I Love Christmas!

I love baking and eating, wrapping presents and giving them, Christmas movies and carols. I love the Christmas season, so much. Today was my first full day home this Christmas and it was full of baking gingerbread cookies! It was amazing. I love decorating cookies and listening to Christmas music. I think my new favorite Christmas cd is the Glee holiday album. I've been listening to it nonstop since it came out. Then again, I listen too all my Glee cds on repeat... don't judge. :)

I'm just super excited to see all my family this break! Most of my cousins are coming up to visit and I even get to go to Arizona on the 29th!

I think that's the best part about Christmas. Being close with all my family. :) I have some of the best cousins I could ever ask for. I'm sure tons of pictures and videos will ensue as soon as they all get here. I've been counting down the days! My oldest cousin and his girlfriend arrive on the 23rd. They are the cutest couple I've ever seen, no lie!

So much love is in the air. I just want to talk a walk outside in the beautiful snow and enjoy this break from school. No homework, no tests and no papers. Just freedom and joy. I'm going to enjoy every single moment! How are you spending your Christmas break?

Coffee is My Best Friend

This morning, I took my first final as a college student. It wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. But I can't believe this semester has gone by so quickly! It seems like just yesterday I was starting my first day of class, scared out of my mind. Scared because I didn't know anyone in my class, but mostly scared because my first class was Spanish, which was highly intimidating. Tomorrow I take my Spanish final. And then I will feel accomplished. Honestly, passing Spanish will be my biggest accomplishment. Something I'll be super proud of.

I've learned so much this semester, both in and out of the classroom. I love it here. I love college, I love Concordia. I don't even mind that I'm super tired and I'm basically on a coffee IV drip. I'm enjoying life. :) Next semester, here I come!

Oh, also, I found this interesting website: Death by Caffeine. It basically says how much of certain caffeinated drinks will kill you, if they're all in your system at once. Super entertaining :) I found out it would take 235 cans of Cherry Coke to kill me. Crazy!

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

Finals are creeping closer. And as the semester comes to a close, I'm finding myself getting more and more distracted by life around me. From things as stupid as Like a Little to things as important as my guitar, I'm discovering it difficult to get things done. I do what I can, but I'm starting to end up getting way less sleep than I would like in order to get things done.

My favorite go-to website for when I'm procrastinating is ImgFave. It's just a website with awesome pictures from all over cyber space that range from inspirational to funny. It's full of celebrities, food and, my favorite, adorable little kids and babies. I always get a little pick-me-up from looking at Img Fave. Here is my most favorite one that I found today:



 Hope this made your day just  a little bit better! :)

What Not to Eat

I don’t think I can go more than 3 hours without some sort of processed sugar. Most of my friends know this about me. All my life, I’ve been blessed with my father’s metabolism that allows me to eat a whole pizza in one sitting and not gain any weight. For the most part, I was good about what I ate. I had sugar everyday, but I tried not to have too much of it, and I was pretty good at portion control for the rest of my food.

 

Then, something both marvelous  and monstrous happened to me: Dining Services. The food is good and plentiful and my metabolism has been having quite a duty trying to keep up with my. My side-kick, Emma, and I are known for our food shenanigans. We frequent Taco Bell like it’s our job and just a few days ago, we bought a whole pumpkin pie and devoured the entire thing in less than 48 hours.

Last night seemed to be the last straw for the both of us. For desert, we made a waffle and piled it with ice cream, whipped topping, chocolate sauce and whopper bites. It was disgustingly delicious, but it got me thinking a lot about those extra pounds that have been creeping up on me since schools started. Then and there, we both decided that it was time to stop being lazy and actually work out, so we started a 9-minute abs program. 9 different abdominal workouts for 1 minute each, with push-ups in between each minute.

I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning, but as the day as progressed, I’ve started to feel the effects. A simple laugh and I feel the burn from last night’s workout. Not going to lie, I love that feeling. Makes me feel like I actually did something productive for my body.

I think the hardest part will be sticking to it, but that’s why we’re doing it together.

