Fire alarm

Yesterday was the first day of Spring Quarter '09. I started out the quarter by being 30 minutes late to my first class. Off to a great start, huh? You see, I'd forgotten that on the first day, we would be meeting an hour earlier than the scheduled time in order to get things squared away. So, I didn't leave work until 1:00 because I forgot about the whole 'you need to get there early' thing.

The day, overall, was pretty long. Work from 8-1 (will be 8-1:30 from now on for Mondays and Wednesdays), class from 1-3:20, an ACEI meeting (the first one that I've been able to make it to) from about 3:45-4:00, another class from 4:00-5:50 (is normally scheduled to go til 6:30, but the instructor usually lets out early).

About half-way through the second class, the fire alarm went off and we had to leave the building. We were outside for about 5-10 minutes, and then the alarm stopped and everyone headed back inside. While we were trying to resume class, the alarm went off a couple more times, but it only lasted for a couple of seconds each time. I'm not sure what was going on with that, but I've been at the university for nearly 4 years now and I've never, ever had the fire alarm go off. Weird.

So, I think this is going to be a LONG quarter. Not only am I a senior, but this is also my last quarter before graduation, so I know it's going to be difficult for me to care enough about things to get my assignments done. The only thing that's really motivating me is the fact that I don't want to screw up my GPA my last quarter in college. So, I guess I'll keep up on my work just for that.

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Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be observing in a 1st grade classroom right now, but I got to the school this morning and discovered that the teacher was going to be out and she would have a substitute in her room. So, I was lucky enough to catch her while she was in the building this morning (she must have been picking up something that she needed) and I asked her if she would prefer that I come back on Thursday instead. So, we decided that I would return on Thursday, providing that she is able to be back in the classroom by then.

So, I had an unexpected day off today. It has the potential to be a productive one, but that will depend on whether I actually get off of the computer and get around to doing something.

Newport Aquarium

Today, Brittany, Jake and I went to the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky. It was a really neat experience and we only got a little lost trying to find it. We spent about 2 hours walking through the aquarium, and I was taking lots of pictures. That is, until my camera crapped out about half-way through the tour. :(

Jake was nice and bought me a little cup of nectar so that I could feed the Lorikeets. They're super cute, brightly colored birds that roam around freely in the Aviary in the Aquarium. I had one climb from the branch that he/she was on, to the cup of nectar, and then onto my finger. It was so awesome! I wanted to take him/her home with me so bad! I wish my camera hadn't died! But, Jake and Britt both got a picture of it on their phones, so if Jake sends me a copy, at least I'll have that. I bought a stuffed animal otter and a Newport Aquarium tee at the gift shop. :)

After we left the Aquarium, we stopped in at the Barnes & Noble that was right by the aquarium entrance/exit. I found a really cool art book that is all photos of babies and pregnant women and things like that. I'm going to send it to my pregnant friend in Florida as part of her Easter present.

Before we left the Newport area, we stopped in the Cold Stone Creamery to get some ice cream. I tried the 'Cheesecake Fantasy,' which was pretty good, but the frozen blueberries and strawberries hurt my teeth. It was worth it, though.

We headed out to the hotel around 4:00 pm and only got a little lost when we turned the wrong way coming out of the aquarium valet lot. We checked into the hotel (Holiday Inn Express) and chilled in the room for a bit. I was so excited because the room was amazing and had lots of cool features (a flat-screen TV, a microwave, a mini-fridge, a desk, 2 queen-size beds, and a really nice bathroom). I am so excited about spending a night away from home with friends and absolutely no family members around!

Britt and I went swimming in the hotel's indoor pool for a little bit, but then a bunch of people showed up there (and since the pool is kind-of small) and we decided to go back to the room. We were going to eat at Joe's Crab Shack (since Britt and I are Catholic and it's Friday, so we aren't supposed to have meat), but Jake and I thought it would be better to order pizza to be delivered to the room and to just stay in. So, we ordered the pizza and played a couple of games of "Clue" (the newer version).

Tomorrow, we're going to head out to the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal sometime in the afternoon, after having lunch at the Brio (a Tuscan bistro-type place). After the museum, we'll be heading home, but hopefully not before making a stop at Chipotle (which I've never actually been to)! :D

Hope to have some pictures of everything!

Suckage

So far, my Spring Break has consisted of dinner and a movie (last Friday), many trips to Max's for ice cream, and work. Oh yeah, and I read a book (The Tale of Despereaux). Sounds pretty lame, huh? This is what happens when someone tries to have big Spring Break plans but they fall through because friends can't get time off from work or they don't have enough money to take a vacation. :(

Oh well...I guess it just wasn't meant to be. But I was hoping that it would actually happen for once, and then *fail.* So, I'm sitting here at the computer, enjoying my Fruit Loops, and wishing that I was somewhere warm.

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In other news:
I bought some more yarn for working on blankets for people.
My best friend in Florida informed me several weeks ago that she is pregnant, so I figured I had better get started on her blanket soon.
So, she decided that she wanted some pale yellow yarn, and I found some really soft yarn at Joann's a couple of weekends ago.
It's really nice.
And then I also bought two big skeins of yarn that has various shades of blue and some white for making a lap throw for Brittany (since I don't think she'll ever have babies - unless they are of the furry variety)
Currently, I am working on crocheting a blanket for our church's 4th of July festival.
I'm getting anxious to move on to something new already.
Since I'll have a full day off on Thursday, unless someone wants to make plans (*cough, cough* Jess), I will probably start on a new blanket.

P.S. I don't know why I decided to write this second part in this format, but there it is.

