My last week in Norman...a Q & A session.

As I am sitting here listening to my computer whir as it rips a Friends DVD to my computer, I've been asked a heck of a lot of questions this past week or two. So...I figured I would re-post them on here so that others who have wondered the same thought, no longer have to wonder! Please don't be afraid to ask me any questions. Email them to me, text me, facebook me. I will do my best to get it answered! Enjoy :)

Sidenote: this morning was the FIRST time I can remember in a very, very long time to go see a mission trip off at church and not be GOING on the mission trip. However, there were a few pluses to it...like the fact that I came home at 7 am and got back in bed...and got to sleep lying down, as opposed to in a church van seat. That was great :) It was weird not to jump on a van with them, but I can't wait to see what is in store for the 105 people going to south Texas this week.

A Question and Answer Session with Lydia:

1) Do you get paid?

--Yes and no. While in Ukraine, I will have a Ukrainian bank account that gets money deposited in it each month from the government. I believe it's somewhere around $200. This will cover my meals for the month, any types of transportation I need, incidentals, etc. My housing will be covered for me, so I don't have to worry about that. Upon completing my 27 month service, I get a readjustment allowance. This money is used for my discretion however I want. Buying a car, getting settled in a new city, traveling in Europe, whatever. I think when taxes are taken out of it it's somewhere around $5000 for my 2 years of service. Retired PC Volunteers feel free to chime in if you know what the answer is.

2) Are you scared?

--No. I couldn't be more excited. In fact, excited doesn't describe it. Ecstatic is truly the state I'm in. However, I do wish I didn't have to do this last week of getting everything sorted and put away for 2 years. It is incredibly overwhelming to me to think that my house that I have lived in for over 5 years will no longer be mine when I come back. But it also means I get to decorate something new when I come back...which is obviously something I love.

3) What do your parents think of this?

--They've been incredibly supportive since the time I told them I wanted to apply (Thanksgiving 2009), and for that I am eternally thankful. Are they apprehensive? Sure. But they are backing me 110% and I could NOT have made this journey without them. Thanks, Mom and Pops :) And I'm also ecstatic for when they come visit me.

4) What exactly does a youth developer do?

--Great question. I wish I knew the answer to it :) ha. Seriously though, it varies from person to person. There's a chance I could be working at a high school, there's a chance I could work at a community place (I'm picturing a YMCA type thing?). I have no idea. I won't know that until I get to Ukraine and they see what my fortes and weaknesses are.

5) What language do they speak there?

--Ukrainian and Russian. The country is still incredibly divided on the languages they speak. The northern and western parts (generally) speak Ukrainian...while the southern and eastern parts (generally) speak Russian.

6) Which language do you want to learn?

--I really don't care. If I had to pick, probably Ukrainian. This would make my brother happy because if I learned Russian, he would be the only Frost who didn't speak Russian. That is very tempting to be able to rub in his face :) kidding! I also want to learn Ukrainian because the place that I hope to be stationed somewhat near (where I've been before) spoke Ukrainian.

7) Where will you live the entire time?

--Another question I don't have an exact answer to. The first three months are spent in Pre-Service-Training (PST). I will live with a host family outside of Kyiv (the capitol, also spelled Kiev), and be in intense language and cultural classes all day. After the swearing in ceremony, I will be taken to my city that will be home for the next 2 years. That is the part that's still up in the air.

8) Will you have internet?

--Don't know. I will have access to internet more than likely, and may even luck out to have it in my home! Keep your fingers crossed :) the great thing about my kindle? It can check email and facebook for me for FREE (it might take a while, but I'll sit and wait for it to load).

9) What kind of money do they use there?

--The Hryvnia (UAH) is the currency in Ukraine. Things are WAY cheaper there...I can't remember the stats right now. I'll post them later if I can find them!

10) How long ago did you apply?

--The entire application process from the time that I submitted my application to the time that I leave for staging in DC will be right around 1 year....which is what they tell you from the get-go. So they really aren't kidding! Apply earlier than you think you need to.

11) What are you doing this last week that you're in the states?

