Christmas Trees Around Campus

Here at Saint Mike's, even during finals season, we can still have fun and show off our spirit. It is December after all and that means...CHRISTMAS!  So, here is a compiling of pictures of various Christmas trees on campus. It is sort of a list...

Tree outside my window.  It is really nice being able to see these two huge trees from my room!

Tree in Alliot.  My friends and I always try to sit by the tree at meals.  

okay...not really a tree.  This is the fire that is on in Alliot right now. I am obsessed.  I sat by it studying for like 5 hours yesterday. 

Tree we set up in our hallway for a short amount of time.  

My personal favorite, this tree is next to the Knightstand. 

Well, now it is back to studying for me. Wish me luck on the rest of my finals, only two more to go!
 

Reasons to Participate in the Knightchat Tomorrow!

As you may have seen on many of the other bloggers posts, the Knightchat is tomorrow.  I thought, because it is the Month of Lists I thought I would give you a list of reasons to join in on the Knightchat:

1. Get to talk to current students - current students participate in the knight chats and are very helpful because they actually know what it is like to be on campus, from a more personal experience.
2. It is instant - get your questions answered as you think of them
3. Come and go as you please - it is worth it to only do for 15 minutes, or for the whole time.  If you only have one question, but you are very busy, just stop in and ask, then you can go as you need.
4. This is the last one of the semester - We are all going home after finals, and this is the last knightchat before 2012!
5. We like to talk to people! - The more friends to talk to on knightchat, the more fun it will be for everyone involved!

So please please please check out the knightchat tomorrow, you won't be sorry

Here is the link

PS - Happy Birthday to the best mom ever!

Top 5 Favorite Alliot Foods

For me, Saturday and Sunday mornings mean BRUNCH!  Brunch is delicious and amazing and every other awesome word you can think of.  Today, while eating my brunch, I started to think of my top 5 favorite Alliot foods. I just realized that you may not know what Alliot is...Alliot is the student center here on campus.  It also houses the "Green Mountain Dining room". That is where we can use our knightcard and get unlimited swipes to go and eat whenever we want.  Even though it's official name is the Green Mountain Dining room, everyone just calls it Alliot.  Everyone on campus has a special place in their heart for Alliot.  So anyway, here are my top 5 favorite foods that are served in Alliot:

1. BBQ Salad - The first time they served this salad, I had it for lunch and dinner.  It is a base of lettuce, with chicken, croutons, and delicious BBQ dressing.
2. Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas - yum.  I love sour cream, so this is a no-brainer.
3. Cocoa Puffs - Always available, always awesome
4. Spicy Caesar salad - the salad station is the best.  The spicy Caesar salad is basically a regular caesar salad, just with a more spicy caesar dressing.
5. Omelets - a brunch favorite.  Omelets are a great treat you can only get at brunch on the weekends. 

Side Note: There will be a Knightchat on Tuesday, please stop by! Also be on the look out for my list of reasons to do the Knightchat!  This is the last Knightchat of the semester.  Check it out here

9 Ways to Know it is December/Christmas Time

Christmas season is upon us here at SMC!  Check out my list below on ways you know for sure that it is Christmas time

1. There is a christmas tree outside your window
2. You buy mittens
3. You decorate your dorm door
4. Your mom makes you an Advent Calendar
5. Alliot gets festive
6. Church Street gets lit up
7. You listen to Christmas Carols and its accepted
8. All people want is for snow to come
9. You pick up your Smuggs Pass!

My mom's advent calender, it is more of a countdown for when I get home
and less of a countdown to Christmas, but it is still fun!

My neighbors' door, they were decorating and they want it to
be a surprise

SMUGGS PASS!

Christmas Tree in the hallway

I am worried that you can't see the tree because of a glare,
 but I swear its there!

Our door with some nice decorations,
I know it needs some more work.

A Month of Lists!

Tomorrow means that it is December.  I have decided to make December the month of lists! All of my posts will be list based.  I am obsessed with lists, therefore I am really looking forward to my month of lists.  To start off, I am going to share the "Good Things About December" list with you.

