Catch-up

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve blogged, and I’m sorry.  I’ve been pretty busy.  This week is probably turning out to be my busiest week so far with a couple prelims (like midterms) and other odds and ends to think about, and I probably shouldn’t be blogging, but I like procrastinating.  Actually, I’m so proud, I have a paper due Thursday and I started it LAST FRIDAY. Crazy, I know….and it’s almost done.  I’ve been working on statistics for the afternoon [and it’s still light out! Another sign of my changing ways].  After about 2 and half hours, I decided it was about time for a break, so here I am. 

I went home last weekend for my sisters’ birthday.  [Super-duper plural.] Tiff’s birthday was last weekend, and this weekend was Abby’s. It was nice to be home!

Two important notes:

        1) My Valentine’s Day balloon is still floating. Yes, it has been two weeks, and this balloon is still going strong. Thank my parents for that one. =]

        2) Yesterday the fire alarm went off at 9 a.m. [not terrible, but I wasn’t out of bed yet...] It was cold and snowy outside.  I was happy I slipped my boots and jeans on before I left my room, but that doesn’t change that some people were simply wearing flip flops and shorts. Poor planning on their part.  At least I didn’t have to go through the dragging-myself-out-of-bed-in-my-tiredness-for-church routine.  It’s always difficult to get up in the morning no matter what day it is, especially since I’ve never been a morning person. [Tuesdays are beautiful though, no class ‘til 12:20, *sigh, how wonderful]

Anyhow, I need to get back to my to-do list!  It has gotten pretty long with all these applications, scholarship nonsense, homework, and a room that never seems to want to stay clean.  Then off to Community Group tonight!

Rosebarb

It has been a few days, but I've been quite busy.  I can tell my mom is a little less than thrilled at my idea to rush for a sorority, but I did, and I got a bid!  Now, before you go all typical-sorority-thoughts on me, hear me out.  I never thought that I would ever want to join a sorority.  Sigma Alpha is a professional agricultural dry sorority.  We don't have a house and aren't your typical sorority.  It's not bad, I promise.  But I wanted to talk a little about a trip a couple of us girls made this weekend to a farm.  We went on a horse carriage ride! It was a lot of fun and the couple that owned the farm was so cute.  I could go on and on about the experience, but I think their website does better justice to it than I can with my words.  They also rent out a cottage which is beautiful.  They were such great hosts!
Check them out at www.rosebarbfarm.com =]

Section

Statistics.Section. Two words that can't get much worse when put together.  Basically, section is like a lab for a class. So I have statistics three times a week and then there's a two hour section once a week....and mine just so happens to be on Wednesday nights..at 7:30 until 9:30.  It's late. It's dark. It's exhausting.  I mean, just to walk over there is exhausting enough, but the statistics work is exhausting too.  It just plain hurts your brain. (hahah, that sortof rhymed!) You have to come in with your homework in hand (pre-stapled! don't forget) and they give you a whole other packet to do in the two hours that you're there that has to be handed in to be graded at the end. And then you walk towards the door. Ready to leave. Finally free!...BUT HOLD ON! Major psych-out there.  They hand you another packet to do for homework to hand in the next week. Yeah. That happened.  Soul crushing? Yes.
Now, how could this possibly get worse? Well, this week it did.  Let's just lay out this scenario here.  I'm walking to class. This building has the highest temperature on campus, I'm almost sure, so the heat is killing you as you walk up all the stairs.  I almost reach the room where I have class and here comes my T.A. (teaching assistant--essentially my teacher for section), the room is locked.  So we go into the Stats office. Twenty-three people gather inside this room that is about the size of my dorm room for two hours. Those windows were wide open, thank goodness it was refreshingly cold outside.  I was very much the last person to leave, at 9:45, homework in hand. 
As if this couldn't get much worse, next week I have regular section plus another whole two hour section that we all had to sign up for in order to understand Minitab, which is a program we have to use for graphs and such. 
So. painful.
At least we got cookies.

