GREAT last weekend at Big Sky!

Sadly, this weekend was the last weekend that Big Sky is open this year. It was however, the best day I had there! It was warm and everyone is in a great mood! The best part was that so many people were in funny costumes! I saw a banana and a guy in a speedo and Mario and a family of bears! and if you have seen the movie Out Cold you will appreciate this... I saw papa Muntz! Also this weekend was the annual pond skim. The pond skim is where you can sign up to ski down the mountain on to a pond (you should be going fast enough to skim over the top of it) then down a little more and then over another pond. Some people fell really hard, but others made it all the way across no problem! The top picture is taken from the chair lift of the pond skim course. You can see how crowded it was there! And the lower picture is of part of the group I was with at the top of the mountain. I am the one in the yellow!

University Day

Howdy. Today is University Day which just means that we don't have school today! Good thing we don't because I was at work last night night 3 AM... blah. Today I still am going to the middle school to work with my seventh graders. Afterwards I am having a couple friends over for chili... since it wont stop snowing and chili is nice on cold, wet not-so-nice days. Tomorrow my cousin and I are going to Billings to be with Gramma for Easter so that should be fun and it is always nice to see her:-)

Final Stretch

This week and next week are very stressful weeks for us college students. This is the week before dead week. If it were up to me, we wouldn't have class during dead week because every semester I get soooo stressed out because I feel like I can't get all my stuff done, and go to class, and go to work, and sleep and eat and shower. We get really good and eating on the go, taking three minute showers and multi-tasking these last couple weeks. I made a GIANT list of things to do so I won't forget anything... unless I forgot to put it on the list. that would not be good:-)

Boyfriend's Birthday Weekend

This past weekend was my boyfriend's birthday. I took him to a restaurant called Weebee's. It was expensive but it was SO GOOD! I had a flank steak with potato enchiladas... yummy! I highly recommend it! Then on Sunday we went to Big Sky for some skiing... it turned out to not be the best day ever. We were off to a late start and didn't even get to the mountain until noon. I was wearing my cousins ski boot which were too wide for my tiny feet and I could hardly get down the mountain. and then as soon as we got there the warm sun went away and was replaced with frozen rain... which neither of us were prepared for. Also, I am not the best skier in the world because I jut started skiing (from snowboarding) this year. I lost control and sped down the mountain, couldn't stop or anything, wiped out. All I remember from the fall was I knew I was twisted and I caught a glance at the sky... MY SKI WAS ABOUT FIFTEEN FEET ABOVE ME!!! I thought for sure it would land on me... but it didn't. I twisted my neck pretty good, but it feels almost better now. Be careful when you are skiing! So, to celebrate not killing myself, I am going again on Saturday for the annual Big Sky pond skim. I will do my best to get pictures because I know I have been slacking on them!

Long Day!

Wednesdays are not my most fun days. I have class ALL DAY. Today I got to school at 8, did some homework and printed off today's notes. class from 9-10, 10-12, 1-2, office hours from 2-4, class from 4-5, president's dinner from 5-7, Mortar Board meeting from 8-9... holy guacamole. So basically I have a full schedule. On days like today, I make sure to pack myself lots of snacks to help me stay focused. I know that sounded like a frosted mini wheats commercial but its true! By about 2 o'clock my focus goes right out the window... literally. It's almost as if snacks give me something to look forward to in between classes... or during classes depending on the class and teacher!

I was invited to go to president Cruzado's house for dinner tonight. All students that are in leadership positions were invited. I am excited to maybe have a real conversation with her rather than just a smile and a "hi" when I see her on campus. I will let you know how it goes!

New Living Space

As you have probably gathered, I have been living with a whole lot of people for the past three years. First year it was six guys and two dogs, last year was three guys one girl and one dog, and this year its four girls two dogs and a cat. TOO MANY PEOPLE. But... this week I found an apartment three blocks from campus ALL FOR MYSELF!!! I move in May 1st. I will take pictures for you then, but until then I have to buy a whole bunch of stuff to put in it!! I'm so excited! and I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!

USP Grant!

