First Semester Wrap-up

Friends, family and random strangers, this is it: my last post of 2011!  Not to be cliche, but I really can't believe how fast this year has flown by.  It's had its ups and downs, but I'd say it's definitely ending on a high note.  I graduated high school, said goodbye to my sister, and finally ended up here in Sioux City.
There's a lot I want to say in this post, so I'll just start throwing it all out there!  (In the form of a bullet-pointed list, of course.)

• I'll start off with some sad news.  Some of you may remember that my roommate and I had a pet apple named Amelia that sat outside our door.  She was sort of like a guard dog.  You could call her a guard apple!  Anyway, last night, in a tragic affair, Amelia was kidnapped by one of our neighbors and stabbed until she turned into apple juice.  When her corpse was finally returned, my roommate and I took a couple of our most loving neighbors outside for a funeral at the dumpster.  Rest in peace, Amelia.
• On another sort of bittersweet note, I just finished my last science class ever.  Science and I haven't always had the best relationship, but we definitely worked it out in the end.  So long, biology!  You will be missed.  Kind of.
• I am very proud to say that one of my closest friends here in Sioux City is getting married on December 30th!  I'm so incredibly happy for her, I wish her all the best, and I can't wait to hear all about the wedding when I get back from Christmas break.
• This week, I say goodbye to a handful of my neighbors.  It's sad to see all of them leave the school, but there's one in particular that I'm going to miss the most.  I wish her nothing but happiness in the future, and I hope her wedding is absolutely magical.  :)
• While I'm going to miss all my friends here in Sioux City over break, I'm super excited to go back to Minnesota and spend time with my friends and family again.  I'm looking forward to seeing a basketball game and a Christmas show at my high school, as well as playing plenty of Rock Band with my best friends!
• And finally, thanks a million to my mom and dad, who got me a giant package full of popcorn, candy and other delicious snacks to help get me through finals week.  

Also...if you're wondering what song I've been singing and dancing to all day, click here!  It's a random one, but what else would you expect from me?

And that's just about all I have to say for this final post of the semester!  But before I sign off, let's all raise our glasses this Christmas and toast: To 2011.  To Amelia.  To biology.  To marriage!  To good neighbors.  To the 651.  To parents who spoil us just a tiny bit.
And to Sioux City.  :)

[Check back in January for chapter two of A Taste.]

Cheers to 19!

As most of you know, I turned 19 this past Wednesday!  I can't believe how quickly 18 flew by.  It seems like just yesterday my dad was telling me, "18 is not a magic number!"  It turns out he was right.  While I did have some very magical moments over the past year, turning 18 and becoming a legal adult did not make me magically have money, the husband of my dreams and a beautiful house with a white picket fence.  In fact, I'm currently a broke, single college student living in a tiny freezing dorm room!  But I can't say that I have anything to complain about, because I really do have a fantastic life here in Sioux City.  And, if nothing else, every new year brings fresh hope.  Cheers to being 19!
I really have had a great first week to my 19th year.  Not only was it my last week of first semester classes, but I had a few little adventures down here in the Cornfields of Opportunity.  So here's today's bullet-pointed list.  :)

Highlights of my Birthday Week

• On Tuesday, I gave my final presentation for my biology class.  And I got 100% on it!!!  I'm really going to miss that class.  But have no fear.  The next stop for my lab partner and me is American History: 1877 to Present.
• I woke up Wednesday morning to find my room covered in bright pink and lime green streamers, thanks to my awesome roommate.  She stayed up all night decorating the room and baking me brownies (which failed, so I didn't actually get to eat them).  I can never thank her enough!
• On Wednesday night, I got the call from my aunt that she got us tickets to the Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw Brothers of the Sun concert in the Twin Cities on July 8th.  I'm pretty sure the world can't even fathom how excited I am about this!  I'm already planning what I'm going to wear...and it's seven months away.
• Friday evening was lovely.  I saw a spoken word poet on campus with my neighbor, and that was some high quality entertainment!  (There were also delicious waffle fries provided...so I'd definitely give the whole event two thumbs up.)
• On Saturday night, I finally got to Skype my sister for the first time in several months. It was awesome being able to talk to her again!  That definitely made my week.
• As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been painting my nails quite a bit.  I just recently discovered a new trend (thanks to one of my neighbors).  The latest in nail art is to paint one nail on each hand a different color than the other nails.  While I was skeptical at first, I feel like I can really rock this pop of color on my ring fingers!  (Those of you who are on Facebook with me can see a picture of my latest nail art in my freshman year album.)
• I've been talking to my mom about what's going on over Christmas break, and I have to say, I'm really looking forward to coming home!  I can't wait to see all my friends and family again.

This past week has been awesome, and now it's time to buckle down and rock my finals.  I feel confident!  I think I could really shine.  :)

Stay tuned for my final post of first semester later this week.

What's Not to Love?

Over the past few days, I've realized that there are a lot of awesome things in my life that are making me crazy happy right now!  It really is the little things in life that mean the most.  For example (of course this is a bullet-pointed list...what else would you expect from me?):

• My roommate recently acquired a Santa hat, which I enjoy wearing frequently for no real reason.  As a matter of fact, I'm wearing it as I'm writing this post!  Can't you just picture it?  It's really putting me in the Christmas spirit.
• I've been painting my nails quite a bit lately, and they look fantastic, if I do say so myself!  Special thanks to my mom, who got me a couple new bottles of nail polish for my birthday.  Which reminds me...
• My birthday is tomorrow!  19 years old...that's where it's at.  :)
• All my classes are winding down.  We're in the homestretch now!  Once I finish this week of classes, all I have is finals next week.  And then...
• I'm coming home for Christmas!  While it's still about a week and a half away, I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends and family back in the good old 651.  But getting back to Sioux City...
• There's finally snow on the ground!  We got our first snowfall on Saturday, and it's been absolutely gorgeous since then.  I have a good feeling it's finally here to stay.  
• Our cafeteria has delicious hot chocolate.  That is all that needs to be said.

