"In Too Deep"

Well, this is a most hateful time of the year.  Too much snow outside to do spring activities, but not enough snow (and nobody is in the mood) to do winter activities.  Right now, I'm watching the local news channel talk about Oak Fungus.  As it turns out, the only way to prevent this is to prune the trees in the fall.  A little late to broadcast this "news."  So, because nothing is going on here, this is a good time to go back in time and recall another old college memory...

The year was 1987....We were listening to "Gotta have Faith" by George Michael, "How can I get you Alone" by Heart, " and we were "Livin on a Prayer" with Bon Jovi.  Big hair bands were still in, like Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again."  But, new a new "pop-artist" sound was emerging..."Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle, and "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany.  So, music was big in the 80's.  And so much better than today's "Kay-dollar sign-Ha", but, I digress...

Anyhow, it was around this time when my friend Wendy and I learned that Genesis was touring and doing a show in Detroit.  It was their "Invisible Touch" tour!  Man, to see Phil Collins live singing Land of Confusion, Invisible Touch, and Tonight, Tonight, Tonight!  Unreal!  We HAD to go!  So, we had a friend who had a friend with a car and could get us there.  We didn't know this friend of a friend, but, hey, she was our friend's friend, she had to be cool!  We scored the tickets, and all met up to head to Detroit.  Getting to the concert was crazy.  The friend was from some little small town up North and she had no idea how to drive in Detroit traffic on a Friday night.  I remember sitting in the backseat just sweating and praying we wouldn't die.  So, we get to the concert and find our seats in the back of the balcony.  Couldn't see a thing, but, we could hear it fine, and we thought the concert ROCKED!  The driver girl disappeared, we didn't see her the entire concert. It's probably hard to imagine it, but, this was 1987 and there were no cell phones.  If she disappeared, she disappeared.

So, the concert ends, still no driver.  We walk back to where we had parked the car, and she's not there.  We just stand there for a long time waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally, we see her.  As she approaches, she's with a group of people we didn't know, and they're all taking turns smoking something that is not a cigarette.  She finally gets to the car and stares at it for a long time.  Wendy and I were only 19, from the U.P., and neither of us really wanted to drive out of Detroit after the biggest concert of the year.  So, in our youthful wisdom, we decide that this girl, who is high as a kite, would be able to drive better than either of us.  We were not correct.  She somehow made it to the freeway, with Wendy and I grabbing the wheel and yelling at her, and her laughing the entire time, but that's when things got really weird.  She slowed down and practically stopped.  Freeways in Detroit do not have "stopping" lanes.  They have 6 side-by-side lanes of steady, fast, crazy traffic.  We managed to talk her through the act of pulling over to the side of the freeway, where we were still at risk for getting hit.  At that point, I just remember Wendy and I screaming at her for being so stupid and high, and reluctantly getting in the driver's seat to drive home. 

actual photo of Chrysler Freeway out of Detroit

Anyhow, first time driving the "Chrysler Freeway, I-75" out of Detroit!  Fun memories!  What did I take away from that event?  A concert tee shirt that shrunk so much I never even wore it once.  Oh, and "don't do drugs and drive!"  Oops, I mean, "don't do drugs, ever!"

The Letters of Spring

I always forget how much I love spring until it actually arrives. Granted, there's still those nasty giant heaps of snow in the shade with grass and mud in it, but hey, you take what you can get. It was a beautiful 50 degrees in the cities today, and I was pleased to see there actually is life on campus outside of the book-it-to-class-to-avoid-frostbite-and/or-windburn-and/or-wet-shoes people I've seen for the past 5 months. Wow...long winter! To keep this week's blog creative, I've decided to travel back in time to 4th grade (or senior year Creative Comp.) and write one of those "letter" poems about spring where the stanzas of the poem all start with the letter of what is being described. (We did this using our names alot. All I could ever think of for "K" was "kooky" or a ghetto-ly spelled "krazy." It wasn't until last year I discovered how perfectly "Ke$ha" fit there.) Disclaimer: this isn't really a poem, so un-prepare yourselves for a cool rhythm or rhyming words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

cored a sweet new spring jacket at Macy's last weekend in Appleton, and became a Godmother! I shall now put glitter in all my cards as a fairy godmother would...or a certain $omeone else would.

racticed driving into the city by myself a couple weeks ago for the first time! All went well, all are alive. Believe me, this is blog-worthy.

