As promised, here are pictures from my birthday! Sorry it took so long, but I've been using the computer at work to maintain this thing, and I can't really upload pictures. Anyway, now I'm at home with the wonderful thing known as wireless internet. :) Thank you to everyone who made my birthday spectacular. Enjoy!

Wednesday, Brooke and I got pedicures! woo hoo!


Cute, huh, with the little flowers!


Then, Friday night, Scott, Erik, Sigi, and I graced Medieval Times with out presence. :)
Birthday girl and Sigi (we wore our crowns proudly):


Me and Scott goofing off before dinner:


Sigi and Erik (such a fun picture):


Though cheesy choreography, it was a great show:


And then Sunday night, we had a little girl fun at Magic Time Machine. :) I love my friends!!
Andrea, Jessica, and Danae being fabulous:


Danae, Birthday girl, and Esther:


I think this picture is SO cute!! Jeanene, Karissa, and Shelby:


Okay, here they are all smiling:


The group: Andrea, Jessica, Danae, Me, Esther, Jeanene, Karissa, and Shelby:


Yay, birthday!!!
If you'd like to see the rest of the pics (not that many more), go to: Birthday Pics

Birthday '06!

Thank you to all the well-wishers on my birthday!  I had a tremendous birthday.  You all made it so very special.

Wednesday, my dear friend Brooke took me to Midlothian for a pedicure.  Oh, it was awesome, and we have super cute little toes now. :)  Then we met up with all my amazing friends at Chick Fil A for dinner. Yum! That night, Scott and I got to hang out for a bit.  Good times on the day of my birth. :)

Then Friday night, Erik, Sigi, Scott, and I went to Medieval Times to celebrate.  (I have pictures, but I haven't had a chance to upload them yet.)  It was so much fun.  I kinda felt like a little kid all over again.  Afterwards, we had some game time, and yes, Erik won Catch Phrase in all it's glory. ;)

Sunday night concluded the celebration of me (just kidding...okay, I'm not) with a group of friends going to the Magic Time Machine (pictures to come). So...it was nothing like what I expected.  In my head, I was thinking Cheesecake Factory meets Chuck E Cheese.  I thought it was going to be semi-nice yet crazy.  Nope, just crazy.  Our waitress was the toothfairy, and she was to the point.  There was no fluff with this woman.  She was there to work; it was kinda funny.  Then, a magician came by, as did Superman.  Yeah, Superman was really in costume. Ekk.
   The food was great, but the whole atmosphere was borderline creepy.  haha  Oh well, it's impossible to not have a good time with those girls (Andrea, Danae, Jessica, Esther, Karissa, Jeanene, and Shelby).  Afterwards, we went back to the Karissa-Jeanene-Shelby household for homemade, made-from-scratch ice cream sandwiches.  I'm not kidding; Karissa is freakin' amazing! (Man, I miss my roommates!!) 
   Oh, I also took a personality assessment from a book Karissa has that could not have been more accurate.  I'm a "guardian provider," which basically means I thrive on family, social engagements, and routine, and I'm warm-hearted and a nurturer.  I don't do well with spur of the moment plans.  I like being courted in the traditional sense: flowers, having doors opened, being affirmed vocally and emotionally.  Relationships are about quality time and togetherness.  Anyway, I promise you, it was like reading a recipe for me.  I was freaking out on how perfect it was.  This guy John was the one reading me my results, and he was laughing so loud because I kept saying, "Oh my gosh, yeah, that's totally me."
  So, good times.  I've had a great birthday week. :)

Happy weekend to you!  Tomorrow is my very first football game as an SAGU cheerleader.  Crazy!  I absolutely can't wait though.  Home games start next week.  I'd love it to see your face in the stands.  Feel free to come anytime. :)  For those who have been asking, here's the home game schedule:
September 23 @ 6 pm
September 30
October 21
October 28
November 4

It's been a crazy busy week.  Sometimes I wonder why I do this school thing, but it's almost over (May!!).  Anyway, have a great weekend.  I'll be in Kansas starting tomorrow.  woo hoo!

OH- and my birthday is in 5 days!!!  I hear there's a plan in the works, but I really have no clue what.  Yippee- I love my birthday!!

Love you all!
Christen

Just so you know, my birthday is in 16 days :)

Life back at school is so weird and different and upside down.  I came into this semester with a lot of expectations, and to say the least, they aren't anything like what I imagined.  All of it's not necessarily bad- just different.  I have a bad habit of imagining, down to the detail, how I want an evening/an event/a situation to play itself out.  Then, when it doesn't meet, or exceed, my expectations, I'm disappointed.

I want amazing.  I want extraordinary.  Is it wrong that I don't want to settle for normal?  It encompasses every aspect of my life: school work, friendships, relationships, holidays, birthdays, cheerleading.  I have plenty of "normal" in my everyday life: watching tv, eating microwave dinners, running errands, going to work and practices and classes.  Is it too much to ask for the other times to be significant?

I don't know.  You probably think I'm crazy, but it's how I feel.  And I'm really being okay with my feelings (however illogical or unfounded they may be).

So, all of that to say, my semester is going okay; it's just super different.  Classes are tough, and my apartment is freakin fantastic.  I'm making a homemade meal tonight (first one since being here).  woo hoo!

Christen

 

And it starts...

