Up to Date!

With the last post it brings us to now! The Spring semester starts on Tuesday, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of time that needs to be wasted after that.

Dunn Hall Tour de Ski: Part Deaux

After tearing up the slopes of New Mexico over last spring break we decided to travel a little more north to get the full snow affect for New Years. We traveled a little differently this time around since we left so close to Christmas. A group of 6 left from College Station and drove to Midland to pick up Corbin then met the 3 of us who were traveling from the DFW area just south of Amarillo in Hereford to pick Chuckles. After loading up Chuckles, we headed north and west to Colorado.

Wolf Creek, CO was our final destination and it was a fantastic choice. We stayed in an awesome cabin in South Fork which is about 15 miles away from the actual ski resort but it worked out perfectly because the mountain got over 15 inches of snow on the 2nd day we were there.

Probably the best addition to this trip was our Rest and Recovery day in Pagosa Springs where we took advantage of the natural hot sulfur springs to soak our soreness away.

Sadly, we were having so much fun carving up the mountain, we forgot to take any pictures on the mountain but we did get some back at the cabin.

L to R: Me, Kevin, Chris T, Funke, Katie, Reimers, Corbin, Chris C, Jr, Chuckles, and Sean

New Years Eve brought many drinking games. Kevin wasn't very happy with me by the end of the night..hahaha...
L to R: Kevin, Me, Sean, Jr, Chris C
After being stuck in a cabin with 9 guys, any girl would go a little crazy! j/k. We love our guys!!
My most amazing roommate, Katie, and I being goofy on New Years Eve.

My Golden Angel

The highs points and joys of the year could never have prepared me for the heartbreak of the low.


When I went to pick out my little bundle of golden fur back on labor day weekend of 2003, I could have never imagined the bond and friendship I would grow to have with the most amazing dog I have ever met. The golden ball of fur would be known as Bailey, named after her milky puppy color which was quite similar to that of Bailey's Irish Cream, and Bailey would be one for the record books.

Her quirky personality soon became evident and her obsession with tennis balls was something no one could avoid noticing. She had a love for cats and would specifically find stuffed cats to carry around and also try to cat-whisper all the neighborhood cats and make them into her playmates. She was a character.

She spent 2 years in College Station with me and guarded the SASA CASA so very well. She befriended Montclair, the neighborhood cat, and they would bask in the sun on our porch for hours on end. She was my running partner and would impress everyone on our leash-less runs through campus. She was always happy and greeted everyone with a smile, or a tennis ball!

With the move to my new residence in May, Bailey had to move back to Fort Worth because I couldn't afford the $500 pet deposit. As much as I missed her, it worked out well because my mom was finally able to get her German Shepard puppy and Bailey was put on puppy sitting/mentoring duty.

Her fight would start at the beginning of November with an emergency surgery to stop a ruptured mass and internal bleeding. She would continue to steal the hearts of the entire staff of Davis Blvd Clinic and many others while battling for her life. She never objected and continued to greet the staff with a wag of her tail every time she saw them. Against all odds she made it through procedure after procedure and it wasn't until the last surgery on December 11th that she decided the fight had lasted long enough.

Her loss was felt quite literally around the world. She was the greatest dog and such a fighter. Her strength was beyond anything I could have imagined. She will forever be remembered and always be missed.

In true obedient form, Bailey holds my Aggie Ring

my guardian angel

Rest Peacefully My Beautiful Bailey
July 15, 2003 - December 11, 2009

A Little Ring Made of Gold

On September 18th I became the very proud owner of my 3rd and final piece of Gold. The Aggie Ring is one of the most recognizable piece of jewelry in the world and I am ecstatic to be able to look down and see it on my hand everyday. After being a nomad for so long it feels beyond amazing to finally be able to label myself with one incredible school.

The Ring Ceremony is a huge to-do and involves family, friends, a big presentation process and, of course, a full pitcher of beer of the ring bearers choice to chug as fast as possible...because that is a fantastic idea. This is better known as a Ring Dunk. I was blessed to have almost my entire family in town for this special occasion. Not only were they able to attend my ring dunk on Friday the 18th but I was also able to get tickets for all of them to attend the home football game on Saturday, because there is nothing like an Aggie Football game.

The emotional overload is something I can't explain, and yes, my mom got to present it to me which was very cool.
I haven't been able to look at beer the same.

My friend, Karl, dunked his ring with me because it's always better to dunk with someone and it helps that the majority of our friends are the same. Sadly, he had just eaten a $30 steak at Christopher's Steakhouse for his dad's birthday, so he didn't keep much of his beverage, or steak for that matter, down for long. Here's a video. He only finished before me because I started laughing at the very end.