1. Christmas!!!!! - What's not to love?
2. Mom's Birthday - Go Mom!! Same day as Walt Disney
3. Christmas Trees - I love 'em, they are pretty and they light up and again, what's not to love?
4. Winter Break - Relaxation time
5. Secret Santa - I love the secret fun of secret santa
6. Christmas Shopping - Shopping for people and finding the perfect gift is so fun
7. Finals (they'll be a good thing when they're over!)
8. New Years! - Such a fun holiday
9. Setting up the Christmas Village with my Grandma - this is a Christmas tradition, it really gets me in the spirit
10. Christmas Carols - Anytime I can pretend my life is a musical is a good time for me
11. SNOW SNOW SNOW (hopefully!)
12. getting to wear my new winter coat - a big purchase for me, can't wait to rock it in the cold

Get ready for a month of lists!  Also, check out my "Good Things about October" list here.

Thanksgiving Break!

I had an amazing vacation.  It was so nice to see everyone and relax.  As you all know, I didn't have any outstanding homework to accomplish, so I spent all of my break maxin' and relaxing.  It was great.  I thought I would highlight for you some fun happenings in Wallingford over the break.

1. Pep Rally/Powderpuff - Wallingford is proud to boast the longest running powderpuff game in the US.  Powderpuff is a football game where the senior girls from my high  school, Mark T Sheehan play the senior girls from our cross-town rival high school, Lyman Hall.  During the game, the senior boys from both schools cheer for the girls and perform in a half-time show.  The game is a HUGE deal in my town. I had so much fun going to watch many of my senior friends have the time of their lives. Of course, Sheehan won this year!  It was also fun to see so many of my high school friends at the game.

2. Thanksgiving - One of my favorite holidays.  Thanksgiving in the Murray household starts with the Macy's Day Parade. My favorite part of the parade is seeing all of the Broadway acts and the Rockettes.  Then, at noon, we always listen to Alice's Restaurant.  This year, we listened to it in the car on the way to my Aunt Laurie's house.  Once we arrive at my aunt's, there is alot of football watching, singing, cooking, eating and game playing.  By the end, everyone was stuffed and tired from all the fun.

Cooking up a storm

Playing a new game my Aunt Laurie taught us

3. Black Friday - My mom, brother, aunt, and cousins and I all went out to search for some Black Friday deals.  We went to Kohl's and Macy's.  We don't get too crazy on Black Friday, we go out mainly to have fun and to hopefully save some money.  We had a so much fun the year.

Mom and Aunt Laurie playing around in line

Smiles in the check-out line at Kohl's

Aunt Laurie getting in the Christmas spirit

Mom joking with the mannequins 

 

4. Murray Family Outing to the Movies - We went on Saturday to the movies to see Hugo.  It was nice to go out with my family.  The movie was pretty good too.

Those were just some of the highlights from the break. I am so happy to be back at school.  As I write this, Saint Mike's is getting all Christmas-afied!  I love Christmas season! If only it would snow...

Why I Feel Awesome Right Now!

I did something that I have never done before this weekend!  I finished all of my homework before the night before it was due!  I am usually more of a wait-til-the-last-second kind of gal, but I didn't want to do anything over Thanksgiving Break.  So, I worked really hard last week and weekend and these two last days at school, and I finished all of my assignments for next Monday and Tuesday!  This is super exciting because now I can completely relax over break and enjoy Thanksgiving.  Stay tuned: my next blog post is going to be all about how great my Thanksgiving was!

My Registration Saga

My last post was about prepping for registration so I thought I would make this one about how it actually went.

I woke up on time and I was wide awake.  This is very rare. Usually, I wake up and it takes a while until I can be considered aware, but I think I was excited and nervous to register so I was on my game.  I took a shower.  For those of you following along at home, I know this wasn't in the initial game plan.  I felt I really needed to be refreshed before I registered and I woke up way too early so it made perfect sense.

When I got out of the shower, it was 6:20. I got dressed, braided my hair and took some deep breaths.  At 6:35, I realized that Michaela was not awake.  I went and knocked on her door. It turns out her alarm didn't go off properly.  Good thing we decided we would wake each other up in case of something like that!

