Anxiety!

At this point, I really don't want to go back to school.  Every time I think about it, I get a tight feeling in my chest and a headache.  I don't know why I'm so anxious about it.  I love school.  I'm happy when I'm there.  I think part of it is that we have a very long drive to get there.  The last few hours of our drive back here before thanksgiving was torturous.  It'll be about 15 hours because we're going up to the mountains.  And that may be another reason I'm stressed out.  We are going to stay with one of our friends and his family in the mountains for a few days and go skiing/snowboarding.  Jeff is a really great friend, and his family is really nice, but it's always a little weird staying at someone's house.  And his "house" is really a mansion.  A huge cabin with a work out room, outdoor jacuzzi, loft, and steam room.  Snowboarding also makes me a little worried because it's a lot of work and I'm still not very good at it.  I know I will be very sore after a day on the slopes.  If it's not a nice day, then it will be freezing cold and I will be miserable.  That won't be fun either.  Writing all of this is giving me a major stomachache.

Besides all that, I'm worried about my busy, stressful life that has become the norm during school.  Last quarter every single day was packed from waking up at 8am (or earlier) until dinner at 6 (or later).  However, I am taking less classes this quarter which will help.  And my classes will be better because there's no psychology which was a huge stressor last quarter.  But I will be working lots of hours and living in that tiny room with Daniel and eating mediocre food in the dining hall.  I just need to remind myself how happy I am with my friends at school.  I do miss them.  And how much I enjoy learning.  I'm taking three science classes which I love.  And that means very few paper writing, group projects, or presentations.  It's mostly just go to class, take notes, and study on my own.  And that's how I work the best.

So why am I so stressed out and worried?  I need to calm down.  I will focus on the positives and things I am looking forward to.

1.  being away from my dad

2. living with Daniel again

3. making my own decisions

4. having every meal prepared and cleaned up for me

5. going out on dates

6. spending a ton of time with friends

7. learning more science

8. getting that much closer to graduation

9. playing in the snow!

I will have to work on making that list longer.

Family time

My Christmas Eve and Christmas were wonderful.  It was the first Christmas that I felt like I had two complete families to spend time with.  I love that both of our families are so accommodating.

Christmas Eve was a little busy.  We went over to the Francis' house to see them before they left for the airport and we gave the boys their Christmas presents.  Then we went over to the Rosens for dinner.  It was kind of funny because it was supposed to be a Christmas Eve dinner, but over half the people there were Jewish!  Evan's girlfriend and her family are Jewish, and this other family they invited were also Jewish.  We were the only Christians!  This was one of the few times my brother has spent time with them and I was really glad he went.  Julie always cookies this huge traditional cuban meal, and it's always delicious.  Unfortunately, Nicole and I had to leave early for bells, my Dad had to leave to help with luminaries, and my Mom had to leave to pick up a family friend for church.  So we kind of ate and ran, but at least we spent a few hours there.  At the service I was kind of overwhelmed.  There were a ton of people at church that I haven't seen in a long time.  It was also strange to look around and see all the newlyweds/couples/new babies/pregnant people.  It made me jealous because Daniel's mom wouldn't let him come to the service with me.  I felt like going to church on Christmas Eve with the person you love is very important, but it didn't happen that way.  After the service I got to see Beth, Jake, and Ty, which cheered me up instantly.  They were the people I wanted to see the most even though I have seen them recently.  And Tyler came up to me and Nicole and gave us presents!  It was very cute.  Then I spent the rest of the night at Daniel's house with his family and Evan's new girlfriend's family.  We opened gifts and hung out.  

Christmas morning was very relaxed.  We woke up late and opened gifts around 10:30am.  I got a lot of very nice gifts from my whole family.  My dad even got me a GPS to take to Europe (and it will help in Denver too).  I also got lots of jewelry and a nice big check from my grandparents to put into the Europe fund.  Daniel came over and we all went to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas lunch.  She made a delicious prime rib roast.  Everything was delicious and perfect.  I think I may have the best (two) families in the world. I am so lucky.

Fun on the High Seas

The cruise was way better than I even thought it would be. So much fun.

I spent the night at the Rosens because we were leaving at 5am Thursday morning. Evan also spent the night, and neither of us had a bed. So Daniel, Evan, and me all shared a bed. Awkward? yes. Evan seemed to enjoy it very much. I couldn't tell whose hands were where, and it was a bit strange. And in the middle of the night, Daniel left to sleep on the couch, so I woke up in the morning next to Evan. It was very funny.

We boarded the ship at about 11am and had lunch. Then we began exploring! The ship was beautiful. It was at full capacity with over 2500 passengers + 900 crew. Daniel and I had our own room right across from his parents and next to Rennie and Evan. We unpacked and did the lifeboat drill. Our dinner every night was a gourmet three course meal. Our waitress was very nice and funny. We were so glad we got such a great waitress. We had that night plus another whole day at sea. There were many things to do on the ship. On the first day at sea we did a wine tasting (they don't card), battle of the sexes, tea time, and played blackjack at the casino. Daniel's dad taught us how to play and we did really well! We started with one hundred and stopped when we had a little over two hundred. The rest of the cruise, we really enjoyed playing blackjack and even the slots a little. I actually won $8 on the nickel slots! That night was formal night so we got all dressed up and took pictures before dinner. Some of them turned out very beautiful.

On Saturday morning we docked in Cabo. Evan and Daniel had a scuba diving excursion planned while the rest of us went whale watching. We got in this small inflatable boat and went way out into the ocean. The boat ride itself was a blast! We went really fast over waves. It was like a roller coaster. And then we saw humpback whales! They are HUGE and actually really scary. There was one point that one was swimming right towards us and I freaked out. But it was also a magical experience. I felt so close to them. It was amazing. Later, a pod of dolphins came up and swam so close we could reach out and touch them. I felt so lucky to be so close to these incredible animals. On the way back we came very close to a bunch of sea lions laying on some rocks. They were very loud and smelly, but also very cool. It was one of the best experiences of my life. After the whale watching we went shopping in Cabo. I bought some jewelry (very cheap thanks to Julie's spanish speaking and bargaining abilities). We met up with Evan and Daniel who apparently didn't have a great day. Daniel wasn't able to equalize so he couldn't go scuba diving. Instead he stayed on the boat and ended up getting seasick and throwing up 8 times. I felt so bad because we had such an incredible experience. And it turns out that Evan drank 6 beers while in Cabo and spent the rest of the evening on the boat throwing up himself. But for me, it was a fabulous day in port.

Then we had another full day at sea filled with more activities. We learned to make animals out of towels, played more blackjack, and took a nap (I was very tired). We docked in San Diego the next morning and drove home.

The best part of the cruise was spending time with my soon-to-be in-laws. I love Daniel's family. And the whole trip they really treated me like family. It was nice to spend more time with Evan. In middle school and high school we were so close, but college has distanced us. This trip gave us some more time to spend together. A lot of people asked us if Daniel and I were on our honeymoon and we had to say "not yet!". Daniel's parents also told people that I was their soon-to-be daughter-in-law. I couldn't ask for better in-laws.

Speaking of in-laws, in a couple hours my whole family is heading over there for "buena noche", a traditional cuban christmas eve. Julie cooks a delicious cuban meal and then we'll go to church for the service. Then I'll head back to the Rosens to open presents because Julie leaves tomorrow morning to spend time with her mother in Miami. I love Christmas. It's hard to believe that a whole year has passed since last Christmas. And that by next Christmas, I'll have a shiny ring on my finger :-)

We may have found it....

I think that I have found my engagement ring!!  Actually, Daniel and his mother found it.  They were shopping at fashion square, and stopped to look in a jewelry store.  He picked it out and then showed me later.  It's gorgeous and exactly what I want!  There is a diamond in the family that we will hopefully get to put in the middle.  We don't know much about that diamond yet.  It was my great grandmother's.  But I'm sure any diamond will look beautiful in this setting.  Take a look at  http://www.helzberg.com/product/engagement+%26+wedding/bridal+mountings/3-8ct+tw+diamond+engagement+ring+1690970.do?sortby=ourPicks

So it seems all that's left is for us to get the diamond and then who knows when Daniel will pop the question?  Hopefully in Europe.  Wouldn't that be so romantic?  At the Eiffel tower, or the Spanish steps in Rome, or at Versailles, or on a boat on Lake Geneva in Switzerland, or on a gondola in Venice!  So many possibilities....

This weekend was crazy busy with all the bells performances.  I am so glad that they invited me to play with them while I'm home.  I had a great time.  I haven't been as bored as I thought I would be with my parents gone.  The only thing I don't like is coming home when the house is dark and quiet.  It's kind of scary.  So I turn all the lights on and blast music and double and triple check that all the doors are locked.  Oh and I keep Spud nearby.  But I only really have one day left until the cruise and when I get back, Nicole will be here waiting for me.  I'm excited for the whole family to be back together again.

I have been spending lots of time with my grandparents.  It's so nice that Grandma is always willing to cook dinner or something.  Everytime I come over they offer me food.  It's like they think I'm starving or something!  It's been really easy to find meals.  Between the Rosens, Grandma and Grandpa, and going out to eat, I've had to cook surprisingly little.  And now that it's been over a week, there's not much food left in the house.  I'm not sure what I'll do for dinner tonight.  I'm babysitting again, which I'm thrilled about because it's easy money.

