A Mother's Love

Today I came home from school to find my mother doing some serious winter cleaning in my apartment. She vacuumed the entire place, washed my clothes, picked up my room, washed dishes and scrubbed my bathroom until it sparkled. I have the most wonderful mother anyone could ask for, and I was so happy to see her today. When I finally dragged her away from cleaning, we went on a little shopping trip. There isn't much shopping in Russellville-but we did what we could. I got some new decor for my apartment and some Christmas gifts for a few friends, and then we headed to Colton's for dinner.

Nathan and I had our radio show tonight, and my mom decided to sit in the studio with us to see how the whole thing goes. Secretly-she just wanted to see Nathan. She has adored him since we were in high school. It was cool having her there and letting her see what kind of stuff we get to do at school. I was a little disappointed that she or my sister didn't want to talk on the radio. I am sure our five listeners would have enjoyed it!

Today, and everyday, I am thankful to have such a wonderful mother and family. I wouldn't be able to do half the things that I do without them. It was great spending the afternoon with her. I will have to start redecorating my apartment more so she will come visit more often. The reason for her visit was to see my Christmas tree.

Speaking of mothers-I love Carrie Underwood's song Mama's Song. It is such a great mother-daughter song.

"Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it." 

-Proverbs 22:6

Wear Red.

Have you noticed everyone wearing red today? That is because it is World AIDS awareness day. I found more information about this day from Avert.

"Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The World AIDS Day theme for 2010 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. World AIDS Day is important for reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.


According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.3 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2009 some 2.6 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 1.8 million people died from AIDS.1

The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world."

Now you know why everyone is wearing red. I think it is important for us to be aware of what it going on the world around us, even if it may not directly affect you. Help raise awareness of issues such as AIDS, breast cancer, or diabetes helps us learn more about these issues along with helping to improve them.

This was my red clothing choice of the day!

Dont' Stop the Music

Over the summer I started a music blog, but I have been neglecting it since school started back. I finally am back to posting on it and hunting for some great music. Check out my latest post:

Mute Button Off...

I talk about some new bands I have added to my finals week play list. Here is a music video from one of them:




The Republic Of Wolves - Oarsman (Official Music Video)

Thanksgiving in Twinkle Town

This Thanksgiving my family and I spent the holiday at our deer camp in Star City, Ark. If you don't know where Star City, better known as "Twinkle Town", is-- well it is a small town in Southeast Arkansas.

The last time I was at deer camp I was probably 10, and running around catching lizards and listening to my Walkman. It hasn't changed much over the years, it just looks much smaller. My sister has always been the hunter of the family, so she goes with my dad all the time. I am not patient, still or quiet enough to be an expert deer hunter. I would much rather go duck hunting! I love it but I never get to go. My dad goes with all of his buddies and I am "not allowed" (as he says) because I am a girl. Not fair.

Anyway, enough about that--I decided to go hunting with my dad on Thanksgiving morning. I was feeling pretty lucky and I woke up at 4:45 a.m. anyways, so I figured why not. The weather wasn't the best for hunting. It was hot, windy and raining but I was determined to kill a deer. We had been on the stand for about two hours and hadn't seen anything. I'm pretty sure all that was on my dad's mind was Thanksgiving dinner because he was mentioning leaving way to early.

Just as we were about to leave two deer came out of the brush. This was my chance. I got my gun situated, pulled the trigger and missed--just kidding, I killed my first deer!!!  I was excited, especially since I hadn't been deer hunting in years. I think the rest of the family was a little bit jealous because I got a deer and they didn't.

The rest of the days are deer camp where spent 4-wheeling, watching movies and eating. I picked up the nickname Mario, because everyone thinks I am a crazy driver on the 4-wheeler. In my opinion, they are just too careful. I was glad the family decided to spend Thanksgiving at deer camp. It was nice to get away and relax. I was also glad to spend some time in the woods with my dad!

My Sundays

Sundays have always been my favorite day. That was until I started working at Colton's and had to work on Sundays. When I was in high school I had my daily Sunday routine which consisted of going to church, eating lunch with friends from church, and then laying on the couch watching golf or GAC until it was time for church again. I miss this so much!! It was nice having a day where I did not have to worry about getting anything done, and could simply enjoy time with my family and friends or napping.

Yesterday, Sunday, I had the day off so I took it upon myself to drive home and visit some friends. Ashley and I went to register clothes for Kinsley. I have come to the conclusion that baby clothes are the cutest thing in the whole wide world. We then went to dinner at Bar Louie with all the girls plus Lane, Aimee's boyfriend. It was great to just visit and catch up.

I then talked myself into the Forever the Sickest Kids Show at Juanita's. I had decided that I was going to go, but I changed my mind at the very last minute. I am glad I did. I was surrounded by friends I hadn't hung out with in what seems like forever. It was great to see everyone, and not worry about having to get homework done or anything of the sort.

One thing about soon having a "real" job-is that I will finally have my Sundays back. I guess growing up isn't so bad after all.

Little A and I are going to make the best aunties.

Christina, Jessica and Ashley at Bar Louie.

