And they call him the streak.....Don't look Ethel!

I have spent most of my life in transit from one locker room to another. So, subsequently, I am not modest.

Trying to hide your "wobbly bits" and change is just a futile attempt most of the time anyway. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those weird girls that just strip down and walk around the locker room like it was their bedroom, but it takes a lot to make me blush. I am more modest than I used to be since I now have more that wobbles, but even still....

I took an aerobics class last semester (that I had to drop since I sprained my ankle and was on crutches and a walking boot for most of the semester.....I'm so cool it hurts!) and was assigned a locker in the stadium.

Only about every third shower worked, and only about every other one of those actually had a shower curtain, so you usually waited in line if you wanted one. I did.

This summer I got a locker in Gregory Gym to use after I swim. http://www.utrecsports.org/facilities/virtualtours/list-x.php

It is nice! When tour guides are showing potential students and tuition paying parents around campus, they ALWAYS stop at Gregory. (If you have met my dad, you know this was a HUGE selling point for him.)

Even the locker rooms are great. They are very well equip. I personally have a little crush on the machine that wrings all the water out of your bathing suit so you can put it in your locker.....but that is a whole other blog....

So.....you can imagine my surprise this morning when I walked in the locker room at 8:30 after having been in the pool for an hour, to see that something was missing. I couldn't put my finger on it at first. So I shrugged it off and went to get my shower stuff from my locker.

I gathered my stuff, walked to the showers and put my stuff down in one of the stalls.

That's when it hit me......NO SHOWER CURTAINS......NONE!

I don't know what happened....maybe they were being washed, or they got new ones....or what? But I do know that they were not hanging on the rods!

I stood there like a deer in the headlights for a good two to three minutes. I had no idea what to do.....do I get in and let any number of girls see my wobblies....or do I reek of chlorine for the rest of the day....it was hands down the HARDEST DECISION OF MY LIFE!!!!!

I'm talking, it was up there with:

1) What should be my life's work? (still working on that one)
2) Should I marry this man? (oops)
3) Should I tell her she has a booger hanging out her nose? (always!)

In the end.....I just went for it.....I found a stall down at the end so that not everyone that walked through would have to see me.

I stripped down and took the fastest shower of my life! I still didn't get out without someone choosing the stall right across from me...who does that?

I wrapped up in my towel and started to walk out of the shower area. I get about half way down when I see one of the girls that was in the pool with me earlier drape her towel over the rod to use as a curtain.

Easy for the swimmers! I think. They have those big beach towels that would work perfectly for a.......well crap!

To the girl in the stall across from me....sorry.....I should have thought of the towel thing.....I mean fool me once, shame on you....fool me twice....no, shame on you again....don't pick a stall right across from someone if you can avoid it.....it's just rude!

The one with the grown-up

Ever get tired of being an adult? I do!

I went shopping with my friend Kayla yesterday. I found a purse I fell in love with along with some great perfume. I didn't get either. I had the money, but I couldn't do it.

When the hell did that happen? When did I stop wanting to spend my "allowance" the second I it hit my pocket?

Oh yeah....right about the time I stopped having to clean my room for the money and started having to "work" for it.

There are some perks to being an adult...I just bought my first couch! It is CUTE.....and purple :)

And in honor of such an adult-like activity....I am going to do my favorite child-like activity....take an afternoon nap!

Sleep tight!

I'm H2O intolerant.

Yesterday I learned how to swim! (Well, kinda, it's a process.)

I met Helen (my personal trainer) at the lane pool on campus. Her first question to me is,"You know how to swim right?"

"Well, I know how to not drown."

"You never learned how to swim?"

"I grew up in the country. I learned how to swim when my dad threw me off the boat. I mean the only time I really had to swim was when I fell off the skis."

"No way."

"Yeah. I had a sister once, but she was a slow learner."

"What!?!"

"Ok, the last part was a joke. But the rest of it is true."

"We had to take swimming in school."

"Yeah well our idea of water sports involved a bass boat and a cooler."

