Hello Again 2 a.m.

I CAN'T SLEEP!  I have been a crazy insomniac the last few nights.  I have stayed up until at least 2 with little hope of falling asleep anytime sooner.  Its driving me insane and reminding me of when I was younger.  The only difference is that I am now old (Ok not old, but older) and  my mind and body just can't take this whole late night thing anymore.  I don't know if its because I have had a lot of stuff on my mind, or if its because my sinuses have been going crazy lately resulting in some killer headaches and a stuffed up nose.  I have realized some things during my late nights though.  1. I am a nut who frequently hears random things in the night and gets scared.  Most of the time, its just the heater coming on, but I will spend at least 10 minutes each time investigating the sound and double checking to make sure all of the doors are locked.  2. I love late night tv!  Currently watching a marathon of "My Life As Liz" and its AWESOME!  This may be part of the reason I can't sleep at night. 3.Mike can sleep through anything.  I have banged around his house, fixed late night snacks in his kitchen and made way more noise than a normal person should when I do finally decided I need to sleep, and he never wakes up.  and last, 4. I cannot sleep if my toes are in socks. Ok... this isn't really a new discovery, but I decided to try it out again.  My feet end up freezing at night, so I've been trying to wear socks, but if my toes start to get crowded together, I can't sleep and it drives me insane. 

I am now going to attempt to sleep!  I hope everyone has had a great weekend!  Stay tuned for a photo update soon! Love you all!

Bowlin Time!

I can now add another reason why I am loving this month!  December 29, Mike and I will be making the trek to San Antonio to attend this....

I am so excited!  OSU is playing Arizona.  While I think that it is kind of crummy we didn't get to go to the Cotton Bowl (I absolutely do not agree with A&M being chosen over us even if they do believe they will get a better draw than we will), I am so excited to spend sometime in San Antonio.  Mike and I bought our tickets last night, so its official!  Just waiting on Holly and Brady to figure out if they can go, and then we are set.  We will be spending New Year's Eve there too, so should be a really great trip! 

LOL

I love those laugh out loud moments!  More than anything, I really enjoy when you read something that makes you laugh out loud.  Whether its a book, a blog post (from Sam of course), a new article, or someones facebook status.  I just love that feeling of being so amused you can't keep it inside.  Anyone read anything that made you literally laugh out loud lately?

Thanksgiving Already?!

Holy moly!  I cannot believe its almost Thanksgiving already!  That is so exciting to me!  I absolutely love the holidays.  From Thanksgiving until January 2, I am on an extreme holiday high.  I am looking forward to so much over this break too.
*Thanksgiving food!!  Yum!  Plus I get to spend time with almost my entire family.
*Lights On at Utica!  Mike and I going to bundle up for a trip to Utica Square to look at those beautiful Christmas lights, snuggle and partake in some Starbucks hot drinks (Hot Chocolate for me, some type of coffee for him). 
*Black Friday Shopping!  Definitely thinking about waking up early to go.  We'll see if I am that crazy.
*Christmas Decorating on Friday!  I've waited for the day after Thanksgiving, but I've been eager to do it for like 2 weeks now.
*BEDLAM!!!  Wow we have the potential to be 11 and 1.  That is just incredible to me.  And the fact that I actually get to be there in the stadium for this big game is so exciting.  Season tickets are the best investment I have made all year.  Go Cowboys!
*So many lovely people coming into town to celebrate, which means that hopefully I will get a chance to see some of them (hint, hint :) ). 

I have so much to be thankful for this year too. 
*Two AWESOME parents that are healthy for the first time in a while.  My mom who is always there to talk to and support me, even when she has her own things going on.  She lets me ask her opinion on everything, and just really helps me make the decisions that are best for me.  She doesn't always agree, but she supports none the less.  And my dad... the most wonderful man I know.  I am so blessed to still have him here. 
*A genuine and loving boyfriend who makes me laugh and smile and completely understands me, even when I am being a crazy person.  
*A wonderful best friend/roommate that is always there to be a shoulder to cry, shopping buddy, and just general partner in crime.
*Some of the best friends a girl could ever ask for.  Seriously.  I have learned a lot about how important it is to have those real friends... the ones that know your faults and mistakes you've made, plus all of your personality quirks, and love you anyway.  The ones that you can go a month or two without talking to and the second you do its like you were never apart. 
*A great reading job that is just so much fun with kids that warm my heart everyday.


I hope everyone has a wonderful/eventful/relaxing Thanksgiving weekend with their loved ones! 

Time to get a little Wicked?

Thanks to this guy......

