Where did I disappear to?

To be completely honest, I have no idea why I stopped writing on this. I did start a new blog, which focuses on fashion and food/baking (two of my very favorite things!). However, I really did love writing on this. So, even though most of my followers have probably given up on me, I'm going to update this anyway :)

My second semester of college at OU was the best of my life. There are definitely some things that I miss about high school life; seeing my parents all the time, my own bed, basketball, a lot less homework, etc... But there really is nothing else like college. I met so many new awesome people and I made some of the best friends I have ever had. Being in a sorority really has been one of the most amazing things I have ever been a part of. I am moving into the Chi Omega house in one week from today, and I could not be any more excited!! I can't even imagine what it's going to be like living with all of my best friends! On August 1, we start work week, which is the week that we use to prepare ourselves for Formal Recruitment or, Rush. Rush is the process that all the incoming freshman go through to be placed in a sorority. So, even though work week is going to be completely crazy and hectic, and I am probably not going to get any sleep at all, I know that I'm going to have a blast because I'm going to be stuffed in a house 24/7 with my sisters. I can't wait!

My roommate for next year, Katharine, and I before an intramural soccer game... We are pretty intense as you can see. Intramurals are one of my favorite things about college. They're competitive, but still just for fun, so there's no real pressure. I actually got elected Intramural Chair for my house, and I LOVE doing it.

My summer has been unexpectedly busy, for whatever reason. At the very beginning, my boyfriend Justin (who I met second semester as well) came to stay for a week with my family, and it was a blast. He's from Houston, and of course I had to go stay with him for a week, too! And I loved Houston. The shopping is fantastic and downtown is beautiful! We spent a few days at the beach in Galveston and the rest of the time just hanging out around the city. It was a great trip! And I loved his family, too.

Justin and I at an Astros game! It was my first MLB game... It was so fun! Even though the Astros lost.

I've also gotten to spend a ton of quality time with family, which has been absolutely amazing! My nephew is now nine month old and he is absolutely ADORABLE. I love him so so much and I am so blessed to be his auntie. I can't believe it's been nine months since he was born... It already scares me how much he has grown!

Levi and I on the 4th of July!

And the last thing I want to talk about is my best friend, Erica. She spent the last year studying abroad in Spain, and she justgot home yesterday! I'm so happy she is back and I can't wait to see her! :)

Erica and I!

Anyway, that's all for now! Ta-ta!

Counting Down.

Well, only one week left until I'm off to Normantown!

I cannot even express how amazing it has been to be home the past few weeks. Just being around my family and relaxing with no obligations to homework or class has been exactly what I needed. However, I cannot wait to get back to Norman to see all of friends, especially my hooties :)

I think that the second semester, although challenging, is going to be fantastic. It will definitely be harder than my first one but if I stick with the same work ethic I had first semester I think I'll be fine.

On another note, Denver was a blast! The ONLY downfall was that I was basically sick the whole of the trip... up until the last day or two. Luckily, we were able to get the doc to call in some antibiotics for me, which helped immensely! Other than that, it was great. The shopping was phenomenal, and I brought home some really great loot! Unfortunately, I left my camera's USB cord in my dorm in Norman (extremely smart of me) so I am unable to upload any new pictures. But, hopefully soon! Denver was beautiful and I cherished every moment I got to spend with my family. I'll do my best to post pictures ASAP.

Arrivederci!

One semester down and NOW, Off to Denver!

It has been so long since I've been on here. What a boring blogger I am! I do apologize.

I am finally finished with my first semester of college. I say finally but, really, it went by so quickly I feel as though it were all a blur! I ended up with a 3.8 GPA (woo!) and it feels so nice to not have homework for a few weeks. I don't even know what to do with all of this free time! However, it feels great to be home, and I get almost an entire month off. The only downside to being away from Norman for so long is being away from my sorority sisters... I'm so used to being around them all the time, and now I never see them! I'll definitely be glad to get back and see them.

On another note, my nephew is doing great! He's a little sick right now but Les thinks he's getting better. He BETTER get better, because we're leaving for Denver TOMORROW! I'm quite excited! For Christmas, since we already had the trip planned, my parents gave all us kiddos money, for the most part, so we could shop in Denver and just get whatever we wanted there. I've never been to Denver but Leslie has told me that the shopping is prettyyy phenomenal! Anyway, back to Levi. He's perfect, as usual. He's gotten to be quite snuggly. I enjoy it :)

On my list of things I want in Denver are:

Leopard Pumps... Loving the animal print style going on right now!

Leopard Cardigan... I've been having trouble finding one of these but I found this one on the victoria's secret website.

