2007 - 30 Years in 30 Days

I've been looking forward to this year to blog about since I started this. When I heard about the idea from Lauren, I thought it was genius. And then when I thought about 2007...I was so excited. This is the best year of my LIFE. I can already tell you now this will be the longest blog I have ever written as there is so much going on. If you need a snack, something to drink, or bathroom break..take it now. Here we go! Are you ready??

The year started off in Las Vegas, Nevada. A group of us flew out to Vegas to spend New Years together. We got a room at Balley's and it was awesome! Not the room, the trip. It's kind of sad though because on New Years Eve I fell in the limo:

and I dropped my camera case when I did this. So when I picked it up and put my camera back in...the memory card from the first 3 days fell out. The only pictures I have from that trip are from that night. Which honestly, if you are going to loose all put one night of a Vegas trip pictures..the ones you want are your NYE ones. I was very upset about this lost memory card as you can see.

But I was soon over this loss and it was on to celebrate the new year of 2007!!!

This is Katie (who always seems to have her eyes shut) Christy in the back being festive, and then Ashley on my right being just as excited about the night as me. The next story is very near and dear to Ashley's heart. You see, Ashely loves Vince Vaughn. He was in town doing his Wild West comedy show at Mandalay Bay. We had made it over there and I was trying to track down the limo with my lost memory card. I was walking back into the hotel and texting. Not watching where I was going, I walked straight into Vince Vaughn. Right into his chest, sloshed his drink. I looked up and said, "hey Vince!" held up my camera and said, "can I have a picture?" he looked at my mess of a hot self and said, "I'd rather not". He then turned to walk away. I got rejected by Vince, but that's ok. I managed to snap this picture of his back as he walked away up to the Foundation Room.

27 days later the most precious thing came into my life. My Niece. My sister had told us that she was having a girl, but they weren't telling us her name. I was anxious to know the name and had asked Jill if I would like it. She had said to trust her I would love it. So I did. And sure enough, Casey came walking out of the hospital hall and annouced that Reese Mary was here. Reese. When Jill and I were younger we loved the movie Man in the Moon with Reese Witherspoon and would talk about how much we loved that name. It was perfect, and so was she:

In this picture above she looks just like me! That is a picture of me in my baby book the week I was born.

It was then time for my birthday! I was turning 27. I love the resturant Cremona's here in Dallas. It burnt down in 2008 and I cried. But it has since been rebuilt in uptown and I just ate there on Tuesday. Off to Cremona's we went for my 27th birthday with all my friends. Karen and I laughed so hard that night, we had the biggest giggles. There was a picture taken of us laughing and it looks like the perfect ad for shampoo. The flash made our hair look shiney!

Less than a week later it was time to go see Christina!! I love Christina Aguliera. She was coming to the AAC and I was going to hear/see her live. I couldn't wait. Karen was going with me so we ate dinner first and then went. While we were waiting, Pussy Cat Dolls was the opening act. They were ok, nothing to exciting. I really needed to go to the restroom but was afraid I was going to miss Christina. After much deliberation, I left. As I was walking back to my seat in the hall OUTSIDE of the center I hear a roar of cheers. The lights go dark inside and I freak out. No! I am not going to miss this. I ran down the hall of AAC, the security people were telling me slow down, I didn't care. I ran down the stairs (surprised I didn't fall) and push my way down the aisle. The look on Karen's face said it all, "I was so scared you weren't going to make it!". I was too. And then.....she came out. Singing and walking down these steps. I know so many people may laugh at me, but I was overwhelmed with hearing her God giving talent of a voice live and seeing her that it brought tears to my eyes. It was awesome!! Happy Birthday to Me!

It is then one to St. Patrick's Day! It's a big production here on Greenville Ave. They have a 5k race, parade, and everyone just stays out all day. This year I did the race and then met up with Karen and Shelley at Shelley's house off of Greenville. Her brother lived across the street from her and they would have a big house party every year with a band, and brisket tacos. We got out our lawn chairs and just baked in the sun. By 5pm, I was hungry. Because it made sense, I ordered a Cheese and Mushroom pizza from Domino's and told them the address. Almost 2 hours later, they show up and drive right by the house. I kid you not, I was so hungry and still in my running gear from that morning...I ran down the street after the delivery guy! How embarrasing. But I got my pizza and it was great.

