Dying for Easter

My roommates and I had a wonderful time making Easter eggs tonight. One of my roommates had never decorated Easter eggs before... you should have seen the look on her face as we "blew out" the insides of the eggs. It was quite the experience for her!

Feeling like a Freshman

This weekend I had a great time enjoying some free events the U of M has to offer. As a transfer student, I never went to many campus sponsored events that most dorm-dwellers make it to, but I changed all that this weekend.

One of my friends that I met through some classes was performing at the outdoor talent show on Friday, so me and a few friends went to show our support. We enjoyed the show, despite the chilly breeze!

On Saturday night, I saw The Blind Side in our student union with my best friend and it was great! If you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It made me laugh and cry and was overall a very inspirational story.

After the movie, my best friend and I went to an event called, "The Last Gopher Standing." 30 comedians performed (for 3 minutes each) and the audience voted. Some comedians were great, and others... received a few pity laughs from me ;-)

Spring Fever

Spring break is quickly approaching and I cannot wait. All my day-dreams contain anticipations of time spent relaxing and enjoying the company of some of my favorite people. So, in an attempt to get these things off my mind so that I can (hopefully) focus on studying for my mid-terms, I will share with you my Spring Break plans.
1. Walk the Lakes in Big Lake with my sweet boyfriend by my side... and if we get lucky his puppy Cooper or my bro's pup Brody at our heels :)
2. Read "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson (A recommendation from my lovely sis Katie)
3. Make a new "weight-watcher" friendly dessert to share
4. Paint a new picture for my room
5. Bike my favorite road and visit the fishing hole exploring as if I'm 10 again.
6. Last but not least... document my adventures with photos! I seem to always forget to take pictures!
Walk, Read, Cook, Paint, Bike, and Smile. Life is rough. *wink*

Creativity

Lately I have been on a creative streak. I've made cards, baked "crackle top brownie cookies," worked on my knitting, and when I don't have an outlet for my creativity, I doodle (on notebooks, napkins, post-its... whatever is near). I know a lot of the Alcott women know just what my mean...

My sister creates great masterpieces while sculpting play-dough with my nephews and makes beautiful drawings with crayola color crayons :)

My mother is well known for here elaborate doodles on napkins, recipe cards, and grocery lists made while chatting away on the phone.

College life makes some of my favorite things like painting, pastels, scrap-booking, and card-making difficult due to lack of funds and space. I look forward to and sometimes crave time spent in my mom's craft room. Crafting rejuvenates me and gives me something to be proud of. I am determined to have a craft room when I have a house of my own someday (otherwise my future husband must be willing to have a bedroom full of paper, paints, scissors, yarn, canvas, pencils, markers and crayons). :)

Another one of the West Point girlfriends is very creative and made these pendants by gluing Cadet's buttons that they use on their jackets onto blank pendants. I ordered 2. One for me and one for Jake's mom :)

Pearly Whites

The weight of a smile is dependent on the time of day. It is harder to give and receive morning smiles as everyone is waking up, thinking about their to-do lists of the day, and hurrying to get to work or school.
Early this morning, I got a huge, teeth showing, authentic smile from a girl to who sat next me on the bus. Of course this made me smile and made the day seem just a little bit better.
After I got off the bus, I decided to pass on the happiness she had shared with me. I smiled at people I passed. I didn't smirk or nod. I smiled. Big. I made eye contact, and gave them that nice $10 grin. Some people looked at me like... "Do I know you?" but many others returned the gesture, being that smiles are so contagious.
I like to think these people went about their day smiling at others too, just as I had. It was a simple little game of 'pass it forward' played with the free gift of smiles.