This Week has been a great week! You know that Grant/Scholarship that I was waiting to hear from for my trip to Europe?!?! Well, I GOT IT! I am so stoked! That will really help out with the whole getting to Europe thing. To celebrate, and to say thank you to the two people that are helping us out, we all went out for Ale Works for dinner! DELICIOUS! Joyce Herbeck has been a big advocate for this project and has helped us a lot in this whole process. She also applied for something else... I don't know exactly what, but we got accepted to present our project at a big convention in Chicago in November! I guess it is this huge Education gathering or something... I don't know, but it's sweet! I will give you more updates as time goes on!

Flu season is supposed to be over!

So, this weekend was supposed to be awesome... working, getting a whole bunch of school stuff done and skiing... guess what... I did none of that. Well, I guess I worked, but I was not on top of my game at work like I should have been because I am sick... my nose won't stop running I am losing my voice (I sound like a stuffed up old man that smoked his whole life) I am tired and cold and achy... sounds like the flu to me! so I have been a couch potato when I am not at work, and homework just doesn't sound like fun to me... so I didn't do any. I think that it is important to give yourself a break every now and then. Honestly, I think I got sick because it is my body's way of saying "slow down a bit!" Maybe that is just a silly theory, but your body needs a break from stress, and college is a stressful environment. Well, that's my speech for the day, I hope you all are staying healthy and washing your hands often!

Revolution in the Classroom

So I have been telling you about this Scholars Program project that I applied for where three of us read the book Revolution and visit a seventh grade class once a week to discuss the book and assign homework and projects and what not. Well, Friday was the first day in the schools and it was so much fun! We have a group of 8 girls that are all very chatty and fun. All of them seemed very excited about reading the book, some had finished it and others were just dying to continue reading... I like that. I hope that this experience continues to be a positive one! :-)

Free Powder Day!

Moonlight Basin was nice enough to give everybody who works in the admissions office free ski passes yesterday. On top of free passes, they provided riding tours of the mountain and a complimentary breakfast of cinnamon rolls that were as big as my head! The day could not have been more perfect! It was snowing until about 11 and then the sun came out and it warmed up for perfect spring skiing weather! I skied for the second time in ten years and I nailed a tree-run which I was very excited about! I only really fell once and it was in powder up to my knees, so I didn't even feel it! Even the groomers had a few inches of powder on them!! Even though it was a weekend and a powder day, we never had to wait in line to be on a chair lift. That is one of my favorite parts about Moonlight. It's not crowded, always great snow, and they go out of their way to make your day awesome!

World Music

I realized, after reading through some of my entries, that I always talk about homework and extra-curricular activities but I have never really told you about any specific classes. Right now, I am in a world music class, which is one of my favorite classes this semester. In this class, we are studying all types of music from all over the world, focusing specifically in India, China, Sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia, Latin America and Native America. We study everything from dance to instruments to theater and teaching practices, to religious music, music influences and past and present music. This class is not particularly difficult but it is interesting and I feel like I am learning a lot from it.

Tickets are booked!

So, over Spring break, my sister and I finally buckled down and booked our tickets to Europe. I am flying into Paris on May 18th and leaving from Venice on June 30th. I will spend one week in France, two weeks in England, a week and a half by myself doing what ever I want:-) (my mom's good friend lives in Norway so I might try to swing on up there!) and then two weeks in Italy with my sister. I am so excited! Booking the tickets was a disaster though. By the time we had our tickets booked and all straightened out, we had spent over 4 hours working on it. My advice now that I am smarter about all this = Call a travel agent before you purchase anything! they can walk you through what you want to do and then you can book the tickets yourself online, so you don't have to pay the fee for having someone else do it.
College is the time to travel! You have the freedom to be spontaneous and adventurous, PLUS, college students don't mind being broke (which is good because after a long expensive trip you will be!) Travel! Go on an adventure!

Snowed In

So, yesterday almost 500 of us gathered for my grandfathers funeral. It was a beautiful, warm spring day and the family all gathered at my Gramma's house afterwards. My cousin Britta and I were having so much fun hanging out with the family that we decided to stay the night in Billings and head back to Bozeman at the crack of dawn to make it back for classes this morning. Well, we made it to Park City (Just outside of Billings) to find ourselves in a white out, driving on slippery slush. We almost slid off the road. Two hours later, we were back at Gramma's, snowed in. My dad and siblings are driving back to Minnesota today and they also got snowed in, in North Dakota. Well, looks like I get to do homework today... and I have even better ways to procrastinate.