Yesterday Julie (Daniel's mom) called Daniel and asked him if we wanted to come down and help her.  She works for Parenting Arizona, a nonprofit organization.  One of the things they do is pair up children in group homes with a "special friend".  It's basically like big brother/big sister.  So anyways, they got a bunch of money donations so Julie asked us to go shopping to buy a bunch of toys for the kids for Christmas.  She had lists that group homes had provided of each kid and what they want for Christmas.  It was kind of like a scavenger hunt.  We had $2000 which came down to like $80 per kid, but we limited it to about $40.  They were babies all the way to teenagers.  Some of them were really specific like "furreal friends puppy" so we had to find exactly that.  Then other group homes just wrote the same thing for everyone.  One had written PJ's for every kid.  I felt bad because I'm sure that those kids didn't really want PJs.  They were a bunch of teenage girls.  But that's all we had to go by, so that's what I did.  I picked out 16 pairs of pajamas.  It was actually kind of fun because I wanted to get 16 different, unique pairs.  And another group home asked for iPods for every kid (yeah, right).  So we got them generic mp3 players.  I think they'll still be thrilled.  Some of the kids I know will be very happy.  One girl asked for a cupcake maker (kind of like easybake oven).  And another girl asked for an art easel so we got her this giant box with an easel, and a ton of art supplies.  It was so much fun!  Shopping for toys for a good cause with someone else's money.  What a great afternoon.

Well I probably won't write again until after the cruise!  Think of me on the boat with Daniel, the breeze blowing, watching the sun set over the ocean with a glass of champagne in our hand.....

my life is boring

I just got home from dropping my parents off at the airport. They're going on a cruise for two weeks and I'm at home all by myself. It's very much a bittersweet feeling. I'm sad that my mom is gone, but happy that my dad is. That sounds terrible, but it's true.

I have really loved spending so much time with my Mom. I understand that it's a bad thing that she's not working right now, but I think it's the best thing in the world. I don't get to see her when I'm at school, so when I'm home I want to spend as much time with her as possible. We've been cooking and baking, decorating for Christmas, and shopping! We get along so well and I always have fun when I'm with her.

With my dad, it's the opposite. I don't think I can stand another day with him. We don't have any common interests, I never enjoy spending time with him, and sometimes he makes me very angry! So I'm really glad that he's gone. I seriously would end up screaming at him if I had to spend much more time with him.

So you can see why I'm conflicted. But, overall, I should be happy because I still have Daniel and his family, and my grandparents to spend time with. And I have some things to do this next week that will keep me somewhat busy. My mom left all the Christmas presents to wrap up, and a few things to buy that she didn't get to. I have a ton of rehearsals and performances for bells, and I'll be babysitting a little bit. Besides that, my grandparents want to take me to our annual trip to the mall at Christmas, and I want to go to the Desert Botanical Gardens. And I see this as a great chance to see all the movies that I've wanted to rent but haven't had time.

On the downside, I have to figure out what I'm going to do for meals every day. I am perfectly capable of cooking, but I've never cooked for just myself before. It seems like a lot of work for just one person. I'm planning on going to Daniel's house and my grandparents a lot for dinner. And I want to invite them over here and cook for them too.

So I guess I will be pretty busy until the cruise!

Hollywood

Well I haven't been posting because I have been away from my computer for four days (gasp!).  Thanksgiving was wonderful, if a little boring.  Daniel came over to my house and we ate one dinner, and then we both went to his house and had another dinner.  The food was delicious as usual.  And it was nice to spend time with my family, but for some reason the conversation was unusually boring this year.  

The next morning my mom, Aaron, my grandparents, and me squished into a small car and drove to LA.  We got there around 3pm and went to Hollywood boulevard to do all the touristy stuff.  I have been to LA many times, but I have never actually walked on Hollywood so it was all so exciting for me!  We saw the Pantages Theater, the Chinese Theater, and the Kodak Theater.  My mom and I went shopping.  Then my uncle Paul called and we met him, my Aunt Sandy, my cousin Cedar, and her husband Raffi at this awesome italian restaurant near our hotel.  Cedar and Raffi just had a baby on October 27 ( my mom's birthday coincidentally) so she was tiny!  My grandma and my mom held her for a while during dinner.  I didn't get too much time to speak with anybody because there were so many people and it was kind of overwhelming.  I haven't seen any of these people in like 4-5 years.  

The next morning Uncle Paul came to our hotel and led us on an adventure!  We drove through Beverly Hills and Bel Air to see all the fancy houses.  We drove on Sunset Boulevard and Rodeo drive.  Rodeo Drive had crystal chandeliers on the sidewalk!  Then we ended up at the ocean.  I LOVE the ocean.  We went to Santa Monica Pier and met Cedar, Raffi, and Vanessa at the pier.  I was really excited to see Vanessa.  She's closer to my age (24) and very outgoing and fun.  We had lunch at this little mexican restaurant.  Cedar went to feed Chloe while me, my mom, Aaron, Vanessa, and Raffi went on all the carnival rides on the pier. We did the ferris wheel and the roller coaster.  It was really fun and I finally became comfortable with everyone.  To end the afternoon, Aaron and I wanted to walk on the beach and go down to the water.  It was COLD!  We had dinner and then went back to the hotel to change clothes.  That night we went to this place called the Magic Castle.  It's a club for magicians.  To be a member, you have to pass a really hard test to prove that you're a really great magician.  Every famous magician was a member (Houdini, David Copperfield, Siegfried and Roy, etc.).  They could go there and exchange tricks and stuff.  Now you can go only if you're invited by a member.  So my Uncle Paul knows a member and he gave us a private tour.  It was really crowded.  People were having bachelor parties and birthday parties, and everyone was drinking a lot!  He took us from room to room and showed us around.  In each room there is a bar or tables where there are different magicians doing close-up magic.  It's so cool because you're sitting right there.  So one guy asked me to cut the deck, pick a card, show it to everyone, and all that.  You can order drinks and some people eat dinner there too.  And there are a few different theaters where magicians put on shows for an audience.  But you have to get in line like 45 minutes before to get a seat.  We only got into one show, but we got to see lots of other little shows at the bars and stuff.  If you ever get a chance to go, you definitely should.  

On Sunday we spent the morning at Griffith Observatory.  We could see the whole city and the Hollywood sign from the top of the hill.  Inside it was a free museum that explained all about astronomy.  I loved it, but that's probably because I love science.  We had lunch and went to a new mall that opened up in Glendale, California.  They have a trolley that drives through the mall and a Christmas tree that's like 40 feet tall!  It's kind of like Kierland, but with a huge fountain like Disneyland!  All the stores were super expensive (Tiffany's,  Coach) so we didn't really buy anything.  Then we went back to the hotel to get ready for Vanessa's wedding.  She was getting married in the Celebrity Centre which is one of scientology's big buildings in Hollywood.  We went up to the hotel room (in the Celebrity Centre also) where all the girls got ready and took pictures.  The ceremony was really small, only about 40 chairs.  It was outside by a waterfall.  Vanessa was crying when she walked down the aisle.  Her husband looked like he was 16, but he was really 20. He's very shy and quiet, so I didn't really get to know him at all.  The ceremony was full of a bunch of scientology stuff that I didn't know, but the basic idea was the same as our weddings.  The reception was just a few feet away inside the building.  It went very fast, immediatly they cut the cake, threw the bouquet, did toasts, and first dances.  By 8:00 everyone was leaving.  Even her dad left before it ended.  He had to go to work.  Unbelievable, huh?  But that's scientology.  We got some pictures of the family (minus her dad) and that was it!  Paul set us up with a tour of the building, which actually turned out to be a sales pitch for scientology.  Our tour guide took us into an office and showed us a bunch of movies about scientology.  They were ridiculous and my mom, brother, and I actually laughed out loud at how ridiculous it was.  Then she demonstrated the e-meter on my brother.  Those people are crazy.

We drove home yesterday.  It was a loooong drive and I was happy to get my own room back.  Overall, it was an awesome trip.  I love my family and it was really fun spending time with them.  And I love California!  And I love weddings!  

Speaking of weddings.... Daniel picked out my ring.  And my Aunt Shirley is giving me great grandma's diamond.  So it seems I'll be getting engaged quite soon!  I can't wait!

I am officially addicted to my blackberry.

I'm home

And I am very very busy. My mom isn't working right now, and my dad never works except for tax season, so it's kind of like we're all on winter break together! So far it's been awesome. I'm loving spending time with the whole family. I'm sure eventually it will get annoying. But until then, I'm happy!

Yesterday I went to church and we had a big family dinner at night. I was so happy to see my grandparents. I got my hair cut, nails done, and shopping today. I feel like when I come home I have all this maintenance stuff to do. So I got that taken care of before Thanksgiving on Thursday, and my cousin's wedding on Sunday. We are leaving on Friday to drive to LA and we'll come back on Monday. It'll be fun to spend some time with my brother. I was surprised that he wanted to come, but he does. So it'll be me, my mom, my brother, and both my grandparents. Then when I get back, I have lots of free time until the cruise. Life is great!

trying this for the first time

Well I am typing this on my brand new blackberry. And before you tell me that I am a spoiled brat, I have had the same phone for four years, so it was time for a new one. I am still very slow at typing, but getting better. And since Nicole is on our home computer, this will have to do. I am so happy to be home :)

On my way!

