Mace in ya face

It truly was the worst feeling ever. I had no idea that a person had feeling on the backside of their eyeballs. It was 45 minutes of excruciating pain. It felt like someone had dumped a pound of sand in my eyeball, stabbed them with 10,000 knives, and then set them on fire all at the same time. All the while I was trying to squeeze my butt cheeks together to prevent another ring of fire and taking deep breathes of extremely spicy air so that I would not vomit my McDonald's chicken nuggets I had eaten for lunch.

As part of taking on this new job I had to be sprayed with OC Spray. OC Spray is the law enforcement issued form of pepper spray. Oleoresin Capsicum is a chemical compound that irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain, and temporary blindness.The active ingredient in OC Spray is capsaicin, which is a chemical derived from the fruit of plants in the Capsicum genus, including chilis.

They first lined me up outside with my hands stretched away from my body, eyes shut tight, and mouth closed. I was sprayed from less than 3 feet away with a bright orange colored stream right to the eyes. I then had to open my eyes and let the chemical sink into my eyes for a few seconds. It took less than a second for me to feel the pain. I was then allowed to begin flushing my eyes with water and immediately dunked my head into an awaiting tub of water. It took me almost 30 minutes of splashing water in my eyes non-stop as fast as I could before I could stop without feeling like I would vomit or die. I remember even contemplating ways that I might could make myself pass out so that I could escape the pain. It took several hours to regain full vision and even when I went to bed that night it felt like I still had huge rocks in my eyes. Every time I blinked I could feel little pockets of burning gunk in the deep crevasses of my eye balls.
I don't recommend this to anyone. It was truly the worst pain I could have imagined and I was definitely not prepared for how bad it actually was.
Thanks to Lee I was able to get a few shots of this horrendous experience.

Officer Bessent

From waitressing to ice cream truck driving, cutting flowers to serving coffee, I am here to tell you I am now a Patrol Officer!
As many of you know I am in terrible debt from a semester unpaid at Abilene Christian University. They are holding my transcript until the amount is paid in full and as a result, I am unable to attend any University and receive financial aid. Don't worry, folks. I found the loop hole!!
I found that if you are an employee of a University classes are free! So, I looked online to see what jobs Trinity University had to offer. At the time they only had one job posted, and that was for a clerical position in the Security department. I quickly applied and had an interview later that week. Unfortunately, I did not get the job and continued to work my waitressing job. A few weeks later I got a phone call from Trinity's Security Department telling me that they had another position available that they felt I was "more qualified for". I quickly agreed to meet for a second interview and made an appointment later that afternoon. In the interview they told me of the new opening which was for a Patrol Officer position. How in the world was I more qualified for that?!! After discussing the pay and the benefits I took the job and am now a Patrol Officer!
I'm going on week 4 of training. It's been crazy so far. I never would have thought I'd find myself in the place I am today. Life is funny. I wear a badge and a duty belt loaded with cool weapons to work.

Happy 3 Months, Zinni Bug!

My how time flies! I can't believe my little niece is already 3 months old!! She's growing so fast and just gets cuter and cuter every day. My work schedule has gotten a little kink in it and I haven't been able to visit her on my regular Thursday each week. Here is a super cute shot from my visit with her just this Tuesday. It is still so weird to me that my brother is a Daddy! It seems like just days ago we were out tromping through the back 40. I sure do love being close to him and my wonderful sister in-law and of course my Zinni bug!