--I am finishing packing, moving stuff to my parents house (one trip at a time...), hanging out with my parents (I kind of neglected them the past few weeks except when I needed help. Sorry :/), eating my favorite meals (mom's taco salad, panera {which I managed to have 3 times last week}, mom's homemade vegetable beef soup, plenty of sandwiches {goodcents}, etc., doing a trial run of my packing process (that will be an entire post...keep your fingers crossed I don't have 300 pounds of stuff...), maybe painting at my house, and hopefully relaxing a little!

12) I saw that everything was purchased on your wish list...is there anything else I can get you?

--a check or cash is honestly the easiest thing at this moment. There are going to be lots of things I have to purchase upon arriving in Ukraine (a surge protector, a water purifier, etc.)...so rest assured, it will be spent on something useful!

Okay...that's all the questions I can think of right now. I'm sure there are others, but I'm tired and it's late. I need to upload pics tomorrow also...please feel free to leave responses with more questions! Don't be bashful. Night night blogging world... :)

So I've been busy...

With only 9 days left to go, I've been a LITTLE consumed with other things. I'll sum them up rather quickly.

1) Having a surprise party at church on Wednesday night after Ash Wednesday. This will deserve an entire post to itself, but I have yet to upload pics. Let's just say I've never felt SO blessed in about a 2 hour time period. Thank you to all who came out :)

Being anointed with oil by my Bible study leader, Daphne Fix.

2) My computer should NOW be able to rip dvds to it successfully (thank you Younkins family...y'all are always there to save the day!). So, for all of my PC group 41ers, I plan on trying to get my complete series of Friends ripped to my external hard drive before we leave. I'm hoping to get movies from other people because I doubt any one else has ripped all of Friends. Comment on this please if you have!?!?

3) One of my very good friends, Bert Snider, is in Japan. When I got into bed around 2 am last night, I saw the news on facebook about the earthquake. He's doing fine though...was not affected by the earthquake or tsunami at all. Such a relief to hear he is well! However, still such a hard time for the rest of the people in Japan and Hawaii. Praying for them...

Bert and I...circa Mexico 2008 :)

4) Had breakfast with one of my best friends who lives in Houston now, Mr. Darren Gore. He's in PA school and I'm so proud of him...but that means I don't get to see him much. He surprised me at my surprise party which was incredibly nice :)

Darren and I circa 2005...at Disneyland on choir tour!

5) I'm sure I'm forgetting other stuff, but I am off to go to my last high school lunch at the church. Chick-Fil-A today! Then, I will head up to the airport to drop off the adult drivers for Texico who need to pick up rental vans. I can then stop by a few places on my way home for some last minute shopping :) duh.

6) The Texico mission trip leaves tomorrow. First trip that I can remember going to see them off but not getting to go with them. It will be a sad, but happy day. Can't wait to see all of the things waiting for them in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. God has some good things in store!

Happy Friday :)

12 days...

Woowee! That seems crazy. Less than 2 weeks til I am on my way to staging in DC. Today was a very productive day...which is good, because yesterday felt very UNproductive.

I had one last check-up to get my retainer/mouthguard in fine-tuned order before it gets totally abused for 2 years. I clench/grind my teeth at night (totally inherited that from my mom...) so I had to get a heavy duty splint (I'm not sure what the technical name for it is). It is super thick and was very awkward to sleep with at night. But now I am used to it and love it...can't sleep without it in fact! So whoever gets to be my lucky roomy while I'm DC for staging will get to experience this :) I'm sure every one of my friends/youth girls are laughing at this because they know it is a trip necessity for me. It also reminds me of a certain story that never gets old to tell...flashback time.

I'm pretty sure the year was 2002...I was a freshman in high school. McFarlin had this GREAT event called High School Week at the Church. If my memory serves me correct, Amy Carruth, Rosemary Sebestyen, Anna Sebestyen, Alison Swenson, Karen Kesinger (and maybe Scott) are hopefully realizing what story I'm about to tell. During High School Week at the Church, the high schoolers got to stay at the church for an entire week during the school year. You ate all your meals at the church, got taken to school in the really cool 15-passenger vans with McFarlin plastered on the side of them, had time to do your homework at night (or just goof off as the case usually was), etc. SO...we were in a room with some of the older, cool girls in high school; keep in mind, we're the dorky freshman girls who are excited when anyone older than us even acknowledges that we exist. We were staying up late one night and being loud (hello...high school girls...loud? Never!) so Scott (our youth director) had to come yell at us to be quiet. The problem? He forgot to take out his retainer. He's probably 34 years old at this time...and he came in to yell at us but had a lisp when he talked. So..."Shut up girls, it's time to go to bed," sounded horribly funny when it came out with a lisp, causing us to laugh and be even louder. Major backfire on his behalf.

