Sorry I've been bad about posting on time lately. I've been really busy/tired, so it's not exactly on the top of my priorities.

Friday:



I went to class. Only had one that day because of a Logic test Wednesday, meaning no discussion class Friday. It rained like crazy pretty much all day... ew. The drive home was worse than usual because of the rain and the old lady I got stuck behind who would not go over 43 mph with a speed limit of 55. I was going crazy!

When I got home, my grandmother and I went to Kiku, a Japanese hibachi grill that's really good. I think I ate every grain of rice in the restaurant. =]

Saturday:



Today, Nana took me shopping at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta to get stuff for my trip to Oxford. I actually had a lot of fun, which was surprising because, although I love my grandmothr, she has the unique ability to drive me up the wall. She refuses to believe that I don't like to shop in department stores, whether it's Macy's or Nieman Marcus, because there's just too much stuff. I can never find anything I like. The picture is a kiwi in blue decorative rocks in Nieman Marcus - that's their idea of elegant, which I found funny. I did find a new favorite store: Anthropologie. I also bought some things from J. Crew, Aldo, and American Eagle. I had quite a good time =]

Sunday:



Sunday, my parents and I went to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast with my grandparents on my mom's side. I really enjoyed it - in part because I not only got to eat a giant carrot raisin nut muffin, but because they give you 4 free muffins for those who've never been there. Well, I'd "never been there", so I get to eat muffins for breakfast!

I drove back to Athens in the afternoon, had dinner with my big sister, and did my German workbook.

That's the pair of shoes I bought from Aldo. I don't usually go for sandals, but these are uber comfortable and go well with jeans.

Monday:



Another normal class day that I didn't want to go to. I went to chapter, came back to my room, and did tomorrow's homework so I can go to trivia at Loco's tomorrow night! I've been munching on these Starburst jellybeans since yesterday. They're tons better than Jelly Belly and even Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. I highly recommend them!

Tonight, the Film Appreciation Society had a screening of Casablanca. I'd never seen it... and I have to say, I really liked it! I don't think I've ever actually watched a black and white movie before. Most of the older movies I watch are musicals and in color (think Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady). It's nice to know where all those famous tag lines came from (here's looking at you, kid, for instance), and where that scene at the beginning of some movies that is an anti-movie pirating campaign was taken from. And it was funny! Best of all, the only thing this cost me was a walk down the street - gotta love free entertainment!

Other than that... well, it monsooned today, and I didn't even realize it was raining, so I didn't have any rainboots. Even with an umbrella and raincoat, I was soaked to the knee just from walking from the bus to class. My German Culture class was cancelled though, apparently due to some kind of dental emergency on my professor's part, which just made me day. Then I took my Latin American history test, before which I finally broke down and asked my professor for help. It hurts me to do that, because I shouldn't need help, I should be fine on my own, but I'm glad I went. I guess high school really is different from college!

Yesterday was another normal day. I took a really easy Logic test, went to class, and all that kind of stuff. My big sister invited me, the roommate, and my "twin" over for dinner, so no dining hall!

Other than that, I spent most of my night reading and studying for a history test...ew.

However, sometimes I color, yes, like a 4 year old, to relieve stress.

Tuesday, I went to class, just like any other day. I had my orientation meeting for Oxford that day, so my dad drove down to Athens to attend it with me. We got some good information, they gave me my syllabus (I'll have to write 2 fifteen page papers... yikes!), and all that jazz. As per tradition, Dad took me out for dinner - yay for free non-dining hall food!

I also got a nifty free T-Shirt!

I was going to go to Trivia Night at Loco's again, but I had too much homework =[

This is the bag that my sorority gave me after I had been offered an invitation to join. It's my picture of the day because today has been a sorority-centered day. Well, night, anyway.

