop off the food to them around 11:00 am. Since we would already be in Dallas, we decided to do some shopping. Abbi got to come with us so that was wonderful! We started off eating breakfast at LaMadeleine's... it's basically a tradition for us it seems, but they have a wonderful breakfast there! We went to several stores and the Galleria. They had their Christmas tree up and we all got pictures. We then went to Matito's for lunch/dinner around 4 and it was delicious! Some of the best Mexican food I've ever had!


And today has just been full of cooking and trying to get ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow, along with me stitching on my Toms whenever I get a chance! My fingers are so sore!

Hopefully I'll update again soon about how Thanksgiving went! Hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

heading home

I'll be heading home for Thanksgiving break tomorrow! I can't wait to see my crazy family :)
Easter 2010

I love how Reveille even tried to get in on the pic at the bottom :)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Texas Love


I think that one thing that college has done has increased my love for my home state. Mississippi is great and all, but there’s something intoxicating about knowing I’ll soon be home for a visit. I soak up every minute I can while home.
I guess there’s just something about Texas that makes me feel at home… and it’s more than the fact that it’s where I was born & raised. Everything just seems clearer/brighter/fresher there. I love being outside & taking pictures of the awesome landscape. I love the way that things are different there. I love living out in the country, where things are especially different. We have our own practices & customs that outsiders just don’t understand.
I don’t think there’s anything prettier than seeing a Texas sunset when you’re driving down the highway and there’s nothing else around. Or when you’re at a small pond out in the middle of nowhere, with a couple friends or family members and all you can hear is the sounds of nature around you. Or even when you pass by a pasture and see horses or cows grazing. It just sets my heart at peace. One of my absolute favorite things to do when I owned my own horses was to go out during fall and sit on the big round bale of hay and just watch them eat and take in the smells around me. I seriously don’t think there’s a better smell than a horse. I know some people don’t like it, but there’s something about wrapping your arms around a horse’s neck and just smelling him and hearing the noises his heart beat makes and the sound of him chewing. That’s probably what I miss the most from not having my own horses anymore.
Anyways, I was looking around different websites the other day and found this tumblr. It’s full of funny little icons that are all about “you know you’re a Texan when…” I figured I’d share a couple with you. All of the ones she makes can be found HERE

 So true, especially since it's mom's favorite! I never realized how much of a Texas thing it is until I moved to Mississippi!
 Again, SO TRUE! I have a wish list full of different boots I want. :)
 Yep! This definitely happened this summer.
 These next three are SO true, especially for my family. It kinda comes with the whole "My dad's a coach & my brother plays" thing, too. It's pretty much impossible to get away from!
 and I miss it so much!
I know that mom would especially agree with this one! haha!
 of course! you mean, not everyone does that?
 Haha! This actually happened to me my freshman year here at State... and I didn't think I'd have a problem with it since I'm going to school in Mississippi!
 It was a sad day when no one here knew what I was talking about... it's surprisingly difficult to explain, too.
 Yep!

 Oh boy, you should hear my Papa!
... and I LOVE it! I especially miss the TexMex from back home!

Hope y'all enjoyed them. A lot of the ones on her site apply to the South in general, but there are a LOT that are very specific to Texas! Man, I just can’t wait to head home on Thursday. Those 457 miles will fly by, as long as I know I’m heading back home.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Bulldog Bash & Alabama Game

I can hardly believe I'm updating this soon since my last post! Haha! It usually takes me a couple months before I make it back here.

This weekend was big. There were a lot of events happening all over campus. The weekend kicked off with Bulldog Bash. Every year Bulldog Bash is held in the Cotton District (pretty much our downtown here) and local businesses help sponsor it. Bands and musicians come from all over and perform pretty much all day in various parts of the District on different stages. It's a lot of fun to be able to walk around and hear different music from lesser-known artists you probably would never have heard before.

