Holiday Joy

I love the holidays! December is probably my favorite month and this December could possibly be my most favorite December of my entire life. :) A lot is going on in my life right now and I'm trying to grasp how wonderfully everything is going.

First things first.  My favorite things about the holidays.  I love buying gifts for people.  While it is a huge hole in my bank account it's so much fun trying to figure out, "Well, will they like this?" "Is this too cheesy?" "Do they already have this?".  Buying the gifts is the fun part but the hard part is definitely the holding out until Christmas to give it to them.  I think I gave three of my gifts early this year because I just couldn't stand holding on to them anymore. (haha)  The one thing everyone hates most: wrapping.  You may say I'm weird, but wrapping is another one of my favorite things.  I wrapped all of the gifts I bought, all the gifts my Mom bought, and anything else that wasn't mine and was laying around was wrapped.

I am a huge fan of baking.  I'm not very good at it right yet, but my mother bakes the best goodies around this time of year.  Last night she made her annual homemade cheesecake that she gives out to her friends for Christmas "Thank You Gifts".  Tonight she made my favorite, that we normally have on Christmas day for breakfast but I'll be gone this year, cream cheese braids.  These are for very special people.  She use to make tons and tons when we were little and we would take them to my parent's closest friends and family.  When I was in sixth grade, my grandfather passed away; my mom's dad.  She stopped making them for quite some time but has brought back the tradition and makes about four a year.  It's amazing!! and because Santa needs cookies, we always bake snickerdoodle cookies to put out on Christmas eve.  Oh the holidays! So much for working out. :/

My family has a ton of traditions but we aren't obsessive about them.  We just love (I just love) all the joy the stuff we do brings to everyone around us.  On Christmas eve, we always go to the church service and have the Lord's Supper as a family.  Afterwards, we head to my grandparents house (which is literally .025 miles from our driveway), to eat pizza and open the presents our grandparents bought us, our pajamas from our parents (we get a set every year), and my grandparents open all the gifts they got for each other that night because they always said Christmas day was for us kids. :) My other grandmother lives across the street from my Dad's parents so she normally comes over and joins us.  Luckily, I still have a great-grandmother that lives about an hour away that my grandparents drive her over so she can spend the holidays with us! But that night, Jaime (my sister) and I, set out egg nog & snickerdoodle cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. ;) We sleep in my room, which is upstairs, in our new pajamas, and talk about what we want for Christmas until we doze off.  Christmas morning, my sister gets us all up SUPER early, even now-a-days.  We are allowed to open our stockings without our parents but the gifts we have to wait until both of my grandparents come up, mom cooks sausage balls, breakfast casserole, apple cider, and that amazing cheese braid bread.  After we have a some breakfast, we all sit around the living room and open up gifts.  It's so great to see everyone's reaction of what they got.  After all the gifts are opened, we disperse and play with all the new gadgets we got that year.  Then around 1pm or 2pm we have the usual Christmas lunch/dinner with steak, baked potatoes, salad, and whatever else gets cooked. Sounds pretty routine, right?

Well this year, a lot of my family's traditions have been moved around because, once again, I'm the rebel of the family. (ha) Well, this time, I think they are just jealous of me.  I'm leaving for Jamaica on Christmas morning with my boyfriend and his family. :) We are staying for five days and will be back just in time for the new year.  So all the Christmas day activities are getting moved to Christmas eve and Mom & Dad are driving me to the airport on Christmas day at 6am!

The reason this December is going to be the best December of my life is because: 1. I started out the first few weeks getting my final grades for my first semester of my junior year and got a 4.0 GPA! 2. Christmas is by far my favorite holiday and you saw why :) 3. I'm leaving for Jamaica ON Christmas day! 4. We return from Jamaica on the 30th and on December 31st I will finally turn 21! 5. I am having a 21st birthday party and my parents are coming to take me to lunch.  6. This isn't in December, but it's close, Auburn is in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!! Hip hip hooray!  So anybody can see why this is definitely going to be the best December of my life.