I get to go see this tomorrow......

 along with this lovely couple....

I love love love Wicked and I CAN'T WAIT!!!

The Road Not Taken

I was thinking tonight about where my life has gone in the last few years, mainly since my OSU graduation. I thought about some of the incredible people that have entered my life and how grateful I am for them. I thought about my first grown up job and how I hope to be able to do it again someday. I thought about some of the people that have left my life and how that has impacted me. I thought about the triumphs and good times I have had, as well as the mistakes I have made. But most of all, I thought about how all of these things that have brought me to where I am today. I graduated college and moved out on my own. I got my heartbroken by a boy. I dated someone that unknowingly taught me about myself, both what I loved and what I wanted to change. I realized how important real friends are and that when you find them, it is best to hold on tight and fight for them. I almost lost my dad. I had a big kid job, and suffered the heartbreak of not getting that job back. I met someone that truly embodies good and genuineness in everything he does. I started grad school. Plus a million other small moments.

I think that often people wonder about what could have been. They look back on events in their life and wonder what would have happened if they had done something differently. I am guilty of doing that on more than one occasion. Tonight though, while thinking about everything that has happened, I asked myself "Would I change any of it?" and honestly the answer is a resounding NO! So many monumental things have happened to me in the last few years. All of these things, both good and bad, have made me who I am. If it weren't for these moments, these events, these people, I would be a completely different person. I wouldn't be me.

The title refers to my favorite poem of all time by Robert Frost. It doesn't quite fit with my topic, but I related to it so I wanted to include it. I am blessed to have taken the road I did, with all of its wonderfulness and flaws. It led me here.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Photo Update

Well since I decided to spruce up my blog a little bit, I thought maybe it was time to give a little photo update of my life recently. THEN I realized that I haven't even uploaded the newest pictures onto my computer yet! Be on the lookout for some more pictures soon, and hopefully an actual update in words, not just pictures! Love you all!

Holly and I enjoying what we thought would be the last warm days of the year. Can you believe its November and still in the 70's?


Mike and I out with friends. Love this picture oh so much.


80's party... And yes I bought that dress at Forever21 and there are people running around wearing it not as a joke. Its sad really.


Lovely roommate, boyfriend, and our friend Craig. That was such an awesome night!


First tailgate of the year! Go Pokes!


Mike and I at the Zoo! It was so hot outside, so we took a break in the Monkey House


Heidi, Holly and I at one of the football games! Love spending time with these girls!


Does everyone know that they do lucha libre (wrestling in Mexico... think Nacho Libre) at Elote once a month? Its pretty comical. Holly and I enjoyed it.


Super tired, but enjoying ourselves none the less.


Holly's 26th Birthday! So much fun!


Oh how I love Jenny Johnson!


Dancing awkwardly with Holly's boyfriend, Brady


Oh how I love this man and the OSU Cowboys! The perfect gameday combination


Best friends and our boyfriends living it up at the fair


Last bite of the Krispy Kreme Burger. Surprisingly tasty. And no we did not eat a whole one. It was split between like 6 people.


Shark Attack!

Different Perspectives

So I had a pretty interesting conversation with some people tonight about all of my life goals, and I just thought it was funny. Everyone at the table was talking about there career goals. What they wanted to do, where they wanted to work, how much money they wanted to make... etc. Then I said something that apparently was a bit shocking to them. I said that honestly, I wasn't a career driven person. I'm more of a family and life driven person. I will be honest and say that one of my biggest dreams is to get married someday and have kids. I would love to stay home with them if that's at all possible. And wow, can I tell you the looks I got at that statement. It was like I had just told them I wanted to sit on my butt all day and do nothing for a living. My favorite part was the vocal reaction I heard. "Wow, you really are setting back all of that feminist stuff aren't you?" That comment really got me thinking though. Does it make me less of a feminist because I wanted to stay at home when I have kids? Should I be ashamed because while I love my chosen career (something I am currently in school for again so that I can become better at it when I do get another job), I want to stay home when my kids are little and teach them there? Honestly, I think that the joy of feminism is that you support a woman's right to be whatever she wants to be. If a woman wants to be a lawyer, then she sure as heck has the right to do that. If a woman wants to be an executive or a tv anchor or a doctor or a physical therapist, then that's her choice and she totally deserves to be able to do that. But if a woman chooses to stay at home with her family, that's her choice too. That's her chosen profession, because yes, it is a job. My mom did it for many years not because she had to but because she loved it. Ok... off the soapbox now. Hope everyone out there in the blogosphere is doing really well! Sorry I have written lately... Here's hoping the motivation to write gets stronger.

