Excitement is . . .

As of 11:30 tonight, I will officially be in New Mexico!! I am so excited to be back home for Thanksgiving, I can't control myself. I think my emotions can only be described as a combination of: 

Enjoy your holiday with your loved ones, I know I will be counting my blessings.

Weekend Update

This was one of the most laid back weekend I have had in awhile, and it was absolutely perfect!

Friday
After work Papa & G-Ma picked me up so we could head north to Hatch. Two of my cousins were playing their rivals in basketball so we didn't want to miss out on any of the action. We ended up making it to Hatch just as the JV basketball game was starting. The game was pretty close and my cousin ended up shooting a few three's, scoring some free shots, and playing hard. Unfortunately the game did not end as we hoped, but they played good.

Next up, his older brother hit the court. Now this game had a lot more action in it. Before I give y'all the play by play, you should get to know my cousin. He is one of the sweetest, kind souled people I know. He is a junior in HS and a doll; he rarely uses his temper and is always smiling. Oh and he is never in foul trouble!! With that being said, he had 1 technical foul contributing to his 4 fouls with 3 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Yep, you heard me right. The game was intense!

So first quarter, he got two quick fouls. The first foul was debatable, but the second was a good call. Next, up was a hustle foul in the beginning of the 2nd. Now the action starts, but before that let me give you a little background. My cousins had 2 cousins that were also playing that night, for Hatch. They are all very close, go to the same church, show together, go on trips together, etc. Well one of the twins was struggling for a jump ball with my cousin and after the whistle was blown, my cousin lightheartedly  reached out and gave him a love tap on his shoulder. Now I am saying it this way because there was no malicious attitude between either of them, but some laughing and smiling. I am guessing that one of them said something to the other, but who knows. Needless to say, the ref just saw his arm extended and  the whistle was blown; technical foul. Haha It caused quite the uproar from the stands.

Well as you can imagine, after 4 fouls that quick, he set the rest of the half, the third and part of the fourth. After he was finally able to come back in, it was game on. He joined the rhythm of the game and did his part of contributing to the final score. They ended up winning the game and it was quite the triumph.

Whew, doesn't that make you miss high school sports? What a great way to spend my Friday night!

Saturday
This was an absolutely perfect day! We were completely lazy day watching movies. In between movies, we had a great lunch and I read a book. The only thing we had to worry about was whether or not we wanted to add chocolate syrup on our ice cream.

Sunday
Since Saturday was such a relaxing day, I had to do some catch up yesterday. Pretty much just the usual, laundry, homework, blogging, etc. It was an absolutely perfect weekend! I hope yall's was just as relaxing and fun.

Happy Monday Loves!

Bring on the Super Bowl Baby

I am just slightly behind on my blog posting and picture posting via facebook, I apologize. Laker Lover was kind enough to point it out to me that I still have not uploaded pictures to fb from October.. yikesss! Luckily I have access to fulltime internet now so I have been playing catch up. If we are friends on fb, you already got picture overloaded.

Since the Super Bowl is tomorrow, I guess I better talk about my trip to Denver to see Peyton win the AFC Championship game! Here we go folks . . . 

 

Check out the photo-bomber behind me. Haha

As for the most recent adventure, we, Laker Lover, her dad & I, went to the AFC Championship game in Denver. Yep, that's right, feel free to be jealous. So here's how it went down. . . 
 
Friday ~11:30pm
As LL & I were getting ready for bed:
LL: Dude, why didn't we think about going to the AFC game? As much as you love Peyton Manning & with it being in Denver, it was dumb of us not to look.
Me: I know, we really dropped the ball on that one. Well lets look up tickets just for the heck of it and see how crazy they are.
*LL typing away on her phone & believe it or not still finds tickets*
LL: I found some tickets that aren't too crazily priced. What do you think?
Me: *Trying to make a logical decision and not a irrational one* Well it would be an absolute blast, but that's kind of crazy us going tomorrow. (Now mind you LL had to work from 2-6pm, so we wouldn't be leaving until 7pm at the earliest.)
LL: I know it is, but heck we are only young once. Plus how many other chances are you going to have to see Peyton play. (Earlier in the week there were stories about the clause in his contract that could potentially end his career after this season if he does not pass vigorous tests of his neck.)
Me: You're right, let me sleep on it and we will decide tomorrow morning.
 
Saturday
The entire reason we were in ABQ for the weekend were to take our composite pictures for pharmacy school which were schedule at 1 pm. 

After the pictures, ready to hit the road!