Next was summmer time. Karen and I kicked off summer by going to Sundance Square in Ft. Worth for the 8.0's Texas Summer Series. 2 of her friends that she had met before joined us and this was the start of the best summer together. We went every Wednesday night! We had a routine down. Go to Karen's, get a pedi (every other wed), get the Chick-fil-a, and then back to her place. Eat, get ready and off to Ft. Worth we would go. Meet up with Billy and Clint and get buckets of Miller Chill. This was a regular deal the whole summer and man was it fun!

This was also the summer we fell in love with Roger Creager's music. And I want to make sure I'm clear on that, we fell in love with his MUSIC, not him. So naturally we went to every concert he had that year and became friends with the band. Duh! Then I took a brief break from Texas and went back to Oklahoma for Wes's wedding. Congratulations Wes and Julie! I had such a wonderful time and it was a great wedding. Thank you for having me a part of your special day.

Summer was coming to a close and it was time for one last Hurrah to our wonderful time. My old boss/friend has a condo on Lake Travis in Austin that she lets me use every once in awhile. Very nice of her and a good time. Karen and I took off a Thrusday from work and drove down to Austin in my Jeep. Top Off. It was sooo hot and sticky, but it was part of the adventure. I remember on the way back we saw goats in the back of a truck on a trailer...only in Texas. Anyway, we stopped at the grocery store before we headed into town, aka, Lago Vista, TX. We stocked up on goodies and drinks for the next 4 days. Right away we got on our bathing suites and went down to the Beach Club to chill by the infinite pool. And no...I'm not posting those pictures, but they are funny. We spent all afternoon there and then went back to the condo to grill out for dinner. And grill, I mean using a george forman. I must say, for this trip being just the 2 of us we did pretty good with our picture shots! The next day we went Kayaking on Lake Travis. Ok - there is a hilarous story of me loseing my contact the morning of and I thought I would have to wear my glasses on the lake. I know this makes no since and sounds really weird, but I found my contact as we were walking out the door. On Karen's calf. yeah, you read that right. We still to this day have no idea how that happened!! But we found it, and off we went on the Lake. We did get stuck in a bush and couldn't get out. Poor Karen was half under the bush and I couldn't stop laughing. The guide had to come rescue us, the 40+ years olds on the same tour didn't think it was that funny.

Fall was started off by the last Texas Country Concert Festival, Red Dirt Roundup. It is at the Ft. Worth Stockyards and usually is headlined by Cross Canadian Ragweed. This was also when Karen and Josh offically started dating. I also started dating someone, but they are so not worth mention that Karen and refer to him as "Ugh". So that was when Karen and our time of crazy single girls in the Summer of 2007 came to an end. It was by far the best time of my life! There are so many other stories that I would love to tell, but this would seriously turn into a novel instead of a blog.

In August of 2007 I quit working for Clark Consulting, Goodbye Karen, and went back to work for Centex. However, Centex Contruction had been sold to Balfour Beatty Construction and had seperated from Centex Corp. Thus the reason why I was asked to come back. Centex Corp handled all of Centex Constructions Benefits. That was my old job there, so now that they were on their own, my old boss asked if I would come back and help. Of course I gladly came back. Not b/c I was unhappy at Clark, but because I was getting to do more of what I enjoyed, plus I was coming back with a different title, etc. Not long after working there I went with a co-worker to look at the townhome she had just closed on just east of downtown. It was so pretty. I want one!!! I closed on my townhome 5 doors down from her on December 18, 2007. It is 2 stories and I had hardwoods put in and the stairs changed. The transformation:

The year has come to an end. I said goodbye with my last Jingle Booze in an apartment. Back at Adam Hats! Goodbye 2007! I love you, it was amazing year for me. Thank you for all your adventures and the wonderful memories.

