Thanksgiving Break

I am still in shock as to how this can happen, the longer I am at home the faster time seems to go. Case in point-Thanksgiving break. I was home for 5 and a half days and it felt like nothing. Everything came at me so fast that it hardly felt like I was on break at all. Don't worry, I still had a great time. I just need a little bit of time now to recuperate from break and then head into finals!

Some highlights:
I got to see two of my best friends from high school on Wednesday: Julia and Shelby. We met at DeBrand's for Julia's birthday celebration. I hadn't seen Shelby since we started school so it was great catching up. And really, who can deny the luscious goodness of DeBrand's chocolate? I can't, that's for sure!

I was excited about seeing the lighting ceremony on Wednesday, but we decided it was too cold and rainy to go downtown to see it. I was a little bit sad but it will be there until Christmas, so we can always see them later. Thanksgiving of course, was the big deal of break. Katie came over in the morning and helped us in the mad rush to get ready for the relatives to come. We hung out and it was just like the old days. We even went to Scott's although there weren't any good samples. A ton of family members came to our house, and I am not even sure how many that is! Although it was a little bit stressful having so many people, I was mostly happy they were there. It is always great when I can see the majority of my extended family. I ate way too much good food and spent way too much time looking at Black Friday ads, but that's all part of the fun. Thanksgiving lunch turned into dinner and then everyone left. An eerie silence fell over the house. My mom and I decided that we weren't going shopping on Friday, much to my brother's dismay. I usually go as moral support for my mom and since she didn't need anything, I was more than fine sleeping in on Friday.

Friday was a good day, although I had to go to the doctor's office for my sinus headache/infection whatever you want to call it :) After that diststerous office visit, I got the chance to see my friend Trey who is attending college in Boston. Everyone had a great time at Steak n Shake and I wish I could have stayed longer than 20 minutes. After that, my sister, my mom and I went to see New Moon. Don't go see it. I was once again questioning why I subjected myself to such horrid acting. However, Taylor Lautner is F-I-N-E and made the movie slightly bearable. Friday night I got to spend the night at my bestie Katie's house. We had a great time watching classic Disney movies and chatting about life.

Saturday was dedicated to shopping and decorating for Christmas. The shopping part came about primarily because all of our Christmas lights somehow burned out...hmmm. Nevertheless, I got some of my Christmas shopping done and was glad to find some leftover Black Friday deals. My cat is going to love his new puffer vest! (Shhh it's a secret!) I also got my bro his birthday gift since I won't be home to give it to him :( Speaking of my brother, his girlfriend came over and I had the opportunity to hang out with them. Man, I love middle school relationships. They are so cute together! And I got the chance to play on the Wii...always a good day! I also baked choco chip cookies----yummmy!

Sunday, the last day at home....mmmm. I had a great time at church even though I had to go earlier than I would have liked. It's always great being able to go back to the home church. I really miss my church fam when I am away at college. My sis let me play Sims 3 on her laptop, and even though it was frustrating me greatly, I had fun. Sims is way too addicting and I am really glad that I don't have it here at college. It would distract me even more than Roller Coaster Tycoon does. We had brunch for lunch (that's a mouthful) and it was so yummy! Sundays are made for brunch in my opinion. Of course, all the fun had to end and we left this afternoon. We ate at Bruno's in West Lafayette for dinner and it was delicious! The pizza was absolutely fantastic and anytime you are in the area you should go there.

And so now I am back at Purdue. I should be doing productive things with my time, but that is highly overrated anyways! Ah. Onward ho to the finals I go!

Dental Floss

I will freely admit that I am probably a big nerd for even writing a post about floss. But, it is an invention to  mankind that is often overlooked! Last night, I had a frightening experience. As I was flossing my last tooth, the floss got stuck. It's the tooth I always get scared about. It has turned just so that it bumps into my last molar. There is just a small space and I always hesitate about flossing it. But you can't just leave a tooth hanging! Anyways, the floss got stuck. What can you do in such a situation? No one can help you out! What if it got stuck there forever! These were the thoughts going through my mind as I was freaking out. Obviously I am alive here today and yes, I got the floss out. Next time you think that little things don't matter, maybe you will remember my silly, little story.

Seventeen

Yesterday I was talking to my best friend Julia who turned 18 today. We were talking about how great being 17 was. And I have to agree, 17 was probably one of the best years of my life. Why, you might ask? Well...