Here's a picture of an event that was much like High School Week at the Church. Scott would be the really cool one with the microphone, followed by my friends (l to r): Kyle Haskett, Nora Hall, me, and Darren Gore.

In other news today, I took a self defense lesson! My mom and I have meant to take one for a few years now but never got around to it...so with less than 2 weeks in the United States, arrangements were finally made to get a private lesson. I had a great instructor who truly taught me a lot and I feel much more prepared in the event that I would ever have to use any of the skills I learned tonight. We'll hope and pray I don't. I will be happy to show you some of the moves I learned if anyone wants to see! My instructor was a petite lady (prob. 5'2", 115 pounds) who could have EASILY put me on my back in an instant. It's all about being aware of your surroundings, not putting yourself in stupid situations, and playing it safe. Thanks so much Ms. Rose!

My mom, dad, and I ate at Panera today. I am truly going to miss getting the broccoli cheddar soup in a breadbowl. All 600+ calories of it. Then, my mom and I came to my house to get 2 pieces of furniture ready to move. Thanks to Mr. Tino Herrera (not only the middle school youth director, but one of my best friends) and Mr. Trey Pirtle (aka, Pirtle...one of my first kids I got to watch grow up in the youth program) for coming and moving the furniture. :) I'll end with a few pictures of us over the past few years, in preparation for tomorrow's post....it's a Way-Back-Wednesday! Toodles :)

Tino and I, circa 2008. Juners mission trip...eating gorditas at the Soriana!

Pirtle and I...Camden, NJ 2008

Tino and I--Juners 2008

Pirtle and I on the Camden trip on our shopping day in NYC. This picture was taken at the INFAMOUS Times Square TGIFridays. We sat right by a stairwell and watched at least 17 people trip going UP the stairs.

Tino and I, Mexico Spring Break trip...2009

Pirtle and I-Toronto summer mission trip 2009. At Niagara Falls!

Tino and I, choir tour 2010. Pensacoloa, FL. I still owe Tino a post about his trip to Haiti...so look for that in the near future :)

Pirtle and I--Juners 2010

My week of lasts...

This is the week where everything really starts to sink in. The week where I have my last time of everything. While I am sad, I know that it is all getting me ready for what is about to come. Here are a few of the lasts that I am talking about:

1) Today, I had my last dentist appointment for who knows how long. Got a clean check-up though which is good! Let's just hope my Sonicare toothbrush continues to work well in Ukraine and I think I should be in good shape! And PS, if you've thought about getting a Sonicare and haven't for one reason or another...I HIGHLY recommend it. They're amazing.

2) Last night was my last time at youth group. This has been a regular activity of mine for the past 9.5 years...both when I was in high school as an actual youth, and then for the past 6 years as one of the volunteers who helps out on Sunday night activities.

3) Tonight will be the last night at a women's Bible study I have been a part of. While I was gone for many of the meetings (I like to get out of town...what can I say!), I have also learned a heck of a lot from the books we've gone over.

4) Wednesday night will be my last night at FISH (Followers In Service to Him)--the high school leadership team at church. Just like Sunday night youth group, this has been a vital part of my life in Oklahoma.

5) For the past few years, we have had Friday pizza lunch at McFarlin for the high schoolers to come relax and see their friends. Occasionally, we even got up the nerve to cook! That was a rarity though.

So there are a few of the things going through my head this week as everything comes to a head. My to do list seems to be growing every day as I remember one thing or another that needs to be done. And I'm slowly packing up all of my stuff! I think have almost 10 boxes done!

For all of my friends out there who wonder how in the world I'm going to pack all of my stuff on my packing list (keep in mind not EVERYTHING on the packing list will end up going with me...that was simply things I'd like to take)...take a look at Kimberley's blog. She is a fellow Ukraine group 41-er, who posted a blog about the same time as me last night (around 1 am). I died laughing upon watching the video...so go watch it. It's called "Packing like a pro," and I promise it will leave you astonished.

