.

"I think it's cat season"

2010-06-05T21:15:00.005-04:00

What do you do when you need a little pick-me-up? I know, the answer's obvious-you go play with kittens. I was already very happy this weekend, but now I know exactly where I'm going if I need to cheer up! I was in Harrisonburg this weekend to visit friends after I got back from the beach with Katie and Chris. Jess, Annie, and I decided to walk downtown to the adoption place and play with some cats.
My favorite? Her name is supposed to be Miss Daisy... snore. Therefore, I named her- Catoodle.

end a war.

2009-10-06T20:00:00.002-04:00

Annie is a big activist with the Invisible Children Organization. They had a showing of the film "The Rescue" tonight on campus. This past weekend, we decided to tape up my body to make an invisible person to promote the showing. I knew what Invisible Children was generally about but I had no idea the extent of it until I saw the showing tonight. It was pretty intense and definitely gets a fire set in you- I can understand why Annie is so involved. Anyway, if you want to know more or want to get involved, check out InvisibleChildren.com!

mmm vegetables...

2009-09-04T18:04:00.003-04:00

So last night Annie and I decided we were going to try out the vegetarian lifestyle. Don't ask me why, there was no life changing moment or anything that made me ward off meat forever, but we've both thought about it a couple times before. We have some vegetarian friends who have said they've learned a lot about nutrition and fun recipes, so we decided we'd give it a shot. Neither of us have a whole lot of meat in our diet anyway so hopefully it won't be as difficult.

What will we miss the most?
Annie: chipotle
Me: chicken/steak fajitas!

Maybe I'll start next week... ;)

medical mystery

2009-09-02T21:01:00.003-04:00

MJ is going back to the emergency room tonight- this time at UVA. They are now saying it isn't Merca and they don't know what it is. Her foot has been getting rapidly worse and she says she can't feel it or move her toes anymore. Pray for her :(

now i can get back to my homework :)

2009-09-02T18:25:00.002-04:00

I couldn't stand staring at this huge blank wall I had in my room, but I had nothing to fill it with. I went to Mercy House (thrift store) and found all these frames for 50 cents each. What do you think?

update on MJ

2009-09-01T19:40:00.005-04:00

So I told you about MJ's flea bites getting infected. Well when she went to urgent care, all they did was gave her antibiotics and that was that. The medication was making her sick so the next day she went to the university health center to see if there was something else they could do. As soon as she walked in, they looked at her feet in awe. Apparently it had gotten worse than we thought. They gave her more antibiotics, creams, and pain killers. She was in the health center from 9 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. They found out she has a skin disease called merca. It has started spreading up her legs. It's contagious so she slept at her grandparents last night. She didn't go to class (she could hardly walk). And she ended up having to give away her two pet rats because she didn't want to take any chances. Poor MJ :( We love you!

father's daughter

2009-09-01T09:39:00.005-04:00

Our coffee pot hasn't been working ever since I came back to Harrisonburg. It's driving me nuts. Especially right now since the weather has been getting cooler in the morning. There's just something about waking up, sitting on the porch, planning your day, and having a nice hot cup of coffee to start you off right. I've bought coffee twice since I've been here. I can't afford to buy it every morning. It isn't the same experience anyway... I mean you actually have to get dressed and ready to face the world if you're actually going to leave the house. No thanks.
Coffee is my Wheaties.

I'm sorry if this affects my grades Mom and Dad.

for such a small insect, they can do some damage

2009-08-30T14:20:00.003-04:00

We have fleas! We don't know where they came from because Mowgli hasn't been living with us lately but our house has fleas. Jess and MJ have had them for a couple weeks but last night, MJ's got infected. Her feet are completely swollen and purple. She could hardly walk last night, she's in so much pain and the health clinic is closed Sunday! She's planning on going to the emergency room because it's gotten pretty bad. We're flea-bombing the house within the next couple days. I didn't even know it was possible for people to get fleas. Now I'm paranoid everytime I start itching.

about time

2009-08-30T13:02:00.002-04:00

She's at it again- the force of Annie. I swear this girl wakes up productive every single day. Her family came to visit this weekend and they decided to repaint the porch. Apparently we aren't supposed to be painting since we're just renting... but if our landlord gets mad because we made his house look better, he's out of his mind. Check it out: Here's the difference between painted/not painted walls: Painted/not painted floor:

goldilocks

2009-08-27T22:21:00.004-04:00

Lydia cut off her dreads!

if you fall, you gotta get back up

2009-08-25T09:43:00.005-04:00

Almost everyone in my house loves to bike. Like not getting-to-class-faster biking, but like hey-it's-a-nice-day-let's-go-on-a-joy-ride kind of biking.
Yeah, well I don't.
Which is kind of strange because I remember as a kid I loved it. But the last time Jess hurdled me onto a bike was when we were in a rush to try and see Obama across campus.
Bad idea.
The minute we starting riding, I almost ran into a pedestrian taking a peaceful afternoon stroll on the sidewalk, who in turn, turned around and yelled "HEY ARE YOU TRYING TO RUN ME OVER?"
No sir. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
We continue to ride (or in my case, swerve) until we get to a busy intersection. I bike into another biker. It was a mess.
We walked back home.
So Jess has solved all my fear-of-bicycle problems. She found a rickshaw on craigslist. All I need now is a driver.

clean up

2009-08-24T23:23:00.005-04:00

The girls house (as in Annie) has been doing some clean-up recently. One of the things I do love about our house is that we can think of the most random thing we would want and it could most likely be found somewhere in our house. I discover new things hidden in this house everyday. But I guess I never really realized how bad it got. Aside from just throwing things out, it's gotten very dirty. Check out the difference the force of Annie and friends can make

Before:Scrubbing the walls: After: Cleaning out the fridges:

The stairs going down to the basement used to be piled high with random stuff almost to the point where you couldn't walk down. Hopefully it stays this way...

happy birthday!

