In Which I Ramble

I'm home!  And doing phys.  I am eternally doing physiology.  My cells were doing just fine being mini-superheroes before I came along and drew all this stuff about their receptors and signalling cascades and so on and on.... but 2 1/2 more weeks of school!  It's all going to be okay!

I am here getting my monthly hug quota filled from Mom and enjoying the ever humorous humor of my witty brother.  So proud of both of them.  And my purr-y little fluffball (Priscilla the gray cat) is happy to see me as well.

Wondering what Billie's up to... sounds like life has gotten much better for Kara and I'm SO GLAD.

Recent media consumption of my own free will::
Reading "Anne of Ingleside", the 6th Anne book.  Also "Searching for God Knows What", a collection of funny and thought-provoking and refreshingly not stuffy essays from Donald Miller (he also wrote the delicious and much-needed "Blue Like Jazz").  Watching Awake (an older show about a guy living in two different versions of reality and he has no idea which is real and which isn't!) and The Voice (best season yet).

Pumped for Easter dinner.  Pumped to be done with this last of phys exams before finals week.

And that's a wrap!



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This meme is excellent.  ↓

Dangit! Cool things just started happening! Now school's ending!

Well, this blog has been decidedly silent for a while, so I must share with you some exciting things! There have been many! Most of them are music-related. Let's proceed. (Many pictures today!)

My Kappa family!

1. I am now a full-fledged member of Kappa Kappa Psi, the National Honorary Fraternity for College Bandmembers! (Yes, formally, bandmembers is one word in this case.) It has been so wonderful to be able to get involved with service to bands. All of my brothers from the fraternity are wonderful and I have become so close to them, which is a total answer to prayer. I'm so glad I have found friends here that share my distinct interest in band and music, and never cease to make me smile, cheer me up, and care about me!

This is my Beaver family. We are so close, and just like real siblings.

Here are all of the new members and Brittany, who was our teacher or sorts.

This is us and our Big brothers. We get along well, you might say! :)

Kappa people like to have fun! Observe:

2.We also have awesome dances! Honestly, this was the most fun I might have had at a dance ever! The company was probably the biggest reason for this!

Parker and Erin, two of my awesome Beaver family members!

Erin and me! We get along so great. We also like shenanigans.

Also, Nick asked me to go to formal with him, which might have been one of the coolest, nicest things to happen this semester! I'd never been asked to a dance ever, and it was such a fun time! I also learned how to play blackjack. And then I was informed that I should stay out of casinos.

These pictures look super awkward. They weren't. I promise.

This would also be an appropriate time to give a shout out to Nick for letting me borrow his mouse. Creating this blog post would have been impossible on this tablet sans mouse. (I forgot mine at home. Again. Oye ve!)

It would also be an appropriate time to say thank you to Eliza's mom, Lisa, for the dress and jewelry. They were perfect!

Roadtrip selfie!
(Photo cred goes to Olivia)

Another thing I am excited about is that I know who my roomie is for next year! Olivia and I got to know each other through marching band last fall and we carpool home all the time! We get along really well, so I'm glad I'll get to share a room with her! We are currently working on plans for fitting a comfy chair in our room next year.

As of today, Tuesday the 15th, I have 15 more days until I can go home for the summer. I am very much looking forward to this, mostly because it will mean that I will get to see certain friends (Eliza and Billie *coughcough*) that I haven't seen in practically forever.

I did go home last weekend, so I got to hang out with my sister and Meghan and experience prom vicariously through them! They both looked so beautiful!

 

Other great things:
-I applied to be one of the drumline section leaders in marching band next year. I'm excited about this possibility!

-Beaver family movie party plans!

-I am now the new Corresponding Secretary for Kappa Kappa Psi next year! I am really looking forward to this opportunity and I can't wait to be more involved in Kappa and the exec. board!

-Something exciting is happening on Wednesday! It's a surprise!

Spring Break & 36 Days of School!

Here I sit, on spring break. And it's snowing. Interesting how spring decided to actually take a break while I'm on spring break. . . But alas, it shall be grand nonetheless!
It's only Monday night and I've already. . .

-been bowling (I didn't win. I did eat 3 slices of pizza, though. For me, that's a record.)

-visited my second family (there were many fun and wonderful times had by all. I also learned a new card trick. . . and was also perplexed by tricks that all of the kids were getting. . .)

-eaten fish sticks! (I love them, but they're never served at Northwest. If they were, I think I'd be suspicious of their quality anyway. Also, my mom made these for me, so that's a bonus!)