For other group 41-ers (the group of us whose departure day for Ukraine is March 21) who are reading my blog today, my mom and I went to Target last night for nearly 2 hours. I remembered reading in someone's blog (who is already in Ukraine) to hit up the Target One section before I leave. Holy cow am I glad I did. I got ALL SORTS OF FUN STUFF for the kids in Ukraine. They have silly bands...in every shape imaginable. Silly putty. Slinky's (real, metal ones!). And those cool things that every kid loves: a capsule that has a compacted sponge in it that when you place it in water it expands into an object of some kind. All for really cheap obviously, because they're in the One section!

I have had a few people ask me about my wish list today. Since it is almost time for me to leave, I needed to go ahead and order the remaining things on my wish list so that I would receive them in time. If you would still like to help me out with these purchases, a check or cash is probably going to be the easiest thing right now. There are also items that I am waiting to purchase until I get to Ukraine that I could put this money towards. Things like a surge protector, hair-dryer, a fan for the summer, etc.

Over the past few weeks, I have felt incredibly blessed by the sweet gifts that I have received. My Aunt Linda, who not only came and helped out at the garage sale, gave me money for GOOD socks! I know, who gets excited about socks, right? But Smartwool socks might be the best invention ever. Try some if you don't believe me. Thanks, Aunt Linda :)

Two sweet friends from church (who also happen to be dating :) ) surprised me with my United States map, Russian phrasebook...and UNO! Thank you Schlegel and Lyndsay :) They also introduced me to Il Dolce, Norman's only gelato shop. SO. DELICIOUS.

I can't say thank you enough for the kind words that I have received from everyone lately. It would take forever to list everyone...so please know that I am thinking about each one of you!

2 weeks. 14 days. Holy cow.

As I type those words, everything in my mind starts spinning. I've told a few people lately that I have good days and bad days...days where I feel confident that I will get everything done, and days where I feel like NOTHING was accomplished. Accomplished might not be the best word, but I feel like it wasn't as productive as it could be. And that is truly my American mindset kicking in. That is one of the things I am most looking forward to in another country...being able to sit down, let the day happen, and not worry if I'm late to something or don't get everything checked off my to do list. On all of my trips to Mexico, a term was created at some point to explain the laid back, siesta kind of days in the country that I call my second home. It's called "Mexico time." If you say you're leaving the house at 8 am, it will really be 9 am when you finally get out the door (especially if you are a Juner and living with the Chacon family. That's just how things work in a family with 4 women and 1 man! Poor Jorge...). So when we would plan something (an event, a get-together, etc.), we always had to clarify if it was Mexico time or American time. Speaking of Mexico...

This is the first spring break trip in 10 years that I will not be a part of. Although the group is working in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, it is still a spring break trip. And it's the first one for me to miss in my time in Oklahoma. I was placed on one of the teams, not knowing if I would get to go and be a part of the mission trip...but as it turns out, I simply have too much to accomplish before I leave on March 20. There were too many other variables as well...what if I got sick? What if I broke my ankle? What if, what if, what if?! So, on Tuesday night of the past week, I finally said the words that I would not be going. It was INCREDIBLY hard for me to give that up, and anybody who knows me knows that I do not A) miss an opportunity to travel, B) miss an opportunity for a mission trip, and C) miss an opportunity to get to spend time with my kids at church. But I cannot dwell on the fact that I'm not going. My group will do an amazing job on whatever task is placed before them. And I hope that they form so many inside jokes and great memories that their van rides are never silent, but always filled with laughter. I'm going to go ahead and change subjects because I don't want to start crying again...

On a brighter, happier note, I am the EXTREMELY PROUD AND BLESSED OWNER OF A BRAND NEW KINDLE!!!!!!!!!!! I keep pinching myself wondering if I really own one. But I do. I will tell you the story quickly, and then go pass out in my bed.