I had a lovely relaxing day today.  The entire dorm was empty by the time I got up.  The only people left are a couple residents who got an extension, and a bunch of RAs.  All my favorite people! It was kind of cool having the run of the building.  Daniel and I spent all morning cleaning and packing.  Our room is spotless now.  I love it when everything is clean.  We did laundry and then packed everything up.  It barely fit in our car, but we worked it out.  We went out to lunch with Hope before she headed home to Colorado Springs and then we spent the rest of the day with Jeff.  It's so hard saying goodbye to all my friends for six whole weeks, but I'm sure it will go by quickly.  I really didn't want to go out for lunch and dinner today, so Jeff graciously offerred to cook dinner for us in his fabulous desk manager's apartment on the fifth floor.  Daniel and Jeff went grocery shopping and bought all the fixin's for tacos.  Then they cooked and we invited Nelson's desk manager Troy over, and a few other RAs who haven't left yet.  It was really nice hanging out and having the entire building to ourselves.  We could rent any DVD we wanted, and we used Nelson's Wii and played video games all night.  So now it's time for bed because we are leaving bright and early at 5am to drive home.  It's a 13 hour drive, so it will be a very long day.  

I'm kind of sad that we won't be living together for the next 6 weeks.  It will be hard for me to go to bed in my own bed, not with Daniel.  But I'll be fine.  I survived before this year sleeping in my own bed.  I hope my parents aren't offended if I want to be over at Daniel's house.  It will be hard to please my parents and spend time with Daniel and his family when I want.  It's all part of being an adult I guess.  Overall, I am very excited to go home!  

Two days of amazingness

The last two days have been incredible. Ever since finals ended, my life has been a big, happy, party!

Tuesday I worked EARLY but then I went back to sleep, so my day wasn't too messed up. I took my very last final and then I had to supervise the NATS Physics class to deter any desperate people from cheating. Once that was over, the party began.

At 7 a bunch of my girl friends met down stairs to go out to dinner. It was so much fun from the very beginning. We were all dressed up and everyone looked beautiful! We took a ton of pictures and then drove to dinner. I think that car rides with a bunch of girls are a blast, and this one was no different. We turned up the radio and sang along really loudly and obnoxiously. When we got there, everyone was surprised to see 10 girls all dressed up really nice and giggling like crazy. They asked us what the occasion was and we had to explain that we were all so glad to be done with finals and our first quarter of the year. It was surprisingly easy to order. We picked out like 5 things that everybody liked and just passed it all around. That's the best way to do it. And Buca di Beppo is made for sharing family style. We all really wanted dessert, but of course we had reservations at The Melting Pot, so we restrained ourselves. It was like another 10 minute car ride there which again was so much fun. I think by the time we got there we were all high on estrogen and the waiters must have thought we just arrived from a bar and were all incredibly drunk. But we weren't! We were just having a great time and freeing ourselves from the stress and pressure of homework and studying. Some of the waiters came over and flirted with us so we left a list of our names and phone numbers (no I did not leave mine). They were really cute. It was just so much fun. We all agreed that it was one of the best nights of our lives and that we HAVE to do this again. Maybe a little cheaper though. It was about $30 a person, but for a really nice dinner and REALLY nice dessert, it's worth it. We got 4 different pots of chocolate, and our waiter was so nice he brought out unlimited plates of dippers. With ten of us, we still couldn't finish all the chocolate! Our waiter even lit our pots on fire and we roasted marshmallows over the flames. It was one of the best nights I have ever had. I love college.

And then yesterday, Daniel and I went up to Keystone and I went snowboarding while he went skiing. Last year I went boarding for the first time in like 3 years, so I sort of improvised and taught myself how to board - wrong of course. So I wanted to take a class this time to get it right. If you know anything about snowboarding, you have one foot forward (left if you're regular, and right if you're goofy) and then you lean onto your heel edge or your toe edge to turn and stop. Well, I was just using my heel edge and switching whichever foot was forward. That's really really bad and totally completely wrong. I was working my calves really hard and my shins not at all so I would get exhausted really quickly. I wanted to use yesterday to take a full day class and learn how to use my toe edge. Well there was an accident on the freeway, so traffic was backed up, and by the time we got up to the mountain, it was a half hour after the class started. I was really disappointed because the half day class was only $10 less, and it didn't start until 1:00pm. So I either had to wait until 1:00 to do anything or I had to spend an extra $40 on a lift ticket. I didn't want to sit around, so I paid the extra money and boarded wrong all morning. But it worked out, because I ended up getting basically a private lesson. Those are normally $400, but I got it for about $150! And he spent the entire 2 hours working with me on toe turns. The first time I got it, I was so happy! Honestly, I wasn't sure I would ever learn. So the next step was to link my toe turns and heel turns together. We didn't have enough time to get that down, but now I know exactly what I need to work on. I discovered that my stance was completely wrong. In snowboarding everything is about the front foot. You lean on the front foot, turn with the front foot, stop with the front foot. I have been using WAY too much of my back foot and leaning with my body to get myself to turn. That makes me loose my balance and center of gravity and I fall. I also have been staring down at the snow which makes me fall. So I need to practice leaning on my front foot, balancing on top of the board, and looking forward where I'm going. It's a lot to think about all at once, but I just need to practice so my body learns what it feels like. My teacher was awesome and really helped me a lot. I think I might take one more class this season. But I'll be really lucky if I get another private lesson.

Today I am very very sore. Every muscle in my body hurts. I can't lift anything, open doors, reach for anything without my muscles hurting really bad. But it was all worth it. It kind of feels good because it means I worked hard yesterday. I'm not a very athletic person, so it's cool that I'm getting into a sport like this. And when you're living in Denver, it's really important to know how to ski or snowboard. Everybody does it. It's kind of expensive, but worth it to me. And it's something that Daniel and I can do together.

After my shift this afternoon, Daniel and I are going to go shopping! I want a really beautiful Christmas dress and Daniel needs new shoes. I think we're going to start at Banana Republic and see if there's anything there. I have spent so much money this week, but I also got a huge check this week, so I don't feel so bad. I go home the day after tomorrow and I can't wait! Oh! I also got a wedding invitation for my cousin's wedding in California. That's going to be awesome too. I feel kind of like I'm going undercover to investigate the secret world of scientologists lol. But I love my family, they're so fun especially Vanessa. And I love weddings too!

Good news first, or bad news?

Okay, good news.

I'm making $35 while everyone else sleeps.

Bad news.

Everyone else is sleeping right now and I am not.

Why, oh why did I take the 3am-7am shift? I think I'll ponder that question for the next one hour and ten minutes until my shift is OVER.

One down, one to go

My final this morning went very well. It was in my core class on classical art and music. I wasn't really concerned about it, which actually probably helped. I think that I could have gotten 70% on it and still gotten an A in the class. But I did still study, so I was prepared and I think I did well. I got through it in 45 minutes and came home and went back to bed until 11:00.

Daniel and I went to the post office and turned in my passport paperwork. One step closer to Europe! And Mexico in a month! While Daniel did mail, Hope and I figured out our plans for tonight and tomorrow. We are going to have dinner in the dining hall at 5 and then go shoe shopping. Then we'll go to the mall for the movie at 6:40pm. Hopefully I'll be home by 9 so I can get some sleep before work tomorrow at 3am. Yuck. I'll go back to sleep until my final at noon. Then I have to help out with NATS from 2-4pm. I'll probably celebrate and then sleep from 4-7. All the girls are going to meet downstairs at 7 and we have reservations at Buca di Beppo at 7:30 and the Melting Pot at 9. P.F. Chang's didn't work out because it was too far away from The Melting Pot. But Buca di Beppo is still really yummy! And it's better for big groups. We have eight girls going now, but more might join us. When I made the reservations they asked if we were celebrating something special like a birthday or anniversary. I told them we're celebrating the end of finals! We're all glad to be done. Every study room has been occupied all weekend and nobody is going out or anything. It's kind of strange actually to see a residence hall this quiet.

Last night I was reading up on Europe some more and I discovered that there is a whole series of guidebooks specifically for college students. It's written by Harvard students. They're called "Let's Go". I was looking on Amazon to see if I could get one for pretty cheap. A bunch of them said "ex-library books". Then I thought, maybe I should actually check the library and see if they have one. Our school library does have guidebooks. From 1978. Like that's really going to help. Our phoenix library has some from 2000, but I still feel like that's too long ago. I mean if it's before 9/11, then it's definitely out of date. So I bought some for pretty cheap on Amazon. I'm excited to see if they have more information on hostels. The Frommer's book we have considers $150 a night a "value" hotel. Yeah, right. And Daniel and I have saved almost $1000 towards the trip. That's just in about a month. So I think we're doing really well.

We have our first 2 1/2 weeks basically planned. We haven't found any hostels or bought our plane ticket, train ticket, international student ID card, or any of that yet. Right now we're just planning what we want to do. I'm most excited for Barcelona and Paris right now. I still don't know anything about Italy. I haven't gotten to that chapter yet. I am also excited for the train rides through Switzerland. I think it's going to be beautiful. I'm a little concerned about packing though. Everything I've read says you need to pack really light. Like one carry-on size bag. I don't think I have ever traveled without checking a bag. Let alone to the other side of the world for a month. But it's all part of the experience I guess. It will be an exercise in pushing myself out of my comfort zone and learning how to get past my anxiety. And I'm prepared now more than ever to do that. Besides, once we get married and have kids, we won't be able to do this. So it's now or never!

Weekends!

This was a fabulous weekend! I love being in college. :-) On Saturday I got home from my shift and took a long nap. It has been a long time since I have had enough free time to actually sleep. When I woke up Daniel had done the mail for me, so I didn't have to worry about that. He spoils me. We went out to this thai place for dinner. Daniel loves thai food, but we hardly ever get to eat it. Usually when we go out, he let's me pick the place. Tonight, however, it was Daniel's turn. So I encouraged him to order whatever he wanted. It was actually much better than either of us thought it would be. We were planning on going to a Denver Brass concert together, but I didn't really feel like going. I thought it would be a nice night to stay home and spend some time by myself for a little while. So Daniel went to the concert and I ended up on my computer for an hour or so reading up on Europe some more. That's my latest obsession.

