Getting to the east coast though, can prove to be some tricky business.  Layovers can be crazy, especially when you talk about the fact that I have one layover that’s a total of 45 minutes.  I’m a little frightened by this because ::

1. I’m afraid of missing my flight, therefore I’ll catch the next flight outta where I’m laying over at a whopping FOUR hours later.  Just say lots of prayers I make that connection.
2. Planes are very unpredictable.  Hopefully Delta chooses to be on time this day.
3. I’ve conquered the largest US airport, so this one looks to be a piece of cake…yes, I’ve already looked at each terminal and somewhat know which “wing” I’ll be in.
4. I’ve been on a whopping 2 trips which involved planes in my life, no I’m not kidding.  Yes, this is going to change just as soon as I graduate. (Totally thinking of my Mom who loooooves to read my blog.)
5. Just for good measure….in case Delta is late.  That would really put a damper on things.

…a shooting occurred here April 4, 1968…I bet you’re just going to jump straight to Google….aren’t you?

Home of this place.  I’ve never visited personally, but have heard it’s out of this world and the rooms are lavishly decorated.  The guy was ahead of his time, I’d say.

Home of this NBA team.  Do you know who they are?

If you have no idea who this black haired, pelvis thrusting guy is….well we can’t be friends any more.  Just kidding!

In case you just don’t have a clue after I’ve given you some of the easiest ones in history!

…you can never go wrong with flowers.  Sure girls may say they’re a waste of money, but in all reality, who doesn’t like getting flowers on Valentine’s Day?  Can honestly say it isn’t this girl!

Let’s get real guys.  If you’ve got any fashion sense, surprise her with an amazing sparkling dress, new heels and some accessories.  Signed.  Sealed.  Delivered.  (I’d kill for those shoes, hint hint.)

I’m a sucker for pink, we almost all know that.  Do something special with flowers for her, I’m sure she’d love it.  Like I said, she isn’t going to hate it.

Turquoise is the new black, well almost.  You can pair it with almost anything and is definitely a bright enough color for me, hint.  Christian Louboutin doesn’t know what’s about to hit him. : )

Every girl needs a cutesy iPhone case.  This one is by Kate Spade (one of my fav designers), but there are plenty out there.  I just love all things that are colorful.

I have no idea what girl wouldn’t have the biggest smile on her face after getting some of these amazing things.  Really.

Sparkly dresses!  This is a top fav in my book.  Love it.

…and if you still find yourself grasping at straws and unsure of what to do…. iTunes gift cards always work.  New Music.  New Apps.  Books for School (and enjoyment).  Who wouldn’t want to get one of these?

Okay guys — you’ve got your lovely suggestions from me, now get after it — you’ve got 7 days left!

Please tell me you at least remember when Sun-In was popular and that you recall just how many times your mother told you “No, you’re not going back blonde.  Your hair color is just fine.”  See the thing is, you didn’t think that blah brownish tone hair was acceptable.  So, you did the unthinkable.  You purchased a few of those bottles of Sun-In from the local Wal-Mart, stuffed them in your duffle under you Camp Cavett clothes (that you packed waaaay to many of) and did something crazy at camp.  You. Went. Blonde.  ….then blammmmed it on the “Sun”.  Nope, I would’ve never done such a crazy thing….and lived to tell about it.

The obligatory photo of me & Danny.  I have so many of these and am amazed at how I’ve gone from the wild child type to the settled and sophisticated type.  You can just tell by my hair color actually and use of make up.  Then again, every one has those pictures, mine are just posted for the world to see.

We all look like babies here.  Funny how over 10 years later we’re still the same goofy bunch we met as when we were kids.  It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve all grown up, started our own lives, had children and gotten married.  I’m truly amazed at how far each one of us has come.

Take note of the lobsterized skin tone, too.  It was a day in time where I thought Sun Screen made you pasty white and could see no other way of obtaining that sun kissed look than going without that awful sun screen.  I’ve since aged out of that thinking and wear sun screen in the winter months now!  I’ve learned a lot in 10 years. {with one of my BFF’s who understands just how far we’ve both come!}

I did everything sun related, just so my hair would become blonder.  Ha!  How bout a paddle boat ride? …with a non-water proof camera? At least this time we didn’t get trapped out in the middle of the lake and have to be towed back into shore.  That has happened on more than one occasion, I’m afraid.  Oh the things we’ve all done to cause those extra gray hairs we see on Danny’s head or the aging lines in our once was camp counselors.

