Hello my dear readers! I do apologize for my absence in posts, but I have been quite busy with school and trying to catch up. It's been quite a week. I had three papers due, a midterm, a quiz, and the amount of reading assigned to me was almost sinful. But I managed to get everything done and I feel confident that I did well on my midterm, so that's all that matters. I do have some super exciting news though. And please ignore the title of this post, once you discover my awesome news, you'll understand why this title makes sense.
I believe it was two posts ago where I had mentioned my love for Kliff Kingsbury and threw out the idea that I was going to write to him.
Well I did. Literally right after I posted, I immediately began writing him a letter. And no it wasn't me declaring my love for him or anything of that nature. Although I did mention a wedding, but we'll get to that. So I shared a story with him about my grandpa Len. Last year was when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I shared with Kliff how we would watch the Texas Tech football games at the nursing home and how much closer we got because of it. I also mentioned how I bought one of those, "Our Coach is Hotter than Yours," shirts which is my favorite shirt ever! And I said how I would joke with my grandpa about Kliff and I getting married and what not to lighten up the letter. I pretty much thanked him for bringing my grandpa and I closer in his final months. If you really want to see what exactly I wrote, I can email you a copy of the letter.
Once I edited it and had my mom read it over and edit it, I printed it off like 6 different times. The first time it printed crooked, and then a few times there were ink spots and this had to be perfect. Then of course my signature wasn't perfect on one of the copies, so I had to print another one off. But it was work it. So I walked to mail services and had it mailed off. First I had to buy an envelope and of course the writing on there had to be perfect so it took me literal like 10 minutes to write out the address. The guy I handed it too was 1) happy & shocked that I knew how to properly address an envelope, apparently there are college students who don't know how to do that and 2) was intrigued on why it took me so long to address it. He jokingly asked if I was sending it to the president and I responded, "No my future husband." The look on his face was priceless. So that was sometime last week, perhaps the 20th I believe.
I told myself I would give it two weeks for him to receive the letter and hear a response, and if I didn't hear back in two weeks, then I would lose all hope and probably cry myself to sleep for weeks.
Friday night I was out with my grandparents and didm;t get back to my room until 8:30ish, but I will tell y'all that story in a separate post. So we get back to my room and my grandpa is going to help me un-loft my bed, so I needed to move things around. I was busy moving my shoes and some other stuff when I noticed a letter on my desk. Truthfully I didn't pay much attention to it because there was no return address, it was turned upside down, and my grandma was rushing me. So after 5 or so minutes, I needed to move my desk which meant paying more attention to the letter. I glanced at it and saw that post office mark over the stamp and saw it was sent from Lubbock, TX. That meant it was from one person, and one person only. I literally began to shake and freak out. My grandma was confused as to what was happening and my grandpa was still trying to work without me. So I literally began jumping up and down and screaming. I opened it, carefully of course, and saw the heading of the card and it read: Kliff Kingsbury. So naturally I began to cry because I was so happy and excited and I couldn't even at that moment. I knew I had to call my parents because they're really the only two who can relate to my excitement. And yes, they were super excited for me. My grandma had no clue who I was even talking about, so she didn't understand my level of happiness. She was more concerned with me helping my grandpa, but how am I supposed to move my bed when Kliff freaking Kingsbury wrote me a letter. Me, Kliff Kingsbury, a letter. Yes it's all true. Literally to try and explain my level of excitement, just cannot be done.
But I should explain why this means so much to me. Yes it's true that I am in love with the man. Have you seen how gorgeous he is? He's a gift from God. But that's not the only reason why I love him. He's super humble and an all around good guy. I actually just read an article on him by Sports Illustrated. A few years back a woman who was getting married and worked at Tech who was close with Kliff had lost her dad and asked Kliff to give her away. Which he did. He also ushered people to their seats because the usher was late. That may not seem like much to some of you, but he's just such a nice guy. And he cares about the fans and people in general. He also lost his mom to terminal cancer in 2005, which has affected him. He's hardworking and amazing and just a good role-model. Although I look up to him for other reasons...
The fact that he actually took time out of his day to write me back is just awesome in my opinion. Not many athletes, coaches, celebrities, etc. do that. And he did. And it just makes me so happy.
I just wanted to share this with you guys, because most of you know how obsessed with the man I am. And like I can't even right now :)
P.S. I've included a picture of the note, just in case any of y'all want to see it!
