I Moved to Louisiana

These past few weeks have been such a whirlwind.

Just before Thanksgiving I was offered a job in Marketing with the Athletic Department at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.  This offer was contingent on my acceptance into their graduate program.  Of course I was so happy about the job offer, but still so nervous about getting into grad school.  I obviously told my family everything but that was it.  My friends and extended family had no idea about the offer until I finally was accepted about 2 weeks before Christmas.  They knew I was applying to schools and looking for positions to work in College Athletics, but they (and I) didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

Quickly is a relative term.  I've been working with Athletic Development at Rutgers for a few years, and have volunteered at events such as the SEC Media Days and the Chick-Fil-A Bowl Kick-off Game in order to network, make connections and gain experience.

I say quickly because this particular position happened quickly.  I applied, was offered the job, applied to the graduate school and got accepted all within 4 weeks.  And then planned a move within the next 3 weeks mixed in the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Years.  It was a whirlwind of joyous Christmas celebrations and tearful "See You Later"s!

My wonderful family threw me a "Going Away Party" with all of my closest friends and family!  I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people love and support me as I follow my dreams (about 1,300 miles away)!

My mom, dad, and sisters drove down to Louisiana with me!  We took my car and a U-Haul on the 20-hour drive from Pennsylvania to Louisiana.  We left around 4 o'clock on Saturday (1/4) morning and drove until we stopped for lunch in East Tennessee.  We then continued to Chattanooga where we stopped at Rock City.  Rock City is a spot on Look Out Mountain where you can (apparently) see seven states from the one spot.  There's nothing to differentiate the states, so I guess we all just have to take their word for it.  It was pretty cool though, and the views were great.  (Of course I don't have any pics of this cause my mom took them on her camera..)

We then continued until we got to Birmingham, Alabama where we stopped in time to watch the Eagles lose to the Saints :(  We spent the night and got up to drive the last 5-6 hour leg in the morning before arriving in Louisiana and getting the key to my first apartment.

The next few days my family helped me move in and explore my new town of Monroe, Louisiana.  Being big Duck Dynasty fans, we of course went over to Duck Commander and even saw Willie pulling into the shop.  He ran into the shop really quick and we weren't able to get a picture, but we definitely saw him, which was pretty cool.  I'm finding some new and fun places to eat which is exciting.  And there's even a drive-thru daiquiri place right down the road from my apartment which is probably going to be dangerous!!!

I'm so excited to start classes and working today!  Once my apartment is more put together and I'm completely done unpacking I will post pictures.  :)

Does anyone have any suggestions for hiding wires without making wholes in the wall?

2013 in Review!

As today is the last day of the year, I wanted to take this time to look back on a year of ups and downs, but more importantly what was truly a year of wonderful experiences, that I am truly grateful for!

I rang in 2013 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on a ski vacation with 2 of my college roommates!

In February, I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans with 2 of my cousins.  It was one of the most fun, wild and culturally thrilling experiences of my life!  I highly recommend everyone putting this on their bucket list!

In March, I went to Chicago for the first time with one of my college roommates to visit another for her birthday!

Besides celebrating my 23rd Birthday, April was uneventful!

In May, I took my dad to the Kentucky Derby!  We drove to Louisville and were able to visit with dear friends of ours.  Horse racing is one of our favorite things and it was awesome to be able to experience such an iconic event for the first time with him!  I highly recommend this as well!

In June, I was on stage with Brad Paisley and my youngest sister graduated from high school.  

In July, I had the honor of attending the SEC Media Days as a Media Relations Assistant.  I also went on vacation with my family (which apparently I didn't blog about) and a Royal Baby was born!  July was a big month! :) 

In August, I completed the Jersey Girl Triathlon for the second time and kicked off the football season as a Media Assistant at the Chick-fil-A Bowl Kick-off Game and served as a liaison to the University of Alabama.  Again, awesome!

In September, I went on a few College Football Adventures to Penn State and The University of Georgia!  I also went to a few Rutgers Games.  

In October, I went to more Rutgers games and we also threw my dad a surprise 50th Birthday Party!  None of which I blogged about!

In November, I went to even more Rutgers games and celebrated Thanksgiving with my family!

And finally in December, I got offered a job in Marketing with the Athletic Department at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and also got accepted into their graduate program.  It's been a month of joyous Christmas celebrations and tearful "See You Later"s, but I am so excited and blessed for this opportunity!  I'm moving this Friday, but plan to post more about this and my new life in Louisiana!

2013 was a year of many firsts and a year of many wonderful and unforgettable experiences!  With that, I am so excited and ready for 2014.  I am excited for my new life as I move below the Mason Dixon, start a new job and start working towards my masters degree!