2006 - 30 Years in 30 Days

This year in May when my lease was up I moved back downtown to Deep Ellum. I lived in another loft called Adam Hats. It was an old Hat Mill. It was pretty cool. I loved this place! Most people in or around the area refers to it as the Murder Lofts. And that means excatly what it sounds like. There was a very tragic murder that happened in there years ago. I'm not going to tell the story b/c it is very tragic and involved children. However, it is were I lived so it must be a part of the blog. Here is the building: Shortly after I moved in there I moved jobs. I heard of a job opening at a company called Clark Consulting. I had heard nothing but great things about the company as well as the people who worked there. Well, all but one. I had "heard" of this girl Karen that worked there and how just awful she was. LOL - Whatever!!! As soon as I started working there we sat across each other at Hurricanes on Greenville for a company outing. Someone brought of the subject of pet Cats. Next thing you know, Karen and I are comparing stories of how cute our cats are and how we love their personalities. We were instant friends and the person that said she was awful...we were instantly not friends once she found out I thought Karen was cool. This picture is the only one I have of us from 2006. It is from the company holiday party and it cracks me up b/c I totally look naked in this picture!

Also, while at Clark, Imet Lauren Knight. She had family in Oklahoma so we had a common interest. She came up to me in the war room my first week and introduced herself. Was very friendly and welcoming. I was really happy to be working at such a nice company. That fall we took a road trip to Stillwater to watch the A&M/OSU game. She had never been to Joe's so that was a fun treat for the both of us. Lauren now has moved to Tulsa and is engaged! We have lost touch, but have great memories of our friendship.

This was also the year that I started dating Josh. He had worked at Centex for a little while in the Benefits Department and we hit it off in the file room when he made a joke about the name Barthlomew. I remember it so clearly b/c it was so funny. I was making copies and he was filing old paperwork. He stopped, looked up at me and said, "Barthlomew. If I had a cat I would name him Barthlomeow." I died laughing. Best humor! We laughed a lot together. Hubert's Keys. Mustardviors. hehehe. We dated on again off again for close to a year, then called it quits. Don't talk much these days, but we left on good terms.

Now when Josh and I stopped dating, I continued to be friends with some of the girlfriends I had met through him. One of them was Lauren McCann. I think the picture below tells how our friendship was. We would go out together and just be CRAZY. There was this one time at..oh my..I have forgotten the name. It is gone now. It was in West Villiage by Taco Diner. It is Social House now. I think it was called Nikki or something? You walked in and went downstairs. Very seedy and dark. Well, we went there once and we were having such a good dance party, Lauren started walking on the WHITE leather sofa's. Why we thought that was ok?? I don't know. And there are many other stories.

2006 was a good year. 2007....that is my FAVORITE year of my life when it comes to just having fun with friends. The summer of 2007. Can't Wait.

2005 - 30 Years in 30 Days

On January 26, 2005 Eli Cohen Iida Overstreet was born.

Son of Aric and Masami. I was so excited. He was and still is such a cute kid! He went to his first Mavs game with me and I will always remember it even though he may not. But we took tons of pictures. He was only 4 months old!! He did great! Cheered on the fans and was happy. Just like he is today, always happy. Here's to Eli and 2005!!!

side note: still living in Lakewood at this time and still working for Centex.

2004 - 30 Years in 30 Days

Twenty Four was my age at this time. I was still working at Centex and living downtown. My lease was up in May though, and decieded I should probably start saving some dough. I kind of charged up my life the summer of 2003. I was alone and slightly depressed I'm sure.

In May I moved to Lakewood which is just east of downtown. It is a really cute little area of Dallas. Still is Dallas, just referred to as Lakewood. Ashe really liked this place b/c it had stairs and overlooked the pool. He could sit outside and bath in the sun will listening to the waterfalls of the water. Such a happy cat. This is also the place that he locked me out of my apartment! I had a little stool by the front door that I put my purse on. Somehow, he got on that and was touching the deadbolt with his paws. Put all of his weight on it and locked the door. I came home and I couldn't get in. I was creeped out b/c I'm on the 2nd story and live alone. I called Christian who I was still dating, he told me to call the cops and he was on his way. The Dallas Police, and Fire Department show up. They put a latter up to the balcony and breakin my door. It was like a movie.

