Senior Year :)

I can't believe I'm about to start my last year of college tomorrow... the years have FLOWN by! Part of me is excited to see what this year has in store for me, while the other part does not want anything to do with classes and all the homework and tests that come with it. Well, that part actually makes up the majority. I'd love college if I could just hang out with friends and not be so worried about making sure that I get all the credit hours I need to graduate and that I actually pass those classes.

In other news, I'm terribly excited about football season. That is the highlight of this fall semester! We will have such incredibly good home games this year, along with us also having a pretty good team. I freakin' love Coach Dan Mullen. He is the best thing that's happened to the program in years!

Well, I need to get ready for classes tomorrow, but hopefully I will be better about updating this. I know that I always say that, but life gets so busy that I end up putting this on the backburner and forgetting about it. Maybe I'll get better!

My Future

As the time for me to graduate steadily grows closer and closer (next Spring semester!), I'm surrounded by the nagging question of what I'm going to do. Will I go to grad school, where do I want to work, where am I going to live.... the list goes on and on.

I love Texas. I know that is where I belong and that is where I consider home. Texas may not be for everyone but it sure is for me! So, at least that's one question down. I can't wait until I'm able to move back home and settle down.

On a side note, I love Mississippi State. It's been full of great experiences and the people here always amaze me with how nice and generous they are. But, Mississippi pales in comparison to Texas. I would never be able to live the rest of my life here in Starkville. Anyways, back to my future....

I love food. And I love having food science as my major. But, do I want to work for a corporation for the rest of my life as a career? Will I find it satisfying to create dishes for someone else to get credit for? Will I end up just sitting in a lab somewhere? Granted, I know that I will start off at the bottom of the totem pole wherever I go to work, but everyone needs to know that there's room to move up.

So, I begin to think about opening my own bakery. I think about all the great treats I could make and how I could involve my family and I picture some happy little life. But then the doubts come back and I wonder if it is something that would: one, prosper and actually do well as a business and two, be something that I would continue to enjoy. I know that sometimes people shouldn't make their hobby their career, because then they begin to lose enjoyment in that particular task.

Oh well. I do have an internship this summer with Brookshire's back home in Tyler. I'll see how it goes and hopefully it will give me a better idea about what I'd like to do with the rest of my life. Until then, I'll just daydream about being able to go around the Texas countryside with a camera and take pictures...

Courtesy of Pat Marince Photography



Courtesy of Dallas Photoworks

Well, so far I've been able to keep up with the Flickr account and remember to upload a picture every day. Sometimes the pictures are sorta lame, but at least I'm making myself take them! I guess that's a plus. :)

In other news, I've worked a couple times at my new job. I'm working for one of the professors in the Food Science department. The project is for World Health Organization, creating a recipe for cashew cookies/biscuits that are are packed full of nutrients. This recipe is supposed to be something that they will be able to make over in Africa for their citizens. It's really nice to be able to just go in for a couple hours a day and make a batch or two of cookies. It's also a plus to say that I'm helping kids in Africa... no big deal! Haha!

Other than that, I can't believe that February is almost halfway over. That means that Spring Break is less than a month away! I'm so ready for warmer weather and the end of this semester. I'm so ready to spend two weeks in wonderful Europe. I'm so ready to travel and eat and just enjoy the total immersion several other cultures. I'm so ready for summer and my internship and spending time with my family. I'm also very ready to only have one more year of college before I graduate and can move back home to Texas. Lord, I need patience!

Well, last night I decided to create a Flickr account (there's a link in the sidebar). I'm hoping that it will get me back in the habit of taking pictures and actually posting them somewhere. I mean, facebook is OK for uploading some pictures, but I have to load my account down with the thousands of pictures I take of scenery that probably only interests me! So, I have a challenge for myself for the month of February: upload one picture every day to Flickr. It should be easy enough since I now have a camera again and I also have the ability to upload pictures taken on my phone. (Yay for technology! haha) So we'll see how far I get.... I think the main problem will be me just having to remember to take a picture, or to take a picture of something really neat and not just keep walking past it and regretting it later. For instance, in my Intro Culinary class this morning, the teacher shattered the door to the oven. Granted, it was all on accident, but it was still really funny and would have been a great picture. Yet, I didn't take a pic and now I regret it. So, here's to renewing my interest and dedication to photography!

