Progress

A week ago this is what happened every time she looked at me. You'd think I was trying to kill her...but no, I was just trying to play with her! This particular moment happened when I was sitting on mom's lap. Emma didn't like that too much. She's not used to me being around. We just kept hoping that since mom babysits her everyday she'd get used to me.

A few days later, we made it this far...




Then finally this...




Now if I could just get her to let me hold her...

Graduation!

It's hard to believe that I graduated on Saturday. Those four years went by so fast. In those four years, I met my best friends in the whole world and had so many fun experiences that I hope I'll never forget.

Friday and Saturday were really bittersweet days for me. As I was packing and doing other things around campus and in my dorm, I found myself saying "this is the last time I'm ever going to do this." I'd start to tear up then get mad at myself for almost crying. What was there to cry about? These were stupid little things, like putting on flip flops to go take a shower. Who cries over wearing flip flops in the shower? Apparently I do. After catching myself multiple times throughout the day before I really started crying, I knew that once I let myself cry, it would be a huge meltdown. And the meltdown came...on Saturday. My room was almost empty. My parents were waiting for me in the car. As Katie helped me put my graduation cap on, I could hear Karen, the cleaning lady's voice in my head saying, "you're really gonna miss Katie aren't you?" I thought about all the good times I've had in Walters, all the people I had to say goodbye to, and how thankful I am for the opportunity to meet such amazing people that have become my closest friends. All of this went through my mind in a span of less than 5 seconds and I found myself sobbing on Katie's shoulder. I just couldn't stop.

Everyone keeps telling me that this is just another chapter in my life and it's time to move on to the next. I guess they're right. It's just tough. I guess I'm headed toward the real world. Ready or not, here I come.

Before I post some pictures from my last few days at EKU, I'd like to thank everyone. Please excuse my cornyness. First, I want to say thank you to my parents who have given me so much. They've supported me in everything I've done, paid my huge cell phone bill, and even managed to feign interest when I talked about my classes. I know that they are my biggest cheerleaders and they always will be. Next I'd like to thank my friends for EVERYTHING...the fun times, goofy adventures, and for always being there for me. FAT CHICKS RULE!!! In particular, I'd like to thank Katie for being such an amazing friend. I know that our friendship started out really rocky and we've had more than our share of ups and downs. Thanks for sticking with me through everything. You're awesome!

Ok, now that I feel like I've just accepted one of those stupid awards (I feel like I should thank my agent, the academy, my fans...) I'll share some pictures. Enjoy!

Movie Monday

This video is old, but hilarious. The song is guaranteed to be stuck in your head for days. Enjoy!

My Little Piece of Paradise...

It is no secret that I am a nerd, so the following statement will come as no surprise to those who know me. I LOVE the library. I love books. I love to read. I have recently discovered that the library here at EKU has an amazing plethora of literature just sitting there collecting dust, waiting to be read. Sadly, this discovery was not made until my last semester here. Had I known about it sooner, I would have spent the entirety of my four years at EKU in this little piece of paradise.

I made my discovery on a lonely Saturday afternoon. All of my friends had gone home for the weekend. The weather had just started to turn warm and I was itching to go to the park. But what was I going to do there? Homework? No way! Walk? Nah. Read? Aha! What a great idea! But what should I read? Maybe I can find something at the library. Book list in hand, I made my way across the deserted campus. Entering the library, I looked around. There was only a handful of people on the main floor. I made my way to the fourth floor, ready to find the perfect book. I entered a huge room full of rows and rows of bookshelves. As I wandered among the endless shelves of books, I stopped. It was quiet. I was completely alone. I breathed deeply and took in the musty smell of old, dusty books. I was in heaven. Thousands of books surrounded me. Thousands of worlds for me to explore, characters to meet. I spent hours in the library that afternoon. I never made it to the park.

