The past few weeks have definitely had their ups and downs, their busy parts and their lazy parts.

I've worked a few times, but not many hours. I've been trying to work out but I just wish I had the time and motivation for it. If I did, I would be doing speed training three times a week and distance training two days a week. But for the most part, I have just been doing a little speed and a little distance here and there. But alot of abs, which is always good.

For Christmas, I got some movies, the new Fall Out Boy cd, a sweatshirt and some other clothes, a couple of pairs of earrings, a new hairstraightener, a massager, some candy, and some ornaments.

At Christmas at my grandmas, I got to see alot of my cousins and aunts and uncles. Dogs Ike and Juny were also there. I got a sweater from my grandma and a necklace.

I went to a Christmas party/welcome back for a friend that studied abroad in England this semester. We did a white elephant gift exchange and I got the movie Wedding Crashers. The gift I gave was a smelly candle and two diaries. We played card games and it was a really fun time.

Today a friend came over and we played four games: Sorry, Stratego, Yahtzee, and Life. I only won Yahtzee.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, but I am working, so no big plans. It's gonna be a really busy night too. On New Year's Day, the powwow girls are getting together to see a movie and go out to eat, so I am pretty excited for that. Also, it's a friend's birthday on Saturday, so we are going out for that too.

Even though I have plenty to do here at home, I am getting sick of being here. Too much time at home isn't good for me and I am ready to go back to school. Only 12 more days...

Boredom is the word to describe the majority of my break so far. All of my friends didn't have finals until this week so they are home now, but all week I had no one to hang out with. And my brothers both had school still so I was home alone for the most part.

I went gift shopping with my dad one day tho, which was fun. We went to this new coffee shop/cafe and I think it would be awesome to work there. So definitely this summer I am going to apply there. And many other places because I am sick of the job I have now. So far I was supposed to work four days and I have only worked one because the restaurant closed due to the bad weather on the other days.

And speaking of bad weather, today is really really cold and windy. The past couple days it blizzarded (is that a word?) and now we have soo much snow. The drifts come up to our porch but I think we actually have about a foot and a half. The wind chill is ridiculously cold.. I think the news said -30.

I guess my boredom lead me to be kind of productive. I made at least ten different kinds of christmas cookies this week. And we are still baking more today. I found an awesome cookie cook book at my house and I am so excited to try some of them. I'm gonna get so fat from all the cookies. Good thing I'm working out. Yesterdat I did 2.5 miles of speed work on the treadmill and did 17 mins of abs and core. I wish I had the motivation to workout like that everyday, but I just get so lazy and would just rather lay on the couch and watch a movie. I wish it would warm up so I could run outside. But I don't think I will be that lucky.

This week I went to see my youngest brother's holiday program at school and then that night he was in the Christmas pageant at church. He was a wiseman. Tomorrow night is my other brother's band concert, so I will get to go see that as well.

I think we are finishing our Christmas shopping on Wednesday, so that's cutting it close. I think my dad should be home that day too (he is a trucker), which is exciting. On Saturday, we are going to my grandma's house for Christmas with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins so I am also excited for that.

I sure hope this New Year is good. I've been waiting for a while for it.

FINALS ARE OVER.

It feels amazing to be done. I had my last final this morning at 8 and I honestly think I did well on it. I studied for three days for it and I am really hoping it paid off.

Last night I ran the 4x4 at the track meet. We didn't do so well. I ran a 67 split and the other girls ran 65, 67, and 70. We need to be around 61/62 if we want to make it to nationals, so we have ALOT of work to do. I am going to try to train really hard over break so I can get into really good shape to run that race. Coach said that since we have such a good shot at going to nationals in the relay, that race has to be my main focus. So I guess I won't be doing much hurdling this year.

Even though I am done with the semester, I am waiting to go home until tomorrow. I still need to pack and then tonight I will get to hang out with my friends and boyfriend before we all part for break.

It's finals week and I am super busy. This weekend was my last weekend at school for the semester so my roommate and I had a fun girl's night with some friends on Friday and then my boyfriend and I hung out on Saturday. On Sunday, we had the Fall Sports Banquet for soccer, volleyball, and cross country. I got a letter award and a the Pflieger-Olson academic all-conference award for soccer.

Yesterday was the last regular day of classes and its a relief to be done with those, but I still have alot of finals to work on. I turned in my creative writing final today, which was supposed to consists of 2 prose pieces or 6-8 poems. I had 3 prose pieces and 2 poems. Hopefully they are A-worthy.

