I'M STILL ALIVE!

This week almost took me out, but I made it through it. But that was only because I drank tons of coffee. This was by far the worst week of my life. I'm not even exaggerating. That being said, you may want to quit reading this.

Here are some wonderful things that happened:
1. I spilled a glass of chocolate milk into my purse while eating in Fountain.
2. My pants split in both legs.
3. I spilled coffee all over the counter in the C Store.
4. A bird may or may not have pooped in my hair.
5. I put my laptop charger in the washing machine.
6. Worker's union fanatics tried to make me sign petitions, and I had to listen to their crazy talk for two hours straight.
7. I forgot to go to my officer training for DDD.
7. I got about 4-5 hours of sleep per night.
8. I did poorly on two exams and probably my paper.

Okay, now: everyone take a second and feel sorry for me. Ready, GO!

Now, here are some things that happened that I was actually happy about:

1. I wrote four stories I was proud of and got some good feedback on.
2. I learned a lot about reporting breaking news for the web.
3. I got delicious Valentine's Day cupcakes.

1200 calories in 10 minutes

Yes, I did the Krispy Kreme Challenge this morning!

I'm glad to be able to say I did it, but to be honest, it was pretty painful! But, just like a hurricane or flood, it brought people together, so there was plenty of encouragement to go around. My dad ran with me, and we each ate six donuts. Repeat: SIX DONUTS. I mean, I know there are people that ate the whole dozen, but I have no idea how they did that! Six were plenty for me. I don't want to go anywhere near Krispy Kreme for a while.

So, now I've done the Polar Plunge and the Krispy Kreme Challenge. I'm sure there are plenty of other traditional activities I can participate in before I graduate, but I'm not sure either of them will be as painful as either of those -- or as memorable.

Also, I would like to note that doing laundry in Bragaw is like, a three hour process. It usually takes me two, but today, it's moving slowly. Ever since I saw that episode of Gilmore Girls where Rory thinks she meets her soul mate in the laundry room at Yale, I've been on the lookout. Seriously, when I go to the laundry room, I keep my eyes peeled. Because really, what could be more romantic than aluminum appliances, lint, and the smell of fabric softener?!

A tribute.

This post is in remembrance of Heath Ledger. I was so shocked and sad to find out he died today.

So here's to the man that wooed us all when he sung from the bleachers in 10 Things I Hate About You.

Here's to the best ever peasant-jouster.

Here's to the only man worthy of Jake Gyllenhaal.

We'll miss you.

Why you'd want to live here

If you have some time your hands -- like me -- I recommend taking the quiz at www.findyourspot.com. It asks a bunch of questions and determines U.S. cities that you are well-suited to live in. I've done it a few times, but when I did it today, I was really excited because most of the cities they listed are cities I really DO want to live in!! And I didn't even specify which regions of the country I would like to live in. It's fate.

Here's the list:

1. Palmer, Alaska (YES!)
2. Lewiston, Maine (It's fate. Really.)
3. Augusta, Maine
4. Ithaca, New York
5. Plymouth, New Hampshire
6. Duluth, Minnesota (I don't think I want to live there)
7. Bangor, Maine
8. Dillon, Montana
9. Anchorage, Alaska
10. Provo-Orem, Utah (Ehhh...)
11. Helena, Montana
12. Springville, Utah
13. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
14. Plattsburgh, New York
15. Hancock-Houghton, Michigan
16. St. Cloud, Michigan (I like the name of this one)
17. Portland, Maine (YAY)
18. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (Random)
19. Jamestown, New York
20. Nashua, New Hampshire
21. Manchester, New Hampshire
22. Missoula, Montana
23. Tacoma, Washington (My friend Pauline lives there!!)
24. Sheridan, Wyoming

I think I must have skipped one.. but I don't feel like finding which one it was.

A foggy morning run on a country road.

When I walked outside the cabin this morning, I could barely see ten feet in front of me. Kate, Dad and I went on a run down South Creek Road, which we have deemed the "England road," because of how much it looks like it belongs in the Yorkshire Dales.