2009-02-09T18:57:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday big brother!!! I love youuuuu

spring break

2009-02-05T13:00:00.004-05:00

Our plans so far?Houseboat.

here comes the sun

2009-02-01T20:23:00.001-05:00

60 degrees! I can't believe the weather today; I hope it stays! I finally got to use my sun roof!

update #3

2009-01-29T18:09:00.005-05:00

After the flat tire fiasco while driving back to Harrisonburg, my birthday wasn't off to a good start. A few of my friends from high school came to visit for the weekend for my birthday. When I got back, I headed over to Alicia's to hang out with them for a while. That night, Alicia said they would go and do whatever I wanted for my birthday (they knew I wanted to hang out with my housemates). So that night we all drove back over to my house. I was greeted at the door by Lisa with all the lights off, telling me to put on this spray-painted t-shirt. I was really confused and didn't think to read what the t-shirt said. She told me to close my eyes and come into the living room. They threw me a surprise dance party! It was sooo much fun. We are always trying to instigate dance parties everywhere we go so they decided to have one for me. It was so amazing and probably one of the best birthdays I can remember. I love my roommates :)

sicko

2009-01-28T14:54:00.002-05:00

Poor Jeanne has been really sick lately. How does she decide to get better? Breakfast of champions: pancakes with syrup and pumpkin ice cream. She even got out and came sledding last night. She'll be better in no time :)

bathroom troubles

2009-01-27T11:05:00.005-05:00

We have this hole that keeps getting bigger in the ceiling of our bathroom. Kristen walked in and saw Mowgli staring up at it. She looks up and hears scampering, thumping, and then sees something moving. She said she thinks it must be bigger than a squirrel. We're thinking an opossum. Any guesses?

update #2

2009-01-27T10:51:00.006-05:00

I drove back to Harrisonburg on my birthday. As I was driving home, I got my first flat tire!

It was right in between home and school so I couldn't get anyone to come meet me. Okay, I have a general idea of how to change a spare but I've seen how difficult it can be if you aren't strong enough. I decide I need to call someone to figure out what I should do. I call my mom about three times but her phone is off. My dad's phone isn't always on, so I dialed my brother's number. What happens next? Phone dies. I realized I didn't really have any other option other than pathetically attempting to change it myself. Nope. Luckily, a really nice woman stopped and helped me out. We got three of the bolts off but the last two were on so tight, we had no idea how to get them off. After working at it for about half an hour, a family stopped and two younger guys came out to help in their oxford shirts with ties and khaki pants. They changed the rest of it for us and I was back on the road. Happy Birthday to me!

Good news you ask? New tire swing :)

snow day

2009-01-27T10:38:00.003-05:00

At about 7 o'clock this morning, I wake up to about 7 other girls screaming in excitement. I hear a few bursts of "Snow day, snow day!!!" I'm too tired and lazy to get out of bed. The girls continue to yabber on for a little while about how awesome it is that there's a snow day and no class. At this point, I've woken up a little bit and decide maybe I should go join them. Right as I get one foot out of bed, I realize something and lay back down to go to sleep.

Why is it that on a snow day, we get so excited that there isn't any class to wake up for, yet we get up at 7 o'clock anyway to check the news? And on a regular day, we consider anything before noon as waking up early?

This is what I saw when I got out of bed:

And this is what I saw when I proceded into the living room:
I always thought they were laughing with me.

Happy Snow Day! :)

updates updates updates

2009-01-25T10:56:00.003-05:00

I promise I'll be posting a series of updates about what I've been up to. Maybe not all today, but they'll be coming! I think I went MIA around my birthday. On the day before my birthday (17th), I went home to hang out with my family. My mom made a pretty sweet cake, the card games came out as always, and the best part was the candles (which is typically my least favorite part). Katie gave a couple good posts on it so check it out here and here.

game night

2009-01-15T23:15:00.003-05:00

Tonight we started game night. We decided we should start trying to do this one night a week. We started off playing Dance Dance Revolution to learn some new moves for future dance parties. Once we realized how incredibly ridiculous we would look dancing like this in public, we switched to trivial pursuit. Trivial pursuit turned into everyone taking a stack of cards, tossing out the actual board game, and trying to find any question that any of us would actually remotely think someone could answer.
Finally, we ended on the always reliable- catch phrase. I think my favorite was one of Jeanne's... "this is when two people get it on and have a one night stand, then you get a baby... it's called...?" Unplanned.

i know i post too much about this cat #4

2009-01-14T15:38:00.002-05:00

I missed her.

GUILTY

2009-01-11T20:18:00.003-05:00

Okay okay okay I don't want to hear it. I have completely bombed on the whole blog thing. My camera cord is misplaced right now and I hate blogging without pictures. I know- no excuse. I also haven't been reading anyone else's blogs much because it makes me feel even more guilty and sad I haven't been a part of it. Well I still don't have my camera cord but I'm blogging anyways because I know my mom wants to know what I'm up to!
I'll make it quick because let's be honest- words aren't as fun as pictures. I got back to Harrisonburg today; it's been great to see all my housemates. Mom and dad- electric blanket. best. gift. ever. I love you guys.
I have so much else to blog about but I'll get to it later... when I have the pictures to prove myself.

world records

2008-12-23T20:11:00.003-05:00

Speaking of world records....

