A very long weekend

It's Saturday, but it feels like I should be back at school. I've had the past 3 days off anyways. On Wednesday, my morning class was cancelled and then the University closed for snow. Snow day again on Thursday, and I skipped class on Friday. Now it's Saturday which makes day 4 without class. Weird.

I actually have skipped 4 chemistry classes in a row. Oddly enough, I feel like I understand this chapter better than any other chapter. Instead of rushing to copy down notes as fast as I can in class at 9am when I'm really tired, I can do it at my own pace. He posts his powerpoints online, so I copy them down with the textbook in front of me to fill in the gaps. Maybe this chapter was already easy, but either way this method worked much better for me than attending class.

It's very tempting to skip that class on Friday because it's from 9-10 and that's the only class I have. So I have to wake up early and drive to campus just for 50 minutes of class. Then I have to sit around for 2 hours until Daniel is done or drive home and drive back 90 minutes later. It's very inconvenient no matter what. So it's easier for me to just skip class and sleep in, which I do not mind at all of course.

Julie (Daniel's mom) bought us tickets to see two shows in Vegas in December. We are all going to a magic show where this guy makes planes and helicopters and stuff disappear. And just the girls (me, Nicole, Julie, and Evan's girlfriend Kristy) are going to see a Chippendale's show. I mentioned it just as a joke, but it actually sounds like fun. Hopefully it won't be too awkward. Or I'll be drunk enough to not care.

This quarter is going by so fast, there's only a couple more weeks left. I register next week for winter quarter. I am taking only 3 classes because they are all really hard. Chemistry, Genetics, and Physiology. Every single one of them has a lab too which means a lot more time in the classroom than the credits suggest. So instead of taking 18 credits, I'm only taking 14. I hope it will make my load lighter and make it easier to study and do well. This quarter has been fairly laid back, but now that it's getting towards the end things are picking up a little bit. I met with my advisor and we discussed what I'm going to do after graduation. Next quarter I'm actually a senior. That is insane! I'm a senior in college.

Right now I'm planning on doing a one year accelerated program in nursing. That way I will finish school about the same time as Daniel and I will be a registered nurse. Then I can choose to continue on and get my NP (nurse practitioner) or I can hopefully get a good job for a while and put off more school. So I've been looking at schools in Denver and it's making me so nervous. It's really competitive to get into Nursing school and there are only two accelerated programs in Denver. I would have to start the August after graduation, or the following January. And it lasts one full calendar year instead of one full school year.

I wish I were more confident about what I want to do. I'm not very enthusiastic about it. I chose nursing because I want a good steady job that pays well and that I can qualify for as soon as possible. I also want to work with patients and care for people. The actual job sounds really great, but I just don't know that much about it. I don't know anybody who has been through nursing school or is working as a nurse right now. I have so many questions and nobody that can answer them. It's very stressful. And I have to figure this out soon because I have to apply next spring or summer. Is nursing really want I want to do for the rest of my life? I'm not sure about that. What I really want to do is be a family doctor. The person you see when your kid has a cold or strep throat or whatever. I want to work regular hours and make good money. When I started college, majoring in science seemed so safe. It seemed that no matter what I could get a well paying job with a science degree. Now I'm not so sure. It's like you have to get your master's degree. But the thought of another 2 years of school makes me crazy! I never thought I would have to be in school until I was 24 years old! I want to be independent and support myself. I want to get married and start our family. But that will just have to wait I suppose.

Lots and Lots of snow!

We heard a few days ago that a huge storm was going to hit Denver, but I was not expecting this at all! Usually the weather station will say expect 6-8 inches of snow, and we end up with like 4. So when they said up to 2 feet, I thought it was a total exaggeration. We woke up Wednesday morning and our backyard was already covered in a couple inches.