We had elections for next year's officer positions tonight. The roommate and I wanted Pledge Educator and Assistant Pledge Educator, respectively, because we went through a rather bad pledge semester and want to change how things are done. Originally, we thought it wouldn't be possible because we haven't been sisters long enough, but, lo and behold, we discovered at chapter tonight that we were wrong! And so, we are the future Pledge Mommy and Pledge Mommy Jr. =] I got the Historian position as well, which I wanted (being a history major).

Other than that, I'm really sleepy and am probably going to bed soon. I get to sleep til 9 tomorrow!

This picture pretty accurately describes my day. Pedicures, shopping, and my passport!

Today was Parents' Day for my sorority. Mine did manage to come, even with my dad's surgery - he just took lots of pain pills and wore his sling. I had originally planned to walk them through North Campus, which is the most historical and interesting part of UGA, but Dad didn't feel up to it, so we just drove around it some, and I showed my mom my future apartment, which she hadn't seen yet. I was really glad they came. It's nice to have them see what I do and where I am every day, since they can't be here all the time.

After my parents left, Miranda and I went to get our toes done because, well, they needed it. Walking pretty much everywhere is not conducive to pretty feet, and after a while all that dry skin starts to crack and really hurt. Fortunately, a very nice Asian woman fixed that problem. Because it was, again, a warm, sunny day, we felt like being out and about, going over to Old Navy for some new flip flops and, unintentionally, a new skirt because it's comfy, and I convinced myself I needed it. We went in Barnes and Noble, too, since it's right next door, and I was out of reading material (which is unacceptable!).

Miranda also showed me the apartment she will hopefully be living in next year. It's literally just down the street and within walking distance of mine. I think it's meant to be - she didn't even know where I was living when she found it! Fate? I'm thinking yes.

When I got back to the dorm, I found that my passport had come in the mail. I'm that much closer to England! Then I did German homework and watched a cheesy horror movie before the roommate came back from her weekly Sunday meeting. She brought back a ginormous box of Goldfish, which we've been munching on ever since. Now I think I'll start my book =]

Saturday was another great day. After the traditional breakfast at Tori's, I spent a lot of the day cleaning - my room, the guest room, the bathroom, the dog - as a start in putting our house back together. We (FINALLY) got rid of our antique TV and brought down the one from our bonus room until we can convince Dad to get a flat screen or until August, when I'm taking it (since it's mine) for my apartment. While I cleaned and did laundry, Mom unpacked some boxes, tended to my dad, and got ready for my grandmother (on Dad's side) to visit.

At about 6, I headed back to Athens for the second date with the guy I went out with the day after Valentine's Day - it took forever, but I did finally get to see him again, so I was happy. We went to Loco's Grill and Pub and had what I think was a great time.

I came back and was pretty hyper, having consumed probably a gallon of sweet tea. The roommate and I drew Punnett Squares on our mirror to predict the traits of our future children and watched what I believe to be one of the best movies of all time, Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Large men and Dave Chappelle dancing and singing in green tights and feathered hats? Can you give me something better? I think not.

Warm weather makes me happy. So do skirts and tank tops. Friday had both! After class, the roommate and I decided to take advantage of the first day of spring to walk around downtown, something we've been wanting to do for some time now. We went in a few extremely-overpriced boutiques and came to the conclusion that our money was much better spent on something we both love - food! After trying in vain to find someplace new to eat, we went to the fallback restaurant, an Italian cafe called Amici's. Since we'd been there so many times, we both tried a new dish and had their desserts for the first time - peanut butter blast and creme brulee cheesecake (both of which were culinary heaven incarnate). Unfortunately, I left my sunglasses on the table... but I'm going to pick them up soon, so no harm done!

One of the stores we went in downtown was Junkman's Daughter's Brother, and I could probably spend hours there. They had delightful finds such as a randomly large shoe, Chewbacca's decapitated head, rabbit suits, Chinese hats, African drums, and lots more. I'll definitely be going back =]

After walking around, I drove home for the night. I was originally going to stay the whole weekend in Athens, but my dad had fairly extensive rotator cuff surgery, so I went home to see him and help my mom. He's an awful patient... stubborn as hell and grumpy. Recovery, apparently, takes roughly a month. My poor mother...