Now it was time to get down to business.  Michaela, Ally and I sat out in the hallway and prepared for 7:00.  For me, this included sprinting up and down the hallway a couple of times...registration makes me crazy.

Ally had the seconds timer going so we would know right when 7:00 hit. I checked all of my classes and hit submit.  Apparently, my classes were extremely popular.  I only got into Philosophy and Lit Studies the first time around.  Also, my back-ups must have been extremely popular!  By the time that I could get back to try and register for them, they were full as well.

I was freaking out.

I couldn't find any classes that worked.  I was only 2 for 4.  I had class with my advisor later in the day so I decided I would talk to him then.  After class, I met with my advisor. (Side note about the awesomeness of my advisor: It was his wedding anniversary and he was still at school after class, after his office hours, helping out his advisees figure out their lives).

My advisor told me I could re-register on the next day to get into my back-ups.  He also helped me to petition into my psychology class.  I registered the next day and got into Anthropology!

I am currently officially registered into 3 classes.  I am going to be petitioning into my fourth and hopefully that will work itself out this week.

The moral of this story is to focus on the amazing support that Saint Michael's provides.  I thought I was dropping out of college (kidding...alittle) and my advisor totally calmed me down and helped me fix it.

When I get my fourth class all squared away, I will post my official schedule for next semester!

Prepping For Registration

  A bunch of the bloggers have been prepping for registration and telling their registration stories, and I thought I would add mine!  As freshmen, we register for the Fall Semester at Summer Registration Day.  This is a day that is set aside for freshmen to register and it involves a temporary advisor, and they walk you through the steps.  This Friday coming up will be the first time I register alone.  Of course, I have tons of support.  I have my academic advisor who helped me to make sure I was eligible for all of my classes.  My softball team held a team meeting regarding classes.  I really liked the team meeting because I got some great advice from upperclassmen who have already gone through what I am going through.  I also have all of my awesome friends who are, like me a little stressed about registering.  I actually register on the last day, on Friday.  Registration starts at 7 am because it is the most fair time, and people don't have classes or events that conflict with the time slot.  My plan of attack is this:

1. Set 10 alarms.  I do NOT want to over sleep through registration.
2. Wake up and get coffee
3. Relax!! Tell myself everything will work out
4. Set my schedule and at 7:02 hit submit and pray to the registration gods that I get my dream schedule
5. Rejoice because I got my dream schedule and everything worked out the way I wanted it to!
6. Laugh at myself for being so stressed
7. Go back to bed

  My dream schedule looks a little something like this:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday:
8:10-9:40  - Behavioral Neural Psychology
9:50- 10:50 - Philosophy 101 Honors
12:10-1:10 - Lit Studies: Road Trips

Tuesday, Thursday
1:10-2:40 - History of Modern Ireland

The good thing about being an Exploratory major is a dream schedule that looks like that.  I can basically take whatever classes I so choose as long as they fulfill an Liberal Studies Requirement.

That's all for now.  Hopefully my registration will go off as planned!

It's Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

This is my first Halloween here at SMC, and I should have known it was going to be awesome!!  Here is how my weekend went:

Friday Night
  Allie, Michaela and I started our Friday by spending some time in Burlington.  When I was first looking at Saint Michael's, I didn't realize how easy it would be to catch a bus and head right to Church Street.  I thought it would always be this big ordeal, but really it's rather simple.  In Burlington we shopped around and got some supplies for our costumes.  We didn't know what we wanted to be really, we had some ideas, but it was still in the air.  Then, when browsing around Old Gold (a really cool shop around the corner from Church Street), we came across the perfect dresses to be Powerpuff Girls!! So we completed our costumes and headed back to Saint Mike's.

The Powerpuff Girls, I was Bubbles, the one to the far left.  Allie was Blossom the one in the middle, and Micheala was Buttercup

 There were thoughts of us going to UVM to see one of Allie's friends on Friday, but then we decided to stay here at SMC and show off our cool costumes.  We hung out mainly in Joyce on Friday and it was a blast! Little did I know there was even more fun to be had on Saturday at the dance!