I know this post is lengthly but I hope it brought you some joy and high spirits for the holidays. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! and Happy Birthday to anyone with a birthday in December! ;)

-K

College Teachings

It's been a crazy few days.  I can't seem to get my thoughts straight.  This semester I have been very distant from my friends and super close with my boyfriend and his friends.  While boys are nice, a girl has always got to have her girlfriends around for some things.  I reconnected with a lot of my close friends after finals.  It's like we hadn't been apart this whole semester.  We were right back to cutting up and gossiping just like we always do.  Girls nights are a must next semester.  Monday nights were so relieving with them.

While I have spent some time away from the girls and spent a lot more time with my boyfriend and his friends I can't say it's a bad thing.  They are some of the most genuinely nice guys a girl could ever have in her life.  They tolerated me through thick and thin.  I have learned to appreciate nice people because their aren't many of them out there.

Coming home is always a joy because I am such a family person.  My brother had to head back to Auburn the day I got home from Auburn so we won't see each other until a day or so before Christmas and then I leave for Jamaica.  My mom and me are so much alike.  We were really close in high school and have stayed closer through college as well.  My dad and I were not close in high school.  I got on his nerves!! Thankfully, college has opened my eyes to make me realize how important a father/daughter relationship is.  I need to call him more because I can't imagine not having him there to talk to.  My sister and I are at two different places in our lives right now.  I love her to death and hate that we can't see eye to eye.  Hopefully we will both mature into civil adults and be like a sister relationship should be.

Like I said, I love my family very much I just hate the pressure we put on each other sometimes.  Everyone expects so much from everyone and it's so hard to make them happy.  Growing up has been a hard lesson but I've enjoyed the battles I have faced (not many yet, but I feel them coming).  I have learned that you have to make decisions on your own and for your life.  Being an adult means that it's your life, not anyone else's.  If you go through life making decisions for everyone else's sake you will be miserable.  I've also learned that your parents really do know what they are talking about (DANG, I'm that girl! My grandparents always said I would be).  I turn to my parents for advice on almost everything.  I try and talk to my parents daily just to see if there is anything else I can learn from them that day. And definitely not the only other thing I learned but the most important thing.  Trust.  People are not out to get you (most of the time the aren't at least).  You don't have to put up a wall and tear people down just to get a reaction out of them.  When people say they love you, they actually mean it.  When people say, I'll be there for you whenever you need me, they really will be.

It's amazing how much college teaches you, outside of your major.  Life lessons are some of the best things I will take away from college.  Moving on and discovering different things is what's going to make you who you are.  Without that adventure you will always be that high schooler that thought they were the best thing to walk the campus.  You will never understand what the real world has in store for anyone willing to embark on it.  Take a chance and discover life.  It's pretty amazing what will happen when you just open your eyes.

Until next time,
K

People in this world...

There are so many different kind of people in this world.  Ones who are positive and ones who are negative.  Ones who have to be in the lime light and ones who would rather just be in the shadows.  Ones who think they know it all/everybody and ones who know a lot but choose not to say anything.  I would like to say I tolerate a lot of these kind of people but a lot of people in my life would laugh and say "Yeah right!"  The bad part about all this is I am some of what I can't stand in people.  But my biggest pet peeve is negative people and I'm proud to say I am not one of those people.  I can't remember how the quote goes but something about you are what you hang around?  You all know what I'm talking about (I hope, ha).  The best thing I have found to do is to just push those people out of my life.  I can't stand to be around them because like I said in my other post I turn into them.  I have very special people in my life who make me who I am and I am so thankful for them.  I can't imagine my life without the one who never complains, the one who is always smiling and bubbly, the one who tells me like it is and makes sure my head is screwed on straight, the one who gives me advice, the one who watches me from a distance and always lets me know they are praying and thinking about me, the one who may be younger than me but teaches me stuff every time I see them, and of course the one who is patient, caring, and so mature.  I envy all these people in my life and hope that I can pick up qualities they have and carry them with me throughout my life.