Introducing my new favorite lotion in the world: Jergens! I don't know how I hadn't tried this stuff previously, because I've definitely been missing out. Within one day, my hands and legs went from scaly-winter-dry to the exact opposite - I think they must've stolen its recipe from Hogwarts, cause there's no way normal people thought this stuff up. It's like crack for skin!

Another beautiful day today - 74 degrees and sunny, the perfect skirt and flip flop weather (even if the legs are a bit pale). I managed to hit the "disable" button instead of the "snooze" button on my alarm clock, so I slept through my first class. Since it was German, I didn't feel too awful about it. After classes were done, I had dinner with my future roommate, and we caught up on news and all that. Now I'm back in my room and have watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sister Act.

I also somehow got Ave Maria stuck in my head today, which I sang in chorus about 3 years ago. Singing it off and on all day made me nostalgic for chorus. I love to sing, and did so every day in class for 7 years, so it's a big change to just stop that. So, I started looking up songs we sang on YouTube. My high school chorus teacher was a big nerd and loved the game Civilization IV, so we performed a really cool African song called Baba Yetu that played in the game. I've listened to this song nonstop for roughly the past hour =]

Spring is here! Or at least it is in my mind, even though the first day of spring isn't technically until Friday. But I saw this flower outside of one of our dining commons, and it was just so pretty and bright that it convinced me Mother Nature brought the new season in a couple of days early.

Other than my flower-spotting, I had pretty awesome day. The Weather Channel did lie to me, so I was a little chilly in my yellow and pink skirt, but it warmed up quite nicely later on. After class, I went to dinner with my big sister, her new little sister (my "twin"), and the roommate at Five Star Day, a southern-cooking cafe type place downtown. I'd never been before but it was really good. I had a huge barbeque sandwich, macaroni and cheese, a sweet cornbread muffin, and red Kool-Aid (which is quite possibly the most exciting part of it all). Then we had a sister-pledge activity (to get to know the new girls in the sorority) with ice cream sundaes and the game Mafia, which is pretty fun if you've never played. At 8, we had "study hours", which are mandatory, but we all basically go in there and talk to each other. Not a whole lot of actual studying gets done =]

I just finished some very short German homework and have nothing else to do. I like it!

Well, I completely forgot to post yesterday...oops. So I'll do it today!

The weather was perfect yesterday. Sunny, around 70 degrees... and I had to be in class. Do you have any idea how tempting it is to just sleep all day in the sun instead of sitting in a cold classroom trying to not doze off?

Also, Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day! Hopefully nobody has the killer hangovers that half the student body here in Athens seem to have (I've seen a lot of indoor-sunglass wearers and large cups of coffee today). My idea of celebrating was to go to trivia night at Loco's Grill and Pub, instead of doing my homework like a good kid. We didn't win - not even close - but I got to eat some rather tasty de-chunked chunky cheese fries and hang out with friends, which is exactly what I needed after Monday. I did do my homework (Mom, I'm talking to you), I just did it later than I would have otherwise, which is why I forgot to post!

In regards to the cat wearing the wig, I read about it here and found it amusing =]

This is a worm. I hate worms. They're squishy, they're icky, they're gross. The rain brings them out like there's a half off sale on chocolate and it's national PMS day.

And so: Rain = Worms. Worms = Ew. Therefore, Rain = Ew.
I know my transitive property!

Other than having a shampoo bottle fall on my head this morning and stepping on worms all day, the first Monday of the long dry spell between Spring Break and summer wasn't too bad. I ate Chick-fil-a, spent way too much money at Walmart (but I finally bought Robin Hood: Men in Tights! A banner day. And some exciting new cereal bars!), and watched Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium with the roommate. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it for all ages. It's worth it.

