And.... exhale...

Wow. Finals week is done. I did not think I would make it through. Travis helped me not stress too much but its been rough. Test after test after presentation after paper after grade..... it's never ending. It is enough to drive a person insane- case in point -> me. This school gives you a great education. You are not just a number, your knowledge is not reduced to merely the bubbles you scribble in on a scantron- the teachers truly care. They expect you to come out of their class fully versed in whatever subject it may have been they were teaching. Wonderful, great in the long run, overwhelming for testing purposes. Each professor expects multiple essays for their final. Needless to say, after this last exam this morning my hand could fall off. Through all of this I still have had to go to work, which I do enjoy but is a daily toll on my nerves. I love kids but sometimes- well lets just say I'm going to discipline the heck out of my own kids. No need for parenting class I already know what NOT to do. A couple of these kids could use a good swift kick in the behind- butI will not be the one to issue it to them for obvious reasons. Too, on top of everything are my duties as an RA. Everyone seems to think that it is my personality to be nitpicky- which it might be and very well could be a reason why I got the job- but alas, it is my responsiblilty to maintain the safety and clenliness of this house and ensure all rules are followed. Lets just say, I love my housemates (my friends), but they do not seem to take me seriously. I'll crack down next semester- I have no choice. Nyman beware. Christmas shopping has been going pretty well. Of course there is still more I need to buy and am constantly thinking of people to give gifts to. Usually I'm pretty cheap but this year I've gotten into the spirit of giving. I have a trickle of an income so I think its ok. Devestating news- Travis does not think he will be coming back to SVU in the Spring- actually its pretty much for sure. This place is not the same with out him. He is my very best friend- has been for a long time. We have made SVU our home. It is our little fun place and we have grown to love it. It won't mean anywhere close to as much if he isn't here. Therefore, I am dreading coming back in January- even considering running away to Aruba to avoid the deadness of this place without my best friend. Dad already paid tuition so we'll see how that goes. It looks like there is supposed to be a snowstorm tonight through tomorrow evening. Oh and when do I plan on leaving?- Tomorrow afternoon. This should be fun.

Early Christmas

Last night was the annual Buena Vista Christmas parade. There were lots of floats in it and tons of people from the town lined the streets to watch and cheer. It's not something that you'd see every day in Fairfax, thats for sure. I was in the parade with the YMCA float. The kids had a great time shouting "Merry Christmas" and waving from the float they were seated on. I handed out candy-canes to kids who were watching. I was pretty much famous :) SInce our float was near the front we got to get off and watch the rest of the parade. Churches, businesses, antique cars, organizations, and mostly fire and rescue squads from all over sent their vehicles. It really was lots of fun. I got made fun of by my co-workers because I was standing there watching intensly. Tomorrow we have another one- in Lexington. That one should be just as fun, if not more. In the morning I will be volunteering at a Christmas Party by Project Horizon for children. Santa will be there and we'll paint faces, decorate cookies, things like that. I guess thats it, Chiristmas season is offically here! PS- Totally got a 21 out of 20 on my oral Spanish presentation today. I'm pretty darn proud of myself next time. PSS- Sorry no pictures, still no camera. PSSS- THERE IS A MOUSE IN OUR HOUSE!! I saw it in the kitchen a few nights ago. Alyssa spotted in in my room last night and later heard it scratching inside the walls. We have mouse killer set out but it has obviously not been successful. Possible story on this to follow. Have a good one.

Weekend!

So last night our excitement consisted of going to Wal-Mart, a charity concert put on by SVU's acapella group- The Fading Point, and watching Hunch Back of Notre Dame. I fell asleep about 10 minutes into it. Fading Point is so good- seriously. Their main beat boxer guy won 1st at some compitition they went to and the whole group got 6th. I think they are amazing- Javi would be awesome with them. If you have a facebook you can check them out at their page http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/thefadingpoint?ref=ts they only have one or two videos up but they're great. Tonight we're going to Roanoke to see New Moon. We're excited. Most importantly: Thanksgiving is just around the corner. SO EXCITED!! Totally woke up this morning thinking I was in my room at home and could walk downstairs to pancakes and the puppies, a brisk day- windows and doors of the house open, and the parents working in the yard- raking leaves. Oh memories. Lastly, next Saturday just might be the biggest football game in my fan-dom. Lake Braddock vs. Woodson for the regional title and extreme bragging rights in the Brionez vs. Mueller war. Its gonna be huge. Anyone who is anyone better be there!

