SUCH a fun weekend in Ames!

I had the greatest weekend. And I feel like there’s caffeine in my veins I am just so happy! It’s always fun in this here town of Ames. J

On Friday night, I got to spend my time with my two favorite college freshmen – my littles! Those two pretty little things told me all about their lives and interrogated me about every male I’ve ever made contact with. It was awesome. And Applebee’s flavored lemonades really hit the spot! (Tip: Ask for Kiwi Strawberry) After dinner, little Anna and I found ourselves drinking coffee and swaying to a David Gray song at 9:30PM on a Friday night. When I realized how pathetic we were, I laughed because Anna never complained once. Soulmates?

My littles, Anna and Jamie, at Applebee's. 

I got the chance to see “Argo” for free at Cyclone Cinema Friday night, as well! I bought my sleepy little Hannie some popcorn and proceeded to squirm uncomfortably for the next two hours (Very stressful film). At one particularly tense point, Anna, Hannah, and myself were all in contorted in different positions and a guy in front of us turned around and started laughing… At least we entertained someone? I, as always, attempted the round of applause when the credits began to roll and as always only about three people joined in on the fun.

Waiting for Argo to start on campus! 

When Hannah and I returned home to the Chi, she halfheartedly mentioned building a snowman. After much persuasion, the two of us headed to the fraternity across the street (at midnight) only to find that it definitely was not packing snow. The next hour of our lives was spent in an intense snow fight with some friends and a significant amount of snowballs. SO FUN.

Saturday was bound to be stressful from the start. I had to be up early and at the MU, so I got my day started off at about 8:30AM. By 10:45 I had two loads of laundry going (#productive). My partner-in-life Kyle and I spent the day going from Starbucks to WalMart to Target to WalMart to JoAnn’s Fabric to Hobby Lobby and finally to HyVee in search of Varieties costumes and coffee/food, of course. Although it was stressful, I love getting to spend every waking moment with my girl, Kyle. J Especially when I’m introducing her to HyVee Chinese!

My dear friend Kyle and I. :)

Saturday night was the most fun night everrrr. I went to a bus party called Saddle ‘n Gun with my hilarious friend and had a blast. We were proud when people called us the “Alcohol Bandits” and when we showed up all the other couples with our sweet dance moves. I went to sleep with visions of Taylor Swift and plastic rifles dancing around in my head. Isn’t life fun in cowgirl boots? (Until the morning, when you find blisters….ouch)

My TSwift-obsessed date!

This morning, I pulled myself together and went to church with Hannah and her entertaining dad. All the praise songs were amazing and it was nice, like always, to get my week started off on the right foot. After church we picked up Hannah’s sister and headed off to brunch at The Café. It was fun pretending to be a Wilson for a few hours. AND I learned about the history of the book of Exodus, some background information on the Mormon values, and where Hannah got her strong jaw and bursts of laughter from, all from her father.

My weekend is ending with my thinking about starting my homework, but really just wanting to nap after a two hour Varieties practice. I am feeling so blessed and upbeat, yet I realize I’m in need of some sleep. Staying up and having fun can wear a cowgirl out, ya hear?

Hope your weekend was as exceptionally stellar as mine was and thanks for checking in!

  

#SingleProbs

Most of the time it's great to be single.......

If you know me, you are probably quite familiar with the term “boyfriend moment.” I throw it around mainly because I like to believe I’m capable of surviving without someone permanently attached to me as a sophomore in college, but I also use it because those moments in life really do exist.

These boyfriend moments usually occur during one of the following times: sickness, when you’re at home (away from school), exhaustion, formal month, boredom, tight-with-money days, and the worst of all….holidays.

Photo Credit: Hannah Wilson

This seems like the perfect opportunity to address BOYFRIEND SEASON. When it becomes about the time that major holidays roll around, everyone gets a little antsy. Well, by everyone, I mean all my single ladies, I suppose. Why is this? Because everyone wants to feel like when they go home, 1. Someone will miss them and send a cute little text message reminding them how much they truly do, and 2. Relatives, family friends, and anyone you’ve ever known that you’ll see during breaks. 

Families are amazing. Family friends are awesome. Acquaintances? Pretty dece. But all of these people, together, seem to form some kind of interrogating team during the holidays at home. And I swear, there must be some award for who gets the most information. (I’m assuming they’re giving away cars by the amount of times I’ve been asked the same questions…)

Now, I’m not one to criticize those who enjoy asking questions and learning about other people’s lives. I am one of those people. I am speaking of a specific and seemingly general conversation.

(NUMBER ONE QUESTION, EVERY SINGLE TIME)

Got yourself a boyfriend up there at Iowa State?

Nope.

This is a really basic and semi-understandable question. I’m flattered you care enough to ask about my love life, friend. However, you brought this up uncomfortably early in the conversation. I made Dean’s List last semester, man…

Aaannnnnnaaa, are you sure you’re not pulling my leg? (laughs, elbow nudge)

No, really. No boys for me, still. Sorry to disappoint.

Well, now you’ve rubbed it in. Still single. Nope, no prospects. Hilarious joke, though.

Haha, I’m sure there are plenty of young men up there who would love to date you.

I mean, if there was we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation, right?

You’ve now thrown dirt on my open wound and rubbed it in. NO ONE WANTS TO DATE ME. It’s sweet of you to try and comfort me by lying. SO sweet.

Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone just right for you up there, eventually. You’re young, anyways. No rush.

Thanks. I’ll let you know as soon as I find one.

Doubt that. Until next holiday, old friend.

How to make the most of Boyfriend Season:

1. Create a boyfriend for yourself. But, make sure he has at least one flaw. Ex. Texting, which is why you’ve hardly heard from him lately…

2. Go through the list of all the events and life moments you’d miss if you had a boyfriend. Normally, the person will agree with you and be in awe of how much fun you’re having living the single dream.

