why Robin Scherbatsky and I are the same.

Gage Skidmore

For those of you who are avid watchers of How I Met Your Mother, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. For those who have never seen/heard of the show, you need to get on it. The first 7 seasons are on Netflix, and I think the 8th season is on Hulu. The 9th and final season will be premiering in September, so no worries. You have a few months to catch up.

Admittedly, I just discovered HIMYM sometime in April or May. I became obsessed, and I spent my days and most of my time off just sitting in front of the TV watching it on Netflix. It's freaking hilarious, and it makes me want to move to New York so I can find a group of friends just like that. And for those that hate HIMYM because it's similar to Friends, I'm a lover of both (though I do think Friends is better. Just throwing that out there. But our relationship goes way back).

Anyway, I just love Robin. She is one of my favorite characters, though really, I love them all because they're all amazing. I mean, look how sassy she is:

And though holding guns scares me, I don't smoke cigars, and I have no desire to be a news anchor, Robin and I still have a lot in common.

// We use the word "literally" the wrong way.

// When we get drunk, our roots show. Robin is Canadian, and she gets extra Canadian with some liquor in her. I, on the other hand, get super country. I have an alter ego. Her name is Kim. Her southern accent is riddikulous.

// We both have an appreciation for sparkle. As you can see by my layout, I love to sparkle. Robin was a Canadian popstar and her name was Robin Sparkles.

// We both love dogs. Growing up, I couldn't tell you how many dogs I had (Haunz, Rusty, Buster, Kelsey, Ziggy, Uno, just to name a few. There were more). Robin lived with five dogs before giving them away to her lesbian aunt.

// We're both suckers for romantic gestures, but act like we're not. You know she swooned over Ted stealing that blue French horn for her.

// We randomly make Harry Potter references in daily conversation (probably the number one reason why I love her so much).

// We're always hungry. And sometimes make unintentional (or sometimes intentional) sexual references when eating something tasty.

// When there's a lull in conversation, we often say "but...umm" without realizing.

// We both grew up with our dad and one sibling (though my dad did eventually remarry and I gained two more siblings) and then we eventually moved in with our mom.

// We ain't get no respect. 

Any fellow How I Met Your Mother fans out there?

-- tiffanykhyla.

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the post with lake placid.

Lately, I've been missing camp so much. I never went to camp as a child, but last year, I worked as a counselor at a camp called Lake Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania. When I originally signed up, I thought it was the perfect job for me. I didn't have a car (a girl ran a stop light and hit me and totaled my car with her Denali) so I thought it made sense for me to work somewhere where I didn't need one. My train of thought was - free room and board, free meals every day, traveling (I was just two hours from NYC and an hour or so from Philly), and making new friends that lived in other places that I could go visit in the future.

I was so awkward at first. I don't know why I put myself in such weird social situations. It ended up being an amazing experience though. I was put in bunk 2, which is the second oldest group of girls at camp (did I mention it was an all girls camp?). They were teenagers going into their freshman year of college. I got grouped with a bunch of amazing girls. They were so sweet, and I wish I could have gone back again this summer to be their counselor. I also had some amazing co-counselors. We bonded so much, and I miss them like crazy. I can't wait for a reunion. Thank goodness for social media, because we're always tweeting, facebooking, snapchatting, etc. each other. There's also been a little snail mail action. And I can appreciate camp funnies like this one.

Anyway, one of my favorite camp experiences actually didn't happen on camp. The bunk one and bunk two girls get to take two trips each summer to places off of camp property. I got to accompany the bunk two girls on one last year to Lake Placid. Can I just say that IT WAS A BLAST!! I had so much fun. I got to go ice-skating, do wheel luge, play street hockey, go on a gondola ride up the Whiteface Mountains and tour the Olympic training center. We went to a Wet and Wild Wednesday ski jump show at the Olympic jumping complex. It was so neat! We also met Shane Hook, who was training for the winter Olympics in doubles luge and ate lunch {in the same room} with Steve Holcomb, an Olympian and gold medalist for bobsled. It was so awesome. There aren't enough words. I guess I'll let the pictures do the talking from here.

I love being a tourist.

Shane Hook!

Failing at wheel luge

Failing at street hockey.

Failing at paintball.

Bobsled!

View from the gondola ride

On the edge of the Whiteface Mountains. Too gorgeous!

Wet and Wild Wednesdays

Sigh. I wish I could go back!