I really wish that I thought to update this more often than I do. I guess I just get so caught up in what I'm doing and totally forget that it's even here. I mean, I have a lot that I want to say, but then when I actually sit down I never know how to put it. I don't know what's happened. I used to write all the time and now I never do. Maybe I should just try to set aside time for me to sit down and write stuff down until the creativity comes back. I miss having this as an outlet, being able to put everything I'm feeling down, and then go on with my day. Maybe I'll get better at this....









I know I've probably used these pictures before, but I just really love them for some reason. Or maybe it's just for the fact that I'm missing home.

I wish that my camera hadn't broken. I miss going out and taking pictures. Hopefully I'll get another one for Christmas... but until then, here's a picture that I took about two years ago.






Anyways, classes are over for my semester. I can't believe that after finals I will officially be a junior and halfway done with college. It's just flown by.

randomness....

so yeah... if anyone saw my last post I'll let you know that I did make a few recipes of Jamie's (which were marvelous!) but not nearly as many as I had originally anticipated. Also, I was way too lazy to post anything about them. My summer pretty much revolved around working at Andy's and spending as much time as possible with my family.
I realize that very few people read this, and personally, I am totally fine with that. This is pretty much just a place for me to put down all these random thoughts that seem to be revolving in my head. So, here goes...

Well, I figure I'll start this next topic with this statement: I love Mississippi State. I really do! As in totally adore and am very pleased with all of the opportunities I am given and all of the amazing people I have met here and grown to know and love. But I'm constantly reminded of how much I love home. Growing up, all I ever heard in the school hallways was how ready people were to leave Tyler and go somewhere else. I guess I heard that so much that I began to think that was how I felt, too. Well, until I decided to go to a school at least seven hours away from my beloved home (and that's seven hours if you're choosing to set your own speed limit!). It was hard the beginning of my freshman year, because I didn't know anyone here. Then I met people-- great people, amazing people, people who truly love the Lord. And my life got better. I didn't miss home as much and it wasn't as hard to leave whenever I had to go back to school after a break. Then my spring semester flew by. I looked forward to going back and couldn't wait to see what opportunities would arise for me.
Then this year... I guess I just haven't completely adjusted again after being away for three months during the summer. Don't get me wrong. As I said earlier, I love State. I couldn't imagine going to school anywhere else and being happy, let alone getting a better education that has anything to do with Food Science! But there's nothing that matches the way my heart feels when I cross over state lines back into Texas. I don't want to sound like some bigoted Texan when I say this, but I truly believe Texas is the absolute best place in the U.S. to live. Anything you could want, you can find in Texas. And if for some odd reason, it's not in Texas, well then, you probably shouldn't have it!
I guess my home life is just too good. I love being with all my family-- as odd and crazy as we are. That just makes me love them more. My mama is too good of a mom. My daddy is the best dad in the world. And as far as my brother goes... well, I wouldn't admit it, but he is the best little brother I could have, even if I do want to punch him in the face on a routine basis! I hate that I can't just go to the kitchen and sit on the counter and talk to mama. Or joke around and be overly sarcastic with daddy. I hate the fact that I'm missing Lin's football games, birthdays, etc.
I know that I'm incredibly tired because of trying to get back in the routine of classes, and that's why I'm feeling more emotional than usual. But that still doesn't change the fact that I miss the comforts of home.

I don't know what to think right now. There's just way too much going on for me to try to think about one thing for a long time. I feel stretched in so many ways and I'm just ready to be done with things so that I can have time to rest and relax, but I know that will never come. Because once I'm done with college and all the extracurricular activities, I'll be out in the "real world" and will have a job and bills to pay. But a girl can dream that she'll be able to sleep in and relax, can't she?

Well, I need to go to a class and lab, but I'll probably write more later.