random things as of late.

My brother got me the cutest thing for a graduation gift! Its a picture of us when we were 2 and 3, respectively - aren't we adorable?! haha. In case you can't read it it says, "To my sister, we laugh together, we play together, and now, we've graduated together." Cute huh?! Its on an easel so it looks like a little baby painting or something. Just thought I'd share the cuteness - and the fact that I had blonde hair... weird huh?

Jury duty: what an experience! haha I didn't get selected :( but thats ok, because it would have likely conflicted with my travel plans and it was an unpleasant case (child pornography and aggrevated child abuse/sexual assault). Not a good way to spend the week. So now I'm jury free. But I enjoyed the process - and the importance of it all. I like that our judicial system is set up in a such a way, and I wish more people respected the opportunity to serve rather than paying so much attention to its inconvience.

Today I went through all my e-mails (UGH!) and I decided that like my photos, I'm going to keep better track of them on an immediate basis, rather than letting them all pile up and overwhelm me!

I also bookmarked a lot of websites - including lots of travel sites which was fun! Even though a lot of them will never become useful to reality, its fun to look though and such. Here are some of the sites I like best!

For booking:
http://www.bing.com/travel/ ...they have forecast technology with tells you whether or not to wait to buy your ticket, predicting whether the price is about to go up/down!

http://www.luxurylink.com/ ...all-inclusive and luxury places on sale auction style! So you can potentially save a heap-load of mulah!

http://www.imin.com/home ...I don't necessarily like all the ideas they have, but if you're looking for a vaca and just plum out of ideas, this can be a good jumping point!

http://www.countrywalkers.com/
http://mtsobek.com/
http://nomadicexpeditions.com/ ...these places are neat and have different travel packages around the world!

Destinations:
http://www.peterisland.com/peterisland.html
http://www.rancholapuerta.com/index.html
http://inkaterra.com/

Items:
http://www.wishingfish.com/510660a.html ...laundry paper! neat!
http://www.flight001.com/store/index.htm ...all sorts of goodies!
http://magellans.com/ ...lots of goodies here too!

So thats what I've been up to lately. Organizing, searching, and a lot of nothing too. haha

Hope you're having a great day!

you say goodbye, i say hello.

Well I no longer live in Norman. (boo) I didn't cry - at all - not even in a bar! (haha) I think the first couple times that I haven't seen everybody in a while and I watch Megan's video, I definitely will... but I haven't yet. And the title of this post is why - its not goodbye, just hello to the next phase of our lives. And I say "our" because I really do believe that those that are important to me now will always be important to me, and I will try my best to keep and touch and visit and continue to love the people I love today. Hello is exciting! And I'm excited for us!

I had a wonderful last two weeks! It was awesome to hang out so much with lots of friends! - especially with Kirsten (3 sleepovers... and hanging out with me ended up making the end of her week really pretty stressful because she didn't get to pack that much... sorry about that, but love you mean it!!!) and Callie (2 sleepovers, gingerbread pants included!) and Brad (oh all 4? thats weird...) and Tracy when she got back from camp!

I also just really enjoyed Norman... even though its not the best town/city in the world, I am very, very fond of it. I lerve it a lot! I don't know what to say when people ask "where are you from?" Born in Illinois. Lived in Texas. Found my home in Norman. I don't think I'll ever live in Norman again, but I hope to visit.

I'm also getting really excited for Tricia's wedding in July!! I tried on my dress one day before we went to lay out and it just got my really excited - its going to be a beautfiul wedding and a wonderful union of two awesome people!

I'm excited for jury duty - I want to get selected so badly! hahahaha but NOT if it interferes with my trip!!! Which I am SO EXCITED for! I can't wait to put up pictures and post all about our (Megan, Jessica, and I) adventures in Colorado!!! :)

Life is good.

Bye Norman/Normanites. Miss you, mean it!

I love Norman!

Not having a computer is weird... you feel blocked from communication and updates and all of that... oh how I pity the days before computers. I love computers. And I love my phone for having internet access on it, so I don't feel quite as lost.

So last week was kind of weird for me - two struggles: no schedule vs. summer fun, and leaving vs. going.

I thrive on having a schedule - it gives me a sense of purpose when I wake up in the morning (and I'm a morning person), so this past week, every morning I seemed to have this sadness because I didn't anything "to do" (I had a lot to do, but none of it was put in a schedule). On the other hand, I love summer fun and freedom! What do I want to do today? Oh, whatever I want - awesome. And I don't have to work or go to school so I can just hang out with friends and explore or craft! or whatever! So its a weird thing... both loving and hating not having a schedule.

Packing up my life has been hard and weird. Deciding what to take, keep, sell, and give away... its really strange examining your belongings in that way. And I don't know where I'll be after two years from now, and I feel like that's throwing me off too - I don't want to live a temporary life if its actually semi-permanent. And I feel like at this point in my life I want some stability - a place to call home. I really made a home here in Norman, and really created a family. Its only natural that part of me wants to keep that for ...maybe not forever, but for longer! haha BUT I am SO excited to move to New York and start my life there! I just know that it'll be an amazing experience and a great time in my life, and I'm so excited to start the next phase of my life. Its still like a dream to me... and I can't wait for it to be real!

and then... THE BEST LAST WEEKEND IN NORMAN EVER! haha
I had soo much fun with Kirsten and Callie and Brigitte this weekend! We just explored Norman - doing some of our favorite things - and did crafts! and hung out and had fun! It was pretty much perfect! I'm glad that I really got to enjoy this last weekend with such awesome friends! I'm going to miss just hanging out in Norman and having so much fun doing such simple things!

I would add pictures to this blog, but as I said, no computer... and Kirsten already added a bunch to hers (video included)! haha.

I love my life in Norman - and all those who are important to me here. I like what others have been optimistically writing about leaving... its not that bad, because really, we'll always have each other. I can't wait for reunions!

This week: pack up, and last hoorahs! and move.
Next week: Jury duty and adventure in COLORADO!

A Bittersweet Ending; An Exciting Beginning

In my lifetime, I have been blessed with the company of more beautiful people than I could ever ask for - from family to kind strangers, and best of friends to mere acquaintances - each have touched and shaped my life in wonderful ways.

The party squad - appropriately named, because we bring the party... wherever... even if you may not want it - the party squad is a group of my friends particularly close to my heart at this time of my life. We all have very different personalities, interests, lives, etc. and we all work together to create this beautiful, semi-functional family of which I have been semi-jokingly dubbed "the mom". As the group begins to split, we decided to become "bloggers" so we can better follow each others lives. Hence my blog Love, Mom.

OU has provided some of my favorite memories, and lots of amazing friendships.  I can't believe my time here is coming to an end, but I am so incredibly excited for the life that is ahead of me - in New York and beyond.  

I hope that through this blog, I can share my life with you - in little-snippets form.