Awesome Moment in Life #3

Awesome moment in life #3: the moment when your boyfriend realizes you got him tickets to the sold out concert he desperately wants to go to.

So Mike loves the Black Keys and they are coming to Cains on October 10th. He was super bummed out last month when he went to buy tickets and they were already sold out. So of course, I made it my mission to find a pair of tickets to give him for his birthday. I will be honest though and say that there was some selfishness behind this hunt. I have grown a mild obsession for the Black Keys and was really sad myself to think I wouldn't get to see them live. This is one of the few noncountry bands I know and really like enough to see in concert. Anyway, thanks to Craigslist and an awesome Fiji alum, I scored two tickets. As you all know, I am a terrible secret keeper when it comes to surprises so I decided to give them to him early (2 weeks before his birthday) to save myself from ruining the surprise and to make sure he didn't keep stalking craigslist himself to buy them. I wrapped them up in a tshirt, wrapped the tshirt rather nicely in a box and gave it to him today. His face when the tickets fell out definitely made it worth it. Now here's hoping that I can add the concert as an awesome moment in life on October 10.

Little update on my life: My mom is doing great. She finally got cleared to ride in the car for more than just trips to the doctor. She is still hurting and she can't do anything around the house yet (no cooking, cleaning or lifting anything), so I still help out whenever I can and go over to spend time with her and my dad. I started grad school last week and that is going really well. I have great professors and I am looking forward to learning a lot. I am gradually dealing with not having a real job, but am looking forward to substituting at several different districts. I now have 2 roommates, and they are both incredibly busy with medical school type things (Holly's in OT school at OU and Danielle is in medical school at OSU). They are so fun though and I'm really excited about the rest of the year living with them. Other than that, theres not a lot going on here. Looking forward to a time when people are all around again and I can catch up with everyone.

I'll leave you with a cute little video from the Black Keys. I love the song (even though its not my favorite by them).

Awesome Moments in Life #1 and #2

So my friend Casey's facebook status the other day was about how she has a friend who posts awesome moments in his life as a status. He is up to like 23 or so I think. She has now started to do this too and I just thought it was such a great idea. And of course, what better place to post awesome moments in my life than on my blog that I sadly do not write on enough. So here you go:

Awesome Moment in Life #1: The moment when your nephew offers his crying little sister his ice cream because hers is gone and she is sad.

Awesome Moment in Life #2: The moment when your niece is riding a carousel for the first time and keeps laughing and telling you "Its so funny Aunt Ticole! Its so funny!"

Now a little background on these two awesome moments. A couple of weeks ago it was my brothers weekend to have the rugrats and since I hadn't seen them in over a month, I decided we should take them to get ice cream. So Mike and I went to pick them up at my brother's apartment and took them to the mall for ice cream and the Disney store. Sadly, I was unaware when this arrangement was made that my little niece, Kylee, (she's 2) had not had a nap and was in an awful mood. At the mall, they were both so tired Mike and I each had to pick one up and carry them to TCBY. We sat at a little table with our ice cream and of course my massive eater, Kylee, finished her ice cream in lightening speed. As soon as I told her it was all gone you would have thought the world had ended. She started bawling. Being the sweet and absolutely wonderful big brother Dylan (he's 3) is, he tried to give her his ice cream to make her feel better. I was so proud of him for sharing.

After our ice cream melt down, I thought the carousel would be a fun way to end the mall trip. Neither of them had ever been on one as far as I know and they loved it. They laughed the entire time and it made me appreciate how such small things make kids so happy.



We ended our mall adventure with a trip to the Disney store and two precious bean bag stuffed animals, one of which I literally could not pry out of the hands of my niece in order to pay for it. We had to put her on the counter so that they lady could scan the tag, which she still couldn't get to so Mike finally just tore it off and handed it to her.

Thought this was super cute!

"Anyone Else But You"

Pretty much love this song. The Juno version is great because of the awkwardness that is Michael Cera and Ellen Page, but the original by The Moldy Peaches (or is it just Moldy Peaches... I'm not sure) is great. I'm putting both here, so just take your pick and enjoy!

Time Flies

Tomorrow is my last day of my first year of teaching! How crazy is that? I was rereading some of my old posts, and a little less than a year ago I was asking the blog world for prayers for my interview. Time seriously has flown by so fast. I wanted to dedicate this post to some of my most memorable moments with my wonderfully unique class:

*My first interaction with a student went something like this:
Boy: "Miss Ecton, can I tell you a secret?"
Me: "Sure" while thinking 'Oh goodness please don't make this be something serious that I have to report on my first day.'
Boy: "I am a vampire. They removed my fangs. Sometimes I miss them."
Me: "Well isn't that cool." while thinking 'Oh dear lord, what did I get myself into?'