The most valuable Christmas card was sold at an auction in Devizes, Wiltshire, UK in 2001 for £20,000 (approx. $40.000). The card was originally sent by Sir Henry Cole of Bath to his grandmother in 1843!
The biggest Christmas tree is 82 meters tall in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The tree is decorated with 2.8 million colorful bulbs.
Bismarck, North Dakota holds the world records for the most snow angels made simultaneously in one place- 8,962.
Most people dressed as Santa Claus: 3,939 people gathered in front of the parliament building in Bucharest. They paraded through the city handing out gifts dressed in red and white.
The largest snow fall on Christmas day belongs to Denver, Colorado. They officially recorded 7.8 inches of snow creating my idea of a winter wonderland.

now that's what i call holiday cheer

2008-12-23T11:47:00.004-05:00

In the midst of all the chaos that comes within the last remaining days before Christmas; I've decided to try and send some holiday cheer your way. Or rather... I'm going to try and let Ben Eckerson send you some holiday cheer. Ben has been spending much of the past several days sitting inside a giant inflatable snow globe. As of Friday morning, Eckerson had been in the globe for nearly three full days.
Eckerson's snow globe adventure is being shown live, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week through a webcam at snowglobeboy.mckinney.com. According to the site, he is hoping to set a world record for time spent in such a spot, and hopes to spread some holiday cheer.

christmas

2008-12-21T14:56:00.008-05:00

I got these questions from Katie and Heather. It's always cool to see what other people do differently during Christmas.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper- I agree; I also think we should banish gift bags this year! It's so much more fun to open
2. Real tree or Artificial? My family has always done artificial because it makes less of a mess.. However, I'm going to have to say that illegally cutting down our tree in Harrisonburg was really fun and definitely made it more memorable. And it smells so good!
3. When do you put up the tree? Right after Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever we get around to it- I like keeping it up as long as possible
5. Do you like eggnog? I just tried it for the first time recently; it's not bad
6. Favorite gift received as a child? The tassle that my dad got me
8. Easiest person to buy for? Katie or my mom. With Katie, I feel like almost anything I would want, she would want. And my mom is like the only person who doesn't shop during the year for herself so there's always so many things I know she would want or need.
9. Do You have a nativity scene? Yes we do
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Well I don't send out my own Christmas cards but when I do, it will definitely be through the mail. Getting snail mail is the best.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Oh geez, this one's hard. It isn't often when I don't like something. Maybe a gift I got from a boyfriend- I had given him some really nice stuff and he gave me a stuffed animal of Dopey.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Grinch!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I always think of things people would want throughout the year and think, "This is great- I need to remember this for Christmas!" And then of course I forget and get really frustrated when I can't think of anything... so probably early Novemeber.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I'm pretty sure I have
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Homemade pizza on Christmas eve and cinnamon buns in the morning :)
16. Lights on the tree? We have white and colored light- I love how colorful our tree is.
17. Favorite Christmas song? I like a lot of Christmas music... only the classics though!
18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? Stay home, I love not worrying about traveling for the holidays and just staying in the comforts of our own home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yes... my dad reads us the Night Before Christmas every year; I can pretty much recite the whole book.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? angel
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? How stressed people get about what to buy for other people. Come on people- it's the thought that counts!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? all colors- as colorful as you can get!
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? We usually have ham or steak or something on Christmas- definitely the steak. I don't like ham. We don't really have a tradition for Christmas dinner.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Family time :) I already got a car, so I'm still really happy about that!

bring the heat

2008-12-21T13:00:00.002-05:00

I think I'm a walking heat-curse. Of course, why else would the heat stop working a few days after I get back home? Space heaters have been like a best friend to me this season.

santa's drive-by

2008-12-21T12:48:00.003-05:00

Every year, a few days before Christmas, Santa comes around through neighborhoods. He rides on a firetruck covered in lights along with Frosty, elves, and various other Christmas Characters. They always turn up their sirens really loud so kids will run outside and wave to Santa driving by. I remember running outside and seeing kids out on every driveway waiting for him. This year, we heard the sirens so I ran outside. My dad went to grab a sweatshirt.
First of all- there was NO ONE outside. Second- Santa FLEW by! He didn't even slow down to wave, he just sped up the street. My dad ran back downstairs and he was already gone! My mom didn't even get up to come look because, "I've seen it every year, it's getting old." What. A. Grinch! I couldn't even get a good picture. All I want to know is- what's happening and why don't people care about Santa anymore?

past few days

2008-12-21T12:27:00.005-05:00

I've been so busy lately; I figured I would quickly try and catch you up on some of the stuff I've been up to.

1. Shopping for Christmas presents... now I just need to wrap them!

2. Learning to play pool (I'm actually getting to be not too bad; it's really fun)

3. Reading a lot (right now it's Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult)4. Hanging out with this girl (one of my best friends, Alicia) almost everyday

it's what dads do

2008-12-14T22:18:00.003-05:00

I guess I made it pretty obvious that I get cold easily, especially at our house at school. My dad wanted me to be warm while I'm here for break so this is what I find when I come up to my room at night...He made my bed and put like seven blankets on it! It was soooo comfortable!Yeah, that's me in there... I love my dad.

ridiculous gifts

2008-12-11T17:51:00.004-05:00

I just wish I would have found this before we did our Secret Santa night. This ridiculous gift is described as perfect for anyone who loves tea, timers, or weird kitchen gadgets. I know what you're thinking Jess- yes, it IS perfect for you!