eveled in the gorgeous-weather in La Crosse this past weekend. Got some ice cream (it actually melted outside instead of freezing more!), went into some cool shops, strolled down by the river, attempted to fly a kite, sang the top 20 hits from memory, and walked around downtown aimlessly to find a restaurant for 2 1/2 hours only to end up at Hooters. This weekend was a Perfect 10 :)

f my calculations are correct (meaning Dad, you will be taking me home promptly on May 11th, right? RIGHT?!), I will be living in this dorm room for 34 more days. Bittersweet... But next school year's place of residence will be in the BRAND NEW dorms at UW-L! (Thanks for winning the lottery Dakota!) I'm so excited. It'll probably smell new all the time. Until I bust in with my awesome Island Margarita room spray of course...or just margaritas. Hehe...

ow taking showers and washing dishes are even more enjoyable thanks to the mysterious radio that was placed in the bathroom. I'm impressed nobody's stolen it actually. So guess who's day is made better every morning when Blow or Hold it Against Me comes on mid-shampoo? This girl's right here...

oing to class...the nice weather is not a motivation for this. But as of today, I only have 4 more PoliSci night classes, 5 more 8 am boring lab sesh's, 9 more lectures to learn about sexual dimorphism and other things, and 9 more times to hopefully hear the quietest kid in the world whip out some golden Spanish to earn the entire class 100%s on our 4 page research essays. (Oh yes...this happened.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So Spring has sprung in the Superblock, which means only a few more weeks left to live it up in the cities. This includes clubbing...hopefully no one gets stabbed these next times though. (Oh yeah, by the way Mom and Dad...)

Spring Break...proceed with caution

Wow is it ever nice to be out of the cement cube in which I dwell in...even if it be for only 9 days. I have made it to my first college Spring Break! Now, before you get worried and perhaps censor the rest of this blog, the craziest thing I've done so far is flip off an ignorant driver on Hwy 51 on the way back from Mercer. Rebel...I know. But oh my gosh does it ever feel amazing to be home. Sure, there's not much going on, and all my friends aren't even in Minoc, but I'm enjoying every second and every aspect of my break:

1. My bed. That I don't climb up to. That doesn't creak. That's not made by a sketchy brand called "Hotel Motel."

2. Peanut butter toast and Eggo waffles. Need I say more?

3. Tivo and Netflix on Demand. (Sergio and I are making our way through a list of "Movies that Take Place in One Room." Thanks, Stumble Upon!)

4. Luxurious Cottenelle. And non-automatic-flush toilets.

5. Driving!! And yes, the road rage is still very much in me.

6. Dakota. I mean we've got some pretty intense Taco Tuesday-ing and "Ellen" planned, how could I not appreciate us being reunited?

7. Spending time with Sergio. In addition to our list of movies, we also are on a mission to find the world's greatest grilled cheese. Which we think lies in the kitchen of Minocqua Brewing Company... we're gonna test out that theory... probably on Wednesday. We better calm down before we get hurt, I know.

8. The family. Oh gosh, how I appreciate just being in their presence. This was the longest stretch of time I've ever gone without seeing them. (53 days to be exact, and I actually got to surprise my mom on Thursday morning because she didn't know I was coming home early. So much fun...it felt like Christmas morning again, I was so excited to see her and to hug her again!) Whether it be watching The Bachelor finale with Mom and B, playing a board game with both sibs, going out to lunch, cooperating with Dad to do the dishes by hand because the week I come home of course our dishwasher breaks, or strolling through Timber Ridge with Ty (still can't believe I got him to agree to take a walk with me), I LOVE being with them. Which is a blessing and a curse because it makes it 82 times harder to leave them. Sunday please don't come... :(


People keep telling me that second semester flies by, and I'm already halfway done. Once I get back, looks like it'll be full speed ahead! Bring it on.

Aurora Borealis

The last time I went to the River Valley Bank drive through, I was left with the irritating farewell of, "Have an incredible day!"  Really?  "Have an 'incredible' day?"  Wow!  When was the last time I had an "incredible" day?

Well, I stewed on this for awhile.  At first I thought, the last time I had an "incredible" day was the day Brittany was born, 14 years ago!  Every day since has been rather boring, routine, mundane. I've had plenty of incredibly "bad" days, that's for sure.  I thought about my mom's illness, my sister's divorce, the problems with my own kids, the struggles with my work, and I thought, "yes, I have had many "incredibly" BAD days, thank you!  And, with going to work, laundry, grocery shopping, vacuuming, changing sheets, dusting, window cleaning, and all the minutia of life, every day is just "average" at best.  Or so I thought...

When I was driving home from work last night thinking about this, all of a sudden, the sky filled with light.  The light was rolling wave upon wave, different colors, pink, green, yellow, white....Then up and down steaks, like the kind left-over from fireworks, then horizontal steaks, like the kinds waves would make.  Suddenly, I realized I was witnessing the "Aurora Borealis."  The "Northern Lights."  I turned my radio off.  I didn't want anything to distract me from this view. 