I've had a lot of these thoughts laying on my heart recently because I have been struggling with accepting everyone for who they are and I've come to the conclusion I'm not going to keep those bad influence people in my life.  Good bye negativity, know it all's, and rude, lying people.  I have 18 months until I graduate and go into the real world.  I'm making the most out of it and embracing all the positive, say just enough, caring, nice people.

-K

Finals are over and life is good!

Finals are finished! Everyone can go back to being there fun loving selves again.  Yesterday, I was in between my final at 12 and my final at 4 somewhat studying.  I got an email from my finance professor and I told myself do not look until after your last final cause you will either be disappointed or too excited to focus on it. Well I went ahead and looked and I was way too excited to take my last exam (I got an A - in Finance! I worked my butt off for that grade!). But it's a two hour class about hotels, common sense stuff about hotels.  I work at a hotel so I was thinking, "Oh, this won't be bad!" That final was ridiculous!!! I got the 50 point question right but if I didn't do so well on the rest of the exam, that class will be my only B. So frustrating!

Well, I told some people yesterday that my blog was going to be about some people yesterday and I didn't want them to think it was about them.  I have had a change of heart and have decided to leave the bashing for girls nights ONLY! haha Cyberspace is risky and you never know what's going to bite you in the butt in the long run.  Except I have a Facebook, a Twitter, a blog, and a LinkedIn. I'm a social networking freak! haha I hope that doesn't hurt me in the long run.  Anyways, I had a girls night with my long lost friends from the semester and oh how I miss girls nights!!!  The girls night are being reinstated next semester with no excuses!! It's my only break away from life when I'm with these girls! We have way too much fun together! 

On another note, finals are over and Christmas break has started!  I leave for Jamaica in 15 days! :D The goal is two workouts a day! Starting tomorrow. Today is going to be so much fun! Two tacky Christmas sweater parties, lunch with some friends, dinner with my awesome boyfriend, and fitting a workout in after lunch.  Cannot wait! I hope everyone has a fantastic day.  Until next time, laugh a lot, life happy, and STOP being negative!

Peace, Love, and Happiness!

Kayla

Finals Week

Well tonight is a pretty relaxing night.  It probably shouldn't be but I'm taking the night off from studying.  I had my finance final today (my hardest one) and I have no idea how I did.  I studied all day Monday and from 8am-3:15pm today.  BAH!! It's been a long day.

Mom has been in town for continuing education for being an accountant.  That is one thing I promised myself that I will not have a job/major that requires me to go to classes every year.  I'm done with school after this last year and a half.  Maybe if I get super super bored I'll get my masters but that's super bored. (haha)  Every semester around finals I think to myself, why am I learning this? What am I going to use it for? Most people in today's world don't even use their degree.  Yes, there are exceptions like my Mom but who's to say the degree I'm getting is going to completely train me for the job I want.  I think experience is the only way to fully understand a job.

It was pointed out to me today that I adapt to the people I spend the most time around.  When I'm around rude people, I become rude.  When I'm around sweet people, I tend to say nicer things.  When I'm around negative people, I tend to take their bad attitude and turn it into my attitude.  Some of these things I don't mind but a lot of these actions bother me.  Do most people adapt to the people around them or is it just me? I would not consider myself a follower.  I've always been fairly independent.  I don't know if this is a new habit or if I'm not as independent as I use to be.  Or should I say, I'm not myself as much anymore?

Christmas break cannot come soon enough.  I need this time to figure me out, get an internship in the works, and take a break from constant school work.  Oh and have I mentioned I'm going to Jamaica for Christmas? :D This has got to calm me down for at least a week.  Then, I'm coming home to my 21st birthday and a new year to start all over with.  Have a great rest of the week.  I'll be in touch soon!