They ran in, guns drawn yelling, "Dallas PD! Come out with your hands up!!" Seriously, they were running through my place! I mean how else does an apartment get locked from the inside unless someone is in there??!! Apparently it happens when Ashe lives there. That was the last time I put a stool by the door. A little embarrasing.

Here is a picture from Jingle Booze 2004. It was started in 2003, but I don't have any pictures to upload of 2003.

2003 - 30 Years in 30 Days

I don't have that many pictures from this year. And am kind of ok with that. Work was really stressing me out so was life. Things weren't looking to good for Troy and I and I really didn't have that many friends besides the ones I worked with. (still love you Aric and Sami). As you saw from the previous years I had always lived in the country. I really, really wanted to live in downtown Dallas. That was a dream of mine to have a loft someday. Like in the movie Big. I really wanted that. My lease for my apartment was up in May. I started looking downtown. My job was about 10-15 north of downtown Dallas off of Regal Row and 35 for those who live here. Troy's job was in the heart of Denton. From Denton to downtown Dallas is easily an hour, even more with traffic. I didn't want to live that far away from him, but I wasn't going to live with him either. I wanted my loft. I found the one I wanted. I was so excited. I was moving in the last week of May. Here are some pictures of the place. Of course, not personal ones, but what they looked liked. I LOVED living there. The roof top deck was fun at night!

Long story short....Troy got an apartment in downtown Denton. A place that doesn't allow animals. I didn't plan on keeping Ashe, he wasn't MY cat. He was his! But I wasn't going to let Ashe go to a shelter. So, Ashe moves in with me. Troy helps me move to my new place. He goes on a float trip with his buddies from college....annnnnnnnnnnnd we broke up. That was it. Just done. He left and we didn't talk for over a year. But we are friends again and all is good. It was a hard thing to do for both of us, but we both know it was suppose to happen and don't regret it one bit. Good 5 years together. Oh' I almost forgot! This is the second reason I hated Ashe. I got stuck with him when I didn't want him and he was a reminder of Troy all. the. time. But know I couldn't imagine my life without him.

So, in August of 2003 I quit my job at the catalog company and started working for Centex Corporation in the Benefits Department. That is where I learned soooo much. Things were starting to get better for with friends. I was going out more and meeting more people. I think it was that fall that I started dating Christian whom I had met through Aric and Masami and a bunch of other people that I worked with. I was very, very, very happy to see 2003 leave my life.

2002 - 30 Years in 30 Days

Ashe was born this year!!! May of 2002. My perfect furry friend Ashe that everyone thinks is evil...because he kind of is Ashe. I'll get to his story later. First of all, I would like to tell everyone how much I don't like Kodak Gallary. I have used them for years! As in since 2002. That was when I first got a digital camera so all pictures were there. Welllll, they are gone. I had to many pictures, so Koday said bye to them. Luckly I have them on my old computer that is boxed up at home. But the idea that I'm really going to go pull them for this...not going to happen. So the pictures I do have are the ones that I had printed before. I don't have any baby pictures of Ashe, so this one will have to do.

I loved my senior year of the spring. Troy had graduated and moved back home to Texas. I was left at school to have some good fun with my sorority sisters. Oh' we had fun. These pictures are so depressing b/c at the time I thought I was so fat. I would do anything to look like I did at 22 again. And I'm sure when I'm 40 I will look at pictures of myself at 30 and say the same thing. We are never happy with ourselves.