My mom called Saturday morning around 10 am, telling me that she was kind of worrying about how all of my stuff was going to fit in my old bedroom at my parents house. This was a ploy to get me over to their house. I said I'd come over...how about later that night? Well...I'd really like to get it over with so maybe you could come before the basketball game today? Will do. So, I head across town and we start investigating where my (10 years of) dance costumes can go in my parents closet. While in the closet, the doorbell rings, and my mom and I are completely enveloped, unable to hear it. With my dad yelling at us, the dog going crazy, and a slew of other things happening, I had no clue of any of the commotion at the front door. We walked out a few minutes later with my dad holding an Amazon box for me. I get rather excited and explain that this is my gift from my Interior Design friend, Kristen. She had told me a few days prior that she wanted to order my SLR camera case off my wish list. How sweet! I figured it was about time that it be arriving and I wasn't expecting anything else. As I head to the kitchen to dig in (getting presents in the mail is like Christmas to me. I turn into a little kid, especially knowing it's something PC related!), my mom says to hold on a sec...she wants to record me opening it. Ummm...okay? I explained that I knew what the present was and that she didn't need to capture me opening it. However, she was dead set on doing so. Little did I know, she was actually calling one of my best friends, Mitchell Crow (pay attention to his last name, it will be important in a minute). Now we need to take a side step and get a little background info...

Apparently, for the past month, Mitchell had been facebooking with my mom about wanting to get me a Kindle. My mom, knowing me oh so well, said that she didn't think I would want one. I like REAL books, that I can hold in my hands. She highly discouraged him to find something else to get me as a going away present. And Mitchell was b.u.m.m.e.d. He thought it was SO smart of him and that he knew me (oh so well) that I would really end up using it. All of a sudden, on this past Tuesday, it was made aware to me that a Kindle has wireless internet abroad. DING DING DING. I had never really even looked at getting a Kindle, but if I could check my email without having to be connected to wifi while in Ukraine? Shoot yeah, I'm in. Mitchell called me Tuesday, and I explained to him of everything I had just learned about the Kindle. After he hung up with me, he called my mom and was probably very emphatic when telling her that I now wanted a Kindle. Long story short, Mitchell and my parents had to keep me from purchasing this new toy for the next few days while Mitchell ordered it. This shouldn't have been that hard because I don't make split second decisions, especially on something that costs $200. However, I am now down to crunch time with purchases on the internet before I leave because I refuse to pay overnight shipping. Also important is how many people were involved with this process.

1) When I was in Dallas a few weekends ago, Mitchell had Kevin ask me if I was going to get an e-reader of some kind. I, of course, said no...that I thought it really wasn't for me.

2) I wanted to hold a Kindle in my hand before I bought one. This is when my dad's best friend, Jim, enters the picture. Jim has a Kindle...and lives half a mile from my parents. I knew I would be able to borrow his...but my parents beat me to it. They informed him of what was happening and that he needed to lie and say I couldn't borrow it for a few days. The conversation went a little like this:

"Hi Jim, it's Lydia. I was wondering if I could borrow your Kindle for a little bit and play with it?"

"Oh, sure. That would be fine."

"Okay, great. Can I come get it today?"

"Well, I don't have it right now. I loaned it to somebody."

"Oh! To Janna (his neice)?"

{This is the part where I thought something was right...I caught Jim off guard by asking WHO had his Kindle. Ha :) he wasn't prepared for that question!}

His response was a simple and no-more-questions-please tone: No.

3) Mitchell contacted Jill (another friend who got in on this crazy circle!) and told her that she needed to tell me not to buy a Kindle. That it wasn't worth it. This was moments after she wrote on my facebook status that she had researched all the e-readers out there and that the Kindle was the way to go.

I'm sure there are other instances, but overall, this was quite the endeavor to keep as a secret. Now we can go back to the story...we were at the part where my mom is secretly calling Mitchell. What my mom didn't realize was that on the iPhone, you cannot be ON the phone and take a video at the same time. You can only take snapshots. This was INCREDIBLY frustrating to her and she demanded my phone to video this moment. I literally was thinking, all of this to open a present? I had no clue.

I open the box...and inside is a gift wrapped package with a little note on the outside. It read:

"I hear it gets cold where you're going...Gotta keep your gadgets warm and protected too!!"

I thought, "Oh, how cute and clever!" Just what I needed for my SLR camera. And what do I pull out of the box? A neoprene sleeve for a Kindle. I was so confused by this...thinking that they had to get the boxes mixed up or something. I hadn't realized that there was another package underneath the first. Upon discovering it, I see a note on the outside of it that says:

"Hmmm...So when you're flying as high as a Crow you can have something to read." There's the important last name part I was talking about. At this point I flipped out and knew what was going on...my mom hands me the phone with Mitchell on it (who is at work on a Saturday...) who has been listening to the ENTIRE conversation unfold. You pulled one over on me Mitchy. :) That takes a lot to do! Thank you to the whole Crow family for my wonderful gift and the great story that accompanies it. If only I could tell it in Ukrainian... :) maybe someday!

