just might make me believe

Recently, a lot of my extended family in Sweden has connected to those of us in the US via facebook. The Internet is a genius way to connect people, and right now I'm thanking the stars for inventing it. 20 years ago, getting to know my family would have been a lot harder to do than it is today. I can email back and forth with my cousins in a matter of minutes, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I think it's pretty cool to have such a large extended family that has strong roots, and I hope that is a value I can pass onto my children someday. It's comforting to know where you come from, and to know that there are people across the globe that care about you.

I am currently trying to make sense of the Communist Manifesto for a paper I have to write. I basically know what it is all about, but I could not write an intelligent paper about it. I keep finding things to distract me because this is not an aspect of history that is interesting to me what-so-ever. Give me World War II or colonial America anyday.

I am almost done with my application for UNH. I have to write one more essay, which is half done, and then just wait for all of my transcripts/test scores to reach the admissions office. Waiting sucks. I just want to know. This whole becoming-a-real-adult thing is scary, especially with the economy and job market the way it is. Do I really want to take out a $24,000 loan for graduate school? Could I really get a job without a master's degree?

I've been lifting at the gym for about a month now, and I swear my energy has just about doubled, and surprisingly my endurance has too. I can feel my clothes getting looser, which is fabulous.

time flies when you're having fun

I have no time anymore! I wake up, go to work, come home, go to the gym, come home, do homework, go to bed, get up, go to the gym, go to school, come home, go to bed, get up...and on and on and on.

One good thing about having negative amounts of time is that the weeks fly by and before I know it, the weekend is back.

One bad thing about having negative amounts of time is that I haven't updated this more than once a week since school started again. Nor have I kept in touch with any of my friends.

The whole applying-to-grad-school thing takes up a lot of time, too. Hopefully once all my paperwork is sent in, I will have a little more time to do things that are not related to work or school.

Will you be my Valentine?

I am not a fan of Valentine's Day; I think that if you love someone you should show it everyday, not just on a random day that florists and chocolate-makers decided to claim as their biggest-profit-of-the-year-day. For this reason, John and I agreed to not get each other anything and to keep it a low key day (and besides, he does cute things all year long for me, it's not like I need a specific day for it).

I made him a card though, because I couldn't help myself. And he got me one too, with a whole bunch of memories we've made since last February 14th, which I thought was so incredibly cute and thoughtful...and at the bottom of the card, he wrote "the future" which obviously was the cutest of them all. Plus, he got my favorite chocolate and a long-stemmed chocolate rose. That boy is too good to me.

We took his two older nephews to a hockey game on Saturday night which was a lot of fun. I was surprised that the younger one was more into it than the older one; he actually paid attention throughout the entire game and didn't want to go home when it was over. Today we took Milo on a field trip to visit my grandparents, which they enjoyed immensely. He did okay, he was a little nervous at first but he warmed up and was checking everything out after a little while.

John and the boys at the game

Milo's big adventure

I love my Valentine : )

today was a balmy 50 degrees!

Milo being cute as ever.

What cool people play on Saturday nights.

He doesn't understand why he can't walk on the game board...and is very upset that we kept him off it.

Peanut butter cookies for the boy who melts my heart.

By the way, the credit card machine in the new Monopoly totally takes the fun out of it. You feel way richer with a stack of bills than with a measly plastic card. And I'm sorry, but how did Montreal beat out New York or Paris as the best spot on the board? Come on, Parker Brothers.

you are my sunshine

This week is killing me.

I really hope that whoever controls time makes tomorrow go by really fast, until 5pm - and then I hope it drags forever. I am in serious need of a weekend and a back rub from my favorite man in the world.

Some sangria couldn't hurt, either.

I miss my brother.

now that i've found you

• Admiring: My non-bitten nails! It's been a month and a week and so far, I've kept my new year's resolution. Go me : )


• Beating myself up about: I can't think of anything, which is shocking.


• Crying Over: I haven't cried in weeks. I don't even remember the last time I cried.


