O.C.T.O.B.E.R. Halloween is coming near.

• Since my last post:
  Chris didn't get the job at Underwood (still a sore subject, but when God closes a window he opens a door, right?)
• We got another puppy, Oxford.
• We discovered the most fun place EVER, Top Golf
• Taylor is about to become Mrs. Clayton Smith
• I am getting a new car!!!

Ok, so our new puppy, Oxford aka OX, is the fattest, sweetest, orneriest puppy I have ever met... & I am in love. He is such a sweet addition to our little family. He and Ollie get along famously and are already the best of friends.

Taylor gets married this weekend! Taylor gets married this weekend! I had such a blast at her bachelorette party last weekend & am so excited to celebrated her marriage this coming weekend.

Top Golf= Awesome fun. It's like bowling & the driving range mixed together. You're outside, playing golf, buckets of beer & good friends. We went with Wally & his rommate & had a blast.

Chris has been back twice since then.

Ps... I beat the boys :)

My car should arrive between 6&7 tonight. Wahoooo. The X-Box was having some major issues (overheating in cool weather, or in a drive through) & instead of sinking more money into it we decided to just trade it in. Sooo I am the proud owner of a black 2010 SE Pathfinder.

I've decided to add a new portion of my blog entitled, "Why I love my husband." I often times find myself thinking, "& this is why I love my husband." So why not share, right?

&&& I love my husband because he surprises me with dark chocolate & a snuggie after a long night out with the girls :) Here's a photo in case you've never heard of a snuggie (it's a blanket with arm holes :))

Mamma Mia/ Lawton, OK/ Trip to AMA/ VEGAS/Britney Spears

It's been a while...A long while. Life got pretty crazy pretty darn quick. I can't complain, because I know we are slowly falling back into our "Chris is back in school, we can't go anywhere, Shanna might go stir crazy in Dallas" routine. So I am happy to say that we took advantage of our weeks leading up to Chris's return to school. Where do I start??

The weekend after the Tebow wedding the Davis/Smith wedding showers started. Talk about no break between these 2! Saturday August 28 Clayton's family friends threw them a couples shower in Lawton. It was a very nice shower (out by a pool w/ a fun little bar area) with lots of young couples. Very fun.

The night before we ventured to Lawton Chris and I went to see Mamma Mia here in Dallas. We were supposed to go on August 22 with the Jones clan, but I had brain fart and double booked that weekend (Tebow wedding was also that day). I really enjoyed it.

That night we also got to go to Addison to see Wally and his new apartment. It is always great to meet up with old friends.

**Flash Forward to Labor Day Weekend**

Sooooo for a couple weeks my dad had been talking about us all going to Ruidoso for Labor Day. It wasn't until the week before that he called me asking if we'd rather go to Vegas. Hello!! Vegas? Duh! So we did it. We made a last minute, impulse, trip to Vegas.

While we were in Vegas we got to go eat at Nobu, Sushi Samba & Margaritaville and go see Jay Leno and Santana perform. We are so lucky to have such fun parents!

On our first afternoon there I was walking through the lobby of the Palazzo (where we stayed) alone & lost searching for the way to the room. I finally gave up and went to the front desk to ask how the heck to get to the guest rooms. When they finally headed me in the right direction I got an awesome surprise... I ran smack into TORI SPELLING. No lie. She was walking through our hotel casino with her husband Dean (no Liam or Stella). I was in shock, but somehow managed to smile and say hello-- no picture, which I regret.

Immediately I tell Chris, who doesn't really care for her. (I think this is because of all the old school 90210 I have been recording lately--whoop whoop Donna Martin). So I called my parents & to my disbelief my father doesn't believe me. He thinks I imagined seeing her or just saw a random girl that resembled her. Ughhh. I so saw her!! Later that evening when we were in the elevator I see it; a sign stating, "Palazzo Pool Party with your hosts Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott." Done and done. I was right. Dad was wrong. 1 point Shan, 0 Dad.

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/entertainment/television/0908ToriDeanVegas

**Fast forward to September 11**

Chris got an interview! Chris got an interview! Friday September 11 Chris had an interview with Underwood Law Firm in Amarillo. Ahhhh Amarillo how I long to live in theeeee. It was a 4 hour interview followed by an informal cocktail hour at The Amarillo Club. To date we haven't heard back, but FINGERS CROSSED this will work out... but if it doesn't I KNOW things will be ok.

Going back for Chris's interview worked out perfectly for me. It was Canyon High Homecoming and Codi's first pep rally. I got to go watch Codi cheer at both the pep rally & the Homecoming game.