They always have headlining artists come, too, to finish the day off. The past years I've been here, Third Eye Blind and Jason Mraz were the big names that came. This year they had two: Jake Owen and the Avett Brothers. I know there are a lot of Avett Brothers fans out there, but I haven't really heard much of their music so I wasn't as excited about them. But I knew Jake Owen! I've loved his music since a friend of mine gave me a copy of his first CD! So I was pretty pumped he was coming this year.


I dragged Amanda out with me and we had a great time at the concert! We only went for Jake Owen, even though the Avett Brothers were going on after him. The crowds were already pretty rowdy (I mean, it is a concert, so that's kinda expected!) but then more and more people started showing up and were just being plain rude. They kept pushing in front of us and getting to where we couldn't see anything and were mushed between people. They didn't care that we had gotten there early to get our spots. Oh well, we were still excited about having seen Jake Owen!


Sorry for the fuzzy quality... it's hard to zoom in close enough for a picture on my phone, let alone the fact that people are moving around you & not letting you stay still long enough for a clear shot. Jake did bring his bulldog with him (far right, middle picture) out on stage to begin with. We all went crazy for that... I mean, we are the bulldogs!

Saturday was the big Alabama game. I took a picture before the game started because of how pretty the sky was, but I didn't get any pictures of the game because I was too invested in what was happening to think to take a picture or two. It was a great game overall. Yes, we lost, but our boys played their hearts out. We aren't even ranked right now (it's been a tough season) and Alabama is (#3 as of the posted rankings on espn right now) and still managed to hold the final score to 7-24! LSU didn't even score a touchdown on Alabama last week in their game. I was so proud of our defense, especially, and how they stood up the Bama's offense and didn't allow them to run all over us. It was a great night to be a bulldog, standing up in the stands ringing our cowbells & screaming at the top of our lungs! Amanda & I stayed to the very end and then sang the Alma Mater with the team.

It's hard to believe that I only have one more home game to go to as a student. I can't believe this semester (and year) is quickly winding down! I mean, we only have this week of classes, Thanksgiving break, and then one more week of classes before final exams!

On a side note, my brother's football team won their game Friday night! They won their district last week and this weekend they won their Bi-Regional Championship game. I can't wait to be home this weekend & actually go to one of his games! It'll be for the Regional Championship and the team they're playing is Northland Christian out of Houston. From what I've seen online, they're going to be pretty tough, but I have faith in my Grace Cougars! Here's a pic of my brother (the goofy one on the left) with two of his buddies after the game:


Hope y'all have a great Sunday and enjoy what little bit of the weekend y'all can before everything starts back up again tomorrow!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

random happenings from the semester, along with a recap of the dairy products juding competition in Chicago....

Well, time has flown by since my last post, as it always seems to do. My semester is quickly winding down and the flurry of taking my last tests, quizzes, and turning in papers has consumed my life these past couple weeks. The biggest part of the last several weeks was preparing for the Dairy Products Judging competition.

I decided early on in the semester to be on the team and had to endure early morning practices (we're talking 6 am, people!) and sometimes late at night (practice that lasts 3 hours= epic fail for my brain usually) for the better part of this semester. For the past month or so, though, Dr. Gillis (our teacher/coach) started keeping a record of all of our scores. We judged 6 products: milk, vanilla ice cream, strawberry yogurt, cottage cheese, butter, and cheddar cheese. For each of these, we would have to individually score the products based on a chart of criticisms and score ranges we had to memorize. It was tough learning all of that information, but it ended up paying off in the end for me.

There were a total of 6 people in the course that wanted to be on the team. Sadly, only 3 undergrads can compete. (Well, there can be an alternate, but Dr. Gillis didn't want there to be one because there's the chance that they score better than the actual team members and that's never good for morale.) I ended up tying Dustin for having the lowest score in the group (lowest=good... We "scored" ourselves by tallying up how many points we missed for each product, so low score= missed the fewest). I was shocked. I thought that if I was going to be on the team that I would have barely made the third spot.