I suddenly felt humbled. I felt ashamed.  How could I think that I haven't had an "incredible" day!  God has given me incredible days and moments every day of my life! What about the time Kayla sang "The Chipmunk" song solo when she was 4 years old?  What about the time Tyler woke up and told me about his dream when he was only two?  What about the days when Brittany smiled when Tyler walked into the room and she would run and grab his hand and look up and smile and play with him all day long?  What about the time my dad fell in love again and got married and I saw him truly happy again?  What about the day my sister had two baby girls after being told she would never, ever get pregnant?   What about the time my brother and his new wife had their baby boy after giving up hope and deciding to adopt?  What about the time Tom looked at me and asked me to go to the high school dance with him when I was only 15 years old, and told me that he loved me a few years later?

These are just a few, a fraction, a rare glimpse, into the number of "incredible" days or moments I've had. There are too many to list! How dare I scoff at the River Valley Bank tellers for their prescribed recital of "Have an incredible day."  What gall I have!

God showed me this night, though the Northern Lights, that each day holds something incredible.  And I hope, Kayla, you are never so ungrateful or unaware like I am, to think that your life is average and ordinary.  I hope you hear God every morning and are filled with the understanding that each day is incredible!

I think the River Valley Bank girls are spot on!  To all:  "Have an INCREDIBLE day!"

That's The Way It Is....

Why haven't we blogged lately?  It's like anything else (especially exercise), once you get out of the routine of doing it, it gets hard to get back into the routine.  So, what's happened since the last blog?  Well, the Christmas Holiday was fun, relaxing, fueled with good food and treats.  I really hated for that season to end and I had a hard time taking down the tree and the decorations.  It signalled the end of relaxing, and the beginning of "back to work." 

I brought Kayla back to school in early January to begin her 2nd semester of Freshman year.  I was not surprised that we saw other students getting out of the car with only a backpack and a duffel bag, but not for Kayla.  No, No.  We had to borrow a laundry cart to fit everything she brought back to college for her last semester in the cities.  Suitcases of clothes, bags of food, a TV, more clothes, boots, laptop, and all of the Christmas presents that would help her make her last semester in the Twin Cities dorm more do-able.

For me, this time of year is my busiest time with my work.  I spend the first 8 weeks of my semester trying to just stay caught up with lessons, grading papers, preparing labs, etc.  I can't believe that it is March and we haven't blogged.  We kept meaning to, it's just hard to get back in the swing of things.

Saddest thing to happen lately...Kayla went to Chicago to meet Taylor and Dakota for the Kesha concert.  Unfortunately, the Amtrak train was late and the girls missed the concert.  It was one of the few times where Kayla was so sad, yet there was absolutely nothing I could do to "fix it."  I guess, "that's the way it is."

When Kayla was 8 and was diagnosed with diabetes, I remember that sad feeling of knowing there's nothing I can do to fix it.  I will always remember the day I drove her home from the hospital.  It was just me and her in the car, and on the radio came the JoDee Messina song, "That's the way it is."  Since that day, that has sort of been "our" song.  So, Kayla, I'm sure this song doesn't compare to "We R Who We R" but, just try it.  It might make you feel a little better...

Click on this link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReBk36jv35g

Second Semester is here! In March....

I sincerely apologize to the many groupies who love us so much and have been disappointed by the lack of blog for, well...2 and a half months. I'm sorry! Don't disown me! I'll make up for it in this one. (Meaning, I'll blog as I usually would, you'll read it as you usually would, you'll forgive me, and continue to follow like the devoted fan that you are.) All is well. And, on my behalf, my last blog in December was criticized for being "too long." You know who you are, (insert squinty-eyed smug-faced emoticon here). I'll proceed...