Life doesn't Stop

So, Spring break is not as relaxing as a thought it would be. While I am super glad that I don't have classes or work, guess where I am right now.... the library.. weird right? Well, my grandpa died this morning, so my mom left today to go to Montana, I have to miss the first part of next week for the funeral so I have extra work to do while I am here. But enough of the bad things....

Good things:

I brought my boyfriend home to meet my parents and so far so good!!!

I went to the Minnesota Science Museum yesterday and saw the King Tut exhibit and omni-theater movie and it was SO COOL!

The weather is getting warmer which means summer is coming!

My dad is taking us to Chino Latino tonight which could be the best restaurant in the world (but I haven't been to every restaurant so I can't judge)

My brother is home this whole week which is so cool because I never get to see him!

OK, enough procrastinating... I gotta at least get some work done while I am here:-)

SPRING BREAK

THANK GOODNESS SPRING BREAK STARTS TODAY!!!!!! I was beginning to get really crabby from how much I had to do homework and work and not play! but I have most of my homework done! (I will finish today) and I am already checked into the airport even though I am not leaving until tomorrow! I am so excited to be going home for break even though there is three feet of snow in Minneapolis and I am kinda over this whole snow thing!

Well I will do my best to keep writing... who knows how well I will do on that!

Catch up

I apologize for not blogging for so long! I have been very busy traveling back and forth from Billings... helping out the grandparents, and it seems like everything always happens at once! Last week I turned in a 5 page proposal for a research scholarship and if I get it I will get a large chunk of money to help out with my trip to Europe this summer. I also turned in my application for Mortar Board which is a senior honors society. Mortar Board puts on blood drives and helps out with and attends all types of events... I already do all those things so I figured I would get recognized for it! Good Idea! Well, this upcoming month is going to be just as busy, if not busier, than the last! Good thing Spring Break is in there otherwise I might suffocate under all this work I have to do! I am sure some of you can relate! Well, exciting news for me... I quit my job at JoAnn Fabrics. It's not that I don't like working, it's that I only work there on Sundays, and I don't have a day that I am not committed to something. I need at least one day a week to sit down and get some stuff done, clean my room and do laundry, and geez I need to relax some time! I am really excited about my new plan for Sundays: I am going to go to a different coffee shop every Sunday morning, do my reading for the week without the pressure of "I have to be somewhere soon!"
Spring is starting to peek through the snow here which doesn't help me pay attention at all. I can't wait for summer and all of the outdoor activities that comes with it! Our last MSU Friday of the year is coming up this week as well. We plan on this one being our biggest yet! If you haven't signed up yet, you definitely should! I am especially excited about this one because my sister is coming from Minnesota to join in on the festivities. Also on this Friday, the ASMSU Rail jam is happening so if you come to visit, you will get to see a few of the best skiers and snowboarders show off on campus's own rails!

Giving Blood!

Every month, Red Cross comes to the MSU campus to put on a blood drive. Everytime I go in there to try to give blood, they are completely booked or I can't fit it in my schedule. But today finally got to give blood! I think it's a great and easy way to help somebody out:-) Even if you are afraid of needles... you can still give blood and just not watch, they are really good about hiding your arm from you if you don't want to see it. Funny thing: Every time I give blood, they tell me I have a different blood type. I don't know why, and I don't know what it actually is! I hope this time I find out for sure!

Valentine's Day

So I have never been a big Valentine's Day advocate, but for those of you that are... Happy late Valentine's Day! This Valentine's Day was just like any other day for me... long hours at school and lots of homework, left-overs for dinner and early to bed. The day after, my morning class was cancelled, so my boyfriend and I went out to breakfast at the Cateye Cafe before class:-) I made cookies for my roommates, but that's about it. No gift giving or special day all planned out... that's just fine with me:-)

MSU Friday!

I totally forgot to tell you about MSU Friday! Last Friday, we hosted the second MSU Friday of the year. Even though several people cancelled because of the weather, our final number was 642 prospective students! The last one of the year will be on March 4th, and it is supposed to be our biggest one yet!