Making tea, though easy to do, is also time consuming. Once you pour the hot water into the cup, you must patiently hover over it, waiting for the tea to steep. Well, the Penguin Tea Timer happily does the waiting for you.
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS
Hang a tea bag from the penguin's beak. Place your tea cup under the beak and set it to the desired time. As you turn the timer dial, the beak lowers the tea into the hot water. When time is up, a bell sounds and the penguin automatically lifts his beak, removing the tea bag from the water.
Brilliant, no?
BUT WAIT- DOUBLES AS A KITCHEN TIMER TOO!

The Penguin Tea Timer can be set up to 20 minutes, so you can use it as a traditional kitchen timer, too!

Best of all- The Penguin Tea Timer comes in a nice box.

So the next time you find yourself struggling to find that perfect gift for your significant other, friend, or mailman, you can thank me.

five second rule

2008-12-10T16:56:00.003-05:00

I love homemade pizza, but it takes a while to make so we hardly ever get it. My mom decided to make it for us and do it the right way... by tossing it in the air.

She gets ready:

Beautiful throw:

and this is when it hits the floor..

Still delicious.

proceed with caution: kiss of deaf

2008-12-08T17:54:00.003-05:00

The kiss of deaf - Chinese man ruptures girlfriend's eardrum
Mon Dec 8, 2008 11:00am IST

A young woman in southern China has partially lost her hearing after her boyfriend ruptured her eardrum during an excessively passionate kiss,

BEIJING (Reuters) - A young woman in southern China has partially lost her hearing after her boyfriend ruptured her eardrum during an excessively passionate kiss, local media reported on Monday.
The 20-something girl from Zhuhai, in southern Guangdong province, went to hospital completely deaf in her left ear, the China Daily said, citing a report in a local newspaper.
"The kiss reduced pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear," the paper quoted a doctor surnamed Li from the hospital as saying.
The woman's hearing would likely return to normal after about two months, Li said.
"While kissing is normally very safe, doctors advise people to proceed with caution," the paper said.

i know i post too much about this cat #3

2008-12-08T12:42:00.004-05:00

We finally have a house picture up of all of us! -compliments of Natanya

Now let's take a closer look at Mowgli, shall we?

Typical.

i got soap! what did you get?!

2008-12-08T09:41:00.006-05:00

Go get Harry Potter Bertie Botts Beans.
Guaranteed fun for the whole family.

Why do we completely gag at the thought of eating something as gross as vomit or rotten eggs, but when they're in the form of jelly beans, it's okay?

fondue night!

2008-12-07T22:07:00.006-05:00

We had a little christmas party tonight, complete with fondue and all. We did a Not-So-Secret Santa which was so much fun. A lot of people could tell who their santa was by the way it was wrapped or by whatever they got (MJ's was wrapped in her camo pants). Natanya hand-painted a mug for me which is amazing and now I don't have to spend ten minutes in the morning picking out the perfect mug that's going to make or break my entire day (yes-that happens). Afterwards, we all played Taboo. It almost kept my mind off of school for a couple hours; definitely a success. Now I'm in my room about to study for my 8 am government exam, listening to everyone else have fun in the living room. Of course I had to blog though... priorities first, right dad?

bag lady

2008-12-06T21:38:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to be more frugal lately, especially in the midst of the holiday season. I've also been trying to use cash lately more than my debit card so I don't get in the habit of feeling like I can buy things whenever I want. Well I didn't have any cash (dollars) on my tonight but Jeanne and I wanted to go look for something for our secret santa and grab some food. I started walking out the door carrying my change jar (coffee can). It was also really cold so I decided to bring my blanket and wear slippers. Jeanne thought I looked ridiculous- I think it's going to become the new Saturday night ensemble.

crammed

2008-12-05T11:13:00.002-05:00

Have fun with this- I'm going to go take two more exams. Then I'm going to study for my Saturday exam. Then I'm going to try and tutor someone who's driving an hour and a half down here for my help. Happy Friday!

my night so far

2008-12-05T00:38:00.001-05:00

five blankets and then some.
still cold... and a little suffocated.

help.

signage

2008-12-02T19:01:00.006-05:00

I'm pretty much swamped with finals for the next week and a half and don't have much of an interesting life to speak of, so I thought I'd share some funny signs.

tis the season

2008-11-28T20:20:00.002-05:00

The turkey is now soup and Thanksgiving is over, which means Christmas season has officially begun! The tree is up!

turkey day traditions

2008-11-27T17:46:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving holds many traditions for families. Some of ours are:

The Turkey Bowl kick-off

I always make the braid on my mom's cornucopiaAnd everyone always naps after dinner

What traditions do you have on turkey day?

thanksgiving

2008-11-27T12:46:00.007-05:00

Every year on Thanksgiving, we have an annual Turkey Bowl (kick-off) to see who can kick the longest field goal. For me, my goal is to just get it over the bar from any distance (I've never been able to accomplish this), but this year I did it!!! My brother is left-footed so I figured, why not give that a shot? Nothing to lose, right? Well, mystery solved. I'm left-footed! I got it over on the first try. Anyways, all the guys were competing to see who could kick the farthest, and all the girls were just trying to get a good picture. This is definitely a good portrayal of my family.

