2011: Review

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2011 was a great year for you, and that 2012 will be even better :) Here's a quick review of my 2011, with some of my favorite pictures of the year.

How 'bout those Packers?

Yesterday
Need I even mention that as a Wisconsin native, I was RIDICULOUSLY excited for the Super Bowl yesterday, and even MORE RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED that WE WON(!!!!!!!)? Yeah, I really do need to mention it. Because I am a Wisconsin native, and we DID win the Super Bowl.

Yeah. They went there. Anyway, no pictures from the game, because I wasn't there and I was too busy yelling at the TV to remember I had a camera.

Saturday
My sister Sophie turned 20! Which is not why we won the Super Bowl, despite her wishing for it (we won cause we're just that awesome!).

WURHA, one of the conferences that USRH goes to, is quickly approaching, and in order to lower the delegate cost, we're having a grilled cheese sale. Apparently they have a history of being quite successful. Of course, to have a grilled cheese sale, we needed to stock up on some key ingredients.


The people in line behind us weren't thrilled, to say the least. It probably didn't help that we were doing our shopping the day before the Super Bowl, when absolutely everyone was stocking up on snacks.

Friday
I should know by now that printing things in the USRH office is probably a bad idea. We have to buy our own paper, and of course we tend to use white for important/official things, or we run out. Which means that we usually have some kind of odd color in the printer.


And then you show up to class (with a SWEET Batman folder) and your notes look like that. Fun!

Thursday
Things have been pretty chilly in the Midwest (everywhere?) lately, as you may have heard. So after having classes cancelled on Wednesday, you would think we'd have a ton of snow, right?


Well, we did, but that was there before. Apparently most of the blizzard hit further South than Oshkosh. I've been staring out at this for what seems like forever now.

Wednesday
Regardless of the lack of promised snow, I don't think there was a single college student who wasn't excited to wake up to this email:


blah blah blah, State of Emergency, Chancellor Wells has decided to cancel all classes?!! Awesome!

Tuesday
Remember the Tome from last semester? I was so excited to get rid of it, right up until I saw the textbook for my Milton class.


According to my professor, the publishers refer to this as "the Brick." Oh, the joys of being an English major. Really though- my friend Kristin tells me that this would be considered small for an accounting textbook.

Monday
First day of Spring Semester 2011! And nothing will make you wish you had picked another major more than seeing this:


That's right. I have so many books this semester that they came in a cardboard tub. All 18 of them. The fact that they fit (quite nicely, even) on my bookshelf is a marvel.

Sunday
Time to get back to school, after finishing 6 weeks of winter break. I think I would have gone crazy if I hadn't taken that interim class. Going back to school isn't entirely bad, though- we stopped at my relative's house and got in some W time!


Dad was teaching him how to show off his muscles. Looks like the gun show is in town!

There are no Friday/Saturday pics

Because I am not doing well on the blog lately. I kind of started to run out of things to take pictures of at home since we weren't really doing anything. Hopefully being back on campus now and being more involved with stuff will help out. (Just wait to see how many books I had to get this semester! It's insane.) I realize my last few posts haven't been that great. I'm quite sorry about all of that :/

Back in action!

Thanks to my wonderful mom, my purse arrived back on campus yesterday afternoon, and everything in it is still in good working shape. Class schedules for interim are a little diffferent- 3 hours of one class each day, every day of the week, for 3 weeks. So I have 3 hours of class in the morning, and then all afternoon and evening to take pictures and be productive!

Yesterday
Ok, I wasn't overly productive yesterday. I went to class and did my homework and watched Bones, and that was pretty much it. It was still a pretty nice day, though. I did my homework in my friend Jacey's room, so we discussed Beowulf (her assigned reading) and random-word poems (my assignment). I also got to cuddle with her squishy dinosaur friend.


I don't think there are many people who could pass up cuddling this guy. It's so fuzzy I could DIE!