Tomorrow I have my illustration final at 10 and my psych final at 1. My last final is marketing at 8 a.m. on Thursday. I am not looking forward to that but studied all day yesterday and today for it. Tonight I have to do acommunity service project for soccer at an elementary school winter carnival so I won't have much time to study. And tomorrow night I have pep band AND a track meet. I'm only running the 4x4 but it's at 9 p.m. I'm not happy about running at this meet because I don't want to be there running and getting back so late when I should be using that time studying and going to bed early. But oh well, such is life.

I found out that even though I told the restaurant I work at back home that I want to work ALOT over break, they gave me 8 days out of the whole month that I'm home. I'm really angry about this because I need to make money to pay for tuition next semester and for books. I need to find another job ASAP, but I have no idea where to work that isn't 20 or 30 miles away. So basically, on top of stressing about finals, I have to stress about money and finding a job. Needless to say, I can't wait til this semester is over.

I haven't blogged in a while because of Thanksgiving Break. I went home on Tuesday and that night I got my hair cut. I initially wanted just wanted it trimmed but then decided to get alot cut. Right now its just above my shoulder when I straighten it, and its almost another inch shorter when its curly. I think I got about 6 inches cut.

My dad had turned my room into a recording studio. There is a drum set, mixing board, microphone, guitars, bass, EVERYTHING. He has completely taken over my room and I am not liking it. But I guess now I can learn to play the drums ;)

On Wednesay I went I shopping in Mankato but didn't buy anything. I am never in the mood to buy stuff around the holidays. I'd rather just buy stuff for other people. My mom did tell me though that I need to make a list for her, but I told her she is on her own, because I have no ideas.

On Thursday we went to my Grandma's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I was delicious: turkey, cheesy potatoes, rolls, corn, wild rice, and stuffing. But I hate stuffing, so I definitely did not eat that.

On Friday I didn't do much of anything. But on Saturday I hung out with my high school buddies which was really nice. I hadn't seen any of them since I left in August, so it was great to catch up with them.

Sunday was Vespers, the choir concert. We had two performances and the choirs sang 8 songs and it featured a 12 year old violin player. I thought we did a pretty good job, and the second performance was definitely better.

This week flew by. I got a 92% on my psych test, but I had a marketing test today and that's another story. For my Illustration class, we had to make a type self-portrait, aka, a picture of ourselves made only with the letters of our name or a sentence about ourselves. The class voted to see whose we liked best and mine tied to win!

On Wednesday, I went to see Pete Good, who performed here on campus. He plays acoustic-y songs and he was really good live. After that I got a free 10 minute massage - it was glorious. I wish it would have been an hour long.

Track practices started on Monday. It has been so cold outside that I pretty much dread going. But yesterday and today I ran inside on the treadmills in the fitness center. Our first meet is on December 11, but that's during finals week so I don't think I will be going; its only a preseason meet anyways, so no big loss. Our first real meet is the first weekend we get back from Christmas break.

Speaking of Christmas break, its only three weeks away. Next week is Thanksgiving break, then we have a week of regular classes, and then its finals week. This semester has gone by crazy fast, but I am definitely ready for a break. I haven't even been home at all yet. Tuesday's the day...

This weekend was amazingly fun. On Friday, we stopped in Sioux Falls on our way up to Brookings to pick up a pow-wow friend and my other friend got a tattoo. Its a cross inside of a heart on her wrist. She already has one of a cross inside of a fish on her other wrist. While in Sufu, it started to sleet and we thought it was going to be bad weather, but once we left, it was fine. We got to Brookings and had homemade pizza and cheesebread that two of our friends made for us for supper. Then we went to Walmart (a must!) and movie gallery and bought a bunch of movies. We ended up not even watching one because we just hung out and talked all night.

On Satuday we had a very busy morning. We went to a craft show, book sale (I think I picked up 8 books!), stopped downtown for coffee, then ate lunch at George's Pizza, walked downtown and shopped the stores, went to the art museum at SDSU, and climbed the Campinle tower. After that we went back to my friend's apartment and made Christmas cookies, a Mexican-style hotdish for supper, and Europa bars for dessert. Then we watched Elf! Its one of my fave Christmas movies.

On Sunday we went to church, watched the first half of the Vikings game, and then said goodbye. When I got back I had a lot of studying to do for my psych test, which was yesterday. I think I did okay on it. Finally, I have a good feeling about a test.