One of my favorites actors, Jim Beaver wrote a memoir, Life's That Way. If you ever get the chance, go to the library or buy it from Amazon, but read it. It's such a good book. I literally read it in two days and bawled my eyes out, imagining the pain he was feeling. I won't give much away but his wife gets cancer and the book chronicles her journey with it and how it affects the family and what not. But Jim wrote it using all the emails he sent to friends and family and it's just amazing. At the end of the emails he would always put something along the lines of asking people to pray for them and if you weren't religious he would ask you to hum or whatever you preferred. I thought that was pretty clever the way in which he'd ask.
So tonight I am asking all of you: friends, family, strangers who stumbled upon my blog, to please pray or hum for me, whichever you prefer. I haven't asked much from y'all the past month I've been down here, but tonight I could use some good vibes.
This past week has been pretty stressful to say the least. I finally got to see the real side of college. In short, I have three papers due next week, I need to read an entire book by September 30, I have a test next Thursday, and overall I have a ton of homework that needs to get done. Needless to say, I have been super stressed this week on top of being sick. Last weekend I started to not feel well, so my mom being super awesome found this program down here where a mom from Belmont will bring your child chicken noodle soup, crackers, cough drops, Kleenex, & some other stuff when they're sick. There's also a note written by your mom stuck in there. It really made my night. And I knew my mom wanted to help since she feels terrible that I've been sick and away from home. But wait the fun doesn't end there!
Probably Monday or Tuesday night I started to feel nauseous. And that nausea has lasted literally all week. Last night was so bad that I ate an apple (my RA Michaela said they help) and sat outside my room for like 45 minutes because I didn't want to wake Elizabeth (my roommate for those of you who don't know). Needless to say I did not get a lot of sleep last night. I missed my 9 am class this morning because I was too exhausted to function and still felt sick. I went to health services to try and figure out what's wrong with me. Apparently nothing. It just may be a bug. But the nurse practitioner, whose super nice by the way was like well since you have some pain it may be subtle symptoms of appendicitis. So I was like no that can't happen. I really didn't want to have to call my mom and be like "oh yeah everything went great until she said I may have appendicitis." But she just said to watch my pain level (which is gone now) and if it gets worse to someone take me to Vanderbilt's hospital.
After I was done, I of course had to call my mom to tell her I was essentially fine for the moment. She actually handled that phone call pretty well. We then decided later that I can't have it after trying some exercise thing her co-worker suggested.
But I still have nausea and feel pretty crappy. I'm assuming it's from stress and what not since I'm so overwhelmed right now. But praise the Lord it's the weekend and I can do homework pretty much every day.
Oh so then I came back to my room after my last class to grab my wallet so I could go to Kroger and get some soup since it's on sale. So I walk into my room and Elizabeth, her mom, and grandma are all in there and her mom Teresa hugged me and was super sweet about me not feeling well, she then tells me that she brought me a goodie bag with stuff in it. She brought me chicken noodle soup, Kleenex, cough drops, the most warmest socks ever, a protein drink, saltine crackers, Purell, & white chocolate M&Ms. Needless to say I was so appreciative and realized I have an awesome roommate who has an awesome family. Let me tell ya it really means a lot to me that she brought me all this. I still ran to Kroger to get some more soup since that's probably all I'll be eating for the next few days and got some orange juice and a caramel apple because it was on sale and why not? I then came back to my dorm room and ate some soup and have been watching Netflix ever since. But I figured I'd update y'all and ask for prayers/hums/whatever floats your boat, for me to get better and for my stress level to go wayyyyy down. Also pray that I survive since Texas Tech's bye week is this weekend...(;
And a reminder, I'll be home 3 weeks from today :)
I find it amazing how much more homework I get done when I sit outside. Literally I actually get stuff accomplished when the sun is shining down on me and I sip my coffee. Lately my favorite spot is right outside the Curb Event Center on the Belmont Boulevard side, right across from Circle K and Bongo Java. Occasionally I go into Chick Fil A which is right inside the Curb Cafe and get a sweet tea or fries or both depending on my hunger level. But sometime last week I discovered that I wasn't getting as much homework done that I needed too. Then I discovered that I get bored just sitting in my dorm room. So I took action and perused campus in search of the perfect studying spot. On Saturday I sat in one of the gazebos and read 12 Years a Slave and didn't get much done. Probably because it was right after I watched the Texas Tech/Arkansas game and was pissed beyond belief.
