Merry (Belated) Christmas, Everyone!

Merry Christmas to all of you reading this! I apologize for not writing for eleven days, but I honestly have not been on my computer very much, which is a good thing. This poor Mac hardly gets any sleep during the semester. This past week and a half has been filled with wonderful Christmastime festivities--minus skiing, building snowmen, and, well, shoveling. We have no snow. None. Nada. Maybe tomorrow if we are lucky.

Valerie and I were home last weekend and helped Mom put the tree up. Caroline, however, did not finish her exams until Wednesday, so Valerie and I drove to Ann Arbor on Sunday to have breakfast with her at Angelo's. I had some spectacular pumpkin pancakes with real maple syrup! As a half-blooded Canadian, I appreciate honest-to-goodness maple syrup. Sorry, but Mrs. Butterworth's doesn't quite compare.

This break has been great for simply hanging out and relaxing, and Monday night was another testament to that. Our high school friends Sarah, Sophie, and Melissa came over for the night, and we talked nonstop, ate nachos, decorated Christmas cookies and a gingerbread house, and watched the infamous Elf movie. I. Love. That. Movie. It is a holiday classic in this household; we watched it again last night. There is nothing quite like Buddy's antics when you need a good laugh!

Once Caroline came home, we went into full Christmas mode--now we could really have fun! To welcome her home, we made Pumpkin Pasta, a recipe from her best friend Madeline's blog. It turned out quite deliciously, but, unfortunately, we forgot to take a picture. One of my favorite parts of being home is the ability to cook my own food. There is an intangible sense of satisfaction that accompanies the completion of a home cooked meal.

Reindeer games are probably my other favorite part of spending time at home during the holiday season. Of course, these games are fun any time during the year, but December is the only time it is socially acceptable to refer to them as reindeer games. This year's favorites include Bananagrams, Boggle, and Scrabble (Can you see a theme here?). Monopoly is on the list to get played within the next week--we always played it with Pop-Pop, but have not played it much since then. Man, I miss him. It isn't the same at the holidays without grandparents. There is something special that that generation brings to the season that is missing. Last week we went to Finley's for lunch, another thing we used to do with Grandma and Pop-Pop when they lived in Battle Creek. Memories flooded back from the days when we used to go every Tuesday night for the "Kids Eat Free" special. What a deal!

Friday afternoon Aunt Kristi, her mother, Natalie, and Nathan drove down from Muskegon for a visit. I haven't seen them since August, so it was delightful. We went to Binder Park Zoo for the Zoo Lights, which is Christmas decorations every holiday season. Some of the animals are out to play, but not that many unfortunately. However, there were some great pictures!

Eight of us! (Uncle Mark is missing)

The lights near the snow leopards

Peacock!

Giraffes

Christmas Ant

Christmas Eve and Christmas were very laid back. Mom mentioned that we were in a somewhat "sweet spot" in life. It was just the five of us for the holidays. No grandparents, grandchildren, significant others, or other family members to work around for the day. So, we did what we wanted, when we wanted, how we wanted. Thus, we went to the 7pm Mass for Christmas Eve rather than the 5pm children's Mass or the midnight vigil, which has been the past several Christmases' choice. Unfortunately one of our favorite pastors, Father Bob, was transferred to another parish earlier this fall, so the service was not quite as lively. However, the church was beautiful, and the song selection was joyful, as it always is at the Christmas Eve service. We came home and fixed Dad's infamous tortellini and clam soup. It is very similar to this recipe, but not quite; I think the recipe was from a magazine printed before Canadian Living added an online component to their magazine.

Christmas morning, like Christmas Eve, was very informal, and we just enjoyed one another's company. I prepared a Crock-Pot egg bake the night before, so we just had to plug it in that morning, and three hours later a hot, yummy casserole was waiting for us. I am certainly getting a Crock-Pot once I have my own apartment. They are miracle workers! Mom made some awesome pumpkin-oat muffins as well. They are my absolute favorite muffins. I have already put in a request to have some baked to take back with me to Pittsburgh. I am switching meal plans at the semester so I will have breakfast on my own. Some home baked muffins would be a great way to start the day!