• Daydreaming About: Since John is planning on buying a house in the next year, I haven't stopped thinking about decorating it for him. Or being able to cook him food without worrying about anyone else needing the kitchen. Among other things : )


• Excited Because: Nickelback is in a month and two days!


• Frustrated because: Going to the gym doesn't visually pay off for weeks.


• Grumpy because: I have a huge blister on my heel that is really painful.


• Hate-filled and seething over: Immaturity...let's get over ourselves, already.


• Indignant because: I am too lazy to look up the meaning of this word even though I have a pretty good idea of what it means.


• Just shoot me now because: it is going to be freezing on campus tomorrow.


• Kidding myself regarding: Ummm...


• Listening to: My iTunes is on shuffle...currently playing Slide Acousic by the Goo Goo Dolls.


• Mooning over: I'm pretty sure nothing.


• Need: I need summer!


• Obsessing over: Nothing, really.


• Praying: For warmth and sunshine.


• Questioning: Why I stay up late, knowing I'm going to hate myself at 6:00am.


• Reading: This Way To The Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen...


• Singing: Nothing : (


• Trying: To go to bed earlier...and not succeeding.


• Unnerved by: The nerve people have.


• Valentiney Update: It is on a Saturday this year which makes me very excited.


• Wondering: Why God invented winter.


• X-Rated Action: X-Rated is not for my blog!


• Yawning over: Being tired?


• Zoinks: Doesn't Scooby Doo say that?

Clearly I am still lacking anything intelligent to post. I think I need inspiration.

i've had enough...

...of snow. To last me a lifetime, in fact. I swear we have had more snow this year than I've experienced in my lifetime. It has snowed about once a week (sometimes twice!) since December.

I am tired of constantly cleaning off my car. I am sick of it finally looking somewhat decent, only to have the newest snow storm cake ice and salt all over it again. I am tired of multiple pairs of snow boots clogging up the pantry because no one wants to take Cooper outside in regular shoes. I am tired of  snow blowers and ice on my sidewalk. I hate that the world always looks cold and miserable. I hate that the state doesn't have enough money to sand and salt the roads as much as is needed.  Spring could not come soon enough.

I forgot to pay attention to the ground hog yesterday, but I'm sure his outcome was the same as always. Six more weeks of winter - what else can you expect in snowy Connecticut?

Evening classes were cancelled tonight, so I left campus around 4:45, but didn't get home until almost 6:30. The drive usually takes me 15 minutes!

I really think the world should vote to outlaw winter, I'm sure most people would agree that it is for the best.

hi andy!

So, I got a web cam. I don't know what I'll do with it, other than send my brother videos while he is away at school.

For example, tonight my sister and I decided to record one with Cooper to post on  his Facebook wall. Only problem? We can't figure out how to post it to his wall.



At least I can figure out how to post it here, right?

Please take note of my sister's reaction to beer.

moolah :)

Despite doing almost nothing this weekend, it turned out to be a pretty good one.

I filed my taxes and will be getting $1700 back, which is good because I will be able to pay off my debt to John and still have $200 left over for myself. I found out I will be getting a $715 refund check from my school, which will be a nice chunk of money towards my car payment. And, my dad finally caved and opened a package that was delivered to our house a month ago that we didn't order...turns out, it had a nice set of headphones and a web cam in it, both of which are now part of my computer. I also managed to get a good amount of homework done Saturday morning before John woke up which means less to do tomorrow night.

John and I were so lazy all weekend; we slept til noon both days and didn't make it to the gym at all. We went to see Defiance last night though and it was by far one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. It's about three Jewish brothers during WWII who lead a group of over 1,000 through the Belorussian forests, on the run from the German army. It was definitely hard to watch at times because it was based on a true story, and obviously anything Holocaust-related is hard to stomach, but I find it all so fascinating. Makes you wonder how one man could convince hundreds of thousands of people that Jews deserved to be annihilated.

I can't think of much to write tonight, it's been kind of an off day. I am so ready for spring and sunshine and temperatures that don't keep me freezing all day long.