Hunter Fleece Welly Socks! Seriously, if any of you have Hunter Boots or just want something cozy to wear around the house, these are the best! They're long (perfect to tuck pajama pants into) and super warm and cozy! Love 'em!

Other than those couple of things, I’m pretty open as to what I want. I just can’t wait to get to J. Crew and Nordstrom! I’ve got things to buy and money to spend!

Hope you all had a very wonderful Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR’S!

Do you have a New Year’s Resolution?

October.

The past month has brought many changes - mostly for the best, I believe. I am now starting to become a little bit more integrated into the college life. I finally seem to be making a few solid friends that I love hanging out with! Woohoo! Things are still really busy; I have more homework than I ever thought I would, but besides that, I love college! Being in a sorority plays a huge role, in my opinion. Over the past couple weeks I really have begun to realize why people call sororities a "sisterhood", and I love it! This past week I was pretty sick with yucky sinus issues (gross!) and a couple of my sisters were nice enough to take care of me, and with no complaints! Isn't it awesome having friends like that?

Today was Dad's Day, and both of my parents came up to spend the day at the Chi-O house for a barbecue, pictures, and lots of owl-ish fun! It was nice getting to introduce my parents to all my pretty hooties and my big! There was a football game late tonight but, seeing as how I have been sick all week my parents and I decided to take it easy and not take any chances of me getting sick again!

And now on to the greatest news of the week... :)

My nephew, Levi Barrett Newcomb was born on October 26, 2010 at 5:10 pm. He weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces, and he is a teeny bundle of perfection. The first time I saw him, I was just in awe. I couldn't believe that that little guy was MY nephew! I have never felt so proud of my brother, Tyler, as I did that day. And, Leslie, after going through everything she had to go through, looked like a super model. Seriously people, she looked gorgeous! I don't know if I have ever seen anybody look so radiant! It was very apparent that they were both so unbelievably happy. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. Levi is so lucky to have them as parents!

The first time I held him, it was like, instant love. He is simply the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on. I didn't get to hold him long, because I think his momma was pretty anxious to hold him. I didn't mind :) Luckily, I get to spend ALL day tomorrow with the new happy family and then I'll get to hold my angelic nephew all I want!

Pictures to follow!

Big/Little 2010!

Introducing...

MY BIG!

Big/Little was on September 23.

The entire day, I was an absolute wreck! We had to pref who we wanted the week before, but there is no guarantee that you will get exactly who you wanted, so of course, my entire pledge class was completely on edge. We were told to be at the house at 9:30 pm, but once we got there, we were made to sit for over thirty minutes! Which, obviously, made the wait even worse!

So, we're sitting there, and all of a sudden, the ceiling above us sounds like there is a stampede of wild animals barreling across it. Naturally, we were all just kind of looking around in utter confusion; next thing you know, here come all the families downstairs in a mad dash, all in pajamas! They run through the dining room (where we had been torturously awaiting their arrival) and then into the front foyer where they formed a type of "tunnel", if you will. So they are all chanting "Big little! Big little! Big little!" as we walk through, cameras a-flashin'! We get into the living room type area and everyone is scampering around like crazy trying to find the object with their name on it. Leave it to me, I was the last one in there because I couldn't find mine. But, I finally did! And as soon as I saw "Lindsey" and "Taylor" on there, I snatched it up and took off. I don't know if I've ever run up stairs so fast! So of course, as soon as I get to her room, there is much screaming and hugging and jumping, like girls do. I was then informed that I had a twin. First thought: "Oh, no. What if we don't get along?" But then I was informed that it was Mary Beth, and I already adored her! Right about that time, she comes running into the room (she had a few difficulties finding it), and the screaming and hugging and jumping commenced once again!

At this point, we were given pajamas matching the rest of our family. We went to change, and then the gift-giving began! Lindsey went all out; our gifts were all adorable! Let's just say that I am a very lucky hootie! I have an awesome twin, an awesome big, and on top of THAT, I have an awesome g-big and gg-big. My g-big is Lindsey's big, and my gg-big is her big, if you hadn't figured that out already.

After the giving of gifts, we proceeded downstairs where thousands of pictures were taken (yes, I said thousands!). After the pictures, we headed to the Norman Skating Rink, IN OUR PAJAMAS! What a memorable night! I am so fortunate to have been blessed with such an amazing Chi Omega family!

Mary Beth, Lindsey and I!

Jessica (gg-big), Ashley (g-big), Lindsey, Me, Mary Beth

The generations!

Cutest hootie family!

Me with my adorable twin and big!

There's Only One Oklahoma!

Hootie hoo!

Chi Omega!

I am a CHI OMEGA! HOOT HOOT!

My very first temp Owl Pal, Ali, & I!