Spring Break excursion

For Spring Break this year, since I wasn't able to head down to Myrtle Beach (like I had originally planned), I decided that a trip down to the Newport Aquarium and the Cincinnati Museum would be a fun 2-day trip. Unfortunately, Jake has to work until Thursday this week, so we won't be able to head down there until Friday/Saturday, but it should be lots of fun. We're planning on booking a hotel room in a hotel that has an indoor pool so that Brittany and I can go swimming. :)

I know that it probably sounds pretty lame to some/most of you, but I hope that it turns out to be a fun experience. I've never been to an aquarium, or a museum, so this will be a new experience for me, and I'm excited! I've also never stayed overnight in a hotel with anyone that wasn't family before, so that will be new and exciting, too. I can't wait!!

Goals: Accomplished or Not

A review of my Goals for Winter quarter:

* Exercise more often (because of potential wedding(s) this summer)
* Argue less (mostly with Jake, but in general)
* Drink less soda (hoping to average about 2 cans/1 bottle a day)
* Keep up with my reading for my classes
* Put my resume together/make an appointment with the Career Services Coordinator

Well, the first two goals didn't happen at all. I did really well with the third goal. In fact, since I gave up soda for Lent, I've done extremely well with that. On the fourth, I did okay, but not amazingly well. For the fifth, I did not succeed in getting my resume put together, but I did meet with the Career Services Coordinator and talked to her about some of my options.

Overall, I think I sucked at completing my goals for this past quarter. So, I guess I'll just have to try again next quarter. So, here is a list of my new goals.

Spring goals:

* Exercise more often
* Argue less (mostly with Jake, but in general)
* Continue drinking less soda
* Keep up with my reading
* Put my resume together
* Hang up the rest of my clothes
* Clean off my desk

Let's hope that I have more luck with these goals.

Puppies!

Yesterday, after finishing my finals, Jake came over and we decided to head to Max's for some ice cream. Apparently 1/2 the town had the same idea, but anyways. When I walked by my mom, she called me back to where she was sitting at the table with her laptop. She wanted to show me the picture of 'Max,' a Rottwieler puppy that she is considering buying for my dad for his birthday in May. Of course, she will be buying the puppy before May so that we can get it to our house and let it adjust to everything before he gets too old. But, I really like Rotts, and I believe that they are my dad's favorite breed, so I'm super excited that we might be getting one! They're pretty expensive, but we really need to get one soon so that my dad is able to enjoy spending time with him now because he may not have a 'later.' I really don't want to think about it that way, but it's true. So, my mom is looking at puppies now and hopefully we can find one that isn't too expensive and that won't cost us an arm and a leg to ship from where ever it is coming from!

Cuteness

I was poking around on Amazon.com and found several cute baby books that I would like to get for my friend down in Florida. One of them is a baby version of Dr. Seuss's "Oh the Places You Will Go." It sounds super cute. One, which I read at Walden's at the mall, is called "You Are My I Love You." It's really cute, too. There was also one that I saw that was titled something about it being boring inside the mommy's tummy. It looked pretty cute, but since I wasn't able to "look inside" and read some of the text, I'm hesitant to buy it.

Speaking of babies, I have a baby shower the first weekend of April. My mom's friend's daughter is pregnant. It seems like everyone is pregnant right now! Every time I turn around, someone's telling me that they're pregnant. It must be in the water or something?

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Waking up at 6:50 am is not cute, at all. Having to be at work by 8:00 am is even less cute. I don't feel like anyone should have to wake up before 8:00 unless they feel like it. Having to go somewhere that early in the morning really stinks!

It's really hard for me to focus right now. I really need to work on going to bed before 12:00 when I have to be up before 7:00! It didn't work out last night, but I'm hoping that I'll be tired enough tonight that I can get to bed by 11:00, at the latest.

Hidden costs

I ordered a dress off of Ebay because my brother's girlfriend needed some costumes for the play that she will be in in May, and when I took the amount that I was charged and subtracted the amount of the dress, I found that I was charged an extra dollar for shipping & handling. It's not really losing the dollar that bothers me, but it's the fact that I was actually charged a different price from what I agreed to. It really pisses me off because it feels like they're trying to take advantage of me or something. I hate that!

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In other news:

It looks really nice outside today. I can't wait to get out there and get some ice cream from Max's! I think that should make my day better. I really should be studying for finals, but it's too nice outside to worry about that stuff. ;p

The end is near!

Tonight I finished up with another class, and because I finished my Monday class up this week, that takes me down from 4 classes to 2. The 2 that are left should have relatively easy finals...I just have to make sure that I prepare myself for the one. The first one of the day isn't going to be hard at all; knowing that, I can concentrate on studying/preparing for the second 1 and I should be fine.

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I'm still trying to come up with something fun and exciting to do over Spring Break that isn't going to cost a fortune. I think I have some possibilities, but I have to see how Jake feels about them before I get my hopes up about them. I really don't want to waste yet another Spring Break!

Change of plans

Well, my friend changed her mind and she's not going to have the wedding until next Spring, after she has her baby. I was looking forward to seeing her beach wedding this summer because I thought it would be really nice, but hopefully they'll have nice weather down there next Spring and she can still have her outside wedding. :)

Maid of Honor

I'm going to be the Maid of Honor for my best friend this summer. She's having her ceremony on a beach in Florida and I'm super excited about being there! She wants me to wear a yellow dress, and I'm not crazy about yellow, but I told her I'd wear it for her.



This is the dress that we both fell in love with, and I have to say that I don't hate this color yellow, so it should be fine. I'm so excited about it and the wedding and I'm just so looking forward to the chance to see her again! I just hope that the dress doesn't cost more than $200 so that I have some money left over to buy a plane ticket with!