Have You Decked Your Halls Yet?

I’m baaaaaaaccccccckkkkkk!

Totally refreshed, well-fed, and completely and utterly determined to finish this semester off with a bang.

Thanksgiving break did wonders for everyone in our corridor it seems, everyone just needed to be pampered by their families, be fed delicious holiday food, and just have some quiet time. I successfully managed to get nothing done (due to the fact I had completed everything that needed to get done beforehand) so I spent my break browsing my computer, looking at old stories, tweaking said stories, and just spending good quality time with the family.

Lots of exciting things happened over break. My big sister came home and it was marvelous, I love that girl to death and it was positively hilarious to see her curled up in “her” recycling leather chair in the family room. Us girls all went shopping at TJ Max and had a ridiculous amount of fun! We watched cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies on t.v. and ate fabulous home cooked food. I also got to see the boyfriend at the end of the week, who got a chance to meet my grandmother and pay a nice hello to the rest of the family. T’was the perfect break if you ask me.
Now only three weeks until Christmas break! Two of those weeks being spent wrapping up classes, and the last one being finals. Ugh. After that, it is time to celebrate the holidays!

Story time!

Much to my surprise, two of our possee brought back dreaded head-colds with them, so I am keeping as far away from them as possible. I might need to begin taking baths in my hand-sanitizer.....yeah not really, but still, I am being cautious.

Also, last night my roommie and I had a jolly good time listening to Christmas music on the radio. They played each song about three times over the course of an hour, but I am not one to complain when it comes to Christmas music. My roomie also brought an astounding amount of Christmas decorations with her after break and now our room looks like a Winter Wonderland. Yay!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving break. Hopefully Christmas break will come just as quickly. In the mean time, study hard, take your vitamins to evade the dreaded head-cold, and have as much fun as possible!

P.S. Rumor has it that it is supposed to snow tomorrow! Squee!

~Piper

Christmas is on its way, but that's no reason to forget about Turkey Day!

To my turkey (and perhaps non-turkey) readers,

Don’t deny it, you have seen those Christmas decorations in stores, they have probably been there for about three months now. Why does Christmas start so early? It’s only one day, yet everyone makes such a fuss worrying about what gifts to buy and who’s coming for Christmas dinner. Don’t get me wrong, I am a HUGE Christmas fan, I love seeing those decorations and doing shopping for people, but come on. Really? Don't skip over Thanksgiving, it's a holiday too!

Yeesh.

Anyway! My Shakespeare paper is signed sealed and delivered. I had absolutely nothing to do last night and it was glorious, so I meandered over to the boyfriend’s room and watched a hilarious movie with him, and then watched several of our roommates play video games. Rest assured it was a refreshingly nerdy time. Huzzah!

As I sit here I am constantly thinking about the things I have to pack for my week of vacation. There are some things that still need to be stuffed into the laundry basket; I also need to pack up other personal belongings that I don’t want to leave behind in my dorm room (scratches chin in a pensive manner).

I also need to create a Christmas list. There is so little that I want this year… I’m not one to spend oodles of money especially if I don’t need it. I also have this thing where I hate other people spending oodles of money on me, because that makes me feel bad for some reason, however I am also flattered. What girl wouldn’t be? Honestly. So yeah….definitely need to look into things I want this holiday season. Ohmegoodness only a few more weeks until CHRISTMAS!!! Christmas is hands down my favorite holiday. There is just something about the decorations, the lights, the smells, the snow atmosphere…there’s definitely an element of magic about it. Every year we listen to Amy Grant’s Christmas music as well as other classics, I personally enjoy Josh Groban’s Christmas CD. We decorate the tree and hide little stuffed elves all over the house, and we also bake. We bake until the oven is literally exhausted from all the sweets we put in it, as well as our neighbors whom we share our goodies with. (sigh) I cannot wait.

In the mean time I will enjoy my tryptophan and pie!

P.S. Let us hope your cat does not do this on Thanksgiving day.



Have a marvelous Turkey day everyone! Give thanks to all the loved ones in your life and the wonderful years still to come. :)

~Piper

Do not fear the poofy pants!

Never fear Shakespeare,

Pssshh, yeah right.