-- tiffanykhyla.

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the post with fourth of Julys past.

Before I start, I just want to let you all know that I am currently eating a Twix ice-cream bar, and it is heaven in my mouth. If you've never had one (and you're not allergic to chocolate or nuts), go get one NOW! So good.

Focusing... For those of you who follow me on the twitter, you should know by now that I spent my day manning the front desk at work. I didn't get to sport any king of red, white, and blue gear or attend a cook-out or drink a beer (except I hate beer, but that's not the point). The best part of my day was being able to sit at my desk for the first time. I just got promoted at work, and starting next week, I'll have my very own desk. How grown up, right?

Anyway, since I don't have any fun Independence Day memories to share from today, I thought I would share a couple of my favorites from the past.

I don't remember exactly when this first one happened. I'm pretty sure it was my junior year in high school. I, along with my boyfriend at the time and some friends, went to an empty part of a parking lot in my boyfriend's apartment complex and shot some fireworks. We were shooting them out of bottles, and when we were going to shoot one off, it fell in our direction. We started frantically running all over the place. It was scary and hilarious at the same time. No one was hurt in the making of this memory.

Another favorite was my last Fourth of July. I was working at camp in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and it was my day off. A few of my new camp friends and I decided to go to Skinners Falls, and we crossed the Delaware. So patriotic. That night, I saw the most amazing fireworks I've ever seen (and probably will ever see) in my life. It was at the actual camp and shot off of the main field in the middle. I sat with a few other counselors on one side of the field, so they were so close and so gorgeous. I wish I could see those fireworks every year.

Did y'all have a good Fourth of July? What's your favorite Fourth of July memory?

-- tiffanykhyla.

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the post with my first break-up.

I started dating my first boyfriend in 7th grade. His name was Mark. He was blonde, just a little bit taller than me, and he dated everybody. We were in the same class, so we saw each other all the time. When we first started dating, he didn't ask me to be his girlfriend; someone asked for him. I then delivered the message back to him through that friend.

The extent of our relationship was eating lunch together in the cafeteria with the occasional hug. He got me a combination gift for my birthday and Christmas (pet peeve. Argh!). It was candy. I got him a giant Hershey kiss. How symbolic.

One day, he didn't sit by me at lunch, so I sent my friend, Melissa, to see why he wasn't sitting with me. She came back and told me that he wanted to break up.

We were together for two weeks.

-- tiffanykhyla.

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the post with the liebster award.

I am just tinkled pink to have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Krystal at Spunkee Belle. Her blog posts are just pure hilarity, so you must go check her out. I've only been seriously blogging for the past month or so, so I just think it's sweet that she liked my blog enough to nominate me. The Liebster is awarded to up and coming bloggers with 200 followers or less whose blog deserves some support and recognition. Even though I've been blogging for such a short amount of time, I've already met some sweet (and hilarious) people.

So the rules for the Liebster are as follows:

• Link back to the blogger who nominated you.
• List 10 facts about yourself.
• Nominate up to 11 bloggers with 200 followers or less and notify them that they've been nominated.
• Ask the nominees 10 questions for them to answer on their own blog.

Facts about me:
I've never lived in a place for more than 3 1/2 years, except for Louisiana! I've lived here for the past 9 years. My dad was in the Air Force, and I moved around my whole life until I moved to Louisiana. It was a good place to settle down for high school and college, but now I'm ready to move. Preferably somewhere with a beach!

I can't go on roller coasters! Well, I guess I can, but I'll have a terrible headache afterwards. I used to go on roller coasters all the time when I was younger, but last year when I worked at a summer camp, we went to Hershey Park, and I went on five roller coasters within two hours and almost died. Plus it was hot. The combination did not suit me well.

I'm a hoarder-in-training. I literally keep the most random things. I have ticket stubs from the early 2000's. I keep room keys from all of the hotels I stay at. I keep every birthday/Christmas/just because card that anyone gives me. I just keep a lot of random things, and I have a lot of memory boxes that are filled to the brim.

I have a stuffed animal named Jorge, but I pronounce it George usually. He is a giraffe. Fun fact: giraffes are my favorite animal because they are something I'll never be - tall.

I took a watercolor painting class for a couple months. I painted a magnolia, and it turned out kind of awesome if I do say so myself. I started painting a seashell, but I had to stop going to class because of my work schedule. It's such a hard craft, but I loved it.