One of my professors lives in the foothills, and they get a ton more snow than us. He had already cancelled class in anticipation of the storm. So I had one hour of class from 9-10, then I didn't have another class until 1pm. I didn't want to wake up early and sit around for 3 hours, so I just skipped my morning class. Instead, we slept in and played with Jackson out in the snow in our backyard. I took Daniel to school at 11 and then drove to the DMV to get a new license. I thought it was time to get a Colorado license, and now that I'm over 21, I need a new one anyways. I also registered to vote in CO and became an organ donor. Luckily it wasn't too busy. Probably because the roads were so scary! I definitely feel myself becoming a Colorado resident. I'm not afraid to drive in the snow anymore, and it has to be in the 30s before I really consider it cold. I thought it was so funny that everyone in Phoenix was talking about how cold it was at 60 degrees lol. Anyways, I got back to campus and got some lunch before my class at 1pm. At around 12:30, I got a phone call, a text message, and an email all at once. It was DU's alert system saying that the University was closing at 2pm! Unfortunately, I still had class from 1-2, but my lab from 2-5 was cancelled.

Daniel and I drove (carefully) home and had a very relaxing evening. We started beef stew and let it simmer on the stove all afternoon. I caught up on my morning class (which I have missed 3 in a row) and got some homework done. The snow just kept coming down. Daniel shoveled our driveway because we couldn't even get our car to drive on the slippery snow. In a couple hours you couldn't even tell he had ever shoveled it. We watched as our patio set in the backyard was overtaken by the snow, and the lawn mower was completely covered! It was so fun to watch Jackson. He had to jump over the snow to get around. And every time we threw a toy for him to fetch, he spent 5 minutes digging in the snow before he found it. It seems like he really likes playing in the snow.

We went to bed last night and woke up this morning to more snow. It's STILL falling. It's been about 36 hours now. Continuous heavy snow. We're at about 14 inches now and another 4-6 inches is expected by this evening. DU cancelled classes today, which means my weekend started at 2pm yesterday. I really really needed this break too. I'm going to take advantage of the extra time to get some homework done and get ahead on the last few weeks of the quarter. This time of the quarter things get really crazy with papers, tests, presentations, etc. It feels like a gift that we got a few days off of school with over a foot of gorgeous snow covering the city. It's just completely white everywhere you look. I'm glad that I won't be out trick-or-treating in this weather though! We're going to go make a snow man in our front yard :-)

My Birthday!

My whole weekend was so much fun. Daniel kind of planned to celebrate my birthday on Saturday since we would be going out that night at midnight when I officially turned 21 years old. He woke up around 8am while I slept in for another hour. At 9, he brought Jackson in to our bedroom to wake me up. He jumped up on the bed and gave me a big kiss on the face. Daniel told me that breakfast was ready whenever I wanted to get up. It smelled so good, I got up right away. I went upstairs and on the table was a pile of chocolate chip pancakes, a vase of pink roses, and all my birthday presents wrapped and sitting on the kitchen table. We ate breakfast with Paul and I opened my presents. Daniel got me a cocktail shaker, a wine bottle stopper, pink fuzzy slippers, and a glass measuring cup. I loved everything. I also opened a letter from my grandparents that had $210 check in it (because it was my 21st birthday). I knew right away what I wanted to spend it on: a kindle! So I ordered one right then. I called Nicole to wish her a happy birthday. Now that I'm older, I actually like sharing my birthday. As a kid, I hated it! But now it's fun to call her and wish her a happy birthday too.

I spent a lot of the day getting my homework done so I could go out that night guilt-free. Daniel and I also went to the mall and bought a cocktail recipe book and some mixers. Daniel cooked fried chicken for dinner. He wanted to make sure I had plenty of greasy food in my stomach! Around 9:30 friends started coming over. Daniel's freshman roommate Colin brought me a bottle of wine. Some of Daniel's fraternity brothers came over and we made some cocktails. I had a mojito and a dreamsicle. They were delicious! At about 11pm, we drove (one of the guys was the designated driver) to a local bar/restaurant called the Cherry Cricket. At the door, we all had to show our IDs. I told him that I turned 21 at midnight, so he told me to sit at the table right next to him so he could keep an eye on us until midnight. At about 10 till, our waiter asked me what I wanted for my birthday. They gave me one free shot. Paul suggested a Washington Apple, so that's what I had. It was really delicious! It tasted like sour apple. I also had a rum punch or something like that. We went home a little after 1am, and I fell asleep soon after. Alcohol makes me so tired. Anyways, it was so much fun. The guys were great, I didn't have to pay for anything.

