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!