I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I last blogged! I guess I have a lot of explaining to do..

The beginning of my Christmas vacation was pretty uneventful. I basically spent my days sleeping, eating, working out and watching movies. Vacation is basically the only time I get to do that! We had Christmas at my house the Sunday before since we would be in Pennsylvania the day of. I got some pretty sweet gifts: a new blue and gold soccer ball from Teague, a mug and hot chocolate from Tyler, a pearl earring/bracelet/necklace set and earring tree from my mom, and earrings and The Hangover from Isaac.

The next day, we drove up to the cities and stayed in a hotel because our flight was early the next morning. We got to the hotel just in time to catch the shuttle bus to the Mall of America, so we went. I'm not the biggest fan of the MOA, basically because its just too big and takes forever to get through the stores. I did however go to Urban Outfitters since I made a commercial for it in class and wanted to see how close I was to capturing the right feel. I was way off on the clothes but pretty dead on with the atmosphere.

We had to get up at 5 am to get catch the 6 am shuttle to the airport. We flew out at 8 am and landed in Detroit by noon. Then we flew out and were in Scranton by 4. It was the first time I had flown anywhere in probably ten years.. and it was Isaac's first time flying! It was great getting to see my aunts and uncles.. I hadn't seen them in so long!

We did a bunch of fun stuff while in Pennsylvania... a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hockey game, skiing at Sno Mountain, gambling at the Mohegan Sun casino, shopping in the Pocono Mountains. Plus, I think we went to the mall four or five times, I got to hang out with my cousin Kristen, and the whole family helped make Christmas dinner. I had such a blast.

Since we got home, I haven't done much. Isaac and I went to my friend Brynn's house for new years and we had a good time. Then on New Year's Day, we took Teague sledding and I wiped out more times than not. A couple days ago, Isaac's brother (who plays for USF) had a basketball game in Worthington so we went to watch him play, and then that night we went bowling in Fairmont with a bunch of my friends. After, we went to my friend Allie's house and played with her new puppy Emma.. she is a golden lab and is beyond adorable!

For the rest of the week, I probably won't be doing much. I need to be working out and running, but its below zero outside and my treadmill is broken, so that leaves me with two options: running stairs in my house or riding the stationary bike. Both are pretty lame and not hard workouts. I can definitely say that I won't be in the best of shape when I get back to school.

It's finals week! Hooray!

Yes, hooray.. I'm ready for this semester to be over. On Wednesday my sound final project is due, and on Thursday I have my short story final test (not comprehensive!), my intro to Christianity final test (also not comprehensive!), and my motion graphics final project. I am almost done with my sound project so that is a huge relief. And I am not too worried about the two tests. I am however worried about my motion graphics project. I just don't have the ambition to work on it for more than a couple hours a day because the work is so tedious. I am making a music video for the song "Fall to Pieces" by the band Ziv and I filmed my boyfriend Isaac singing. I am currently putting the lyrics to the song into the video, and to get them to move with Isaac I have to go frame-by-frame in the video and move them. And just so you know, there are 30 frames per second. That's a lot and that's why I don't want to work on it.

I have to stay on campus until Saturday because I am ambassadoring for graduation. I think I would have stayed no matter what though because my friend Theresa is graduating.

I can't wait to go home and be able to bake christmas cookies and wrap presents and decorate the house. I love all that stuff.

Well, after a short and sweet Thanksgiving break, it's back to the old grind. But it's only two weeks until Christmas break! And I have a lot to accomplish in those two weeks.

This week is the last week of regular classes and next week is finals. On Wednesday I have to present my final project in Writing and the Visual Arts. I wrote poems and made posters using my graphic design skills on the topic of breast cancer. Right now I only have three poems/posters which, in actuality, is a lot, but I think I will make one more (hopefully!) so that when I say I was shooting for 3-5 I don't only do the minimum :P

On Thursday I will be playing flute for the Living Nativity. I might also be hosting a track recruit.. so I will have to find ways to entertain her! Friday will be my busiest day of this week because I have to Ambassador for the faculty/staff Christmas party by serving drinks and their meal. Then its the choir's ugly sweater party. I have to go to goodwill tomorrow to see if I can find a super-amazing-deluxe-crazy-awesome-uber-ugly christmas sweater. On Saturday I have to play pep band for the basketball games and then that night there is a Christmas bistro dance.