At about 8:15 my friend Hope texted me and invited me over to watch a movie and do a little light studying for finals. Her favorite movie is Love Actually and I've never seen it, so she insisted that we watch it. It was very romantic, just like Hope. She likes anything that has to do with love. So Hope, Robin, and I went to Robin's suite to relax and be girly for a little while. We also drank hot chocolate, ate roasted walnuts coated with cinnamon sugar (delicious!) and frosted sugar cookies. I guess Robin's suitemate's mom brought all the stuff to make sugar cookies and roasted nuts, so they did a lot of baking earlier that week. I sure enjoyed it! The movie ended around 11. By then Robin's other suitemates had come home.

A bunch of them are in choir with me so I knew all of them. We watched youtube videos of Yelle, this really popular singer in France. Her videos look like they're targeted at eight year olds, but she sings about really provocative stuff. It's all in french of course, but I guess words like "pornography", "orgasm", and "favorite position" are cognates lol. It was obvious what she was talking about. So we danced around and made fun of Yelle for a little while. I called Daniel to find out if he was home yet, and he said that he was, but I couldn't come home because he was talking privately with one of his residents. Blech. Stupid RA stuff. Luckily the girls were perfectly willing to let me hang out with them in their suite until 1am when Daniel was finished. All in all, it was a great night. It made me feel very lucky that I am living in a residence hall at such an awesome school with great friends. It's nights like those that I will look back on and remember how much fun college was. I think everybody should experience living in a dorm. There's nothing like it.

Today I slept in until 11am. Blissful. I worked for a couple hours this afternoon. Daniel came and helped me study for core. Hope is also in core with me, so she came by and we studied together. 2 hours goes by way faster when you have friends with you. And studying is way more fun with friends too! My core final is tomorrow morning at 8am, so I need to finish up my studying tonight. Hope and I are at the top of our class, so I'm not worried. It should go smoothly. Tomorrow Hope and I are going to go see a movie and then Tuesday we're going out to dinner with Danelle, Katie, Nikki, Reema, and a bunch of other Nelson staff. It should be lots of fun! Then Wednesday is snowboarding. Thursday and Friday will be cleaning and packing. And then Saturday we drive home!

Madama Butterfly

The opera was beautiful. The songs were so emotional and the singers were incredible. Some of the effects they used made the opera seem magical. There is a scene where they spread flower petals all over the entire stage to welcome her husband back to Japan. They have hundreds of light pink cherry blossom flowers and they sprinkle them all over the stage. They flutter to the floor and land lightly. Then, petals start falling from the sky. It looks like it's snowing flower petals! It was so beautiful. There's another scene where they use the lighting to show very dramatically the passage of time from sunset to sunrise the next morning. She is waiting for her husband to come home, but he doesn't. It's a very sad scene because she is so disappointed. The scene is like 10 minutes long while you watch the scenery slowly get orange and then dark blue and then yellow and orange again when the sun rises. She just stands there watching completely still. In the background (off stage I'm guessing) you can hear a chorus singing off in the distance. It's a beautiful song. And there's a little boy who plays her son. He must be about five years old. He was so well-behaved! He sat perfectly still on stage and did exactly what he was supposed to. It was amazing.

We were lucky to get such great seats too. The theatre has 4 levels that stack way up to the ceiling and we were on the very bottom in the first row of the back section. That means there were no heads to block our view. This theatre has this new technology where they display the words on the back of the seat in front of you. The opera is in italian, so you can choose english, spanish, or off. I kind of got dizzy looking back and forth from the stage to the captions, but I didn't want to miss any of the words and the meaning. There were just a couple funny parts, but many sad parts. It is a tragedy, after all.

After the opera Daniel and I got some hot chocolate from starbucks to celebrate the first snow of the season (though it all melted by noon). It was very VERY cold outside last night and I insisted on wearing a dress. I wanted to look beautiful for the opera, and pants just don't feel beautiful. I did wear tights, but they didn't keep me that warm. Daniel seemed to think that I was overreacting, but he was wearing a full suit when it was 30 degrees outside. So I don't think he has the right to complain. We had to work at 11pm, so we rushed back home. It was a beautiful night.

In the program they had an advertisement for the other two operas they are doing this season. They are offerring a valentine's day special. You get a 3-course dinner at the super fancy restaurant right next to the opera house, "premium" seating for the show "The Pearl Fishers", and then after the show a cocktails and dessert reception with the cast. And during intermission you get access to an exclusive lounge or something. It's $350 for a couple which I think is a very good deal for everything you're getting. Our tickets were $100 a piece for last night, so that would make dinner and cocktails and dessert with the cast only $150 more. Except we'll get even better seats. It sounds like a beautiful Valentine's Day. I think we'll save up and make that our gift to each other.

It's my last Saturday here on campus until January. I have studied a little bit, but not enough to be ready for my two finals. I'm sort of putting it off. I keep thinking that I have plenty of time to study, so I don't want to waste any of my free time studying. It has been 10 long weeks since I have had a weekend with no homework to do and no classes to worry about. This break is going to be so relaxing. I'm going to spend lots of time with my family and with Daniel's family and all of my friends back home. I can't wait!!

No work tonight...

Because I'm going to the Opera! My grandparents bought Daniel and I awesome tickets to see Madame Butterfly! I think I'll make a list of things that I am very happy about today.

1) it snowed last night
2) I got an A (not even a minus) in biology for the quarter
3) I'm done with three classes, only two to go
4) it's pay day!
5) no work tonight
6) I'm listening to Smetena's "The Moldau" and it's beautiful

I love my life. Isn't it wonderful?

I wish I was asleep right now.

I'm ready for this quarter to be OVER. I am very very tired of waking up for my 8am class/ my 5am shift at work. $8.70 is not worth it to wake up this early. Next quarter I will have 9am class every morning. I am greatly looking forward to it. It's not much later, but at least it's a steady schedule. This quarter I wake up at 7 on Monday, 8 on Tuesday, 4:45 on Wednesday, 9 on Thursday, 9 on Friday, 8 again on Saturday, and I get to sleep in on Sunday. It's quite confusing. I'm sure my circadian rhythms are not happy with me.

I'm also very excited to go home! The whole family is going to be together for Thanksgiving. We are all together so rarely now that it feels like a family reunion when we are. My parents are very glad that we are coming home too. Then they will be gone for two weeks which will be nice for me. It will definitely be a relaxing vacation. I think everybody should get 11 stressful weeks followed by 6 of vacation. It really helps you to push through until the end to think about 6 blissful weeks with no homework or studying or tests or waking up early.

Next week is actually pretty calm. I have one final and one optional final on Monday, and then another final on Tuesday and I'm done. We can't leave until Friday or Saturday because Daniel is an RA. So we have Wednesday and Thursday with basically nothing to do. We decided to go skiing on Wednesday. We're going to go up to Keystone. I'm going to take an all day class. I want to get good enough that I can snowboard all day and have fun. Right now it's a lot of work and although I'm looking forward to it and I know it will be fun, I'm also a bit nervous. I get scared when I start going too fast down the mountain so I lean back on my heel edge the entire time and that takes a lot of muscles. I end up very very sore the next day. I never quite got the hang of my toe edge, so instead of boarding front foot down the mountain, I switch back and forth on my heel edge. Hopefully at the class I will learn the proper way to board once and for all.

I hope Phoenix is nice and sunny and warm. It just got cold here the past few days, but still no snow in Denver. It has snowed everywhere else around Denver. It has been high 40s and 50s during the day, and freezing at night. To celebrate a new ski season I bought a new coat on Monday. I got tired of wearing the same coat every day last year so I bought myself another one that will be better for snowboarding, but also work for walking to class and stuff. It's one that has a fleece that zips into the inside with a waterproof outer layer. It's very warm and cozy. My other coat was not meant for sports. It wasn't waterproof or windproof, just really warm. So this coat is very nice. And it goes with my ski pants well. It was on sale for really cheap so I couldn't resist.

I think I'll eat breakfast now. It's very quiet for a college residence hall. Somebody has to be awake somewhere. Right?

A terrifying evening

My dad called me this evening and told me that my sister was in a car accident. Immediately I thought it was just a fender bender, but then he told me the details. Nicole was the least hurt, and she fractured her heel/ankle. She told me that it's swollen to the size of a baseball. She has a splint and is using crutches to get around. Worse than that, Mike was injured badly. His spleen was ruptured so he was rushed into surgery immediately. He's expected to be fine after a few days of recovery in the hospital. The other driver was not so lucky. He isn't expected to live. He was only 16 years old.

Luckily, it's nobody's fault. Both insurance companies will take care of the costs. I feel so relieved that Nicole is okay. But guilty, because the other driver was not. And this whole thing has made me realize that I care about Mike simply because I care about Nicole. And I don't want either of them to be hurt. I don't think I have ever wanted to speak to my sister as badly as I have tonight. Her phone was broken in the crash, so there is no way for me to contact her. She finally called me a few hours ago and as soon as I heard her voice I started to cry. Ugh. I hate crying. But I'm so glad she's okay. I can't imagine how she is feeling. When she mentioned the ride in the ambulance it was like wow this is real, she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. She must have been terrified; I know I would have been. And I know that I wouldn't want to leave Daniel's side for an instant. She said that her and Mike were separated immediately at the hospital. But they let her see him for a second before he went into surgery.

I wish I could be there with her. At least she has some family there to take her home and take care of her for a few days. Of course Nicole is worried about a test she has tomorrow. I'm scared for the day that she comes home for Thanksgiving and she's on crutches. I don't know if it will take that long to heal. I hope not. I couldn't stand to see that.