XOXO,
Kayla

SEC Championship

Hello friends!

If you don't know me you might need to know that I am a huge Auburn fan.  Being a student and all I think it's an obligation. ;)

This weekend was a blast! My boyfriend and some of our friends headed to Atlanta on Friday to start the celebration of making it to the SEC Championship.  Saturday, more of our friends came to Atlanta to help keep the celebration going.  The Marta station (Atlanta tram system) is close to B (my boyfriend) 's parent's house.  We all headed there and proceeded to wait on the tram.  My brother (being the country boy that he is) says, "Is it a big train?" His girlfriend and I bust out laughing and tell him he's got to get out more.  The tram was packed but we sported our colors loud and proud.  There were thousands of people at the tram station, both Auburn and South Carolina fans.  As the South Carolina fans started to yell "GAME" "COCKS" "GAME" "COCKS" and on and on, an Auburn fan started Bodda Getta and a huge WAR EAGLE, HEY!!! It was the start to a great day!

We finally made it to downtown! Another side note for those of you who do not know me, I'm obsessed with cities: the buildings, the people, the atmosphere, etc. etc.  I cannot wait to live in Atlanta one day! Anyways, we had lunch in the CNN center where it was a complete ZOO!! After lunch, it was time to head to the Georgia Dome! My borther's girlfriend and another one of my friends got lucky enough to win the lottery (student tickets) and the rest of us had to find tickets on our own.  Well, lucky for B and I, my brother plays football at Auburn University.  He is only red shirted this year and plays on the scout team but it still has its perks.  My brother landed three tickets to the SEC Championship and gave the other two to B and me. WHAAA HOO!!!! Sooo, we waited in the players will call for an hour and thirty minutes.  It was crazy but so worth the wait.  We got third row seats, right in front of the cheerleaders, in the Auburn end zone, and behind Emory Blake's family!! OH how I love my little brother!!!!

So needless to say, we won the game, all the players came over to our section because we were in the parents section and we had the best night of our lives.  Well, as much fun as we can have to be only a few weeks away from turning twenty-one.  Toomer's got rolled and was the best I had seen EVER!! I only got to see pictures until we got back this morning and they were trying to get it all out of the tree and I witnessed how crazy it must had been last night.

Well, I hope all of you had a great weekend and were able to experience some of these things (if you are an Auburn fan).  Finals week is starting tomorrow and I could not be more distracted.  Thankfully my hard test is Tuesday and Thursday.  I hope everyone continues to have a blessed day and week.  There are sure to be many great stories this week because yes, it may be finals week but my friend is turning twenty-one and we are having a Tacky Christmas Sweater party! YAY!

War Eagle!

Kayla

Welcome!

Well hello!  There probably isn't anyone reading this first blog but that's okay.  Sometimes I just like to write and I figure blogging is a great way to do that.  Maybe one day I will have a purpose to this blog but as of now there is absolutely no purpose other than to clear my head. haha

I have a strong passion for life.  Sometimes I may come of rude, sometimes I mean to but most of the time I don't.  I guess it's my strong personality that makes me that way.  I take things for granted and I'm far from perfect.  I have a lot of goals and dreams for my life and could not go anywhere without the people in my life.  I have so many dreams that when I was 18 I got a tattoo on my hip that means "DREAM" in Chinese.  My Mom wasn't too happy with me but it reminds me everyday that I'm living my dream and striving for bigger and better things everyday.  

I love helping and getting to know people.  It's basically my major (kinda, haha).  I talk a lot and usually it's nothing important but I probably think it is so sometimes you'll have to ignore me or just put me in my place.  I have a good sense of humor (I think) and I've got tough skin.  I will try my best to not offend anybody.  If I do, I apologize in advance.

This is my first post.  I hope this introduces you to me a little bit and let's you know where I am in my life. :)

Content,

Kayla