"Your life is an occasion. Rise to it."
-Mr. Magorium
(My new favorite quote)

Also, a bonus picture for the day:



I walk past this every day when I go up the stupid hill between the street and my dorm. It's supposed to be a drainage pipe, but, as you can see, somebody thought it looked like a sea monster, or an earth monster in this case, and decorated it accordingly. I think it's cute!

Today... well, today went by really fast, then really slow. I woke up around 11, ate breakfast, and hung out with the dog. Then I started folding up my clothes, packing things up in my giant suitcase to take back to school, and hung out with the dog again. I helped my mom move some furniture around (because my father is incapable of/doesn't care about centering things), hung out with the dog, and packed some more. The urge for the "after-breakfast siesta", as Mom calls it, hit us both at the same time, so we took a nap. Then I hung out with the dog and finished packing. Sounds exciting, right? Well this was the part of the day that went by quickly.

The minute I sat behind the wheel to drive the hour back to Athens, time slowed down. I swear, it's like the batteries in the clock of the universe were dying and the earth stopped spinning as quickly. The orbit of the planets around the sun and the sun around the center of the galaxy slowed down. Get the picture? I really didn't want to come back.. I want it to be summer! It didn't help that it was German workbook time again. I just finished, and they suck just as much as I remember. Ugh. I did get this really cute personal pizza from a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut Express, along with this giant cup of pink lemonade. Non-caffeinated and still tasty!

Today I spent pretty the much the whole day at the Scottish Rite Children's Hospital in Atlanta. One of my best friends has a brother there because he's had a build up of excess spinal fluid, causing pressure on the brain accompanied by extreme pain and optical nerve damage behind one eye. He's going to go okay, fortunately, and they're letting him out in a day or two, but she asked me to go with her, so I did. It wasn't the most exciting day - filled mostly with several games of Battleship and a 27 games of Speed (the card game) on the Nintendo DS. Her dad drove us home, and we went over to one of my favorite Chinese places, Sun Garden, because we both really wanted some crab rangoon. Then I went back to my house, watched Transporter 3 with my dad, and went to sleep. Maybe not an eventful day, but I liked it all the same!

Today was my day to relax, and I rather enjoyed it. However, what I didn't mention previously, is that our house is still being remodeled - the new carpet is in, and looks great, but the tile in the kitchen and laundry room is in progress. What's that mean? Well, that means that our hot water heater, washing machine, and dryer are sitting in a hallway and are not hooked up. So, after a long day of flying yesterday and today, we have no hot water to take a shower with. I don't get to take full advantage of my spiffy redone bathroom up there. Really not cool. I love showers. God bless the man who thought of spitting hot water out of a faucet over our heads - and I really wanted to take one.

Fortunately, I have friends with apartments who love me, so I bummed shower from one today and yesterday. Tomorrow we're supposed to get it hooked back up, and I can't wait. Not the washing machine though, so it'll be off to a laundromat to wash all the dirties before I head back to school - should give me plenty of time to catch up on my Sigmund Freud reading. Joy.

Well... I haven't posted in a week. I know, I know, it's supposed to be a daily blog, but I was on vacation! So instead of trying to catch up, I thought I'd just wait until I got back from Utah and write about the whole trip. So here we go:


Day 61: Utah Day 1



This was airport day, and oh what a fun day it was. I rolled out of bed at 3 AM, having fallen asleep (even though I went to bed at about 11) at 2. Mom and I loaded up our stuff into my car, and were out the door by 3:45. The airport is about an hour and a half away, so we have to leave 3 hours before the flight leaves to make it there on time. After a quick stop at the McDonald's to get a biscuit, I was on the way through Atlanta, my first time driving through.

Eleven hours, three airports (connecting flight in Chicago, whose airport is pictured), and two airplanes later, we were in Salt Lake. My uncle picked us up and we went to Mimi's Cafe for dinner. I watched a movie on his 46" flat screen TV, rented skis for the next day, and went to bed.