But for now, I'm off to NYC to ring in the New Year with my friends!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I Still Believe in Santa

I saw Santa every year growing up.  Not just the mall Santa, the actual Santa delivering gifts on Christmas Eve.

Every year we spend Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family- we exchange gifts, eat dinner, sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus, walk to church and then have to drive the hour back home before Santa comes.  We would usually get home pretty late which meant Santa was waiting for us to get to bed quick!  Sometimes we would "catch Santa in the act" or see him walking down the street to his sleigh! (We didn't have a fire place/chimney so our parents used to tell us that he parked at the end of the street and would come through the door.) Whenever he would see us he would run away, we would freak out, my sister would cry and we would hurry to bed!  This happened every year!  Literally, it wasn't always the same way, but we saw him.  

This is what had me believing long after the "normal age" of believing but how could you not when you actually saw the man every year on Christmas Eve?!  

Sixth grade was my first year at the middle school and even though it wasn't the cool thing to do, I still believed in Santa!  I heard a lot of other kids talking about how he wasn't real and yada yada yada, but they didn't know what I knew! So I became a little skeptical but didn't want to risk not getting presents by not believing in him!

That Christmas was the last one that I truly believed in Santa Claus (cause I still believe in the Magic of Christmas and even at 23 I'm told if you don't believe, you don't receive!)

It wasn't until after Christmas that it was confirmed that Santa "wasn't real".  I had picked up on things throughout the season, like when my sister got something from Santa that I could have sworn I saw my mom buy or that the wrapping paper looked very familiar.  But the icing on the cake was when we went on a Ski Trip the days following Christmas.  We were with a few other families and this one kid that was about 7 years younger than me had gotten a "cool" computer-like toy (kinda like a leap frog pad or whatever those things were).  All the kids his age loved the toy and I knew he had gotten it from Santa.  Then I heard the other moms ask where the boy's mom had gotten the toy and when she answered, I knew!

This brought tons of confusion.  How was I seeing him every year late at night on Christmas Eve?  Who was the Santa I saw walking down the street, running through my back yard, jumping on my trampoline, and even running from my house and leaving the back door open?  I found out that Santa was one of my mom's brothers.  Every year, before they had kids of their own, they (and my grandparents) slept over my house to be there when we opened presents on Christmas morning!  Before they came over one of my uncles would play Santa for us.  

Now that my sisters and I are older,  my dad plays Santa for my littler cousins.  We rush back from our Christmas Eve festivities so that they get to experience the excitement (and sometimes tears) of seeing Santa on Christmas Eve.  This tradition still gets me giddy about Christmas, makes me believe every year and definitely makes me feel like a kid again.

So even though Santa isn't "real", I still believe!  I still believe in the magic of Christmas!

 How did you find out Santa wasn't real?  Or what are some of your Christmas traditions?!

Merry Christmas!  Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, and joyous holiday season! :)

Country Music Favorites of the Year

This was a great year for country music.  A lot of great artists released albums or singles.  There were a ton of tours to catch as they rolled from city to city and there were a bunch of great new-comers to the genre.  In my opinion, these are the best albums, songs, and shows of Country Music in 2013!  

1.  GOLDEN, Lady Antebellum (Hands Down favorite/best album of the year!)

2.  Caught In The Act: Live, Eric Church  (One of the best live albums, ever!)

3.  Pioneer, The Band Perry (Still can't believe I didn't write about this one!  It's awesome!)

4.  Fuse, Keith Urban (We Were Us may be my favorite song of the year!!!)

5. A.M., Chris Young

1.  I Drive Your Truck, Lee Brice

2.  All Kinds of Kinds, Miranda Lambert

3.  Running Outta Moonlight, Randy Houser

4.  Southern Girl, Tim McGraw

5.  Sure Be Cool If You Did, Blake Shelton

6. Hey Pretty Girl, Kip Moore

7.  Crash My Party, Luke Bryan
 8.  Redneck Crazy, Tyler Farr

9.  Whatever She's Got, David Nail

10. When She Says Baby, Jason Aldean (obsessed with this entire album, released in 2012)

(I purposely left songs off of this list that are found on my favorite albums of the year.  It should be a given that those are my favorite songs of the year!)

Kenny Chesney, No Shoes Nation Tour

 This year I didn't go to as many concerts as I usually go to.  I'm not really sure why that is, but I guess it just didn't work out.  I thought long and hard about this because although The Day I Was On Stage With Brad Paisley was by far one of the best experiences of my life, I have to say that the Kenny Chesney Concert was the best show I saw this year! Eric Church definitely added a little something extra to the show!  Kenny and Eric are very different but worked great together on this tour to make it one hell of a night for their fans!  I can't wait until I can see each of them again!

What are your favorites in Country Music this year, or just music in general?

I'm linking up with Helene for The Best Songs of 2013! :)