Behind the Scenes: Mrs. Texas

This lady was brought into the picture back in my good 'ol high school days. She was actually my coach for volleyball and basketball, no guys she isn't that old, just was a young (hot) coach at the time! :) I had no idea at that time what a great friend she would become. Back then we used to get a long, but I certainly loved to push back on her when she started yelling at me (on and off the court). I specifically remember my senior year one night after a film session, we sat in the parking lot at school and talked and talked and talked. She proceeded to tell me that she knew something was going on with me and was not leaving until I told her. Well 2 hours and many tears later we got to the bottom of it and even though I didn't dare tell her she was right, I knew our relationship went much beyond sports. Several years since then she has become one of my best friends and I couldn't imagine coming this far without her!

WELCOME to the blog one of my favorites... Mrs. Texas!

You were kind of a bad--- in high school sports, what was your favorite memory from those good 'ol days? (P.S. Don't get a big head that I finally admitted this.)
Well I'm so glad that you are finally admitting what I knew was true all along!!! Plus that means you have to admit I did know what I was talking about when I coached you!!! [Ok don't get cocky lady!]

My best memories of high school sports was my whole senior year of basketball season. I learned alot and all the hardwork that I had put in looking back made the whole season so fun. Mainly districts, regionals and state (even though we lost)!!!

What was your favorite memory from back in the your coaching days?
My favorite memory of coaching was probably my last year as stressed as you guys made me I think we laughed more and you guys cheered me up so much on bad days. There were many many laughs in all the frustration. [Since she didn't share this memory, I have to. Probably one of my favorite memories of her was one of our first days of practice together. She had just been introduced to us and the next day at practice, we were doing some friendly running drills, you know everybody's favorites. Like most high school athletes we were cutting corners, so she went and stood on one of them to made us run around her. We had been running and started grazing against her as we past. Every time she kept backing up and telling us to "stay out of her bubble". Of course that was just a dare to me! So the next time I ran around her I completely brushed up against her back and got glared down the rest of the lap. As my next lap approached and I ran past her I reached up a pinched her butt. As you can imagine she flipped. Everybody else thought it was funny, except her! I would like to call that our first "bonding" moment! Thank goodness she is over her "bubble" phase.]

Plus I got one of my best friends out of the deal. [Ya we did! Can you say SCORE!?!]

You are a new mommy to the cutest baby in the world, not that I am partial or anything. What's been the best and hardest part about it so far?
She is an angel!!! She is my greatest accomplishment so far in life! The best part is having something so wonderful need and want you. The hardest part is the responsibility of it all, as wonderful as she is she comes with alot of laundry, dirty diapers and all the other responsibilities lol. Not to mention the nights she won't sleep unless you are holding her and you only get 2 hours of sleep, either way I would still say the little one is still the light of my world! [As she should be, perfect! Thank goodness she takes after her Auntie :)]

You and I are both the babies of the family (and favorites), what was the best part about being the youngest and only daughter growing up?
Hahaha!!! The best part of being the only girl was I didn't have to share my toys with anyone haha, and my dad and I were extremely close when I saw him. [Lucky for you, I had to share my barbies with my brother. You know so we could pull their heads off and and run over them with tonka trucks!] Plus my brothers always took care of me. [That was a great part, even the threatening talks that started something along the lines of "If you ever talk to my sister..."]

This May you will have been married for 4 years, what has been the best part?
The best part of being married has been how much closer to each other we have gotten over the last year while I was pregnant. I'm extremely lucky to have such a great husband that takes care of me. [This is true! From an outsider's perspective I must say I was slightly jealous of them. Watching them within the first few hours with their new daughter just absolutely melted my heart and made me want to jump on the wedding bandwagon. Oh wait I still need to find a guy for that. Haha Y'all keep your eyes open.]

You grew up just a few miles down the road from my hometown and now live in Texas. How is the Lonestar state? Do you think it has room for one more of your favorite people (me of course)?
Texas is ALOT different from how we grew up, so much faster paced, and not everyone knows everyone like where we come from. I enjoy it most days, but when I think about Kaydence going to school I do wish we were back home.

Of course their is room for one more! We might take the town by storm. [Oh honey, I can almost guarantee that at one point in our life we will be living in the same town together in Texas! Start preparing yourself now!]

What are some of your bucket list items?
1. I want to go to Alaska on a cruise.
2. I want to go on either a Disney cruise or a trip to Disney World with our family.
3. Go to Hawaii.

Thanks for stopping by to meet one of my absolute favorites!