I love picnics. I hate that Louisiana's weather in the summer is so humid and gross, but I love to eat outside when the weather is nicer and cooler. I also love to read outside whenever I get the chance.

I don't drink sodas (unless mixed with alcohol). Whenever I go to restaurants, I always order water. The server thinks it's because I'm cheap, but it's actually because I just like water. It's tasty and healthy.

My closet is color coordinated. I can feel your judgement. My dad was very organized, and he used to color coordinate his closet. It wasn't really on purpose. He just put shirts that were alike together and they just so happened to be the same color. Once I found out that his was color coordinated, I followed suit, and now I always color coordinate my closet. Mind you, this has been happening for about 10+ years now.

My favorite Disney movie is Lion King. Yeah, all of the Disney princesses are great, but I just loooove Lion King. Mulan and Aladdin are a close second and third. All Disney movies are pretty amazing though.

I love sushi. It's possibly my favorite food. Definitely top 5. It's different at every restaurant you go to. It's just really tasty, depending on what you get. I love me some sushi. Mm mm.

Questions from Krystal:

What is your biggest fear?
Getting Alzheimer's. I don't have anyone in my family that has had it or anything, (though my great-grandma Patsy started losing her memory and couldn't remember anyone, but I just think that came with age. She died at 106.) but I did visit the Alzheimer's unit at a nursing home. It was so sad. I just started crying, especially after I witnessed a Notebook moment. This man's wife had it, and he came and fed her every day for every meal, and she had no idea who he was. It broke my heart.

If you could have a private dinner with ANY 5 people, who would it be?

1. Kristen Bell. I think this just goes back to my obsession with her, particularly in Veronica Mars. This will now be the third blog that mentions her. I guess I'm a super fan.
2. Sarah Dessen. I know she's a young adult author, but I've been reading her books since middle school. I've loved every book that I've read by her, so much that I re-read them. I would love to pick her brain on advice to write a book of my own. She's brilliant in my book.
3. The Harry Potter trio. I guess this is cheating because it's three people instead of one, but I don't care. Harry Potter is seriously my childhood. I remember when it first came out, I refused to be a fan. Then my sixth grade teacher gave me the first book to read, and I was hooked. Forever obsessed. I went to the midnight showings of the movies and I got my books at midnight at Barnes and Noble. I've read the books a million times, and I'm always watching the movies. I think it would just be amazing to meet the three people who played the main characters. My life would literally be made. 
4. Ellen Degeneris. She's freaking brilliant and flipping hilarious. I love her more than words can say. I wish I lived in Cali just so I could go to one of her shows.
5. THE CAST OF FRIENDS. Yes, I deemed it necessary to put that in all caps. I'm also aware that technically, I've named 12 people that I would want to have a private dinner with. Don't care. I have loved Friends for forever. I used to watch it with my dad when I was younger. I didn't really appreciate it until I got to college and I had time to watch TV, and I actually understood all the jokes. If I'm watching TV and FRIENDS is on, it's usually tuned to that, despite the fact that I own all ten seasons on DVD.

What is one thing you regret from your past and why?
I regret quitting gymnastics! Gymnastics was literally the only sport that I was seriously involved in. Okay, it was only for 2-3 years, and it was in elementary school, but I really wish I would've stuck with it. I don't think I would have gone to the Olympics or anything, but I would have loved to try cheerleading or maybe danceline or something. I tried to play soccer once, but I only lasted a week before I quit. Gymnastics is something that I could've done for a long time though. I was the only one in my class who could do a roundoff back hand spring. Impressive? Maybe not.


What's your favorite holiday?
Christmas. By far. No question. It's not just the presents and the music (yes, I'm one of the five people in the world who actually enjoys Christmas music) and the food. It's more of the feeling I get around Christmas time. Everyone is just so happy. People love each other a little more. Christmas is the holiday where everyone is giving and most people become just a little selfless. I love shopping for Christmas gifts (even though it stresses me out big time). It's just the most wonderful time of the year.

What is your dream job?
I want to be an event planner! I think it would be so much fun. I planned a talent show when I was a junior in college, and it was an absolute blast! I think event planning would definitely put my organizational skills and perfectionist tendencies to work.

If you could date one celebrity, who would it be?
Zac Efron. No question. He is just an attractive human being. I've only read positive things about him. Apparently he loves his fans, and he's so humble. He's so grateful for everything he has. I know all of this because we're dating (in my head). But seriously, I've had a crush on him for so long that I would probably faint just being in the same room with him.