If you haven't been to an MSU Friday, it is quite the experience! The day starts off with about 40 campus tours (5 leave every 5 minutes) followed by a welcoming ceremony and sample classes. Lunch is held in the ballrooms where tons of clubs, groups, fraternities and sororities, etc. set up little booths for you to see and get information. Then more sample classes and campus tours, residence hall tours, fitness center tours, greek house tours, and student and parent panels. Basically, it is a full day.

Why does this apply to me? Well, as an Advocat, part of what we do is help run the MSU Friday events. We get there at 7 in the morning to help decorate and greet, and stay all day until 5. The picture is my cousin Britta, Roommate Liz, and me at lunch representing our Advocats shirts and looking a little worn out!

It was a great turn out even with half of the airports in the country closed!

Title goes here

So... I don't exactly have a theme to this entry, I just thought I should check in and say hi! :-) I was here at the library by 7:30 this morning... reading primary documents for my history class. I am really bad a history classes. I don't know why history doesn't click for me, it is kind of frustrating because in no other subject do I have that problem. Lots of reading, and putting things together, and making sense out of things I have only heard about... I guess everybody has there strong suits... and history is just not mine. I have been putting off this class since I started here at MSU... when you come here, take my advice, don't put your rough classes off, space them out evenly so you don't get all flustered, and when you do take those classes, try your best to keep up with the class and get to know your professors and TA (making yourself known will get you farther than anything else you can do!)
So anyway, I am in the library, procrastinating until I have to go to class. The library is a nice place in the early morning believe it or not. It is quiet and smells like coffee:-) plus, there is nothing else going on that can possibly distract you!
I guess that can be all for my random and rambling entry. I can't procrastinate too long because I actually have a lot of stuff to do. Homework and studying is never ending. My dad always said, "you have to work hard, so you can play hard." That's good advice, and it is so true!

The Dreamline

So today I decided that I would make use of the streamline bus since it is free for everyone to use, and a great way to get around when you are like me and don't have a car. Usually, I either walk or bike everywhere, but today, since it was a total blizzard outside (and still is) I decided that the streamline (or the dreamline as I like to call it) was a good idea. It was a little slow today because of the snow, but it gave me sometime to read and drink my tea:-)

BLIZZARD!!

Whoa! We are in the middle of a huge blizzard. Bozeman was lucky enough to miss last weeks blizzards that were in 38 states... I guess our luck ran out! Good thing I forgot my boots today! (insert sarcasm here). Well for those of you in Bozeman, I hope you are the kind that really like snow... it has been snowing in the mountains for way longer than in the valley so that means SKIING FRESH POWDER!! For those of you not in Bozeman... this is what you have to look forward to!

Cowgirl in Training

I have always had a thing for country boys/ cowboys (just like that song says "... girls like country boys...") I just recently started dating this boy, who grew up in the country with horses and such, and I simply can't get over how much I like that he wears cowboy boots everyday... I am a dork, I know. But for christmas he bought me my own cowboy boots! (yes, I feel like a fraud wearing them) but I love them! haha. This probably sounds really ridiculous to all you country folk out there but seriously, for a city girl like me, this is fabulous. So yes, I spent a whole blog entry telling you about my boots. Sorry that the picture is sideways... I couldn't figure out how to turn it and make it stay turned. All you cowboys out there... never change... Your boots and belt buckles are delicious eye candy:-)

It's Cold!!!

Bozeman is acting up again! We have experienced an 80 degree drop from two days ago to today. I was getting spring fever the other day, with this close to 50 degree weather and people busting out their shorts and bright colors... only for mother nature to drop the temperature to 30 below zero with wind chill last night. not fair. But the good thing is, the weather will warm back up again and like I have said before, Bozemanites are not afraid of the cold! I hope everyone is staying warm!

Sri Lanka Fund Raiser

Something I really like about Bozeman, is that there are always fun events to go to, and a lot of them are put on for a good cause. Last night, the Bozeman Brewery hosted a fund raiser organized by my friend John, for kids in Sri Lanka that don't have enough money to eat. There was a great band playing last night, along with a raffle and for every pint that was purchased, the brewery gave 50 cents. I like to go to things like this because 1) they are fun to go to and get me out of the house and give me a break from homework, and 2) it feels good to do something to help.

