Spring Break 2012

This past week was my first spring break of my college career. I road tripped to Gulf Shores, Alabama with a big group of Tri-Delts. It was a very diverse group of girls, but it turned out to be one of the most fun weeks of my life. After all of my hard work this semester so far, I was in dire need of a relaxing break on the beach with my girls. Our trip all started on Saturday Morning. We left College Station around 7:30 am, and I rode with Whitney Richmond, Madeline Corley, and Erin Briers. We had the most fun car ride ever… hands down. A 10 hour trip took us over 13 hours to complete. How’s that possible? Not too sure. We made a pit stop at “The Lucky Delta,” drove in 8 large circles, attempted to reverse on a one way ramp, halted on the highway with the Apples-To-Apples game flying into the dash board, ate three meals, and jammed the entire way. Eventually we met up with the remainder of our group at our condo in Orange Beach, AL. This condo was RIDICULOUS! It was three stories tall and slept 17 people. The condo was situated perfectly on the beach with two balconies, a tiki bar, a pinterest kitchen, and much more.  It was a perfect find. Immediately upon arriving, we had to have a group meeting to discuss the grocery list and the house rules. I wasn’t excited about following rules, because I was ready to let loose and have a memorable spring break with my sisters. The beginning of the week the weather was cloudy and had scattered showers. That was not the beachy weather we were looking for by any means, but we spent the day relaxing and working out. Sunday evening, we went to dinner at Lulu’s as a big group and afterwards half of us headed to Gulf Shores. Orange Beach was more of a family-friendly atmosphere and Gulf Shores was where all of the college kids were for the week. We met up with some of our friends, learned alternative “house rules,”  spent time with the other massive group of A&M Tri-Delts, parked our car in the sand and got it stuck, and laughed the entire night. We quickly discovered that Gulf Shores was the place to be! The following day was still pretty gloomy, so we went to the Outlet Mall and shopped the entire day. Everyone bought super cute items and spent their pretty little pennies. It continues to amaze me how stylish my friends are. That night we had a Bachelor Finale Party at the condo. All of the Tri-Delts squeezed onto the couch and grubbed on some spaghetti and meatballs. It was a much-needed relaxing night with all my girls. On Tuesday, the sun was finally shining and it was a “Gulf-Shores” kind of day. We spent the day there and hopped from darty to darty (“Darty”=Day Party). Every sorority and fraternity from every single university had a house in Gulf Shores during Spring Break. When you walked up and down the beach, you saw college kids partying everywhere. When I was younger and I imagined “college life,” THIS was exactly what I pictured. Our little group was able to hang out with the other Tri-Delts, see some of our other friends, and meet plenty of new people. We had a good ol’ time during the day and Whitney, Erin, and I headed BACK to Gulf Shores for the night.  Every single thing I did with those girls this week, I was laughing the entire time. We chilled with the Tri-Delts, spent time at the Beta house until they were evicted, and met Texas Delts on the beach. It was an interesting night to say the least. We had a blast at Gulf Shores, but Wednesday was by far my favorite day of the trip! We were at Orange Beach the entire day. We took pictures in our Delta Tanks, found a jelly fish, sipped on some Piña Coladas, jumped the waves, played BP in the sand, met random people, and soaked up every minute of the sun. At night, we got all dressed up and went to dinner at Live Bait. Our table felt like we were on a cruise ship and Whitney was hit on by the waiter. Afterwards, we went to Flora-Bama. This could possibly be my most favorite place in the world. It seriously ROCKED! Flora-Bama is situated in Pensacola, FL—on the border between Florida and Alabama. It consisted of 7 bars and two live bands. I danced the entire night and never stopped. This was like a date party with my Tri-Delta sisters, but much better because I didn’t have to worry about a silly date. The band was unbelievable and the entire night was unforgettable. We returned to the house after midnight and partied like little rock stars. We had girl talk on the beach and I loved every single crazy second of it. The last day was the most relaxing day yet. I laid out on the beach the entire day until the sun went down. The weather was perfect and the sound of the ocean was so relaxing. I had my toes in the sand and life was good. Our last night in Alabama, we went to a restaurant called Lamberts. It is nationally known for throwing rolls at people and it was the coolest restaurant I’ve ever been to in my entire life. The place is very famous and absolutely delicious. We all left completely bloated, but it was so worth every lick of apple butter. The original plan was to drive back on Friday morning, but somehow Whitney and I convinced the entire house to drive throughout the night (still not sure how we pulled that one off). As we were squeezing five girls’ luggage and five girls into the scion, we decided to be polite and say good bye to the rest of the gang. As we ran up the stairs, the coffee pot broke, someone threw up, and all hell broke loose. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Despite the drama and inevitable division in our house, we had a great time together. We made the most of every situation and did whatever made us happy. We knew this was our break from school and we were there to have fun… and I promise you we had a blast! I wish I could document every inside joke, every quote from Whitney’s mouth, every rule, every awkward situation, everything about this trip. There were a whole lot more details for every story, but the blog can only reveal the basics. Spring Break was interesting, CRAZY, irritating, relaxing, and by far one of the most fun weeks of my entire life. It was a full week of Delta Delta Delta and I loved every second of it.

^^Not exactly our "house rules," but I thought these were hilarious!^^

Our Biggest Loser

My incredible mom, Debbie Engle, was named THE BIGGEST LOSER today! For the past 9 weeks, she has been participating in a weight loss competition at her school. She lost 17.2 lbs!!! As for the Engle Family... ALL WE DO IS WIN.