Last night I went to see the movie "Role Models." It wasn't as funny as I hoped it would be, but it was still good.

This weekend I am going up to Brookings to hang out with some friends from back home. They are the same friends that came here for the formal. One of them goes to SDSU and has an apartment up there and she basically has our weekend planned out - there is a book sale, craft show, opera, basketball game, and she even has church and homework times penciled in. We always have these get-togethers; we call them "powwows." This will be the 2nd annual powwow in Brookings, and we will have our 8th [or so] bi-annual powwow over Christmas break. I love our get-togethers.. we are all friends because we work at the same restaurant, which is the usual site of our powwows. It's nice that 5 out of the 7 of us go to school in South Dakota. One works in Iowa and the other is studying abroad in England.

I have a psych test on Monday. Hopefully I get time this weekend to study!

This weekend was Blue and Gold Days family weekend. My parents didn't come because they had other stuff going on, but I still had a good time. It was the first weekend I had off since 2adays and it felt amazing.

On Friday I went to the Honors Convocation, which is a ceremony that recognizes all of the academic scholarship recipients. My favorite part about the whole thing was getting dressed up. I love dressing up. On Saturday afternoon I had to play pep band and at night we went cosmic bowling. My best score was a 129, which isn't too bad for me. Today a friend and I played a flute duet during mass and then I went to the basketball games. The women won but the men lost.

I can't wait until Thanksgiving break. Only 16 days. I think I'm homesick. I haven't been home yet since August, so maybe I am. But the best part about this is that after Thanksgiving break, we have one week of classes, finals week, and then we have semester break for a month. I am so ready for it.

Still sick.

I've been sick for a week now. I want to be better! I'm sick of having a cough.. it's disgusting. I've spent a lot of money on medicines and none are working. Maybe I need to go to the doctor. I suppose its the only option I have left.

Speaking of spending money, I bought another memory card and a flash drive because my 120gb external hard drive is broken. I don't know how or why it broke. But it means that I lost all my pictures, music, and documents because they were all on it. I guess it wasn't the best way to back up files. I really don't know what is the best way. Maybe burning info to cds or dvds? This is a topic that definitely needs much research.

In psychology, we have to do a research project. My partners and I are going to experiment on our friends to see their reactions to people staring at them and see how long it takes for them to notice. I think it will be a fun project.

I've been listening to Sirius Radio a lot lately. My favorite station is Alt Nation, which plays a lot of new alternative rock music. They have been playing the new Death Cab for Cutie song "Cath" a lot, which is really good. Another good song I've heard lately is "Rock and Roll" by Eric Hutchinson. I used to be really up-to-date with new music, but I just don't have time for it anymore. I'm starting to miss it.

My friend and I as nerds for the Halloween dance on Saturday night.

Yesterday some friends and I watched scary movies in honor of Halloween. We watched "The Strangers" and "Prom Night." Both were okay - I just can't seem to get scared by movies anymore.

Today is our last soccer game of the season. I think we are all pumped to play, so hopefully we come out with intensity, score some goals, and win.

Tonight there is a Halloween dance and I am SUPER excited for it. A friend and I are dressing up as a nerds, and we are going to look amazing. My roommate is going as an old lady with a walker and everything, and she looks even better than us nerds.

Unfortunately, I got sick this week, and have a sore throat, cough, and stuffy nose. Hopefully it doesn't stop me from having a good weekend.

Friday was my boyfriend's birthday. We went out to eat at Minervas with his parents and then watched a movie. There was a hypnotist on campus but he didn't want to go to that so, since it was his birthday, he got to pick what we were going to do. I had a crazy long and hard marketing test earlier that day so I was stoked to have the weekend at hand. We had a game at Doane on Saturday. It was a four hour drive and we had to leave at 7:30 in the a.m. We didn't get back until 10 oclock at night, so needless-to-say, I was exhausted. Riding in a car or on a bus always makes me tired. Sunday was homework day, as usual. I had to study for my psychology test that was today, which wasn't so bad.

This week is gonna be another busy one. Tomorrow night I have practice and then the Great Plains Writer's Tour. Wednesday I have a spaghetti dinner for the soccer girls and for the Moderator, I have to go to the Lifelight concert in town, which should be cool - I get in free with a "Press Pass." On Thursday, we have our second-to-last game in Sioux City against Briar Cliff.

AND FRIDAY IS HALLOWEEN!

