Countdown: 1 day, 20 hours..

..until I leave to go home for Thanksgiving! I'm so excited to see my hometown, my house, my pets.. and OF COURSE my family =]

I spent the weekend here in Lubbock for the first time in three weeks. My roomie, Leah, decided to make her Thanksgiving break a little bit longer, and she left to go home Friday morning. I've had the room to myself, and honestly, it has been pretty nice. My other good friend, Lauren, left Saturday morning to go home too. That meant that Kristin and I were the only two left in town out of my usual group of girls.

Friday night, Kaitlyn (a girl who lives on my hall, is also a Nutriton major, and is in two of my classes) called me and we went over to Murdough (the boys dorm connected to ours by a cafeteria). We hung out in my friend Zack's room with him (a guy on my team from Foundation), Clay (one of Leah and Lauren's friends from high school who was on Blue Team at camp), Kyle (a guy in my chemistry class), Mallory (Kaitlyn's best friend from high school, and Clay's girlfriend), Brian (the pledge class president of a Christian fraternity - BYX - that a bunch of my friends are in), Carrie (another girl I met at camp), and a few other people I didn't know. The boys took turns playing the electric guitar, then we all played Catch Phrase. It was a different group than I normally hang out with, but it was so much fun! After that, I went to my friend Aaron's apartment and watched a replay of the Spurs game. Aaron is a sophomore and was a Green Team counselor at Foundation. I got home late, and was glad Leah wasn't there for me to wake up when I got home!

Saturday morning, Kristin and I got up around 830 and went shopping! We went to a pottery place to paint Christmas gifts, then to lunch, then to the mall all afternoon. It was fun to spend time together, just the two of us.

Tech's last football game was at 7:00 Saturday night, and even though everyone thought we would get crushed, I still wanted to go. I went with Kaitlyn, Mallory, and Carrie. We sat in a HUGE group of people. There were probably twenty people we knew sitting in the rows behind and in front of us. A minute and a half into the game, Tech's quarterback threw an interception that OU ran back for a touchdown. It seemed like everyone's predictions for the game were going to come true.. But then Tech showed up, and at one point, we were winning 34-20! The student section was wild, and everyone was getting so into the game. I'm so glad I went, because it was easily the most fun I've had at a football game all year. Tech ended up winning 34-27 and my friends and I even rushed the field after the game! After the game, I went to Arby's with the same group I hung out with Friday night.

This morning, I got up around 10:00am and went to church at 11:00am, then ate lunch at The Market (the cafeteria in between Stangel and Murdough) with Doug, Stephanie (a girl who was on my team at camp), Mallory, Kaitlyn, Clay, and a few other guys that live on Clay's floor (apparently the boys of 3rd floor Murdough all hang out a lot.. that definitely isn't the case for my floor). Now I'm watching the Cowboys and doing homework.. a typical Sunday afternoon for me.

I go home Tuesday, then leave for El Paso on Wednesday. I can't wait to see everyone!

Weekend Roadtrip

This weekend was "that" weekend for Midland Christian football. You know, the weekend we play Denton Liberty. Well my best friend from high school, Jordan, and I decided that even though we are in college now, we just could NOT miss this annual event. Jordan goes to ACU, so I drove to Abilene after class on Friday and then we headed to Denton.

We went to the game, surprised Stephanie (she thought I was staying in Lubbock for the weekend), saw tons of friends from high school, cheered on the Mustangs.. and weren't at all surprised when they lost. You see, every year Denton beats MCS for the district championship, and gets SUPER excited, and then we beat them in the state game. So really, losing the district championship isn't a big deal in comparison.

Anyways, after the game, Jordan and I went to stay with three other friends from high school who are roommates at Dallas Baptist University. We hung out at some of their friends' apartment and watched a movie, then went back to their dorm and just hung out and talked until 4:00am.. typical girls ;) It was great to see them and get to catch up.

Saturday, we all slept in (until 2:00pm!!) and went to lunch before Jordan and I headed back to Abilene. Saturday night was also very relaxed. I got to see some more friends from high school that also go to ACU for a while, then Jordan, my other friend Bailey (Jordan's roommate), and I went back to their dorm around ten. Again, we did the typical girl thing and stayed up way too late talking about our lives. You know how you have those friends that you can not see for months, and when you do, you pick up right where you left off? That's how Jordan and Bailey are to me. We were all best friends in high school, and I honestly think we will be for a very long time. Not that I don't talk to them almost every day, but it was GREAT to see them.