Today
If yesterday wasn't productive, today more than made up for it. I spent almost 2 hours meeting with my USRH advisor, Becca. The scholarships we're supposed to revise and advertise and award each year are almost ready to go now- at this point, we jsut need to sit back and wait for a few other people to come through. Plus, I got all of my homework done and road tripped over to Target with Jacey to pick up some necessary school supplies (running out of staples sucks). And then I ran across this:


The Zoya facebook page can be found here, although I don't think you actually have to be a fan to use this code. If you're a nail polish person, though, I highly suggest taking advantage of this offer. This is the only brand of vegan nail polish I've found so far that has even close to decent reviews, and standard shipping is less than the price of one of their nail polishes. And if you do, be sure to leave a comment telling me what colors your ordered!

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.

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.

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?

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 :)

Happy Christmas Cactus!

Apparently, Philip is doing quite well for a dorm plant- I noticed a tiny little new leaf/section thing sprouting out.


Ok, so it's only like the size of my pinky nail (if that), but it has to start somewhere, right? I'm glad it's perked up since I picked it up earlier in the fall- maybe I'll see some flowers later? That would be really exciting :)

Yesterday
Every year on campus, we have a program called the Tunnel of Oppression, which, yeah, is kind of depressing, but also fairly educational (though some sections are presented far better than others). Anyway, as part of their marketing campaign, they hand out buttons reminding everyone to be nice, respect each other, etc.


I got Plato-buttoned. Cool, cause that one was my favorite, but they were all pretty awesome.

Monday
Mondays are busy, as I believe I've mentioned before. I have a once a week, 3 hour long class that focuses on literary criticism and The Tome. Anyway, every week, we have different articles we're assigned to read, and then depending on the article, 1-2 people present on it. Last week, I presented on Cixous' "The Laugh of the Medusa." French feminism. Cool? Anyway, Christine and I were really worried we were off on it, but then I got this back:


A particularly good job trying to capture her tone, you say? Awesome! That's one of the best compliments I've heard from this professor all semester! And, if was apparently the difference between an A- and a B. Extra cool.

Ok, I'm behind again

Here's the thing. We're getting dangerously close to Thanksgiving break. Which means that everybody and their mother is just piling the homework on. I didn't take pictures this weekend. Why? Because I was either sleeping or glued to The Tome. Remember that? It's still terrible. Here's the rest of last week:

Monday
Somehow, I naively, thought that I'd have time to do fun things this week, so I downloaded Plants vs. Zombies for my iPod.


Trust me when I say, it's pretty awesome. Who doesn't like plants that shoot peas at zombies and sunflowers that pop out little suns?

Tuesday
My roommate went home the same weekend I did. She came back with this:


If you think it's something you could get used to, or that after awhile it gets less creepy, you're wrong. Very, very wrong. Those eyes are so big that no matter where you are in the room, it's looking at you. And giving you one creeptastic smile.

Wednesday
I had a math test! (I got an 80!) It was also a really nice day out. However, this is Wisconsin, so I'm expecting snow any minute here.


I figured that this would be the last time I'm going to see green grass for a loooooooooooong time.

Thursday
It was a very sad day for Jon. He decided that, since he recently bought a computer (and they have cheaper and better games), and that he rarely uses his xbox anymore, that he would sell it.


Still, it was pretty sad to pack it up. He feels better that it's going to a good home- our friend's roommate NEEDED it so she could play Assassin's Creed. I don't get it, but whatever. Not a video game person.

Friday
This counted as the weekend, which I already explained was not photographed due to my being stuck with The Tome.

Goodbye, Bones!

Yesterday
Meet Bones. My roommate found him at the Dollar Tree and thought he'd make a good door dec for Halloween. Apparently the girls on our floor thought he needed some cash.


The CAs, however, thought Bones was a policy violation- he's covering both our room number and our spy hole. Since Halloween is over, I don't mind seeing him go.