Day 62: Utah Day 2





Today was Stephanie gets to ski day! After eating breakfast, we bundled up and headed up to the slopes. This is my cousin Heather, me, and my Aunt Lori, who were my ski buddies for the day. My mom doesn't ski - she falls too much - so she walked around and took pictures while we went down the slopes. We used the bunny slopes, to get the hang of it all again, and took advantage of the "free ski" from 3 to 4:30, so it didn't cost us much. I didn't fall once! If you're ever in Salt Lake and want a good place to go skiing, Alta is great. They don't allow snowboarders, who tend to be rude and run into you, so it's a lot nicer. And so pretty! There was so much snow... a base of 112" with 10" of fresh powder. You could barely see the tops of some of the trees going up the lift!


Day 63: Utah Day 3



We had a lazy day today. We went to breakfast at a place called Britton's. It was good, but couldn't live up to our breakfast place back home. Then we went to this store called Cabela's, which is like Bass Pro on some kind of crack/steroids cocktail. They didn't just have a measly fish tank - they had an aquarium! As well as a mountain in the middle and two rooms devoted to stuffed wildlife (pictured above). It had a general store (with some really tasty sour gummy warms), a restaurant... it was awesome! I didn't think I would like it, but I was proven wrong.

Then Mom and I went to the grocery store because she wanted to make her brother some Southern food (my aunt is from California and doesn't know how to cook it). We had fried chicken, cream cheese mashed potatoes, green beans, and apple pie. It was soooooo good. My mother can cook like nobody's business! Unfortunately, I didn't get that particular gene - my idea of cooking is cereal.


Day 64: Utah Day 4



This was Mom-Daughter day. We woke up to a fresh 8" of snow (we freaked, which my family thought was funny as they went about their daily business), and decided to go play in it. There's a park down the street, so we went sledding and made snow angels (mine is up there ^). Then we showered and went out. We got manicures (which is already chipping =[), shopped some (new shorts and a shirt from American Eagle), and saw Confessions of a Shopaholic (highly recommend it!).



For dinner, we went to this Mexican restuarant called The Mayan. I don't usually like Mexican, but my aunt said it was something we just had to experience, so I gave in and went. It looks just like a Mayan temple, which as pretty cool. When you walk in, there's this giant cliff (pictured left), which loin-clothed men do complicated dives and jumps off of into a pool of water while another one plays a drum, all while you eat - since they were quite nice looking, I rather enjoyed it =]. And I got fried ice cream!



Day 65: Utah Day 5



Because my cousins had to go to school and my aunt and uncle to work, we had another Mom-Daughter day. We drove up to Park City, a tradition, which is where they had the 2002 Winter Olympics. It's mostly a tourist town, but it's very scenic and up in the mountains. We bought t-shirts from the Park City Harley Davidson store as well as a new Pendleton blanket (very warm and comfy, but a bit pricey for a blanket). We also finally got to eat some ribs! At a place called Bandits - we had steak, ribs, and a baked potato. Yum! I saw the moose thing in the picture in one of the shops they had there, and thought it was funny. I almost bought one for my apartment, which is the Moose Club Condo Complex.

The only problem that day was the car we had to drive - my uncle's spare car, a beat up (and I mean beat up) old Honda Civic. It would only do 36 mph going up the mountain - the tractor trailers, who have to put the emergency lights on to show that they're going slow - were passing me!


Day 66: Utah Day 6



This was airport, round 2, with a connecting flight in Dallas (they had the coolest hand dryers! My mom thought they were too =]). We had an 8:20 flight, so we left at 6:30, much later than the first time around, which I liked. This time we had a connecting flight in Dallas, so it was another very long day in an airplane, filled with unruly, screaming kids and loud passengers who think they're God's gift to the world. We flew on planes, both coming and going, with THE smallest seats I've ever had to sit in.