We got up around 9:30am, went to church at Highland Church of Christ, lunch at "Burgers, Fries, and Cherry Pies", and then went back to the dorm to get my bag and backpack. (Yes, I took homework with me. No, I didn't do any.) I got back to Lubbock around 5:30 this evening. It's so wierd, I almost said I got back "home" at 5:30. It's strange how at home I feel here in this tiny dorm room (that I share with another person, no less). That's not to say that I don't consider Midland my "real" home. And I'll be HOME home in less than two weeks!

Seven more days of class and it's Thanksgiving break! I can't wait to go home. I already have an appointment to get my hair cut while I'm there :)


Coming up this week:
- my last chemistry lab tomorrow! I'm very excited to be done with this three hour class that I only get one hour credit for..
- last chemistry exam on Wednesday.. I'm pretty nervous about it.
- Tech's last football game against OU on Saturday

that first awkward post..

I am now ten weeks into this chapter of life called "college". That means I am 2/3 of the way done with my first semester, or 1/12 of the way done with my entire college career! Doesn't time fly when you're having fun..

I'm having the time of my life here in Lubbock, TX. So far, all of my classes (with the exception of chemistry) have been fairly easy. I've been staying on top of my studies for the most part, and still have PLENTY of time for friends and fun!

I went to a Christian camp for incoming freshman called Foundation Camp the week before school started. I can't think of a single way I would have rather started out my school year than with great Christian friends who share my beliefs, values, and basic outlook on the world. I met tons of great people, including my best friends at this camp.

At camp, we were broken up into five teams: Red Team, Orange Team, Yellow Team, Green Team, and Blue Team. The entire week was a competition, and Green Team ended up winning it all! We had so much fun, and I met so many great people.

When I refer to "the girls", I'm talking about Leah, Kristin, and Lauren. Leah is my roommate, and she is the one who told me about Foundation Camp. I am so glad she did! She was on Yellow Team at camp, and is a PR major from Plano, TX. She is in a Christian sorority called Sigma Phi Lambda, or "Phi Lamb". I think it means "Sisters for the Lord" in Greek. Kristin was also on Yellow Team. She is from a little town near San Angelo called El Dorado, and she is majoring in HDFS (Human Development and Family Studies). She is in another Christian sorority, RSC (Raider Sisters for Christ). It is much much smaller than Phi Lamb. Lauren didn't get to go to Foundation Camp, but she fits right in with all our friends. She is pre-nursing, and also from Plano, TX. She and Leah were best friends in high school. All three of these girls are freshman.

Doug and Neil are my two best guy friends, and I met them both at Foundation. Doug is a freshman ESS (Exercise and Sports Sciences) major from Denver City, TX. We were on different teams at camp (he was on Yellow Team) and really didn't meet until we got back to Lubbock, but we seemed to click instantly and we've become great friends. We have Political Science together on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and he has also been known to sit in on my Nutrition and Finance classes :)

Neil was a counselor on Green Team. He is a sophomore Mechanical Engineering major from Clifton, TX (a teeny tiny town near Waco). He is very active in his fraternity, a Christian one called MOG (Men of God). We talked some at camp, and have gotten to know each other much better since we've been back. He has an apartment near campus, and I spend quite a bit of time over there. The girls and I love to cook, so we use his kitchen, utensils, appliances, and food fairly often. I also make full use of his free washer and dryer, since the ones in the dorm are coin-operated :) He is a great Christian example, and someone I look up to a lot spiritually.

Those are the people I spend most of my time with, and as I talk about new "characters", I'll try to give them a brief intro as well.

I've been attending Indiana Avenue Baptist Church. IABC has a separate campus and Sunday morning service for college students, and so far it has been amazing. I visited a few other churches, but I really feel like this is where I need to be. The worship is absolutely incredible, and it's student-led. The speaker, Clayton Walker, preaches in a way that I'm not really used to. He doesn't use a whole lot of personal stories, but he really focuses on scriptural references, which I like. I think IABC could be what I call my church home in the future..

So there's a little taste of what I've been up to since August. Hopefully the next time I post I won't have so much to catch you up on!

I hope everyone is well, and I can't wait to see some of you in El Paso for Thanksgiving!