Pray for Mike. And the other driver's family. As difficult as my night has been, theirs must be a million times worse.

It's cold today!

Well winter is definitely here! It's cold outside! I think it's like 35 degrees. Brrrrr!

I had a pretty terrible afternoon. Apparently my insurance company has almost no providers here in Denver so it's impossible for me to find a doctor in this area that will take my insurance. They told me that there were no family practice/general practitioners within 45 miles of my dorm. That's ridiculous! It's not like I live in the middle of nowhere. I'm 15 minutes from downtown Denver! I spent like 2 hours on the phone calling my insurance company and then a bunch of different doctor's offices, trying to get an appointment before I have to go back to Phoenix. I was so tired of being put on hold and speaking to rude people who didn't have the answers to my questions. I finally called an office that's for hispanic families like 20 miles away. It's not too far, so I'll deal until I get back from Christmas break. And maybe I can practice my spanish. ha.

Then I went to turn in the paperwork for my passport. I was actually really excited because I am going to Mexico in December and then Europe (!!) in the summer and this is one step closer to both trips. I got my picture taken at Walgreens on Monday. I went back 90 minutes later (they said it would be done in an hour) and the pictures were still not ready. I was so irritated because we took a special trip and they weren't ready when they were supposed to be. So today we picked up the pictures and went to the post office. We waited at the post office for 30 minutes until someone finally helped us. Then we got up there and the lady told me that she couldn't take my paperwork because I had a copy of my birth certificate and not the real one. She was really rude about it too. I thought it was a certified copy, but apparently it wasn't. So all of that was a total waste. 3 hours of my afternoon were completely wasted on the phone and waiting in line. I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown. All day I have had terrible customer service. It makes me want to make sure that whatever job I have, I am friendly and courteous to every person I help.

So I came home and went to bed. It made me feel better to get under the covers and just be by myself. When I woke up, it was time for dinner. I went downstairs and a bunch of my friends were eating dinner so I joined them. That turned out to be a great decision because it cheered me up right away. There was a group of like 10 RAs (and me) all sitting together and it was like one big family dinner. Then some of my closest girl friends invited me to Starbucks. And I agreed. It makes me realize how much I've changed since high school, or even a year ago. In Boston, or in high school, I would have just gone home and watched TV or done something by myself. But now I like to spend time with friends. We celebrated the first cold day of the year with some hot chocolate. And we made plans for celebrating the end of finals! We want to get dressed up and go out for a nice dinner with just the girls. We are going to P.F. Changs and then The Melting Pot for dinner. I am such an extrovert! I amaze myself.

Estes Park, Election, etc.

Last weekend, Daniel and I finally went up to Estes Park. This was supposed to be for our anniversary, but it was the first weekend that Daniel was free. We drove up on Saturday afternoon. There were still beautiful fall colors on the drive up. We checked in and found out that we got Pueblo, one of the oldest cabins. My family stayed in it like 5 years ago. We expected it to be cold up there, and maybe a little snowy, but it was 70 degrees. Actually a little warm. We were disappointed. The point of the trip was to see what the weather is going to be like around the date of our wedding up there, but I don't think this weekend was a good representation. There were elk all over the grounds grazing. They were a little scary. Much bigger when you get up that close.

When we got there, we walked down to this little creek and up to a little valley on the other side. It was strange to be there in the fall. It's much quieter and everything looks dead. I'm so used to it being green and crowded with families. Then we came home and Daniel cooked a delicious dinner for us. It was so good and I ate way too much. We rented a board game and played for a little bit. We took a walk, but we realized that it is very dark outside and we didn't have a flashlight. There were elk all over the grounds, and I was seriously afraid we would run right into one. Then we baked some cookies and went to bed. We were both really tired because we worked all night on halloween. The next morning we had leftover cookies for breakfast and checked out. Daniel has always wanted to hike up bible point, so we decided this would be the perfect time.

It probably wasn't a great idea though because we weren't adjusted to the elevation up there. It's a short, but very steep trail. I had a hard time catching my breath so we stopped to rest frequently. But it still took us less than an hour to get to the top. We took a few really beautiful pictures and then headed back down the mountain. We drove home so that I could finish my homework before work that evening. It was a really nice weekend. A little disappointing that it wasn't cold, and we weren't able to get in to see the cabin that we want to get married in because there were people staying in it. But that just means we'll have to go back. :-)

I gave both of my presentations yesterday. Spanish went pretty well. I think my professor was just glad that we actually followed her instructions unlike the other two groups that went before us. Hopefully that will work to our advantage and we will get a good grade. Psychology went amazing. Way better than I thought. She handed back our comment sheets immediately after. I got 100% and tons of really positive comments. She loved my part of the presentation, and my whole group really. I am so incredibly relieved that they are over. All I really have now is one HUGE paper for psychology, and finals and then I can just not think for 6 whole weeks. The end of the quarter has been really hard. I'm exhausted and stressed out to a point that it's almost unhealthy. I just keep telling myself 2 more weeks.... 10 more days.... 4 more classes....

Last night was very exciting, especially being on a college campus. I had class all the way until 6pm so I missed the early election coverage. I ate dinner quickly and then met some friends. We walked to Ben & Jerry's because they were giving out free ice cream for election day! Then we walked to the cable center which is like a convention center that the university owns. They had this giant 2-story tall TV. It was broken up into cubes so they had CNN really big in the middle and then fox, abc, msnbc, and cbs in the four corners around it. It was a little overwhelming. There were tables set up with snacks and games and prizes all around. They even had pin the tail on the donkey/elephant! The local news broadcasted from here and interviewed the president of the Students for Barack Obama and College Republicans. It was fun for about 2 hours, but then a ton of people came and it got really crowded so we went home. At home we watched comedy central (they have the best coverage anyways). And to our surprise, Jon Stewart announced that Barack Obama won. We, of course, thought he was joking so we turned to CNN to discover that it was true. So that's where I was when it happened. Sitting in my dorm with four friends watching The Daily Show/The Colbert Report.

My 8:00am class was cancelled so I'm going back to bed in 45 minutes. I wish I didn't have to wake up at all. But at least I don't have to go to class after this. It's supposed to snow tonight. This weekend it was like 75 degrees, and all of a sudden last night the temperature dropped and winter is officially here. I think it's going to stay cold this time. We've already been lucky with unseasonably warm weather, but I think it's gone for good now.

I am very excited to go home for Thanksgiving. Much more now that I found out Nicole is coming home, and my parents are going to be gone for two weeks. I think six weeks at home with them would be a little too much, but this way Daniel can stay over at our house and I can still see all my friends and bake and cook and do all the things that I miss from home. And eat lots of In-n-Out burger! Oh how I wish there was In-n-Out here.

I want to go back to bed.

The end of week 8

Week 8 is finished! Only two weeks left in the quarter. I am so glad. I saw a commercial for macy's yesterday and they showed video of the macy's day parade. It made me think of all the years waking up on thanksgiving morning and sitting on the couch in my pajamas watching the parade onTV with my mom. It reminded me of family and a day off of school and really good food. I think thanksgiving may be my favorite holiday now. And after finals, it's only one week until then. I will get to go home and see my grandparents and help grandma make the stuffing for the turkey. I am so excited!

Oh, that reminds me: I have a new little baby second cousin! Her name is Chloe and she was born on my mom's birthday, October 27th, at 9pm. We are going to go visit right after Thanksgiving because one cousin just had a baby and the other is getting married! This all happened in the last month.

The end of the quarter also means my classes are getting harder and my schedule is more hectic. I have two presentations on Tuesday, a big paper due on Wednesday, a quiz on Thursday, and a third presentation on the Monday after that. Daniel and I are going to Estes Park this weekend so I won't have that much time for homework. But thank goodness today was our last lecture in psychology. After today is just group presentations so I can start studying for the final. I took a biology test on Friday, and on Monday I found out that I got an A! I was so thrilled. I never ever expected to get an A. I was super nervous for it. So now my average is about a 90%. That makes this last test super important.

I am trying to pick up extra hours at work whenever I can. I am losing one shift because of Estes Park and two shifts because of the opera, so I want to make that up. I got two extra shifts this week so that helps. Every extra bit of money that I get is going straight into our savings account for Europe. I'm really hoping to get the RA job because then that will be $6000 that my grandparents are saving on my school that I'm sure they will put towards Europe. But Daniel and I are still trying to figure out how to pay for his part. His parents basically said that they won't give him any money. He has to raise it all on his own. I really really want him to go (obviously) so I am putting every extra dollar that I earn towards his trip. That's really hard because I am making a ton of money between my three jobs and putting a lot of it into our joint savings account. Daniel, on the other hand, has to borrow money from me just to pay his credit card bill. I'm okay with that because I love him and I know he needs help, but it's frustrating too. Sometimes I feel like I pay for everything. Once in a while it would be nice for him to take me out and pay for it himself. I have to give him credit for buying me a beautiful birthday cake though. It would be so much easier to build up a couple thousand dollars for Europe if two people were putting a couple hundred dollars in a month. Right now we both have committed to $50 a pay check, which is $100 a month. Obviously that won't accumulate enough to pay for the trip by itself, so we're counting on gifts from family at Christmas and extra income here and there from odd jobs to fill it in. But we're confident we can do it.

Thinking about all that money stuff is depressing. Even more depressing is my plans for halloween. I have to work. I should probably dress up to work at the desk, but I don't really have a costume and I don't want to buy one. Daniel is on duty so he can't go out either. I'm thinking I'll watch a bunch of movies. But not scary ones. I don't like scary movies.