I got to hang out with this beautiful face at FTSK. =)

life plan: in progress....

I have finally registered for my last semester of college. It is crazy to think that I will be graduating in May. It feels like I just started college a few months ago. Knowing that I will be graduating in six short months is an exciting and scary feeling.

I feel like everyone else has there life completely planned out, and I have no idea what I will be doing after May. There are so many things I want to do, and so many different routes to take to get there. I just don't know which one it will be yet.

Even though my life plan is not completely laid out, there are a few things I know:
-I will get my masters
-I want to move to either Boston, NYC or Southern California
-My plan is to eventually work in fashion or entertainment PR
-And I will visit as many places as possible before I die.

As for the rest of it-I am still planning...

Party on the White House lawn??

Last month I had the privilege to attend the 2010 PRSSA National Conference in Washington, D.C. It was my first time in D.C., and I had a wonderful time. I probably would have stayed there if I had the choice. I learned so much at conference and also got to visit some very cool places.

Conference consist of five days completed devoted to PR and PRSSA. We heard from numerous speakers in the PR industry, and had the opportunity to network with students and professionals from across the United States. I had the chance to meet the Intern Queen Lauren Berger. She had amazing advice to offer about internships, and it was also exciting to meet her because I had followed her on Twitter since the summer. I also meet Jeff Tobler, publicity manger at the CW Network. He gave us some insight on working in the entertainment industry.

Along with being successful, these two speakers were also under the age of 30. It was a great inspiration, to visit with professionals that are closer to my age and have been so successful in the industry. It is definitely encouraging in this economy.

Conference was a great experience, and so was exploring D.C. I had the chance to visit the Holocaust Museum-which was amazing. It is an awesome museum and takes you to the heart of the Holocaust and the people that went through it. I also visited the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, Washington Monument and the capitol building. I also visited Arlington Cemetery, and it was my favorite part of site seeing. Arlington was a beautiful place, and if I had the time I would have stayed there all day taking pictures. It is full of so much history!

My partner in crime

Our PRSSA family

Holocaust Museum

Kennedy's grave site

at Arlington

After getting the largest pizza slice ever!

at Arlington

at Arlington

Spending five days in D.C. was not long enough so I will definitely be going back!

da na na nu. snap snap.

Halloween is one of my top three favorite holidays, the other two being Christmas and Thanksgiving. Nothing can beat the amazing food. I love coming up with creative, non-scandalous Halloween costumes. Last year I made my own Cat Woman costume, which I got back into for a party this year. Being Cat Woman is a blast. I love wearing the mask because people can never figure out who is behind it.

This year it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to be. I have always wanted to be Wonder Woman, but I wait until the very last minute to put my costume together so it never really works out. I also refuse to spend $50 on something I will wear once. About three hours before the Halloween festivities started, I decided I was going to be Wednesday from the Adam's Family.

BAD IDEA. Actually it was a great idea, but I didn't realize there where so many people who didn't know who the Adam's Family was, let alone Wednesday. I was very upset. This means that I am getting old, or my friends were deprived as children. Adam's family is a classic!! I rocked my costume, even though I had to explain to everyone who I was.

And many more...

Birthday celebrations have become one of my favorite things over the past few years. It is so great to be able to be with a friend on "their" day. Everyone loves a day that is totally dedicated to them, and I find it pretty cool that they let you in on it. Think about it-when you were a kid all you could think about was your birthday. It would be six months away and you would already be filled with excitement. Over the past 21 years, the excitement of my birthday hasn't changed all that much. I don't have Madeline themed pool parties or ask for every Barbie doll on the shelf anymore, but I still look forward to spending the day with my closest friends. Here are a few pictures from my favorite birthdays!

 

Although I haven't done an actual count, I am pretty sure the majority of my friends were born in October. Being a college student, it is hard to give all my friends the presents of their dreams but if I had the bank account I would do it. I love making people happy, and I love giving gifts. Actually, I love giving in general. With that said-Brittany and I decided to surprise two of our friends with a little birthday tagging!

The Social Network

When I first saw the previews for this movie I was very skeptical about seeing it. My friends talked me into going to see it, thank goodness for them. I ended up loving the movie!

I am very interested in social media and how it works so it was interesting to see how Facebook came about. The movie also let you get to know the people behind Facebook, and all that they went through while creating the network. It definitely was a rollercoaster ride for them.

I would recommend seeing it, especially if you are one of the millions addicted to Facebook.

Baby Kinsley

On October 1st, we found out that Ashley, my best friend, will be having a sweet baby girl. We all went into the ultrasound hoping it was a boy but we were completely wrong. Ashley is going to be a great mother and I think a little girl is just what she needs. She has decided to name her Kinsley Mae!

Going into the ultrasound, I thought we were just going to look at the heart and find out the sex of the baby. I was way wrong. We got to look at everything from the kidneys, heart, bones, face and fingers and toes. It was amazing. Baby Kinsley was just dancing around the whole time, she is already precious. Right now she is about 8 ounces which is crazy to think because you can already see everything!