*My first throw up
Girl: "Miss Ecton, I think I'm going to be sick"
Me: "Ok, lets just to get you to the bathroom"
Girl: "BLAH!!!" All over my jeans and shoe.

*My First Cursing Situation
Boy: "He cussed at me!"
Me: "What did he say?"
Boy; " He said the S word!"
Me: "Oh goodness! The S word?"
Boy: "Yeah, he told me to (whisper) shut up"
Me: Trying not to giggle "Ok i'll talk to him"

*My favorite make believe story
Boy (same boy from the vampire incident): Miss Ecton, I need to tell you something.
Me: Yes?
Boy: Last night something very strange happened to me.
Me: Really? What happened?
Boy: You know how I told you that Percy Jackson was claimed by the god's in the Lightening Thief?
Me: Yeah, I think I remember that.
Boy: Well last night while i was in the shower, I was claimed by Poseidon.
Me: What does that mean?
Boy: I can control water. I am going to be playing in the sink a lot more often now. I just wanted you to know.
Me: Thanks for telling me.

I'll post more memories later. Just know, I have the most fabulous class a first year teacher could have. Tomorrow is a bittersweet day for me. Love them more than I could have ever imagined, and am so sad to say goodbye!

Reflection

Today is my last day to be 24. At 11 tomorrow morning I will officially be a quarter of a century old. This honestly doesn't seem possible until I start thinking of everything that has happened in my life and realize how much I have lived. I have experienced so many great things in my first 25 years, and I now I am so excited to see whats in store for me in the next 25. Its crazy to think about being in my midtwenties. I remember being younger and thinking 'Wow! 25 is so old!'

Anyway... its been forever since I've written mainly because I've been busy and also because I wasn't ready to share that part of my life with the world just yet. Here's a recap of my last 2 months:

*Eli Young Band concert back the weekend of valentine's day! Loved it!
*Random trips to OKC to hang out with my bestie Holly and our new friends! Celebrations for Fat Tuesday and of course, OSU beating Kansas!
*OKC Crawl 2010 with Holly, Travis and Matt A. Such a blast.
*Kansas City trip for the Big 12 Tournament. Went to the Power and light District which resulted in a random and first trip to Lawrence that same weekend.
*NCAA tournament with both our KU friends and our KState friends in OKC. Great weekend, even if KU did lose.
*First weekend in Lawrence. Hung out on Massachusetts street, went to the legends shopping complex, and just explored some :)
*Second weekend in Lawrence, which included my first time out on the town there, my first trip to the Plaza in Kansas City, great Mexican food, and lots and lots of basketball watching.

Ok... well there you have it. The last 2 months in a nutshell. Basically, its just been a lot of traveling and enjoying life. Now, I'm off to watch the NCAA Championship game. I promise I will try to keep everyone updated on life a bit more frequently :)

Sunday Posts

Postsecret has been my Sunday ritual for well over a year now. Every Sunday morning, I wake up and get on my computer. I first open Tulsaworld.com and check out the classifieds for their pet adds. Then I look at who is engaged or just got married to see if I know anyone. Then I go to my favorite part, postsecrets Sunday Posts. I can not even begin to tell you how happy it makes me to read these. Some of them are funny, while others are sad, and some give me hope. I tend to relate best to the ones about love, taking chances and self discovery the most. I just think there is something really incredible about putting a secret out there for the whole world to see, even if they have no idea who's secret it is. I have a favorite, but I can't currently find it, so here are a few of the others I love:

Happy 2010!!!

Its 2010 and I can't believe how fast this year went by. It feels like just yesterday I was sitting at the Crown Woods apartment with everyone ringing in 2009. So much has changed in my life since. While some of it is hard and I am still searching for reasons why certain things happen, I feel more blessed today than ever for the people that God has blessed me with and the life I get to live everyday. Sometimes I think we lose track of the things than truly matter, and my new years resolution I've decided is to let those people that mean the most to me know it every chance I get. My other New Year's Resolution is to find an activity that really makes me happy to do. I feel like I don't have anything that I just purely enjoy to do for myself, and I want that to change. Whether thats taking a dance class, joining a book club, taking bubble baths, walking down riverside, photography... I don't know. I just want to do something for myself and this year I fully intend to try new things to learn what I love. I am 24 years old. Its about time I figure out what makes me happy. Anyway, I am welcoming 2010 with open arms and an open heart. Here's to living every breath of my life!