Well, what do ya know…

It’s a rematch in the SuperBowl.

Three FOUR years ago, I wrote this post… I think the Pats lost that game, though.

San Fran should have won the playoff game against the Giants, but it was not to be. Not this year.

So, it’s the New England Patriots and the New York Giants in Indy on February 5th.

I’ll watch the game, the commericals, and not watch Madonna ruin the halftime show. Really, there should be a kick ass metal band doing the halftime show, but I guess they have to be “family friendly” after the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake fiasco from 2004 (if memory serves…).

We shall see…

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I’m Stef and this is where it’s @ !~

Great. I’m sick.

Whatever it was that I’ve been trying to catch for MONTHS now, iI caught last weekend. Missed 2 days of school because of it, and now, I’m getting a sore throat, too.

This isn’t fun at all. I’ve got way too much to do to get sick now.

School is going great, & things are slowly starting to fall into place. Now, if I could just afford a car…

That’s the next goal… I’ll make it happen somehow.

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I’m Stef and this is where it’s @ !~

School starts next week

…and my sleeping patterns are all f’d up. Royally and completely f’d up.

The last really good sleep I got was when I got home from Mom’s after we (me, the boys, and Sarah) celebrated the new year. I went right to bed and slept like a freaking rock.

Ever since… fugeddaboutit! Go to bed too late, get up at like 1 or 2 in the afternoon because I had a nap the afternoon before. It’s an endless cycle I’d love to break.

And because I’m not sleeping well, I don’t feel like going outside (which I probably should do). I don’t want to live like a hermit, dammit! I just want to get better sleep!

So, sleepwise, 2012 is starting out like the end of 2011… with a sleep deficit.

Super!

Grrr…

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I’m (sleepy) Stef, and this is where it’s @ !~ 

C’mon 2012! Hurry your ass up!

Because the sooner you get here, 2012, the sooner school starts.

I’m just about ready for your predecessor, 2011, to take his butt on out the door into the past. I am so done with him! But, he gave me some of the most memorable experiences of the year– concerts, the summer from hell (literally! LOL), meeting new friends and reconnecting with those I’d lost touch with. Another year closer to my Bachelor’s, which I plan to have by December of 2012, unless something unforeseen gets in my way.

All in all, 2011 was a good year. Didn’t start out promising, but it got better in some spots, and not so great in others. That’s just life.

But, it’s time for an new slate called 2012. A whole new year to make my own with experiences only I could have.

And maybe, I’ll finish that trilogy of stories that I started in the late spring of 2010… when they’re finished, then the editing and refining and fixing begins. Who know how long THAT will take?!

I’ll find something appropriate for the NYE post, then go enjoy the last day of   2011… because, the future, dressed as 2012, awaits.

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I’m Stef, and this is where it’s @ !~

Christmas was…

Okay as far as Christmases go… got some nice stuff, met Dean’s niece, Violet, and played with the kitten that Tori stopped traffic on Reno for so Amalia could literally rescue him from the middle of the road. She wants to name him “Reno”.

The usual suspects were there. Dean’s sister Tyler (not Violet’s mama. His other sister, Sarah is the baby’s mama) and Sarah (Scott’s fiancee) got into a friendly argument about “Twilight”, and how those vampires are not like “real” vampires, i.e. Dracula.

We did our usual game of “Dirty Santa”, where I ended up with an Oklahoma State ballcap.

Much later, I went home and promptly fell asleep before my head hit the pillow. And this was AFTER I’d fallen asleep twice at my sister’s.

Go fig.

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I’m Stef and this is where it’s @ !~

O Holy Night

This is probably my most favorite of Christmas songs. And this version, sung by the incomparable Josh Groban, is absolutely beautiful. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

 

 

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I’m Stef and this is where it’s @ !~

Birthdays, Resolutions & Finals

Okay, please don’t shoot me for neglecting the blog…it’s been a rough semester.

Birthdays: Marc is now legal! He turned 18 on December 5th.