I received many Pitt items for Christmas this year--Mom was very creative. She made me (as well as Valerie and Caroline for their respective schools) a fleece blanket with Pitt fabric she found at a JoAnn Fabrics in Pittsburgh. It is the warmest! With that and the flannel comfort quilt she made me two Christmases ago, I will never be cold. I love those two blankets like there is nothing in the world that could make me happier. Knowing they are made with so much love is almost as good as being home and sharing the blankets with Mom.

Look for another post to come shortly!

To Do Over Break

I decided you might be a little bit bored hearing about what all I am up to these days? If not, well, I apologize, but today's post is going to be a little bit different. I am writing this as I sit on the Megabus headed to the good ol' Mitten--yes, the semester is over and I am GOING HOME! So, what am I going to write about today, you might ask? All the fun things I want and hope to do over Christmas break, of course!

1. Spend time with my magnificent and wonderful family. This is pretty much the overarching theme for all of break. Being out here in the 'Burgh makes me realize how much they mean to me. Didn't mean to make you all tear up...but if you ever forget who loves you most, it is certainly your family.
2. Cook a lot of delicious food. One of the things I miss most about home is cooking my own food. Valerie and I did a lot of the cooking--okay, if you can call throwing together spaghetti true cooking--but we did make dinner often, and I did not think I would long to make my own food as much as I do. No, making myself a bowl of cereal or a salad does not count. Yes, those are pretty much the only two things I have made--Market Central does all the cooking and assembling for me. I have a lot of recipes I want to try, from appetizers to desserts, but I also want to make some tried and true favorites: Spinach Frittata, White Bean Chili, and Sweet Potato Casserole.
3. Plan my life. I don't anticipate that I will get more than a few years into the future (especially since I know life never goes according to plan) but I do want to do a rough sketch of my academic plan. I am hoping to eventually conduct my own research--for the mere sake of discovery--and do a lot of other awesome things. When I figure out what those ideas are, you will be the first to find out!
4. Spend time outside. According to Accuweather, Battle Creek is not supposed to have a White Christmas. What. Is. This? I do not understand how Michigan of all places, is going to have a snowless Christmas. I am not even asking for a full six inches or several feet. I just want enough to cover the grass for the 25th. However, if there is not snow, I plan on spending lots of time outside taking walks, running, playing basketball, and just enjoying the weather. If it does happen to snow, I am going to be skiing, sledding, making snowmen, and, of course, shoveling. But I honestly don't even mind shoveling. The snow is so pretty.
5. Read. For fun. Christmas novels. Cookbooks. The Wall Street Journal. Mysteries. Children's books. Actually, I do have one set of books in mind in addition to all of those: it's called The Hunger Games. I have no idea what it is about, but I have heard several people mention it, so I figure it might be worth my time. I don't like not having time to read for fun anymore. (I guess if I deleted my Facebook, I would have a little bit of extra time...definitely being considered!) When I was in elementary school I finished books all the time!
6. Play reindeer games. Yes, I did just refer to myself enjoying reindeer games. I want to play Monopoly, Scrabble, Bananagrams, Boggle, and every other game under the sun. When I was home for Thanksgiving break and no one else was yet, I played Battleship with Mom--great times! It was a great way to relax.
7. Spend time with friends. Thanksgiving break was not nearly long enough to catch up with everybody I wanted to and hoped to. A few of us spent five hours straight at Starbucks sipping holiday beverages and catching up on our lives, but this time I'll need some sleepovers (yes, I am a college kid who still enjoys slumber parties...how else do you fit a semester's worth of information into a brief amount of time?). Valerie and I plan on having some delicious food parties as well so we can cook but not have to eat three dozen cookies or 20 cups of Crispix mix. Spread the wealth!