I haven't gotten my absentee ballot yet and I'm a little concerned. But not enough to do anything about it I guess. I would feel terrible if I didn't vote, but I don't really know who to ask about my absentee ballot. On election night our school is opening up our big convention center and they are playing election coverage on the big huge media screen. Some of the political science professors are going to 'analyze' (like we need more of that) and they will have food and prizes and stuff. I think it will be fun. If I decide to go.

Birthday fun

Well my birthday turned out to be such a great day, mostly thanks to Daniel. After work I went back to bed for about an hour and then Daniel and I and some friends went out for lunch. Hope, Alex, Eric (and his parents - it's parents' weekend) went with us to Beau Jo's pizza. It's 'famous Colorado mountain pies'. The BEST part about it is that they make the crust with honey. So you are supposed to eat your pizza but save the crust and they bring out honey and you dip the crust in honey and eat it for dessert. It's delicious! I had like 4 crusts at the end. It was nice to just go out with friends and the weather was beautiful so we sat outside on the patio.

After lunch Hope invited us to go halloween costume shopping with her. Some of her high school friends invited her to a party so she needed a costume. We went to two different places before we found one that she liked. Daniel had to work at 3 so I dropped him off and went to pick up the cake for my party that night. It turned out to be much more difficult than I thought. The ice cream place doesn't have a parking lot, so you have to park on the street. Well it was really crowded so I drove around until someone left so I could park. When I got the cake and drove back to campus, all the streets were barricaded for the homecoming parade. I couldn't get to my dorm's parking lot. I was freaking out because the cake was melting in the passengers seat while I was waiting for the parade to go by. So Daniel got Jeff to cover the desk and he ran across campus to get the cake and take it back to the dorm. I found a general parking lot and left the car there. It was very stressful! I was planning on getting a nap after that, but no such luck. We had to do mail and by the time that was done, it was only an hour before my party. So we ate dinner in the dining hall and went upstairs for my party!

About 12 people came which was just perfect. We had enough cake for everyone, but not a ton of leftovers. Everyone sang happy birthday to me which was really awkward and embarrassing. But they insisted. Some people had to leave after just an hour or so because their parents were in town, but some people stayed and we played games until about 10pm. Then Eric came over and we hung out until he had to go to work at 11pm. Over all, it was a really great day. I got a gift from my aunt and uncle in Indiana which Nicole helped pick out. It was a necklace. I am terrible at picking out jewelry; Nicole is much better so I like it when she gives me jewelry. And one of my other friends Reema bought me Philosophy. I've always wanted to try it, but I have never bought it for myself. It smells like cinnamon and Christmas. I love it.

Today I have worked a lot. Daniel cooked me a delicious dinner so I could eat before work. I work exactly the same times that the dining hall is open so sometimes I'm just out of luck. And of course we had left over Bonnie Brae ice cream cake for dessert. Daniel and I also planned out our week in France. It's the first definite plans we've made and it makes me feel much more calm and excited instead of anxious and stressed. I think I'm most excited about Versailles. I am very nervous about figuring out how to say the french words though. Daniel and I totally butchered the name of every place we want to visit. The only one I know is "Versailles". And unfortunately we won't be in Paris on Bastille Day, but we will be there during the Tour de France.

This week is advising week and at the end of the week we register for next quarter's classes. We're in week 8 now! 3 more weeks until finals and then home for the holidays. I'm looking forward to going home much more now that I found out that my parents will be gone for two whole weeks and I'm going on a cruise with Daniel's family. So excited!!

It's my birthday....

...and I'm at work. Blech. I had to wake up early on my birthday. But the rest of the day is all mine! Birthday party tonight with all my friends and we're having bonnie brae ice cream cake (it's a Denver thing). Yum!

I'm kind of sad that I'm not with Nicole today. When I was growing up, I always desperately wanted my own birthday. But now that I'm grown up (mostly), I wish we could spend it together.
This morning right when I woke up, Daniel's mom called. She sang the traditional Rosen family birthday song. It's a little different than "happy birthday". Still nothing from my blood relations... kind of disappointing. But lots of facebook messages! That makes me smile.

Happy anniversary to me!

Our anniversary was amazing. It was everything that I wanted... and more. So many of our friends wished us happy anniversary. I wore my beautiful new coat, and Daniel wore his anniversary present, a sweater from Banana Republic. And Daniel bought me a DU scarf from the bookstore. I have wanted one ever since I transferred here, but they are really expensive so I never bought it. But Daniel did! It's yellow and maroon striped with fringe on the ends and it looks exactly like the scarves that all the Gryffindors wear in the Harry Potter movies. When I first saw people wearing them on campus, I thought they had bought Harry Potter scarves. And then Daniel told me that they are actually DU scarves lol.

We went to the melting pot for dinner of course. The restaurant is beautiful. They have waterfalls through the entire thing. They gave us an anniversary card signed by everyone, and a free chocolate dessert! So we did this deal where it's one flat price for all four courses: cheese, salad, meat, and chocolate. After the cheese course, I was already feeling full so I had no idea how I was going to make it through the entire dinner.... but of course I did. We didn't finish everything though. There were a few pieces of chicken left on our plate that we just couldn't finish eating. But by the time the chocolate came out of course we had enough room for dessert! As my friend Hope says "there's a separate compartment in your stomach just for dessert". By the end of the meal, my stomach was completely full and I couldn't possibly eat another bite. We got the cheddar cheese, caesar salad, coq au vin (with red wine- yum!) for the main course, and yin and yang for dessert. In the pot is white chocolate on one side and dark chocolate on the other, in the shape of a yin yang. It was so cool! Pictures:

Other than that, it's been a very stressful week. We have been out every night until late and busy all day long. I made a list of the homework I have for this weekend, and it is twice as long as usual. I have two group presentations on the same day, November 4 which is two days after I am out of town. And the day after that, I have a huge paper due. So obviously I have a lot of work to do. As usual, I am going to try to get as much as possible done before that weekend so I'm not stressed out. Daniel is very concerned that I am going to ruin our romantic weekend by being anxious and stressed the whole time. But I promised him that I will try to get it done ahead of time, and even if I don't that I will just forget about it for 24 hours and enjoy myself.

I had a biology test today that I was really worried about. I got a B+ on my last one and there's only one more before the end of the quarter. And those are the only grades that we get so basically my test grades are my final grade as well. We got a new professor a few weeks ago. He is terrible. He seems very nervous like he's afraid of public speaking or something. And he contradicts our textbook and stuff which is really frustrating. So I did my best with studying and we'll see how it turns out.

My birthday is tomorrow. And so far I've received two cards: one from bells at church and one from the grandparents. That's a little sad.

Crazy busy!

Well I have been so so busy that I haven't had time to think let alone blog. But the last week has been very fun. I think mostly because I felt like it's been my birthday for the past week and it's not even until Saturday. I'm making up for last year when I had a crappy birthday.

So on Thursday Daniel and I went to a concert at Lamont. It was our very own lamont symphony orchestra with the London Symphony Choir. They performed Verdi's Requiem. It was amazing. Verdi writes such passionate emotional music, and the choir and orchestra performed it beautifully. There was this one part that repeats three times throughout the requiem and it's really really loud and the bass drum plays really hard. Every time the guy hit the drum I jumped in my seat. I couldn't help it! I have sensitive ears or something, I don't know. But it was great.

On Friday, I worked as usual. A LOT. And then on Saturday Daniel took me out on a date. We made reservations at P.F. Chang's. Daniel doesn't usually like to go there, so it was a nice treat for me. Afterwards we went to banana republic. Last winter every time we went to the symphony or someplace nice I never had a nice coat to wear. All I had was my boring old windbreaker. So I needed like a peacoat or something more formal. Well, banana republic had a sale this weekend: 30% off all outerwear. There was a beautiful coat that I saw a few weeks ago, but didn't buy because I thought I would get one around my birthday and it was super expensive. So I bought it this time, but for 30% off! And we had a coupon for an extra 10% off on top of that, so I got it for about $100 off. yay! I also bought my mom and sister's birthday presents. Then we went to the symphony. It wasn't anything exciting, but I had to go for one of my classes.

Also this weekend, my grandparents bought Daniel and I tickets to see Madama Butterfly the opera. It was my birthday present! I am so excited! I saw one opera this summer and I LOVED it, so I am super excited to see this one with Daniel. And I will get to wear my new coat and be all sophisticated. The tickets were over $100 a piece, they are very good seats. And the shows were almost all sold out so we got some of the last available tickets.

Finally, this weekend probably THE MOST EXCITING thing happened. Daniel and I decided that this summer we are going to go to EUROPE!! Originally, I asked my mom if she thought I could study abroad this summer in Italy. Our friend Jeff was planning on going and looking for some friends to go with. Well, my grandpa said that instead of paying for tuition, he would pay for me to just go on vacation there. Daniel's parents said the same thing. So... there you go. Daniel and I are now planning our vacation to Europe. Here's our plans so far (completely flexible at this point): Leave Denver on July 8 and fly to Madrid, Spain. Spend one week in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, etc.) then take the train to France. Spend a week in France (Paris, Versailles, etc..... see the Tour de France) then take the train to Switzerland. Spend a few days in Switzerland and maybe a few days in Austria or Germany. Then go to Italy. Spend a week in Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice). We are planning on about four weeks total. I also want to go to Greece, but I figure on our honeymoon we can take a cruise to Greece, so it's not essential to do that on this trip. I think the places we have planned will be plenty for four weeks anyways. Yesterday we went to Borders and bought this huge guidebook for Europe so we can start planning our itinerary. We already have our plane trip picked out. We found a flight for pretty cheap. It leaves on July 8 in the evening, lands in London then two hours later leaves for Madrid. And with all the fees (there are a lot) it would be about $1600 a piece. That's actually really cheap compared to what we've seen other places. I am SO EXCITED!! And I'm about 90% sure my grandparents are going to pay for my expenses. Daniel and I are both saving $100 each a month now to put towards the trip. And every birthday/Christmas gift from both of our families will hopefully be cash towards the Europe trip. Can you believe it??? We are so lucky. Hopefully we'll find some friends or siblings to go with us. I think the more the merrier.

