Happy Finals Week!

   This week has been a drag.  It feels like it has lasted about four days longer than it should.  I have one small final left, and then I finish off my week with a full day of work.  I will admit that I am extremely excited.  This semester has been nothing short of tough.  Not because of the course work invovled in 20 credit hours but because of the people I have had to deal with over the course of the semester.  I have shed many tears because of the emotions these individuals have made arise.  Nonetheless, I am strong and ready to start the impossible...working and student teaching, at the same time.  
  On a lighter note, Kyle surprised me with a movie this week.  Don't worry, we went to a 7 o'clock showing, so I wasn't up late.  He took me to see The Golden Compass.  I love this book and was waiting for the movie with much anticipation.  I really enjoyed it, but of course, it wasn't up to Kyle's 'Lord of the Rings' standards.  What ever is?  The ending left much to be desired, but on the whole I really enjoyed it.  Hope everyone's week is going well.  Drop me a line.

Let it Snow!!!!!

Last weekend we got a nice little snow storm, mostly ice and sleet, but a little snow. I was excited for the Christmas looking weather. I enjoyed watching the snow fall as I sat next to my sad little Christmas tree.
I have been listening to Christmas music for a couple days now on pandora. I love the old classics sung by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. What a great era!
I took this picture today after I got home from class. I wanted to blog about the snow, and to make it a little more personal than just a random picture outside my apartment, I put myself in it. (To Amy, Beth and Ginny, it is a self portrait!)
If you check out the blog, drop me a note. I hope you enjoy the snow just as much as I do!

Random Thoughts

I was waiting for the bus this afternoon after class. It was chilly out and I was bouncing from leg to leg to stay warm. Luckily, I had something to distract me from the chill. About ten feet away from me there was a bit of construction going on. Iowa State seems to constantly have some sort of construction project that blocks your way as you go to class. Anyway, this project intrigued me. It consisted of three guys and two large machines. As I arrived they were working on pulling a pole out of the ground. If you aren't familiar with ISU's campus, we have these poles everywhere that are connected by two chains. One fastened at the top and one at the bottom. They create some sort of fence to try to keep fellow students off the grass. They pulled and struggled with this pole, one machine was completely chained to it, probably by its own chains, which seems slightly ironic. It wasn't until both machines used their powers together did the pole budge from the ground. After the pole was successfully removed, the two machines worked on filling in the gigantic hole. I was also very intrigued by this. One machine piled the dirt in, while the other vibrated viciously to pack the soil down. The vibrating was extremely loud and made the sidewalk within a 20 yard radius vibrate as well. As the dirt relocation was going on, I happened to notice one lone shovel leaning against a caution cone. I felt sorry for the shovel. Its work seemed trivial compared to the two machines. It would only be used to scrape up the little mess left behind. Nonetheless, the bus arrived and I welcomed its warmth and promise of home. I was so interested by what I had seen that I had to tell someone. And since there will probably be no one that actually reads this, I felt safe in sharing it here.
In other news, I found out my student teaching placement yesterday and I am pleased to announce that I do not have to commute to Des Moines. If anyone happens to read this, drop me note. :)

Family Picture!

This is a picture of my awesome family taken this summer in Michigan. I loved swimming in Lake Michigan and generally spending time with all my cousins and their kids.

Kyle and I

There is a lot of blogging to catch up on over the summer. I think I'll just start from now and move forward. But I did want to hit some highlights, Kyle and I went to a friend's wedding this summer. Kyle was one of the groom's men and looked terrific in his tux.

Our Kitty!

Kyle and I got a cat on September 23rd. It took us several hours to figure out the perfect name. After listening to a song we both really liked, we had a great name for our sweet little cat, Ruby. Since then we have loved having her around the apartment. We love our little cat.

The Beginning of the End

Well, today is November 27th. Today is the second day back after a week long Thanksgiving break. The break was nice but not long enough. Now only 3 weeks, including finals week, until I am done with my next to last semester of school. Put it that way, it doesn't sound all that exciting, but it is. Today I find out where I student teach next semester. I am so excited to be done with the college setting. Of course, I have no idea what I am going to do with the rest of my life, but I'll keep you posted.