Saturday 
  The day of the dance! I mainly lounged around on Saturday during the day, then when 7 rolled around I started getting ready.  Something I learned about Halloween on Saturday:  Three-quarters of the fun on Halloween is getting ready.  J4 was all a-buzz of girls getting ready, doing hair, make-up, and trying to figure out which way to wear their costumes best.  After getting ready, we took pictures (of course) and headed to the dance.

  I was a roller derby girl on Saterday. This involved a black eye, a flashy skirt, ripped tights, a helmet, and of course roller blades!  My friend Allie was a dinosaur, her hat was so cute and she had awesome sparkly green leggings. My other friend Michaela was a Austin Powers Girl.  She wore a super sparkly dress and cool heels.

  The dance was so fun, we danced with my floor, and I even got to roll around a couple of times around the dance floor.



Sunday
  Sunday was a lounge day.  I mainly just hung out in my pj's and did homework. I also spent some valuable time in the library on Sunday.

Today!! Its Halloween!
   It is a perfect fall day.  I am going to try to finish my homework so later we can play cards.  Today I got a package from my mom with night-vision goggles!  Maybe those will come in handy tonight for some tricks...  Speaking of my mom/my hometown, this weekend they got a ton of snow! I go to college in Vermont, and they get snow while its snow-less here!  I decided I am okay with this though because the snow is causing mass-mayhem in Wallingford.  Plus I know I will be getting plenty of snow this winter.

Have a happy halloween everyone!

The Grill

One of the best things that happens on campus is the grill on the weekends.  I love the grill. I seriously love the grill.  My friends jokingly make fun of me for my love of the grill.

Let me explain what the grill is, it is put on by Residence Life and it is basically a grill that they set up in the middle of the Quad and they grill food and give it out to us.  It is awesome.  I did hear about this when first learning about Saint Mike's, but I did not imagine it correctly.  The grill starts at 11, and almost everyone goes.  They serve a different food every night.  My personal favorite is Chicken Patty night, but it's all good.

Here are some pictures of my friends, Michaela and Allie and I at the grill this weekend.

Some more thoughts on the grill...

"Second chicken patty, I think yes, because usually I eat 2...with honey mustard sauce" - Celia J4

"I never eat anything at the grill, I go because it makes me happy" - Misha J4

"Chicken Patties are the bomb" - Gabby J4

"They do it because they love us" - Michaela J4

My Weekend in the 203

     This weekend like many of my fellow SMC students, I went home for Fall Break.  My break started after my Statistics class on Friday.  My class ends at 1:10 and my Dad met me in Alliot right after class.  I was carpooling with another girl from my softball team and a nearby town and she didn’t get out of class until around 3, so I conned my Dad into lunch at Sweetwaters.  My Dad and I headed into Burlington and had a delicious lunch.  We both got burgers.  He got the “Green With Envy” burger and I got the “Bed Rock” burger.  Then we headed back to campus to pick up Carleen.  After getting Carleen at the suites we headed south towards Connecticut.  

     Friday night I got home pretty late so I just hung out and caught up with my parents.  It was good to see my parents after so long being at school.

     Saturday I slept in which was a great change after waking up for class in the week and softball on the weekends.  I went to Kiwispoon with my best friend from home Dani.  Kiwispoon is a frozen yogurt place that moved in during the summer and I am somewhat obsessed with it.  I had pumpkin flavored, YUM! Next, I headed over to my neighbor Landon’s baseball game.  He is 6 and it is so cute to watch him play.  After the game, I went home and we had dinner with the neighborhood.  My neighborhood is really close and it was awesome to see everyone.  

     Sunday, I went to church with my family.  Then, we went to Brueggar's Bagels for breakfast.  After going home and organizing my room for a bit, my mom and I went to a vineyard in my town.  The vineyard is called Paradise Hills and it is right in Wallingford.  We had to drive down this gravel road and then BAM, its easy to forget that we were in my town.  We met my Aunt, Cousin, Grandma, and some of our family friends.  We had so much fun talking and laughing while enjoying some yummy treats.  On Sunday night, we had dinner as a family.  It was really great to get my family together to eat.

