A good day to read

Late afternoon was misty and really reminded me of Seattle. Except that in Seattle this would be normal and I'd be used to it. After how many years away from Washington, it just made me tired and want to curl up with a good book.


So I brewed myself another cup of tea in my lovely new tea tumbler and did just that. I downloaded Eat, Pray, Love for my nook the day before yesterday, but only made it to the 6th bead. Now I'm up to the 27th, and really want to go to Italy and do nothing but eat for 4 months!

Who doesn't love a new purse?

It recently came to my attention that I was missing should be a staple in my wardrobe. A cross body purse. I prefer black or brown to go with anything, and just big enough to hold my iPod, camera, wallet, and some gum.


This lovely vintage Coach purse of my mom's is almost perfect- just a tiny bit too small. And borrowed. So I was quite happy when I found this on sale at Target this afternoon:


It's from the Mulberry for Target line, which I didn't even know had been going on. I was mostly excited that it was 50% of and just big enough for my things, with a tiny bit of room to spare for tissues and car keys and such.

In other news, I was quite shocked to realize that interim classes begin next Monday, meaning I move back into the dorms on Sunday. ugh. Break is almost over already? Whiskey tango foxtrot!

This is not rudolph.

Well, first of all, it's not even a reindeer. It's a mule deer. And even though we've had it in (at least) our last 3 homes, it still occasionally manages to scare the crap out of me when I wake up in the middle of the night and need a glass of water.


Probably not what my grandpa had in mind, but from what I've heard he was a bit of a trickster anyway, so maybe this would have made him laugh a little.

Delicious tea and some resolutions

Yesterday
My parents got me a really lovely tea tumbler from Teavana for Christmas. I wanted one to take to class with me, but of course I couldn't wait that long to try it out.


I made Teavana's Youthberry Tea, which I really liked. It had a nice fruity taste and is apparently good for the complexion (so said the website, anyway).


One of the things I particularly like about this tumbler is that it's double-walled glass, so not only can I watch my tea brew but it can also go in the dishwasher when I'm home. The only thing that needs to be hand-washed is the lid, since it's plastic. All in all, I'm very happy with it and can't wait to use it at school.

Today
Lately I've been working on my New Year's Resolutions. I've finalized 3 so far:
1. To continue to keep updating this blog on a regular basis. I've really enjoyed this the last few months, and it's been a nice way to record some of the things I've done.
2. Be a little healthier. I've noticed lately that I consume way too much soda and junk food. This year I want to try and cut out soda entirely, and significantly cut back on junk food. I also plan on using the wellness center at my school more often, particularly the climbing wall and treadmills/track. If it fits in my schedule, I want to try and find a group class as well.
3. Use healthier skin/hair/makeup products. I won't be buying all-new products, but I'm going to try and find a natural/organic alternative once I run out of something, then review them here. Starting with haircare.


I've used this shampoo from Aveda before, and I love it. I have oily hair, and the mint in this really helps keep it under control. Plus, it smells delicious and is great for helping you wake up in the morning. Just don't let it get in your eyes! The conditioner is also really nice- my hair is definitely less static-y, although it could help detangle a little more.

Holly Jolly Christmas

Thursday
Sophie didn't get home from college until Wednesday evening, so we had to wait to decorate the tree until Thursday when we were all home.


First we untangled the lights/ bothered dad while he tried to put the lights on the tree.


Then the fun part! Every Christmas, my Grandpa Bob has given me and my sisters a Christmas ornament, so we each have our own box full of decorations.


This was my very first Christmas ornament, and my all time favorite. I don't know why, I just really enjoy it :)

Christmas Eve
We spent Christmas Eve at my Grandpa Bob's house, with my Aunt Mary, Aunt Katie and Uncle Rob, and my cousins Liz and Pat. So it was a fairly small gathering this year, but it was kind of nice and relaxed. Dad made homemade chili for dinner, and Mom made homemade soup. And after dinner, we opened presents!


It was very fun. I got some sweet gift cards to Barnes and Noble and iTunes, and my Aunt Mary gave me the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, which is REALLY cool.


