Christmas Spirit

For Christmas this year, I'm not receiving any actual paper and bow gifts.
I'm receiving the best gift I could ever get. I'm going to Passion Conference.
It's a christian conference where people from all over the world come together in one place to celebrate
the love of Jesus Christ. It's not a gift you can wrap, but a gift I will benefit from in the future to come.
It is not a pair of jeans that will go out of style in two weeks, or a cell phone that will be upgraded in a year.
It's an eternal gift that can never be repaid. I'm so thankful for this gift from my parents.

Honesty.

There's often a time in every person's life where you lie. Usually the lie is to cover something up, to surprise, or to even be nice. Lying has become part of everyone's life at some point. There's something about the lie that makes us have an adrenaline rush or the ability to control how someone feels. It's something that someone can control when their life seems to be uncontrollable. Is it right to lie to someone if you are just being nice? Is it okay to lie about a dress that makes her look fat? A lie, is a lie, is a lie. When the realization of a lie comes to be known you get that stomach drop feeling like you just fell of of a cliff. It's the worst feeling in the world. The trust this person has had for you, now means absolutely nothing. You have given them nothing to go on or by with the rest of the relationship.

Honesty is the best policy. Why can't we all follow that rule?

Sandusky & the Sex Charity

Coach Sandusky was accused of allegedly having inappropriate conduct with boys that he met through his charity the Second Mile program. A graduate coaches assistant saw Sandusky doing inappropriate things to the boys in the shower and reported it to head coach Joe Paterno. Paterno then reported it to the athletic director and at that point it was pretty much dropped. In 1998 one of the mothers in Sandusky's charity reported that he showered with her son and may have done inappropriate things with him. Sandusky admitted to showering with the boy and admits it was wrong and promises not to do it again and the case was dropped. One of the boys he spent a lot of time with suddenly dropped communication with Sandusky, and since then it's been under investigation since then.

I'm not sure how this could have gone on for so long. It's a little ridiculous that a major university would let something like this go one for so long, or even drop charges like that. No matter where you are, this isn't something you just overlook. The coaches were right in reporting it, but the university wrong to let it go. I think this should have been over and done with the first time it was brought up. Not only was it inappropriate, but it was in his charity. Just so wrong. It's almost like he made that charity to take advantage of the boys.

Bungee Jump!

Have you ever thought of bungee jumping out of a hot air balloon?
I saw it on T.V. yesterday and it looks super scary, but at the same time
super fun. I'm not sure how the hot air balloon doesn't bounce up and down
when the person bungees down, but it doesn't. You are strapped up against someone
and you just jump right out of the balloon. When you are finished you just get back in the balloon and go back to the ground.
It's so weird that someone one day just decided to try jumping out of a hot air balloon.
I really want to try it some day. Hopefully I get to.

Pig Sooie?

I wil be traveling to Arkansas this weekend. I'm pretty excited. I have never been to the U of A. It will be pretty nice.
I have been having thoughts of maybe transferring there. Who knows. They have a really good education
major there that I have been looking at. I have a few friends there and it will be nice to see them.
I don't get to go to the game, but that's alright.

My family had a family day on Sunday. It was really good to spend quality time together. I hadn't been home in
about a month. Thanksgiving break will be some great family time. I'm ready to be home!
My cousins, grandparents and my family all go to Eureka springs for Thanksgiving. We rent a cabin and
spend some good time out in the sticks. We shop on Black Friday and have a Thanksgiving feast. It's one
of the best times we have all year. After Thanksgiving break, the studying for finals begins and I'm terrified.
We'll see how well we all really study after these tests. Good luck everyone!

Armistice or Veteran?

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…" President Wilson 1919.

Veterans Day is a day for us as American citizen to thank and appreciate those who gave up everything and those who gave their lives to serve our country in war. It originally started when World War 1 ended and the Treaty of Versailles was signed. It was called Armistice Day. They eventually amended the act of 1938 and changed Armistice day to Veterans day.
The first Veterans day was confusingly celebrated on October 25, 1971. So president Ford signed a Public Law that changed veterans day back to its original date of November 11. He signed this law in 1975.

Veterans day continues to be celebrated on November 11th no matter what day of the week it falls on. It's a celebration of those who have gone and served their country in its time of need. These people are the ones we should thank for our freedom. So, thank you to everyone who has ever fought for me and my country. It is my privilege to write this for you.

Texas Rangers, Minnie Mouse, and Frosted Flakes.

This week has been the coldest week of the fall so far. I love cold weather. I can't wait until it's cold enough to wear jackets all the time and boots. There's just something about that time of year that makes everything seem more warm than in the summer. The Texas Rangers are in the world series and I am super excited about it. Trying to write this has actually been difficult because the game is on. I died my hair purple the other day. My mom loves it, and I find that odd. I eat my frosted flakes really fast because they get really soggy really fast. I also colored my Minnie Mouse coloring book today. It was raining outside, which makes for a great time to color. It's also Homecoming week and I'm so excited for the game. My parents are coming up tomorrow to do the walk around and see my apartment. I can't wait to see them. Hopefully the Pokes will pull out a win and make for an amazing weekend!