Wow, no, I haven't abandoned you, Xanga, but instead I have moved into a fantastic apartment with no internet connection (due to my poorness). However, thanks to the wonderful fastfood chain known as Whataburger, we will still have one another. :) I know you can't contain your enthusiasm.
Where do I even start? Last Saturday, with the help of my padres, brother, and Andrea and Steven, I moved into a great little one bedroom apartment. Then, Mom and I shopped for decor and a bed. I got a super cool bed from IKEA. Oh, my dearest IKEA, what would my apartment be without you? Anyway, after many purchases and my summer savings being depleted, Mom had to go home. So, this week has been filled with organizing, building (oh yeah, I hung all my own curtains, put my bed together, and even hung a mirror with a big bolt thing), and cleaning. And it's all done. woo hoo!! I'll post some pictures later, but it is in fact complete. :) yay!
Then Tuesday night, I began a new (yet very familiar) chapter in my SAGU life. I started cheerleading. We met for dinner and just some get-to-know-you time. We have an amazing squad. We have 3 returning cheerleaders, 2 brand new freshmen, 4 transfers, and me. :) Oh yeah, that's 10! Then Wednesday-Friday we had cheer camp. It was no joke- we met at 8:30 am and left about 10:30 each night. I promise you that I have never had so many muscles and tendons hurt in my entire life. We learned cheers, chants, dances and some great stunts. It's going to be a good year. :) Anyway, here's a few of the girls. I'm so glad I'm getting to do this.
Ashley B and Ashley R:


Tiffany and Kollette:


Me, Tiff and Ashley (we were having pictures, thus the uniforms):


So, we have cheer sisters for accountability and prayer and things. This is my beautiful little cheer sis, Ashley:


Bev took us to Campuzano's on Friday night (yum!!!). Here's Brennan, Krystal and Leslie:


Kim, Tiff, and Donna (our captain):


Me and the Ashleys again:


Here's the squad- Krystal, Brennan, Tiffany, Me, Donna, Kollette, Ashley R, Ashley B, Leslie and Kim:


Though I'm super tired, it's been a great week. I can't believe classes start this week though. ugh. Oh well, today should be fantastic. ;)

Christen

Blingo!

Hey guys, sign up for Blingo! Win with me!



It's a search engine powered by Google. You don't have to buy anything or fill out any surveys; it's just a search engine. They give out prizes like iTunes $ and iPod nanos. No joke! My friend Taka won a nano just this week. Plus, as you sign up friends under you, if they win, you win!! So, Jeremy who got Taka to sign up ALSO won a nano. Sweet, huh?

Anyway, you should do it. What's it gonna hurt? I would sure like to win something when I'm gonna surf the internet anyway.

Christen

Vacation 2006!! woo hoo!

What an amazing week! It couldn't have been better! I hope you're ready for some pictures because that's what you're getting. :)

We left last Friday and drove through the night to reach Platoro, Colorado. Now, when I say we were in a remote camping area, I mean, Platoro is not on the map, nor are the roads that lead to this place. But it was beautiful and peaceful, and I had a blast with my family. Sunday, we went fishing, even little Eli.
I'm not a serious fisherman. Yeah, that's People in my lap, and Pride and Prejudice on the ground. haha


Aren't Grandpa and Eli cute?


Mark fished while Eli hung out in the little sling:


Even Grandma did some fishing:


Yeah, he stands up with a little help. I can't believe how big Eli's getting. He's seriously laughing here. :)


How gorgeous is this place!?


Monday, Mom, Sheila, Scott and I went horseback riding. It was a guided tour where you followed the leader, but our guide took us on some cool trails. We went up in the wooded mountains, by some old mines, and through the river twice. It was fun and beautiful scenery.

Here's my ghetto brother:


We stopped to let the horses eat a little:


Monday night, Scott drove up from Colorado Springs to hang with the Carter clan. It was good to see him. On Tuesday Dad, Scott, Mark, Sheila, Scott and I went white water rafting in Durango, which was a total blast. For the Spring Hill readers, Jarrett Brelsford was our guide. Good times.

Here we are going through Smelter. It was the only level 3 rapid of the day:



Then on Wednesday, Scott and I headed back to the Springs. I got to hang out with him and Justin for a couple of days. We watched movies, went to the batting cages, ate some good food, went white water rafting at the Royal Gorge with Erik and his sister, met some friends and family, and toured Aurora and Denver. I had an absolute blast.

I flew home from Denver in order to go to Karla's wedding on Saturday. The only down side was the airlines lost my luggage. Supposedly, it didn't get transferred from Continental to American during the layover in Houston. boo I was so tired (and obviously emotional) that I just stood there and cried for a few minutes. I was SO frustrated! Oh well, it made it back to Longview Saturday night (which was of no use to me in Arkansas). Anyway, here we are dropping me off at the airport:


Saturday, I got to attend Karla and Dallas's wedding. So beautiful and special. What a great day! I got to see several friends too. Oh, and yes, this concludes my summer of weddings. woo hoo I attended 6 this summer.
Here's Danae, Melissa Hall, and me:


Here's some pretty girls, Viema, Danae and me:


My old roomie K-Ross and me (it was great to see her):


Isn't this a cute little cake? It has Karla written all over it:


What a gorgeous bride!!


SAGU was definitely represented on Saturday. All these people are alumni except me (I'll graduate someday, I promise...haha):


Me and the very lovely Andrea Bazan:


Well, vacation was fantastic. I loved every minute of it (some more than others). ;) Sadly, I have to go back to work in the morning. :( Oh well. I move back to Waxahachie in less than 2 weeks. Can't wait.

Christen