Behind the Scenes: Future Famous Guy

Now this guy and I have been friends for about 11 years! The story of how we actually met is too good not to share, so here we go. . .  Back in junior high, y'all remember your first relationship right? Well mine was Future Famous Guy's best friend, and back in the day everybody didn't have cell phones like they do now. Luckily for me Future Famous Guy had one and I was able to talk to my exboyfriend, Cass, through him. The only catch to the story was that they didn't tell me it was not Cass's phone. So whenever Cass was not with him, Future Famous Guy would be talking to me as if he was Cass. (To this day he still claims that is the reason I fell so hard for Cass.) They both kept up this charade for several weeks before they ended up telling me, and by telling me I meant that Cass was texting me the same time as Future Famous Guy. As you can imagine I was slightly confused, but after we got it all settled, the rest has become history.
Little did I know that I had just met one of my best friends and favorite guys! So here we go, say hello to Future Famous Guy. Oh I almost forgot I need to set the scene for you .... While Future Famous Guy was answering these questions there were cameras, microphones, a make up crew, people shouting in the backgroud through the window and sheer maddness going on. Of course he held his composure, but it was touch and go there for a while...

You have a younger sister and just like my brother and I, y'all probably got into a lot of trouble, what is your favorite memory with her?

Well, to be honest my sister and I don't love each other; she is better than me at everything so it just doesn't work. Ok so I'm kidding, we love each other but only because we have to.. I was the brother that always wanted to hold her when she was a baby and feed her and give her toys and all that. Then she grew up and ruined it! I don't think this is my favorite memory but it is definitely one of the most prominent. So once upon a time, we were watching TV. My mom had company over and my dad was out of town. So we were left in the living room alone. Like most kids do when they are watching TV we started getting restless. Then I got an idea. (which is never good)[True story!] I told her I would lay on my back, she would sit on my feet, and I would launch her in the air. We put couch pillows on the ground for her to land on. First time I didn't throw her high and she lands on the pillows safely. Next time I launched her! (I was too young at the time to understand I was a super hero and had super strength, so its really not my fault)[Haha obviously not your fault!] What happened next happens in slow motion in my mind; she is launched and her body is wiggling everywhere trying to keep her balance in the air. Her fingers are a few inches away from the 12' roof, her blonde hair is moving in every direction, and then she starts to come down. She lands on the pillows but also on her arm. It broke. To this day when we get in an argument she hold up her little bowed arm and says, “You did this to me” and walks away. [Despite his cruel and unusual punishment to his darling sister she is not really deformed. She is actually one of the sweetest ladies I know. She is such a beautiful person inside and out! A beautiful and talented sister, not to mention an angel for having to put up with this guy her entire life. They are definitely two of my favorite people!]

Future Famous Guy and his sister!

You graduated from NMSU with your mechanical engineering degree, what was your favorite memory from college?

Any memory of college is rarely a memory about class or even related to your degree [Isn't that the truth!] so I'll give you a little party story. I was at some of my engineering buddies apartments and we had been drinking a little. Another friend wanted me to go to his apartment which was just on the other side of the apartment campus. On the long walk over I had to break the seal; and wouldn't you know there was a dark corner and bush with my name on it. I finish then zip up and start running over to his place because it was cold out. No sooner than five seconds after I get in, comes a knock on the door. My friend steps outside which always meant it was security. (The security guards paid regular visits to this place.) My buddy comes in and tells me I need to change my shirt now; security was chasing a guy in a blue stripe shirt that had taken a leak in a bush and wanted to hold him till the police came.[Just his luck!] Luckily some guy at the party had an extra shirt (it was a real nice shirt) and he let me wear it. The party started to end so I went back to the other apartment to get my stuff. On the way over there the security guards walked by. As a changed man and the confidence that comes from a really nice shirt I say, “How are y'all”. They reply “It's been busy”. I smile and kept on walking.

You recently moved to Lubbock for a job, what has been the best part so far?

The best part would have to be all these Texan women. I have 0 game but 20/20 vision. [Sadly he is not kidding about this part! ;) ]

You go on a lot of adventures, what has been your favorite?

