Thank Goodnes for Sugar and Disney in NYC!

It is Monday morning and almost 11 am. I have officially had multiple conversations about my trip to NYC last week, balanced my check book, seen two students, checked all of my email, and caught up on all the blogs I follow. It is beautiful to be back to my "normal" life. I will tell you that two weeks ago I may have been somewhat cynical about my daily happenings of the "normal" life, but today I am thankful. Today I appreciate my small town "normal" life. Thank you NYC for putting things into perspective.

Last week I took on the task of taking 27 students to NYC for a finance trip. Since I am the Finance advisor, OSU thought it made sense for me to serve as the staff advisor on the trip. While I admittedly was ready to come home just 3 hours after being there, I did enjoy certain aspects of it. I ate lots of cupcakes that were absolutely delicious, visited the M&M store multiple times, and saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. So there you have it, those were the 3 things I loved the most about NYC. Imagine that, they all have to do with sugar and being submerged into a Disney fantasy. Everything else is a blur. I will provide pictures later because you have to see these cupcakes!

One thing I love about anytime that I go outside of Oklahoma is the reading and thinking downtime. This trip was no different. In fact, my week in NYC provided this in surplus. I spent many of my nights or mornings down in the workout room on the treadmill walking at an absurd incline for far longer than I care to. During this time, however, I was blessed with the opportunity to finish the book "Heaven is For Real", start a couple classics, and talk a lot with God. I love these times because when I am back in my "normal" life I don't ever dedicate enough time to this. I also spent way less time on the Internet than I think I have in almost a year. Outside of my facebook updates, the Internet was virtually non existent in my life. Bliss.

I came to a few conclusions as I left the Big Apple on Saturday. I love my small town life and fortunately some people just were not made for the big city. I am extremely blessed with loved ones, a warm place to call home, and good food. I may not have a lot of money, stuff, or a fancy job; but I have the things that matter most and that is my God, my family, my future spouse, and my friends. Nothing can replace those. Finally, everyone should eat their weight in cupcakes from time to time. It just makes life a little sweeter! :)