The Happiest Place on Earth

Walt Disney really set the bar high with that statement. However, even through the exhaustion, it is totally true in the end. 

I spent the last week of May in Orlando with my dad, stepmom and siblings. I'd be lying if I said tackling Disney World's 4 theme parks as a family of 6 was easy. It wasn't. At all. My dad and stepmom put in so much effort, time and patience into perfectly planning our 5 days in the parks. We had designated FastPass rides, amazing lunch reservations and Disney's Memory Maker (which I highly recommend to everyone. You get unlimited usage of all the photos the parks' photographers take of your family!) Keeping 3 kids content through 5 days of nonstop activity seriously tested my patience. We survived and conquered, of course, and made some unforgettable memories as we do every summer.

One vacation down, one to go!

Stay tuned,
Lex

Update

Hello, friends!

I know it's been awhile and I didn't exactly follow all my New Year's resolutions, but I improved with some and that's what matters. 

My sophomore year of college has officially come to a close. By the grace of God I made it out alive and with 3.8 GPA, which I was not expecting at all. This semester was a whirlwind of upper level classes and social activities that constantly steered me away from my academic duties. However, I proved to myself that you can work and play in college and do just fine. It was, by far, the craziest and most rewarding semester yet.

So what am I up to now?

For starters, I'm 5 days into recovering from my wisdom teeth removal surgery. This has given some much needed relaxation and time to catch up on the dozens hundreds of hours of sleep I lost at school. OK, maybe it wasn't hundreds of hours... actually it probably was. On Saturday I'm headed to Orlando with my dad, stepmom and siblings to spend the week at the happiest place on Earth. Ah yes, Disney World. It makes me feel old knowing that the last time I went was a decade ago. I feel just as excited as I was when I was 9 to buy some Mickey ears and run around the park with my brothers and sister. 

After my week of fun I'm headed back to Stillwater for my internship and part-time job. Yes, this girl is employed with not one, but TWO jobs. I'm in love with the idea of being busy this summer and bringing in some money of my own. Stilly couldn't keep me away for long. Could it be that Oklahoma is starting to grow on me? 

At the end of June I'm going on my first cruise. There's 18 of us going together and I'll be accompanied by my OG roomie, Courtney. We went on vacation to California together the summer before freshman year and I'm excited to add more places to our list of roommate adventures. I'm praying I handle being on a boat well since I'm looking into Semester at Sea for the fall semester of my senior year. We'll see how it goes.

Court and I in Cali the summer before our freshman year at OSU

Sorry for so much information. I obviously didn't accomplish my goal of blogging once a month during the semester so there's a lot I had to say. I'll keep the updates coming and can't wait to share my summer with ya'll!

Stay classy, 

Lex

10 Reasons Why Living In A Sorority House Is Actually Amazing

When I told my mom I wanted to join a sorority she thought I was crazy.
She thought I was even crazier when I, someone who grew up as an only child, told her I wanted to move into my chapter's house in the middle of my freshman year and share a room with three other girls.
However, tomorrow I will move into the Gamma Phi Beta house for my third time, and I couldn't be more excited.
Living with 60 girls hasn't always been easy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I've created genuine friendships with girls who were once just acquaintances and have had more fun this past year than I've ever thought possible. I don't think I'll ever enjoy eating chicken 12 times a week, seeing other girls' hair clogged in the shower drains, or hearing Harry Potter movies blaring from the TV lounge 24/7, but there are many things I will miss. Living in Gamma Phi has been an incredible experience filled with memories I will cherish for the rest of my life, so here are 10 reasons why I've loved it so much.

1. I am constantly surrounded by women who hold me accountable... but also convince me to go out and live a little when I let my stressful days get the best of me.

2. If I can survive living with over 60 girls, there's no reason I won't be able to share space with a husband and children someday.

3. There's always someone who will be me workout buddy on the good days and my "lets order a pizza at 2 a.m." buddy on the bad ones.

4. Why set an alarm clock when my roommates know my schedule better than I do?

5. When one of my roommates receives a care package, I receive a care package.

6. Watching chick flicks until 4 a.m. on a school night just wouldn't be the same by myself.

7. I save money on gas because I don't have to drive to my friends' houses.

8. There's no need to spend money on clothes when I have dozens of closets to borrow from.

9. It would be ridiculous to sleep in a bunk bed at this age otherwise.

10. Whether I want the advice or not, there's always someone to tell me what I need to hear.

With 60 girls comes a lot of drama, but living with these young women has been much more than that. My life has been filled with so much fun, laughter, and support thanks to these sisters of mine. Here's to another semester of late nights, fast food, life talks and a lot of sass.

PC 13, it's our last semester in house, lets make it count!

See ya'll soon, 

Lex

New Year's Resolutions

I feel like there's a love/hate relationship with making goals for the new year. 

They're all the same. 

They never get accomplished. 

It's just a date and doesn't mean anything. 

I've heard it all. This past year was good to me. I left the country for the first time, visited NYC, became a big to two perfect littles, grew closer with my sorority sisters, made some amazing friends and started to really figure out who I want to be. That's why I took some time to think of resolutions for 2015 that are different and more beneficial than just saying I'm going to lose ten pounds (although I wouldn't mind if that happened, too). 

So here they are, my New Year's Resolutions for 2015:

1. To Not Pull (as many) All-Nighters

This is my way of working on my procrastination habits. If I don't have a reason to stay up until 4 a.m. I won't. By nixing all-nighters from my agenda I am forced to work on my schoolwork before 10 o'clock at night, which is usually when I would start my assignments last year.

2. Use My Cameras

I have a Canon t3, GoPro, and Polaroid. They all work great, but I always make excuses to not bring them along on my adventures. I'd like to really document 2015. Not just holidays and events, but daily occurrences that make life enjoyable. Who knows, maybe I'll do a 100 Happy Days challenge this year to get more comfortable with photographing.

3. Work on a 5-year Plan That's Centered Solely on my Goals.

I recently found out that my concurrent hours have made my graduation date closer than I thought. Unless I study abroad, I will be graduating after my spring 2016 semester. The idea of not having a "senior year" college experience or graduating with my friends upsets me, but it also means I have no choice but to focus on myself. This year I need to make a plan for the years to come, and figure out how to make it happen. 

4. Post on the Blog At Least Once a Month
Why have a blog if I don't post on it? There was so much I could have written about last semester if I had managed my time better. I love writing and need to make time to enjoy this hobby. Once a month doesn't seem like a lot, but it's better than once every 2-3 months like last semester. I have to start somewhere.

I can't wait to see what this upcoming year has in store for me. What are your goals for 2015?

Happy New Year,
Lex