Cass and I went on a spring break trip that was one of the funnest things I have done. We were both broke college kids so we didn't have many options on what we could do. Looking back I'm glad we were broke. We liked traveling old school, which meant we used a paper map, never used our phones, and we got some Sherlock Holmes’ tobacco pipes. We were somewhat civilized in the fact we brought our own toilet paper. Towards the end of the drive we were extremely tired and we knew our where abouts, just not our exact location because it was pitch black out. We ended up pulling into a BLM pasture and camping in the middle of it. It ended up being a field of red dirt that stained everything it touched. I woke up and I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital my throat was so swollen. Cass was griping that I had snored too loud and we weren't even in the same tent. (liar) After packing our tents, getting around, and drinking some extremely high pulp orange juice I felt good as new, after the burning stopped. We went to a lot of amazing places. Zion [Zion is a national park in Utah.] was the first. While we were there it started snowing hard, which made it that much better.   Everyone needs to go to Zion at some point. [Bucket List addition?!?] Its a canyon with rivers, waterfalls, and walls up to 1500 feet. We left there and went to a place called Goblin Valley. This place looks like it got copied from Mars [Have you also been to Mars?] and pasted to Earth. This place was a fun place to hike and we spent all day climbing around there. Some rocks were rough and dangerous but we made it out alive. [Thank goodness! My life would alot less entertaining if you hadn't.] We camped out at a random place off of a dirt road that night. I woke up and my sleeping bag had a thin layer of ice over it from the dew freezing in my tent. We went on a little hike because we heard there was cave paintings on some of the walls where we were. Don't remember what the drawing was but it was cool to see. We then went to Moab [Also in Utah.], which is one of the best extreme sports cities I've seen; even though we didn't get a chance to do them. We ate at a brewery then kept going and camped at a site after a little hike. The next day was the main attraction of the trip, Canyonlands. This is the place where the guy from the true movie 127 hours cut his own arm off, we were excited! We hiked about 18 miles that day and saw some really amazing sites. My favorite was these slender canyons that were about 40 to 50 foot tall. We had to leave our bags so we could get through a portion of some and ended up getting a little lost because it was like a maze. We headed back to the jeep after that. We had planned on staying again in our tents but we were tired, dirty, and hungry so we decided to go to Flagstaff to end our trip in a motel. [I remember him telling me about this vacation after they got back and was raving about how much fun he had! Sounds like a fun hiking trip for all you adventurers out there.]

Your parents have a house by the lake in FS, how much fun/trouble did y'all get into there?

Everything is allowed at the lake so there is no such thing as trouble there. We wakeboard, tube, swim, airchair, and do anything else you can think of. Aircharing is slowly become the most fun because I am still learning it, so it has new thrills. During the winter I started kayaking. Its a good workout and an easy way to fish. The lake is a nice relaxing place to go when everything else isn't nice and relaxing. [Whenever he is home, he is pretty much nonexistent. I am finally able to keep my phone charged without him running down my battery with his constant texts. Lol jk! Seems like he is always out getting into some kind of new fun out there. Perhaps you should start writing these stories down!]

Pshhh... You call that air?

You always seem to have some kind of crazy story to tell me/cheer me up, so tell me one.

After long nights of studying and staying up late it was time to relax. Before bed I had a couple beers then went to sleep. So after this I'm not sure exactly how it happened but ill try and fill in blanks the best I can. First let me give some context, in our backyard we have a yard, then a wall, then it drops down 9 feet to our neighbors. This neighbor is old and probably on medicine because she always went outside butt naked. [From what I remember that was his favorite reason for living there! ;)] Anyways, I went to sleep then the next thing I know I wake up with someone yelling they are gonna call the cops. I think I fell over in her yard while sleep walking and tried to get into her house thinking it was mine. She started yelling, “I'm calling the cops!” over and over and I woke up. I had no idea where I was and I was freaking out. With a rush of adrenaline I climb this huge wall and land in a bush, I realize I'm in my own yard and run inside. I did all this in my boxers. The lady never said anything to me [It was probably the highlight of him living there as well.] or anyone because like I said, I think she was on pills.

What are some of your bucket list items?

1.     Jump out of a plane

2.     Run marathon

3.     Hike one of the three longest trails in America

4.     Go to Australia, Patagonia, Iceland or somewhere cool like that

5.     Open own business

6.     Marry a model

7.     Divorce model

8.     Marry a super model

I could probably write 10,000 things I want to do before I die. These are just the first that popped into my head.

Disclaimer: These answers may or may not be true.

Now you have a tidbit of insight into my daily entertainment! Hope he brightened your day like he brightens mine!

Have a great weekend friends!

Behind the Scenes: Laker Lover

Today friends, you get to meet one of my very best friends as we are currently on the way to OKC for a regional KY Province meeting! This girl I met in undergrad and I could not be happier! She has been there with me through thick and thin and has become the closest thing I can get to having a sister. By thick and think I mean we have done everything from road trips across the Western United States to late night study sessions and numerous movie nights! I don't think I could have made it through college and pharmacy school with out her love and support. She has been one of my rocks since the beginning and I love her to death! You guys would absolutely love her if you knew her, and if you don't will want to meet her after hearing reading her stories below!

What was the best thing about growing up in good 'ol Artesia, NM?