Dryer Fiasco

I dedicated part of my day to catching up on laundry. My poor roommate has been in and out so much I decided I'd help her catch up too. Our apartment complex has its own little laundry room with several coin operated washers and dryers. I was in a hurry to take the laundry out of the dryer, run it upstairs to our apartment, lay it all out flat, change into my clean work clothes, and get to work on time. As I bent down to grab the last of the clothes I hit my forehead on the metal quarter slot that protrudes out from the dryer. It was a pretty forceful blow. The girl that was next to me in the laundry mat immediately asked if I was alright and I quickly responded with a tough "Oh, yeah, hah, I'm fine!" while inside I was screaming "Sweet Lord!! Take MY LIFE NOW!!!" It hurt so bad and the worst of it was I couldn't even scream all of the profane things that were jutting through my mind. I gathered the last of my laundry and squeezed past the girl. She looked at me again, gasp, and said "Oh my! Are you sure you're alright?!". I assured her with the bravest of faces I could muster that I was great! As I arrived in my apartment I immediately dropped the laundry basket and went straight for the bathroom. As I looked in the mirror I noticed a stream of blood trickling down my forehead and onto my cheek! No wonder the girl in the laundry room was so concerned! I had to call work and tell them I'd be a a little late as I was panicking at home trying to decide if I needed to make a trip to the hospital for some stitches or if the bleeding would subside after a few minutes of pressure. Thankfully it did just that and I was able to clean up a bit and head to work with only a pounding headache and some yucky hair.


(picture not taken on the scene--compliments of Bella Pop Photography)

Happy Holidays!

I've been somewhat of a Scrooge the past couple holidays. I used to love Christmas time-- decorating the tree, listening to Carol of the Bells, driving around town looking at Christmas lights, making (but mostly eating) Christmas Candy. I guess the charm has been taken away a bit. My poor roommate has heard her fair share of my "Bah, humbug" exclamations when anything about Christmas is mentioned.
So, tonight I am turning over a new leaf! Our apartment now has a tiny bit of Christmas spirit. I bought my very first Christmas ornament today. Or my first 6. It used to be a little tradition that my family and I would do. Well, it was mostly just a custom with my Mom and I, because we enjoyed it the most. Every year we would pick out a new ornament to go on our tree. We had a few different "sets" of ornaments, but there was one set that was my favorite. It was a contemporary set with lots of bright purples, and greens, and turquoise's, and reds with a matching purple silk tree skirt. I loved it! I also bought two stockings to hang on our mantel. It's fun to actually have a mantel!
Lee is in Colorado for the weekend as Trinity has a game tonight. Go TU! I can't wait for her to get back and see that I'm NOT a Scrooge.....anymore!




How could I forget?! I spent yesterday (Thursday) with Zinni, Kim, and Cale. We had so much fun. We gave Zinnia a bath and she just LOVED splashing around in the water. Zinnia was wishing her Aunt Nikki could be in Texas to join the slumber party, so she decided to write her a letter. She's so smart and growing up so fast!!!






Love to you all and Happy Holidays!!!

Thursdays with Zinnia

So, I am typically off work each week on Thursday and have devoted this day to spending time with my brand new niece. It amazes me how much she has changed in just 6 days each time that I visit. Here are just a few shots of my Thursdays with Zinnia.


My first Thursday with Zinnia. I don't think I could give this girl enough kisses!


Little monkey girl.


Holding her head up like a big girl.


She can already roll over from her tummy to her back.


Another perk to 'Thursdays with Zinnia' is seeing my beautiful Sister in Law.

Being Thankful

I try to do this every year. Mostly they are jotted down in my journal, but since I've started blogging I think it'll be neat to express my gratitude through here.

I am thankful for my family,
it has been a rough year.
We are called to be thankful
through the good and the bad,
so for the bad times I am thankful.
I don't believe I'd have the relationship
with my Father as I do now
if the bad hadn't of happened.
I am thankful for my Brothers and their
beautiful wives.
I am thankful for the opportunity to
grow closer with my siblings.
The months we shared in Rockport
filled with many laughs and many tears.
I am thankful for the new place I am at,
my wonderful roommate, our quaint little apartment,
and living in a city full of people
that need to feel the love of Christ.
I am thankful for my new niece Zinnia.
She is healthy and beautiful and full of life.
I am thankful for the opportunity to live close to her
and see her often.
I am thankful for the Till family.
My friendship in Misti and the joy her children bring me.
I am thankful for my friends. Spread as far as Oregon
to New Zealand and everywhere in between.
I am thankful for the health of my family,
the health of my friends, and the health of my own.
I am thankful for my travels
and the friends I have made along the way.
I am thankful for my precious dog Kona.
I am thankful for my spiritual growth, for a little bit of healing this year,
and for the coming to do only more.