Literature and Art in Context

So.... I believe I mentioned before that I am planning on studying abroad this upcoming summer and that I would give you more details later. Well, we just had our second meeting, so I am able to give you more details. The program that I am participating in, is made up of MSU students and led by three MSU professors. We will receive 9 credits for this trip or in other words we are taking 3 classes: children's literature, young adult literature and methods of teaching art. We start the trip in Paris. We will explore that area for one week, going to the Louve, the Cathedral of Chartres, and of course eating lots of crepes. Then we head up to England. We will be traveling all over the country (spending a lot of time in London) going to Harry Potter sites, and Beatrix Potter's farm (author of Peter Rabbit). Then I plan on staying in Europe for a few weeks. I will have one to two weeks there by myself (I haven't decided what I am going to do yet) and then I am meeting my little sister in Italy, where we really want to take a cooking class! That's about all I know so far about the trip, other than the fact that I have to read a heap load of books before this semester is over (which is not easy given the lack of time I have to do my current homework!) I am excited!

Phone-a-thon

If you have applied for admission at MSU, you will most likely get a phone call from a student asking you if you have any questions and try to get you excited about being a bobcat! Most of the time, the students that do this are the "Tele-cats". For the next few weeks, I get the pleasure of supervising the Advocats while they take part in what we call the "phone-a-thon". Each student has to dedicate 3 hours to calling prospective students and put their knowledge to the test! I encourage you to take advantage of these hard core Cats fans that call you. Not only because it makes their job most exciting, but because they LOVE to talk about their school and Bozeman, and they all are full of facts and information that they would like to show off:-) Of course if you don't have time to talk, or come up with more questions later, you can always call 1-888-MSU-CATS.
(I don't mean to sound like an advertisement:-) I just wish I knew that number when I was applying to school!)

BIG SKY!

This weekend, Big Sky Ski Resort was generous enough to give a free ski day to everyone that works in the admissions office at MSU. I have skied and snowboarded at 6 ski resorts in Montana but I had never been to Big Sky. I always just assumed that it would be too crowded and too expensive... Too commercial. Turns out, I was wrong. Big Sky has worked it out so there are ZERO lines to get on the chair lift. Their lifts are big and fast and efficient. Big Sky has so much terrain... fresh powder is not hard to find. I was most surprised by the price. On a regular day, a full-day pass for students is only $41! That is within a couple dollars of Bridger Bowl and Moonlight Basin. A representative from Big Sky Resort told me that they are trying to get more involved with the community and with MSU and make it more accessible for students. If you come to visit Bozeman, I recommend that you try out a ski resort or two. Even if you don't ski, it is a great way to get the feel of a small ski-bum town!

Spring Semester Starts!

So, the semester has started and already my teachers are putting me to work! This semester I will spend most of my time reading. Reading for my classes this semester and doing the pre-reading for my study abroad classes this summer! I will spend less time in class this semester (even though I have the same amount of credits) but I will have to dedicate a lot more time outside of class to homework and reading.

Spring semester is way different than fall semester. Campus has a different atmosphere, activities, ward robes and attitudes change, and spring fever starts way too early for me. People come to Bozeman for the winter sports, skiing and snowboarding being the big ones. Campus is a lot more vacant during Spring semester than fall semester because every spare second is spent on the slopes. A lot of students organize their schedules so they don't have class everyday and many students take skiing or snowboarding classes for a little extra snow time! Bozemanites definitely do not hibernate... the snow brings people out and together! (I know that is kinda cheesy, but it's true!)

This semester should be interesting!

Hmm...

So, I lied and I neglected you... my apologies. I do not have any pictures of the Madrigal dinner and I haven't written in over a month.

Well, to catch you up... Christmas was great. I went to Billings for a few days to see the family. It was awesome because all 22 of us were there! (which is a rare occasion) I worked on New Years Eve and New Years day. I also went skiing at Discovery Basin, near Anaconda about an hour and a half away from Bozeman, and skied at Big Mountain in Whitefish (northwestern Montana). Both were amazing and so much fun. My break has been semi-boring, which is good because I needed a little boredom.

School starts on Wednesday. This semester will be just as busy as the last with 20 credits, JoAnn Fabrics, Advocats, Blogging, Spectators, and planning my trip to Europe in the summer! Have a happy spring semester!