The Holiday Season...

I have had a INCREDIBLE holiday season (meaning Thanksgiving and Christmas so far). 1st my boyfriend came back from Afghanistan safe and sound. My family is doing well, and my job is going pretty good as well. As Christmas gets closer, we are officially on Christmas break from school, and I get to spend time with my AWESOME boyfriend and WONDERFUL family. What could be better?!?!

For Thanksgiving break, I went to Georgia to see Jeff. It was my first time seeing him since he deployed back in April, so it was definitely a good reunion. Jeff surprised me and took me to Disney World which was one of my favorite vacations ever. We had a GRRRREAT TIME!!! I don't know of many trips that could top that, but right now just being able to be in Jeff's presence is more than enough.

I can't wait to see my family when I go home!!! I haven't been home to Andrews in quite a while, so I am looking forward to that. I can't wait to just get to chill during the break!!! :-)

Andrews Life...

I got to go home last weekend which was a lot of fun. Patrick, Chelsea and McKenna also came, so it was almost the whole family (Minus Landon and Jen). It is always nice to go home and have that "being HOME" mentality. I love my little niece... she is the cutest thing... of course all people think their babies are the "cutest things." I also got to see my little cousins which was nice. They are some of my favorites too! The weekend was uneventful, but a time for my family to have together...kinda nice!!!

Random stuff....

School has gone good so far. I think that the 2nd year of teaching is MUCH easier than the 1st year. I know what to expect and how to handle things a lot better. I really enjoy both my students and my players. My volleyball team is very young and inexperienced, but we have improved a lot throughout this season. They are really great girls and a lot of fun to be around.

I have learned that there is more to life than winning (Isn't that what most people, including me, who seem to lose a lot say?!?!).

Abbie came home last weekend and we got to hang out one night. Her nephew, Beckett, is SO CUTE!!! I am going to hook him up with McKenna, my niece!

The holidays are quickly approaching. I can't wait for the holiday season, and especially for Jeff to come home!! He should be home a couple of days before Thanksgiving.. That isn't that far away! YESSSSSSSSSSS :-)

Old Friends...

Jennifer and I were AAU teammates all through high school. We have kept in touch all through college and will definitely be lifelong friends. She is pretty talented at posing for serious, hard pictures, so we always take those... I can't do a "hard" face!! AHHH

Birthdays...

My friend Jennifer in the picture above, had a birthday dinner and had a HUGE turnout!! She had like 30 something people there. I think birthdays can be a reminder of how many people really care (or don't care) about you... ha that could be a good or bad thing.

Birthdays were always fun when I was younger. I would always get SO EXCITED to be one year older and have a big party and celebrate my life for another year. My birthday is next week and for some reason, I am not that excited about it. My birthday is on September 10th which is, yes one day before Sep 11 (although I was born way before this). I think I am not that excited because I don't have anything planned. People are supposed to go do stuff for their birthdays, but I don't really have much to do. I would LOVE to celebrate with my family or my boyfriend, but that isn't really possible, so I will pretend like they are around. I am about to turn 24 and that isn't really a significant year, but I'm sure it will be great!

The job I have and the life I live....

I teach and coach at Putnam City West High School in Oklahoma City. The picture above are most of my volleyball girls. They are GREAT!! PC West is an interesting school, to say the least. Although not having a great tradition in athletics here lately, I have some really great kids. I coach volleyball, basketball, and golf (even though I am still learning the game of golf). I teach Algebra and that is an experience. My classes have been pretty decent so far. My volleyball team is young and we are still learning, but they are a lot of fun.

Coaching and teaching takes up almost all of my day everyday. I'm not complaining because I enjoy it, but I definitely don't have very much of a life AT ALL. One bad thing about coaching which may be the same in any career is that you can't please everyone. There is always someone wanting more playing time or thinking that they deserve a spot over someone else. I guess it's kinda that way in a lot of things in life, but it has been tough for me to know I can't please everyone. It sucks to have people mad at you when you are doing the best job you know how..... ahhhh... As my wonderful boyfriend would say, "Such is life!"