-gotten a hair cut! (nothing drastic. Just a trim to tidy this unruly bunch of hairs up!)

-gone to the chiropractor (It sounded like this: crackcrackcrack crunchcrunch poppoppop. (refer to a box of Rice Krispies for a more accurate sound representation.) It felt great!)

Many great spring break activities are yet to come!

-I'm driving with Kelli and Dad to Omaha for a college visit for Kelli. She's checking out Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing. (Hopefully we'll also be checking out Ted & Wally's, the local homemade ice cream place!)

Mi amiga Eliza and I enjoyed Ted & Wally's this summer!

-I get to hang out with Erin (my "big brother" from Kappa Kappa Psi). It's sure to be an excellent time!

-Potential coffee dates!

-Piano playing!

-Just hanging out with mom and dad all day. (Ex: We all went grocery shopping today. We scored granola and I convinced my dad to buy 2 gluten free cereals instead of just one. (The gluten free-ness is for him, but we just kinda cut gluten-y cereals for the moment. Good thing Kix and every kind of Chex is gluten free!)

-Hopefully acquiring a formal dress for the upcoming music fraternity/sorority formal coming up!

After spring break, many exciting things are happening, but one thing that is keeping me focused it the fact that I will officially be done with school at 9:30 a.m. on April 30th! This fact is seriously one thing that is helping me keep my nose to the grindstone, per se. "I can make it. I just have to get to the end of April!"

And, if everything works out, I'll get to see my family 3 times in April. I'm a lucky girl!

12:30 AM

I am so happy I could bust.

Every once in while, I plan a day in which I allow myself to eat any kind of unhealthy food I want. And tomorrow is one of those days.  You have no idea the utter bliss those days give me :)

So far, the plan for my summer is to assistant lead a team of highschoolers to the Asian country of Myanmar.  I would be gone June through August.  This is the biggest dream come true, oh my goodness.  Seriously, so blessed.

I have no exams next week.  Which means I will have actual honest-to-goodness FREE TIME.  Like, the kind where you hang out with other dorm-dwelling humans.  YES.

I have a Rachel Ray magazine by my side and my Rodgers & Hammerstein-stuffed Spotify playlist open.  I have a Nancy Drew game installed (help Nancy find a kidnapped groom in a haunted Irish castle!) and too much euphoria to sleep at a godly hour.  (If there are ungodly hours to be awake, sure there are godly ones?  haha)

So tomorrow's menu may include cappuccino in order to be conscious during chem (so many crisp little C's) but that's okay.

God is really good, guys.
Even when nights aren't like this.





P.S.  I will be channeling this woman tomorrow :)


Eat all the things!!
politicsandpoundcake.wordpress.com

10 Excellent Things About the Past Month!

As I sit here, recovering from being sick (no worries, it was thankfully very short-lived) and trying not to focus on the fact that I didn't get a supervisor position at work, I have resolved that reflecting on the great things that have happened in the past month would be a stellar thing to do. I definitely try to focus on the positive as much as possible, because if I don't, I easily become the all-too-realist and think of everything going wrong.
So! Here are some great things about the past month!
1. Yesterday and today's weather has been downright gorgeous! If I wasn't still feeling blah, I'd probably find some excuse to be outside. The breeze is wonderful and the temperatures are perfect. (For now. It's the midwest. If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.)
2. On Sunday I got to  Nathaniel's graduate recital for French Horn and voice! It was stellar for sure! I loved it and he did an outstanding job!

(This is Nathaniel, by the way. He's one outstanding guy!)

3. I got a chance to hang out with some outstanding Kappa family! Erin, Parker, Kyle, Ally, and I all got together, watched an excellent and hilarious movie called Porco Rosso, "played" Minecraft, and had an all around great time! There was much laughter!

4. I've had some especially fun times while interviewing everyone in Kappa Kappa Psi! Two highlights include making Pinterest-y melted crayon art with Ashley and helping Brittnay with the choreography for "The Mexican Hat Dance" for her Elementary Methods class.

The aforementioned art project. Much fun was had!

5. The people at the Financial Aid office "found" my scholarship that had been "lost." In reality, they hadn't read the letter that went with the check saying that the money went to two different people, so another girl from my high school got all $1,200! I am just glad they finally resolved this after 9 months! I do feel a little bad for her, though. She's down $600 she thought she had!

6. I've gotten to have some really good conversations with some friends whose thoughts I really value. They have meant a lot to me!