Square Dancing

Square dancing was on the agenda.  Turns out it was line dancing instead.  Good thing, because it would've been quite the sight to see me square dance...We used to square dance all the time in elementary school.  Outside of school, I went to a barn dance once a year with my family and I would be thatt one little kid square dancing with a bunch of adults.  It was always so much fun.  Anyhow, last night I went line dancing.  You don't hear that every day.  Sounds strange, but it was actually a blast and it was fun to just laugh at ourselves and our missteps.  A couple of the dances were really complicated, but it was totally worth it.  I feel like my self-esteem and skills would have gone way up had I been wearing my boots and plaid instead of my converse...
Speaking of shoes...
I also can't help but add that I love finding good deals when I go shopping.  I am...skilled, to say the least.  Unfortunately, I left dress shoes at home when I came back to college and I need a pair this coming weekend, so I headed out to the mall today, looking for a reasonable pair of shoes. I definitely found them.  Second store I went in, third shelf, cute heels. Five bucks. down from sixty. I think I'm in love with my clearance-scope. =]

'taters

I love potatoes.  I miss them tremendously because I feel like I don't really eat potatoes that often at college.  Next time I go home, I think I'll have to request mashed potatoes! (mom, hint hint).  But it's not even just mashed potatoes, I could probably list off a long list like in Forrest Gump when Bubba lists off that whole list of ways you can eat shrimp...Oh, I like shrimp too.
So anyway, potatoes. We spent a whole week last semester on potatoes in Horticulture which was really awesome because we always had food made for us on whatever plant we were studying that week...so we had latkes that week andd...I can't remember what else. But they were good. 
Anyhow, getting to the point I want to make, along with all of our food in horticulture, we also always had a song that went with the plant/crop of the day, so for potatoes there was this really funny one, that I wasn't able to find until yesterday.  And after I found it....it got stuck in my head...all night...and I can't even sing it right. =[
Let's see if it gets stuck in your head too! (chuckle chuckle, it will, trust me)
(Unfortunately, I'm not very savvy with technology.  It doesn't really like me, and I'm having a hard time just putting a song in here...so, when in doubt, youtube!)

Discomfort Foods

My Grandpa's birthday is coming up soon.  Papa is the kind of person that you just have to smile at.  Always cracking jokes or just being funny without realizing it.  Pure Papa.  So what do "discomfort foods" have to do with him?  He's always convinced that certain foods do certain things to him.  He's one to hold a grudge against a food, and while I was reading this in my food science book one day, it made me think of him and his issues with blueberries...but we won't get into that.  At least now we have a name for these foods.
We were eating dinner one day at home and, while I can't remember what we were eating, I remember the conversation going a little something like this:
Me (in reply to something disgusting): Oh, well that's disgusting (obviously)
Parental advisory: Christina, don't say disgusting, say "it's not to your liking"
Me: Fine, it's not to my liking.
Potential Parental inquiry that occurred literally 30 seconds later: Do you want some beets?
Me: No, they're disgus...(getting the stare-down from the occupants of the table) I mean, not to my liking.
Here's to all you folks who have a discomfort food.  or just don't like beets. Instead of disgusting, let's stick to "discomforting" (I'm helping you out, I promise. You don't want to get the table-stare-down, do you?)

Lunch at Statler

I was eating lunch today with a friend and we were discussing our faith. Her friend joined us halfway through lunch and, after listening to our conversation, began to ask us questions about why we believe what we do and what made us decide to be Christians. It was such a cool opportunity, but it made me a little nervous that maybe I would say something either offensive or to turn her off from the conversation.  It made me think of this video and made me smile and remember that sharing your faith with others doesn't have to be that difficult! and can be as simple as lunch at Statler =]

Let it Snow

I'm so jealous of the snow in this video.  Where's our snow?!? The last two days I've only been needing to wear a sweater. =[ Oh, and can I mention that my dorm window is in fact open right now? February 1st.  That's not right.  I miss snow. I also feel lucky that I don't have to walk around in freezing-my-toes-off-weather.  Is it selfish not to want snow because I'm not home to snowmobile in it?
This is what I woulddd be doing:
snowmobiling
making snow angels
snowman building
snow..horse building
snow fort building
snowmobiling again
snowball fight-ing
sledding
snowmobiling+sledding
barn chores in the snow with frozen water buckets
catching snowflakes
cutting paper snowflakes
cutting paper people after that
drinking hot cocoa (with mini marshmallows!)

So maybe hot cocoa doesn't directly relate to snow, but I still like drinking it =] I think it's time to fake a snow day (or snow night) and just bundle up and drink hot cocoa and watch snowy movies.  Like a rain dance...but for snow.