When I put dance under the stars on my bucket list, I didn’t want it to have any specifics. It could be with friends, just dancing around, singing and being crazy or it could be with someone special. Lucky for me, I got to dance under the stars with an extremely special guy.

We had gone to dinner and then watched a movie at his place. He then grabbed me a jacket and told me that he had a surprised for me. If you know me, you know I hate surprises. Literally hate them. We started walking towards the golf course that he lives on and of course the whole time I kept asking what we were doing. We were about half way there when he finally broke and told me that he had read my blog and wanted to take me to dance under the stars. I was in shock. I didn’t realize people actually read my blog…hahah. This is easily one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. We ended up walking to the green and dancing to Jason Aldean’s Night Train.

It was beyond perfect and I feel extremely blessed to have such a sweet guy looking out for me. I hope I get to dance under the stars again sometime (especially when it’s warmer out).

Hands down, my favorite thing about going to school “up north” are the snow days. Growing up in Austin, I had experienced ice days but never a real snow day. My freshman year, we had multiple snow days. I remember waking up one morning and it was completely white outside. It. Was. Awesome.

Every year I’ve hoped for a snowfall like we had that year. It was so much fun! Last year we had about half an inch, but it wasn’t very fun. Yesterday we had a half day because of a “blizzard” that was headed our way. All of my classes got cancelled, so I was able to relax and study. It rained all day and finally started to snow around 6 p.m. My roommates and I were all hoping for a snow day and around 9:30, they told us that school would be cancelled today! Woohoo! I went to bed with a winter wonderland outside my window and woke up to literally no snow. I guess the sun got an early rise and decided to melt all of the snow before we did get. Now, instead of playing out in the snow, I’m inside studying. With a test and a project due tomorrow and two tests Thursday, I am extremely thankful for an extra day to study. P.s. When we first found out we had a snow day, this is the text I received from my friend Cordell. Awesome Elf reference.

Have you ever had a snow day? What’s your favorite thing to do in the snow? Ski, snowboard, sled, snowball fight?

Two months later, this trip is going a lot different than planned. Right now, I’m stuck in the OKC airport waiting on a flight that’s going to be over an hour and a half delayed (and make cause me to miss my connection in Dallas, fingers crossed that it doesn’t)…and I sadly won’t be running the half marathon on Sunday. It breaks my heart that I can’t do it and unfortunately, i’ve cried about it more than I should have. I am so blessed to be healthy most of the time, but I do have my moments. About a year ago my family and I learned that my kidneys are functioning at a lower level than normal. Until now, it hasn’t been that big of an issue. About a month ago, I had some blood work done and it revealed that my kidney levels were high. This means that running a long distance could be extremely dangerous. Of course when my mom told me that I couldn’t do that half, I was upset. Growing up, I was use to being told that I couldn’t do certain things because of my health. Now that I’ve been generally healthy for almost seven years, I hate when my health holds me back. With time, I learned to accept it and realize that God always has a plan and I need to learn to step back and let him lead the way. I’m still extremely excited for this weekend! I get to relax at home for awhile and watch my parents, brother, friends Ronck and Jordan run the half! While I can’t run right now, I’ll eventually be back. Hopefully a year from now I’ll be able to do the Austin half in record time.

My flight keeps getting delayed more and more….so lets hope the Dallas to Austin flight will hold the plane for me. Don’t these people know that I’m trying to get back to the greatest city on earth?! I’m coming for you Austin, Texas…it might take me longer than planned…but I’ll get there.

It’s also Valentine’s day and the first year I have a valentine…so there’s that. We don’t have anything huge planned, but I have some fun things planned and G has no idea. Haha I weirdly like being the planner.

If you want to do something life changing today…become an organ donor. You have the potential to donate life and give the most amazing gift there is…a second chance for someone. So do me and yourself a favor, donate life.

Y’all! My best friend is coming to visit today!! And yes, that is us with a sloth. She’s our other bff.

First off, to stay organized I invested in a Jon Hart planner. I wanted a nice “adult” looking planner that I would use daily and that I could use for many years to come. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the Lilly Pulitzer planners, but I wanted something that’s more permanent. To help me stay organized, as soon as a teacher assigns something, I immediately write it down. I have the worst memory, so if I don’t write it down right away…chances are that I’ll forget it.

Second, I’ve done my very best at not procrastinating. We’re only in our third week of school, but I’m still finding it difficult to do my homework the day it’s assigned. The first week, I was really good about not procrastinating. No lie, it was the easiest week of my life. I had time to take a nap and hang out with friends and I wasn’t constantly stressing about homework and rushing to get stuff done. I know it’ll be a challenge, but I hope I can kick my procrastination habit and stay on top of my work.

Any suggestions to not procrastinate? How do you stay organized?

I can’t believe it’s 2013. That sounds so..future-y? Personally, I’m happy to begin a new year. These past few weeks have been rough, so I’m ready to see them go. Last year I had a few New Year resolutions and I kept to some of them, but not all of them. This year, I don’t really have any “resolutions” that I want to keep. I have somethings I want to change and do, but if I don’t follow through, I’ll be ok with that. In 2013 I want to blog more, run more, study more, and not get sick as often. I think these are all pretty doable, so I’m ready for it. I have the Austin half marathon coming up on February 17th. I want to try and finish under 3 hours…this will be pushing it for me since I typically go slower during long runs then I do for a typical mile or two jog, but I have a month to train…so we’ll see what happens.

2012 was a good time, but I’m ready to leave it in the dust. Hello 2013! I can’t wait to see what you have to bring.

I can’t believe I’m turning 21. Most of my friends know, I am a huge ageist. I hate growing up and often wish I was 16 again and living in my parents house. I don’t really hate growing up, I just hate taking on more responsibilities and becoming an adult. I miss being younger and living in my parents house with my brother living across the hall. So as an ageist, turning 21 is really hard. But extremely exciting. Unlike most college students I’m not excited to turn 21 because I’ll be able to drink, I’m excited to turn 21 because I’ll finally be able to get into the Broken Spoke and go dancing! Long story short, the Broken Spoke dancehall in Austin is 18 and up…as long as you have an adult with you. How lame is that? I can also finally do the “beer runs” in Austin. You start at one bar and run a mile to the next, and so on. I tried to do one of these this past summer with my friend Ronck, but we realized that I would have had to stand outside the bar…even if I was just ordering water. Also, 21 is the age that most people finally view you as an adult. That’s extremely scary to me, but I’m ready for the challenges it’ll bring.

Some exciting things are planned for the next few month. I’m participating in a half marathon in Shiner, Texas on December 16! My brother signed me up as a birthday present. I’m excited to do a half marathon with him, even though I know he’ll beat me by like an hour….I haven’t trained nearly as much as I need too…but as long as I finish I’ll be happy. I’m also doing the Austin Half Marathon on February 17. I’ll be training a lot more for this one so I can get a good time, but we’ll see. My parents and my brother are also doing this one, I’m so excited. The Horton Fam is getting healthy! woohoo!

Two of my friends Casey and Austin, are raising money and selling shirts to support their sports mission trip. They are going to Algeria to participate in the Marathon de Dunes and spread the gospel. These two guys are amazing and I’m so blessed to have met them. They are definitely go-getters and are always dreaming up some crazy ideas If you’d like to learn more, donate, or order an awesome shirt, check out their website!!!

What is your favorite time of the year and why?

p.s. Number 50, Dance under the stars has been crossed of my bucket list! More to come later!