Oh, and later that day, my handy dandy camera case arrived!! I am so excited to be able to slip my camera in it and not have to lug a giant camera bag. Thank you Kristen :)

Seeing as to how it's past 1 am, I am going to submit this and sign off. I have a full day tomorrow and really for the rest of the week as well. I did NOT proof read this blog, so if there are mistakes you'll have to forgive me. I needed to write though before I went to sleep. Toodles :)

Organizing...

As I'm counting down the days, I realized I needed to do some sorting of stuff to take to Ukraine. Until today, I had been throwing anything I was (considering) taking with me into a large suitcase. Since it was now overflowing (I'm too embarrassed to show you a picture of it) I decided I needed to finally do something about it. I HATE it when things are messy and that has been the state of my room for the past week in preparations for the garage sale. But now, I do not have that excuse.

Thank you Wally & Cathy for my amazing sleeping bag. I am SO excited to use it...so excited in fact that I had to try it out at my parents house yesterday :) and thanks, Pops, for taking the pic!

What's that red thing in a space bag? That would be my SLEEPING bag. I didn't even get all of the air out of it. You're not supposed to leave down sleeping bags compacted, but for the airplane rides it's going to have to be like that! Pretty cool if I do say so myself.

And what is that brown thing in a space bag? My down coat from Mountain Hardwear.

My last gadget of the day is from the wonderful Carruth Fam. It was suggested to take some type of portable speakers for your iPod/iPhone...so I found these on Amazon.

It is literally about the length of my iPhone and is SUPER powerful. I was majorly impressed with how loud I could play music today when I tested it. They also got me some other neat things off my wish list, so thank you Carruth fam! I played with my Swiss Army knife last night (and maybe possibly nicked my finger on one of the blades when I was seeing all of the tools on it lol) and let's just say that it can do just about everything. I think I'm going to need to take the instructions with me just to know how to use all of it's features! Like opening a can!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me with this endeavor so far. I have felt so blessed and loved by everyone's encouraging words. I will leave you with one last question. Please, please respond!

I have never wanted to get a Kindle or anything like that because I like reading real books and having them sit on my shelf. But, I can't take many books with me...if any, other than my Bible. I didn't realize that they made a Kindle that had 3g capabilities...and after talking with a Ukraine PC volunteer (thank you, Monica!) she explained that you can in fact get wireless internet on it in Ukraine. So, for people who have Kindles, what do you like about them? Not like about them? How do you use yours most? Please email me back or leave a comment on here with your thoughts about them! Thank you!

Way-Back-Wednesday #6: 19 Days...WOW!

That seems crazy to me that I am only going to be in Oklahoma for 19 more days. And that 19th day is actually March 20, which is when I leave to go to DC for staging. But that is not the point of today's post. Today is about one of my best friends...who now happens to live in the big D. The one and only, Mitchell Crow. Mitchell has thought for sometime now that he deserved a blog post dedicated to him...and since he just took his first of the CPA exams on Monday, I thought it was an appropriate time for a little dedication :)

The story of how Mitchell and I met is one for the books in my opinion. Jill Sowers had come over to my house one night in January of 2007. It was still Christmas break at OU, so we were debating what to do that night as our break came to an end. She said that there was this guy named Mitchell who was wanting to come over and maybe watch a movie or something. Did I care if he came over? Yes. I had NO clue who he was, and Jill knows I'm very apprehensive to letting some stranger come over. He had lived on the same floor of the dorms as us the year before, but I still had no face to put with a name. I hemmed and hawed, and finally said okay to letting him come over. A short while later, he arrived and rang the doorbell. If my memory serves me correct, I was still a (little) perturbed at Jill for the entire situation, so I probably made her answer the door. And in waltzed Mitchell....if I only had a picture of that exact moment. He's wearing his designer-esque jeans, a button down shirt, and ostrich cowboy boots. And then he opened his mouth...and his great accent came out :) We introduced ourselves...and I couldn't wait any longer to inquire where he was from with an accent like that. After all, I was originally from Alabama and when I moved to Oklahoma got made fun of for my accent ALL THE TIME. I asked...and he says, "Oh, a tiny town in Texas you've probably never heard of." I replied, "Try me, I've been through a LOT of Texas." Mitchell: "It's called Pampa...it's up in the panhandle." I nearly fell out of my chair. My mom was BORN in that tiny town in Texas that you've probably never heard of. We hung out that night and said our goodbyes. A few days later, I was in the drive-thru at Raisin' Canes, and I look in my rearview mirror to see who is behind me...MITCHELL. I quickly called Jill to obtain his phone number and called him as we sat in the drive-thru line together. I'm 100% sure he thought I was a freak. And from that moment on, we've been best friends.