Of course, there was quite the mess when we were done!

Christmas Day
We spent Christmas day at my Aunt Anne and Uncle Chris' house. They had a really delicious Christmas brunch for us, and we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas with W. He was so funny- he barely blinked at all, but he could hardly stay awake.


He spent the movie cuddling with Sophie, but he let me cuddle with Bumble and Kanga so I wouldn't be left out.


While he napped, Brenna tested out his new safari play set.


And I found the pickle!

I hope you all had a happy and safe holiday!

Last-minute holiday madness

Today was the first day of break that Sophie and I both had off. Since we're both slackers, we devoted it to finishing off our holiday shopping. It. was. crazy. I didn't even think we were going to be able to get parking spaces at the mall or Barnes and Noble, but we ended up getting lucky and scoring spots close to the door as someone else was leaving. Then we got into the store.


And THIS was the line I got to wait in. Apparently Barnes and Noble was the place to be this afternoon. Everybody and their grandma was there. Absolute madness. At least there the checkers are pretty fast, so I didn't end up waiting as long as I thought I would. But man. I've got to remember this next year and try to get my shopping done before Christmas week.

Bonus quote of the day
Sophie, as we pass a decorative, light-up reindeer in someone's yard: Oh my gosh I thought that was a live giraffe!

It is on.

I am a compulsive email checker. I probably check my mail over 20 times a day. Frightening, right? Anyway, I was checking my email after dinner, when I saw this:


Obviously, my cousin Josh also plays Magic. This is going to be one interesting holiday season.

Also, I'm sort of cheating again and using a screenshot for today's picture. oops.

Let's pretend I titled this post the first time around

Sunday
Several years ago, after my great grandma died, my grandma Joyce gave me on of her watches. I've never really been a watch person, but I decided a few weeks ago that I'd like to start wearing one. At which point I remembered that I already had one. Whether or not it still worked was another story.


So, while I was visiting Grandma Joyce on Saturday, I stopped by the jeweler's and asked if he could take a look at it. Turns out, all it needed was a new battery. The inside is perfectly fine, he said. Quite exciting :)

Yesterday
I don't honestly pay much attention to the things that are in my room anymore. I'm not here all that often, anyway.


Still, this picture always makes me smile. It was taken at the very end of my last year in middle school- the school had a party for all of the students before going to high school. And now I'm in college! It seems absolutely crazy.

Early Mini-Christmas

Today we went to Dodgeville to have a kind of mini-Christmas get together at my grandma and grandpa's house.


Before dinner, we all sat around the tree for a bit, and mom and 3 of her sisters and Grandma opened their Christmas gift from Aunt Jill.


She made everyone aprons! Aren't they fun? And Grandma made a great dinner- my absolute favorite bean soup. Then we got brownie sundaes with homemade chocolate sauce and crunched up candy canes. Wonderfully delicious :)

Home :)

Yesterday
I walked by my freshman dorm for the first time in close to a month yesterday. Of course, it's not there, which is still incredibly strange to me.


It might be hard to tell in the photo, but the foundation for the new dorm is entirely dug and (I think) poured.

Today


I'm home! All of my papers are turned in, exams are over, the fridge is defrosted, and everything in the room is unplugged. Now I just have to relax for two weeks until interim starts.

Random, but...

Does anyone know why the square pictures are always so much larger than the rectangular ones when I post them? I find it moderately annoying that they're not closer to the same size.

Boots with the fur!

At 9:10, I had my last class of the semester this morning. Hooray! I always check the weather before going to class... -8 F, -19 F with windchill. Boo! Who told it to be so cold all of a sudden? Of course, that means grabbing my favorite go-to cold weather clothes.


This Under Armour shirt was a Christmas gift 3 years ago, and has been my favorite base layer since then. Oddly, I've never thought to put it back on my list. Having more than one might be kind of nice, actually.


As far as I'm concerned, these boots have only one downfall: they have absolutely no traction, so they don't handle the slippery, only partially-shoveled sidewalks on campus very well.