Daniel’s birthday is today (12/14)… add 10 to Marc’s age to get Daniel’s. He recently got a job which he seems to like better than the last one he had.

Now Christmas can begin LOL!

Resolutions: I usually don’t make these, but it seems important that I have some kind of goals to work toward. Sooo–

1) Save money. I seriously need to do this…

2) Get a job…anything to supplement what I’m already getting in Fin Aid.

3) Get a full health check. Some things happening to me lately scare the begeezus out of me.

4) Seriously work on getting my degree done by Dec. next year. That means I have to look into getting an internship & finish my pre-reqs. And go talk to the advisor I don’t like about all this.

Finals: only have 2 this semester. They’re on Thursday. One is

@ 11am…

The other is @ 6:30pm! Then I’m done & can worry about other things.

And I’ll try to update more often. Sound like a fair deal?

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I’m Stef and this is where it’s @ !~

STILL so busy I can’t think!

The end of the semester is nigh…

This is the busiest semester I’ve had in the three years I’ve been at UCO. I’m getting ready to lose my friggin MIND! I’ve never had so much due all at the same time!

Still, I wouldn’t trade it for anything…except a job in my field when it’s all over. Even before, if possible.

Then, there’s the little things… like last night-

I’m leaving my night class & I get outside and hear music. Not recorded music, but a lone tenor sax player, a student, just working the keys…weaving the sound into a melody. It was a jazz like jam, & he was out there alone in his own world. I went to watch, and he didn’t even know I was there.

It was magical.

But  I was tired and needed to get home. So, I walked toward the edge of campus until I could no longer hear him.

My own personal serenade…how nice. I was smiling all the way home.

I would’ve missed that if I didn’t take Media Ethics on Thursday nights.

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I’m Stef, and this is where it’s @ !~

“No more tears for girls…”

To preface this set of pictures, last week (Oct. 10-14) was Domestic Violence Awareness Week at the University of Central Oklahoma where I attend school. There had been a lot of stuff going on that week with Shack-a-Thon, which called attention to homelessness and food insecurity; Breast Cancer Awareness, and Domestic Violence Awareness.

I just happened upon this bulletin board by chance. As I stood there reading the few statements, quotes, etc., I found myself entranced by all these stories while tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t tear myself away for several moments. I knew I had to take pictures.

 

If you are in a situation where you are being abused, there is help available. If you have children, you especially need to get out. Call the local women’s shelter; the police; a friend; someone you can trust to help you. Many cities have hotlines set up for those in domestic abuse situations.

The number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1−800−799−SAFE (7233)…

You don’t have to live with it anymore. It’s not your fault.

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I’m Stef, and this is where it’s @ !~

I am an incredible egotist…

I wrote this and originally posted it to my Google+ page:

I am an incredible egotist… I sit in front of a blank computer screen and see stories that don’t exist; I hear conversations between people who only exist in my imagination; & dream of scenarios that may or may not happen in real life. I am an egotist in that I think that I can write words that other people would want to read. I wrote my first story when I was 4 or 5 years old about astronauts; my third grade teacher told my parents that I had a natural gift for writing.

I’ve been hooked ever since.

Maybe someday, one of my flights of fantasy will be published. Until then, I’ll keep writing because I love it so.

Okay, me again– Writing is one of those things that I love to do when I have the time to spare, yet I banged out a 1500 page manuscript in seven months last year. The follow up is taking much longer because other things have to come first….like school.

I write when I’m upset, depressed, angry, etc., and I feel better getting those feelings out in that manner. I don’t hurt anyone physically or hurt someone’s feelings when I’m out of sorts. I save it, most times, for the keyboard and the blank screen. If I can fill up that screen with my emotions and feel better, then I’ve done my job. I can either delete it or keep it for future reference.

One day, one of my “flights of fantasy” will see the light of day. Until then, it’s all mine.

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I’m Stef, and this is where it’s @ !~