Next week I have one final on Wednesday and three on Thursday. I have two projects, two tests, and a paper that goes along with one of the tests. I don't think it should be too bad since the two tests are not comprehensive and I have done well on all the past tests in those classes.

I just realized I have not yet told of my Thanksgiving break. Leading up to it I had been sick for two weeks and it got really bad last Tuesday, so on my way home I stopped at the hospital and got a new antibiotic plus some cough medicine and I slept that night for the first time in two weeks! But, although I was recovering from such a bad cough/cold, I did have fun over break. On Wednesday I went to my friends Theresa and Laura's house (Theresa goes to MMC and Laura graduated from here) and we had a game night with friends that we work with. On Turkey day, my brothers, boyfriend, mom and I had supper together at my house. Needless to say, it was delicious and I ate too much (how cliche :P). On Friday we all did a little Black Friday shopping, but didn't go until 9am.. I prefer sleep over crazy deals. However, I ended up getting some crazy deals.. I got a new suitcase, purse and wallet, as well as a sweater and earrings. And I got good gift ideas for my brothers, boyfriend and mom. That night I went to my friend Allie's house and she had a huge get-together. We played what we called "The World's Largest Game of Spoons." Spoons can get pretty dangerous when playing with 15 people!

I came back to school on Saturday so I wouldn't have to get up early to come back on Sunday because it was our choir concert, Vespers. We practiced for almost two hours in the afternoon before the performances at night. The choirs sang with members of the Sioux Falls orchestra, which was amazing. The orchestra made every song sound so beautiful.. I loved it! I have previously sang with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra and this time with the Sioux Falls Orchestra was just as amazing. We had two performances and they were both packed. Afterwards I received so many compliments, which goes to show that it was quite the memorable experience.

Tonight I am going to try to get all my homework done for the next three days so I can go ugly sweater shopping tomorrow. Good luck to me!

I have been sick all week and nothing seems to be helping me get better. I have a terribly ugly cough that keeps my roommate and me up at night. Today during class I had a sneezing/coughing attack and had to leave! I have three different types of medicine that I am taking to get rid of this so they better start working and fast!

The visit last weekend to see my brother Tyler was a success! He gave my boyfriend Isaac and I a tour of Augustana and I realized it's not as big as I thought. It's a really pretty and nice-sized campus. We went thrifting with his roommate Dylan, who is a really nice guy, and I found some cowboy boots that my brother picked up a couple days later when they were on sale!

This weekend was probably the busy weekend I have had so far. On Friday night, my friend Theresa had her bachelorette party - or rather, we threw her the party! We rented a hotel room and played a bunch of games. It was such a blast.. I got to hang out with my soccer teammates whom I barely get to see now that the season is over.

On Saturday I had to be up bright and early to give tours to groups of prospective students because it was a campus visit day. One of the moms was a MMC alum and she seemed to enjoy the tour the most! Then I had to play pep band and I watched the girl's basketball game - they won! After that both choirs had a rehearsal that the public could watch. I thought we sounded pretty good and I'm getting really excited for our concert, Vespers, at the end of the month.

My mom came to Mass on Sunday because I was playing flute, singing with the chamber choir, and being initiated as an Ambassador. She got a late start and ended up just missing my flute duet before Mass, so it was a good thing we also played harmony parts to the Alleluias and Holy Holy Holy!

I have alot to get done before Thanksgiving break can start: my sound presentation on funk music/Prince, a title sequence for "The Wizard of Oz" for motion graphics, a literary analysis paper for my short story class, and I really need to work on my final project for Writing and the Visual Arts.

Soccer season is over and it is kind of a relief. I was getting frustrated by the end and now I have alot less stress in my life. Maybe its just because I have more time on my hands. Actually, that's probably it.