Oh Artesia…Growing up in a small town definitively have its pros and cons. At the time I was there I wasn’t a fan of it and I always wanted to move to the “big city.” Now looking back at it I wouldn’t change anything. It really defines a person! [Amen] I think the best thing about growing up in Artesia would be how close you are to family and if they are not family they are pretty darn close to family! I loved living close to my grandparents. I don’t know what I would do without Nana, she always spoiled my sister and I. :) Our schools, sports and activities were always supported and sponsored by this oilfield guy, Mack Chase. If it weren’t for him and his business we wouldn’t be who or where we are now! Artesia Football is one very good reason for living in good ‘ol Artesia. [Now I must admit, I didn't have such good memories of Artesia growing up. When I was in high school, Artesia FFA were the big dogs (or they thought they were) and they certainly weren't my favorite back in the day. Needless to say I am glad that I was wrong, because two of my very best friends are from good 'ol Artesia.]

How did you decided you wanted to do pharmacy?

As of December of my senior year I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, where I wanted to go to college or anything! [Some of us might still be there!] My dad didn’t want me to settle down and go to cosmetology school, he thought I could do a lot better (not saying that wouldn’t have been successful he just wanted me to be something else). So one day I walked into the counselor’s office and I saw the flyer about the COOP program [UNM/NMSU Cooperative Pharmacy Program is what she is referring to. We are both part of this unique program that you had to apply to out of high school. If you are accepted you transfer to NMSU to complete your undergraduate studies, then apply and transfer to UNM assuming you meet all the requirements.], so I looked into that I was like what the heck might as well give it a shot. I have always loved science and math so I figured this couldn’t be that bad, right?? Well two years of undergrad down and almost three years of pharmacy school down here I am! I may be a little more stressed out than when I started, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Oh yah and after pharmacy school I plan on going to cosmetology school to do hair and nails on the side!! Yours anyways :) [If you guys have missed the blogs in the past about her dying my hair click here, and I plan on her doing it in the future, well assuming we are living in the same town.]

One of our many hair dying experiences!

What is your favorite memory with us?

My favorite memory with you and I would be all of our trips to Oklahoma!! I am so glad I converted you on becoming a Sooner fan, not that you had any doubt in your mind!  The many road trips we have taken down there filled full of talking and jamming out, oh and you taking your countless naps. :) [For those of you who know me, know that I L-O-V-E, LOVE my naps!] You always knew exactly what to do when I was getting pulled over; we had our little system down haha. [For those of y'all who know LL know that she kind of has a need.... a need for SPEEDDDDDD! Needless to say with that in mind, she has a tendency to get pulled over a lot so we had our system down.] I wouldn’t want it any other way. The day would always consist of a morning breakfast and cocktails followed by a little Game Day shopping so we would have something cute to wear [Which ended up being 5 new shirts. . . atleast!], a beer run and then to the tailgate we go. YES TAILGATING! One of the best reasons for college football right?? The fun times between my Mom’s tailgate and Dad’s tailgate playing beer pong, flip cup, jello shots, food, drinks, left right center, more flip cup, cornhole and everything in between. (YES we were always the flip cup champs :)) [Seriously, some of the most fun I have had! It is so much fun to go tailgating and to a football at a school that is serious about their sports teams. If y'all haven't ever been to Norman, it seriously is a blast! Go watch a game there!] 

Now we all know I am relationship challenged, but you have a boyfriend! What's the best part about being in a relationship?

The boy's name is Ali! I actually really enjoy being in a relationship although I am not sure of the reason. All it is...is another best friend. We both met in pharmacy school and that is when it began. It started off just giving each other hard times about basketball teams (he of course is not a laker fan) and just escalated from there. I think the best part of this relationship is we always get to see each other and be together. We have been to Las Vegas, New Orleans, Oklahoma and fixing to go to California. One of our favorite things to do it watch basketball. I was lucky enough to take a trip to Oklahoma with Miss Pharmer Girl and him to watch the Thunder vs. Heat. It was a time of our lives! [The trip was a blast even though we made it all in less than 48 hours!] We also get to see each other everyday at school and most of the time we do study together. It is a person that you can laugh with, cry with, be mad at and be happy with. He always puts a smile on my face. I think God put him in my life for a reason and only the future will tell. I like having my sidekick around! <3

How did you become an Oklahoma fan?