Halloween is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would have bonfires and wear costumes to scare off roaming ghosts. Then it turned into honoring saints and martyrs, called All Saints Day. As time went on it turned into the day we know when kids, even some adults, dress up and go around trick or treating. There are many many customs around the world that are different than the United States.

I love our Halloween traditions. I don't really know about a lot of the other ways around the world, but ours is very family oriented and very fun to look forward to. It's a time when you can be anyone you want to be and get free candy for it. Free candy is probably the reason most people celebrate it, and I'm sure gyms all over the country are so busy the day after. Dentist offices dread this holiday I'm sure more than anyone. There's something about going out and getting scared that makes people so excited. The haunted houses, movies, and costumes make for a time of adrenaline rushes and screaming more than you will all year.

w4 & w5 = 15

Here Comes Bullet!

There is absolutely nothing like going to a college football game. I recently went home and watched high school football, and I took into account the different atmosphere I was in. College games are a completely new way of cheering on a team. I love college football. When a college team scores the band plays, fireworks explode, men do pushups for every point, Bullet comes flying out of the tunnel, and the crowd is so incredibly loud. The players must feel so amazing in that moment to look up into the crowd and see a sea of orange waving them on and screaming their name. Walking around hearing everyone cheering even gives the crowd a little pride. Their team is very important to them. My team is VERY important to me. Oklahoma State is a place where school pride is a necessity. I love Oklahoma State!

330 Caring Strong

Three hundred and thirty people joined the Stillwater day of Caring this year. They worked on 69 service projects. Including, but not limited to, painting houses, clean yards, rebuild fences, and repair roofs. There are twenty three local agencies that Stillwater area united way provides for.

Three hundred and thirty is a lot of people. I cannot even imagine that in my head. When I need to think of that many people I think of a concert, or the fair, or anything like that. When people come together to volunteer, the community gets a sense of pride. That's their town coming to help local businesses be the best they can be. They can drive by and think, I put that fence up, or I repaired that roof. It's an irreplaceable feeling when you get to help someone. The city of Stillwater can put their heads a little higher and know they are doing great things for others.

The Homecoming Queen

This weekend I have to go back home. For the first time, I'm not really that excited about it. I want to stay here.
I was homecoming queen last year, therefore I must go back and crown the next girl. It will be fun, I just would rather stay here and hang out with my friends. I've finally become comfortable here and I want to keep it that way. I'm not stay home all weekend though, so that will be good. Homecoming for me last year was so much fun. Just because I got to do everything but this year all I do is walk out on the field. Some days I miss high school, but not so much anymore. I was an athletic trainer in high school, and I miss that. I had a group of girls to hang out with and I miss that also, but I found some really great people here and it's been good. No one will ever replace those people, but I'm grateful for the ones I have now.


TIME FOR THE WEEKEND! :)

crazy wife, never be one.

Keith Bryan is a firefighter in Mustang, Oklahoma. He was in his home and was shot in the head. His wife is being held in custody. Which means she may be responsible. There are no charges so far. The charges are set to be done by Thursday.

I think, if the wife was the only one in the house she most definitely did it. Not knowing the family and the situation of their relationship could be hard to judge what happened. It could be that he was unhappy and he killed himself. It might be that it was a case of self defense, no one really knows except the people that were there. It's also hard to judge because it's not normally the woman who gets blamed for stuff like this. Men are normally the ones committing these kinds of crimes. He might have been abused by his wife. There's not really anyway to know unless the wife is telling the truth. She is really the only one that can bring justice.

You lost points for w2. You need to do these every week to help you along the way.

Good job on w1 blogs. Keep it up. 15

Life As a Homesick College Kid

This week pretty much sucked. I'm not sure how I feel about college right now. I love my family and being at home. This is a very new feeling for me.


My roommate isn't the best, the work is harder than I imagined, and I lost my best friend because of distance. I just don't know how to deal with something that comes at you so fast. This feels like hundred pound bricks hitting you in the face. Going home has become something I do entirely too much. My family has been really supportive, although I feel like being closer to home would be the best bet for my success. I love living on my own, but not seeing my family and hugging them has been really tough. I hope this works out.

Hurricane Irene blows through the east coast

Hurricane Irene had people evacuated from the east coast.

People were boarding up their homes and running for higher ground. Irene is in the top ten most costly and destructive in US history. Most people cannot even get into their homes, or their homes were taken in the storm. Businesses were destroyed and some will lose tons of money. Communities are coming together to save their towns and each other. Trucks delivered food and water to people that need it.

This storm has been one of the most scary I have seen. I normally do not watch CNN or anything close to that. With this storm I did watch those channels. Even though people were given a week to prepare I think you could never be truly ready for something like this. I went to North Carolina in July, so seeing the place I just went to destroyed is super surreal. Even in the town I stayed in there were businesses and homes destroyed. The people going to help are wonderful. Taking their trucks, supplies and hope with them they are making progress. WIth a storm like this I wouldn't know what I should feel. Mad, sad, or hopeful. I have never been through a hurricane or tornado or anything like that. I don't know how these people feel or how they are dealing with it. But I pray they all make it through and that they stay hopeful!