     I spent Monday studying and packing my clothes back up.  I also added some more clothes to bring back to school.  Monday afternoon I went back to my high school to visit some of my old teachers and catch a volleyball game. It was really weird but fun being back at Sheehan. It was nice to see my old teachers and catch up.  

     That brings us to Tuesday.  Tuesday I spent packing up, procrastinating studying, and watching my dad and his friend lay tile in our basement.  Now, I am back on my way to SMC!  

I loved being home, but I am so happy to be back at SMC! 

Good Things About October

In my high school, the month of November is kinda a big deal, especially when you are a senior.  Last year, I was so excited for November (and also pretty busy/stressed) and I decided to make a "Good Things About November" list in my homework planner so I could look at it and feel excited instead of freaking out and stressing.  Then, I decided I really liked doing that, and I made one for December, then I just didn't stop.  I made one for every month since then.  The lists are housed in my planner, on the month view page where I can see them almost every day.

You may be thinking, "wow, this is super lame, I cannot believe this girl does this".  But, I would say to that, "you should try it!".  It helps when you get super stressed because you can just glance and BOOM, you feel great about this month.  It also helps me to not get so ahead of myself.

I thought I would share my "Good Things About October" list with you so here they are:

- Softball - fall ball is so great because it is not super high stress, and the weather is usually gorgeous.
- Going home - I adore being here at SMC, but I also can't wait to go home for fall break on the 14th to see my family and home friends.
- Catherine's Birthday - Birthday's usually always make the list, my cousin Catherine's birthday is in October, she is turning 18.
- Halloween - need I say more? Even though it is 31 days away, I am looking forward to Halloween for sure! Who doesn't love a holiday based off of candy??
- Hoodies - I love me some hoodies.  The fall is great because it is hoodie season for me.
- New Facebook - I am in love with the timeline, you can check out a post by Gabbi about it here, hopefully everyone's Facebook will be switched over sometime soon!
- Colder Weather - I am a huge fan of the seasons, but I especially love fall and the chilly but not too freezing weather.
- anything with apples - Eating is great and fall eating is the best.  Anything made with apples is one of the best things about fall and October.
- Changing Leaves - Fall is beautiful - fall in New England (especially Vermont) is magical!
- Leaf Piles - going along with changing leaves, my inner 5 year old loves playing in leaf piles.

I am sure I will add more to the list through-out the month.  This is all I have so far and October is already shaping up to be a great month!  

I hope that you try to make your own "Good Things About October" list, if you do, add them to the comments below!! I would love to see what other people love about October!

G.O.T. S.K.I.L.L.S.?

   This past Thursday I was fortunate enough to attend a G.O.T. S.K.I.L.L.S.? event here on campus.  It was a lecture given by Dr. Maura Cullen about diversity.  She was extremely informative and interesting to listen to.  She talked to us about how what we say can affect others.  We also participated in little mini activities that got us thinking about our perceptions of people, and our surroundings.
   You may be wondering what G.O.T. S.K.I.L.L.S.? is.  I did not know what it was until coming here, and I only really grasped it since researching it more for this post.  G.O.T. S.K.I.L.L.S.? stands for Socially just, Kindness toward others, Inclusive toward all people, Leading at every turn, Listening with care and, Self-respectful (good thing we have the acronym).   The program is designed to "encourage students to attend programs and activities that promote human dignity". The program puts on events to promote the ideas listed in the acronym, and at each event you get a survey and the survey puts you into a raffle.  The prizes range, but they vary from $5 gift certificate to higher housing bids.  This program is very cool and it makes it possible to live somewhere really nice next year.
   In short, the program was very insightful.   I will definitely be attending more G.O.T. S.K.I.L.L.S.? events in the future.  They are interesting, and they also can win me cool prizes.