FISH CAMP REVEAL

On Monday morning, I found out that I was chosen to be a part of Fish Camp 2012!!! I am so excited to see where my journey as a counselor takes me this year and I couldn’t be more thankful to be a part of one of the greatest traditions surrounding Texas A&M. There were almost 2,000 applicants and I am confident that the co-chairs carefully selected hundreds of incredible counselors to make this year amazing. Thursday, March 8^th was Counselor Revelation in Rudder Auditorium. I was instructed to dress up as my favorite animal, so naturally I chose to be a Flamingo. There are few things I enjoy more than being able to dress up in a random costume! I arrived at Rudder alongside several of my friends from MSC FISH. It was highly entertaining watching all of the various wardrobe choices. There were animals, ninjas, old people, robots, Disney characters, holidays, rock stars, pirates, and so many more. We signed in and were handed a name tag—which consisted of several random letters and a random word. At this point, I couldn’t have been more confused. We all scattered into the auditorium anxiously awaiting the reveal of our camp, co-chairs, color, session, namesake, and fellow counselors. They started off the night with a pep talk from the head director of Fish Camp followed by an inspirational speech from my professor, Ben Welch. They reminded me of why I chose to be an Aggie and the spirit that can never be told. We are here, dedicated and ready, to welcome the fighting Texas Aggie Class of 2016. We all chose to be here for a reason, because we have similar passions. We may be from different backgrounds and be involved in different organizations, but there is one thing that unites us all. We are Aggies and we are a family. Ben Welch received a standing ovation and I couldn’t have been more proud to say he is my professor this semester. The night continued on and everything started to be unveiled. I was placed into Session B GREEEN—CAMP DUKE! My co-chairs names are Britni Williamson and Will Garnett. They seem so great and I can’t wait to get to know them so much better! As for my fellow counselors… it is the most amazing group of people all placed into the same camp. I don’t know them yet, but I can tell by their enthusiasm and excitement for Fish Camp and Texas A&M that we are going to become best friends real fast. There are several people from MSC FISH in my camp; including Landon Sikes and Stephanie Stryker. Will, my co-chair, and two other counselors are old school FISH. Needless to say, there are fishes swimming all around Camp Duke! I cannot begin to explain how excited I am to get to know all these people so much better. Our journey as a camp and as a family has just begun. We have so much to look forward to the rest of this semester, this summer, and next year. I know that we are going to make an impact on the incoming freshman and I can’t wait to give them a small taste of this incredible University. Fish Camp not only eases their transition into college, but it also turns their blood maroon. Let the brainwashing begin! Green is one of my favorite colors. Our co-chair (and his children) are absolutely precious. And I am already in love with my camp. SO STINKIN’ THANKFUL AND PUMPED TO BE A PART OF FISH CAMP 2012!!!



Armadillo Dash 2012

This morning I completed my SECOND Half-Marathon in Aggieland and proved to myself once again that I was stronger than 13.1 miles. This time around was much different than my first race. I signed up for the Armadillo Dash through the influence of my Tri-Delta officer partner, Lauren Paine. It was only a couple days after I completed my first race in Sugar Land, and I’d like to think I was still having a “runner’s high.” This semester has been unbelievably busy for me and training for another race was icing on top of the cake. I am committed 110% to whatever I sign up for… and the Armadillo Dash was no exception.  I created a training schedule and plastered it on my desk. I missed a few runs, but crossing off each day was my greatest source of daily accountability for staying in shape. I established a few new goals for a new race…

-          First and foremost, place the Lord and your schoolwork above all else.

-          Stick to your training and work hard EVERY SINGLE RUN!

-          Eat healthy and stay hydrated.

-          If you miss a run, move on.

-          RUN for the LORD—to reveal his glory, strength, and power.

-          Cross the finish line strong and IMPROVE your time

I am proud to say that I accomplished all of those goals that I set out for myself (including improving my time). I finished in 2 hours and 10 minutes, which was six minutes faster than my Half in Sugar Land. Maybe one day I’ll be able to do it under 2 hours! I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of my friends and family. Although my family wasn’t able to come to College Station for my race, I had familiar faces surrounding me. I was excited to know that four other people in my life were running the half-marathon as well; Lauren Paine, Jake Boudreau, and the Mullers. My favorite part of the race was running approximately 4 miles with Diane Muller and her Dad. Their fast pace and positive attitudes influenced me to keep up with them. At mile 10, I was tired and tempted to take a break. However, I looked to my left and saw Grace, Jessica, and Kevin cheering me on from the sidelines. It was the exact push I needed to finish this race strong and I couldn’t have been more thankful for their support. At the finish line, Katy Lowery, Ira Barnes, Erin Briers, and several other friends were eagerly awaiting for me as well. At the exact moment I crossed the finished line, a lovely runner to my right started vomiting everywhere. It was absolutely and completely disgusting, but it was memorable and I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically. That’s one way to finish off your second race. We took pictures and celebrated with a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Thirteen point one miles felt like nothing this morning, so now I have two races under my belt and I am determined to take on the Full.

 

This weekend was filled with so many pictures and memories that I had to extend this blog post. On Friday night, I went to my first fightin' Texas Aggie Baseball game at Olsen Field-Blue Bell Park. It was an incredible night at the ballpark with all of my best friends. I learned some new cheers, our Aggies won, and needless to say I will be going back very soon. On Saturday, a group of people in MSC FISH participated in FLO-CUP. It was a coed soccer tornament amongst all of the other FLOS. We finished in 2nd and had a team full of outstanding talent. I enjoyed every second of supporting them all Saturday afternoon!!!