Crazy New Year and New Hope

WOW! Well, I was under the impression that I would be able to relax these last 4 weeks during the holidays! Boy was I wrong! I was so busy with school and work, that I thought I would finally get the opportunity to breathe once finals were passed. However, I think I was officially busier in these last 4 weeks than I have been all year. So I apologize for the lack in commenting on other blogs, and the little hiatus I have taken and will probably be taking for the next few days, because school is upon me once more. In officially 11 weeks, I will be graduating! That is right, one more quarter of little sleep and spending my time with my nose in my books, I will officially be a college graduate. This is a day that I am sure a lot of people, including myself, thought would never come. However, it is the perfect example of how perseverence and being able to brush off obstacles pays off!

I was sitting in church this Sunday with Foster and couldn't really focus on the scripture. Instead, I was reflecting on the last year of my life and the hope for the new year. It is amazing how strong the human mind can be. I have literally been to hell and back. I have been into some deep dark places that I honestly thought I wouldn't get out of, but yet I was sitting in church with this feeling of hope. I was holding Foster's hand, basking in the rays of light that were shining through the stained glass windows and smiling to myself. 2011 is sure to be a better year.

I am unsure of what to expect. I am nervous and apprehensive, but still hopeful. One year from now I could be sitting over in the "stan" or I could be sitting in my nursery holding a newborn. I could be wearing ACUs, toting around an M16, or I could be wearing baggy clothes to hide my newly deflated tummy while toting around a diaper bag. The unknown is scary, but it is also exciting.

My new year started out with a bang, and if my luck thus far is any indication to my luck for the rest of the year, I am ecstatic! On new years eve, my mother held her annual party. There were not as many people there this year as in years past, however, we still had a blast. By the end of casino night, my mom had raised around $135 dollars for Roses from Rosalynn. I felt so blessed, and this will be all that is needed before I can deliver my first 10 bags to OSU.

There was drinking, merriment, and a little tom-foolery. JJ and I spent hours playing a small table game of roulette. It was pretty entertaining, and we felt like we were back in Vegas. Blackjack was another of my favorite games that night, and I was actually getting the hang of it! Foster is not a fan of gambling, even if it is for charity, so he stuck to socializing and playing pool.

On New Years Day we headed over to Mr. and Mrs. Prince's house for some football and poker. Once again, I was the degenerate gambler, and Foster was my food runner and cheerleader. Actually, cheerleader is a bad word for it. Every time he came in the room he would make a snide comment about how small my chip stack was and kept asking, "I thought you were good at this game?"

All this did was encourage me to play better. I considered it more of a challenge to prove to him that I am a good poker player! Sure enough, Foster's lack in confidence caused me to win a $110 dollars on the first tournament spiltting the $220 pot with the other guy left of 7. Then, I told Foster to stay in the basement and continue to bash me for the second game. This one was only 5 of us, but again I split the pot with the same guy!! This was only $50, but hey, not a bad night if you ask me!

One of the highlights of the night, better than winning $160, was the time I got to spend with my favorite baby! Baby Prince is getting soooooo big, and I miss the regular time I get to spend with him. Any little time spent with Baby Prince is priceless to me.

I know this post is a little all over the place, but that is where my brain feels these last few days. I hope that everyone had a wonderful New Year, and I pray that we all have a great year ahead of us. I will post some of the pictures taken on NYE, but first I have to sort through them all. Ky thought it would be fun to confiscate my Canon, and took some RANDOM pictures. Some of them are hilarious and incriminating, so I will only pick the good ones as to not embarrass anyone too bad!