Look for pictures to be posted throughout Christmas break!

How are you going to spend your holidays?

A Moment's Grace

So I really should not be typing away on here right now; I should be preparing for my final two exams of the semester. But...they are not until Thursday, so I figure I can spend a little bit of time informing the non-college (and college) world of the past week.

It has been a whirlwind, and crazy to say the least. I would like to say that I was a devoted student and hibernated at Club Hillman (the nickname for Hillman Library) all weekend, but, fortunately, that was not the case.
Thursday evening was a waffle party at Ruth and Gina's (two of the FOCUS missionaries) house in honor of the Immaculate Conception. If you want some good, but in depth reading on the Immaculate Conception, or if you don't know what it is, click here!

Friday my friend Valerie and I went to see "The Mask of Moriarty," a Sherlock Holmes theatre show presented by the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre. I signed up through PittArts, a program here that enables students to get discount and free tickets to various arts programs around the city. This one was free--yep, absolutely and positively free! It included dinner at Joe Mama's, a pre-show talk by one of the artistic directors, Andrew Paul, and a fabulous show! It was full of comic relief, which was a necessity, considering the impending finals.

The next day was spent studying but rewarded by the Newman Center Christmas party. Here is a picture from the party (From left to right: Morgan, Valerie, Melissa, me!, Christine, and Sam):

The party was great--lots of good food, a hilarious white elephant gift exchange, and best of all, great friends. The Newman Center really has been a blessing here. It has both strengthened my faith and given me some of the best friends I could ever have hoped for.

Sunday morning was delightful. Mom's cousin Mike, his wife, and Aunt Jerry (my 93 year old great aunt) drove in from Butler and picked me up to go out for breakfast. We went to the Eat n' Park in South Side since the restaurant they'd planned on going to was having the holiday children's breakfast with Santa; that would have been complete and utter chaos, even if I do love kids. They seem to all be doing well. I am hoping that my family will be able to bring me back to Pittsburgh after the holidays so we can see her again. Since neither Aunt Jerry nor I have our own transportation, we are usually at the mercy of Mike and Cheryl. We got a great photo too!

These past couple of days I have been camped out at the Newman Center studying. I was here from 1pm until midnight yesterday (Monday) and then have been here since 7pm today. It is a great environment for studying though--very quiet and lots of goodies!

Tables One and Two!

I have two more finals remaining--psychology and Spanish--and then I am free for nearly three weeks. I cannot wait to be at home to cook, play games, hang out, hopefully ski (but there is not supposed to be snow for Christmas...I live in Michigan! Come on!), and spend time with lots and lots of people. Hope this finds everyone well and not too stressed out for finals :)

