Do you remember Gak? That smelly, gooey, not-quite-as-fun-as-Play-doh Nickelodeon concoction? Well these, my friends, are the Gak Trees:



Now, you may recognize these under their more commonly known name of "dogwood". However, as I have seen no resemblance to either dogs or wood (except for that whole being a tree thing), I have taken to calling them Gak Trees. Why? Because they smell exactly like Gak!

For weeks I've been walking around wondering why on Earth I kept smelling the stuff. It's not like anyone plays with it anymore. It's not even manufactured anymore, so far as I know, which means any supply would have to be at least 10 years old. Ten year old Gak would be dried out, right? And therefore not emitting any smell.

Finally, I discovered the culprit. They were above my head! I think dogwoods are very pretty trees, but good LORD do they smell bad. I will be quite happy when they are no longer blooming.

This is Frank. Frank is one of the most epically cute cats on the planet. He also has a small fascination with bathrooms--here, he is in my shower, and he once fell in my toilet.

I'm going to miss Frank. You know why?... I signed a lease at my dream apartment! A friend from Oxford knew a girl who was in a similar roommate situation as me, so we decided to live together. It's always iffy, living with strangers, but she seems cool. I'm not looking for a best friend, just someone who is easy to get along with and who isn't insane.

We signed at the place with the huge walk-in closets and private studies that were remodeled a year or two ago. Can we say fabulous? (Pardon my Sex and the City moment, this place just excites me!) Furthermore, I get to decorate according a little more to my taste, which is another big plus.

In other news...



I'm going to Six Flags on Saturday. Now, I feel like Six Flags is a universally-known theme park. If you've never heard of it, it's amazing and I recommend that you go. My favorite part is, of course, going on the roller coasters. I used to be terrified of them until one of my friends convinced me to go on Batman (which is still my all-time favorite). Now I like all of them! Well, except the Ninja, but that's only because it actually hurts to ride it. I'm also a big fan of the giant swings because I like to feel the air between my toes =]

The Boy and I are thinking of buying season passes for the summer. It costs $45 to go for one day, and right now, the passes are only $49.99. So really, if we go twice (which we plan to do), then the passes pay for themselves. I could also then finally pay back my good friend and former roommate, who let me use quite a few of her "take a friend for free" tickets that come with the passes.

That's an update on my life for now. What's new with you? It has been gorgeous for the past few days in Georgia--I laid out by the pool yesterday! Have you been enjoying the spring weather?

SNOW TUBING. Snow tubing, if you've never done it, is quite possibly the best thing ever. Unlike skiing, it requires pretty much no physical exertion whatsoever. You hook your tube to a rope, and it pulls you up the hill. Then, all you do is go down the hill! And it's FAST.

My uncle took me, my mom, and my two cousins to do this today. I even managed to wipe out and roll down the hill some, but it didn't hurt! Because it's snow. Seriously, if you are anywhere near an area that offers this, do it. I just found out that there's a place called Scaly Mountain, NC, which is only two hours away from home/Athens, that is all about snow tubing. And, weather permitting, I will definitely be going as soon as I can!

Today I went skiing! I'm in Utah visiting my aunt, uncle, and two cousins for Spring Break with my mom. The slopes are only thirty minutes from their house, so, of course, we headed up there today. And man, am I tired. We skiied for five hours--about four hours longer than any physical activity I've done in the past year, since the last time I went skiing. I only fell twice, and both times was more sitting down than actual falling. I took this picture on the ski lift at Brighton Ski Resort on the Majestic lift up to the green runs, which are the easiest ones.

Tomorrow we'll be snow tubing, which I've never done before. I'm not entirely sure what it entails, other than just what it sounds like--tubing in the snow.

On another note, while I'm having fun here, I miss home too. I miss my dog. I miss my dad. I miss my Boy. You don't realize how big a part of your life someone is until they're not there for a few days. Something is always missing.

Oh! I forgot. This:



is Kelly. She might look cute, but oh, how appearances are deceiving. Have you ever seen Marley and Me? This is Marley's long lost twin sister, Clearance Puppy Number Two.

SO! I'm finally getting around to my Valentine's Day post. I know, I know, this is rather belated, but I said I would get around to it, and I did. So, here we go.

The weekend started off with snow! Now, for anyone not from the South, this might not seem overly exciting. But for us? Two or three inches (about five or six, in this case) and we cancel school. The state shuts down. Why? Because we're all out playing in it!



The Boy and I played in the snow at my house. We made snow angels and threw snowballs at each other, but we failed completely at making a snowman (some Canadian he turned out to be.... kidding =]) The snow wouldn't pack well enough, but I had fun anyway.



Saturday, he took me to The Cheesecake Factory! Which is possibly the most awesome place ever. The food is fantastic, in my opinion. I had the best chicken parmesan I've ever put in my mouth. Carrot cake cheesecake. They had one called Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake, but I couldn't talk them into giving it to me for free, even though it has my name in it. We got all dressed up--most cheesecake factories aren't dressy, but this one was in Buckhead, an upscale area of Atlanta. He also got me the super cute teddy bear from above, who I named Russell (which may or may not have to do with the Russell Stover chocolates that came with the bear...).

Sunday, which was actual Valentine's Day, we went to Medieval Times! Medieval Times is a dinner show that's in a big castle. You get to watch jousting, sword fighting, etc in a big arena while cheering for your knight, all while being served some really good food. You have to eat with your hands--they didn't really have utensils in the actual medieval times. I LOVE Medieval Times. It's like the Renaissance Festival, but I don't have to walk around, and they bring food to me.



You also get to wear a really awesome crown with the color of your knight. We took advantage of the Valentine's special--two flags (also yellow), two drinks in goblets (that you get to keep), a light-up rose, and light-up wand, a scroll, and admission to the Dungeon, a torture device museum.

For my Valentine's present, I made a two-layer (white and chocolate) cake with strawberry icing and red sprinkles, as well as a framed picture of the two of us from our first hockey game.



All in all, I had an amazing weekend. I'd never had a real Valentine's Day (I always managed to time things so that I was single... go me), and it was nice to feel wanted instead of celebrating Singles' Awareness Day. Basically, the Boy is awesome. I know this was a while ago, but it makes me smile just to remember it =]