A majority of y'all probably don't know this but my grandpa Len went to Tech so the past couple of years we always talked about their football team. And then last season Kliff Kingsbury returned to coach and my God if you don't know who I'm talking about, then go Google him and all his glory. But last season was the last my grandpa would be able to watch the games, obviously none of us knew that at the time. But we would watch them when he was in the nursing home and I would 'joke' about marrying Kliff, and I use joke loosely here people. I told my grandfather that I would marry Kliff in a country themed wedding in a barn, and I plan on sticking to that promise even if it lands me in jail (kidding...). So I've followed Tech mainly because of the beautiful creature that is Kliff Kingsbury, but also because it reminds me of my grandpa. And he actually understood my craziness about football and Kliff. So anyways I live streamed the game on Saturday and was quite disappointed in Davis Webb and the defense. I even wore my grandpa's Tech shirt to bring luck, but obviously that didn't work.
So I went to the gazebo, and read but I just kept getting distracted. So I went to dinner then back to my room to get my laptop and went out again in search of the perfect spot. It had to be outside though because Saturday was a beautiful day here in Music City. It was like 70 degrees, no humidity, and slightly overcast: perfect in my book!
Yesterday it was the same weather so once again I went back to my spot and accomplished a lot! I was pretty proud of myself. I got a lot done that is pretty important so I was quite happy with myself. Then today I went back and read more in 12 Years a Slave and actually read almost 100 pages in a 2 hour span, so needless to say I will continue to do homework outside. I function better apparently out there in the real world. Tonight I got done more homework and am not as far behind as I was before so I am quite happy.
Now I'm going to go write Kliff a letter declaring my love for him ;) Please pray that it doesn't get me arrested!
As a college student whose far from home, precisely 500 miles to be exact, it sucks sometimes. I know when I was still living at home that I was counting down the days to get to Nashville, but lately I've actually been missing it. It being home. Sure I've adjusted well and made some new friends, but it's not the same. Luckily I live in the digital age. As my Mass Media professor has taught me, I am a digital native. So lucky for me I have Facetime, Skype, a phone, computer, etc to communicate with my family and friends which is nice. I always enjoy seeing everyone's faces from time to time. So far I've facetimed my mom, dad, Kyle, and luckily they've been with my grandparents so I've seen them "face to face." My friend Lynette also facetimed me one night, which actually made my day. It's kinda an indescribable feeling seeing someone's face that you've missed so much. And no it's not the same, but I know that some of you understand what I am trying to describe. Then there's those texts from people that you weren't expecting to respond, and well it makes your day. But that's a story for maybe another time. There's also obviously Facebook which is how I communicate with the majority of everybody, and email for that matter.
But there have been a few occasions where I have actually received a handwritten letter. Yes y'all read that correctly, a handwritten letter. I received one from my grandma Faye, my mom's bff Laurie whose handwriting is freaking AMAZING and she's one of the coolest, most nicest peoples I have ever met! And then one today actually from my Pastor (his wasn't handwritten, but it was a letter therefore it counts in my opinion). And it's pretty awesome to get letters from people. I don't know how to describe it, but it's a great feeling seeing that there's mail in your mailbox and someone actually was thinking about you and sent you a letter. It's just nice knowing that people care. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing messages on Facebook or emails, but there's something vintage about a handwritten letter. And it pains me to call it vintage but let's be real, who really writes letters anymore? So maybe it's not vintage, just cool.
Then there's this thing called a care-package. And let me tell you, as a college student, I love getting care packages. They're freaking awesome! Plus it shows me again that people were thinking about me and I appreciate that. I appreciate that people send me free things, particularly food, but really it makes me smile. Granted my mom is one of the only ones who has actually sent me a legit package, but still I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.
The moral of this post is that I love communicating with all of you. That's why i started this blog was so everyone could stay informed, but most of all so I stayed in touch with everyone. I love seeing any form of communication of y'all. It really makes me feel special, and miss you guys! But luckily for all of us, there's only 29 more days until I'm home! And I cannot wait to see you all!