Today we had gorgeous weather. It was in the 60s and six of us soccer girls went for a run. It felt so good! I hope there is more weather like this for when I'm training for track. Speaking of training for track, practices start on Monday! Coach says he wants to work me harder this year than last year so I can get down to at least a 2:30 in the 800. And there are a lot of good freshman this year so I will have plenty of girls to train with. I really hope I can do well at the 800 this year. Its a new event for me and since I struggled so bad with hurdles last year, I really need a confidence boost.

For our next sound project we have to either do a research paper/presentation on a specific genre of music or do one of the projects that we already did. We have to know by tomorrow what we want to do and I still can't decide. If I did the project, I would do another 30 second radio ad because the one I previously did was not the best. But if I did the presentation, I would do some sort of indie/folk genre of music or alternative/pop-punk/rock. I just don't know what I want to do.

Next weekend is Blue and Gold Days Family Weekend. On Saturday, prospective students will be on campus and I have to give tours for Admit. I also have to play pep band at the basketball games and sing a Vespers preview for choir. And then on Sunday, my friend Theresa and I are playing a flute duet at the family mass.

Thanksgiving Break is less than three weeks away and I can't wait for a break. This weekend I am going to visit my brother at Augustana in Sioux Falls, so that will be a nice little break from school until Turkey day comes.

So I have some exciting news... we won our game yesterday! We played York College and won 2-0! We played really well as a team and made lots of offensive opportunities.. I just wish we could have done that more throughout the season. We have two games left.. one tomorrow and one on Saturday. Hopefully we can end the season on a high note and win them as well!

I am pretty excited about my next motion graphics project. We have to do a 30 second commercial for the clothing store Urban Outfitters. Today I filmed my friend Gina in front of the green screen, just walking and skipping like she was on a path in the park. I plan to draw in her world around her with grass and trees and sky and flowers. So in the end, she will be a real person in an animated world. It's due Tuesday, so I really hope I have enough time to perfect it!

Something else exciting is that Motion City Soundtrack has a new album coming out. They are one of my favorite bands.. I have seen them live four times :) Anyways, I downloaded their new single and its really good.. so I CANNOT wait til next week when the album comes out!

Today I registered for classes for next semester. I will be taking 20 credits.. ahhhhh! I am taking Drawing and Painting, Advertising, World Lit, Writing and Publishing, Web Based Motion Graphics, Psychological Speed of Society (which is the honors class), and band and choir. It seems like so much, but I just have class at 10am, 12pm, and 1pm on MWF and at 8am, 12pm, and 1pm on TTh, plus band, art, and honors at night. I'm sure I will be able to handle it.

What's the most interesting thing that has happened to me in the past eleven days? Probably that I got stung by a bee at practice today. And found out I'm not allergic, woohoo!

Anyways, tomorrow I have a motion graphics project due. We had to make a 15 second "bump" for a tv channel... its one of those channel-ident space-fillers that says "You're watching MTV" or whatever. Mine is for the Food Network.. it's simple but VERY festive. Its parts of a cupcake that looks like a witch. It assembles and then the words "happy halloween" are written. Its definitely an A ;)

Speaking of Halloween, I will not get to partake in any of the trick or treats this year. We have a game in Lincoln that day at 6pm. Which of course means, we will be leaving later in the day (the only plus is that I get to sleep in), but we will not be getting back to Yankton until one or two in the morning. And the holiday will be over by then.

Alrighty, I'm done complaining about stuff. I went to a meeting for the English Club and it looks like we will be going to Canada in February. The trip is all paid for except for a couple meals and we get to go to a museum and a play over the course of a weekend. Best part? Just a week later I will be going on the choir cruise to Mexico! Two countries in two weeks! What could be better?

Tonight my johnmate Gina and I went to go practice our choir music for mixed chorus because we have a midterm tomorrow where we have to sing all of our songs for the director. Well, we asked him to practice with us and after the first song he said it was an A and that if we wanted we could sing the other songs and consider it our midterms. So we did.. and got an A! Woot!