Second semester is well under way, so I'll do a quick run down of my new-to-you classes.
(Oh, and as a disclaimer, I know my schedule rocks and looks easy-no Monday or Friday classes- but even though my actual "class time" is not overwhelming in the least, the following classes PLUS the research thing equals a lot of work. Case and point: I haven't even got to watch Modern Family OR American Idol OR Desperate Housewives in 3 weeks. Sad...)
Evolution and the Biology of Sex Well, it's just as it sounds! I have this on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning, and I thoroughly enjoy lecture (usually) because it involves me sitting in one of the coolest new buildings on campus drinking coffee and listening to my very funny and relatable professor talk about science in the context of sex. The content isn't super hard, it's an intro Bio course so it's a lot of mitosis, genetics, etc., but she also throws in some sexual dimorphism and homosexuality hypotheses. Throughout the course, we are trying to scientifically answer why, evolutionally, sex exists. (As one girl responded in my lecture on the first day, "To get back at somebody!" Okaaayyy...)
Spanish Communication and Composition Sadly, so so sadly, this is not my favorite class. I don't mind the homework and readings, it's basically a literature/writing/history course taught in Spanish, instead of just grammar, which is very different from the past 5 years of Spanish I've taken, but I just don't understand the point of going to class. I wish I could tell you what we do in class that's challenging and beneficial, but I just don't know. On a good note though, my teacher is extremely sweet, from Venezuela, and knows Spanish like none other, which means that her fluent, rapid, and very authentic speech has improved my listening skills even more. Alright sweet, that'll my new point of going class. :)
American Democracy in a Changing World Difficult!! For a Pol 101 class, this class is very deep and intellectual, and being that I didn't even know the differences between the Republican and Democratic parties until this fall (I know, embarrassing. Mom, Dad...talk to the siblings about this subject pronto!), it is definitely my most challenging class. And the most difficult to force myself to go to...considering it's from 6:30 to 9 pm on Tuesdays, so late! I'm learning a lot, but right now, I find myself only wanting to talk about Scott Walker and his psycho dictatorship ways... I best end this here.
College Algebra and Probability Okay so I thought this was going to be easy, I mean it's algebra, right? Wrong. First, this is a correspondence class which means I teach myself, and second, college algebra isn't even on the same field as high school algebra. At least at the U of M it isn't. So this class takes a significant amount of time for assignments, and I really have to be self disciplined. I'm working on it...
Research Long story short, I was 1 out of 50 freshman chosen to assist professors in their research as part of something called "CLA Freshman Awards Program." I'm working, along with a few other girls, with a professor in the Department of Speech-Hearing-Language Sciences on a research experiment. It involves young children and their repetition of non-words. I have weekly lab meetings for this, and the assignments we receive require sufficient time, so since I am getting paid for it, I treat it as my job.

And there you have it. After 8 weeks of these, I am now a mere 9 days from a highly-anticipated Spring Break back home. Spring Break will also mark the last "break" where I will be returning to Minnesota afterwards. For those of you who are unaware, I am transferring to UW- La Crosse next fall, and I'm very very excited. It's actually kinda cool...I get to experience 2 colleges! That's 1 more than most people and 2 more than many other people! My reasons are varied, from me realizing I'm more of a city-visitor, not a city-dweller; missing my home state and the authentic Wisconsin environment; Minnesota not offering a Bachelor's program for education; and finding out the the 2nd biggest college campus in the nation was in fact, not what I prefer. Don't get me wrong, I'll never ever regret my decision to experience a Big 10 School my freshman year, and I'm relishing my last months here as much as I possibly can, (ie: whole-heartedly taking on the persona of, excuse my language, a "club whore.") All I know is that even though I realized this isn't where I'm supposed to be in the future, it's where I'm supposed to be now, because more than anything, I can feel myself maturing and growing as a person more than I ever could have imagined.

And really, what are the chances that someone picks the right college on the first try? There are 2,474 four-year higher-education institutions in the nation...I mean that's only a .04% chance!

The Annual Christmas Card

Once again it's time to create our annual family Christmas card.  As usual, I'm running late.  I procrastinate every year, because I always argue with myself on doing the card.  Should I just send a plain Christmas card and sign our names?  Well, what about the people who I don't see but I like to keep in touch with?  I should write a little update of what's been happening with our family.  If I do that, it'll take me forever to write in people's cards.  Maybe I should do a Christmas letter?  Well, if I do that, it always has a tendency to come across as "bragging" and the whole year sounds fake and fabulous.  But, then again, why would I write about the bad stuff that happens?  Everyone has bad times and nobody wants to hear about other peoples problems, they have problems of their own.  Everyone does.  So, the letter will just have the highlights of the year.  But, what about a picture?  Do we have a picture of all 5 of us? 

This train of thought made me consider not doing a Christmas card this year, but, then each time I get a card in the mail, I feel guilty.  So, two nights ago, I went on-line and finally made a Christmas card with a picture and a Christmas letter.  I ordered it, and it will arrive on December 20.  By the time people get it, people will be taking their cards down.

Oh well, better late than never. 

Maybe next year I should just resolve that I will do a card and start working on the card early in November.  Besides, I like having the cards.  They make good memories of us and they're fun to look back on.  Sometimes I am embarassed by what I put in the card, but, I still plug away at them each and every year.

Well, tomorrow I drive to Minneapolis to pick Kayla up for the winter break!  I am so excited!  We're going to a nice dinner, then to a play and I'll stay in the dorm with her for the night.  How cool is that!  On Friday we will stop and do some Christmas shopping on our way home.  It'll be the perfect start to the week before Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone!  (PS:  At least I don't make the family do crazy pictures like this...)