Goodnight my friends! Keep it real :)
It's been awhile since I've posted guys, and I'd like to say it's because I've been busy doing homework (which is true) but I got obsessed with a TV show on Netflix and I watched it non-stop. But now it's over and I feel like there's no point in life anymore. Just kidding, but seriously it sucks when you're all caught up in Netflix and there's no way to start the next season without buying it for an absurd amount of money on Amazon. Anyways that's not the purpose of this post.
When I got to Belmont, I discovered they have this awesome feature. They partnered with Enterprise Car Rental to provide students the option to have a membership and basically rent a car when they need to. So I joined because let me tell ya, it sucks not having a car to take you where ever you want to go. I just received my membership card this weekend to start renting. I need the card because I have to hold it over this gray box that lets me into the car to get to the keys in the glovebox. So yesterday I needed to get the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook for my foundations of journalism class. Now this book is like the Bible to journalists, literally it gives you everything you need to know on how to be correct in your articles, stories, etc. It's amazing and the hardest concept all at the same time. Anyhow so I needed to get it pronto, but I didn't feel like spending an arm and a leg at the Barnes and Noble at Vanderbilt. They'd probably charge me an arm, and two legs just because they think they can. So my professor, who is freaking awesome by the way, told me to check out McKay's which is a used book store. It's so much more than that but I'll get to that, first my blonde moment of the year.
I set up a reservation to drive the Mini Cooper(yeek!!!) from like 1-2:30. I get down to it at 12:59 and scan my card and get into the car. I grab the keys out of the glovebox and put it in the ignition. I don't know how many of you are familiar with a MiniCooper, but the key goes in, it's not a normal key, ir's more of a circle thing that goes in and then there's a start button. So I put the key in and hit start. The car starts, I put it into reverse, & try to drive. But it won't drive. It'll only go on reverse. So I start to panic and immediately think I broke it. So I put it in park and call Enterprise and inform the lady on the other end what's happening. She tells me she's going to run a report and figure out what's wrong. I then realize the car never even started and it won't start so she goes to find out what's happening. Long story short, I'm on the phone with her for like 25 minutes, during which I'm reading the owners manual trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I then realize that's there's an automatic or manual start. I follow the directions and out the car in neutral and hit start and BAM it starts and will drive! So naturally I freak out and students walking by probably think I'm having a seizure or something to that effect. The lady gets on the phone and I tell her the good news and she's nice enough to extend my reservation until 3! Finally I drive off in search of this book.
For those of you who haven't experienced the feeling of not driving for awhile and then driving again, it feel so freakin' liberating. Let me tell you, driving around Nashville and down the freeway with the windows down and country music blasting, I felt like a million bucks! It was just such an awesome feeling to drive again! I finally get to McKays, and holy crap is it like my Heaven. This place is like a warehouse of used books, that are cheap!!! I walk in and just see books for what seemed like miles. An associate told me where I could look to find the book, I get over there, and whaddya know, there is none. So I decide to drive down the street to Goodwill to get khakis for work. Oh yeah I've never mentioned that I got a job in the athletic department. It's mainly sitting at the front desk being a receptionist i.e. answering the phone, telling people where to go, filing, doing stuff for coaches, etc. It's pretty chill. But I need khakis for when I work games, and low and behold I don't own a single pair. So I drive on down and discover the internet has lied to me. Shocking I know. But it's not a Goodwill store, just an "express donation center." Like what kind of crap is that? This is why I only shop at Savers, but then again I'm biased. So I'm just like screw it and decide that I'll go to Kroger by Belmont to get milk. On my way back I discover there's a Sonic and well I have to stop and get a cherry limeade because they're like the best thing ever. So I get my drink & hop back on the freeway and head to Kroger. I get there, get my milk, almost get hit by an oldish woman driving in the parking lot, and head back to campus. I get back and hold my card over the gray box again to lock it and end my reservation. As I'm doing this a girl walks by and is like do you need help? I'm like a pro at the Cooper. In my mind I was thinking where was she 2 hours ago when I really needed help, but I said no and carried on with my exciting life. So that was my blonde moment. I'm not really sure that counts as a blonde moment, but like I care. Moral of this, not all cars operate the same way, don't trust the internet, and driving can liberate you.