Not photographed: my Nike running pants, which I've been wearing under my jeans pretty much since the end of October.

The End.

Fall semester is drawing to a close, and I have only a few things left to take care of.


From top to bottom:
The Tome- my final critical reading journals
Math workbook- studying for tomorrow's math final
Geology textbook- studying for tomorrow's geology final
Folder- everything I need for my final paper

Tomorrow has two finals and a peer review, Thursday is free, and on Friday I have to turn in my last paper and the critical reading journals. Winter break begins at 10:10 Friday morning, and I cannot wait :)

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

First off, sorry I've been doing these longer, once a week posts. I hope it's ok, because I kind of enjoy them and will probably continue them next semester. Although, once this week is over, it will be winter break, so posting will probably be a little strange then. So what's been happening in the week leading up to finals?

Tuesday
Apparently, I need to be a meaner friend and not share my delicious cookies with everyone. Remember how many there were on Saturday?


This is how many I had left on Tuesday. In case it was ever questionable, let me declare: I bake cookies like a boss.

Wednesday
Lisa turned 21! Sadly, I wasn't able to spend much time celebrating with her, since I had my first exam at 8am Thursday morning. But I was able to go to the first bar with her, the much loved Barley and Hops.


Lisa's free birthday drink? A Barley and Hops special which they refer to as "The Three Wise Men." Fun.

Thursday
First exam! Geology lab at 8am! That was totally enjoyable. I especially enjoy getting up early to walk to class in the freezing cold. At least it wasn't an evening class- check this out:


I took this from my window around dinner time. By the next morning, the school was emailing everyone warning them that the snow and cold we'd been getting would likely be turning into blizzard conditions that weekend. (Spoiler: it totally did.)

Friday
I left my dorm... 3 times (?) on Friday to go to class and eat. I tried to combine as many of those events as possible, since the snow was not about to let up. To avoid cabin fever, I found a sweet Christmas station on Pandora (Swingin' Christmas, ftw!), got some studying in, and let Jonathan make me ridiculous pictures.


It did combine some of my favorite things- adorable koalas and geeky references to MTG.

Saturday
I try to avoid taking the bus places as often as possible. I can't read a bus schedule to save my life (hey, public transportation is definitely not something I'm used to). Plus, they're kind of gross. But Saturday, I rode the bus to Appleton with Jon, Ben, and Zach so we could hit the mall and finish up our Christmas shopping. None of which I can post pictures of, of course.


We ended up having a ton of extra time while we waited for the bus, though, so we stopped in at the nearest sports bar (it was basically the only place open in downtown Neenah), where the boys split this absolutely huge thing of nachos. I couldn't decide if it looked delicious or frightening.

Sunday
The school was right about the blizzard- it hit late Saturday afternoon and went all night.


Talk about a winter wonderland. We went from having a few little patches of snow to several inches in just a few hours. It's finally starting to feel like winter in Wisconsin!

Monday
My window is frozen shut!


Not that I'll likely be opening it again anytime soon, but still. My window is full of snow and ice. That's probably not a good thing, right?

I may or may not have a love affair with sticky notes

I am seriously in love with sticky notes. I think they may be the best thing ever. 90% of my organization and planning is backed entirely by sticky notes. Even though I just made that number up. It's probably more than that. I use them for everything- bookmarking readings in my textbooks, writing down quick lists, notes to myself or to Ms. Tiffany, and to keep myself on track for finals week. But first you'll have to get through the weekend.

Friday
Friday was Titans Take on Hunger, a charity event put on by USRH's Foods Committee and Reeve Union Board (RUB).


Instead of offering the multiple choices Blackhawk Commons usually has for lunch, only soup, salad, cheese pizza, and make your own sandwiches were offered. All of the money saved by doing this was donated to a local food pantry instead.

Saturday
Best Saturday ever. Period. First, I went on a sleigh ride through a nature preserve with my Aunt Anne, Uncle Chris, and W. We saw all kinds of cool animals, like albino deer, buffalo, elk, foxes, raccoons, and a skunk.