Which turned into this:

I'm so thankful for my amazing, and at times, ridiculous family. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

in my head

2008-11-26T16:27:00.004-05:00

Okay so I think about some pretty random things sometimes, which causes me to have a lot of questions. I decided to start sharing some of them and maybe even getting some answers. So here's my first question:

What if we all see different colors? I could see a yellow crayon and think to myself that it's yellow, but to you it's my version of purple. However, you were always brought up to believe that purple was yellow. I know this is ridiculous and not true, but how would we really know?

car salesmen

2008-11-25T09:31:00.002-05:00

I decided this deserved a post in itself. You ready? Two words. Car Salesmen. Wow. Now that's a species I'll never understand. I get the same feeling around car salesmen that I would if I was walking through a sketchy neighborhood at night, where everyone is staring at you and you don't know who might come after you. Creeped out. I felt like I was two years old again running and hiding behind my mom.
Let's give an example, shall we? The first dealer we go to, the salesman is already waiting for us... we haven't even parked yet. I'm on the phone with Katie so we're sitting in the car for a minute while I finish my phone call. This guy is basically staring at us the whole time, hovering around our car, waiting for us to get out. We finally get out and realize- they aren't even open yet! He just happens to come in hours early everyday and stand outside "just in case."
"we'll come back..."
Anyhow, I don't want to bore you with all of our car salesmen stories because I'm sure you all have your own; it was just quite an experience that turned out to be more intense than I imagined. One guy looked like he might cry if we said no to his car- we had to get up and try to leave five times. Ridiculous. I still feel like I have leeches all over me.

meet lola!

2008-11-24T13:59:00.005-05:00

The time has come, FINALLY, for a car!!! Okay so I may be being a bit overdramatic... I've only not had a car since summer. But if feels like so much longer since I haven't had a car with me at school for the past year and a half! So my mom and I started (and yes- finished) the hunt yesterday. The nominees are:

black 2006 Nissan Sentra

blue 2006 Nissan Sentra (lots of miles on it)white 2005 Nissan Altima
silver 2007 Chevrolet SebringThere was also another red Nissan Altima (2007) but it was a bit more expensive. After my mom's awesome haggling skills, the winner was:

the white 2005 Nissan Altima!!!

It's amazing and I keep wanting to drive it around everywhere even though I don't have anywhere I really need to go, which, proves to be a bad thing since I do have gas to consider now... good thing it's getting cheaper!

oh christmas tree

2008-11-21T21:10:00.005-05:00

The girls and I decided we wanted to decorate the house for Christmas before we left for Thanksgiving break since we'd only have a short time together before winter break. We pulled out all the decorations, but something was missing. What could it be? You can't christmafy a house without a christmas tree! So off we go to... where? Nope- not a store that sells pre-cut trees. Nope- not a tree farm. Why go to any of those places when you have woods across the street from your house? We grabbed one of the guys from next door, hopped fences, jumped over creeks, squeezed through bushes and trees until we found it. Our christmas tree. It even started snowing when we were carrying it back! It was a magical night.

i don't scream, but you scream for ice cream

2008-11-19T21:23:00.003-05:00

Nothing beats sitting in the back of the truck to go get pumpkin ice cream from Kline's!

Even if it's really cold outside... or when you don't like pumpkin... or ice cream.

Mowgli came too, of course.

i know i post too much about this cat #2

2008-11-18T18:19:00.001-05:00

We shouldn't be allowed to have pets. Oh wait... we aren't.

first snow!

2008-11-18T12:05:00.001-05:00

If only it was enough to cancel class...

and not just make my walk to class at 9 am completely unenjoyable.

weekends are crazy at the girls house

2008-11-17T21:26:00.002-05:00

We got bored so we decided to rearrange the living room. You like? It finally has cool paintings and stuff on the walls too. We actually have been using this room a whole lot more since we did it.

sorry guys

2008-11-17T11:40:00.002-05:00

The streak is broken. I tried to convince myself the Reskins lost last week because the sweatshirt only works on Sundays (they played on Monday night). However, the Redskins lost against the Cowboys last night. It's pretty sad, let's not talk about it.

another month, another birthday

2008-11-12T11:59:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Kristen's birthday so we had a spaghetti dinner for her and some of her friends. Okay so Kristen actually ended up cooking the spaghetti dinner so I guess we sort of slacked there... but she is the best cook in the house. We filled her room with balloons that we wrote on with things that reminded us of her. Then we taped balloons all over her and decided to try and make her walk around the house without any of them falling off- including crawling out the window onto the roof (it didn't work but it was pretty funny).

Happy birthday KB and way to turn 22 so we could have a party! :)

pile on the blankets please

2008-11-11T17:00:00.002-05:00

My parents brought me a space heater when they came to visit. And let me tell you- it greatly improved my quality of life. Recently, everytime we turn it on, we blow a fuse within the first ten seconds. We stopped using it, but now even when I try to dry my hair the fuse blows! It's such a pain and I'm freezing! It's only November and I know it's going to get much colder than fifty degrees. I have a feeling it's going to be a long winter...

i know i post too much about this cat

2008-11-09T17:03:00.001-05:00

Check out what I found written on our dryer today:
In case you can't read it, it says- Make sure Mowgli isn't in the dryer before you start it :)

hungry no more

2008-11-08T13:00:00.002-05:00

All my housemates are always talking about how amazing this place called Sharp Shopper is. I was really running low on groceries so Jeanne took me for my first Sharp Shopper experience. This place is magical! It's just like a big grocery store that has things for soooo cheap. They have soups for 50 cents, really nice name-brand shampoo for a dollar, and milk for two dollars. I don't know how they do it!We got all this stuff for 26 dollars!

Has anyone else ever heard of Sharp Shopper?

saltine challenge

2008-11-05T23:13:00.002-05:00

Can anyone out there eat six saltines in one minute?

You try.

woahbama

2008-11-05T11:57:00.002-05:00

Don't get me wrong- I don't dislike Obama, but I was just surprised how much he won by last night. And Virginia??? Wow. What did you think of the election last night?

i did it!