Bid Day was absolutely crazy, and every day since then it seems it has gotten even more insane, as if that were possible. I absolutely love Chi-O. I will admit, the first couple weeks I was a little bit skeptical. It seemed like everybody else was so in-the-know, and I felt like I was so out-of-the-loop! Then, we had our pledge class retreat, meaning that all the new Chi-O girls spend the night at a current member's house to

get to know each other better. Although I cannot divulge everything that we did there (sacred sorority secrets, you know?!), I will say that after that night, I have been completely sold. I am so in love with Chi Omega and every single girl in it! Throughout the Rush process, everybody said, "Don't worry, you'll end up where you are meant to be." I thought that it was a pretty corny thing to say, but I now realize how true of a statement it really is.

Chi Omega!

This Thursday, we get our Bigs! For those of you knowing nothing about sororities, I will explain! On Bid Day, I got a "temporary" Big, or, as we call them, Owl Pals. Every tuesday since then, I have gotten a new temp Owl Pal. This is just to help you get to know some of the older girls and help you to figure out who you want to be your permanent Owl Pal. Last Tuesday, we preffed four girls that we would like to be our Owl Pals, and on Thursday we find out who that girl is! I absolutely cannot wait! I know that, whoever I end up with, I am going to love. One of the most fun parts of the week is that we get a present every day! Yes, we are pretty spoiled :) After Big/Little Day on Thursday, I will make another post about my Big and all the wonderful presents I receive!

Hoot Hoot!

All in all, I am loving college! Sooner football has begun and, of course, it is unbelievable! The games have been absolutely out of this world (and very hot)! I have been getting a little homesick, but luckily I have an amazing family who comes to visit me often, and I am finally getting to go home this weekend, and we're going to Branson! So many fun things coming up.

A few of my sisters and I before the OU/Air Force game!

I am so sorry for the long delay, college is even more time-consuming than I had originally thought it might be! I will do my best to keep this updated in the future! 'Til next time!

There's Only One Oklahoma!

Oklahoma Rush!

Rush in three words: crazy hectic mess!

I have to admit... I loved it. The first day, we visited eleven houses in 108° heat. That part was not so great, but the visiting of the houses was unlike anything I could have ever imagined! I was expecting a little bit of singing, probably a few chants, but the clapping head-bobbing madness is something I did not expect! That was something I thought you only saw in movies like Legally Blonde and Sorority Row. That could not be further from the truth. And it might be silly but, I adored it. The whole sha-bang!

The eleven houses were as follows:

1. Alpha Chi Omega - Alpha Chi ΑXΩ

2. Alpha Gamma Delta - AGD AΓΔ

3. Alpha Omicron Pi - AOΠ

4. Alpha Phi - AΦ

5. Chi Omega - Chi-O XΩ

6. Delta Delta Delta - Tri Delt ΔΔΔ

7. Delta Gamma - DeeGee ΔΓ

8. Gamma Phi Beta - Gamma Phi ΓΦB

9. Kappa Alpha Theta - Theta KAΘ

10. Kappa Kappa Gamma - Kappa KKΓ

11. Pi Beta Phi - Pi Phi ΠBΦ

Every night of the process, we had to go into a computer lab and cut out three of the houses we did not care to continue on with the next day. Although, just because you cut a house does not necessarily mean that you will not be attending it the next day. If one of the houses you pref cut you, one of the houses that you cut the previous night will be added to your schedule. Every morning, about 30 minutes before we had to be ready for our first party, our Rho Gammas (adorable sorority girls -- we weren't allowed to know what sorority they were in until the end of the rush process -- who guide us around and help us throughout the week) delivered our schedule for the upcoming day to our door. That was the most stressful part by far -- waiting to see if every house we wanted asked us back. I was, luckily, very fortunate throughout the process. So, we went from day one (eleven houses), to day two (eight houses), to day three (five houses), to pref night (two houses). Even though from "five-party day" to pref night we still had to cut the usual three houses, that cut seemed much larger and much more drastic than any of the other cuts. Each day got more and more stressful, and on Bid Day (the day we officially find out which house we are to join), they made us wait until two o'clock in the afternoon for our results! By about one, every girl on my hall that was rushing was impatiently sitting out in the hallway waiting for our Rho G's.

Anyway, I'm afraid that you are just going to have to wait for my next post to find out which house I pledged! Let me assure you, it is the most amazing house on campus, and I am absolutely in love with it and SO proud to be a sister! It won't be too long before the post is up, so don't fret. And, I will include pictures. How exciting!

Day Two - Eight Party Day

My roommate Whitney & I.

Day Three - Five Party Day

Day Four - Pref Night

Obviously, we were supposed to dress up a little bit more for this night. I wore four inch heels! Definitely not the norm for a girl who is already 6'2"!

Until next time!

Boomer Sooner!