Mitchell and his (super patient) brother Matthew taught me how to water ski on their family boat. It was literally the three of us on the lake for a few hours doing the exact same thing over and over where I would manage to get up on the skis for about 3 seconds and then fall. Mitchell and Matthew on the other hand have been doing this their whole life, as is obvious from the pic of Mitchell above.

OU/Texas 2007: the first of many OU/Texas games together....

OU/SAXET 2007 (the year we had the best seats ever...)

A 21st birthday celebration at the Mont. Sidenote: that was one of my favorite shirts ever, and I managed to part with it for the garage sale!

Mitchell, Lydia, Kevin...oldie!

Another 21st birthday celebration at the Mont.

Lydia, Jill, Mitchell...Mitchy looks like a baby!

wayyyyy old!

Tacky Christmas picture. Look familiar? It's already been on the blog before but it was too good a pic to not repost :)

Snow pic!

OU/Texas 2008-- in the West End the night before the game.

Also, OU/Texas 2008: the year that we were on TV! A few people texted me right after this was on TV saying that they saw us...little did we know that it was during a HORRIBLE play.

My graduation reception where we displayed our Capstone projects for Interior Design. Please look at Jill in the background :)

Team Sparrowhawk :) we went on a camping trip and floated the Illinois River in northeastern Oklahoma. It was a cloudy, cold, and miserable day for floating, but it ended up being a great trip!

The boys surprised the girls with a fun evening outing to the ballpark! We cooked out and watched an OU baseball game on the sidelines. So much fun :)

OU/Texas 2009

OU/Texas 2009--wayyyy high in the stadium!

more recent!

Goodbye party for Jill and Ashley as they move to Boston!

OU/Texas 2010. The time that Mitchell got to be a Frost for a day! He even sat through a dog show at the State Fair of Texas :)

This last thing on the blog is a video of Mitchell at OU/Texas 2009. We were eating dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse the night before the game. This particular location was in the West End and was packed with OU and Texas fans. Many chants and snide comments are bantered back and forth as is typical the night before the game. Mitchell decided that he wanted to lead a chant since he had NEVER done that before. I quickly moved aside to video it. El fin :)

Can't wait to take more pics and form more memories when you come visit me in Ukraine!!!!!! Love you Mitchy :)

El fin de la garage sale!

The mother load of all garage sales is officially OVER. I couldn't be happier. I have helped my parents with garage sales and we've had garage sales at church...but it's a whole 'nother ball game when it's your OWN stuff. Granted, my parents brought some stuff from their house (thank you!) and some friends also donated items (thank you!), but the majority of the stuff was mine. I still have some great clothes and shoes left...so let me know if you live in the Norman area and want to come shop more :) or if anyone would be interested in purchasing the most comfortable couch ever. We've also got a loveseat and matching couch that didn't sell.

THANK YOU to everyone who came and supported me this past weekend. I loved seeing faces of friends and parents that I hadn't seen in a while! Y'all were all too kind.

On another note, I am at the THREE-WEEK mark before I leave. Wow. Let that sink in for a minute...ANYWHO, that means that I have to order my last items that I need before traveling overseas. I will be placing my final amazon.com order on Tuesday night, so if you were wanting to purchase something from my wish list (or maybe already have and I'm unaware of it? I know it can be confusing...) please let me know! You can shoot me an email at lydfrost@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Yesterday, in the midst of garage sale-ing, the mail came and I received my UBER COOL FLASHLIGHT that my lovely brother got me as a going away present:

It is basically the weight of a triple AAA battery. It's also got 3 settings for brightness, which I sat in my bed (in the dark) last night and played with. On the highest setting, it lit up my entire bedroom when pointed at the ceiling. For any other PC volunteers about to head overseas, I would highly recommend this thing. My brother has a slightly older model and absolutely loves it. A+++! Thanks, Jeremy :)

Way-Back Wednesday # 5: cleaning out my old room...