Baby Kinsley is due to be here on March 5. I am so excited! I cannot wait for her to start calling me Auntie Kelsea.

the mother-to-be

we got cupcakes to celebrate for Baby Kinsley

Ashley and I

Wedding Season

I never really understood the saying "Missing in Action" but I know that is what I have been for the past couple of weeks. School is in full swing! I thought having class only on Tuesday and Thursday would give me a bit of a break, but this has been my busiest semester yet. Then adding work on top of it keeps me going around the clock. But who wants to read about that boring stuff when it is wedding season!

I am not sure if it's really wedding season but it has been for me. Not that I am getting married now {or anytime in the near future} but it seems EVERYONE I know is getting married. I had the pleasure of being in my one of my best friend's wedding this past weekend. It was beautiful, and probably had the largest wedding party ever. I had a great weekend and got to catch up with all of my closet friends from high school. After being in two weddings-I have come to these conclusions:

Weddings make everyone happy. 

They are much more tiring and stressful then you think. {And i haven't planned one yet!!}

They bring old and new friends together.

There will always be an awkward moment whether at the reception, rehearsal dinner or during the wedding.

There is always great food.

Someone always misplaces something important, like the rings.

I am going to cry at every wedding I attend. { So far I am 3 for 3.}

This coming up weekend I will be attending another wedding. I will keep you posted on how it goes! For now I am going to leave you with a few photos from the past weekend.

Ashley and I

Fixing the veil

Ash and her precious flower girl

One week down

I have officially completed the first week of my senior year of college. It is crazy to think how fast the past three years have gone by and how fast this year will go by also. I managed to only have class on Tuesday and Thursday this fall semester. I thought I would really enjoy that, but I have had so much free time lately I don't know what to do with myself. Once school picks up I am sure I will need all the free time I can get. I am excited about my classes because I will actually get to do real PR work this semester. Can't wait for that! 

I haven't done much since I have been back in Russellville except for spend way to much money, and watch season 1 and 2 of Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach was one of the most popular shows on MTV, or TV in general, when I was in high school. I haven't got my cable hooked up yet so I have been watching the old seasons. Its hilarious going to back to watch them and see how much the people on the show have changed over the years. And also how much my entertainment choices have changed. I once thought the show was so dramatic, but I think it was because I was in high school and could relate. Now it is fun to laugh at how dumb all the drama was. I will say that Laguna Beach beats Jersey Shore any day. I just can't seem to get into that show!

I am still in the process of getting my apartment all decorated. I will definitely be posting pics as soon as its all done. It's going to be super cute. I don't really have much to say today. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. =)

 

this crazy beautiful life

This last month of summer has gone by so fast. Since I had absolutly no time to blog I am going to update you with a brief list of everything that has happened to me this August...

I turned 21 on August 1st. {And YES, I feel older}

My friend Justin returned to California. {his lovely bride will be going soon... }

I took a roadtrip to St. Louis for the Cards and Cubs game. {plus some shopping}

I got my tonsils removed. {i must be super tough because it wasnt that bad...}

I am offically moved into my OWN apartment. {this makes me feel even older}

I had a LONG but much needed coffee date with Chelsea, Kate and Gentry. {they are the best}

Tomorrow, I will step into my first class as a senior in college. {weird}

I am really looking forward to this school year and spending my last year with the people that have made my college experience more than I could ask for. I would probably still be curled up in my dorm room watching Boy Meets World and crying because I missed home if it wasn't for these special people.

Now that I am all settled in I plan to get back to my regular blogging schedule. I can't wait to tell you all about my senior year!!

Summertime Fun

I stole this idea from my friend Chelsea. She sent me a ball like this in the mail for my 19th birthday. I walked into the post office to pick up my "package" and was handed a huge bouncy ball. I am sure it was the talk of the post office. One of my friends has been working at Pine Cove Timbers Camp in Tyler, Texas all summer. I have got to talk to him a couple of times on his days off, but I decided to send him something to make him laugh when he starts missing home. I wrote silly laffy taffy jokes (which are my favorite) all over the ball, and drew pictures. I wish I could see the look on his face when he get this! After you read this, say a little prayer for Richard to have a great few last weeks.  

This past weekend was very eventful. We had Jackie's bachelorette party on Saturday night, and Justin also got home on Saturday! It was nice spending time with all the girls on Saturday and not having to worry about what the boys were up to. I got to see Justin today for the first time since he has been back! It was so nice to see him, and I am glad we will all get to hang out for the next few weeks until they move back to California.

Me and the bride-to-be!

Monday night I celebrated my best friend Ashley's 21st birthday. We went to dinner with her mom at The Villa, which is a delicious Italian restaurant in Little Rock. Then we did a little shopping at Old Navy. The funniest thing happened. Ashley discovered this new "beauty mark" when she got home from work. She swore up and down that it was dirt but the three of us tried and tired to get it off. So we came to the conclusion it was a new freckle/beauty mark. This morning at work I got a text message from Ashley saying her beauty was DIRT!! It wiped right off this morning. I died laughing! HA!

Twenty One!

Ashley and I after dinner.

I had an eventful yet wonderful weekend! I hope everyone else did also. =)