Art Hopping

    This weekend was the South End of Burlington's Art Hop and I was lucky enough to get to check it out.  I had to go for my first year seminar class, but I would have tried to get there anyway.  My assignment was to check out two artists and to write about their work.
     Living Digital is my first year seminar and it is incredibly interesting.  A first year seminar, for those of us who don't know, is a small, discussion and writing based class for first-years.  The class doesn't need to go along with your major.  The main goal of the class is to hone writing skills and help one's transition into college.  Here is the link to the first-year seminar web page on Saint Michael's website.
  So anyway, I needed to go to the South End Art Hop and the only time I had was late on Friday night.  Fallball games for softball started this weekend, so I was super busy.  I ended up just making it to the art hop and I am so happy that I got to see it.  My friends Michaela, Misha, and my roommate Katie came with me.  We caught the bus to Burlington and speed walked down to the Art Hop.
    The flyers said it ended at 9, the event was still in full swing when we finally got down there are 8:50.  Our first artist was set up on a front porch.  He had gorgeous airbrush paintings set out for everyone to look at.  Here is his website, definitely check it out.
   Then we made our way over to the S.P.A.C.E. Art Gallery to check out even more cool works of art.  In the S.P.A.C.E. there were people who painted, sculpted and experimented with light set up.  Here is the link for that website as well.
   After all of that walking around, we really built up an appetite.  We got Samosas from a street vender.  They were absolutely delicious, and a bit spicy.  Michaela and I got the Vermont Spicy potato and Katie got the Vegetable one.  Both were outstanding.
     We topped off the night with Ben and Jerry's to cool off our roasting tongues and headed back to campus.  When we got back, I had a special treat because my family had made it up here to visit.  They came up to watch my softball games this weekend.  It was very good to see them again after the few weeks that I have been here.
     I can't wait to check out the Art Hop again next year.

Dorm Tour!!

On one of my first days here at SMC on Joyce fourth floor, we were all sitting around getting to know one another when we decided to do room tours.  Everyone sets up their room a little differently.  I find dorm rooms to be the most interesting examples of people's personalities.  Here are some pictures of my dorm room.  I love my room, even though right now it is pretty toasty.  So, welcome to Joyce 402!

A panoramic of my room (Go Iphones!!) I think if you click on this you can see a larger version

This is my bed and my gorgeous quilt.  I am still working on wall decorations. 

My desk.  Note the fans, the fourth floor gets real warm.

My roommate's desk and our fridge and microwave.

Our shelves.  I love these shelves.  

My closet. I love the huge above cabinet because it fits everything.

Our room from above.  Check out our cool rug.

Our beds.  We went with the line method, trying to add space in the room.  We also half-lofted our beds.

Our map.  This is a map of Burlington and surrounding areas.  We also have the places we want to go this year all around the actual map.

View out our window.  I believe we have the best view of everything happening out in the quad and on the library lawn.

Well, I am off to some more studying and some dinner later.  Have a good week!

National Whistle Weekend..umm I mean Orientation

As most of you know, Thursday started off National Whistle Weekend here at SMC.  The whistles were in full force.  They greeted us, they told us what to do, they woke us up in the morning, they got us pumped at the dance. Yup, this weekend was all about the whistles, oh ya, and Orientation too.

Because this week has been so hectic and I have done so much, I thought I would break it down by day so that I don't miss anything. This has been such an amazing week.

Sunday Aug. 21st
- I had a BBQ with my Senior English class and teacher.  We had a really special class and it was great to see everyone before we all left.  I loved getting to meet my teacher's dogs as well.
- Right after my english class BBQ, I had a family going away party at my house. It was so cool to say goodbye and to eat my favorite meal of enchiladas.

My family and I on my front lawn on Sunday.

Monday Aug. 22nd
- Spent the day with my amazing neighbors.  We went to Lake Compounce, which is an amusement park in CT.  We had so much fun and I was very impressed with Landon's (5 years old) and Preston's (3 years old) bravery with the rides.

Tuesday Aug 23rd
- Packed all day.  Got everything organized for Wednesday's adventure.  Finished up my Eating Animal's Essay. I also went to softball practice.

Wednesday Aug. 24th
- My last Neil's Donuts breakfast for a while with the family.
- Packed the car, so it would be ready to take off the next day.
- Went to see WICKED with my friend Dani.  We had so much fun! What a great show, it was beautiful and amazing, and I still kinda can't believe I saw it.