Not much has happened today. I realized I did some of my homework wrong for my First Year Writing class, which I need to correct for Friday. I paper-clipped papers for a coach that were asking people for money, shocking I know, a school that charges $40,000 a year is asking parents, friends, and family members to donate money to a certain sport that will go in their "restricted" account, whatever that entails. I shouldn't be so hasty, maybe tuition funds don't go to sports, I'd hope not, but y'all get my point. Literally not much else happened. I've been slaving away doing homework all night so I'm going to sign off and catch some zzzzz's as tomorrow shall be a long day!
"We deliver, not send."
This one comment on my Facebook status may not seem like much, but it means a lot to me. I'll give you the context. I posted my new address on Facebook to encourage people to send me things since I'm a broke college student. My neighbor Tom commented that quote on my status and let me tell you how excited I got. He and his wife Mia are in Tennessee this week and this past weekend they "kidnapped" me and we explored downtown Nashville together. Saturday morning they were picking me up and Mia called me, asking for directions to get to my dorm. I told her where to go and was briefly confused for a moment until I ran outside and saw their Jeep by the Curb Event Center. The excitement that ran through my veins was indescribable. Just to see something relatively familiar and reminiscent of home got me super pumped up. So I literally sprinted to their Jeep and probably made a fool of myself but I do not care (said like Cheryl from Remember the Titans) :) Anyways I hopped in their Jeep and we were off! I was finally leaving campus and going somewhere other than Walmart! That somewhere else being the Country Music Hall of Fame. Now those of you who know me, know that I am OBSESSED with country music. Like literally I cannot get enough of it. I'm actually listening to Chase Rice as I type this. If you don't know him, google him. He's AMAZING!!! Any who so we went to the CMHOF and it was beyond amazing. I saw so many cool items from different country legends. Like one of Elvis' cars, a bunch of old school guitars and what not. Then we got to the level that had a bunch of Miranda Lambert's dresses, awards, etc. And I'll make it known on here and I love her. She is one of my idols. She has an awesome voice but most importantly she is who she is and she doesn't care what people think. Which I find inspiring. She's a pretty kick-ass woman. But seeing her dresses up close and personal was awesome. Then of course I saw some outfits from George Strait, Reba, a ton of singers from the 90s. They have outfits from Tim and Faith, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, and the list goes on.
Then of course they have outfits and such from the current, popular singers. I saw a bunch of stuff from Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift. But then I turned the corner and saw the outfits that Rascal Flatts wore to the 2009 ACMs and almost died right there. It was amazing. My other favorite "exhibit" was stuff from FGL. Tyler gave them his certificate from BMI on Cruise and some other stuff. All in all it was a great experience.
Now onto the more fun stuff. Bar-hopping and listening to live music in Nashville, Tennessee. We went to a few different bars and listened to some pretty awesome music. At one of the bars the guy made me stick out my two fists and drew big Xs on them. I felt like a badass not gonna lie. We finally settled in at Tequila Cowboy and listened to Steven Clauson sing. And boy was this guy good. He's got the looks, the voice, the looks, everything about him says "star." Seriously he was that good. We listened to him for awhile, then when we was done Mia & I got a picture with him because why not. We then headed next door to listen to a band that was pretty good, finally we left downtown and headed back to their cabin.
Oh and I forgot to mention one thing, it had been downpouring on and off all day. So we get back to their cabin, change and decide to go eat. We ate at this place called Santa Fe and it was delicious! One of the best quesadillas I've ever had! So we're sitting there eating and the lights start to flicker and Tom looks out the window and informs us that there's a deluge happening outside. It was horrible! The rain was coming down so hard and the street was starting to flood and it was scary. We finished eating and went back to their cabin and I spent the night.
The next day Tom went to the movies and Mia and I shopped around at the different boutiques. Surprisingly I didn't spend a dime! Once Tom was done, we ate at the Pancake Pantry. Literally they have the best pancakes in the world. It's so worth waiting in line for! Sadly then they had to return me back to Belmont. I said see-ya-later and went to my dorm to do homework.
It was a good weekend. I really needed to see some friends from back home. Yes the homesickness has started to creep up on me. But I have exciting news, I booked a flight home for fall break! So I will be home October 10-14! I'm looking forward to seeing as many people as I can! If I don't see you then, don't worry! I also booked my flight for Thanksgiving break! It'll be good to come home and relax! Until then, my homework awaits!