2008-11-01T10:54:00.002-04:00

Yes, Katie- it IS made of felt! It's the first thing I've ever sewn, I'm kind of proud of myself! You like it? I took apart this really huge stocking we had in the basement to make it. Hand-sewn by me! Anyone want a designer creation by yours truly?

xmas in october

2008-10-31T21:40:00.001-04:00

So we figured- why not just skip to the good stuff? That's right... Christmas is coming early this year!

happy halloween!!!

2008-10-31T10:59:00.005-04:00

Halloween is in the air. Everyone has been so excited about fall and it shows all over our house. We've got pumpkin pie:

Carved pumpkins on our porch:
Delicious fall-scented candles: and Halloween decorations:

So why have I been feeling so holly jolly recently? You'll have to wait and see...

i told you it was cold

2008-10-30T22:05:00.002-04:00

So Mowgli walked in the room and I call her over to my bed. She's walking directly towards me until she walks past my space heater. She stops, backs up, turns toward it, and sits down.
I do it too Mowgli... I do it too.

delicate flowers

2008-10-28T11:45:00.003-04:00

Kristin made us this really cool chore board and wanted everyone to put our heads on a picture that would adequately represent us. Kristin made herself a volleyball player. MJ made herself a really strong/muscular guy. Then, it was taking everyone else too long to make theirs so MJ made a person for everyone else.

Now let's take a closer look at me:

I don't know what it means but I think it's hilarious.

my house rocks

2008-10-27T20:18:00.002-04:00

What's wrong with my house now?

bake ache

2008-10-26T23:18:00.002-04:00

Finally! Someone who shares the exact same feelings as me about baking! MJ decided to try and tap into her feminine side by giving baking a shot. She hated it. Tonight, she wanted to get rid of the rest of her ingredients so she mixed them up, threw it all on a pan, and labeled it appropriately. Cookie cake anyone?

i'll grow up eventually

2008-10-23T11:51:00.003-04:00

Jeanné's idea of ironing: My idea of ironing:

She won.

let's write on walls

2008-10-23T11:31:00.003-04:00

Jess bought this chalkboard spray paint to make fun chalkboard stuff like a round table outside we can color on and this board for her room:Then she went a little crazy and decided she wanted a chalkboard wall:But then she ran out of spray paint and didn't feel like buying more. So she used other paint she had to make the transition less drastic:I think it's pretty cool.

martha stuart

2008-10-21T11:06:00.003-04:00

Now this is a sight we don't see very often. MJ is a really athletic/ROTC/boyish girl who NEVER cooks. Her meals consist of yogurt and bread. We came home to this one night when we had ordered food- she was the only one cooking.

my mountains

2008-10-20T21:43:00.003-04:00

Alicia came to visit Zoe and I this past weekend. It was a surprising last minute decision which made it even better! We always see these signs for a Skyline drive but never knew what it was, so we decided to check it out on Sunday. It cost fifteen dollars and it's just this really long drive you can take at the top of the mountains with a lot of different overlooks, gift shops, and places to eat. It was absolutely gorgeous. I always rave about how much I love having the mountains surrounding me; it was great to see the opposite view!

light

2008-10-18T13:07:00.004-04:00

Jeanne and I woke up at seven in the morning to someone chain-sawing outside of our window. I was so annoyed I couldn't sleep! Apparently some tree guys came to cut down a couple trees and the one outside our window was one of them. Once we pulled the curtains back, it was so bright in our room! Normally, no matter how sunny or what time of day it is, Jeanne and I have to turn on all the lights in our room or it feels like a dungeon. Now we finally get some natural light!

geocache

2008-10-18T11:10:00.005-04:00

This is the coolest thing ever! Last night me, Jess, Natanya, Matt, Don, and Jeanne were bored and decided we wanted to go on a scavenger hunt. So Jess introduced us to Geocaching. I still can't believe I've never heard of this! It's everywhere- it could even be in my neighborhood at home or wherever you live! They give you coordinates that you have to plug into a GPS. Then you follow it until you get within about ten feet and the arrow/meter starts moving in every direction. Then you have to look in that ten or fifteen foot radius using the clues that were given online. All you're looking for is a little container with a little scroll of paper in it with the names and dates listed of everyone who's found it before. Then you sign your name and put it back for the next person to find! It's so addicting; we were only going to do one but ended up going to six different places! This was the first one- there was a magnetic container hanging underneath the step of this old canon.I wish I could have taken more pictures but the flash kept drawing attention to us so I had to stop! You wouldn't believe some of the hiding places there are. For one of them, we had to take out a piece of bark from a tree and it was hidden inside! I walk past a lot of these places everyday and never knew what was hidden! It's so much fun and you can do it anywhere, so next time you're bored- geocache!

busy busy

2008-10-15T23:05:00.003-04:00

So I've been horrible lately with the posts! It's just been so busy with exams and projects the past few weeks! Today I hardly had a minute to sit down. I had class until 2, homework, class till 4.30, finish a speech, then meet with my communications group at 6. Then Jess, Jeanne, and I went to check out a couple bands we heard about, but they changed the time so they weren't playing yet. Then we came back and watched the debate. And now I have more homework to do! Sorry for the boring post- just thought I'd fill you in!

guilty

2008-10-14T19:36:00.004-04:00

So when I get home from class today, I see this:

I decide to follow it.
I think I know where this is going...It has someone's name written all over it...