Mom and I with the stage in the background

Mom, Dani and I during intermission

Thursday Aug. 25th
- Left for SMC at 4:15 am.  I was really tired because of Wicked so I slept almost the whole way here.  We only stopped once, which is pretty much amazing for my family.
- Arrived at SMC at about 8:50, I was greeted by some awesome and energetic O-Leaders at the gate.
-  Drove to my dorm and forgot my room number.  I eventually remembered and the orientation leaders kicked butt at getting all of my stuff up the FOUR flights of stairs!
- Started moving all of my stuff into my room.  Sent my dad and brother to get the bed lofter guys.  Unpacked all of my clothes.
- Lofter men came in and lofted my bed.
- Met my roommate and my roommate's family.
- Went to check in at the Ross Sports Center and checked out all of the cool exhibits there.
- Took our class photo in the gym.  Then we ate some delicious food and met with our orientation groups.
- Convocation Ceremony.  This was very nice, and also very hot.
- Then it was time for "fun for all" which was really cool and, you guessed it, fun.  We did team builders in the gym.
- Hang out/walk around campus
- Bed...finally!

My little brother CJ and I before they left

Friday Aug. 26th
- Wake up to whistles
- Breakfast with my Mom, Dad, and brother.
- Went to opening Mass with my family.  It was very nice.  Then we said our goodbyes.
- Went to lunch with some of my Joyce floormates.
- Hung out until dinner, then dinner at Alliot.
- DANCE PARTY!! The dance party was for the freshman class and it was really fun.

Saturday Aug 27th
- Wake up to whistles
- Went to an informational academics program fair.
- Then a really helpful panel on my summer reading, Eating Animals.
- Lunch
- Met with my advisor, he seems really cool and knowledgeable.
- Dinner
- Scavenger hunt with my orientation group.  Loved walking around campus and enjoyed the beautiful sunset.
- Super hilarious hypnotist show.  Best I have ever seen.
- Hung out with some floormates.

Sunset outside of my window

Which brings us to today...

Sunday Aug 28th
- Irene!!!!
- Rain boots were in order this morning, as well as a heavy duty rain jacket.
- Ross for our last orientation event.
- Wrote a letter to myself for when I graduate. Then we watched a really cool presentation by a  very interesting man.
- Underwent an Orientation tradition that includes a really special braid.
- Went to informational sessions on SMC Athletics for softball.
- Back to my dorm to write this.


Now, I am just writing this, looking out my window at Irene which is rocking it right now with a ton of wind and rain.

As you can see, it has been a busy couple of days for me with very little sleep.  So far, I LOVE SMC!! Orientation was great and the O-leaders each deserve a trophy or something.

Fun Fun

This is going to be a quick post because I need to go pick up my brother from his summer job in about 5 minutes, but I thought I would let you in on my packing progress and try to put a youtube video into this post.

This is a video I made and even though it is quick, the real-time is alot slower and I probably spent an hour organizing my college supplies and figuring out my final list.  I leave in about 10 days and I am trying to finalize all of my stuff.

Hopefully the video is right below here...

I thought it was kinda fun to share.

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT LAURIE!!

"Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold"

I was a Girl Scout for 13 years and I cannot tell you how many times I have sung this cute campy song.  We sang it at every meeting from the tender age of 5 to the "wise" age of 17.  Although I used to sing it constantly, never has this song had so much meaning than this summer.

This weekend was my last softball tournament with my team of the last 2 years.  We are all headed off to college in the fall (2 of us leave this week!).  Our schools range from as far south as Georgia to as far north as Vermont (Go SMC!), so we know that this is the last time we will see each other for quite a while.

For those of us who play on travel sports teams, we know that the people on our teams are the people who we spend almost all of our time with. Today, I had to say goodbye to all of those great people, but we know that it is not forever.  We are definitely going to get together during breaks, and we made a Facebook group so we can all stay in touch.  They are amazing people and I am so sad to be leaving all of them.

It is not just my team that I am leaving in about a month, it is also all of my "home friends" as I am sure they will soon be called.  Even though I am leaving my "home friends", I cannot wait to start at Saint Michael's.  There will be so many more people to meet and I know I will make more friends while in Vermont.



One is silver and the other is gold...