I went on my first international mission trip-something that I had wanted to do since I went on my first mission trip my sophomore year. I saw the great West in all of its glory. Arizona and California will forever be blazed in my memory. (Literally as it was 100 degrees outside, and figuratively) It was the year that I got my first job. Even though I can't say I always loved having a job, it taught me how to be responsible. And the pay checks were always the best. 17 was the age when I became a senior. I loved being at the top of school even though I had senioritis like no one else. It was the year that I fell in love. I interned at Grabill Missionary Preschool and loved every moment of it. I was incredibly blessed to coach a group of girl soccer players with my best friend Kaitlyn Beer. It was the year that I hit a deer on Halloween...okay, so that wasn't so great  but now I can laugh about it. I grew closer to my family when we lost power for three days and sat in a freezing cold house. 17 was when I decided what I was going to do with my future-namely heading to Purdue University. The year that I took ACTs and SATs until my head almost fell off. The time when I learned to appreciate the literary genius of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 17 was the age when I watched my brother and sister begin to grow into the people that they would become. The last year I would spend my entire age under my parent's roof. Being blessed enough to go and see Barack Obama be inaugurated in Washington DC. Even though we were cold it was worth it enough to see history being made before my eyes. Hanging out with my friends making cupcakes until we were comatose from all the sugar. Sharing pain with friends who were going through hard times. Realizing that I was becoming an adult way too soon. Spending the last few weeks of being a youngin' with the best of friends. And finally, finding a golf ball at the old church property with Katie. Oh, and remembering my last day of childhood by eating an ice-cream cone at McDonald's.

Yes, 17 was a great age. If I could, I would travel back and do it all over again. There is not a thing that I would change. I know that as I get older, I will probably pick another age that was my favorite. But here and now, 17 was probably the best year of my life.

One of those days

Some days you want nothing more than to be noticed. You go out of your way to see that special someone. Maybe you even call numbers until someone, anyone picks up. Other days you just want to not be noticed. To fly under the radar, per se. Today is one of those days.

I would like nothing more then to put on my sweats and find a big chair to sit with my cat, softly purring. I'd pick up a good novel and get lost. Leave reality for a few hours and lose myself in another person's world. TO forget about my present reality fraught with complications. Unfortunately, my cat is over 200 miles away. So today I will have to settle for a hard desk chair and a boring textbook.

(Written while eating broccoli pasta soup in Windsor Dining Court)

TSO

I came home early over the weekend to see Trans Siberian Orchestra. I had no idea what to expect, and I was thoroughly happy with the performance. My sister, mom and I all went and we all had a great time! They played for 3 hours and it was well worth it. The lights were crazy, the music was loud, and there was fire! Oh yes! It was definitely worth skipping school on Friday :) The concert was an event of a lifetime and I have never seen anything like it. I am so glad that my mom decided to buy us tickets. 

Friday was a slow day, I didn't have much planned. My mom told me that they had H1N1 shots again, so I headed downtown and waited to get one. The line wasn't too bad, and the wait was only 2 hours long. I must say, however, that my patience was dearly tested. There were lots of screaming children which unnerved me and made me feel bad for their moms. Fortunately they did not run out and I was able to get my shot in due time. After that I headed to Applebees to have lunch with my good friend Corey. She was in town for a wedding and we had a great time catching up. We spent way too long at the restaurant, but it was well worth it. 

Friday night was declared "family night". We spent the evening eating a delicious dinner prepared by my mom and watching "Rugrats in Paris". I half-watched, half-slept during the movie. I suppose that it is the family time that matters, right?

Saturday was a day of unexpected warm weather. My dad and I decided to make the most of it and hung Christmas lights. We didn't plan to hang many lights, but Purdue football didn't go so well so we got the majority of the lights up. It was nice to get up the lights when it wasn't freezing cold outside. My mom, sister and I also got to go to Target and buy some new socks!!! Saturday night my dad and I watched a documentary on the National Parks. It was nice documentary but the narrator was so soothing that I nearly fell asleep!

Today was a nice day because I got to go to church with my parents. We actually got to sit with each other, something that doesn't happen often. Lunch was huge and delicious-my mom made some very yummy sweet potatoes :) The afternoon was spent baking cookies and playing board games like Monopoly Junior and Life. Sadly, the time to come home came and we headed out to go to West Lafayette. Fortunately my family (minus my brother who was at youth group) was able to help get all of my stuff situated. I wasn't aware that I had brought home so much laundry!!! 


This week is going to be busy as it always is. My sister has a show choir competition in Crawfordsville on Saturday so I will be heading down with them to see her perform. Have a good week!

Oh how I wish

I had such an amazing weekend at Quest. (The youth retreat for my church) We had a great time getting to know each other and learning more about God. It was nice to leave the campus and have a time to de-stress and grow closer to God. I got to meet lots of new people which was awesome! We did lots of fun activities and I am just really glad that I decided to go.

This week, however, has seemed to drag and it is only Tuesday! I suppose it probably has something to do with the fact that I had to do a ton of homework on Sunday. I had a test yesterday and I had to give a speech in my Communications class today. It's okay though because on Thursday I am going home! My mom, sister and I will be going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I am absolutely thrilled about this and can't wait! I love them so much and have wanted to see them for quite some time now. Of course, I will be skipping class on Friday, but is that so awful?