Back down to earth now. This morning, my mom's best friend Karen called and said that she is in town for business and invited me and Daniel to dinner. So we asked some friends and found a uniquely denver place that's supposed to have like the best burgers in the country. It was really fun. She is a fun person to talk to, and it was nice to have a tiny piece of home to come visit since parents weekend is coming up and everything.

Tomorrow is our anniversary. Six years! Holy cow. That's a lot. All I can say is I'm dying to get engaged. Who knows..... maybe we'll buy a ring and get engaged in Europe. And on Saturday is my twentieth birthday. I got my first gift yesterday. It was from Daniel's parents. It was such a great gift! It was a manila envelope. Inside was a bunch of information and an application to get a passport and $100 cash. It is an awesome gift because in December I am going on a cruise to Mexico with them and I will need a passport for that and Europe. So they sent me the money to pay for the passport. They are so sweet. I love having two families. It's the best.

Okay, it's time for bed. I have to work at 5am tomorrow. Then in the evening.... The Melting Pot! Wow my life is so exciting right now!!

So excited!

I made reservations for our anniversary dinner tonight. We are going to the Melting Pot in Littleton. We have never been there together and I'm not sure Daniel has ever been there at all. I am so excited! It's going to be romantic and delicious and so much fun! And on November 1, Daniel and I are going to spend the night up in Estes Park at the place we are going to get married! I'm going to be 20 and we are going to be celebrating our 6 year anniversary. Wow. six years. That's a little crazy. I'm so so so excited!!!!!!!!!!!

Brownies!

I just finished making brownies. I love brownies. I love anything with chocolate in it.

This weekend was really fun. I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends and working as usual. I didn't have nearly as much homework as I nearly do, probably because mid-terms just ended. On Friday I worked for most of the day. From 11am-1pm when I work at the desk it's also Jeff's office hours so he's at the desk with me. He mentioned that he wants to study abroad in Italy this summer, but he doesn't want to go by himself so he asked if I was interested. He told me more about it and it sounds great! I didn't want to study abroad initially because I didn't want to miss a whole quarter here. But 5 weeks in the summer sounds perfect. It's not too long, and I won't miss any class here! And Italy is probably one of the top 5 places I want to go (mostly for the food!) So I talked to my mom and she agreed that it's a great idea! She said that my grandpa would probably be willing to support me and pay for it. We'll talk about it some more over the next few months. When I got off at 9 that night, Daniel invited me to go over to Tim's house with Eric, Jeff, and one of the new brothers. We had to work at Nelson at 11pm, so we couldn't stay for that long. It was fun to hang out with all the guys. That night was the first really cold night of the season. It was almost freezing outside. Daniel and I came back and worked until 1am. Just before our shift ended, I got a call from Leora over at Nagel. She said that the person who was supposed to take over at 1am and work until 7am was in the emergency room. He works at our hockey arena and he was hit in the head with a hockey puck. So I had to go up to Jeff's room and knock on his door and let him know what was going on. He's in charge of the desk so he had to find someone to cover those shifts. I felt so bad waking him up, but that's his job.

On Saturday, I woke up early to get to work at 9. I was so tired from the night before, but I had to go to work. It was wet, misty, and COLD outside. When I got home, Daniel was still in bed. I went back to sleep, but I had a group meeting for psychology at 12. I thought I would just sleep for 45 minutes and then head over to the library. But, I overslept. I woke up at 12:15 and I decided to just ditch the meeting. I was too tired. Now I really regret that decision because all weekend I have felt so guilty about it. I missed the first group meeting because I was sick and now I missed the second one. And we have a paper due tomorrow which I had nothing to do with. I feel terrible. I emailed them and told them I would write the paper, but nobody replied. Every time I think about it my stomach knots up. But I can't go back and change it. Hopefully they aren't really angry tomorrow when I see them in class. When I woke up it was pouring rain outside. Daniel invited me to eat at Chili's with his brothers. They had spent all afternoon at the park playing volleyball in the rain for a Greek philanthropy event. So I drove over to Chili's and we had lunch/dinner. Daniel and I had planned on going to Elitch Gardens that night, but it was 40 degrees outside and pouring rain, so we thought it was going to be way too cold to be outside on roller coasters and stuff. Instead, we went to an exchange with DZ. Because Theta Chi won the tournament, they were invited to an exchange at Stick-E-Star. It's a bar basically right on campus. I felt very uncomfortable surrounded by sorority girls wearing skimpy clothes and trying everything to get alcohol even though they were underage. But I survived for a couple hours. Then Jeff and Daniel and I decided to go home and watch "Saw". For my psychology class I had to watch a scary movie and analyze my fear reflexes. I HATE scary movies. I never ever watch them because I don't enjoy being scared. But Jeff convinced me that I have to see this movie. Before we even started watching it, I was freaking out. But I got through it. I did not enjoy it whatsoever. And for the rest of the night, I wouldn't let Daniel leave my side and I had to have the TV on to keep my mind off the movie. I highly doubt I will watch Saw 2, 3, or 4.

Sunday is my one day to sleep in and I enjoyed it. I worked again for most of the day. After Daniel's chapter meeting that night, we went over to Jeff's apartment up on the fifth floor. All three Erics and a bunch of the other brothers were up there. We ended up just hanging out and talking until almost midnight. I really regretted that this morning when I had to wake up at 7am to be at class. But it was really fun anyways. I shouldn't have gone to class this morning. My professor assumed nobody would come because it's the day after the mid-term, so we just watched a movie. She gave us all 10 extra credit points on our mid-term for being there, but I only missed 3 points altogether so it would have been more worth it to me to have slept in. But I was already there, so I stayed.

The weekend went so fast and now it's the sixth week of class! This quarter is going by so fast. I finally feel like I belong here at DU. I am involved in the school, I have a ton of friends, my classes are going so well. On three mid-terms I got a B+ and two A+s. Tomorrow I will find out my fourth. I am loving living in Nelson with all my friends and making a ton of money while doing my homework at the desk. And my admissions blog went live today! Everything is going great :-)

Love (sigh)

Yesterday in Psychology, we talked about love. It is so interesting to me. I think love is one of the most mysterious things. How is it that I fell in love with Daniel? What is it about us that draws us closer to each other than anyone else in the whole world? Is it a chemical thing, or just something we made up to make us happy? Is Daniel THE person for me, or are there thousands of people in the world that I could just as easily fall in love with, if only I had met them first? There are so many things we don't know about it. In class we talked about the evolutionary function of love. Basically, we evolved to love because it gave us a better chance at surviving. We were more likely to reproduce healthy children. But also, in the animal world, mating is actually kind of evolutionarily dysfunctional. For example, male birds are usually brightly colored to attract a female mate. And we talked about stereotypes of love and if they're true. I know that mine and Daniel's relationship is very unique, so it's hard for me to relate to other people. I mean I've never dated around. I don't have any exes to compare to Daniel. It's actually kind of weird. But obviously, really cool too. I mean how many other people knew their husband in middle school? How many other people can say they have never kissed another person besides their husband? And how many people can say that they knew who they were going to marry in high school?

It's the weekend! I love the weekends because I always have tons of time to hang out with my friends. And I don't have hardly any homework this week because we just finished with mid-terms. So basically it's working and hanging out with friends!

Daniel and I are starting to plan our anniversary/my birthday weekend. I think we are going to go to the Melting Pot for dinner on the 22nd and then on the 25th a bunch of friends are coming over for a party for my birthday! Then in November, we are going up to Estes Park to spend a night in a cabin up there. Really, that's just to see the reunion cabin where we want to get married. And we want to see how much snow there really is on the ground and what the weather is like.

Today I got a package from my Aunt and Uncle. They sent me a bunch of Halloween decorations and candy and rice krispies treats! yum! I'm really lucky because I have my parents, grandparents, and aunt and uncle to spoil me. It's basically just me, my sister, and my brother because my other cousins are secluded in the church of scientology. Although we are planning on going to visit them in December. Daniel and I were already planning on going to Disneyland right after Thanksgiving. Well my cousin Cedar is due to give birth really soon, so my grandparents mentioned that they want to go visit her and the baby sometime while I'm home for Christmas break. I think that sounds awesome! I hardly ever get to spend time with my grandparents because when I'm home in the summer, they're in Utah and when they're in Phoenix, I'm in Colorado. So it would be great to get to go to Disneyland with Daniel, spend some time with my grandparents, and meet my new second cousin all in one trip! I'm so excited!

Victim # 3

Tonight at dinner I killed my third "assassins" victim. He didn't even see it coming. The game is over this weekend. I think we are going to see who has killed the most people, and that person wins. I have killed three right now. I looked up my next target on facebook and memorized her face. So we'll see... I just may get four before it's all over.

Mid-terms are finally done! I took my last one this morning. I did WAY better than I thought I would. Every single test took less than an hour which is usually a good thing. I felt confident so I think I did well. On biology I got a B+ which isn't bad. I really want to keep up all As, so I will have to do better on the next two exams to get an A in the class. But since I'm not falling asleep everyday anymore, that shouldn't be hard. I haven't gotten my grades back for spanish, psychology or Core (the one I took this morning), but they were very easy.