Ok - I graduated in May 2002 from Oklahoma State University with a BA in English Literature. I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. But I did know I wanted to be with Troy and he lived in Denton, TX. I was home the week before finals and all bummed b/c I didn't have a job, etc. My mom had just gotten this new catalog called Wisteria in the mail. I liked the writings and the items. So, I called and said I would like to work for them. They were based in Dallas. The call center manager, Noreen, called me back and we spoke. That weekend I made the drive to Dallas. Interviewed with Noreen...and got the job. I graduated on Saturday, moved to Lewisville, TX on Monday, and started my first job on Wednesday. It was crazy!!! I lived with Troy's parents until I had saved up enough money to get an apartment.

It was so cool to have my own place! I was so excited. I had zero furniture, so Troy's parents let me use their extra stuff. It was very nice as literally nothing in that apartment was mine besides the dishes, my computer, and clothes. Everything was his! Troy's birthday was in June (25th) and he was cleaning pools at the time for a company in Denton. He would tell me about this cat that would follow him around all the time at one location. He really wanted it, but of course...had no where to keep it. In comes me. So....for his birthday I told him he could get the cat and I would take care of it. I wanted to name him Asher, he wanted to name him Ashe and have the "e" silent so it was pronouced Ash. It was his cat...so Ashe it was. I hated Ashe for the first 2 years of it's life. First b/c he tore up everything including my hands/legs. And he peeeed on EVERYTHING. The second reason I hated him will have to wait until 2003.

My first summer in Texas was AWESOME! I loved living here and I loved the friends I was making. This is when I met Aric and Masami Overstreet. My dear, dear friends. I love hanging out with them still. Their family has grown!! But we must wait until 2005!

That Christmas was really hard on me b/c I didn't have Christmas Break like I was used to. Working for a catalog company, Christmas was our busiest time. I took at 6:30pm flight out on December 24th, spend the 25th with my family, and then took a 5:30am flight BACK to Dallas on December 26th so I could be at work at 8am. It was so depressing. I didn't like reality at all at this point.

But I had Ashe! In hindsight, things were starting to fade with Troy. We no longer had Date Parties, Football Games, and nights out on the strip to keep us busy. It was just us and jobs. There was very little to talk about. Of course I didn't see it that way at the time, we never do. My first year in the real world was complete! I had worked, gotten my own apartment, and moved out of Oklahoma. Wow - I'm tired.

2001 - 30 Years in 30 Days

This is more turning into 30 years in 20 days. It is really getting hard to do this every day. Obviously I'm not. I have to catch up to 2005!

In 2001 I turned 21! I went out to George's Stable with some girls. I do not remeber why I wasn't with Troy on my birthday, but I know he wasn't there. I remeber it was Cassie, Darcy, and I think Tricia. I know I had a little flashing necklace. I have a polaroid picture somewhere from Joe's of them giving me my free "21" birthday shot. Nothing too crazy stands out to me about this year until December. My sister got married!!

I only have 1 photo of that and it is at home. I didn't realize that I don't have a photo of my sister and me from her wedding until doing this. The 1 picture I have is the wedding party shot. Hmmm. Troy was graduating that December from OSU and his graduation day fell on the same day as Jill's wedding. I was so upset. I drove home Friday night, alone and did the whole rehersal dinner thing. It was fun. Then the next day was the wedding. It really did happen so fast. The whole thing is foggy. I know I didn't eat anything and I really don't remember who was there. What I DO remember is standing up there thinking how pretty Jill looked. I remember helping her change into her "going away clothes". They left. I then got in my car, bridesmaid dress and all, and drove the 1hour drive BACK to Stillwater to see Troy. I had to miss his college graduation. He had to miss my sisters wedding. I was so excited to get back and have him see me in my dress. I called when I was about 30mins outside of Stilly. He didn't answer, I kept calling. He never answered. I remember going over to his apartment and no one being there. I sat there until about 11pm before they got back from the bars. I had no where to change clothes and I wasn't about to go to the bar in my dress. I don't know why at the time it was such a big deal to me, but I remember being so upset inside b/c I had drove all that way and left my sister's wedding to come celebrate his graduation. He didn't even wait on me to get back. Didn't matter. Funny to me now. I should have just drove back to the GPhi house and changed, duh! But...I guess that is what you do when you are 21 and in college.