Going home after a great week at camp.  Can you tell?  We’re all burnt, blonder, and a little to hyper for words…possibly caused by lack of sleep?  It’s just a picture worth a thousand words.

You see, while at camp you spend your time either tubing on the lake, and by that I mean being the dare devil and trying everything the boys won’t and out in the hot humid summer heat.  On this particular day we participated in a ropes course.  Did we have fun?  Yes!  Was it hot? YES!  Did I pull off one of the greatest hair days in history?  No.  Let’s just say my hair & humidity didn’t mix back then or I was just too concerned with dumping every bit of Sun-In on my hair that year?!  Who knows.

Attending a medical conference proved to be one of the most amazing and eye opening experiences I’ve gone through.  Getting to have fun with fellow MD’s and DO’s….who wouldn’t want to partake in that adventure?

Most importantly though, I met some pretty amazing friends, from all over the country actually.  I still keep in contact with about 90% of my group from this summer, which is astounding because this conference was nearly 7 years ago.

I’m pretty sure the camera found me just about wherever I was.  Thank goodness for digital back then.

On the way to the Mall of America via public transit.  Major fun in the twin cities y’all.  Had a blast meeting and making new friends.

On a “night off” from workshops and lectures, a huge group of us decided to go on the town.  At the time it was a bar called the Wild Onion.  Crazy, huh?

…still the Wild Onion.  Let’s just say I had a blast and had nothing to drink that night.  I think I was a newly minted 21 year old, too.  Pure Craziness.

Last group shot with the girls that evening, we all had fun getting to know each other during our trip.

Found a pair of goggles on our boat that night, so in true Erin fashion I had to put them on.  Talk about goofy all while having fun with my friends. : )

Getting ready to dock, head to the hotel and head out to the bar.  Last night in MN, you’ve gotta do it up big, right?!

Another partial group shot.  We took so many of these that week, seriously was one of the best times in my life being Pre-Med, but I made an even better decision career wise and can’t wait to see what journey it takes me on.

Our hotel was somewhere in the background.  We stayed at one of the fanciest hotels I had ever stayed in and we all had a blast.  Pretty sure I called home just so I could say I was staying in a Trump Hotel.

Our conference director.  He set up all the yet to be in med school applicants and directed my group on which lectures to sit in on and who to rub elbows with.

What our lovely paddle boat looked like sort of.    How many of y’all can say you’ve traveled a portion of the Great Mississippi?  I have.

Relaxing on the boat and taking in the scenery.  I had never been that far north, so this was a completely different experience especially since it was my first ever plane trip.  Talk about an exciting time in my life.

Me & Ash.  We’re still just as close as we were here.  We’ve moved.  Traveled across the US.  But always kept in contact (thank you Facebook!!) through the years.

St. Paul in the background and us looking completely silly.  I sure miss those days…

Now you can’t leave a medical conference without going to the Mall of America at least once while you’re “in town”, that would just be horrible.  If I remember correctly, I made at least half a dozen trips and even left my digital camera in a dressing room (that I later recovered thank goodness).

 …..Museum…..

 …fancy smancy hotel where I’ll be staying out my first night out east….

 Not sure where this statue is, but it’s currently on my list of things to see while I’m out there.

 …..and we can’t forget Rocky….Lord knows he’s important into figuring out just where I’ll be headed to.

…like limo sized golf carts and hanging out with my BFF Gabbi….who I’ll always say instigated everything we’ve ever done and all those pesky gray hairs we caused to our cabin counselors…. Let’s just say Camp Cavett is never complete without the two of us!

On another note…have y’all ever seen these kinds of golf carts?  I hadn’t until now, they’re definitely quite difficult to drive and I mostly stuck to the regular sized ones when toting all the campers around.  Fabulous!

True, we’ve traded my buddy Etan Thomas, but I’m still a Thunder fan.  Although, I’ll always be an Etan Thomas fan for reasons that y’all just have no idea of.  : )  We’ve definitely got more in common than what meets the eye and I’m thankful I had the chance I had to meet this amazing player.  He’s now with the Hawks and I must say his stats look somewhat stunning (compared to his season here in OK).

If you haven’t figured it out already, my name is Erin and I’m a true Okie.  There, I’ve admitted it, now let’s move on.  I’m a student at the University of Oklahoma and am finally in my last year of college.  I would say I have a wide variety of interests and have a hard time saying no to anything (especially if it’s a little dare devilish).