It's a gravel road surrounded by fields, and it definitely has a certain mystique. The fog this morning added to that, and the run was an adventure in itself.

First, we saw the cows. They always stop and look at us when we run by. Next are the old barns. Around the curve in the road and up the hill a really pretty horse and will come to stare at us.

At the end of South Creek Road, we took a right onto a paved road that I can't remember the name of. It was there that we picked up our fourth running companion, a little dog that I named Tiger, Kate named Rufus, and Dad named Bobo (It liked "Tiger" the best.) I won't lie, I was afraid of it at first. While running in Golden Valley, there is a 97.55 chance you will get chased or barked at by dogs. I always think they are going to bite my heels, even though they never have. Anyways, Tiger starts running alongside us. After a while we told him (him?) to go home. But, he ended up running the next two miles with us! That's pretty far for such a small dog. I could tell he was getting tired toward the end -- he kept stopping to drink from puddles in the road. When we ran by his house again, his owner came outside and said he was about to go for a walk himself. He seemed surprised the dog had run that far with us, and he said he was about seven months old. He's kind of hard to see in the picture (to the right) but it's because he's so cute and lit-tle!

Hopefully tomorrow's run will be as exciting as today's.

In other news,

This Christmas break is flying/has flown by. Since we've been in Rutherford County, we've watched six movies (over two days). So far, we've watched White Christmas, Elf, The Holiday, Mrs. Miniver, Napoleon Dynamite and Stardust. I'm sure we'll watch at least three more before I go home on Monday.

Speaking of that, I'm really excited about driving home on Monday. It will be the longest drive I've ever done alone. I've made play lists enough for the entire trip. And I'm stopping to see (chipmunk) Helen! Driving is pretty much my favorite.

Lastly, I'm getting a new phone. It's green and it's a flipper and I'm really excited about it!!

See you all soon,
Love, love, love!

My top ten favorite things about Christmas:

1. Visiting people
2. Wrapping gifts
3. Giving gifts
4. Opening gifts
5. Christmas lights
6. Luminaries
7. Candles in church
8. Singing Christmas carols
9. "A Christmas Story" playing on repeat
10. The fact that I still have a hard time falling asleep because I get so excited

Ode to the bison, and to freedom.

I have freedom for three whole weeks! I am planning to maximize that time doing lots of interesting things. In fact, in the 11 hours since I finished my criminology exam, I have been doing just that! I sold my book for $43.50 (yess!) so I went straight to Crossroads to spend it. I bought some more Christmas gifts and craft supplies to make Christmas gifts. I watched Gilmore Girls (hooray!) then, I spent the evening eating bison meat (I swear I was never an adventurous eater before college) and hanging out with Helen and Alison. I followed Helen halfway home and we drove down this windy road with lots of stars and pretty pine trees and I felt like I was somewhere else; somewhere nicer.


I hope all of my days off are this exciting. Here are some things I am planning to do:

-More crafts!! I got SO close to finishing this pretty yellow scarf last year but got sick of knitting. I need to re-learn and finish that.

-Read lots of books -- that I haven't already read. Every time I go to the library, I see books like The Giver and The Chronicles of Narnia and remember how great they were back in elementary and middle school so I check them out again. I swear there is a magnet pulling me to the juvenile/young adult section. Someone needs to go with me and pull me away from there!

-Plan/go on an exciting road trip. This will be to Durham if no where else. Alison and I will go to visit chipmunk Helen when she gets her wisdom teeth out and we will turn it in to an adventure. If my car magically fills itself up with gas I will drive to the beach, but that isn't likely. Maybe I can make Julia go with me to the Haw River again. Forced trips are fun, too!

-Visit with people. So many times during the semester I see people and barely have time to say hello to them. The same goes with people that don't go to State. I want to hang out with you. For more than five minutes.

-Start running/exercising. I need to stop being a lazy ass. Really.

-Clean out my closet. Literally. I need to be realistic. If there are clothes in there that I haven't worn since high school, I'm probably not going ever wear them again. If you are high-school-Maggie-size, you can look through them and see if you want anything.

That's a pretty good list I think. More to come!