The past few days have been packed full of hanging out with friends and doing fun stuff. Last night Daniel and I attended a "values dinner". It's an event put on by the student life office. They invite pretty much everyone, and whoever RSVPs gets to go. There were about 50-60 people split up into 5-6 tables. It was completely free. We dressed in "business casual" (I never know what that means) and met up in the Gottesfeld room. It's a little room in our athletic center right under the bell tower. It is a beautiful room with chandeliers and elegant paintings and things on the walls. We had a three course meal. I didn't know anybody at my table, so I met 9 new people. There were little boxes on each table with 20ish questions inside. While we ate, we took turns going around and answering questions about our values. The questions were designed so that I really got to know the people at my table. We only spent an hour together, but by the end of the meal I knew a lot about each person. And I love any reason to get a free meal that's not in the dining hall.

Then after dinner Daniel and I went to Jeff's room for his "cookie dessert". He made up this crazy dessert. He takes a roll of cookie dough and spreads it in the bottom of a baking dish and bakes it. Then you scoop out a little of it, add a mound of ice cream, sprinkles, and tons of toppings, and sit in front of the TV and gorge yourself. Or at least that's what Jeff does. I just had a polite little serving of cookie. We had fun gossipping with Jeff and Nikki and her boyfriend Brian. The latest gossip is about the kid with the swimming pool in his room. This weekend the RAs on duty discovered that a resident had an inflatable pool in his room. He used his trash can to fill it up with water from the shower. He was in his bathing suit swimming in his dorm room. And when the RA came in, he promptly told her to take her shirt off and join him. So she called campus safety and they waited there while he took 2 hours to empty the pool one trashcan-full at a time. The things these crazy college kids think up. He must have been very intoxicated.

Today Daniel's boss, Jessica, asked me if I was planning on being an RA next year. I told her that I probably was. Then she asked that if a position opened up sooner than that, like this year, would I be interested? I told her yes. I didn't realize that there are rumors circulating that one of the RAs is going to quit. I am so excited at the prospect of being an RA! I love all of the staff here, and I know all the pro staff. I know all the rules and policies and everything. It would be a really easy transition, and I think Jessica thinks so too. So it seems that I may be offerred the job soon. And that means... free room and board! That's $10,000 off my school costs. It's still far from certain or even probable that they will pick me to replace the RA that quits, but it's a possibility.

I feel like this year I am so much more involved with everything on campus. I work for res life, the physics and astronomy department, and the office of admissions. I'm in choir and sweetheart of Theta Chi. Last year I was in nothing. I went to class and then hung out with my friends in the evenings. This is so much better. I get special privileges because I know the pro staff. And I am making a ton of money with all of my jobs. And I feel like I have a real investment in the school. Like I am making a difference on campus. Besides that, I have made triple the number of friends I had last year. I am always waving to people in the halls and I always have someone to eat lunch and dinner with. I love it! This year is awesome.

The quarter is half over. I will be back in Phoenix in six weeks. And I'm actually really looking forward to it. I miss my friends back home. And my family too. And who doesn't love Thanksgiving dinner? yum!!

My birthday is in 17 days. Daniel is planning a party for me here in our dorm. I haven't had a party in such a long time. 2 years actually. I remember my 18th as one of my favorite birthday parties ever. I think because of the people that were there. I hope this year is as good as that party.

Me?! Playing Softball?!!

Yup, that's right. Yesterday was Tri-delt's annual "Strike out Cancer". All the Greek organizations (and a few others) pay $200 to enter themselves in this softball tournament. We go to Cornerstone Park and play 20 minutes games. Daniel and I were a little late because I had to work. We got to the park around noon, and our team had already won a game! Each team has to have at least 4 girls, and at least 10 total, so like most of the other fraternities, we borrowed a few tri-delt girls to play on our team. The game that we won, however, was actually a tie. So we rock, paper, scissored for it and won. Then we had a catered lunch while watching another team play. There were actually three fields going on at once. And there were something like 12 teams I think. Then I got to play! I stood out in the outfield and when the ball came near me, I chased after it and threw it to the pitcher. I didn't have a glove, so it was a little scary. We lost that first game. Since it was double elimination, we were still in the tournament. So then we played GB. That's a sorority, so it was pretty easy to beat them. And I got to bat in this game! After two swings that missed, I hit one pretty hard and got a double! I was so excited. When I got to the base I jumped up and down. My whole team was also very surprised and happy. But then the next batter hit one pretty hard into the outfield, so I ran really hard for third base. Half-way there, I realized my whole team was telling me to turn around and run back to second because it was caught in the air. I had so much momentum going in the forward direction that when I reversed, I slid in the dirt and fell. My jeans and hands got very dirty. So then I felt like a real softball player! The next game, we lost badly. I did get a hit again, but I didn't make it home. It was really fun to get outside on such a beautiful day and make money for a cause. All the money went to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

On the way home we stopped at Costco. It's the first time we've had a chance to go there since we got here to Colorado. We got a giant thing of toilet paper, a 5 lb bucket of cookie dough, and some steak. So that night, Daniel cooked us a nice meal with steak! He did such a good job. It makes me really happy that he knows how to cook. I can't wait until we have our own place and we can cook dinner more often. After dinner, Daniel was on duty so we had to stay in the dorm all night. My friend Hope was working the desk, so I went to hang out with her while Daniel went on rounds. And when I got down there two of our other DAs were there, so we all hung out. We ended up playing Scattergories for like 2 hours. I did pretty well, but Hope beat all of us by a lot. Then it was time for bed. It was such a great day. I got to spend pretty much all day with Daniel. I'm a little sore today, but it was worth it.

One mid-term done

This week was a little crazy. It went so fast, I can't believe it's Friday already! The highlight was definitely Wednesday. I woke up really early as usual to work at the desk. Class went quickly and I didn't fall asleep or anything which is unusual for Wednesdays. I had a paper due on Thursday that I was putting off, but obviously I couldn't procrastinate any more. So I sat down at noon and finished it in less than an hour. It felt so good to finally get it done and not have to worry about it anymore. Then when Daniel was done with class at 1, we did the mail really quickly so that we could get on the road and go up to the mountains!

Since we grew up in Arizona, we never got to see leaves change colors for the fall. We asked a few friends who grew up here where we should go and they gave us some really good ideas. So we hopped on I-70 west and just drove. We didn't have a particular destination in mind, or a time frame, or really any plans at all. We just drove. It was the most spontaneous thing that we have ever done, and I didn't have a panic attack! We saw signs for Red Rocks, so we decided to stop and take a look. It's this giant outdoor ampitheater built into the rocks. Daniel has been there to see a couple concerts, but I never have. It was beautiful. You could see for miles in every direction. The weather was perfect, too. There was a light breeze blowing, but it was sunny. Then we got back on the road and went up to the Continental Divide. On the way there is when we really started to see the leaves change. In the east and other places, the trees change to red and orange and yellow. In Colorado there are two types of trees: ones that stay green, and aspens that turn a bright gold. We could see patches of this blinding gold in among the green forests. The sun shined off them and it looked almost like fire. We stopped on the side of the road and took some gorgeous pictures.

We decided to drive up to Keystone and Silverthorne and have dinner. Keystone is a ski resort, but it's not open yet. Silverthorne is a little town just outside Keystone where there are lots of fancy hotels and restaurants and shopping and touristy type stuff. We have been there before in January when Daniel's fraternity brother/my boss/ our friend Jeff drove us up there to go snowboarding. We thought maybe some of the restaurants at the ski resort would be open, but it was just deserted. So we drove to Silverthorne to find a place to eat. Jeff knows Silverthorne really well because his parents live there. So he told us about this place called the Mint. There's no menu, just a meat counter. You pick out the meat you want and they hand it to you raw. Then you go over to this giant grill and cook it yourself. It was so fun! I'm glad that Daniel knows how to grill really well. It was delicious. At the table next to us was a couple from Georgia. They were nervous about cooking the meat themselves. They asked us if we did it ourselves and we told them yes. They seemed to think that if we could do it, then they could too. We started talking to them and had a really interesting conversation. They were obviously evangelical Christians. She went on for 20 minutes about how great it is to homeschool your kids because you can control what influences they have and who their friends are and stuff like that. And they asked about us and our plans for our future and all that.

So we left to drive back home at about 6:30. On the way back, we drove past this little town called Georgetown. Daniel has been there because one of his fraternity brothers owns a cabin there. It's the cutest little mountain town! All the houses are different pastel colors. The streets are built into the side of the mountain. And as we were driving through, a herd of deer walked right up to us! They weren't afraid of us at all. Crazy!

It was such an awesome day. We spent the whole day together and I didn't have any homework to worry about, and Daniel didn't have any phone calls, or work to do, or anything. We both had such a great time. We were exhausted that night, but we had to do our laundry. So at 10:30pm when it was finished we both passed out and fell fast asleep.

Today I had my biology mid-term. I waited until last night at 11:00pm to really sit down and study. The day was so busy with class until 6, and then dinner, and the VP debate, and then we played taboo with some friends at the desk until 11. I sort of read through my notes, and made flashcards and stuff ahead of time, but nothing serious. I never ever procrastinate like that, but I think it went okay. I guess I'll find out on Monday when I get my test back. I have a spanish mid-term on Monday, Core (classical music) on Tuesday, and Psychology on Wednesday. So it seems that my weekend will be full of studying. Psychology is really the only one I need to study for. Spanish isn't difficult, and of course classical music will be easy. I just need to study the names and artists of some paintings. I really hope these mid-terms go well. They're my first big tests of the year, and I want to start it off right!