And last but not least, the everyone that was able to come in from Fort Worth. I was so happy to have them all here! From left to right: Bonnie, Louis, me, mom, Elizabeth, Donnie, Joe, Nikki, Walt and Jonathan.

And, if you are wondering why I said the 3rd piece of gold, this should explain.
The ring, horse and an unforgettable dog made of Gold. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Fall 2009....Tis the season of Bonfire

The Fall semester brings a part of the year I will forever hold dear. Bonfire. It's a sticky subject for some, but for those that participate in Student Bonfire, it is a family of amazing people who all come together, putting aside differences and rivalries, to build a magnificent structure. Blood, sweat and tears go into 3 months of building the 5 tier bonfire which burns a few days before the Thanksgiving football game between Texas A&M and the University of Texas.

I am a part of Dunn Hall, a previously all male dorm on southside which recently changed to co-ed about 3 years ago. This is my family away from home and will be a group of life long friends.

This is also how I met my most wonderful boyfriend, Kevin. In true Bonfire style, our first date was burn night and it was amazing!

During the 'cut' part of the season, Dunn was put in charge of stack site and unloading and organizing all of the logs coming in from cut site. In previous years this job was normally given to a dorm as punishment, and though that may have been the original intentions of the upper leadership, we quickly made it into our own domain and renamed it 'Dunnload.' We unloaded and sorted during every type of weather condition, including the non-expected flood of mid-September.

This year the upper leadership decided to bring back the true 'push week' during stack which means instead of just working from 6pm-midnight, we had two crews alternate between a 6pm-midnight shift and a midnight-6am shift. This was an incredible experience, though extremely taxing on the body and immune system.

-A Misty Morning At Unload-

-Just another day of Unload in the Rain-
Sunrise over stack taken by my roommate, Katie. This was after the 1st midnight-6am shift.
Absulutly stunning and named the best picture of the year, for obvious reasons.
Kevin and I at Burn. November 25, 2009

Summer 09

May 2009 - I moved into my new place on Legacy Ln. The move was one of those bitter-sweet moments because I loved the quirky Montclair Ave house, my neighbors and the happy neighborhood cat appropriately named Montclair, but the time had come to upgrade to a better residence with new roommates in a less sketchy area of the city. I will miss Montclair, but Legacy Ln is a great place to be!

June 2009 - I turned 23. It was the first time I have actually been able to celebrate it with friends, so I took FULL advantage of every second of it, starting with a trip to Northgate with Katie and Gilmore on the night of the 25th/first hours of the 26th and finishing with a rather large gathering at my house on the night of the 26th. It was the most fantastic birthday I have ever had.

The awesome message Katie left for me in the bathroom of one of the bars.

Me, Katie and Gilmore at the Dixie Chicken. We decided if we put on Gilmore's hat and glasses we instantly became him. Funny thing, I don't remember this picture being taken...go figure!

August 2009 - My mom, sister and I had the rare opportunity to visit my brother, Luke, and his girlfriend, Andrea, in NYC. Walt, my brother-in-law, was so amazing to take care of the twins for the week we were gone. We did all the tourist things including visiting Lady Liberty, Ellis Island, Time Square, China Town, Little Italy, etc etc. Andrea and her son, Miles, were amazing tour guides and took us all around the city. We also took an afternoon and went to Ledo Beach, which was a ton of fun.

The Rundown...Spring 09

I tired to do the entire year at once, but I haven't figured this site out completely and for some reason I can't get another picture to load, So, I'll break it up a little. That will make it seem like I have done more too....I'm pure genius, I know. :-)

1. January 6, 2009 - I got my first, and hopefully only, tattoo in memory of my brother, Mark. The tri-horse design is a celtic symbol Mark used to always wear. After removing the intricate knot-work I had the tattoo put above my left ankle. Mark's initials are 'branded' on each of the horses. It was simply done and matches what I wanted it to represent perfectly. I had a great support group including Mark K, Chris C, Sean and, of course, my best friend Amber.

2. Spring Break 2009 (March) - 9 of my most amazing friends and I packed up and headed to New Mexico for some skiing/snowboarding fun at Sipapu and Taos. It was the 1st trip I had ever taken with a group of friends and turned out to be a very memorable one. From left to right: Kevin, Funke, Anna, Chris, Katie, Me, Corbin, Reimers and Jr.
3. April 2009 - The Dunn Hall group volunteered for Big Event, which is an annual area wide volunteer day Texas A&M hosts. It is the largest organized volunteer day in the nation, so it was really cool to be a part of it. We helped a young couple finish a garden they had been working on for almost a year. The wife was 8 1/2 months pregnant and they really wanted the garden finished before the baby came. Well, we did it, because we are awesome. From left to right: Andrew E, Katie, Kelsey, Alli, Cody, Christina, Jr(behind cody and christina), Daniel, Kevin, Funke, Sean, Me.