Penultimate Day of Winter Break

Yeah, I know it's kind of obnoxious- but it's not very often I get to use that very fun word! Anyways, school starts on Wednesday, and I have been spending my morning trying to organize my unsightly room before the true craziness begins. Oh, and I also spent about three hours playing on my iphone. Yes, that's right- I said iphone! Now, this may seem a little extravagant for someone living frugally on a student's budget- but there are many practical applications that will help keep me organized for school. There is also a handy (and free!) app (oh, I'm up on all the lingo now) that I can use at my clinicals to look up medications and their side effects, interactions and dosages. Last semester I had to lug around a big hunk of a drug book and it was a pain!

I'm going to go figure out how to start blogging from my iphone- and therefore many more posts to come! Hopefully I will also include a lot more pictures in my blog since I will always have my camera on me (i heart my new phone/ipod/camera/pda!) OK, I will stop gushing now I promise.

Cookie = Love

I pulled this out of my little 100 calorie snack pack and wanted to share my heart with the world! (or at least the people who read my blog) Random, I know- but i thought it was neat. So now that it has been photographed I can eat it now! Thanks!

"I'll ride past your house... on my bike."

(10 bucks if you know what movie that's from)

So 2009 is shaping up after all. (even if i still have no money) I have been doing many good productive things to fill my time. Today my friend Natasha and I decided to do a little test ride down to school. She met me at my apartment and we rode down North Loop to Duval, and then took that all the way down to campus. It was a really pleasant ride, and it only took about 25 min to get there! (which, btw, is about twenty minutes less than my bus ride) So we plan on riding to school both Wednesday and Thursday, and probably riding to our Clinical site together on Tuesdays! I'm really excited to have a riding partner- someone who will really help motivate me to not be lazy. Natasha and I are both trying to restore balance to our lives- and trying to keep that going into the semester. I'm really excited that our schedules line up so we can do this together!

Today we rode past school, and on down to Austin Java on 2nd St for lunch. We met up with her old neighbor who is in the Austin Ballet Company (which is right around the corner from there). It was a great, nutritious lunch and the ride back was really nice. It seemed to warm up a little bit, or at least the wind settled down so we didn't notice it as much. We definitely got some stares as we walked into the restaurant with helmets on and me in my full cycling get-up. But I didn't mind- they were just jealous that they didn't work out before eating a decadent meal!

Happy 2009!

So, nine is my favorite number so i predict that this will be one of my favorite years. However, the financial aid office is sort of raining on my glorious-year parade. I don't know why it has to be so difficult but once again I am spending my only long break from school completely broke. Adam and I were going to take a road trip or a train trip out to west Texas but unfortunately that had to be put on hold. We were going to hit up Alpine, Tx where one of my friends from high school renovated an old storefront and opened a store with her husband. From all the pictures I've seen, it's absolutely fantastic! They have artwork (she's a famous painter- well, I think she's famous) and bike rentals and raspas (snowcone-like)! It's called Murphy Street Raspa Co. and it's gonna be the next big thing- just you wait. Check it out at www.raspaland.com.

Anyways, I'm sad that I am not going to be able to properly utilize this break from school to get away, but really I need to spend some time getting my apartment more organized before the semester starts up again. Also, having no spending money will help me in my new year resolution to keep to a tight budget and try to minimize my possessions. I have entirely too much 'stuff' and the clutter needs to go. My mom used to say that my bedroom was a physical representation of my moods- and when it was really messy she started to worry. I am starting to see some truth in that- and certainly recognize that times when I have allowed myself to sink into a depression, everything around me sort of falls apart.

So I am taking action. I am setting my alarm every morning of my vacation and checking things off of my To Do list. Some days are more productive than others, but at least I am not sleeping my vacation away! (nor am I just vegging out on the couch) Tomorrow I am going to Yoga Yoga with my friend Natasha. She has been working there doing light cleaning so she can get free classes. She said if I like it tomorrow, I could possibly do a work-trade deal with them, too. Alrighty, well I am neglecting my delicious Hobbineezer Holiday Ale, so I am signing off. Happy New Year to all!!

"Thank God I'm a Humanist" - Rev. Sev

Today we went all the way across Cleveland to the West Shore Unitarian Church (my dad is the minister at East Shore UU Church) where my dad was the guest minister. The church is significantly larger than my dad's church and was just remodeled a couple of years ago. It is a beautiful church with lots of cool activities going on and a cute little kid's table by all the adult tables for coffee hour. They also had real mugs for the coffee after church, and for some reason my sister and I were very excited by that. My dad's sermon was one that I hadn't heard before (after seventeen years as a preacher's kid, you often get some repeats). It was entitled, "Thank God I'm a Humanist". It was a really good service, and i really enjoyed it- even makes me excited for getting back to Austin and getting involved in the UU Church there. I liked that the sermon helped to define humanism and relate that most people are humanists along with being theistic, and it doesn't have to be mutually exclusive like so many think. Anyways, it was nice to hear my dad preach again, and I was pleasantly surprised that he didn't use his exaggerated preacher voice that he sometimes uses. It was just his regular voice- i really prefer that one, it makes the sermon more personal and accessible (in my opinion). Anyways, it was a really nice Sunday morning. To top it all off, Elizabeth got us all tickets to go see the Cleveland Cavaliers stomp the Miami Heat tonight. Watching the two leading scorers in the NBA go head to head should be a lot of fun!

Okay, so this is REAL snow!!

I've been up in Ohio for about five days, and the last two have been extra cold and snowy. My dad and I drove down to Akron last night at midnight to pick up Elizabeth and Bubba (their flight was only a little delayed coming from Denver, where a plane burst into flames the night before). It was really really cold, and we kind of thought we were just not used to the weather- but as it turns out it was seven below, and the coldest day on record since 1893!

Today, Elizabeth, Bubba and I went on a snowy adventure down to drug mart to pick up some miscellaneous items (like Champagne, fiber one strawberry pop tarts, and tissues). The store isn't very far away- only about a 15 minute walk. It was still really windy and snowy, but thankfully not seven below anymore. So here are some pictures of our walking in a winter wonderland!

SNOW!!!

okay, i know i should already be in bed- but it's snowing outside!!! and it was in the high sixties early today- texas is crazy! but this is i believe only the second time i've ever seen snow in texas! it was pretty neat- but adam apparently didn't want to wake up to go play, so i restrained myself from only staying out long enough to catch a snowflake on my tongue! happy texas!