W enjoying the sleigh ride. We learned all kinds off cool facts about the animals. Like that skunks and raccoons like cookies.


You know who else likes cookies? Everyone. Which is why we ended up baking over 100 of them Saturday afternoon. That should hold me over through finals!

Sunday
Before coming back to school on Sunday, I played a few rounds of hide and seek with W. He's truly a master of disguise.


Or, he would be if he didn't always hide in the same spot.

Monday
And here's where my love of sticky notes comes in. Keeping me on track to the final two weeks of before break. There's for each of my classes (though math and geology are combined since they require basically the same things), USRH, meetings for the next two weeks, and important dates.


Yes, I am definitely in love with them.

Snow!

I have a love/hate relationship with snow. Living in Wisconsin probably doesn't help much, since we tend to get a ton of the stuff, but there's not a lot I can do about that.

Tuesday
It started snowing late Tuesday afternoon, but it never really got past this.


Kind of disappointing, this is one of those times that I hate snow. What a tease!

Wednesday
Promised more snow, it still didn't even cover the grass.


And this after "snowing" the entire morning and afternoon! If I didn't know better, I'd think I was back in Washington.

Thursday
No snow on Thursday, but we're promised a lot for tonight, which left me thinking yesterday afternoon. What am I going to do when it's all cold and snowy and the sidewalks are terrible and I'm stuck inside? And then I remembered.


Between Netflix and Hulu, I can catch up on all of the tv I've been missing/ told I absolutely NEED to see. Starting with Lie to Me. I'd started watching the first season my first year at college, because it was on after House, the only thing my roommate and I did together. I missed all of second season last year, though, and the first few episodes of the current season. So between this, Heroes, and Firefly, I should be set for awhile :)

Thanksgiving Break

First off, I am an incredibly lucky person. Oshkosh only had school Monday and Tuesday last week, and I don't have Tuesday classes this semester, so I got to go home Monday night. I had almost an entire week off, which is why this is only now being updated.

Monday
My Aunt Debbie and her two boys stayed at our house a couple of nights during break. Of course, the boys are too old now to be excited when Sophie or I come home. I was greeted by this:


Hey, at least they could look away from the computer screens for a minute, right?

Tuesday
I was going to get a picture at lunch, since Aunt Debbie, my cousins and I met Grandma Joyce, but I was smart and forgot my camera at home.


This is not my grandma. Or any of my relatives. Or even lunch. This is Trooper, making weird dog eyes at me.

Wednesday
Pie! Glorious apple pie! Aunt Debbie made both an apple and a blueberry pie for Thanksgiving. I helped make the apple pie.


And by helped, I mean I ate pie crust dough, pie crust cookies, and cinnamon apples before they got stuck in the pie. Here's the apple pie, right before it got popped in the oven.

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving lunch was at my Aunt Anne and Uncle Chris' house, and was absolutely delicious. Of course, I took a TON of pictures, but since I don't want this to be a longer post than it already will be...


The grown-up (and W) table, where I was not seated. Oh well. I got to sit by W later, when we had pie :)


And then my camera battery died. Lovely. Skipping ahead to Saturday...

Saturday
I am not a Black Friday shopper. I think people are crazy. (You don't? Check out this crazy Menards lady and tell me otherwise. Just a heads up, there are quite a few profanities.) I do, however, enjoy a good sale. Like when the shiny 8GB SD card I want for my camera is on sale for $15, AND I happen to have a $15 Best Buy Rewards card.


$1.77 for a card that usually costs $39.99? Heck yeah! 4x the storage space as the card I have now? Even better!

Sunday
Sunday? Not as exciting as Saturday. I opened the fridge to put my just opened and snacked on salsa in, and guess what I found?


Food! My roommate's leftovers from before break! Do you have any idea how nasty those buffalo wings probably are by now? Ew!

Monday
Ok, I promise this is the last picture of Philip's new leaf thing. But look at how much bigger it got while I was gone!


Personally, I'm still in shock that it's still alive, let alone growing.

Happy Shopping!

Just a cute Black Friday thing I found this morning and thought some of you may be interested in: