Snow Day

So I did not think it was possible, but it was. In my three years here at school we have cancelled classes two times due to snow. This is amazing considering that the first time they cancelled, my freshman year, they had not closed the school due to snow in twenty-two years. Now it is twice in three years!! The first time they cancelled it was Valentine's Day my freshman year and the ground crew at the school were not expecting the snow/ice to be that bad. It ended up being so horrific that the county it is located in was a level three and you could not walk without slipping. This year, the weather forecast said we were expecting 6-10 inches of snow and at least 5 inches of ice...well we got it :) and we also got the luxury of a snow day. Last snow day my friend and I trekked to my car to went somewhere, this time my roommates and I enjoyed our room by reading, watching movies, and playing wii. We also ventured off campus to grab some chinese food for a roomie dinner/movie night. Well we ordered our chinese and if you know any chinese place they always say 10-15 minutes...so we decided we should leave then cause the car was covered with ice and snow. When we got to my car we realized there was an 1 inch of snow completely covering the car. It took over 30 minutes to get into the car and chip away the ice so we could go pick up our food, but in the end it was so worth the delicious food and weird movie (we watcher Burn After Reading). 

Really?!?!

So today I took the boy that I help to Boy Scouts. They decided to work on their craftsmanship badge and in order to do this they had to build a shelf, by sawing a piece in half and screwing 9 screws into the holes. Well the boy that I worked with did not want to have any part of this, it could be due to the fact that he was last on the sawing and by that point he thought it was time to go and did not want to be there anymore. He also was afraid of the saw and did not want to be near it. After some coaxing he decided to watch the guy saw and actually had a good time helping measure and hold the wood. Next came the screwing of nails, well since there were 18 boys, and 18 shelves there was no room on the table for us to piece it together so we had to sit on the floor. Well after a good ten failed attempts to have him help me hold it together and screw in the screws, the assistant leader came up to me and asked if I the 'little lady' needed help. I said sure if he would like to hold the pieces together that would be great. He then proceeded to take the pieces from me move them to a table (he made room by having a kid move). He starts working on it (me standing there helpless) and has the boy I help come over and give the screwdriver a turn, the boy does but not with any strength so he tells him to try again, the boy I help is completely over screwing screws into wood, so I grab the screwdriver and start screwing in all the nails. The assistant looks at me with amaze at the fact that I can turn a screwdriver and according to him I apparently did it the right way, who knew? I could not believe that all the men in the room just decided that I was this helpless young adult who did not know how to use a screwdriver, they may have even been surprised that I knew what wood was! This infuriated  me to think that these men believed that I had no clue what it was. Just because I am a woman does not mean that I do not know how to do anything that a man should know how to do. I wonder what would happen if they found out that I knew how to use a hammer, a screwdriver, and a circular saw! Goodness! 

Inauguration

So today marks a huge day in history, granted it was already going to make the books considering we are receiving a new president, but today is even more historic. Unfortunately I will be unable to watch the first hour of the inauguration due to a class I have, but all in all it is still historic. Whether you wanted Barack Obama to win or lose, I hope we as a nation can stand behind him and support him through the decisions he and our government have to make. Regardless of who became president this election, they are going to have a rough start in our nation due to the recession and the fact that many people believe we should be out of Iraq (what 9 years later?) by now. Obama will however, understand and do his best at running our country like any other president has. 

Cookies!!

The other night, I baked some cookies and finished them up by decorating them last night. This was my first time working with these shapes and they were a baseball hat and a basketball jersey. I think they turned out pretty well and I cannot wait to perfect them in the future.

p.s. hope you like my new background color, the pink was kind of getting old on me.

Never Again

Today along with my classmates and my friend's family we buried my friend that passed away earlier in the week. After a very nice ceremony that was full of tears and laughter (just what he wanted), my classmates and I gathered at the opening of the church for a tunnel and a final farewell. In high school, when a team goes to the playoffs, all the students and teachers gather together in our long hallway and make a tunnel to cheer them on. Devin wanted just that for his funeral and that is what we gave him. My close friends and I have decided that we do not want to bury another classmate for a long time and who know what lies ahead of us, but we will get through it. 

Praying

So my friend and I were looking online the other day when I came across this interesting way to pray. I never thought of it and I like the way that it works. It is called the five finger prayer and this is how it works:

Starting with the thumb since it is closest to the body this should remind you to pray for those closest to you such as good friends and family. 

The pointer finger, coming next reminds you to pray for the teachers, instructors, and healers in your life. 

The tall finger reminds you to pray for the leaders of your country, church, and etc.

The ring finger is the weakest of all the fingers so this reminds you to pray for the weak, sick, and those in trouble.

The final finger, the pinky reminds you to pray for yourself. It is important to remember yourself when praying considering that you already prayed for the rest with the first four fingers. 

Another Angel

Today I found out that one of my classmates from High School passed away. He was diagnosed our senior year with a very rare childhood cancer and was whisked away to NYC and Sloan-Kettering Hospital where he underwent multiple chemo treatments. After 6 months in remission he found out that he had beaten the rare cancer, but that he had developed leukemia. Two to three months ago the doctors told him that there was not much more they could do and that he should go home and enjoy his time there. He did just that by doing everything that he loved and over the weekend was taken to the hospital due to an infection. He passed away today in the afternoon. If you could please keep his family in your prayers, I could not imagine the grief that comes with burying a child. 

Book Review: The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture written by Randy Pausch was written to follow the lecture that Randy actually presented where he previously taught, Carnegie-Mellon. Randy was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and a bout with chemo and a very serious surgery he found out that his cancer had metastasized. He the decided to give a life/last lecture about childhood dreams and possibilities. The book has many great life quotes and it makes you realize a lot about your personal life and how you want to live. Some of the quotes that I enjoyed were:

~We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how you play the hand.

~Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

~The brick walls are not there to keep us out . The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough.

This book was an amazing read and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. I give it a  5 out of 5.

Travel Report: Salem, Massachusetts

Happy New Year! I hope yours was safe and happy :) So I recently got back from a 'business' trip to Salem, MA. I say 'business' because I am a first aider for my college and traveled with the team to a tournament there. The bus ride was a little hellish (13 hours) but once we got there it was quite enjoyable. The town is very nice and they many things to do for all ages. There is a port right there so if you are into sailing then you can sail, if you are into art and history then this is a spot for you as well since there is the PEM which is the art museum and the Salem Witch Trials took place here so there is a lot of history. The weather was delightful, however it was a little rough to find food. Almost all of the delis closed around 5 so you had to drive quite a ways to find fast food but there were restaurants and pubs galore. The people seemed friendly there were a few times I smiled at a passerby and they stared at me like I was a witch but whatever, I guess you will have that anywhere. This was not my favorite place to visit but I did like how quiet the town was. When I would wake up in the morning I would go for a walk to one of the millions of Dunkin Donuts in the town and just enjoy the quiet.