3. Fake an injury and get the hell out of Dodge. Ex. Dust in eye, extreme muscle cramp, sudden migraine, or lean against literally anything and say, “Ouch! Be back in a minute!” Don’t forget to wince in pain for all of the above.

Hope these tips help you to fight off your relatives this Boyfriend Season! If all else fails, cry in the bathroom and know that they will all receive coal, without a doubt, for making you feel bad. Santa’s watching! Now go refill your wine glass.

MOA Observations

So, I made a visit to this small-town mall this weekend. Maybe you’ve heard of it? The Mall of America? There was a few things I observed there…

1. GIRLS ARE STILL TORTURING THEIR BOYFRIENDS

Time after time, I watched boyfriends follow their ladies around like puppies. Now, I have heard rumors that there are a few men out there who truly just want to spend time with their girlfriends, but these guys are rare. The young men I saw in stores were clearly being pulled along by their leashes… Which has me thinking, WHY are you letting your girlfriend run your life?! You are in FOREVER 21. Rethink your relationship and go watch some football, please.

2. THERE ARE A LOT OF UNREALISTIC STYLES OUT THERE

An example is this picture I took of these cute forms in Urban Outfitters. Did I like these outfits? Absolutely. Luckily, I spent a moment gazing at them, thinking about how the purchase of one of those little “dresses” would benefit my life. My mom would be proud that I realized that you CANNOT actually wear anything that thin, short, and cheap in freezing cold Iowa weather. I hope that one would never expose their legs and only wear that tiny little shirtdress with a parka. Whhhaaaattt? Two different seasons, Urban. Come on now.

Urban Outfitters "dresses."

3. PEOPLE ARE SO CRAZY WEIRD

People watching is truly so much fun, especially in such a diverse and gigantic place. So many crazies running around on Saturday and I was loving it. I even met an employee (at H&M, congrats to them) who was sincerely nice and excited about life! I believe that is the first time I have ever encountered a happy worker in retail. BUT, other people, like the man with an entire bald eagle tattooed on his exposed arm made the trip even better.

4. DICK’S (the restaurant) IS SO GREAT

I never expected to pay for terrible and insulting service, but my goodness do I suggest it. The entire concept of the restaurant is for the customers to be fed and mocked. All of the employees are absolute jerks and spend their time treating people like crap for big tips. What a concept! I ate my cheesesticks happily and enjoyed making my waitress hate me, which resulted in my faulty hat. Don’t complain. ;)

Our insulting hats from Dick's Last Resort. Mine said "Sperm Bank."

I had a great time visiting my friend’s family in Eagan this weekend. And I got to spend some quality time with my two fabulous sisters and next semester, my roommates! Hope you all had a lovely weekend yourselves!

On the way to the mall with Katie (center) and Janie (right).

Hang out with yourself for the day. You deserve it.

I’ve been a little exhausted lately and by “little” I mean completely and wholeheartedly broken down tired. I may be overdoing it this semester, just a bit, but I do love being busy! But because I’m not the only one who tries to do it all, I’ve composed a list of signs that you need a day of Gilmore Girls, or maybe in your case Breaking Bad, Grey’s Anatomy, The Hills, How I Met Your Mother or every single Harry Potter movie. Whatever floats your boat! Just take a day to drift in and out of sleep in front of an awesome series all bundled up and relaxed. Take a day for you! 

My dramatic interpretation of exhaustion. (you're welcome)

You’re in need if you show any and especially ALL of these signs:

You have experienced many mental blackouts.

When I say “mental blackout,” I mean those times when you are walking or driving some place and suddenly arrive at your destination, blinking, realizing that you have no recollection of the entire journey (oops). Or those times when you’re sitting in front of the TV and you suddenly realize that you’ve been watching the news for about 20 minutes, but when you sat down you were watching Ellen…

You regularly wake up in a panic state.

I’m talking mainly naps here, folks. These are the times when you wake up on the couch (or futon) to a brightly lit window and are 100% positive that you have missed a class, meeting, date, practice, etc. and it is the end of the world. Personally, these moments are terrifying. I woke up last week from an full 5.5 hours of sleep with a huge sinking feeling in my stomach because I truly believed that I had forgotten about meeting the little elementary school student I mentor. It was an awful feeling. BUT, then I came to terms with my life and realized I had an entire “to-do” list to accomplish, so I rallied from my slumber.

You haven’t been to bed before 1:00AM in ages.

Midnight is no longer a sign that you should be sleeping anymore. Dark hours that you never used to fathom being awake for are recently your most trusted times. When you finally climb into your bed, you are fully aware that an alarm will wake you up far too soon as soon as you close your eyes, which is the worst feeling ever.

You genuinely cannot remember seemingly basic information.

These are the REALLY embarrassing times when you forget everyday information about yourself. I experienced the sinking feeling of forgetting my debit card number, recently. The cashier was not impressed with my common sense. Let me tell you, it was terrifying. You feel as if you’ve lost your marbles! Other things you may forget include: your phone number, password to Facebook, email address, mom’s maiden name, etc…

You’re snacking a lot. OR, for some people, you forget to feed yourself.

This one is tragic. I mindlessly snack when I stress, but a friend of mine will get so overwhelmed that she forgets to eat! As much as I wish I had her issue, that is terrible! When you no longer realize you are hungry it is well past time for you to spend a day with yourself. Or when you find yourself at the bottom of the Cheez-It box and are confused as to who took them, you’re ready all right.

I suggest you run home, grab your body pillow you substitute as a boyfriend (just me?) and settle in. You’re going to have a FANTASTIC day with yourself. And tomorrow? Well, that comes tomorrow.