It was over a month before I made it to the library again. With no homework or projects due this week and no one to entertain me, I decided I was in need of a good book. Not wanting to look like a complete loser going to the library for fun on a Tuesday night, I grabbed my backpack and made the walk across campus pretending to be on my way to study. Everything was different this time. It was dark. There were people outside. The library's main floor was packed with students. I hurried to the fourth floor...to my oasis in this desert of college life. As I made my way through the maze of shelves, I took a deep breath. That familiar musty smell filled my nostrils. I was alone again with whole worlds at my fingertips. I like the library at night. There's a certain air of mystery. It's slightly creepy. I jumped at every little sound. Yet strangely, I felt at home. Without a book list, I was unsure of where to start. I soon realized that there are so many good books that much of the world doesn't even know about. Why should I limit myself to those best-sellers and classic novels that everyone has heard of? I browsed row after row of books, stopping at all of the titles that caught my eye. I leafed through yellowing pages, read and reread inside covers, and laughed when I found myself face to face with the entire collection of Harry Potter books. There were so many great books to choose from. Finally deciding on two seemingly thrilling novels, I took one last deep breath and made my way towards noisy world of campus. I can't wait to go back to my little piece of paradise.

Wow...

Check out this video I found. This guy is talented...a little freaky, but cool. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Megan!

Today is Megan's birthday! She is one of my best friends and one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. For those of you who don't know Megan, aka Moo, I'll tell you a little about her. She's extremely intelligent. She's 2nd in her class in law school. She's hilarious and can always make me smile. I love visiting her after a rough week because I always feel so much better after spending a weekend with her. Our adventures together have been so entertaining.

Aside from being the best damn lawyer Sturgis, Kentucky has ever seen, she hopes to marry a gas station owner/mechanic and eventually live in the woods.

I'll never forget all the fun times we've had together: our trip to the zoo, almost getting kicked out of the planetarium, our trip to the peddler's mall when she confessed that she had already been there before she told us she was in town, the death of the non-halogen lamps, and so many more...

To sum it all up, Megan is an amazing person and a wonderful friend. No words, and certainly not this little post, could ever do her justice. I can't imagine not having her in my life. I'm so glad we're friends and I hope that we can be friends forever.

Adventures at the Zoo

I'm going to take you on a trip to the Louisville Zoo--an amazing adventure full of elephant aerobics, mating lions, wrestling gorillas, and colorful birds. Please remember to keep your arms, legs, and head inside the tram at all times.

First we need to get our tickets. We wait in line and talk excitedly about what animals we hope to see. With each step toward the ticket window, our excitement grows. Finally, tickets purchased, we grab a map and begin our adventure.



As we make our way down the path, we come upon what looks like two large boulders. We move in for a closer look and discover that those boulders have ears tails, and horns. We leave the sleeping rhinos and go for a ride.




Turning the corner, we hear what sounds like a waterfall. A huge shower of liquid is flooding the ground under a large gray mass. As the flow stops and the mass moves, a trunk appears and the elephant makes his way toward the door where three trainers are entering the area. It's time for elephant aerobics! The three elephants, linked trunk to tail, parade around doing tricks. Scotty, the baby elephant, wows the crowd with his amazing display of skills.




Suddenly we hear a roar. We head towards it and see a lioness standing at the edge of the rock, roaring at the crowd. She lays down to sleep and is soon awakened by the male lion. They appear to be wrestling, but soon the crowd erupts into laughter and parents attempt to cover the eyes of their children.



As the laughter dies down, we head towards the petting zoo. Along the way we pass zebras.



camels



and giraffes



We stop to pet goats.



And make our way through the gorilla forest. We stop to watch gorillas wrestling and playing as a huge silverback gorilla, "The Blob", sleeps in the sun. The monkeys and gorillas come to the glass to say hi.



After a quick stop in the family restrooms...




...we head down to Lorikeet Landing to feed the birds. Cups of nectar in hand, we wait anxiously at the gate while the trainer teases the already terrified member of our group. The gate is opened and the birds flock towards us in a huge blur of colors and land on our arms, shoulders and heads.







After shaking the birds out of our hair and inspecting our clothes for bird droppings, we hop on over to the wallaby walkabout.




We visit a few more animals







And hop on the train for a quick ride around the zoo.




After one last visit to our favorite animals, we head toward the car with sunburnt faces and sore feet. As our adventure comes to an end, we stop for one last group picture.



Then head home to relax and plan our next big adventure.