For Chris on the other hand, it was terrible timing. Chris and I drove to Canyon Thursday evening, he interviewed until 6 on Friday and then drove back to Dallas Friday night in order to make it to a negotiation competition that began at 7:30 AM on Saturday. Poor Chris!!

**Flash forward to September 18**

It's Britney biatch! Aly came into town for the Britney Spears concert. It was awesome & I would go again in a heartbeat. Ps.. Girl looks good after having 2 kids.

When you see a Woman...

This weekend was Tanner & Jillianne's wedding in Stillwater. It was Chris and my first time back to Stilly since our college graduation (over a year!). I thoroughly enjoyed getting to go back and visit some of our favorite spots & see how much things have (and haven't) changed. I was pleased to find out you can now drive through campus on Hall of Fame!!

The wedding itself was fun. The ceremony was outside on Willard Hall patio while the reception was at Wes Watkins Center. It was filled with lovely Kappa ladies & AGR boys.

One of my favorite Kappa traditions is the song we sing at weddings, When you See a Woman. It seriously makes me tear up every time I hear it. I love how our sisters gather in support of one another to give their blessing to the newlyweds. It is such a special tradition, unique to the greek community. I am so blessed for it to have been a part of our wedding.

When you see a woman

walking proudly down the way

and the memory of her loveliness

is in your heart to stay

If she makes you want to sigh

if she makes you want to cry

then you'll know

she's a Kappa lady

When you see a woman

standing humbly in a crowd

and her individuality

makes her look sincere and proud

if she makes you smile and say,

"I'd like to be her friend someday"

then you'll know

she's a Kappa lady

Kappa Kappa Gamma

Me and Taylor Davis--soon to be Smith at the Tebow wedding reception.

Mrs. Jillianne Tebow!

About Time!

This weekend Chris & I decided to have some friends from our Engaged & Newly Married class over for dinner. This pushed us to FINALLY do something with our spare room-- From the beginning I said spare bedroom & Chris said dining room. Chris won. We are now the proud owners of a new dining room table.

Although it was a rushed decision & the room still lacks some decorative items, I am very pleased with how it turned out. I still want to purchase a china cabinet to go in the corner of the room.

Friday night dinner was a success. I cooked shrimp asparagus pasta, fruit salad, & home made brownies. Delish. I got some sun on both Saturday AND Sunday, read an entire book, had dinner at Gloria's with my hubbie, & did a little shopping. It was seriously an amazing weekend. I enjoyed just being in Dallas and having no agenda.

It looks like our social calendar is filling up pretty quick, so I needed this weekend at home.

Oklahoma OK.

This weekend I made yet another trip to OKC. I went to Tulsa to stay with Whit on Friday & to OKC Saturday for Jillianne's bachelorette party.
As I was driving along I couldn't help but laugh at some of the town names. Here's a few of my favorites:

1. Okarche (Shout out to Eischen's Chicken)
2. Catoosa
3. Chattanooga
4. Chickasha
5. Okmulgee
6. Oolagah
7. Pawhuska
8. Talequah
9. Watonga
10. Wewoka

But my most favorite town of all in Oklahoma is.... STILLWATER!!

left to right: Kellie, Taylor, Jennifer, Jillianne, Mindy, Lynae, Meredith, Me, & Brittany

Things I Never Thought I'd Say

Over the past year I have cought myself saying things I thought would never come out of my mouth. It humors me to look back and reflect on how much has changed in just a year.

1. The state of Oklahoma has a special place in my heart.
2. I do not particularly care for the city of Dallas.
3. Working is actually enjoyable (90% of the time)
4. Getting out of college in 4 years was a dumb idea. What was my rush?
5. I have a need to nest. (i.e. buy a home, start a family)--
6. Amarillo/Canyon/The Panhandle is "home." Always will be
7. My dad and I are the same person, which explains a lot.
8. Quality > Quantity when it comes to friends
9. Money does not buy happiness.
10. I am self sufficient, happily married, a college graduate and gainfully employed at 23. Wow!

I Miss College.

This weekend was Trey Bowen's wedding in Tulsa. What a weekend!!! We headed to Tulsa around noon on Saturday, arriving just in time to run by Whitney's apartment (where we were staying) visit for a little while, change clothes and head to Catoosa for the wedding. The place the wedding was held was very pretty. It was really great to get to see old friends from college and talk about the good times.

After the wedding is when the real fun began. The chapel was like 2 minutes from the new Hard Rock casino, so we decided to go. Needless to say by the end of the night Austin sweet talked our way into the club with zero cover charge and no waiting in line, I found an iPhone (and lost it), Trey (the groom) was denied entrance to the club , Austin purchased 2 $150 bottles of Grey Goose for our table and we (Austin and I) were both escorted out (neither of us are certain why) Oh. what. a. night.