What is one bad habit you wish you could change?
I wish that I was motivated to exercise more. I was doing really well for a few months at the beginning of the year. I had a work-out schedule. I joined a gym. I had a few apps that I used to work-out with. Then I just stopped. I'm doing a Run or Dye 5k in Septemeber, so I really need to step up my game and get to working out again.

Chocolate or vanilla?
This is a loaded question. I love chocolate candy, especially Hershey's Cookies and Creme (and yea, I know it's white chocolate, but it's delicious). I hate dark chocolate though. Meh. Other than that, I don't really like much chocolate. I don't like chocolate cake or chocolate ice-cream. I do like vanilla ice-cream with chocolate in it though. And I do like chocolate-chip cookies, yum. I guess overall, chocolate would be the winner.


If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Crawfish. I can't even describe how much I love crawfish. I hate that crawfish season only lasts a few months out of the year because I crave it year-round. I could definitely eat crawfish for the rest of my life and be happy forever.

What is one thing your readers may not know about you?
 My first job was a grocery bagger. I worked at a grocery store called Publix when I was 15. It was down the road from my middle school, so I just walked to work after school. I stood at the end of the registers and bagged people's groceries for them then pushed their carts to their cars and helped them unload their groceries. Men used to laugh at me like "Why do I need this little girl to help me with my groceries?" Ain't that the truth.

Questions for my nominees:

1. What is your favorite Disney movie?
2. If you could have one super power, what would it be?
3. Tell me about your first best friend.
4. What is your favorite candy?
5. If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
6. Who is your celeb crush?
7. What is your favorite animal and why?
8. What is your favorite game? Board, card, video, etc.
9. How did you choose the name of your blog?
10. Why did you start your blog?

And I'm nominating...

{{Just a note...I went by the number of Bloglovin' followers. Not GFC. That's all.}}

Rebekkah @ {{Reba-K Writes}}

Rita Marie @ {{Champagne-n-Pizza}}

Mrs. B @ {{World Traveling Military Family}}

Ginny @ {{Buttergirl Diaries}}

Jenni @ {{Flying On A Rainbow}}

-- tiffanykhyla.

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the post with the tech fam.

You know how sometimes you just have that group of friends that just sticks with you for rest of your life? Well, I met that group of friends in college {well, one of my groups of friends}. There's ten of us. We're all so different. We were spread throughout every college at our university {and one didn't even go there}. We were all involved in different things on campus. Our friends outside of the Tech Fam knew the Tech Fam as "The Tech Fam" because we talked about each other so much.

I think the hardest part about graduating was leaving this group of people behind. We're all spread out everywhere now, and we miss each other so much that we created a way for us to keep in touch with a traveling journal {yes, inspired by the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants}. We, of course, have rules, and it's sectioned off, and we write letters to each other. The actual content of the journal is secret, but I can show you the cover!

Isn't it pretty? {You better say yes because I made it.}

I love all of them so much and miss them every day. Can't wait for our reunion on an unknown date!

-- tiffanykhyla

P.S. Tech Fam blog shout out. Check out Jon's blog here and Tyler's blog here.

**********

Linking up with Neely for Never Ever Ever.

Never Ever Ever...
Will I ever catch up on sleep.
Will I ever stop loving sparkly things.
Will I ever stop drinking moscato.
Will I ever be tall.
Will I ever get a cat.
Will I ever stop loving Christmas.
Will I ever stop watching Mary-Kate and Ashley movies.
Will I ever stop eating.
Will I ever stop loving Zac Efron.
Will I ever stop wanting to travel.


Also linking up with Areeba and Noor.

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the post with galveston.

For those of you wondering why I suddenly fell off the face of the earth, it's because I went on a weekend vacation! Then I had to work all day, so no chance for blogging. Sad. And for those of you who follow me on twitter, insta, and vine {search for Tiffany Khyla}, here's the scoop to fill in the gaps of all the excitement of my weekend in Galveston, Texas with the lovely Jonathan.

Let me just begin by saying that I was supposed to go to Galveston with my sister, but she went on vacation with her friend and her family the week before. They went to Orlando to go to Disney World (super jealous). Her family decided to stay an extra day, so my sister was stuck in Orlando. I was freaking depressed because I was looking forward to this vacation for months. Literally. Luckily, Jon came and saved the day, in spite of his dislike of spontaneity.