I’m a Sooner girl, which means I do in fact bleed crimson and have yet to attend a football game.  I have every plan to change that come Fall though as I’ve prepped myself for the rules and penalties of football —- well mostly.  I’m studing Management Information Systems and will hold my Bachelors degree in May 2013.  It’s been a long road and I’m almost done — could not be happier!

I was born and raised in Oklahoma and would love to stay here, but I’m open to anything.  Let’s just say my entire 27 years of existence I’ve been a happy here and can adapt to just about anything.  I hunt.  I fish.  I’ll sleep outdoors.  I love the lake and all that entails and I’m a pro a tubing.  I’m hard core and will try anything once, even if I fail or I embarrass myself to death.  I like to have fun and definitely have stories to tell of some of the adventures I’ve had.

I realize I am not your typical run of the mill type of girl.  I love Star Wars, Star Trek, old westerns and just about anything else you can think of — well maybe except foreign films.  This would be my nerdy side though; a true love for technology, a MIS degree and probably just about everything nerd like you can think of (I still play Age of Empires II sometimes with friends — ha).

It can be 55 degrees in Okie Land and feel like it’s 70.  Trust me, this is what I stepped out in last week, although you can’t see the Uggs or leggings I wore it still felt like spring time to me!

Being an Oklahoma fan almost qualifies me to be black listed for just wearing a Stanford shirt, but I’m a supporter of things they’ve done and accomplished on a whole nother’ level other than just football.

There’s just something about OU’s Campus on a Summery night to make you fall in love all over again with the amazing Top 10 Business School you’ve chosen.  Ahhhh….life.

For the time being I’m enjoying my 24/7 concert of Randy Travis and I’m crossing my fingers some concerts for Oklahoma/Texas will pop up on his website soon.  Maybe I’ll even one up 2012 and even meet my love interest I’ve been pining over for years and years now.  Just have to wait and see *wink* *wink*

With digging through those beachy photos I found the set Roomie had taken with the waves rolling in.  I was reminded of the time the waves splashed UP my dress, playing Frisbee with some random guys on the beach (during this photo session) and of course the pina coladas that directly followed our fun times on the beach.  Oh how I miss summer vacations and the beach.

Have I mentioned she loves to lay on pillows, while you’re sleeping on them.  There’s nothing in the world scarier than opening your eyes from a nap and seeing this face greet you & starring at you with those eyes.  Nothing….okay…well maybe the SyFy channel.

Silly girl looks all relaxed and comfortable.  Maybe I should trade places with her today, actually I would if I didn’t have to study today.  Intersession sucks!

See what I mean?  Under the covers and laying on my pillow.

Debating about getting up for a second….wait…maybe not…

See what I mean?  Lazy bones.  Back to bed again for this princess.

Being the goof ball that I am….and the hair fanatic that I am…well let’s just say…I don’t really have words for what I’d say about this.  My used to be piggy back rider and I acting a bit goofy during the bus ride back to camp.  Great times at camp!

Can’t hang out at camp without having a little mud mask fun.  Not sure I have a normal picture  of me during my Camp Cavett days.  That is, until I got older and quit screwing with my hair so much.

I think this was my third year of attending Camp Cavett.  I’m pretty sure this is the year that I didn’t take Roomie, which would’ve been Y3.  Don’t you just love how  I can talk my way through these things.

My favorite piggy back rider.  Poor kid is now over 6 foot tall and giving me piggy back rides now.  This was definitely the summer of crazy hair colors and doing all sorts of crazy things that I knew no one would approve of back home.

Z dog is definitely a handful and can act a bit crazy at times.  I love the fact that that she’s got the quirky attitude and can jump a mile high.  Although, this can be quite literal seeing as how I’m a mere 4 ’10.

I wound up taking Senior pictures to fully ‘document’ that my parents first born was officially leaving the nest and joining the college life.

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.  And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

 You’ll look up and down streets.  Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.

 It’s opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don’t worry.  Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! -Dr. Seuss

Believe it or not, I still can’t believe I graduated almost 8 years ago.  Where has the time gone?  Seems like only yesterday I walked across the staged & grabbed my diploma…..not really.  Our class actually had their diplomas held on account of “how we acted in Rayleigh Chapel”.  Let’s just say….there were beach balls…fog horns….silly string…streamers…those mini “pop” streamer things…and a whole lot more.  My grandparents had gone to their fair share of Graduations, but this was the first “rowdy” one they had ever been to.  Way to make 2004 memorable Class of 2004!