I didn't really sleep in on Sunday surprisingly enough. Daniel's parents called and sang me Happy Birthday and their own special Rosen Happy Birthday song. They are so sweet, I love my in-laws. Besides that, I mostly relaxed and enjoyed a free day. It snowed all day and it was really cold outside so I didn't want to do anything but stay under the covers. Daniel made the weekend so special. Every time I started to clean or wash dishes or something he would say "no, it's your birthday!" so I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to :-) I'm kind of sad it's all over. But I am still excited for Nicole to come because we'll celebrate our birthday again together. And when Daniel turns 21, it's going to be really fun. That night we can both go out for drinks together.

I cannot believe I'm 21. I feel like I'm growing up so fast! I still feel like a teenager. But then sometimes I feel like an adult. Taking care of a house and a dog and all makes me feel more grown up every day. In the next few weeks I'm going to go get a new ID. I think I will get a Colorado one. Then it's official: I'm a Colorado resident!

No One Mourns the Wicked!

Well Wicked was INCREDIBLE!! Our seats were not terrible. Though we were very high, we could still see everything that was going on. We couldn't really see facial expressions, but the music is the important part anyways, right? I was sitting in the theater and practically bouncing in my seat I was so excited! The cast sounded very similar to the original broadway cast, but there were a few little differences. I definitely noticed that the balance between the parts wasn't perfect. I mean I have listened to the CD which is perfectly engineered a million times, so any imperfections stood out. But the singing and dancing and acting were fantastic! I got to wear my beautiful black pea coat because it snowed all day long. It's all pretty much melted now.

The next day, Daniel intercepted the mail and took all my birthday presents and hid them. One was a giant box from his family. I texted his Mom and told her that Daniel wasn't letting me open it and she demanded that he let me open it now lol. So he did. It was full of so many presents! I got matching red apron, oven mitts, and dish towels. A really soft bubble gum pink bath robe, and 100$ gift card to Costco to buy new silverware! Stuck inside the oven mitts were two free movie tickets and Evan put in a 20$ gift card to See's chocolates! It was so fun that I got to keep opening more and more and more because everything was wrapped separately. I can't believe that Evan even bought me a gift, that was so thoughtful of him. And I LOVE everything! I have the best in-laws :-) So today I want to go to Costco and pick out our new silverware. I actually dreamed about it last night lol. I know I'm a little crazy.

Tonight Daniel and I are going out to dinner and then we are going to the music school to see the Lamont Symphony and the Women's Choir perform. So tonight we are really celebrating our 7th anniversary. 7 whole years. Wow. I'm excited to have a romantic evening with my honey.

What a morning!

This has been a crazy morning. I woke up a full 30 minutes before my alarm was set. That is very unusual for me. I always want to get every minute of sleep I can. But I went to bed at 9:30 last night, so maybe that's why. I woke up to a backyard covered in snow. There was already an inch or two on the ground and it was coming down hard! I had to drive Daniel to work. He got a job helping with elementary school band. When I got home, I let Jackson inside because I felt so bad for him out in the snow. I got in the shower and when I got out, I checked on Jackson. He was sitting right in front of the back door with our remote in his mouth! Again! I was so angry. Paul must have left the remote out last night after I went to bed. Daniel and I try to put the remote in a drawer so Jackson can't get it. Anyways, it was destroyed of course. I was already running late, but I wanted to order the new remote as soon as possible so I called on my way to school. Driving in the snow while I'm running late and on the phone was kind of hectic. When I finally got to school, I was so frazzled and angry at Jackson I couldn't concentrate at all. To top it all off, I had a midterm at 10am. So I had to calm myself down so I could pay attention on my exam. Now I'm home for lunch before I have to go back to school. I have my biology lab, and tonight we are going to see Wicked. We have been taking up to 3 trips to campus a day, and today it will be probably 5. It's not ideal, but by coming home I don't have to use one of my meals in the dining hall on campus. And it's nice to let Jackson in for a little while when the weather is so terrible outside.