"Are you telling me you can't swim to the other end of the pool and back?"

"Gosh no! I can absolutely do that....it just ain't gonna be pretty!"

So she spent the next hour really breaking down the mechanics of the freestyle and the breaststroke. And guys....I LOVE it!

I went again this morning. I just crave it. My only fear is that I will end up with huge shoulders and no breasts...but that is just a sacrifice I may have to make.

That and the reoccurring sight of me in a purple Speedo.... shudder.

Too close for missles, I'm switching to guns.

I honestly have the coolest family in the world! (For those of you that get sick of me ranting and raving about my parents just better stop reading now!)

My mom's side of the family has a family reunion every year. We used to get together at Thanksgiving but we have moved it to the summer when kids are out of school and it is easier to travel.

The last couple of years we have moved around from rafting the white waters in the mountains of Colorado to playing on the beach in California.....

The point is we like to have a good time....and we play HARD!

This year my parents and my mom's brother and sister brought it back to Texas! We spent the weekend at Canyon Lake, TX on the water.....good times!

My dad brought his boat, which seats about 15 people comfortably and our jet ski and we all skied and tubed until we just couldn't stand it.

We shopped and floated the river and got caught up on everything we missed in the past year.

I would just like to give a standing ovation to my mom and dad! My mom and Aunt Kathy and Aunt Jo (Hi Uncle Jo!) planned this whole fiasco. Those wonderful ladies cooked GREAT meals for fifty-five people every night we were there!

My dad hauled his boat, the jet ski, his smoker, his grill, two fish frier's, two huge pots for the shrimp boil and all the propane and paraphernalia associated with all of that from his house to the lake. The trip usually takes about five hours. It took them nine.

Once they were here, my dad spent all his time driving the boat to teach kids to ski and tube and whatever else they wanted. My brother was a HUGE help as well. He really is so knowledgeable when it comes to all that stuff.

Jared's girlfriend....I mean Roxy's mom....I mean Jenny was there this year and got to meet everyone. She is just the sweetest most helpful girl on the planet. JARED WAYNE....YOU HAD BETTER KEEP HER!!!!

I know I got credit for a lot this year, because I wrote the letters and bulletins through out the year to keep everyone informed. BUT I DON'T DESERVE IT!!!! This was a group effort....as any good family gathering usually is.

We had families come from all over California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana and of course, Texas. I love this group and I can't wait until next year!

San Diego....HERE WE COME!!!!!

That web ain't Charlotte's!

These used to be my cowgirl boots....now they are my big-ass-spider-killers.

We just had the biggest spider I have ever seen outside of a cage waltz right into our house when Lindsay opened the front door.

Dang thing thought he owned the place! Of course, if he hadn't been blocking our escape route we would have been more than happy to leave it to him!

Lindsay screamed at me from the living room to come help her and I ran into the living room.

She was standing on the arm of one of my living room chairs pointing to a spider the size of a a golf ball....we initially said two golf balls, but I think that might have been an exaggeration....maybe.

Lindsay screamed for me to kill it...but I DO NOT DO SPIDERS. I can kinda handle snakes, and most bugs but NOT spiders.

I ran back to my room and put on my boots...cuz well...they're big and thick the spider would have to run up my leg to get to any good biting real estate.

After a intense game of paper-rock-scissors, I "won" the job of killing the spider. So, in a very impressive feat of strength I moved the couch that the spider was now hiding under (I honestly don't know how it fit), ran over and jumped with all my might on the little bugger. (Fred, that pun's for you!)

Ok, there was a bit of screaming.....ok, a lot of screaming.....but that spider is now a golf ball sized gooey blob out on our front porch!

And I can probably never wear those boots again.....

EDIT NOTE:

You know how in horror movies, the killer bug/alien/zombie/half-man half-chainsaw is NEVER dead the first time you shoot/stab/impale/burn it? Well with that in mind....the gooey blob was NOT on my porch when I left for the gym this morning....

wait for it....wait for it...NOW!