The Calm Before the Storm

There are only eight days until I finish for the semester! All of my regular work, essays, and exams are completed, so there is a sense of relief at the moment. However, I have to start studying NOW for final exams. I am borderline B+/A- in several of my classes, and the difference between an A- and a B+ for GPAs at Pitt is a 3.75 vs. a 3.25. That's a pretty significant difference when I am on a scholarship! But, in eight days, I will be on the Megabus westbound on the Ohio Turnpike. I cannot wait to get home and spend some quality time in the mitten! Do not get me wrong, I love it here; I just underestimated how much time I spent with my family and how much I enjoyed it!
This past weekend was a lot of fun. Saturday was the final football game, where the Panthers beat the Syracuse Orange. It was a tad bit chilly, but nothing a Michigander can't handle. Saturday evening was spent with some of my favorites: Valerie (not my twin), Emily, and Emily's roommate Marilee. We went to see the Nutcracker, which was phenomenal! Since taking my dance class this semester, I appreciate the abilities of dancers far more than ever before. Today was my 1-minute dance final performance. It was a solo, and I performed to "Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt. It was by far not the best performance of anyone in the class, but I had fun. I was proud of how it went, and considering I hated my inabilities at some points during the semester, that says quite a bit.
Sunday I called home and had quite a lengthy, necessary, and fabulous chat with my parents. If you ever want to hear me talk a mile a minute, ask me about what I want to do with my future, and you will get that. There is so much I want to do within the next five to ten years, it is unreal. The majority of it is personal goals, like starting a business, spending more time with friends, traveling to different places around the world, and more. I only get one life, so I better make the most of it!
The idea I am considering today is starting my own business. I think I want it to be a side business, since I am planning on doing nursing, but maybe someday it will be my whole source of income. It would be nice to have that as a minor source of income if I wanted to stay home with kiddos someday. The route I want to go is artsy. I am totally left-brained, but I really want to explore the right side of my brain. I think it could be fun. For a while I was into journaling--which I obviously can't sell--but that has fallen by the wayside as I have been in college. Too many other priorities. I do try to scrapbook, but taking enough pictures is always a problem; I want more candid photographs! I really want to take up knitting...maybe I can get Mom to teach me over break? So, I am not sure what artsy thing I will try to sell, but it is going to happen someday. Someday soon. (A little extra cash in college never hurt, either, right?) Today at the William Pitt Union, there was a little market gig going on of local artisans, and it was so inspiring. There was everything from jewelry to stuffed animals to handmade stationery. It was so cool!
I should be studying my life away right now. Time to start reviewing Spanish! ¡Hasta luego!

It's Friday. Are you sure?

Where are these weeks going? Last time I checked it was the Pitt Panthers' first football game, and I was sweating at my first official college tailgate. Now, I have to wear UnderArmour, sweatpants, a sweatshirt, gloves, and ear muffs just to go running for a bit! There are only thirteen days remaining in my first college semester. How quickly time does fly! I mentioned how fast the time was passing while talking to my dad several weeks ago, and he reassuringly told me, "In my experience, each semester passed faster than the one before." Thanks, Dad... I don't want to grow up yet!! I love college. Sure, there are times when I am stressed or wish I were closer to home or am more than a bit unsure about how my life will turn out, but then someone reminds me that the world is full of possibility, and I get rejuvenated once more.

Every once in a while--more like once or twice a month--it is really late at night, and I get very hyper and excited about life. Last night was one of those nights. So what do I do in my teeny tiny dorm room when my roommate is gone and it is eleven o'clock? Well, I turn on the Christmas music and celebrate! Last night, I used my adrenaline to study into the wee hours of the morning for next week's exams in Spanish and Psychology.

I love my Spanish class, and since it is five of my sixteen credits, the better I can do in that class, the better my GPA. It is very hard, but I really want to become fluent in Spanish, so I am trying very hard to learn it well. Luckily one of my floor mates is pretty much fluent after spending her junior year of high school in Brazil. She has been really great and has helped me study for the past few tests and just helps me with my conversation skills. One of my summer ideas since I will be taking Anatomy and Physiology at the community college back home (I persuaded them that I was capable of taking both courses simultaneously, even though anatomy is technically supposed to precede physiology in their sequence.) is to volunteer or work somewhere that primarily serves a Hispanic population so that I can keep my Spanish skills up to par and even improve them. If there are any brilliant suggestions on that front, I am open to them one and all.

What other random, exciting ideas do I have up my sleeve? Perhaps I should start with some of my school goals. The thing is, though, that going to University of Pittsburgh is simply a vehicle to get me where I want to go; it is my rocket ship. So where is the moon? For me, it is Latin America. I have this ultimate dream of working with impoverished families in that region, and recently have begun to research it to a small extent. One issue I found was prevalent childhood malnutrition in the rural parts of Peru. I am very intrigued to study that, but I need to find a) someone to mentor me, b) funding (I have heard through the grapevine that the University Honors College here does offer significant research and study abroad scholarships to eager undergraduates, so I will certainly look to take advantage of that!), and c) time to conduct my research. I have currently sent out a few emails to some professors in the School of Public Health here at Pitt, but no success yet. I did learn yesterday in a meeting with a nursing advisor, however, that there are undergraduate research opportunities through the School of Nursing, but those would most likely be helping a PhD candidate or professor with their own research. Not to be selfish or egotistical, but I really want to try my own research and see where I can get with it.

