I'll admit it...

... I failed. I'm kind of bummed I didn't complete my goal of taking a picture everyday of 2010. Maybe next year? Maybe next month? Who knows. (Before I die... definitely. I guess adding this to my Bucket List along with other things such as "Shoot A Gun" and "Go To Greece" is going to have to be good enough for now.)

So now what?

I'm just going to write.

This is what I'm feeling: appreciative, loved, excitedly anxious... BUMMED. I have to leave Texas in three weeks and this feeling has just hit me. (I just tweeted about it like 10 minutes ago.) I have Let Me by Pat Green playing on repeat reminiscing on my freshman year of college. I can't believe I have come this far, and I can't believe that it has gone this fast. I'm going to be home in Wisconsin for four whole months; away from my friends, my roommate, my campus, midnight rodeo, downtown Austin, two-stepping, legitimate country stations, cowboy boots, Texas restaurants, warm weather, pick-up trucks, etc... ugh.

At the beginning of the year, and even second semester, I could have never imagined staying here for the summer. I guess I just always felt like I'd be missing out if I don't go home. I've come to the realization that I wouldn't be missing out on much of anything if I didn't go home. Don't get me wrong, I'm pumped to hang out with my family this summer. That, I couldn't be more excited about. Also, being the maid of honor in my sister's wedding is going to be fabulous. It won't be so bad either to make a little bit of money after being broke for so long... but it's not the same. I'm going to miss the South!

I guess in the long run it will make my return in August that much sweeter.

Just one more thing... I'm definitely going to take advantage of these next three weeks.

Another Mass Update

February 3, 2010

Thumbs up for drug testing! Torri (left), Rose (right) and I (not pictured) were a part of the half of the athletes in the whole school wide NCAA drug testing today. I got an e-mail this morning telling me that I needed to immediately report to a time for a drug test later this afternoon. Good thing the only coke I'm on is diet. I definitely saw a lot of fellow students and athletes, however, tripping about this because of their own stupid habits and decisions. If you look closely you can see Torri pointing to her pee cup. I think it's hilarious, so I apologize if you think it's gross. What else happened today... I woke up later because I decided last night to skip my first class of the semester (Spanish) and I believe that it was a very wise decision, though it may not seem that way. Here's why: I am way ahead of everyone in the class. I got to have a few more hours a sleep. I had a chance to take a long relaxing shower in the morning. I had more time to study for my Government exam at noon. And, I didn't have to show my hot mess representation as I usually look by getting up early, hustling to class, then walking back to the dorm to spruce up while everyone else is walking to class laughing at me. Just kidding. After Government and New Testament (my other two classes of the day) it was 2 o clock. Dalaine and I mad dashed for her car through the pouring rain and went off the Belton (her home town) because she needed to get a few things for her work orientation tomorrow. We were tight on time because I needed to be back from my drug test. On the way home we stopped at Busch's chicken and I accidentally ordered a diet coke. "Accidentally?" you ask? Well, sometimes when you drink caffeine before drug tests, you test positive. Ooops! Dalaine was like "Um. Why are you drinking that?" And then I remembered. Since I was THIRSTING I called my coach and asked her if it was okay if I drank it anyways, and she said no to be safe. So I had to save it for post- drug test. Another funny thing that happened today was when Torri was in the bathroom doing her test with our trainer/mother/doctor Megan, we heard screaming. She dropped her test cup in the toilet after peeing in it. So I had to help her glug down three bottles so that she could pee again within the next few minutes. I found it hysterical. After the drug tests Torri and I went to our psych book club meeting at the pool house in the Tintara Apartments. We talked about ways to "make people fall in love." I had a lot of fun, especially because I love getting closer to people by talking about philosophical things. I made David and Justin watch "Toddlers and Tiaras" with me afterwards. They liked it. And now.. here I am!

February 2, 2010

Who ate that? Just kidding, I know who ate it. It was me. Story of my life because I have feel like I've been doing really well with the healthy eating and then I just have these downfalls where I need to eat, and it needs to be unhealthy. Hopefully soon my unhealthy urges will go away, for there is no room for crap food while training for a half marathon.

This is a picture of how my desk looks today. (Lime green is my favorite color, can you tell?) I was messing around with my camera during a study break from Government and this is what I came out with. I dig.