You would.

tandem

2008-10-10T11:13:00.004-04:00

How cool is this bike?? I think I have an idea for my Halloween costume- I just need a Donald duck...

mowing frenzy

2008-10-03T16:48:00.003-04:00

We haven't had a lawnmower since the beginning of the year since ours broke. Jess found this really old school one at a yard sale for ten dollars! This week mowing the lawn was my chore for the house. I noticed Kristin outside getting out the mower and I ran out to stop her from doing it for me. She wouldn't let me do it! She's obsessed with this lawnmower and does it for fun all the time! Weird.

gettin' crazy

2008-09-27T12:06:00.003-04:00

What do college kids do on a Friday night?

We knit.

sick

2008-09-26T11:25:00.000-04:00

You know you're sick when you wake up with this next to your bed...

good thing I like JMU!

2008-09-25T16:42:00.006-04:00

So I talked with my advisor today and found out I won't be able to graduate on time with the accounting program. That was a little disappointing but you have to work with what you got, right? Since I'm staying the extra semester I'll also be minoring in Computer Information Systems. That was my big news for the day.
Last night I walked around downtown with one of my neighbors and we stopped at this really cool garden/park but I didn't have my camera with me! I'll have to go back and take a picture so you can see it. Tonight the guys next door are making dinner for our house so we're pretty excited about that!
For now, I need to get some homework/studying done!

beds don't like me

2008-09-24T11:10:00.004-04:00

On their way home from VaTech, my two friends, Jake and Zach, stopped by to hang out and get lunch. We went to go eat at Jess's Lunch where Zoe works so they could see her too. After that we came back to my house. I showed them around my house and when I showed them my room, Zach sat down on the bed. CRACK! It broke. Way to go.
Do you think I should still sleep in it?

It's especially fun trying to get those tubs out from under it now.

secrets, secrets

2008-09-23T22:54:00.004-04:00

I did something really fun today but I can't tell you what it is! Maybe this weekend...

errands

2008-09-22T19:52:00.004-04:00

I went downtown today after class to visit Zoe at Jess's Lunch and get something to eat. I went to get something for Chris' birthday which was fun but I can't talk about that in case he reads this. Then I went to get a library card and stopped at Shank's bakery for a loaf of bread... and a cookie. It was really nice outside; I'm so glad I live so close to downtown!

in my head

2008-09-21T13:13:00.003-04:00

Random facts:
I have a midterm tomorrow that I need to study for (government)
The cat's name is now Mowgli (yes-like the Jungle Book)
It's a really nice day outside today, especially with a new deck to hang out on!
JMU played an amazing game last night (35-32)
We tried to go to the corn maze last night but it was closed :(
We got to watch the fireworks from the football game on our roof.
I wish I could watch the Redskins game today.
I'm hungry; I need to get some lunch.

TGIF

2008-09-20T13:00:00.009-04:00

I woke up yesterday and checked my email before class.

To: "GCOM123_41_FA08":;
Hey guys - I'm sorry for the incredibly late notice, but I'm going to have to cancel class today.

To: "GPHIL120_14_FA08":;
Hello everyone,There will be no class meeting this Friday (September 19). All work that was due on Friday will be due on Monday.Have a good weekend.

That's two out of my three classes cancelled! After I get back from the one class I did have I came home to this:

The deck is finished! We made the builders cookies and spent the whole day out there. Then for dinner one of the guys from the house next door cooked for me. Steak. Pretty good start to the weekend if you ask me.

fn=function?

2008-09-18T21:44:00.008-04:00

Jeanné was trying to teach me how to put the little accent on the top of the 'e' in her name. She kept saying you hold down function+alt+j+l+m. I kept searching every single key on my keyboard and could not find the function key! I thought maybe my computer didn't come with a function key. Jeanné finally came over and before she even looked she started laughing that I had a missing key because it looked funny. Then it clicked! I went over to my little miscellaneous box and pulled out my function key. I didn't think I would ever need that! Who knew!?

blogs blogs blogs

2008-09-18T20:32:00.004-04:00

Our blog for GCOM: http://www.gcom123-ing.blogspot.com/.
Blog for government: http://broscheid.edublogs.org/
And guess what else? I finally got Jeanné to start a blog! http://www.hammerheadroberts.blogspot.com/
They're taking over!

mj's birthday

2008-09-17T16:55:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was MJ's birthday! It was one of her busiest days with class and ROTC; she was gone almost the entire day. She had to leave for training between 6 and 9pm so we decided to fill up random places in her room with balloons like the shower, under her bed covers, closet, etc. We hung up signs and streamers and whatnot everywhere. Then we also found water balloons and figured that MJ was probably the only one of us that would actually enjoy being attacked with water balloons on her birthday. So we all went outside and waited on the front porch and on the roof for her to get home. When she did she was soaked in about five seconds. Then we came inside and had ice cream and a cake that one of her ROTC friends made for her earlier. She was so happy about her birthday that she left us a thank you note and bagels and cream cheese for everyone in the morning.

deck!

2008-09-16T14:04:00.004-04:00

The other day we saw two random guys out in our backyard looking at our deck. We had no idea what they were doing so we went out to see what was up. Earlier in the summer Kristen and Katie had called Walt (our property manager) about some broken floorboards on our deck that needed to be fixed. Well it turns out they aren't just fixing our broken floorboards; we're getting an entirely new deck!!! It's going to be extended eight more feet than it was before! Way to come through Walt! :) Everyone's so excited because we get so much use out of our big porch in the front and now we get a big deck too!
Yesterday, they began construction :)

Maybe I'll go make them some lemonade.