Well, the competition was in Chicago this past weekend... well, actually, just outside of Chicago at the Kraft R&D facilities. We flew from GTR Friday morning at 10 to Atlanta and then to O'Hare in Chicago. Then we got to go pick up our rental car (a big hassle because we had 8 people with us and needed a van... they had to go find one because the one they had didn't work... we waited a LONG time...) and then drive to our first hotel. It was the same hotel that the other 12 teams stayed at (along with a bunch of hockey teams... random, but I think there was a competition that weekend for them, too). We made a quick run to their local grocery store to get a couple extra dairy samples to re-acclimate ourselves before the competition the next morning.

I woke up Saturday morning around 5:15-ish. I was careful not to disturb Athenais (our French foreign exchange student... sadly she didn't make the team, but she did enjoy the free trip!) and got ready. I repacked all of my belongings since I wasn't going to be able to go back to the hotel before they had to checkout at noon. I met Dr. Gillis and my two other team mates, Dustin & Demarcus. We left for the Kraft facility and got there around 7ish. Dr. Gillis had a coach's meeting, but the rest of us got to sit around and wait until 8 when the competition started.

Of course, it started late. Which meant that the entire competition wasn't over until a little after 1 (when they said we'd be done by noon for sure...). After the competition, they collected our score sheets to start grading and all the teams went to go eat sandwiches & get a brief tour of Kraft. The best part of that lunch was the slide show they showed. They had pictures from past competitions (this was the 90th year to have this competition) and it was hilarious seeing pictures of Dr. Gillis (with HAIR!) and Ms. Julie (the lady that helped us a LOT during the last month, even though she wasn't able to make the trip with us).

When then proceeded to the award ceremony. I truly did not expect to win anything. This was Mississippi State's first team in about 6 or 7 years and all of the other teams there had people who had been judging in other regional competitions since they were freshman and were brought up and trained years for this competition... talk about pressure! Turns out, as a team we got third in cheddar cheese, and second in both cottage cheese and ice cream. Demarcus really helped us out as he individually placed in several products and managed to win first place in cheddar cheese (which meant he won money and gets to travel to Milwaukee to participate in a cheese competition there!). Overall as a team, we placed third in all products. This was totally unexpected and really nice. The best part was how proud Dr. Gillis was of us. He's not one to give out compliments, but he was genuinely pleased with our performance (and the fact that we totally shut down Cal Poly-- where he used to teach/coach).

We left Kraft after that and of course after having a couple more pictures taken. We drove back into the city and checked into the Hilton hotel directly across from O'Hare. We then took the tram downtown and ate dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant (wish I could remember the name!). We walked around for hours. By that point, I was beyond tired. When we finally made it back to our hotel, I took a very hot shower and crawled into bed a little after midnight. It was an exhausting day.

We woke up the next morning around 4am since we were all supposed to meet in the lobby around 4:30 to head to the airport. We flew out at 6am and managed to get back to GTR around 10am. It was just quick drive back to Starkville and then I got home, ate a little breakfast, and took a nice nap!

All in all, it was a great experience (even apart from the fact it'll look nice on my resume). It was also nice that individually, I placed 12th out of about 36 people... at least I was in the top half! This trip was much better than any of the culinology trips I went on the past two years... probably because we actually placed. I liked how we weren't allowed to wear anything related to our colleges on the day of the competition and were all assigned a number so that whoever was grading couldn't be biased & change scores. I think what always messed us up in Culinology was that people knew who we were and the judges were from the other colleges that competed (stupid Johnson & Wales!) So even when other teams that that we were going to win that year, we wouldn't even place in the top three!

I had a great time, but it's been weird trying to get back into the swing of things without all the judging team practices I had gotten accustomed to having. It's nice being able to sleep in and also have my afternoons free (for most days). I do miss seeing my team-mates every day though because we became really close. Oh well, I will have classes with them all next semester, so that will be sure to be fun!