So while we were getting ready for the pictures, we were seriously talking about going to the game. She called her Dad and got his opinion (which he decieded to come with us) and I called my parents to get their input. My parents told me that if it was within my budget, I should definintely go! With that being said, we started planning the trip. Miss Artesia was sweet enough to cover LL's shift at work, LL's Dad printed out the tickets for us, and agreeded to meet us in Las Vegas, NM. From there we all headed up together. We made it to Colorado Springs before we stopped for dinner and a little shopping fun. We all ended up getting a new coat, mine just happens to a pretty teal color.

After dinner we made the short treck to our hotel and checked in for the night. Luckily for me LL & her dad used to live in Castle Rock so they had our game day routine already planned out. So the only thing left was to take a picture in our Peyton gear & teal accent. :)

Sunday

Before we knew it, it was time to get up & get ready for the big game. After we got ready, we headed down to the light rail. It made things so much nicer than having to fight traffic and find parking. Into the city we went, stop by stop picking up a few more Bronco fans along the way. By the time we got to the stadium we had a car filled with blue and orange pride. We poured out of the car and followed the crowd. Along our way we found some places to get some beads and a logo painted on our cheek. After we got to the stadium we did a little pregame exploring and picture taking before we got in line to head in at 11.

 

 

Once we made it inside we went down to the bottom deck and snapped a few shots close to the field. We got to see some of the players warming up, like Eric Decker, no big deal. Well while we were down there, camped out by one of the locker room tunnels I might add, guess who walked by? Yep, you guessed it, John Elway. Let me repeat myself, John Elway, one of the best NFL quarterbacks. Now I am not a die hard Bronco fan (y'all know its all about my boy Peyton & the Colts), but come on, John stinkin' Elway walked passed me; pretty cool y'all pretty cool!

 

Down on the field.

Eric Decker. NBD.
Between him & Wes Welker they are probably the only two players
besides Peyton I would recognize. 

I got spotted snapping pictures. Oops.

John Elway.

About an hour before kickoff we headed up to our seats and started listening to the stadium coming alive. The energy was unreal! Every seat had an orange pom pom and by the time they started announcing the players, there was a sea of orange flinging around. By this time I felt like a kid on Christmas times about a million. I had just went to the bathroom and no joke felt like I could go again. Then they announce Peyton (Do you guys like how I feel like I am on a first name basis with him? Haha) the crowd errupts and I had a mild panic attack, in a good way of course.

 

Peyton running out. The field went crazy when they heard his name. Naturally.

& his first time out of the field. It was game over after that.

After the we won the kickoff and elected to defer, it was on. Tom Brady and his crew came on to the field. Mind you, I can appreciate a good athlete when I see one, but I sure do not like Brady or his coach for that matter. In fact we had a few Pats fans sitting infront of us at the game and that was the source of my trash talking. I did still keep the trash talking polite, but I can't say the same for some of the people around me. There were people in their 70s that were talking some serious trash to the few Pats fan scatter through the stadium. It was quite hysterical. This one lady in particular was giving it to the poor fans, especially when they started keeping quiet because lets face it, Tom Brady is no Peyton Manning; on or off the field. I mean seriously, how could you not like Peyton, he is a class act, but thats a topic for another blog.

That crazy lady I was talking about. 

The Fray.

 

Final score: Broncos 26, Patriots 16. Suck it Brady.

 

By the time the game was winding down, the crowd hit an entire different level of loud. You could feel the excitement pulsing through the stadium as Peyton (and I guess the Broncos too) captured the AFC Championship. We stayed around for the festivities, then made our journey back home. It was by far one of the best weekends/36 hours of my life. I got to see one of my sports idols not only win a game, but head to the big dance. I would say that is a pretty fair Bucket List item checked off!

Now the only thing left to say today is,

GOOOOO PEYTON!

Catch Up Time

Alright guys, well I officially stink at bloggin' and Miss Football called me out on it the other day! I completely missed the entire month of July. :( Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. I am currently about to finish up my THIRD rotation for pharmacy school and gosh this summer has just flown by! Since I would be bloggin' for days about everything that has been going on, I figured I will just show a few pictures to catch y'all up on the last month and a half. Buckle up y'all, its going to be long!

Mom's side of the family went camping between Rotation 1 & 2!
It was an absolute blast & I wish we could have spent more than 4 days!
Here is a little description of Brother of Mine & my relationship.

Of course Laker Lover and I had to have a few BB dates
while I was back in ABQ for my 2nd rotation!

One of the easier weekend's I had on Rotation #2,
Laker Lover and I had a movie marathon while I did my nails!
Oh and of course I had to buy my personal car mascot :)

The last full weekend in ABQ, Laker Lover's Dad and Sister came to town.
We started off the weekend with dinner and a movie.
Of course you can't go to a movie without sneaking in some candy.