Today
On campus, we have these things called TitanDollars- a campus currency that we can use at the Union, in vending machines, for laundry, at the bookstore, etc. It's been cold lately, and today it actually snowed a bit. Just a little. And none has stuck so far (for which I am INCREDIBLY thankful). So because it's been cold and it's now starting to snow, I ventured into the bookstore to see if I could find some mittens.


And I did find mittens. But even better than mittens- I found mittens that are also fingerless gloves! So I can still do things like unlock doors and unzip my backpack to get my keys while still being really warm (50/50 cotton/wool blend ftw)! Even more exciting! These are fair trade mitten/gloves, knit by women in Ecuador. Did you know that UW Oshkosh was the first fair trade university in the nation? (article here) It's just one of the things we do to be a more sustainable campus :)

Movies and birthdays and music, oh my!

Hey guys! As mentioned at in my last post, I've been spending a lot of time reading lately, so once again, I'm behind on my updates. First off, here's the picture I forgot to take on Tuesday:


Yes my friends, that is a port-o-potty way up on that scaffolding. I'll just let you decide what to think of that one.

Thursday
Thursdays are good days for me, because the only class I have is geology lab from 8am-10am. That leaves me a lot of free time before USRH assembly at 4:30. Last Thursday, I didn't have a whole lot to do, either. So I spent quite a bit of time youtubing my favorite Disney songs, which I've collected here for you.

From Beauty and the Beast, my favorite Disney movie ever:
-Be Our Guest
-Gaston
-Tale as Old as Time

From the Little Mermaid, which I don't actually like very much:
-Under the Sea
-Kiss the Girl

From Aladdin, a close second to Beauty and the Beast:
-Friend Like Me
-Prince Ali
-A Whole New World

Most of these aren't my favorites just because the music is good (I REALLY don't like the Little Mermaid), but because I still find them to be incredibly visually entertaining. And really, who doesn't love Be Our Guest?

Friday
One of my good friends from high school, Jacey, turned 22 this Friday! To celebrate, we got dinner at Red Robbin, where they sang, gave her a balloon, and brought her a sundae.


You have no idea how excited she was to have a balloon. Then, after dinner, we went to see RED (trailer here), which opened on Friday and was absolutely awesome.

Saturday
Being the first day of the weekend, nobody got any homework done. Mostly I played Magic with the guys. Although I did spend a surprising amount of time watching Red vs. Blue, an internet show based off of Halo. My friend Courtney has the first 5 seasons on DVD, and loaned them to myself and Jonathan.


I'll be the first to admit, this is probably over my usual limit as far as being a geek goes. Especially since I'm all but video game handicapped, and know next to nothing about Halo. However, having given it a chance, I think it's a pretty fun show. It's quite funny, although sometime Jon will start laughing and then have to explain to me that they were making a reference to the game's storyline.

Sunday
Since I didn't do any real work on Saturday, Sunday was pretty busy for me. I really only left the dorm to eat.


This was my proof that I actually ventured outside at all, instead of squirreling away in my room.

Monday
My little pink flower plant is alive! I had to pull off a lot of leaves that were pretty much dead, and now it's actually put out a couple of flowers!


When I last posted about them, it was suggested that this one might be a begonia. If this helps to confirm/deny that theory, I've also noticed that the flowers tend to be open like that during the day, and then kind of clam up on themselves at night.

Today
Care package from home! The most exciting possible thing to get in the mail. Even if I did know it was coming, since Mom had to call to get my address. It had a lot of useful things, like a nail file and a small pack of tissues (which both went immediately into my backpack), and a nice spray hand sanitizer (which went into my purse, since my backpack is already equipped with hand sanitizer), and Flintstones vitamins. It also had some fun stuff, like halloween candy and these guys:


Halloween-themed silly bandz and a glowy, color-changing ghost. Clearly, my mom knows what's important. I'm pretty sure that the ghost and zombie bands even glow in the dark!

Ok, so this turned out to be a really long post. I'm going to try really hard to be more on the ball from now on. Sorry guys :(