7. Thursday nights at the Baptist Student Union and Applebee's! I believe I have finally found my niche at the BSU! I enjoy everything about it! Thursday nights are for RealLife, their worship service, and after the service, most people head to Applebee's for half-price appetizers and 45-cent wings! It's been so great to continue meeting people I know from church and having a great time worshiping together and relaxing together, too! It was also nice that I had an Applebee's gift card from Christmas that came in ever so handy!

8. The Navigators women's retreat! A fun time was had by all! There was so much good food, great worship time, and great lessons! I got to spend some especially fun time with Sarah, whilst pranking another cabin, and Sarah, Kenealy, and I baked some darn good Devil's Food Cake cookies! (See below!)

Both picture from Sarah herself!

(Cookie making can get messy!)

 We even had some unexpected "fun." To avoid potential bad weather, we came back a half-day early and had the rest of the worship time and speaker at the Edge girls' house. (Basically, they all live there and they're on staff for the Navs.) It looked a little something like this:

This is called "40 girls in a living room"
Courtesy of Rachel Denne

9.My dad got an unexpected appointment for a doctor he thought he'd have to wait until August to see! Yay!

10. Miranda's mom made a short, surprise visit on Saturday, which resulted in a very interesting shopping trip to HyVee with her, Miranda, Shellie (our friend), Matt (Miranda's boyfriend), and me. Much fun was had, we each got our own box of pop tarts (Thanks, Jo Veta! :) ) and I wound up saying "use your inside voices" and "take a no-thank-you bite" during our time in the store. I'm definitely "that" friend. But they love me anyway! :)

Who Am I? QUIZ VERSION!

Heyyyyy. This is the 50th post. I feel awesome. (And congrats to Eliza and Kara. They helped.) Anyway. Being me, I took more than six quizzes. They all had something to do with which character I am from various things. (I took all quizzes from zimbio.com.)
Let's get started, shall we?

This quiz was "Which Harry Potter Character are you?". To be honest, I was expecting Luna. Or Hermione. Maybe Neville, if I wished hard enough. I've taken similar quizzes before, and I've gotten Luna. But hey, I love Harry. Poor kid. Still love him. So I don't have a real problem. Even though I'm not much of a leader, I agree with what is said. (Even though I took the OFFICIAL test made my J.K. Rowling, and my Hogwarts House is Ravenclaw. Not Gryffindor.)

This one was "Which Disney Sidekick are you?". I had no idea who to expect, but I'm happy with these two. LOVE these guys. And I throw a mean dinner party? Cool. I like food.

"Which Avenger are you?". I was not expecting Iron Man. At all. Never mind that he's my favorite, but still. I don't think I'm much of a show runner. I'll take behind-the-scenes. Or a small part. But hey, I agreed to post. But seriously. I wanted Clint Barton. Hawkeye is a boss. Love him with my whole heart. But Tony is my favorite. So, while I don't agree with the quiz, I'll live with it.

"What Game of Thrones Character are you?". This one I agree with. I only just started Game of Thrones, but I really like it. And I love Tyrion. He's not my favorite, but he's definitely in my top five. Plus, I agree with what's said. I'm a sucker for an underdog. And if you insult me and I laugh, maybe I'll be the one who laughs last.

"What Disney Princess are you?" I disagree with this one. Not the things that are said, because they're all true. But I am not Snow White. I respect her, and her movie, so much. But I am not Snow White. I'm way more of an Anna. (Even though her Disney Princess coronation hasn't happened yet, but that is coming sometime soon.) Or Belle. I'm so like Belle. So, sorry Snow White, I'm a Belle. And I have proof!

I told you I had proof. "What Once Upon a Time Character are you?". Belle. She's one of my favorites. Although I will admit that I started to stick up for myself last year. It had been a long time in coming. So yeah. Happy with this one. Never mind the fact that I counted my books I have here at college. And thirty-one, count 'em thirty-one, of them are books I haven't read yet. I've only read about nine. BOOKS!!!

"What Arrow Character are you?". Precious Roy. I love him so much. I love the entire show Arrow so much. It's my favorite. Anyway, I wasn't expecting Roy. I was thinking of the character who practically lives behind a computer screen and is super wonderful and helpful to everyone. But I am a Roy and not a Felicity, apparently. And Roy is pretty much my child, so I'm not that peeved.

"What Hunger Games Character are you?" Katniss? No. I'm sorry, Katniss, but I am not you. I am Peeta. The likable boy who makes bread. And is an angel and is perfect. I'm not the character who isolates herself and is only CLOSE with a minimal amount of people and knows a lot of survival things and can be ruthless if you cross her and . . . Okay. Sure. I guess I just wish I was Peeta.