Hi guys!

My incredible family will be in town until Monday, so I will be incommunicado until then :)

I am sure that I will come back armed with TONS of new material....so adios!

Hasta Lunes!

We are Family

The faces have changed.

The eyes that once sparkled with innocence and sat atop cheeks red with enthusiasm, now shine with wisdom and intelligence above cheeks lined with paths of experience.

The ones we went to for advise or the yearly Thanksgiving dollar are now gone. Their roles have been replaced by a new generation.

The ones that toddled along hand-in-hand, now have toddlers of their own.

The red dirt streets of Roby that once echoed with the screams of laughter every November, now are only disturbed by the passing tumbleweed. They have been replaced by mountains and beaches. The laughter is the same. The touch football games that helped the turkey settle, have now been replaced by the after-dinner phone calls; the Novembers with July's.

The ones we came from, the teachers, the soldiers, the engineers, the mothers, the fathers.....they are memories. But we don't remember the teacher, we remember the hugs. We don't remember the soldier, we remember the laughs. We don't remember the engineer, the remember the heart. We do remember the mothers and fathers.

This weekend is another Hambright family reunion. We will miss the ones that can't be with us. We will laugh with the ones that can. We will love them all.

Help me help you!

I have gotten FAT!

Any of you that have seen me in the last few years are already well aware....

I have also gotten fed up with complaining about it so this summer I have really gotten busy doing something about it. I started eating better and working out more....

What?

Ok yeah I could have taken the "more" out and left that sentence just "I started eating better and working out" and it would have still been true....geez give a girl a break!

Anyway, I have done pretty good this summer...I have lost over 20 lbs!!

(pause for all the screams of congratulations and applause)

Oh, thank you! Stop! Really! Oh, you're too kind.......don't stop!

However, my weight loss has started to plateau and I CAN'T have that....so today was my first session with my personal trainer Helen...aka Ass Kicker!

(You should know that it has taken me an hour and a half to type this much because even my fingers are sore.)

THIS WOMAN IS INSANE......and WAY too happy at WAY too early in the morning.

I met her at 9 am (ok...to all of you that are laughing now because you think that 9 is NOT early....I would just like to remind you that I am in college....where the average alarm clock rarely goes off before noon and bed time is somewhere between two and three a.m. ...for most that is because that is when the bars close....sadly for me that is just a coincidence.)

I will say this about getting to the gym at the crack of dawn (Mom, I left out my little saying there just for you!) it is pretty empty. So, I didn't feel like there were A LOT of people watching when she had me lay across a big ball and stick my LARGE butt up in the air to do some extremely painful exercises. However, the ones that are there look like entries in the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Christy Brinkley look-a-like contests.

Anyway, back to Helen....this chick was literally bouncing off the walls, and by the end of my hour I wanted to bounce her off the walls....and I would have....if I could have lifted my arms.

But seriously, she was great. I only wanted to maim her about half the time and lucky for her it was the second half so I couldn't have even if I really wanted to. I know that she will help me get back to the healthy girl I used to be.

SOOOOOO....I am really going to put myself out there....all mumble mumble cough cough pounds of me, and let you all hold me accountable. I submit to you all my before picture....



Oops.....wrong one.....here we go....



And hopefully there will be an after picture fairly soon to follow.....wish me luck!!!

As God as my witness...As God as my witness....

Ok guys....the search for the perfect place to live is (hopefully) coming to an end.

Yesterday I put down a deposit and turned in an application on a 1-1 (that's right...just me and Chloe) in south east Austin.

No, it isn't very pimp....quite frankly it's a little more hooker than pimp, but it will be home.

And....it is not even close to some of the EXPENSIVE hovels I was shown in the past week. I looked at a place that boasted a walk in closet. However, sitting right smack dab in the middle of that closet....the freakin hot water heater! Who designed this...seriously?

