Counting Down...

I have started the countdown until I get to return to the great state of... for three weeks! I have just over that amount of time until I will be arriving in beautiful Minneapolis! And I can't wait to see my family. To sit on the kitchen counter and talk to my Dad for hours. And maybe get a little horseback riding in with Mom. And to finally get to see my niece who I haven't seen for 4 months! I am so excited to spend sometime with my girls Jorgen and Liz. And to work on crossing off everything on our To-Do List with Sarah Dibbern. And I really can't wait to see my little puppy A.J. Isn't he cute?! All except when you leave for five months, that little puppy you left, turns into And I am for sure stopping at both of these locations multiple times!
So if you can't tell, I have a lot of great things to look forward to when I arrive in the land of 10,000 lakes including my brother's wedding! Yay Trent and Liz! So I just need to make it through one more paper, one more presentation, three more finals and I will be home! Minnesota, I'll see you soon(ish)!

Birfday!

Wow. Folks, it's my birthday. Which means year 26 has arrived. Unwelcomed mind you! (PS I'm not sure unwelcomed is a word) Anywho, might as well ring in year 26 on a positive note! Can't wait to see what this year has in store!

Flowers=Smiles!

Good motto for life: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Matthew 7:12. One way I live this out, I buy people flowers. Why? Because I like being able to send them to people who may need some encouragement, for birthdays, to say CONGRATS or maybe for no reason at all! But I will come clean, I also send flowers because some day I hope to get them in return. Call me selfish. It's OK. I've come to terms with that. However, the times I have gotten flowers are very few and far between. Most of the flowers I have received in life have been from gymnastics meets and those days ended 8 years ago. But as of recent days, my luck in being the receiver of flowers has changed! VICTORY! The first may have been due to sudden hints to my Sr. RA Adam when I said in Harris Teeter (a grocery store for all you Minnesotans) "I always buy flowers for my friends with the hope that they will buy me flowers." Thus resulting in... "Aww...Thanks, Adam! You shouldn't have!!" :) And then today, I receive these... from mommy dearest by way of Leigh Carruth. Mom, this is the one and only time I am thankful you stalk people on Facebook...LOVE YOU! So for the moment, it appears the flower drought has ended! And with that I'm all smiles here!

Update: More flowers recently arrived! Man, I guess you just need to move 20 hours from home for people to finally send flowers! This particular arrangement I had to track down in the parking lot of Cafe Portofino here in Boone then brought them back to the tailgate I was at. Got some strange looks from drunken football fans. But, if anything it added some class to the tailgate! Thank you, Jorgen! The flowers are as fabulous as you are!!

Loves from a Wanna-Be Dancer

I LOVE DANCING! I love watching it, I love doing it. I love it! There is something about the story and the emotions shared through the movements and music that often stop me in my tracks and take my breath away. I don't know how many times I have teared up due to the rawness and authenticity displayed through dance. For me, dance shares things that I wouldn't be able to share with words. Stories can be told about addiction, breast cancer, falling in love, falling out of love, the list continues. Note: I am in no way, shape, or form a trained dancer. This fact is something I give my mother a hard time about whenever I can because instead of dance classes, I was chasing my brothers around playing tee-ball and taking snowmobile lessons. Nonetheless, dance is still something that speaks to me in incredible ways. So here are the links to a few of my favorite dances, most of which were performed on So You Think You Can Dance! If you have the time to look them up, I encourage you to do so. They're pretty great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6_JssnEjVs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRPhQAoPFt8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnguqsMQmg4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XCIy2Zkkz8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1wr42lSuo8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HShpoVtjzko&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLtSfYX8tJk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk9-qH5fyTU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21ZsxvtH6Zc

Beautiful Mess

The month of chaos has finally hit. And while my to-do list is a monster the length of my body, here I am instead, blogging. Oh well, this helps clear my cluttered mind...even if only temporarily. Recently, well what am I talking about, this entire semester I have found myself in perma-stress. It's the technical term for being constantly stressed out. OK, no it's not, but for the moment it works. Every time I take time for myself, whether that's calling someone from back home, watching T.V, or even catching up on the oh-so elusive sleep my body continually craves, in the back of my mind is all the things that I need to get done. What e-mails do I need to send out (P.S. I just remembered an e-mail that needed to go out yesterday...darn it), what conversations do I need to have with my staff, what reading do I need to do, what paper still needs to get written, what project have I totally forget about, what meeting did I forget to put in my calendar, what program needs to get finalized, what questions did I need to remember to ask my supervisor, oh and my laundry!! And the moment I cross off one thing from my list, 5 more things are added. And the month of November is the epitome of madness. I mean check out what my living room looks like at the moment. Ahh! It stresses me out to even look at it now! However, even with my crazy schedule and monstrous to-do list, I often find myself so thankful that I am here getting to do and experience all this. So far it has been an experience that has helped me really reflect on who I am and who I want to be. In the few months I have been here, I have gone through things that really tested me and some experiences have darn well broke me! But even though my life at times seems like a hot mess, I am still able to find beauty within all of it. What more can I ask for?!

Day Maker!

Sometimes the envy I feel for people's natural ability to be witty is beyond words. I just don't know how they do it, but I want that skill so badly. One such person is my cousin Kari. The things that come out of her mouth are some of the best things I have ever heard in my life! I feel like from the last 25 years of knowing her, I would have gained some of her gift, but no. My luck, it will take another 25 years. But today I got an e-mail from her tonight and the last line within the e-mail made me bust a gut. The line reads "May the fleas of a thousand camels infect the crotch of anyone who ruins your day!" LOL! Genius! Gosh, why did I think of that one?! What makes it even better is the visual I get in my head of that statement. All I see is man running away screaming as a swarm of fleas follows in fast pursuit! It brings me joy! That is the wit I desire of myself. But for now, I'll allow Kari's comedic genius to be the thing that makes my day!

Jenny in NC

It finally happened. I knew it would. It was just a matter of time. I got homesick. Well, to be totally honest, homesickness was just an addition to an already developing emotional breakdown. Nonetheless, I needed someone from home. I was tempted for a moment to fly home. After all, this past weekend, my mom's side of the family did celebrate Christmas. Yes. Christmas in October. Let's not dwell on that at the moment. But the thought of going home and having to be around so many people, sorry family - I do love you, would have been way too overwhelming, especially with the current state I'm in. So what did I do, I begged. Pleaded even. Until finally I found a taker on the offer of "Any MN friends want to come visit me in Boone for the weekend? I'll fly you down here! Not even kidding." I was able to fly one of my best friends, Jenny, down here for a measly 24 hours. And folks, let me tell you, those 24 hours were great! I needed them so badly. For the first time in a while, I finally felt like I wasn't 20 hours away from home. I had a person in my life I could just be myself with. It was fantastic! Just what the doctor ordered. My friends are so important to me. And I'm the type of person that only allows myself to get really close with a select few. And those friendships are ones I'll fight for. They are the ones I will pay $600 for them to come see me for 24 hours. And while friendships have their ups and downs too, I am certain those things can only bring people closer together in the end. So even though a breakdown had to occur for it to take place, Jenny I am so glad you came to Boone! Love you!