February 1, 2010

Now introducing... The Memory Jar! This was Dalaine and I's creation today that we finally made today after a long time of talking about it. Every time something that's Memory Jar Worthy happens we're going to write it down on a slip of paper and put her on in there.

January 31, 2010

Tonight, Sunday, was the last night we had to go downtown for the ACL research project we were helping a UT grad student with. On the way home we stumbled across this gorgeous photo op. This fountain is right by (kitty corner to) the Longhorns stadium (inside is where we did the ACL workouts) and behind it is the famous tower of UT that lights up in burnt orange every time they win a game. History Break: Some years ago a sniper went up into that tower and shot people down below on the UT campus. I guess a student at the time was shot in the leg and he is now a teacher at Concordia Wisconsin. My dad told me that. Small world.

January 30, 2010

Full moons make people act crazy. Tonight was no exception. This is the prank we did on our friend Brent's pimp mobile-esque car in the middle of the night who's front doors just so happen to not lock. We wrote a whole bunch of inside jokes on sticky notes and put them all over the inside of his car. He secretly liked it.

Here's another example of the effects of a full moon. Tonight was the third night of our ACL Research shindig and after we got home we made plans to study all night for the upcoming exams of early the next week. Since we didn't get to study all day due to volunteering in the dang concession stand all day, we knew that we needed to get down to business tonight. Well, we didn't really get down to business. Instead, we put on the onesies and danced around for a couple of hours. And then we did a bunch of pranks on the baseball boys. And then we went to bed because we wanted to be able to wake up for church in the morning. Our new church that we tried out this week is called Hill Country Bible Church and different from the church we usually go to downtown on Sunday nights, it is right up the road. So convenient! Not only that, but they also have a college bible study that meets right on our campus on Sunday nights! I definitely really enjoyed the service as well. The whole place felt a lot more homey, and although it's still a huge non-denominational church like that last one, it was way more personal. I have really missed waking up on Sundays to go to church as opposed to going in the evening, and this way we also have the option of going to Austin Stone in the evening if time allows but we'll have already gone to HCBC in the morning.

Here she is. The Full Moon herself.

January 29, 2010

"Why do they have to put things in the cornbread?" That's why Torri's face is saying in this picture. This is taken in the lovely cafeteria, also known as (when Dalaine and I don't feel like eating there) the GAGateria. It's not like the food is bad, it just gets old. You know the drill. Tonight after our New Testament Extra Credit Exam Review Session we went downtown for our second ACL research session. Tonight we actually had to work out as we would for the next two nights as well. The first night was just "control group" stuff where we just had to fall off the boxes and land on one leg with all the balls connected to us like how they create video games and you see your shape on the screen. But anyways tonight we had to do sprints and squat jumps, tomorrow is sprints and jumping lunges, and then sunday is burpees. One word- rough; but it's all in the name of Love for Research. If it prevents a future athlete from an ACL tear then it was all worth it. (Shout outs to kay krau) After we got back we had a girls night sleepover with Tor in our dorm room. Wade came too. And Cj and Matt ended up crashing it late into the night as well too so it kind of turned into a not girls night. We watched Mean Girls. Yes.

January 28, 2010

Weezy and I.

Weezy and Dalaine.

January 27, 2010

This is Torri and I getting really competitive at Iron Chef: College Edition. Might I also add that we were the champions! Our creation called the Chocolate Trifecta was a definite hit with the judges. (We were team Brasil. Mainly because we had the shirts.)

January 26. 2010

This is our family portrait. From left to right: Cory (Catey's brother, he's a freshman too) Me, Catey, Josephine, and Dalaine. We're at Catey's apartment which is right on the otherside of the parking lot which is not technically on campus but it's pretty much on campus. Most of the students live there because we only have one dorm building, they're super nice apartments, they're within walking distance, and they're actually cheaper than the dorms. We spend a lot of time at Catey's. It's pretty much our home away from home because its super cozy and we can make meals there and things like that. Tonight we made tacos- made from deer meat! My first time eating venison. I liked it.

January 25, 2010

My finance, who also happens to be The Bachelor, Jake.

January 24, 2010

Kayla Sioux Krause! My long lost love sporting her new reflective leg bands for night time running. Oh the memories with my mom's reflective leg bands... she has made me proud. I love skyping, and definitely wish I did it more often. I think I will do it more often. Okay, well that's settled.

Just one more thing (I)... I forgot to write a Just one more thing... in my last post with my herd of photos so I'm going to do two today.