College Packing Progress

This is just a progress report on the sometimes daunting task of packing for college that I have undertaken. So far, I have a pile that seems to be taking over my under-construction basement bathroom.  I thought I would share with you some pictures of my pile.

This is half of my pile, I am trying to keep it as organized as possible, so I have sub-piles. 

This is my latest purchase, a bed topper.  I got it at Wal-Mart.  

This is my closet pile.  My mom got me hanging closet shelves.  I hope that they fit.  I also have some hangers, but I think I am going to need more.  My mom and I joked that I would pick the school with the biggest closet.  I am happy that I am living in Joyce with the big blue closets.

This is my desk pile.  My friend Dani got me most of my desk supplies as a Graduation present.  

This is my shower caddy and some of my health and beauty stuff. 

The second half of my pile.  Plus the dehumidifier (I'm not bringing that to school).

These are my towels, all in my laundry basket.  I also have some kitchen-y supplies in this pile and my first college purchase of my sleeping bag. 

This is my room stuff.  It has things like decorations, my big calendar, and other small things.

So that is my infamous college pile.  I hope I don't forget anything!!

On a side note, I went to Stew Leonards yesterday...

Summer Reading

This summer, the incoming freshman at Saint Mike's were assigned a summer reading.  We were assigned the task of reading the book Eating Animals.  Of course, the first thing I did after I found out the title, I googled it.  I found this website, the official website of the book, and after reading the website, I was dreading reading the book.

I love to eat.  I eat anything.  Put some sort of edible substance in front of me and I will eat it.  This is a good and a bad attribute.  It is good because I love healthy foods, but it is bad because I was willing to eat really bad foods also.  I was terrified to find out all of those little facts about food that I have been denying for years.

The truth is, I am so happy that Eating Animals was our assigned book.  My best friend, Dani, was assigned a book to read this summer as well.  After reading the back of her book, I wanted to call whoever it is at Saint Michael's who choose what we read in the summer and thank him or her. Dani's book was very dry, I wouldn't want to read it, she didn't want to read it.  So thank you, whoever you are, for choosing Eating Animals!

Once I started reading Eating Animals, I was hooked.  Now I am somewhat obsessed with food.  I find it fascinating.  What people chose to eat, what people are forced to eat, everything about food I find captivating.  Right now, I am watching an Oprah episode, this is a link to the episode webpage.  I would have never watched this before reading Eating Animals.

Eating Animals has changed the way I look at my food.  I still eat meat, but I stay away from chicken.  I eat more salad and vegetables.  When I do eat meat, I feel alittle pang of guilt, but I am not willing to give it up right now.

The best part of Eating Animals being our summer book, is that it will fuel discussions.  This book is not a book you can just read and not have any feeling towards.  Everyone has an opinion on this subject, especially after reading and researching it.

So thank you Mr. (or Mrs.) Book Chooser, I really enjoyed reading Eating Animals, good choice.

Why I Choose SMC

"Why did you chose to go to Saint Michael's?"


This is a question that I keep getting as I get closer and closer to actually arriving on the Saint Mike's campus.  The truth is, I don't really have any one specific answer.  The road to my decision to go to Saint Mike's was long and I probably made it harder on myself than it needed to be.  Now that I have finally decided, I am so happy!!


The first reason I even thought to go to Saint Michael's was because my Uncle Tom went there. Neither of my parents went to college, so the only college I really ever heard about was Saint Michael's.  So, I put it on my list and started researching.


Every time I pruned my list, St. Mike's just stuck.  I didn't love it yet, but there was nothing wrong with it either.  Then, I stayed for an overnight through the softball program.  After this, I was hooked.  I loved everything about the school, the beautiful location, the small classes, and the people.


One last pro/con list and I was done.  I decided to go to Saint Michael's.


Below is my pro/con list that my mom and I wrote while I was at a softball tournament in Mass.  We wrote it on the hotels stationary and that makes me love it even more.  Some of the points are inside jokes with my mom, but some are very valid.

So that is why I chose SMC, and I am so happy that I did.  I cannot wait to get started!! :)

P.S. I only had two cons when I wrote this list, and looking back now, they were really silly.