The best thing about college is all the opportunities it provides. Not just the scholarly stuff, either. So far, I have had the most enriching experience spiritually and emotionally with the Newman Center. The Newman Center is AWESOME. Need I say more? Yes. Positively and absolutely, YES! The vast majority--I'd say all but a couple--of my friendships were formed through the Newman Center.

Thursday through Sundays, I typically am hanging out with a group from the Newman Center. The Tower B bible study, facilitated by the one and only Erika, is Thursday evenings. Despite fifteen years of Catholic education, I have never been involved in a bible study before. It is interesting; I am really looking more closely at what the words I hear in Sunday's readings really mean. The girls are really fun as well! Plus, Erika usually brings us treats! Friday nights are "Dollar Dinners" at the Newman Center, where you go to Mass and then pay a dollar for a pasta dinner. The first Fridays of every month are First Friday Feasts, so I got lucky and had chili, cornbread, baked potatoes, and brownies this weekend. There are so many people that come to these dinners, from freshmen to seniors to the FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionaries. I have had the opportunity to meet so many cool people who share the same values as me. Saturday nights there is often either a formal Newman Center event such as a party, or other times a group of us just makes our own fun. This Saturday several of us are going to see The Nutcracker put on by the Pittsburgh Ballet, and then next weekend is a Christmas party! I am so ready for Christmas; let the snow begin! And finally Sundays are 6pm Mass at St. Paul's Cathedral, an absolutely gorgeous church just a few blocks from the dorm, followed by pizza and Catholic Action, which is either a presentation or discussion.

The Newman Center has really helped me to keep God at the center of my life in college. Because there are so many opportunities to get off track whether with stress, mixed up priorities, or other mishaps, the relationships I have formed at the Newman Center keep me focused. It is great knowing others share the same passion for faith and values of life that I do. I have become a much more social, outgoing, happy person because of the people I have met there!

Procrastination Tool or Creative Outlet?

This may be the fifth, or sixth, or seventh time I have tried to keep a blog, and like the others, I have a feeling this one may fail. But then again, perhaps there is hope! There is always hope, right? Christmas is right around the corner, so perhaps I will have extra time over the holidays to get into the habit of keeping everyone up to date on the adventures in my life. Yes, I did just call life an adventure, because it is.

So what is up with this time turner deal? If you have read any of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, you know that it is Hermione's ingenious gadget that allows her to take many classes simultaneously. I desperately need a time turner, so if anyone knows how I can get my hands on one, please let me know! Now, any college student might need a time turner, but I have reasons beyond the usual that would benefit from the use of a time turner. There are many things I want to try (and succeed at) within the next few years here at the University of Pittsburgh. The first semester is quickly coming to a close, and if the remainder of my time here goes by just as quickly, then I am not going to be able to accomplish everything I hope I can. If I can't find a time turner, I at least need to figure out how to need less sleep. Any thoughts?

You might be asking, and rightfully so, what crazy plans I have in mind that require little sleep or a time turner. Oh, so many! From small to humungous, I need to scheme my life away in order to complete everything I possibly can before I become an official adult. (College is a good place to be--scholarships can help pay for things, so there is a bit more freedom!) Here is my simplified list, and I plan on describing each one in greater detail, but not all tonight because a) it is a lot for me to type at one sitting, b) is even more for you to read, and c) my parents are counting on a phone call in a few minutes. So here's the list:

• Study abroad in a Spanish speaking country in Latin America
• Perform research on child nutrition
• Learn to speak Spanish fluently
• Start my own business
• Run a marathon--this one is for after college, but a worthy goal all the same

I know there are many more things, but this is it for now. Yes, it is an eclectic group of goals, but what is life if not interesting? I shall keep you all posted as I further pursue these challenges.