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.