Not only is Shakespeare a highly known writer and play-write, he is also a creator of words and intense plot twists. Not to mention, he also sported some serious poofy pants (much thanks to my sister for that analogy).
I am about half way through my Shakespeare paper and to be perfectly honest....I think it is going rather well (knock on wood), at the same time I still need to find a bunch of quotes and have my paragraphs tied together. So I am definitely going to be rolling my sleeves up and attacking this with all my might. After that I won't have anything else to do since Thanksgiving Break starts this Tuesday! Yay! So this is really my last obstacle to get through and then I am home free.
Wish me luck and I shall keep you all posted on many good things to come during my short vacation!



~Piper

Stuffed Memories

You’ve all had one at some point in your lives.

A companion. A sidekick. A best friend.

Made from the loveable and fuzzy goodness that is perfect for cuddling. A stuffed animal is one of those timeless objects that never fails to bring you joy, regardless of your age. Now, there is no need to be ashamed of having a stuffed animal, most girls in college have them including my roomie who brought several of them with her.

I am in my second year of college and I still have my stuffed animal, and his name is White Blaze. He is the perfect size, about 1 ½ feet long and is a white Bengal tiger cub. I used to carry him around EVERYWHERE, I actually used to wear him as a hat and just walk around with a tiger cub on my head. I look back on it all now and I know I must have embarrassed my parents immensely with all my silliness. Mwahahaha. But that's okay, they learned to embarrass me right back.

This morning I woke up to my alarm as usual, and there curled up in my arms was my faithful and trusty companion. I kissed his pink plastic nose and snuggled with him for a minute before I sleepily climbed down from my perch. That tiger has been through it all with me, and to be perfectly honest I am glad I brought him with me to college. He has been on several adventures with me and has seen me at my best and my absolute worst. Not to mention he is also quiet and SUCH a great listener. White Blaze never judges or tells you that you’re wrong; he just fixes you with that blank blue-eyed stare that says “I’m here and I’m listening”.

Such a great friend. This may sound funny and it also may sound weird, but every once in a while when there is absolutely NO ONE ELSE AROUND…I talk to him. I tell him about all the great things that happened that day or all the things I wish I hadn’t screwed up. We all have those days, and there is nothing better than having that silent friend take in all your ranting. I normally talk about those kinds of things with actual people, but every once in a while…you just have to talk to something that has known you forever and won’t give you any advice or any sort of reply. Silence is golden after all.

So this was my inspiration for the day.

This is an ode to my tiger. :)

Give your stuffed animal(s) some lovin’ and appreciation, for they are the keys to unlocking your childhood imagination.

~Piper

It's all about the West Wing

Dearest and most faithful readers,

Today is positively….

FREEZING!

It seems Mother Nature has kicked herself into high gear and is producing frost in the mornings and cold air throughout the rest of the day. It doesn’t help when the building at work turns the air conditioning on …. Not cool guys, not cool.

Aside from the weather things around campus are also starting to kick into high gear. Teachers are becoming aware of the fact that it is almost time for Thanksgiving break. Which to them means: giving us students as much work as possible the week before, so that our brains become the consistency of cottage cheese before we can experience a week of relaxation? I implore you…. Who came up with this madness? That’s not cool either guys. Definitely not cool.

I have two major things on my agenda this week. One is a German Fairytales paper, where I have to analyze and discuss the significance of a element seen throughout fairytales. Such as towers, trees, animals, etc. I chose to do frogs. Best topic ever. I wrote to my professor asking if she thought this would be a fitting idea for a paper and then explained my thought process, she promptly replied with as much excitement and enthusiasm as humanly possible. Apparently I am on the right track. Second on my list of things to do is a ridiculous Shakespeare paper that will quite literally eat my soul. It has to be 6-8 pages analyzing a topic of our choice. Now, that automatically doesn’t sound so bad. But you have to realize that my teacher is incredibly difficult and extremely picky when it comes to Shakespeare, she takes it seriously. So I e-mailed her my paper ideas last night and she too promptly wrote back enthusiastically, giving me a few hints and tips on how to expand my ideas and make my paper work. So… me thinks I am on the right path this week, I just have to actually sit down and begin writing

Now that that rant is over, I absolutely must tell you about my crazy dream last night! Story time!