"Which Toy Story Character are you?". Woody? I would have guessed Jessie. Or Bullseye. Or Slinky. Merp. But I like Woody. And the description does sound like me, doesn't it? Eh. No severe complaints.


That is all for today, folks. Hope you had fun. I know I did!

Quizzy (I Am Cheese)

Here are my six quiz results.  What a nice way to procrastinate a chemistry problem set.  Take a seat, amines.  I'll be there in a minute.  Or 20.

P.S.  Read Kara's previous post if you're really confused right now!
P.P.S.  These are all ripped straight from Buzz Feed... so don't hate me, Buzz Feed!

#1 How Sydney Are You? 

1. You got: 80% Sydney
   Monika Hoinkis / Via Flickr: 18965083@N00

   You’re Sydney enough without being a w*****. Good on you for not overdoing it.

2.                                                              Well, gee, Buzzfeed.  Thanks for calling me male genitalia.  Oh wait, (googles it), when Aussies say this word it means something else.  Something else dirty.  
3. Moving on.                                                                                                                 Also, I know nothing about Sydney except for what I know from Finding Nemo.  And so does every other teen in America.  Awkward.                                                                                                                                                 Quiz #2: What kind of bird are you?

   
   

   1. You got: Emperor Penguin
      en.wikipedia.org                                                                                                                                                                   Not to be narcissistic, but this seems pretty accurate.  I do complain a lot, but get mega excited over pretty much everything.  Biscuits and gravy for breakfast?  Cloud nine.  See Man of La Mancha?  Geeking out for weeks.  Discover Sherlock?  You WILL see about 4 tweets on this topic.                                                                                                                                                       (Side note: What in the world is happening to my formatting? Why am I stuck in the right margin?)                                                                                                                       Hey, if I'm a penguin, does that mean Morgan Freeman can narrate my future love life and parenthood?  Cool.                                                                                                                                                                              

      
      

      1. Quiz #3: What trendy thing would you really love if you actually tried it?                                                                                                                                      You got: Hitting up a bunch of summer music festivals
         upload.wikimedia.org

         The festival life is perfect for you, maaannn. You’re just trying to let loose before you’re too old. Grab a tent, some friends, and uh, maybe a few illicit things, and hit the road. Remember to stay safe, drink plenty of water, and be nice to strangers, you never know if you might need to hitch a ride with the person you’re grinding up against at the Avicii concert.

                                                                          A) I don't like grinding

   2.           B) I'd rather not bring illicit drugs
   3. 
      
   4.           C) If I knew karate and/or had a big strong protective boyfriend with me, I think Buzzfeed is right.  Avicii, concerts, and tent camping are quite delightful.                                                           
   5.                                                                                                                                                                      Quiz #4: What Food Matches Your Personality?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
      1. You got: Cheese
         honestlyyum.com                                                                                                                                                            Thank you, Buzz!!! You picked my favorite food and all of the things I hope are true about me.  Big high five!                                                                                                                                                                                 Quiz #5: Which Muppet are you?

         You’re cheese. You go well with almost anything. Sometimes you’re a little nerdy, but you’re wise. You can appreciate things that are both highbrow and lowbrow. And in the end, you make a lot of people happy.

      2.                                                                                 

         
         

         1. You got: Fozzy Bear
            

            You’re one of the sweetest, nicest folks around, but you tell terrible jokes and you’re sensitive to the accompanying criticism. But who cares? You find yourself funny, and that’s all that matters. Wocka wocka.

      3.                                                                                                                                                         (Whines) Mooooom, Buzz just told me I tell terrible jokes.......                                                                                                                Well, I AM sensitive to criticism and amuse myself.  So... sure.                                                                                                                                                                                                Quiz #6: What State Do You Actually Belong In?

         
         

         1. You got: Louisiana
            

            You’re the life of any party and someone who is great to have on your side. You can probably drink like 10-15 beers at once. Not even in succession, at once. You’re a creative person, and even if you get a little wild from time to time, you’re a good person to know no matter what.                                                                                                          If I ever drink 10-15 beers at once or seem to be the life of a party, you know I have been body snatched and should probably perform a mercy killing.  I may infect the human race.                                                                               I have been to Louisiana twice and appreciate the eternal warmth, the down homey-ness, the wonderful thing that is New Orleans, and the alligators chilling out in their little special parks.  Also Chick Fil-A.  Nommmm...                                                                                                                             And there you have it!  Looking forward to Billie's delightfully snarky comments :)