Christmas spirit

So recently Lloyd and I got the opportunity to go to WAKE which is a wonderful church group for college kids here in Albuquerque and it was awesome.  They spoke on worship and just really get me excited that I love God.  They are having a holiday party this Thursday, Merry Christmas!!!

Well the team party went really well and it was fun I was glad to see the girls from a long drought of nearly 3 or 4 days.  The costumes were great! Here Ashley is scrooge, Jade is her starbucks cup and I turned my costume into a Christmas Toy Soldier!
There was good food, a few laughs at the Secret Santa's then we all went back to study hard for our exams or just to relax. 

Lloyd and I worked out last night at a local YMCA.  We went there thinking that we could somehow get me on the guest pass list even though I had no form of identification because I forgot my wallet, Lloyd didn't know if he had guest passes, and we had no money... sooo we were going to try to pull all of the Christmas Spirit from the YMCA that they had.  WEll turns out Lloyd had no guest passes, but this lady who was just chatting with the receptionist said that she had extra guest passes and gave me one!! What a great Christmas gift for me! I love when random acts of kindness can just be a little miracle for the day! So we indeed worked out and now my body is wishing that I hadn't.... ow ow ow

Christmas Party's begin.. fa la la la la

Well the brunt of my finals week is coming down I'm just left with my roughly 15 page paper on leadership, then I'm crossing my fingers for my A's, and slowly but surely I am starting to feel alittle better.  I'm getting anxious to go home and I am ready to celebrate the holiday season with my family.  But tonight I get to be in the Christmas spirit with my UNM team and we get to celebrate at our Coach's house.  We always have a costume theme and the coaches never know about it until we arrive.  This year we are dressing up as a Christmas decor item or basically anything to do with Christmas.  One person is going as a luminaria lantern thing, then someon'es going as a starbucks cup, and I decided to go as a nutcracker! So some how I am going to look like this by the end of the evening... we will see how that goes.  We also do secret Santa gifts and basically they are gifts that make fun of our teammates and so we will have to choke down our pride and receive our gifts that can get pretty mean with a Christmas smile...   

Well one thing that I was able to do was to take pictures for my for my future nephew... hopefully... William.  This is Lloyd's sister's baby.  He was so cute during the whole photoshoot.  A little fussy and he definitely peed all over me luckily missing the camera, but it was quite an adventure all of it's own.  So here are some of the pictures we got throughout the day. They are becoming quite the good looking family!



Oh how it's hard being sick...

Well finals week for me is finally here and guess what?!?! I'm sick too... what are the odds that, that would be what happens to me!! haha oh man oh man I've been stressed and I've been alittle cranky just trying to finish up everything and make things work while my body is pulling me in the completely opposite direction.  But one more presentation tomorrow on market strategy and I will be good to go.  Then it's only a few short days till I can spend some quality time in Colorado and enjoy the Christmas spirit that is all around me, but I am too busy to even notice.  So it's time to suck it up, pound down the OJ and hot tea and keep trekking through the week!

I had an interesting experience cleaning out my volleyball locker of 4 years at UNM just the other day.  It is just weird how you just get kicked out of every aspect and people move on in and soon your name is just another name on the books.  It's going to be quite the adventure that is coming up, trying to figure out what I want to do next.  Half of me just wants to jet off to the middle of nowhere and just get away from everything for awhile and the other half just wants to stay where I am comfortable... but when does God ever seem to like the comfortable choice.. so we will see where we end up! I'm just glad He can hold my hand through anything. I think I can be very trusting in that way, but I'm sure there will be some testing along the way.

I have to start my Christmas shopping soon.  I am alittle behind this year and it seems that it always manages to get to the bottom of my to do list. Maybe once school is done I can focus alittle more on this task... maybe I'll drag Lloyd out for a Christmas shopping extravaganza and make him hold my shopping bags... just kidding dear, I love you! 

Well I'm off to get some sleep before presentation day.... hopefully my stuffy nose snoring and wheezy won't keep everyone in the world awake, oh boy do I sound attractive! So to all a good night....!

My own Eat Pray Love

     Well finally I can now say my college career in volleyball is now complete.  Was it a night to remember and everyone of my teammates was supportive and thankful... no, was it a perfect game and everything went right and I played amazing, not quite, but in the end I really got to learn who my true friends were that came out of this team and who I am so blessed to have met.  I got some amazing experiences along the way and some amazing volleyball highlights for the year.  I have pushed myself into a position where I was uncomfortable and where people were not always the nicest and out of that came a new strength and confidence that I can accomplish anything.  It's not the volleyball I will miss the most, because honestly I will probably still be playing it in another year or so its not that, but rather the atmosphere to play in and certain girls who just are amazing to be around. I also got a comfort out of this strange city called Albuquerque, and it completely feels like home, even though I'm soooooo ready to move out of my house and into a new life and new change.  It is time.  But all these things have just made for an amazing experience that I have been pursuing since I was 10. 

So what to do next.......

Well finishing out the semester with good strong finishes is certainly on my list, christmas shopping, and some quality celebration time for completing such an accomplishment.  Also I'm in some dire need of some cute dates with my man Lloyd and some nights just to catch up on our lives together.  So it's not grand scheme plans I have right now to go travel the world and drop everything but rather eat some good food on some sweet dates, pray and worship God at church and in life, and love my friends and family during the holiday season... i'd call it my own version of Eat, Pray, Love....

2010 Lobo Volleyball Seniors- video

It Has Arrived....

Now it is officially time to start being excited about the holidays.  I can't wait! Thanksgiving always just seems to fly by and Christmas will be right around the corner before we know it! I got to celebrate my thanksgiving with my boyfriends family and it was a very good time.  We had an amazing meal courtesy of Laura Merino and I instantly was put into a food coma and that was even before dessert! yum! It's been alittle while since I've had a homecooked thanksgiving due to our volleyball team being out of town everyother Thanksgiving! Last year was New Orleans, and two years ago it was Vegas.  Oh the travels a volleyball team will take you on. 

Well now that Thanksgiving is officially over I can 1. listen to Christmas music, but 2. It's my Senior Night Game! I can't believe the road I have been on and now it is almost finally over.  I came into UNM just hoping to play a few games in college and I have been so blessed with the amount God has given me.  I hope tonight is a special night and that I just remember to soak it all in.  It's hard when the end is so close and trying to hold onto those moments is where it gets difficult.  But my family is in town, my boyfriend and his family are all here, and the loyal fans that have just been an amazing group are going to be there as well.  So let's go lobos, one more time!

love love love

SENIOR NIGHT AND THANKSGIVING

Boy! Life is certainly getting quite busy with school, volleyball, and just life! I am getting ready for my last home match of the year at Johnson Center and I already had a little emotional time saying goodbye to my weights coach Joaquin! He is a very manly guy and he was in tears as we all said our goodbyes which was so touching.  I am so thankful for him and what he was able to do with my toothpick arms and legs when I came in as a freshman! :-) But personally now I am looking forward to not bulking up doing max squats and cleans but maybe slimming down haha!

Freshman year =tan legs
Senior year= white, pastey legs
oh the changes haha

But we have another day off on this wonderful Tuesday and I am spending it working on group projects, group projects, and oh group projects!!  But Recently I was able to give a photo shoot for my team mate and one of my best friends Jade Michaelsen Whom I love!!! She had me take her graduation pictures for her and I absolutely love photographing people and people in love :-) so weddings, engagments, portraits, etc! Here is some of the work I created in our little photoshoot:







































I love her and her gorgeous face was so fun to photograph! Soon I am going to photograph potentially my future nephew :-) and his cute face! :-) But I can't wait!

Well until some more updates!