Moby

2008-09-15T20:35:00.003-04:00

We have a kitten! Well Jess has a kitten. Her name is Moby and she's about five weeks old. She's so adorable and energetic; I love having her around! However, we aren't technically supposed to have her though so please don't tell...

something worth staring at

2008-09-14T16:53:00.003-04:00

My dad, Eric, and I were all sitting around watching the amazing Redskins game that was on today. All of us are staring at the TV- except my mom. She's staring at her computer with this big smile on her face that isn't going away. I watch her for about five minutes and she does not stop smiling.

"Hey mom, what are you looking at?"

"Katie's wedding."

DC

2008-09-13T19:14:00.009-04:00

For my art history class, I'm supposed to go to an art gallery and choose a painting between 1300 and 1900 to write a research paper on. I decided since Katie and Chris live right near DC, I should go visit them and hit up the National Gallery of Art! So today, my mom, my brother, and I went with kt and Chris to DC! I still haven't decided which painting I'm going to use for my paper (I wrote down around ten different ones to choose from), but I did really enjoy these two! As soon as we got off the metro and started walking, my camera batteries died so I don't have any pictures except this one I stole from my mom. After the museum we went to get some lunch and visit the WWII memorial. Everyone was taking pictures under the state they were born in. Since I was born in Germany, I took a picture under the Atlantic side as the enemy. It was a busy day and a lot of fun!

Kristen.

2008-09-11T11:04:00.001-04:00

my new favorite toy

2008-09-09T15:27:00.006-04:00

Jeanne has one of those indo boards that I guess is supposed to help you practice balance for stuff like surfing/boarding. It's way fun; I'm obsessed.

this wasn't the plan..

2008-09-09T11:04:00.003-04:00

I wake up today to my clock displaying a pretty little "9:20." I have to be in class at 9:30. I jump out of bed and run out the door. This means I didn't get to brush my teeth (one of my biggest pet peeves). So I speed-walked to class smelling/looking gross. I sit through class trying really hard not to fall asleep (since I didn't get my usual large cup of coffee in the morning). When there's about five minutes left of class, we hear a loud 'Rooaaarrrr' followed by that beautiful sound of mother nature watering her garden. I walk outside to pouring-down rain, of course, without an umbrella. I walk all the way home as passing drivers have those pitiful "That sucks" looks in their eyes. I get inside and notice my phone needs to be charged. I plug it in and I bet you can't guess what happens next. My charger doesn't work! Luckily MJ has the same phone as me so I can use hers. Today is not starting out so hot and it's only 11 am!
I hope this isn't foreshadowing the paper that I have to write tonight...

caution: HOT

2008-09-08T11:29:00.002-04:00

Kristin put some water in the tea kettle and went back outside to continue studying. A less than unpleasant aroma starts creaping through the halls, then slides under doors, then starts busting through walls (i.e. VERY VERY strong smell). Poor Kristin walks back into the kitchen to find this. I think the water was hot enough for her hot chocolate. Please don't ever leave a tea kettle unattended. I'll let you know when the smell is gone.

blue hole

2008-09-07T16:51:00.015-04:00

Yesterday the weather was really starting to cool down and feel like fall! It felt so nice outside so I told a couple of my roommates we should go to a corn maze or take a hike or something outside. The weather turned out to be much warmer today so we decided to enjoy the summer weather while we still had a chance. So today Natanya, Lydia (Natanya's sister), Jeanne, Kristen, Jess, and I went to Blue Hole. It's a water hole with rocks to jump off and a big area to swim in. It was so much fun and only ten minutes away! It was gorgeous and really great to spend the day outside.
I don't know how I missed these:

Sisters (Natanya and Lydia)We made some friends. It was impossible to keep them away! Wet dogs smell HORRIBLE. I don't know who their owners were but they were very bad at keeping them under control.

what's the story morning glory

2008-09-07T12:50:00.004-04:00

My mornings: (+ coffee)

How are yours?

funny freakin' friday

2008-09-06T11:44:00.003-04:00

Last night Jeanne and I went to Funny Freakin' Friday. Every first Friday of every month they have a comedian come to one of the basement coffee houses on campus. He was hilarious! Although I didn't laugh we he talked about people who have their cell phones attached to their hips (me). And Jeanne didn't laugh when he talked about people who use those blue tooth things (her). My camera was not doing so hot last night so I didn't get a great picture but I tried- multiple times. I stopped when he said something along the lines of, "maybe your calling in life is (I don't remember), (I don't remember), or taking pictures on floors..."

When we were walking back from the comedy show, we walked past the fountain near the quad. We forgot that on the first day of classes you're supposed to put your foot in the water to get straight A's. So we decided to do it anyway and hopefully get decent grades. Better now than never right?

the valley

2008-09-03T14:36:00.002-04:00

I love living in the Shenandoah Valley. I love looking around and seeing mountains everywhere. It's so beautiful and something I'm not at all used to in Leesburg. Having such beautiful scenery just makes me want to enjoy more time outdoors doing things like homework, having picnics, and taking walks. It's one of those things you don't think about when you move somewhere, just an added bonus! I can't get enough of the views and I love being outside when the weather is still so nice!

meet Eden

2008-09-01T23:35:00.007-04:00

During my sophomore year in high school I became best friends with a girl named Dorothy. She was pregnant at the time with my ex-boyfriend's best friend's child. They had a son named Kai who I loved watching grow the first two years of his life. Dorothy married the father, Mike, and moved down to Texas while I was in Kentucky last year. Somehow we lost each other's numbers and didn't talk for about six months. Well Dorothy just had her second child, a girl named Eden. She texted me out of the blue the other day to see how I was doing. I can't tell you how excited I was to hear from her; it had been so long! She sent me pictures of her new baby girl and a couple of Kai so I thought I'd share. I miss them so much! It feels so good to catch up with such close old friends! :)