The cherry on top of this fun-filled day was after we had already landed. After standing around and searching baggage claim for our giant blue suitcase, the airline paged us to tell us they had forgotten to put our luggage on the plane in Dallas. How does one forget to load a suitcase? It's not like they didn't know it was headed to Atlanta, not Dallas, it had a huge sticker saying so! And so we waited for it to come in on the next flight, almost an hour later. So after charging us $15 both ways, for a total of $30, to check a bag, they forgot to put it on the plane. They also wanted to charge $4 for a bag of peanuts. Ridiculous! My advice: stay away from American Airlines, unless you don't mind buying first class tickets and only take carry-on bags.


My god that took forever to write!

These are my really ugly walking-in-the-snow-til-I-get-to-the-ski-lodge-and-put-ski-boots-on shoes.



This is my garage.



See the white box with the red top? Well look under that. That's the box with my really ugly walking-in-the-snow-til-I-get-to-the-ski-lodge-and-put-ski-boots-on shoes in it.

It's finally Spring Break!!!! Unfortunately, I have to go to bed (and I'm not at all tired), because I have to get up at THREE AM. THREE. That's what time I usually go to bed! But we have to leave by 4 to get to the airport on time. So, off to take a shower, and then to Utah!

This is what a paper in progress looks like. Lots of notecards, open book, papers, half a bottle of Mr. Pibb, and, although you can't hear it, my Native American pan flute music (I know it's weird... but I can't listen to anything with words, or I won't focus, I'll sing). I also took out the Play-Doh for a bit to give me something to play with while I read through my textbook, but I put it up about an hour ago.

I've been stressing about this paper for most of the week. It doesn't help that I got my Mexican sports and modernity paper back today, and it was an 87, which I don't consider a success. I just don't get B's on papers. Tests, sure, but writing has always been my strong point... although apparently, it wasn't the writing itself but the argument I gave, which says to me that I can spin a good story but can't think worth a crap. Obviously, this doesn't put me in a good to write yet another paper. I did get an email today, however, saying that the deadline has been extended from tomorrow at the beginning of class until Monday at noon by email. My professor is amazing! Sure, it means I'll have to spend part of my spring break working, but that's alright, because it means I don't have to come up with 6 pages worth of material by tomorrow morning. If I could've done the Highland fling, I would have =]

There's only one class left between me and Spring Break. It doesn't even matter that I have to write while I'm in Utah - that's only at night, when we wouldn't be doing much anyway, and I won't have to do homework or read or actually go to class and I'll be able to sleep... oh I just can't wait. Unfortunately, I have to pack my stuff here, drive home, unpack when I get there, do laundry, repack, and write some more tomorrow.

But... in 26 hours and 28 minutes, I will be leaving for the airport. I can't wait!

I just spent the past 5 hours of my life making notecards for a paper on church-state conflict in 19th century Italy, and I don't think I've ever been so stressed in my life. If I can just make it through the next three days I'll be fine...

Two days til Spring Break!

This is the best French toast ever made. There's a little place where my parents and I got to breakfast every Saturday, but we decided to break with tradition and go on a Monday in honor of mine and my mom's snow days (she works for Gainesville State College, and therefore also had the day off) as well as my father's birthday. We go there often enough that the waitresses and the owners know us - not by name, but by what kind of tea we order, and for me, what food I order. My mom gets unsweet tea with no lemon, I get sweet tea with no lemon, and my dad gets sweet tea with lemon. We have to be difficult =] As for food, I get French toast (heavy on the powdered sugar) with bacon and the best grits ever made.

I highly enjoyed my snow day today, especially because the kids in my county had to go to school today while I got to sleep in! After breakfast, my mom and I went shopping for our trip (only 4 days away!!!!) - we spent my dad's coupon (for some reason he got a coupon to Belk's... don't know why) that was sent to him for his birthday with his money... on stuff for us =] Then later tonight, we took my dad out for Mexican, since that's one of his favorite kinds of food. I personally can't stand it (I don't like beans, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, or anything spicy: I eat a cheese quesadilla), but I knew that he'd be getting free fried ice cream, which he would be sharing whether he liked it or not!