Today was spent cleaning out my old bedroom and closet at my parents house. This, of course, has needed doing for quite some time, but I like to put things off. However, in the deep abyss of my closet, I found some great treasures that I moved with me from Alabama. I laughed and showed my parents these items which will bring no money at the garage sale, but provided HOURS of entertainment to me as a kid. They are:

A handful of cassette tapes, including mixed tapes that my brother made for me because I thought his music was so cool. This "Jock Rock" album featured the Ramones, and some music that sounds like Jock Jams. On the other side? It was labeled "Casper," which I know I did a recital dance to in middle school. I have to find out what other music is on there...it took me wayyyy back to when I used to listen to music on my walkman.

These two games were both FLOPPY DISK games that my brother and I played for hours on our original family computer (circa 1990's?). Not pictured is the ORIGINAL Oregon Trail (also a floppy disk version), which I couldn't bear to part with.

I also found my Eastern Europe scrapbook from 2004 that I had no recollection of creating. I need to scan the pages in it and post them...talk about a trip down memory lane! I didn't have time to go through all of it because I was digging out my old dance costumes, first pair of toe shoes, etc. All in all, a highly productive day.

And what else happened you might ask? I received my SLEEPING BAG (thank you Cathy and Wally!) and a new pair of mittens from Marmot! I used my PC discount on both items...which I believe came out to be about half off. Pretty sweet. My winter boots also arrived in the mail today. They are supposed to be 100% waterproof, which will be great for sludging through the snow and slush.

Tomorrow is another full day of sorting stuff for the garage sale. Items to be included in the garage sale include:

my embarrassingly large shoe collection (I am getting rid of a TON of shoes. Size 9-9.5. Some of which haven't been worn that many times... :/ )

clothes/jackets (some of which also haven't been worn that much)

a bajillion picture frames

home decor items (wall decor, candles, shelves, lots of things that are great for dorm/college life)

furniture (end tables, coffee tables, bookcases, etc.)

kitchen stuff

books (great chick lit as our teacher, Mrs. Swisher, in high school called it; also, tons of my parents books)

OU stuff

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. And I'm falling asleep in bed now...so I'm going to publish this and say goodnight! Toodles :)

27 days and counting...

Can't believe that I'll only be in the U.S. for a month more! I have waited many years to be able to say that I'll be going over seas and I FINALLY can! :)

This past weekend, I traveled with the youth to Kansas City, where I got to have a lot of fun with my kiddos. It will be incredibly weird to not hear their voices/see their faces/receive a text message from them multiple times a week...so I fully treasured my time with them this past weekend. No youth trip is complete without a little shopping...to the North Face store I went! I actually tried on the Arctic Parka in the store, and was so glad that I ended up going with the Mountain Hardware version of a down jacket. The parka was AMAZINGLY warm and would be great while I'm over there, but it is also not compact at all. I also tried on these boots, which almost come up to my knee. The downside? They're not fully waterproof. My shins started sweating in the store while I was walking around in them...it's literally like having a down jacket on your feet/shins. If I freeze in my first winter in Ukraine, I may be purchasing these bad boys for the next winter :) Also while in the North Face store, I tried on some amazing long underwear. One of my PC comrades (who lives in Ukraine now) has a great blog and informed me that she wears her long underwear nearly every day. Great advice! I had purchased some long underwear locally, but may return it and get this North Face long underwear. It felt warm and fit well...sounds like a winning combination to me!

Sidenote: The blog I listed above is by Jing. Her facebook status the other day was too funny not to share with everyone in the states who wonders if I will in fact survive a Ukrainian winter. Here's what it said:

"I never thought I'd say this but I wish it was -25 degrees outside so school would be canceled again... its only -23 and its freezing in the classrooms! Hopefully this will be the "last strong frost" of the winter!"

My jaw dropped after reading that statement. But I'm excited and can't WAIT to go. My parents came over to my house today to help me sort through stuff for the garage sale we're having on Saturday. If you live in the area, please come see what we have! I'm basically getting rid of everything I can...home decor, clothes, shoes, accessories, furniture, etc.