This is a hard one. I would have to say since I am from Oklahoma and my dad is such a huge fan it has just stuck with me. I remember as a little girl my favorite show to watch was Sports Center [This is not a joke! Seriously, it is still her favorite show.] watching every sport’s highlights and watching the games. Being raised by a single father we were never allowed to watch cartoon so you just had to adapt to it. I woke up on Saturday mornings watch Game Day in my sooner outfit. When I was little we would go to as many games as possible. Both of my parents are season ticket holders and it helps that the quarterback for the Sooners for the past couple years is a guy I graduated high school from! So I think it would be safe to thank my Dad for this one :) 

Late night swim and cocktails!

You have been a Laker and Kobe Bryant fan for a long time, what has been your favorite game?

AHHHHH this is a hard one!!! I don’t think I can just pick one, but I have a few favorites. When I was younger when they had their three-peat championship series, I can say I was one happy girl! I would schedule my whole day around those games and make sure I was on Nana’s couch in my favorite Laker jersey by tip-off; never wanting to miss a second. My favorite games to watch on TV (yes I have two) [Of course you do!] would be Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game and when Kobe Bryant lit off Madison Square garden scoring 61 points. [Why am I seeing a pattern here, LL?!?] I am a bit obsessed with Kobe I will be the first to admit it :) so whenever he is doing so awesome I can only admire him!! It was the game when he was playing the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006 when you could just tell he had the touch. It didn’t matter the look he got or the person who passed it to him he was just unstoppable and scored a whoppin’ 81 points. "I was just determined. I was just locked in, tuned into what was going on out there," Bryant said. "These points tonight mattered. We needed them. The points I put in the basket were instrumental. It means a lot more."- Kobe Bryant [Just so she doesn't look crazy(-er) she did look these quotes up. Haha] I still will watch youtube vidoes of that game and think about how awesome Kobe is. Ok I better stop now before I get out of control, I could go on for days talking about Kobe and the Lakers. Along with those two TV games my favorite game that I have been to probably would be when the Lakers hosted the Boston Celtics. Although my list could go on, I just really liked this atmosphere! They are huge rivals and so it just made it a really fun weekend trip! [Why does it not surprise me that this was your longest answer?!?]

What is your favorite trip we have been on?

Oh Lord! I would definitely have to say our trip to Arizona for Province. [It was for Kappa Psi, our pharmaceutical fraternity.] Not only was it Province weekend but it was your 21^st birthday weekend!! It started by road tripping with the five of us packed in the car full of laughter and music and naps! The whole weekend was a blast. Oh yah and it was St. Patty’s Day! We get into Arizona and meet friends at hooters for a beer before the night began. The first night we were there we planned to head to Mill Avenue and boy was that fun. [Oh my gosh was it ever! Kind of a blur if you ask me!] There was a ton of us there this weekend. While we were getting ready for the night we thought it would be a good idea to start drinking. So we pulled out the 99 Bananas and root beer. I don’t think Miss Pharmer Girl will ever look at 99 Bananas the same. [She is right, to this day, I still can't look at them without feeling a little queasy!] So we set out on foot to Mill Avenue, it wasn’t just around the corner either; we had quite a little hike to get to the bars. [She is not a kidding! Serious we were all dressed up and had to walk at least a mile!] Once we got there we weren’t quite sure how we were going to sneak Miss Pharmer Girl into the bar, until a guy in our group had a great idea. We would just have her sneak under the ropes and switch wristbands with her! [Genius right, welll....] Well it got her in! [& it all went down hill from there folks!] The night was full of lots and lots of shots and dancing till early morning. Once the bars were trying to close I figured it was time to get her home, but there was no way we were going to make that hike again. So outside the bar we met up with these guys getting a cab so we just decided to jump in and see where it took us. [Yes, I know... STUPID STUPID STUPID, but hey you live and learn my friends.] Well we ended up at the In-and-Out somewhat close to our hotel. The people in the cab along with the cab driver were being very sketchy so I grabbed Miss Pharmer Girl and we decided to run the rest of the way back to the hotel, yes wedges and all. [HAHAHA] It was one heck of a 21^st birthday! The rest of the weekend was being with all the Kappa Psi brothers at socials and meetings and a little bit of shopping! It was by far one of the funnest trips I have been on period! [I agree, one of my favorite trips by far!]

What are you most looking forward to about our rotations?

The thing I am most looking forward to about rotations is seeing what else is out there. [Word] I am so excited to see what else pharmacy has to offer. I have had my mind set for along time as I was offered a great job so I kind of just want to get out and see what else is out there.  I am always up for new adventures. I am also excited to do an out of state rotation. I plan on going to Oklahoma once again to be close to my Mom, Sisters, and my two nieces!!!  And when I think about rotations all I can think of is that for 1. I am done with all the school material and 2. Graduation is right around the corner!!!! [Could not of said it better myself!!]

& that my friends is Laker Lover!