It has been raining like crazy here for the past two days. We had practice out in the rain yesterday and ended up just playing World Cup, which was actually a lot of fun. Today we were supposed to have a game in Sioux City but it got rescheduled to next week, thankfully, because I was dreading having to play in the cold and on the wet field.

For my creative writing class, we are doing an exercise called "Hearing Voices." We are supposed to go to a common place and record dialogue, which basically means eavesdrop on the people around us. Then we have to use that dialogue in a story we create. This is the second time we have had to do this. The first time, I went to the Fryn Pan at midnight and wrote down what a bunch of high schoolers were talking about. I think I am going to go back there, so I can just add to the story I already have. But I think I will go at a different time, perhaps lunchtime, so I can hopefully hear the conversations of people other than teenagers.

I have a marketing test on Friday and its over four chapters. Its an insane amount of information, just like the last test, so hopefully I can somehow cram it all into my brain. I also have a pyschology test on Monday, which shouldn't be too bad. But I will still study like a mad-man, as always.

In choir we have been practicing hard for our Vespers concert. We are singing some pretty cool songs. "Voice Dance" doesn't have any actually words in it, just things like "Ba Yah Dah." When we sing it as a whole, it sounds amazing.

What a blast this weekend was!

It started out with our game against Dana. I think everyone went into the game feeling super excited for the Fall Formal that followed. And it totally paid off. We were winning 1-0 at half time, against a team that is ranked third in the conference! But unfortunately we ended up losing 2-1. It was by far our best game of the season, so we left the game feeling really good about it.

My dad, brother, and four friends from back home all came to the game, so afterwards we went out to eat.

And then it was time for our dance. Two of my friends came to the dance too. It was so much fun. I love getting all dressed up and looking pretty. I actually think the process of getting ready for the formal is more fun that actually going to it. BUT I did have a great time there too. They played mostly good songs, except towards the end, they started to play songs that were hard to dance to. We came up with the conclusion that it was a way to get everyone to leave early!

And now it is homework time. I put it off until now, and I better start it or it will never get done. I don't have too much - less than usual. After homework, I'll probably take a glorious nap, make a Walmart run, relax and get to bed early.

This week has flown by! Tomorrow is Friday already and I am welcoming it with open arms. Even though this week is midterms, it sure doesn't feel like it. I didn't have any tests, and I think I have had the least amount of homework since school started. It's a nice break from the rush, but I know I will be swamped again soon.

Yesterday we had a game in Orange City, IA. My boyfriend surprised me by showing up to cheer me on. I have two friends who go to school there so they came to watch and I got to visit with them afterwards. I was nice to finally see them again. My parents and youngest brother also came which was great because I haven't seen my dad since before I left for school in August.

This weekend should be a blast. More to come later.

This week has been pretty darn busy. I'm so glad we have a three day weekend. Yesterday we had a soccer game in Hastings, Neb. It was a long 4-hour drive, but we watched some movies including Baby Mama, which I hadn't seen yet, but is really funny. I definitely recommend it.

Tonight I am planning on going to a haunted house in Sioux City. I am so excited for Halloween. I am going to be a nerd, and my roommate is going to be an old lady with a walker. AND my johnmate is planning on being an old man. They will be such a cute couple.

Since we don't have school tomorrow I get to sleep in. I think it will only be the second day since I have been here that I will actually get to sleep in. I am totally looking forward to it. The rest of the day will probably be spent lounging around and doing not much of anything, because you can't do work on a day off! However, I will have practice in the evening. After practice we are going to watch a video of our most recent game. Hopefully watching ourselves play will help us to see what we are doing right and wrong, and can help us improve our game.

It's kinda sad that the season is almost over. We only have five games left. It went way too fast - two-a-days seem like just yesterday. But I guess that means its almost time for track season. I'm getting totally pumped for track this year! It's gonna be a good season.

Today we played Morningside for soccer. It was a good game. Lately we haven't been working very hard on the field but today we really picked it up. Even though we didn't win, it almost felt like it, just because we never gave up, even when the other team scored. We all did what we were supposed to and worked together. I really want to win a conference game. It's something that the women's soccer team hasn't done in five years. The men's team won their first conference game in six year just a couple weeks ago. I would love it more than anything if we could do it too. Everyone on the team has improved so much since the season started and I really think that we deserve to win a conference game. We just need to put all of our effort into it and play with passion. Once that happens, winning is a possibility.