Just one more thing (II)... I need to go to sleep now and stop elaborating on each picture because I have ceramics in 6 hours and I want to wake up early enough to grab some Starbucks on the way! Good think Starbucks is in the art building. Yay for being done with class for the day at 915. I can already hear my friend Nap calling my name.

So here's my problem...

I totally think about my blog all the time.

Therefore... why am I doing such an awful job at updating and actually blogging?

I always have so much I want to write and then I think to myself.. "Well shoot. When am I going to find (make) time to actually put my thoughts into words!" It's really making me angry. Rachel, I'm mad at you. I just yelled at myself.

Just one more thing... things are going to change around here.

Back On Track

I have obviously been struggling with my blogging, but I haven't forgotten to take my pictures! Time to catch up...

January 23, 2010

My new friends Trent, Hutton, and Luke who may quite possibly be The Funniest Guys in the World. This picture was taken downtown on UT's campus in the dorms called the towers. Crazy. Fun. Crazy Fun.

January 22, 2010

Here goes Catey vacuuming her couch. She went on a cleaning rampage and honestly cleaned her apartment for three hours. But other than that, we had a good time relaxing, running errands, sleeping in her bed while the ghosts roamed the apartment, and visiting the guys over at The Verandah.

January 21, 2010

So apparently when you can't understand the buttons in the little photobooth at Lakeline Mall it defaults to a "Dumb and Dumber". Kind of ironic. It caused a lot of laughter when we saw the picture print out for the first time. We were at the mall to look for jobs today after class because I'm basically as broke as a joke.

January 20, 2010

This picture is kind of artsy I guess. This is my wonderful bright orange coffee maker that was put to use for the first time today! I will definitely be using it habitually now, but it took a while for me to get the funds to invest in some creamer and coffee grinds. Mmmm.

January 19, 2010

My only class for the day was cancelled, giving me a four day weekend. Dalaine's classes were cancelled today, too, so, we went to her home town, Belton. She had to get a part put on her car and in the process she showed me around a little bit, we jammed to some throw backs, and I ate at Bush's Chicken for the first time.

January 18, 2010

Today was Martin Luther King Day so we had off of class. We woke up early and went on a service project with Texas Ramps. It was a lot of fun and I have never drilled so much in my life. Literally. In this picture is the ramp we built!

January 17, 2010

This is my favorite part of the new room... My Nook!

January 16, 2010

My new room!! This is the bed side. Maybe someday there will be a picture of the other side... I might be able to hook you up.

January 15, 2010

Torri, me, and Catey before we went to our friends apartment over in The Verandah. We were supposed to wear black, this sadly was not coincidental. Torri spent the night afterwards with Dalaine and I in our new room!

January 14, 2010

I get my own Pottery Tool Kit!?!

January 13, 2010

Dalaine, Catey, and I in Wade and Brent's room with our baby Joey. This picture was taken after skyping Spivey in Arizona. I miss you Spivey!

January 12, 2010

Guitar Hero didn't work. Sad. But it's okay because we watch the season opening episode of American Idol instead before we had to go to our big semester dorm meeting in Building A.

A New Semester Begins... Today!

January 11, 2010

And so it began... the second semester of my college career. I have always been a big fan of The First Day of School and today was no exception. It started early with my 830 Spanish II class that goes until 945. I have a new teacher this semester, and she will definitely be more challenging. I am so excited to have her though. She's from Argentina, and she reminds me of my Ecuadorean high school Spanish teacher whom I loved, Senora RioFrio. After Spanish I have a little down time to come back to my room and watch Say Yes to the Dress before going back to lunch. Samantha gets to hang out with me for a while this month because her 10 o clock class doesn't start until the endish of January. So then I went to lunch with all my friends around 11 and off to Government at 12. Oh dear is all I have to say about that for now. Noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays is definitely a writer's cramp waiting to happen. After Government I have New Testament at 1 to end my day by 150. New Testament will be interesting because it is a very Conservative Lutheran professor teaching the New Testament to a class of all different religions. I think I will really benefit from being raised in a Lutheran home because everyone says this guy is very tough and meticulous. I am ready for tough and meticulous. The class I look forward to most during the week is Ceramics. It's my only class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it starts at 8 in the morning and is done at 915. Yes, 8 in the morning. It's my only class for the day and I look forward to being able to stay in the studio all day (and even night, especially with my own personal key to the studio) creating masterpieces! My final class to complete my 16 credits is a 3 credit Tropical Biology course aka Spring Break trip to Belize! We only meet three times outside of the trip; this week, the Thursday before the trip, and for the final exam. I am stoked for the meeting this week!