Jeff, Afghanistan, Bittersweet...

I have an incredible boyfriend who is the most amazing man I have ever met in my life (besides my dad). His name is Jeff, and he is in the Air Force. We have been together for over a year and a half and I have loved every second of it... Well, almost every second.... Jeff deployed to Afghanistan back in March and will be there until November. This is one of the toughest things I have had to do. We communicate as often as we can, but it ends up being once or twice a week, if that. It is SO HARD not being able to have the person who I am used to talking to and confiding in everyday near. The situation with him being in Afghanistan is not ideal at all.... then again, who is it really ideal for?? But I now know firsthand how hard it is to be away from your loved ones. I pray everyday for the AWESOME people who serve our country and especially the people who are overseas as well as their families and loved ones.

Jeff makes me SO PROUD!!! With all of the bad going on overseas, I can honestly say I haven't heard a negative comment come from him since he has been there. I know it is hot, stressful, and they don't get a lot of sleep, but he has such a positive attitude and always looks at the bright side of things. I hope I can have the attitude that he portrays. Everyone should be extremely proud of our military because they do an exceptional job!

Plane Wreck

Yesterday was a good day. My weekends have been pretty lazy which I like in a way, but in another way I like to feel productive as well. Something interesting about my weekend was...

I was checking the news as I do frequently throughout the day since my boyfriend is in Afghanistan and I worry about him constantly. I was on CNN's website and I saw an article about a plane crashing in Oklahoma. I clicked to read it and come to find out, it was a mile away from my house!! So I went and got the best picture I could of this plane wreck. Unfortunately the pilot died and 2 others were injured. Here is my picture of the wreck. That's all for now.

Working out... Fun?!?!

I am really living the life of a teacher having the whole summer off. I thought that it would be a lot of fun at first, but I am quickly learning that it is actually quite boring. I don't have a lot of friends in OKC or much to do, so I revert to my hobby... WORKING OUT! The people at the gym have made comments like, "Are you putting yourself through 2 a days?" and "You are ALWAYS up here." I don't know if this makes me a loser or what, but I keep myself occupied by working out. I found two workout partners 2 weeks ago who I LOVE working out with.

About my workout partners... There is this lady that I teach with and her daughter that work out at the same gym, and they asked me if I wanted to work out with them sometime, so I agreed to. WHAT A WORKOUT!! They don't just do a few little weights.. It is like 2 hours of TOUGH lifting. The lady I teach with (who is 50 by the way), ran a 2:46 marathon so maybe that can give you an idea of how tough she is!! Anyway, I am sore to say the least, but am gonna be RIPPED one day.. wait and see!!! That's all for now.

A Little About the People in My Life

I guess I should start my blog by telling about my wonderful family. I have the most wonderful parents and 2 of the greatest brothers and sister-in-laws (that's 2 brothers and 2 sisters). The newest addition to the Fariss Family is my almost 2-month old niece, McKenna who is the most precious baby ever (of course I am biased) If you put the math together, yes I am the only one without a partner in the family, besides McKenna. Yes sir, I am the odd ball. That's ok with me though...When McKenna gets old enough, she and I can play! I am 23 years old and not anywhere near being joined with someone else for life. Most all of my friends are either married, getting married, and/or have children of their own. So for this reason it makes me another odd ball. Once again, that is ok with me though. I have GREAT friends in my life as well. I am not big on writing everything about me (like twitter or all of that "keep up with someone else's life 24/7" stuff) but I will get on and "BLOG" every once in awhile for those that are interested. :-)

This is my very first post as a real live BLOGGER!!!! I never thought I would be doing this, but I finally gave in, AND it seems kind of therapeutic to type what I think about stuff or about random things that happen. Soooo... I will figure all of this out and pretty soon become an expert blogger!!!