So today has been pretty nuts so far. I hope it calms down. I should have at least 2 hours between my lab and Wicked to get some dinner and relax. I hope the show is really good. I'm a little worried because our seats are in the very last row of the highest balcony. It's going to be terrible if we get there and we can barely see because we're so high up.

Tomorrow Daniel and I are celebrating 7 years together! I can't believe it's been so long. I am more in love with Daniel than ever. And I still can't believe we're getting married! Three years feels so far away sometimes, and so close other times. I'm sure it will pass quickly. My birthday is in less than a week, and Daniel is like the present Nazi! He won't let me open any until my actual birthday. He told me he was going to check the mail every day and take anything for me and hide it until my birthday. He already admitted that his gift for me is hidden in the house somewhere. I'm so excited to turn 21!

We have added yet another trip to our winter break. Daniel's parents want to take us all to Las Vegas since we will be 21. Daniel's whole family, plus Nicole and me are going. Evan's girlfriend Kristy may go too, but she won't be 21 years old. This quarter is going by fast. We're already in week 6. In one month we'll be taking finals and soon after that, back in Phoenix. I hope Jackson can learn better manners before then. He still jumps up on people sometimes and barks. And obviously chews. Most of the time I love him to death, but sometimes he makes me so angry!

Well, I'm going to go get some lunch and then head back to campus. I hope the afternoon goes quickly.

Rockies!

Last night I went to my very first ever baseball playoff game! It was so exciting and so FREEZING COLD! Daniel's fraternity brother Evan signed up for the lottery online to have the chance to buy tickets for the playoff games. He won the lottery so he bought 4 tickets for Saturday night and Sunday night's games. Me and Daniel and Paul all wanted to go. He bought Rock Pile seats which were only $10 (plus $7 of fees). We woke up on Saturday morning to see our backyard covered in snow and beautiful snowflakes falling! This is unusually early for this kind of weather in Denver, but as they say here, it's Denver! You never know what kind of weather you'll get. So it's kind of ordinary in that it's unusual. Anyways, they cancelled that night's game because it was so cold and snowy and icy. That game was moved to Sunday night when it was a whole degree warmer! At first pitch it was a chilly 28 degrees. Which I guess "felt" like 19 degrees. We were all bundled up. I wore long underwear, two shirts, a sweater, and a coat as well as ski pants, stocking cap, and gloves. And Daniel and I bought these hand warmer things that felt wonderful inside my gloves. We also brought blankets to sit on because the Rock Pile has metal bleacher seats. We climbed up to the very top row in the Rock Pile. It was an incredible view up there. I really liked our seats. The atmosphere was incredible. Even though it was so cold, everyone was excited and cheering, including us. I was pretty comfortable for the first hour or so, and then I started to get pretty darn cold. By the eighth inning, I lost feeling in my toes and my fingertips despite the hand warmers. I think the cold actually fueled the excitement because it was warmer to be standing up cheering and moving around. I can't imagine how cold the players must have been down on the field. We could see the outfielders sticking their hands in their pockets and shivering. It was a very exciting game full of hits and runs. It was tied in the eighth and then the Phillies got a run, so they won. It was a close game though which made it so much fun. I didn't even get tired, though the game lasted over 4 hours and ended around 12:15am. We didn't get home until after 1am, and I had class this morning at 9. But it was all well worth it. Not many people get to experience that atmosphere, and I feel very lucky that I did!

Finally done with midterms

My life has been pretty ordinary lately. We're almost halfway through the quarter already! I can't believe it. The weeks are going by so fast. I just finished my last midterm about 20 minutes ago and the relief has yet to set in. I know it will though. I think once I get home I will take a deep breath and relax. I think I did okay on it. Not great, not terrible. Which I am totally fine with. I studied a lot, and tried my hardest. That's all I can do.

Yesterday we got our first snow of the season! It was so exciting. Every single time it snows, I am surprised at how beautiful it is. Watching the flakes come down and land in your hair and on your nose, it's just so much fun! And adding to the fun yesterday was Jackson. It was (presumably) his first snow ever. He got very hyper and ran around our backyard. He lifted up his little paw and tried to wipe the snowflakes off his nose lol. And since he's black, the snowflakes looked so cute collecting on his back. I was definitely ready for some snow. Today it's a little warmer, in the 50s, but it's supposed to snow all weekend.