In my dream, I was in the T.V. show called “West Wing” with President Bartlet, Leo, C.J. Toby, Josh, Sam, everybody. I was there, in the hall way having some difficulty because I was experiencing intense abdominal pains. Sam is asking me what’s wrong, C.J. starts worrying and complaining that she’s going to miss her press conference, Toby is shaking his head quietly as always, Leo is exclaiming that we’re all standing around like a bunch of idiots, and then Josh comes running down the hall out of nowhere.

Now brace yourself, this next part gets REALLY weird. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

So Josh was running down the hall, pencil in hand, and he knocks me down and punctures my stomach with the pencil to release the trapped air. It works and there is no more pain or discomfort, I actually feel much better despite the pencil in my side, and President Bartlet is watching all of this saying we’re nuts. Which, to be perfectly honest, I have to agree with him. It was a nutty dream.

So aside from all the madness that is going on, there is also some serious watching of the “West Wing”. I borrowed the first two seasons from the parental units and I have been rendered to a squealing and giggly fan girl. It’s almost pathetic how much I adore this show. Almost. It has a brilliant script and a brilliant cast. In my eyes, nothing these days can come close to the brilliance of this show. Have I said “brilliant” enough yet? Well, it was brilliant.

Anyway I need to get back to my “typings” for the day.

Hope you are all as excited as I am about Thanksgiving Break! Share with me your fun plans/traditions and tell me a story.

~Piper

Sparkly Vampires and whatnot

Let me make one thing clear....

Vampires are cool. To an extent. If I have to hear about another vampire book/movie/TV show, I’m going to have to find a way to make myself explode in sunlight. I personally believe that a league of vampires shouldn’t involve sparkly teen hunks. That’s just my opinion. If you’re pro Edward Cullen/Jacob, be my guest! To each their own. I will just keep my nose firmly tucked inside the magical realm of Middle Earth.

Argh rant time is over.

So last night our Swing Dance team (or, at least three members of the team) visited our dorm to teach a short and fun dance lesson to the residents. Only a few people showed up--including me--and it was a fun time learning and teaching East Coast and all its glory. I’m a member myself so I was giving pointers to people who needed it, which is cool because I used to be terrified of dancing. Now it’s a joy and an art. And the fact that I can give pointers to people is awesome!

Yesterday was a bit of a stressful day. We learned about the Holocaust (again) in my German Fairytales class, and then we read an extremely depressing story from Virgil’s Aeneid in my Life & Thought in European Lit class. (sigh) At least today is Thursday and the week is almost over. I just have to suffer through tomorrow, which will consist of extremely long classes and an exam. Needless to say tonight will be study time.

Thanksgiving break is coming! Ohmegoodness I am looking forward to seeing my big sister (AT LAST) as well as eat my family’s amazing Thanksgiving feast. I will have to think of what to give thanks for this year, there is so much I have to be thankful for!

As I sit here at my desk with a humongous pine tree blocking my lovely view of the outside world, I think to myself.... It is almost time for Christmas Music. Mwahahaha!

Will post soon, cross your fingers for my upcoming exam on Friday!

~Piper

Hello there!

Long time no type. Indeed things have been pretty hectic around here despite the roller-coaster of weather patterns. Today is wet and cold and dreary, tomorrow we're supposed to have snow.
Now I implore you....

WHAT?!

Snow should not even exist until the very end of November. I have heard of odd stories such as snow on Halloween, but that is preposterous. To me, snow should not occur until after Thanksgiving, at the earliest.

Speaking of Halloween, it wasn't too eventful around here.... Our dorm had a Halloween Party several days early where we had hot apple cider, donuts hanging from strings, and lots of dancing and fun costumes. :) Then on the actual Halloween Day the boyfriend, my roomie, our suitemate and I went to go and see "Paranormal Activity 2" and let me tell you, I am not the biggest scary movie fan...and later that evening I found myself asking my roomie if I could snuggle with her because I had a bad dream. Yes, I am a wimp when it comes to scary movies.

Elections just took place here in Ohio on tuesday, I got a chance to cast my ballot into the "potential sea of dreams", however, it seems the people have spoken and our state is going Republican......

Now I don't like either party in particular. Both have their problems and their highlights, however, I have this feeling that we either about to be royally screwed over, or nothing is ever going to get done.

(End of political schpeal)

Class should be starting soon and I am contently filled with chicken noodle soup and ginger ale. :) The best healing ingredients in the world for a stomach that doesn't want to cooperate.

I have a bagillion stories to share, so stay tuned!

~Piper