As you can see, there's a lot to love about December in Sioux City.  Even though my birthday falls on a day that will live in infamy (1941 reference, anyone?), I'm looking forward to spending it here with all my amazing friends.


Shout-out to Deb and Kathy, the sandwich ladies in our cafeteria.  They make delicious sandwiches, know me by name, care about my life back in Minnesota, and compliment my cute clothes.  Here's to you, ladies.  :)

Hakuna Matata :)

"Hakuna matata
What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna matata
Ain't no passing craze
It means no worries 
For the rest of your days
It's our problem-free philosophy...
Hakuna matata."

This unforgettable song from The Lion King has been stuck in my head all day, and not without reason!  Lately, I've been learning that there's really no need to worry about the little things!  Time after time, I find myself getting worked up over things that turn out to be no big deal.  Then I look back and laugh at how worried I was--and all for nothing!  Friends, family and random strangers, if there's one thing I've learned during this "crunch time," it's that hakuna matata never fails.

On a completely different (but necessary!) note, I finally broke out the Christmas music last night!  Now that December is here, I'm really getting into the holiday spirit.  Let me share with you my three favorite songs this year.

My new discovery this year is I Want an Alien for Christmas by Fountains of Wayne.  I heard it for the first time while I was power-shopping at Kohl's, and for some reason, it just really floats my boat.  There's no real music video for this one, so enjoy reading the lyrics!

Last year I heard Christmas is Going to the Dogs by Eels.  Just like the last song, I really have no idea why I have such a fascination with this song.  I just think it's so funny!  There's also no music video for this one, but someone did a pretty cool lights show with it, so I'd say that's blog-worthy.

This last one is becoming a classic:  All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey.  Not only do I know that my brother is a fan of this song, but it was used in Love Actually, a movie that I absolutely fell in love with over the summer!  Take it or leave it.  I think it's a keeper.

I hope this gets at least some of you in the Christmas spirit.  It's just around the corner!

Shout-out to my biology lab partner, who is getting married at the end of the month, and is one of my best college friends.  :)

Crunch Time in Sioux City

Today my advisor introduced me to the concept of "crunch time."  Apparently this is what happens when you come back from Thanksgiving break.
You can definitely feel it all around.  Every single one of my classes is starting to prepare for the end of the semester.  For example...

• My Spanish professor has gotten creative by making us create sentences about what we have to do before Christmas Vacation using the subjunctive tense.
• My biology professor has been giving us more candy than usual.  (Should we take this as a hint?)
• The entire music department at my school is in turmoil because our biggest concert of the year is this Friday night.  I guess it's a pretty big deal!
• My advisor has been throwing study tips at my class like there's no tomorrow.  
• I only have about one-third of my giant box of popcorn left.

Crunch time is most definitely upon us.  While it is stressful, frustrating, and sometimes even maddening, I know I can make it through!  I have three words for crunch time: BRING IT ON!

Shout-out to my Grandpa and Granny.  :)

Turkey Time!

It's almost that time of year again!  This Tuesday, I'm heading back to the homeland for Thanksgiving.  In honor of this delicious day, I'd like to make another one of my famous bullet-pointed lists.

Why I'm Excited for Thanksgiving Break

• Let's just get the obvious one out of the way first: there will be a mass amount of turkey and other insanely awesome festive foods.  Goodbye cafeteria food, hello family feast!
• I'll get to see my best friends again!  
• No one questions my ethnicity back home.  Believe it or not...that happens a lot down here.
• I love my dorm, but being back in Minnesota will be a nice break.  Bring on the snow!
• One word: BINGO.  My family plays it together every Thanksgiving, and I can't wait.
• I'm hoping I can catch a hockey game on TV while I'm up there.  It's one of those "I didn't know how much I'd miss it until it was gone" kinds of things.  That's one of the biggest things that's missing down here in Sioux City, if you ask me.

Adding to that last bullet point (and because I just figured out how to post links in my blog), I'd like to share with you a song that's been stuck in my head for quite a few days now.  Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy!

Wild Anthem <--Click it!

The Lucky Ones

Over the past week or so, I've realized how very lucky I am to be in Sioux City!  Here are just a few reasons why.

• It hasn't snowed yet!  I've heard that it's been snowing just about everywhere else, including Des Moines, the Twin Cities, and up in good old Michigan.
• I got to attend a LifeLight concert downtown on Thursday night!  That was an awesome experience.
• Remember in my very first post when I talked about how people in Iowa are super nice?  I still stand by that!  These really are some of the nicest people in the world.  
• I'm right in the middle of a giant, never ending battle between Iowa and Nebraska college football teams.  While I really don't care about either of these teams at all (go Gophers!), it sure is entertaining to watch my friends argue about whose team is better!
• I have great friends and an awesome roommate.  :)

In other news, the countdown to Thanksgiving is on!  I'm excited to come home (because I'm craving turkey), but I know I'll miss all my friends down here.  It's great living in this dorm because there's always someone to hang out with!  I guess we really are the lucky ones.  :)