There have been a lot of things on my mind lately. I wish my problems would just solve themsevles. Or it would be nice if I were inspired to write some poetry. Unfortunately, this has not been the case for almost a week now. It's apparently a come and go thing.

Have a great week and I will be back on soon!

New Things

It has been a very crazy week. I don't know why, I haven't really had all that much to do. But I just feel all of the deadlines looming over me and they seem to push, push, push against my life. It doesn't matter if they aren't due for another week or two, they are still there. A constant reminder that, oh yeah, you are in college TO LEARN. Mmm, how quickly that gets lost sometimes. 

Some highlights this week included:

On Monday I had an appointment with my advisor. I really don't have a clue what I want to do with my life. I still really enjoy psychology and I am planning to keep that as my major. However, the degree itself does not require a lot of credits. I am now in the place where I am trying to decide on what my second major will be. A double/dual major will be totally feasible and I feel that I would be unwise to not take the opportunity. I have at least until we schedule classes for next fall to think about it, so I am not too worried. I am taking child psychology and I pray that I enjoy that class. I really would like to be involved with children somehow in my future career, so enjoying this class would be beneficial. Hmm..but I am trusting God with all of this.

Tonight I auditioned for the mystery dinner theatre production on campus. You might wonder, why did you do this? Well, first of all, I have always wanted to try out for a play. I couldn't in high school because I was always super busy with academics. And I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. So whether I make it or not is so important. The fact that I did something out of the ordinary is what matters. I will let you know what the executive call is as soon as I know.

This weekend I am heading off to Camp Techumseh with the youth group from my church here at Purdue. I hope that we have a good time. I am looking forward to meeting the other college kids at church. Sunday I know that I am going to be crazy busy with homework, but it is going to be totally worth it! I will blog after wards, I promise :)

Have a good weekend!

Little things

It's the little things in life that seem to make the difference. 
The difference between making a light or not.
The difference between waiting in a long line or not.
Getting a good grade or a bad grade on an important exam.
Whether there is good ice cream or not in the dining court. 
If there are enough cookies for everyone to eat.
You get the idea.

Anyways, I have been extremely observant the last few days. This really isn't much out of the ordinary, I always remember the most minute details. But I have noticed a lot of things lately, like the ones above. Although to be honest, there hasn't been an issue with the cookies. 

It's crazy though how the little things can make or break my day. My hair doesn't go the way I want it to, bad day. The sun is shining, good day. Strange, isn't it? I would think that the day to day is just mundane. But maybe it's those little extra things that make life bearable, and not too boring. Just some food for thought.

What A Weekend

So plans have been in place for well over a month now to have Katie come down and see me. I mean, we are best friends and haven't seen each other since we moved away from home. Needless to say, we miss each other. Things had kept coming up and it was looking like maybe she wouldn't be able to come down. However, things finally worked out this week, and so on Friday night, I had three of my friends standing on my doorstep! Sam and Ashley picked up Katie from some train station and drove down here. A fun weekend was about to begin!
We spent some time catching up, but mostly we just primped to go out. Ten o'clock came around and we were out!

Priorities are priorities, and we went to McDonald's first. (Everyone was hungry!) My amazing directional abilities got us to the Grant Street parking garage and then we went to the Union for Rocky Horror Picture Show. Wow. There was quite the line and quite the parade of people to see. My friend Heather and her friend Jason joined up with us and we had an enjoyable evening. We were thoroughly educated (hack hack) and that is all I am going to say on the blog :) It was about 3 AM before we got everyone back to their dorms and back to my apartment. We had a good time and it was only day one!

Saturday morning rolled around, full of potential! I made pancakes and then we got ready for another fun-filled day. First on the list was to pay a visit to Ford Dining Court. We ate too much food but that was okay because we took a nice walking tour of campus. Unfortunately, the weather definitely was not cooperating and we all ended up with quite the chill. All the work made us tired so we...took a nap. After our nap we jumped in Sam's car and headed to the Super Target. Holy consumerism! I loved it! I have never been in a more marvelous Target in my life. Everywhere I looked there was a new sight to be seen. Mmm..I wish that I could go more often!

After we were done at Target we ordered a pizza and headed to the Den. Everyone got to experience the joy of a 44oz pop for 60 cents. We picked up the pizza, headed back to my apartment, and pigged out on pizza goodness. We played some Scattegories, I lost. Next was watching "The Breakfast Club". I understand that it is a cult classic and blah blah blah, but I really didn't see what was so awesome about it. Although I did like the dancing scenes, those were pretty sweet.

Today came way too soon! 11:30 rolled around and there went my friends out the door. My apartment has been strangely quiet since they left. Homework just didn't hold any appeal, but I managed to drudge through it. I am so glad to be blessed with such great friends in my life. Even if I only got to see them for a weekend, it was totally worth it. Christmas is not too far away!