This year we had several dances (we all LOVE to dance & have fun), one of them was the 50′s Dance where all the campers dressed up in poodle skirts (that we made!).  Some of us didn’t leave the arts & crafts room that day….ahem.

Group shot with my best friends Dad.  I do believe this was the first Camp Cavett without Cassie, which just made camp twice as hard.  Although, it was great getting to hang out and just be kids for once.  That didn’t happen very often.

Couldn’t get the flip flops dirty, so what was the best thing to do?  Catch a ride on the back of a golf cart, that’s what!  You see where Camp Cavett is held at is HUGE, so golf carts are rented or donated to take us around camp.

Gabs.  We’ve been through hell and back.  10 years have practically flown by and each time we’ve hit a rough patch we’ve come out on the other side with flying colors.  It’s been amazing getting to spend each year at camp with you!  …you know until we got older…

This was the year after OU won their last National Championship.  Like I said, who knew how big this event would become and that meeting the players this year was like making history….just WOW.

Rocky Calmus.  I remember this guys name at least.  Of course, the friends I was with this year just had to have all of our pictures made with the hottest guys on the team.  Yes, that really happened.  Yes, I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that…but hey…I was 17, what can you do?

Jason White.  As in THE Jason White.  When you think about it, he’s really not much taller than I am.  Standing at a whopping 4 “11.  At least in the photo it looks as if he isn’t that much taller than I am…

Jack Mildren.  Had no idea at the time, but I was meeting a legend and didn’t know it!  He played for the Baltimore Colts and New England Patriots…as in NFL y’all!  Crazy isn’t it?!

This is what happen when you mix 3 short girls & 3 very tall football players.  Not even sure who everyone is, but I had my picture made with them.  Craziness, YO!

First…I decided it would be best to try something new with my hair.  Twas a windy night in Oklahoma, why not play around with the wind and do something sexy with my hair this time around?  Yeahhhhh….didn’t think you’d buy into that, but it was worth a shot!

Only in Oklahoma can you ring in the New Year and watch Bull Riding at the same time.  I had a blast doing something different, although, I wasn’t a fan of dancing on that packed dance floor.  There’s no telling how many times I twirled into everyone on the dance floor.

A better shot of the bull pens without all the glitzy lights going.  Yes, I was inside a club with a bull pen.

Taking time out from dancing to catch our breath and DRINK.  You have no idea how dehydrated you can get when you’re out on the dance floor with everyone else having fun.  Funny thing is, I love that you can’t tell just how lovely I actually look.  You see, when the ball dropped the place got just a tad bit wild.  As in, beer was shook & spewed as well as our champagne.  Oh yes y’all.  We’re talking about an Oklahoma girl who rarely drinks being covered in alcohol from head to toe.  Talk about a hot mess.  I’m just thankful that y’all can’t see how sticky or how matted down my hair really is.  Good thing is….I took a shower, even if it was at 3am…

What happens after a night of drinking water?  You stop at IHOP because you’re starving.  That’s what!  No pancakes for me, though.  …although waking up the next morning wasn’t fun at all.

• Roomie graduated from the University of Oklahoma.
• Caught my first Saugeye, sadly it wasn’t a keeper and I had to throw the poor fella back.
• I learned how to two-step.  I love to go dancing now, wonder why?
• Sent a few packages overseas to the land of Afghanistan.
• Baked a ton of muffins one evening just because I was bored.  This happens often.
• Thanks to Pinterest, I burnt my eyebrows, eyelashes & pieces of my hair off.  Yeah, that was an interesting night.
• Dressed up my fur kiddos in matching sweaters for Thanksgiving.
• I saw Justin Moore in concert.  This was my biggest happy moment of the year…I’m quite sure of it!
• Made the conversion to a HD TV & even sprung for Apple TV 2.  It’s by far been the coolest creation Apple has come up with yet.
• Attended my first OU Basketball game & actually bought season tickets.  Kinda crazy.
• I pulled a Geeky moment and dressed up as Darth Vader for Halloween — except I wore a tutu.  Talk about one crazy idea.
• Hopped on a 4-wheeler a mere 4wks after I did something crazy.
• As Papaw would put it, I took full custody of Zoe.  Best decision I ever made….mostly because she’s the best snuggle buddy.

2012 looks to be promising.  I’ll be trekking east in a month which I’m sure will spark into weekend trips to Texas starting in July.  Just a few semesters left and I will have my bachelors degree.  Can’t wait to accomplish that, it’s been a hard road to accomplish, but I’m determined to get it done.