The next night, Laker Lover, her sister, Fratty Frat, My Little B & I
all went out to the famous DB! We met up with some other friends there
& had an absolute blast! Can't beat country music and two-steppin' cowboys.

I captured this beauty one of my last nights in town!
Man, how great is our GOD!

This little angel turned 6 & 7 months old while I was MIA!
Isn't she just absolutely precious?
P.S. Less than a week until I get to go stay with her :)

One night I got a little excited that we were finally getting
some of God's beautiful rain! Gotta love summertime monsoon season.

Home sweet home for Rotation #3 :)

I mean I guess I can live with driving past this beautiful scenery
twice a day on my way to work. Life is rough, huh?

Spent a little time at the arena watching my cousins rope.

Started this new thing called running. Evidently it is all the fad.

Spent every evening after work with these beauties.
Call me crazy, but not much beats the smell of a cold room.

Well that is just a little recap of all the crazy happenings of my life lately! I hope everything has been going good yall's way. Hopefully next time I won't go a month and a half without checking in. Until next time my loves!

The Beginning of the End

Have you ever had that one moment in time when something completely insignificant happens, but it completely changes everything? Well this seems to be happening a lot lately. Most recently we got our rotation schedule for our fourth year of pharmacy school, and I swear it snuck up on me. I know it is one of the moments that I have been waiting for since I started pharmacy school, but when Wednesday came last week and we got our schedules it finally sunk in how fast the past few years have passed.

Of course after it sank in that I only have 6 weeks of classes left and I will be starting my fourth, FOURTH year of pharmacy school in about two months, I was so relieved. Granted, my fourth year won't be a walk in the park, but it will be a nice change of scenery. No more long days spent at the library and late nights spent at Village Inn. No more weekend plans canceled because "we have a test on Monday" or beautiful days spent indoors wishing I was outside not studying.

It also means, no more living with Laker Lover (who I have pretty much lived with for the past 4 years). No more movie marathon days, or late night hair dying extravaganzas. No more seeing my friends almost every day, or ability to use the excuse of "I am still in collge, I don't have a future plan yet."

In two months, I will start transferring out of one chapter of my life and starting a new one. Granted, I am not officially done with school, but for the most part I will be working in a pharmacy five days a week and starting more of a "regular" schedule. I will be able to get my life back into a routine and schedule again. (My type A personality is loving this part!) I will be phasing out of my college days and beginning to start my grown up days.

That means the future is just around the corner. The day I have been looking forward to since I started college, graduation, is less than 14 months away. So between now and then, I have my work cut out for me. I have some serious decisions ahead of me: Where do I want to live? What type of pharmacy do I want to practice? How many states do I need to apply for licenses in? Not to mention all the smaller things I need to do between now and then. As nerve racking as some of this may be, I can't help but be excited! The only thing I have to say to that is, bring it on!

What makes you happy?

What makes you happy, I mean truly happy? Do you find joy in life's smaller things? Are you able to find happiness in something that most have overlooked? With today's fast tracked society I think that many of life's more beautiful things are easily overlooked with the hectic mess of our lives.

Think back to the simpler times when 9 year olds didn't have cell phones and siblings only complained about who had to go milk the cow that morning. Now don't get me wrong I do love many of the conveniences we have today, but what small bits of happiness are placed throughout our day that we so easily overlook. Where is the hidden beauty in your day? Have you found it yet?

I am just as guilty as the next person in getting caught up in everything that is going on in my life that I forget to find happiness in the small things too. I know sometimes I feel so over whelmed with classes, work, organizations, studying and everything else going on that's I forget to open my eyes and see the beauty. Somedays when I am on my way home from class or walking in the grocery store I catch myself smiling about the smallest thing. Whether it is the beautiful sunset that is painted across the sky or the sweet elderly man that is still holding the door for his wife. How did we get so caught up with living life that we are actually missing out on truly living life?

So whenever I take the time to find the happiness in life this is the many forms it comes in:

Sunsets -- Ice Cream -- City Skylines -- Football -- Movies -- Daily Devotionals

When my fingernails and toenails match -- Taking pictures -- Purple Hair

Ignore the face, I was demonstrating something for
a friend, but this was the only purple picture I had. HAHA

Making greeting cards -- Sending friends pictures to make them smile like these

Music and singing along (preferable as a gangster rapper) -- Traveling

Kissing the Sphinx in Egypt!

Overcast days -- Starry nights -- Long talks with old friends

Lovely Country Mess

What makes you happy?