Just one more thing...The Bachelor was on tonight, my favorite show of the present. Dalaine watched it with me and then we painted our nails a midnight- sparkly blue. I didn't feel as guilty sitting down to watch a two hour show by doing abs during the commercials. I love Jake.

It feels so good to be back!

January 10, 2010

And we're back! Today was a long, tiring day of traveling, but as my title states- it feels so good to be back. After driving to Chicago with my grandparents from 930 in the morning until about 1115, we arrived at Chicago's O'Hare airport. I was very early for my flight at 130, but that's okay because I'd rather wait in the long security lines with time to spare then feeling stressed that I won't make it to my gate on time. It worked out especially well because I finally had some down time to finish my dad's book Faith in the Freshmen. (www.faithinthefreshman.com - check it out!) To say the least, it was amazing. Not only because I finally had the chance to "sit down and read my dad's book" but I got to know him and my brother on a whole new level. My dad is such an inspiration to me, as is my brother. Their dedication and discipline to their jobs (for my dad it's his job and being a father, for my brother it's basketball) left me in that airplane being the proudest daughter/sister I could possibly be. Anyways, in this particular picture I am meeting Catey's dog, Josephine (Joey), for the first time. The irony of the picture is that I'm afraid of dogs, but I've actually already warmed up to the little baby! Maybe dogs aren't so bad after all. Another reason this picture is awesome; that is sunlight on my face. I had forgotten what it felt like. Let me just tell you, it felt phenomenal. Dalaine picked me up and surprised me by bring Catey and Wade (and Joey) and she also gave me an awesome gift- a Lil Wayne Poster. Yesssss.

Just one more thing... My blogs have kind of been slacking due to I'm playing catch up with the days.

How Packing Attacked Me

January 9, 2010

I had to take a picture of my house in case I forgot what it looks like (and what snow looks like). Tomorrow I will be leaving for school. This means Austin, TX for three months before returning home again for Easter weekend and a probable Milwaukee Half Marathon in April. The last time I was gone for so long was when I left for school in the middle of August and didn't come home until Thanksgiving break. I was excited, but honestly, scared to death. I was flying on my own to a state I've only been to a few times, to a city I've only been to twice, to a school where I knew no one, to play a sport at the collegiate level that I started playing 5 months before. This time it's a little different. Just kidding, a lot different. I am so excited to see my friends. I have a few people that I have gotten super close with, a big group of people I love hanging out with, and an even bigger group of people that I can't wait to get to know. I'm pumped to be on my own again. I love being independent and making my own decisions as I pave my own path in such a unique, beautiful, eclectic, and warm city. I had no problem being gone for three months before Thanksgiving, and I don't really expect to have a problem with it now.

Tonight a few of me and my sister's friends came over to hang out before my early departure in the morning. Ryan, Stephen, Nattie, Zach, Kayla, Ellie, Megan, Anne, Hannah and I all played a big ol' game of Kemps. It was awesome for me because I love that game (and maybe because Kayla and I are the reigning champs after tonight), while others (mainly the older crowd) were not so fond of it due to their unsuccess and the length of the game due to such a big group. Afterwards my friends and I, plus Sam, hung out and debated things like the practicality of the shows on Animal Planet.

Packing was a huge pain for me today because I definitely consumed more items after being home from Christmas that I needed to fit in my already-too-full suitcase. That is one big stress of going to school far away in that you can't take everything you want to school in the first place, but then you can't bring everything home that you want to from school for breaks, and on and on. It's a never ending cycle. Ugh. But I eventually figured it out at the expense of a bunch of t-shirts that I will now be living without until Spring.

Just one more thing... I also took my parents to the airport today for their 8 day trip to Isreal. It was really sad to say bye to them knowing that I won't see them for a long time. Hopefully they do get a chance to come visit within the next couple months especially because my sister will also be student teaching in Texas just three hours away from me. They said it's probable, and I'm excited. I love my parents so much and I can arguably deem them as The Best Parents In The World (though I'm rather biased)... but that's another story for another day. Goodnight!