Photo Friday

This is my smallest sister, CeCe.  She is too funny and such a little firecracker.  Love that kid.

WOW

Nothing makes you feel older than having your best friend from high school call you to tell you she's getting married.  I am so excited for J and her fiancee, but it seriously freaks me out.  I am all about marriage and husbands and wives, but I am NOWHERE near that part of my life and it is so weird to think that this friend, who is younger than me is taking the plunge.  I am not even 20 yet.  Crazy how that happens.  Congrats J.  I am sure you and R will have a lovely lovely wedding and an even lovelier life together!  J, you inspire me so much!

Love, 

P&P

Just Some Thoughts

I love that my friends call me when they need a sober driver instead of one of our other mutual friends.  I love that they trust me enough not to judge them and to not take advantage of their intoxication.  I love that even though I don't drink I can still be friends with these friends and that they don't judge me for not drinking.  I love that we respect each other and our decisions.  I love my friends and I love spending a sketchy Friday the 13th together.

25 Things about me!

I already put this on FB, but I thought y'all might enjoy it.

1) I'm LDS (Mormon), just in case you didn't know.

2) Oxford Commas make me happy.

3) I judge your grammar/usage/sentence construction/spelling, etc.

4) I've lived in O----- my whole life and I LOVE it.

5) I pronounce "crayon" and "crown" the same way (the "crown" way), I didn't know they were pronounced differently until I was a junior in high school.

6) I hate phone calls.  Seriously, I only answer the phone for my parents and about 8 other people.  If you want to talk to me, texting is the way to go.

7) I have a phone voice.  All my friends mock it, I'm okay with that.

8) I've been to both the summer and the winter Olympics.  They were both incredible and I can't wait to go back.

9) In general, I don't like "ethnic" food, but Mexican food is an exception.  I can eat Mexican everyday and not get sick of it.

10) I love Harry Potter, but I refuse to read Twilight.

11) If I weren't in pharmacy school, I could graduate from school by this Christmas (counting my AP credits) or next May (not counting my AP credits).  Oh well.

12) My favorite Gossip Girl characters are: Chuck (on the show) and Blair (in the book and on the show)

13) Children who I "babysit" are awesome, children who I "sit", "keep", or "watch" are not.

14) I am always cold.  Always.

15) Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving until we've boogie boarded down the leaf hill at my grandparents' house.

16) It upsets me that we rarely use the subjunctive case in English today.  I'll be even more upset when it's gone for good.

17) Facetious is my favorite word because it contains all the vowels in (alphabetical) order.  Facetiously includes "y" (also in order) and is a close second.

18) I am a hypochondria, ask C.  She has had to consult WebMD more than a few times for me.

19) I've ordered snow cones with no flavor, just ice, on more than one occasion.

20) I own a Snuggie.  Judge all you want, but I was not cold on the train back from Chicago.

21) I text Google more times a day than should ever be necessary.

22) I believe in Capitalism and the free market.

23) I'm ridiculous about my teeth.  I am convinced that I will wake up one morning and all of my orthodonture will have been for nothing.  Because of this, I wear my retainer every single night.

24) My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  The BBC/A&E miniseries/movie is also perfect.

25) I am lost without my planner.

Reason #89734895 why I love my SCHOOL!

So, it's no secret that I LOVE my university. It is the perfect blend of Old South traditions, new ideas, innovation, and all other fabulous things you can think of. I am not only a part of our fabulous pharmacy school, but I am also a very active member of the Honors College on campus. This institution was named one of Reader's Digest's top three Honors programs in the country, and it probably wouldn't be too hard for y'all to figure out where I go to school. One of the things that our Honors College does is host a Fall and Spring Convocation. For this, we always bring in big name people to speak to us. Last year, we were honored to hear from Thomas Friedman and some other wonderful and inspiring people.

Tonight, however, takes the cake. Thanks to our wonderful and generous benefactor, we were able to host General Colin Powell. He is someone that I have a great amount of respect for and tonight only solidified that respect. He was so eloquent and jovial. I felt like he was being so genuine when he spoke to us (impressive since we FILLED our biggest venue on campus). He talked about his time as Secretary of State and his life after stepping down. He spoke of the times of transition in our lives and how "whenever we feel down, go buy a Corvette. It really does help!" He explained why he chose to endorse Barack Obama and then told us that he still considers himself to be a Republican. It was so good to listen to all of this. He talked about the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan. He told us that Iraq is not a war we will win, but it is not because of anything we are doing, it is because of the people there. Our dedicated soldiers are doing exactly what they need to be doing and it was wonderful to hear. He talked about how we NEED to be in Afghanistan. How the people there will never be able to move on from their tribal fighting and wars until a STRONG central government is in place. They will not do this for themselves, we NEED to be there. It will take a long time, of course. This is not something that will be resolved in two or three years, it is President Obama war now.
General Powell spoke of his family and his life. How he has seen so much during his many decades of service to our country. The thing that stuck out to me the most, was, however, how much the rest of the world still looks to America as the example. They like us, they want to model their countries after us. The media can try to spin it all they want, but America is still the ultimate symbol of FREEDOM and CAPITALISM. No matter how much the media tells us that people in far off countries dislike us and think that we are arrogant, fat, self-centered people, this doesn't stop the many people from standing in line outside the American Consulates and applying for visas. They want to be here, because they know that we are doing something RIGHT!
It was so nice to hear all of this tonight. It gave us the boost that we needed for sure. Thank you General Powell. Your words were so inspirational and full of wisdom. We hope you come back to visit us soon. We will be happy to have you here again and show you our Southern Hospitality.