The drive back to Athens was one of the worst in my life. It wasn't really bad, but during the second half of the trip the road was really wet, so it all looked like black ice. I went 4o - 45 mph on a road where the speed limit is 55, and I usually go 60. The worst part was parking, though. The only parking spots available were those that were the ones with trees in them or completely snow covered. I went with snow covered, but the only thing I have to combat snow is front-wheel drive - no tire chains or anything. I ended up skidding a lot and almost ramming into a rather nice Escalade, but I put the E-brake on in time to stop it. Then I couldn't back up because my tires were spinning, so I had to get about three guys to help push my car back, and I when I tried another parking spot, I almost hit a friend's car, a BMW. Finally, though, I did get up to my dorm safely.

I really hate snow.

Sunday was quite the hectic day. If you watched the Weather Channel, you might know that it snowed in the Georgia. Now, for those of you who live up north, this is no big deal - it happens all winter, so what's the big deal? In the south, though, it's another story entirely. We see snow maybe once a year, and it's usually an inch or two, maybe less, but dear God, it's a crisis. We're just not equipped to handle it! School gets cancelled, people race to the store to get the essentials, and everybody and their brother bundles up to go outside and build a one foot high snowman or slide down the slush/mud mixture. This time, though, we got more than two inches - a whole eight inches in Athens!

I, however, was not in Athens, since it was my dad's birthday weekend. I got up and hung around the house a bit, with the intentions of driving back around 3 so that I could beat the weather. It started flurrying around 2:30 though, but it wasn't too bad, so I packed my car and changed into my boots and warm clothes. As I was walking out the door, I got a frantic call from the roommate, who was still in Athens, saying that the roads were covered with snow and there was almost zero visibility. I decided to stay put for the night, since I rather like life. But about an hour later, the rain and snow stopped, and it looked like the sky was clearing up. Green light to make a run for it while I could. But the farther away from Gainesville I got, the worse the conditions were. After I almost skidded off the road near Talmo, less than halfway there, I decided I was insane for trying to drive (especially when I hadn't driven in snow before, at least not this heavy). Those pictures were taken while I was waiting to turn around. Not ideal for this Georgia girl.

After getting home, I found out UGA would be closed the next day - I got a snow day in college! I spent my night in front of a roaring fire with homemade chicken noodle soup and cornbread. I worked on my lovely German Culture homework and watched Lord of the Rings on TV with my dad, all the while hearing stories of power outages (meaning those in the high rise dorms had to climb the stairs to get to their rooms, which would've meant 7 stories for me), downed tree limbs (one of which fell on someone), and panic all around in Athens, which got pretty hammered with the white stuff for a place in Georgia.

I made a cake! Okay, it was still technically from a box, and I didn't make the frosting myself... but there were layers! And decorative icing! It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it's my first real cake, and I'm very proud of myself.



My dad's birthday is Monday, so we celebrated today with steak, cake, and prizes. Which means.... drum roll... we are now using our fully updated telephones! I feel like I have put one foot through the door of the 21st century. Telephones down, TV next. It's getting there, slowly. The picture flickers like crazy when you turn it on. I thought that maybe, just maybe, today might be the day it finally died, but no such luck. It was just taunting me, the evil bastard.




This is my ancient television... and yes, I'm watching the Britney Spears movie. Don't judge me. But do you see my problem? It's literally older than me!

Other than making my fantabulous cake, I moved lots and lots of boxes and furniture out into the garage today. Again.. we have so much crap! Our garage is over half full, so no parking inside, and it rained a lot today. To be funny, my dad brought a worm in and chased me with it. He's not a nice man.