Yes, Yes, Yes, I'm still alive

So- as you can see I got glasses. Let me back up. I am a member of the Buena Vista chapter of the Lion's Club. It is a global medical and humanitarian service organization. I joined to partially pad my resume honestly, partially because by friend Abby convinced me, and mostly because I wanted the experience. This weekend the group (there were just under 20 of us) traveled in 2 vans to Tennessee. If you think BV is bad this place is a huge culture shock. Doctors including dentists, optomotrists and general health care people came from all over the country from places like Ohio and New York. Lots of dental students too came to offer their help. I worked with one named Jeremy. (no mom I didn't get his number). I spent hours pretending I know what dentistry is all about and being totally clueless- especially concerning the different tools. I saw some pretty nasty mouths. Honestly I wanted to brush my teeth for like 6 hours after seeing these peoples' decayed, disgusting mouths. Saturday I worked in the optical area. I fitted people with sunglasses and even got my own eyes checked. I have 2 stigmatisims and apparently am more blind than I thought so I got a free pair of glasses for myself. I got to pick them out and everything. I like them- I look smart :) Oh ya- and I am totally going to be a nurse now!

Halloween- legit costumes!!

Halloween this year was ridiculous!! We had the greatest time dressing up- that was the best part of the night. After the football game (final score SVU 40 - Radford 20) we hopped into the car and went to Goodwill. Shhh... I'm not a huge fan of admitting that. Anyway it was fun trying on crazy things and deciding what we would be for the dance. Here's the lowdown on what we went as : Me and Travis ---> Rihanna and Chris Brown post- fight. If you're not up on that whole teen pop drama you better get in it. Alyssa ---> Facebook (very original!!) Becky---> a crack whore ('m sure her mother is proud) Brandon and Kenson ---> Drug dealers (mostly Becky's...) Colby---> a rooter Abby ---> Mormon mom (yep, old lady shoes, pregnant belly and all) Jeremy ---> Obama Becky got a sample of some really dark foundation in the mail which is what I used to try to make my face look Rihanna color. Not so successful but you get the gist. Travis and I decked ourselves out in lip-stick made "scratches" and I had a massive black eye. Yep, I had to dye my hair black and tease it insane to get it like that. It too a half an hour of painful combing and 3 shampooings to get it back to normal. I was so proud of Travis for playing along. Too bad the music at the dance was lame. Solution- we headed over to Lee Highs's (a random truck stop down the road) for a little midnight snack. It was one of the most fun Halloweens I've had!

Halloween with the kids

Uh yeah..... so if you follow my life at all you know I work for the YMCA at an elementary school in Lexington. We had a Halloween party for the kids on Friday and they were all coming dressed up- so I did too. Abby lent me the pants, mathathon shirt, and glasses that she had bought for geek party she went to. Getting ready was a lot of fun and I felt completely ridiculous but it was worth it. I could hardly see with those huge glasses on and the kids couldn't tell what I was. They thought I was a teacher or something. Geez- so much for that. I got a kick out of myself and so did my housemates. I had to make a treat to bring to our party. Remind me never to spend 15 bucks on fixings for those worms in dirt treats- you know, chocolate pudding, crushed oreos, and a gummy worm in a cup- that the little kids won't even eat all of. I prepared amounts large enough for people my size. Whoops- I guess I'm not used to making food for K-4th graders. So much went in the trash I wanted to cry. Its ok, lesson learned. This outfit was totally crazy. I went to pick up Abby from the soccer game and got some pretty questioning looks as I galavanted towered her. I miss Halloween!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY SOPHIE!!!

Thats right. Little Soph-a-dillie turned one on October 18th. We had her party at my family's house the day before- half way between her dad's parents and her own family's house. Our fam is a fam of intense amounts of food and as always this party had food. We had a good time together and Soph did great. She got lots of gifts, and had her own cake, just like her big brother Josh. Sophie was really sweet and even put up with wearing her Korean outfit (I'm not even gonna try and spell honbak in case im embarass myself) and playing the game where she chooses from among a bunch of items in front of her. In whatever order she picked them it meant she would have those qualities or talents- like she picked a spatula meaning she will be a good cook.

Soph LOVES watermelon. It is her favorite food apparently.

Haha she looks a little skeptical.

The girl sure likes to eat.

Before

After

She was whooped by the end of the party.