Another one did not have ANY overhead lighting, so they had rigged lighting and fans with their cords stapled down the walls. Obviously these were not controlled by switches in the walls...oh no...one would have to come home every day and walk around the house to PLUG IN THE LIGHTS. All this could be yours for the low monthly payment of 600/mo plus utilities and pet rent. (Don't even get me started on pet rent!)

But, this wasn't even the worst one....oh no...

In quite a few 1-1's you have to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom (not mine by the way) so any guest you have is going to see your messy bedroom....ok....maybe the messy part is just me....but still...

However, in one I looked at, not only did you have to go through the bedroom, but also the closet! And I don't mean one of those cool passthroughs like in Carrie's apartment in Sex and the City.....oh no....you open the closet door....and the walk through to the back and open the other door to get to the bathroom....guy's...it's a hidden room! (and that's not a very good room to hide)

And how do you explain how to get to the bathroom? "Yea, just go into my bedroom, and open the closet door. Try not to trip over my dirty laundry. Then go to the back of the dark creepy closet to the other door that looks like something out of Silence of the Lambs and it's right through there. If you get lost, take a right at the high heels!"

What the .... come on now!

But hopefully all this horror is now at an end! Lets all pray that my application goes through and I get my wonderfully, only slightly scary, apartment!

I joined narcissist.com!

Hi Readers!!!!

I have taken my mother's advise ... as I am usually apt to do ... and I have started blogging FOR REAL.

I love this outlet! Many of you that know me, know that I LOVE to talk. I can talk much longer than most people care to stick around and listen. So, this is GREAT! I can "talk" to my heart's content on here. Of course, in my head you are all clamoring to your computers every day to see if I have left you some new pearl of wisdom (not likely) or some humorous anecdote to make you smile (much more likely).

In reality, I would love for you guys to be as receptive as you have been on the-site-who-won't-be-named (yes Mindy, there's some Potter reference for you). But since blogger.com could be renamed narcissist.com and be just as descriptive, you should know, this really isn't about you.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the feedback! PLEASE I NEED TO FEEL YOUR LOVE!!!

Ok, in all seriousness I am really excited about this so we'll see how it goes!

I am re-posting most of my other posts from that other site....and then the chaos begins!!!

Toga! Toga!

My friend Kayla just moved to Austin and I am super excited!

Our parents have been friends FOREVER...so the same is pretty much true for us.....as we got older, we saw each other less and less, but I am not worried about us getting along! We got along great....I have the pictures to prove it!

(Sorry Kayla....but you can't be mad! Your mom sent them!)

When we were around each other, there was nothing we wouldn't do....


We played together....


I am the hula girl....Kayla is the pumpkin....

We even bathed and slept together!


(I am the one on the right....)




(Mom...why am I wearing a toilet paper shirt?)

I think now we will stick to playing together :).....but we worked it then!

Ok....it is true....sometimes we didn't get along....but we were very mature for our ages, so our moms knew just what to do.....

Me with my beer.....



Kayla with hers.....dang girl....chug it!



Here's to many more good time! Glad you are here Kayla!

This IS my game face!

Today was amazing!

As many of you are well aware, I have been looking for a new place to live. In August we are moving out of our house and Chloe and I are gonna be homeless :(.

But today, the most amazing thing happened. I went to the local coffee shop and had coffee with my friends (because that's what we do). It was a typical afternoon. Joey was eating a sandwich, hitting on all the pretty women. Phoebe was singing and playing her guitar. Ross was going on and on about dinosaurs. Monica was cleaning up the crumbs from Chandler's muffin and Chandler was cracking jokes about Ross' dinosaurs.

I told my friends about looking for an apartment and Chandler made some crack about finding a place with Ugly Naked Guy across from Monica's apartment. Ross offered for me to move in with him, but ever since he hid the fact that we were still married, I have been a little wary there.

But then, Joey invited me to live with him! I am so excited (of course I will make him re-hang the shower curtain, but still....)!

What?

What do you mean that's not me? Of course it is!

Oh yeah...Rachel....huh....

Ok, so maybe I don't have her life, and I am STILL looking for a place to live, but I do have her hair!

New haircut!