I was super excited to get on the road.

The first stop was Houston to see Sammi, my best friend from seventh grade. I haven't seen her in a few years, so I was extremely excited. We have some of the best embarrassing middle school memories. Jon and I met up with her at this bar/restaurant called Petrol Station. I was extra excited to get there because I was going to finally get to meet her girlfriend, Gabi. She was a hoot! A few beers (and a couple glasses of wine for me) in, and we were all laughing like old friends (except me and Sammi are old friends). I had a blast, and it was so amazing to catch up.

Middle school reunion! Sorry for my eyes. I hate that flash. 

We got to the hotel around 12:30 in the morning. We checked into a Hampton in League City, and it was gorgeous! I wanted to live in that bed. It was so comfortable. We pretty much passed out as soon as our heads hit the pillow. Six hours of driving and wine and will do that to you.

After filling our bellies up with complimentary breakfast, we headed to Galveston to go to the beach! The coast is so long, but the beach itself is so ugly. The seawall, as they call it, is such a weird concept to me. It's just a wall, then you walk down some steps, and your feet hit the sand. You walk about thirty feet, and you're in the water. All of the sand was wet. There was no dry sand at all, so it stuck to everything extra hard. So weird. But the water felt lovely.

Typical beach selfie before my hair got wet. 

Pics in the water with the waterproof cam.

We ate lunch at this place called The Spot. It was so good! There aren't enough words for me to describe how amazing it was. I was overwhelmed because the place is huge. When you're standing in line to order, the instructions tell you to seat yourself. I was panicking because I was like, how are you supposed to get your food? But it all ended up being really easy. I got a mahi mahi sandwich (insert House Bunny quote here) with avocado aka heaven. It hit the spot, if ya know what I mean. Jon got a Ralph burger, which is a bacon cheeseburger. Basic, but good. Jon also got some cookies and cream ice-cream. Always a winner.

Afterwards, we decided to burn some calories at Magic Carpet Mini Golf. That place was so cute. All of the little things were animated. Jon won by two, unfortunately, but I've never been good at mini golf. It's always a blast playing with him.

We went back to the hotel to shower. We were covered in sand, salt, and sweat. Attractive, really. We played some Skip-Bo (because we're party animals) and then went swimming at the hotel's pool. It felt perfect. I wanted to stay in there forever.

After getting sexy, we headed to Samurai for some hibachi entertainment. Our cook was awesome; they always are. The family we were sitting at the table with was not awesome. It was a married couple and their three kids. The kids looked bored out of their minds, and they didn't even get anything to eat. The first thing the wife said when they got to the table was "Where do you want to sit?" and the man snapped at her and said "Just sit down! I don't care where you sit!" Rude. But the food was delicious, our server was nice, and the cook was hilarious. I've never finished a meal at a hibachi dinner, but we didn't have a fridge or a microwave in the room, so...challenge accepted (and almost successful).

I'm obsessed with this shirt. It was a $4 thrift store find. 

Sunday was our last day of vacation, and I sporadically got a little depressed. Our day was spent in the hot, hot (deadly) sun. We went to the new Dinos Alive exhibit at Moody Gardens to get the full Jurassic Park experience. I got to be a paleontologist, and I met Little Foot. Afterward, we stopped by Ben & Jerry's to cool off with some ice-cream.

We went to The Strand in Galveston to walk around the shops. We spotted a life size chess board and some blue trees. Pretty snazzy.

Tree hugger in training.

We also went to the Baybrook Mall so I could do some shopping. Jon was such a sport and didn't even complain once. I needed to get some work clothes, y'all! And in my defense, I was supposed to be on vacation with my sister, so shopping was already on the itinerary in my head.

Before heading back home, we stopped in Houston to say bye to Sammi and Gabi. We also met their precious dog, Lyle. They suggested this place for dinner called Lola. Jon got a Day After Thanksgiving sandwich. It's exactly what it sounds like. Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and gravy on bread. So freaking good. I got an Aloha Chicken sandwich. Chicken breast, teriyaki sauce, and a pineapple. I just wanted my stomach to be bigger so I could finish the whole thing. They also had a really cool ceiling.

Anyway, that was my weekend. It was great fun. I loved catching up with Sammi, and getting to spend the weekend with Jon. Now it's back to reality (oh, there goes gravity - Eminem reference. Anyone?).

-- tiffanykhyla.

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