In related news, the Rockies made the playoffs! Many of my friends are huge baseball fans, so they entered the lottery to get tickets. As far as I know, only one friend has been able to buy tickets. He is going with our roommate Paul on Saturday night. It is going to be COLD! The stadium is outdoors, and the highs are in the 30s with snow all day. By the time the game starts around 6, it will probably be in the 20s! Brrr! I'll watch it on TV :-)

On the agenda this weekend is building a shelter for Jackson. Now that it has started snowing, we figured he needs someplace that he can go to get out from the snow. And since he has been a bit destructive indoors, we want to keep him outside when we're not home. On Wednesday evening, we were all downstairs watching Glee, and Paul noticed that Jackson was chewing on something. He reached in his mouth and pulled out.... Daniel's cell phone! It was destroyed. The screen was white and cracked, and there were huge bite marks out of it. Luckily Daniel was due for a new phone anyways, so he got a Blackberry the next day. Jackson has also been caught up on our kitchen table multiple times. I have no idea how he gets up there, or why, but he does. He's just so darn cute, I can't be mad at him for more than a few minutes. Maybe that's why puppies are so cute.

I'm getting seriously excited for my Wicked/my birthday/our anniversary/Halloween/Nicole coming to visit. So stay tuned :-)

Midterms

My first two midterms went great! I got a 96% in cognitive neuroscience, and an 88% in statistics. I am very happy with both. Now I have to focus on my next two. On Monday I have a midterm in Biology: Cell Structure and Function. Then on Friday is my first midterm in Organic Chemistry. Of course, that's the one I'm most worried about. I can already feel my stomach cramping up just thinking about it. Daniel wants me to go see a counselor about my anxiety. As usual. It's an ongoing battle, but not something I'm ready to deal with just yet.

Jackson has been doing great lately. I have realized that we have to give him lots of attention when we can, so that when we need to get something done he won't bother us. Daniel walks him every morning, and I usually play fetch with him when I get home until he's exhausted. It has kept him from destroying things, digging, or barking at us obnoxiously. We went to Michael's a few days ago to buy some fall-ish decorations for the house. I feel guilty spending the money, but I want to be festive. We only spent about $25 anyways, and now we have yummy pumpkin smelling candles, a cute Trick or Treat sign on the front door, and a scarecrow in our front yard. Jackson doesn't like the scarecrow too much. He stands at our front window and barks at it over and over again. We had to close the curtains so he would stop. I am absolutely loving the weather now. It's that time of year where it can be 80 degrees one day, and then 50 degrees the next day. We get brisk winds blow through, and all the leaves are changing. It seemed like overnight all the trees turned to bright gold. It's just beautiful. And it's putting me in the mood to get some snow! I think I'm almost ready. Good thing, because we have a freeze warning tonight. October also means my 21st birthday! Some of Daniel's brothers have offered to take me out for my 21st birthday. Since most of my girl friends turn 21 after me, I didn't think I would have anyone to celebrate with. My guess is we'll celebrate at the house for a couple hours, and then go to a bar or club just for an hour or so. I'm excited!

This morning as Daniel and I were getting ready to leave for school, the doorbell rang. FedEx was there with a huge box for me! What a surprise! I opened it up and discovered lots of goodies (including a dog bone and some biscuits for Jackson). Grandma even made some molasses cookies. It made my whole day. It's nice to know they thought of me and put in the effort to mail that here. They even put in a Halloween costume for Jackson!

Tomorrow we get cable! I'm excited. I know that's silly, but it will be nice. To help pay for our new monthly bill, I have been applying for lots of jobs. I applied for two different research assistant positions at National Jewish. That's a hospital here in Denver that's famous for its respiratory therapy. They put up signs around campus and on DU's website, so I know they will be accommodating of my class schedule.

I will be spending this weekend studying hard for finals. Hopefully. I don't want to get distracted and end up getting everything done BUT studying. The first midterms of the year are so important: they set my mood and expectations for the class. I hope they go well!