Fill the Dome

By far, my favorite volunteer opportunity every year is Fill the Dome. Fill the Dome is entirely youth led and the idea is pretty simple: fill the floor of the Fargo Dome with food donations to feed the hungry and homeless. For the past 4 years, youth around the the Fargo-Moorhead area have come together to do something spectacular. Collectively, we've raised over 300 tons of food and over $225,000 to support the food pantries in our community. It's so amazing what the youth in this area can do to really make a difference. I'm proud to be a part of Fill the Dome. It's something really special that makes a huge difference to many different people. It's how I use what Concordia has taught me about BREWing. :)

Harry Potter: More than Just a Fad

I’m still a bit tired from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows premier but it was so incredibly worth it. My crew and I got to the theatre around 8:00 and it was both miserable and exciting. The wind was howling, the sun was set and the cold air was finding any way it could to break through my multiple layers of clothing.

Non-Harry Potter fans don’t understand. They scoff, say Mr. Potter is overrated and some even claim that Twilight is better.  But us hardcore fans know different. A lot of us (myself included) grew up with the characters and the cast. I still remember turning 11 and waiting for my letter to Hogwarts. It never came and I think a part of me is still waiting.

But okay, fine, we grew up with the series. A lot of us also grew up with NSYNC, overalls, fanny packs and Digimon and it’s probably pretty difficult to find people who still go all fan-girl over those things. That’s because Harry Potter is about more than something we know and something we’ve grown accustomed to. The truth is, it’s a little hard to explain to people who haven’t read the books and gotten sucked in, but I’ll do my best.

In a nutshell, JK Rowling (the author of Harry Potter) champions the unlikely heroes. The nerds, geeks, outcasts and losers are the real heroes of the story. Rowling also illustrates that love is more important and more powerful than hate. One of my favorite lines from the books comes from Albus Dumbledore: “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.” The other common themes in the series are friendship, bravery, unity. All working together to fight a common evil. It’s uplifting as well as inspiring. Best of all, they’re well written and entertaining!

I feel like I could write pages and pages about Harry Potter and why I love it so much, but I won’t. I think I’ve already shown a little too much of my nerdy side . So I encourage everyone who hasn’t already to give the books a try! The first 3 are actually pretty short, so if you read them and don’t like them, you haven’t really lost much! Talk to me if you want to borrow a book or two. Or all of them.

Go here: http://cobblog.cord.edu/?p=4220 to check out the video I made and read about some other Concordia bloggers!

Let it Snow

As I was walking to my 1:20 class this afternoon, shivering slightly but still refusing to drag out my over-sized coat, I noticed some flakes begin to fall from the sky. My first reaction was, “No! It can’t snow before the premier of Harry Potter 7! I have to stand outside for hours!” Then I remembered: I’m from Minnesota. I know exactly how to deal with the cold! So for everyone who doesn’t come from Minnesota, or finds the excessive winds in Moorhead to be quite a shock, here’s a list of what I think is most important when trying to keep warm.

1. Layers.

-20 degrees outside, 70 degrees inside. It’s difficult trying to dress for such a huge difference in temperature, which is why layers are the best.

2. Hat/Gloves

There have been a couple really cold days this fall already, and I’ve gotten by with just a sweatshirt, mittens and a hat, because as long as my head and hands are warm, I’m generally pretty comfortable.

3. Hot Chocolate
Nothing like a hot beverage to keep a person warm!

4. Hand Warmers

Generally, I get these awesome things at Scheels or Walmart, but I think they can pretty much be found anywhere during the winter. They’re small little packs of heat that work for about 8-10 hours and I find that they can really help a lot. I like to stick them in my gloves, shoes and pockets.

5. Boots

I’m guessing most people from around here have some sort of boots. Whether it’s rain boots, legit snow boots or some form of Ugg-like boots, and there’s a reason for that! Having cold feet is miserable. Truly. If you don’t have boots or really thick, warm shoes, I recommend getting some before it gets too cold out!

I’m not a huge fan of snow and cold. I don’t mind it too much, but I’d always rather be too warm than too cold. I plan on implementing all of the above tips at the Harry Potter premier tomorrow, so let it snow, Minnesota. I’m ready!