The freakin’ weekend where I had me some fun

This weekend was the best time I’ve had at OU all quarter. It was wonderful, and I have the pictures (mostly of food) to prove it.

Moms Weekend is a big deal at OU, at least for my mom and me. It’s undoubtedly my favorite weekend of the year, and my mom comes down as early as she possibly can for the weekend and stays until the last possible second on Sunday. Usually, Moms Weekend runs into Greek Week, which starts on Sunday in early afternoon with the opening games. The games were postponed due to torrential downpours, so Mom got to stay a few extra hours.

She rolled into town around 1:30 Friday and we unloaded her car and headed straight for Casa! It was my mom’s first experience and I think it’s safe to say that it definitely wasn’t her last. We started out with chips and guac:

I could eat that guac by the spoonful

For our entrees, madre ordered the King Quesadilla and I chose the Spring Salad with blueberry vinaigrette.

Polished that off in record time

The rest of the afternoon was spent browsing the shops uptown. Mom made friends with one of the salespeople, of course. She can make a connection anywhere she goes! After napping for a bit, we went to Bagel Street Deli (no pictures, lo sient0) and enjoyed our dinner on the courthouse steps – undeniably the best place in Athens for people-watching, our favorite sport.

Afterwards we walked around campus a bit and enjoyed the glorious weather. I love Athens in the spring. When we got back to the house, clothes were changed, a movie was watched, and sleep was…slept?

Saturday began with a 9:30ish wake up call and breakfast with C and her mom at The Village Bakery. Even though it was a little overcast, we ate outside. I had a lemon yogurt cookie, a maple pecan (if I remember correctly) tart, and iced green tea.

the cookie was obviously delicious...as was the tart

Next stop: FARMERS MARKET! I want to live there. Mom graciously bought me some tea, spinach empanadas (eaten for dinner tonight – scrumptious), apples, and honey-puffed spelt. I’m excited to try some of the spelt for breakfast tomorrow – the woman who sold it to us said it’s packed with protein.

After loading up the car with our goods, we headed home and rested a bit, and then Mom and I went to the concert I mentioned in my last post. The Women’s Chorale also performed, and three girls from my sorority are in it, so it was really cool to see them sing. There was a pottery sale going on near the auditorium, so we stopped by that and mom picked up a few things. We walked around uptown a bit and then headed back to change for dinner at Purple Chopstix.

I think I have found THE graduation restaurant for next year. It was so tasty. I had the veggie pesto pasta, and I cleaned my plate.

look at that beaut

We were seated in a separate room from everyone since our group was so big. Here’s the most colorful photo I’ve ever seen:

disregard the excessive vino, there was definitely a ton left over!

On the drive home, we encountered a rainbow!

note the scenic construction in the foreground

Charlie’s Angels was the movie of choice for the night, and C and her mom were nice enough to provide us with root beer floats. Unfortunately, I fell asleep fairly early on and was woken up by Mom several times informing me of something I thought I would never do…

SNORE! I’m over it now, but last night I was thoroughly embarrassed. I know how annoying snoring can be, and I felt so bad about it. I have since accepted it as hereditary and a simple fact of life.

This morning was my sorority’s brunch and silent auction, so we enjoyed that for a bit and then headed uptown for coffee at Donkey (really, where else would we go?). We browsed the shops uptown again (I’m not complaining) and I got some Havaianas that I’m sure will see a lot of wear.

Comfort is first and foremost when trying on shoes. Cuteness ensures I'll buy them.

After a stop at the bookstore to pick up some things, we headed back home and then I took Mom for a leg of my “calming” drive because Athens and the surrounding area reminds her of where she spent her summers growing up. When we got back home, it was time for her to go. We packed up her car and said our goodbyes, and I headed back to Donkey for a long study session.

This weekend was everything I needed, and while it was sad to see Mom go, I think it definitely refueled me for what’s to come. Five and a half weeks til summer 🙂

There’s a land that I’ve heard of

I should be reading Chapter 16 of Race and and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives by Martin N. Marger (Eighth Edition), but I’ve been productive pretty much all weekend and sometimes too many things run through my head for me to be able to concentrate on global issues of ethnic conflict and change.

I’m on my new computer. It was waiting for me Friday morning when I got back from bio. I was so worried something would happen to it on the long journey from Shanghai to little old Athens. But it arrived, safe and sound and perfect. I spent the better part of Friday afternoon setting it up and transferring all of my old files. It still doesn’t quite feel like “mine”. My fingers glide too quickly across the keys and the trackpad is smooth and not ridden with fingerprints. It’s zippy and I can take it places without the charger for up to seven hours without worrying about the battery dying. I love it and I hope it stays this way for a long time. It will just take some getting used to. I always feel this way with shoes, for some reason. I keep looking down at my feet when I wear them the first few times and think, “I can’t believe these are mine,” whether they were $10 or $100. I still feel a slight attachment to my old Macbook. It was the first (and most expensive to date) thing I’d ever gotten with money I had earned. It had years of my life, from ages 17 to 20, tucked away in the crevices of wherever things are tucked away. I could look up iChat conversations from years ago and instantly be transported back to a time in my life I’m  not so sure I want to visit. This computer, like so many things in my life, is just a part of the fresh start I have made this year. I know that might sound silly, but it’s almost a relief to not have all of that crowding up what is honestly my favorite “toy”.

I was uncharacteristically productive this weekend. I did have my downtime, but I also got a lot done. Little and MGM went home for the weekend, and they are probably the people with whom I spend the most time. I spent a good part of yesterday and today studying for this redonkulous psych midterm I have this week. We’re given six potential essay questions, and the exam will consist of two of those questions. We answer one question on Tuesday and one on Wednesday, and we have 50 minutes to answer each one. It makes me nervous that I have to study all of this when I’ll only be tested on a third of it. I can never be sure if I’m studying everything equally. I’ve devoted a day to each potential question and left two days to review, so I hope that’s sufficient. What really worries me is that, at the beginning of the quarter, the professor said the highest grade he usually gives out is an A-. I know a lot of professors say things like that to weed out the slackers, and I think it worked because the next day about a quarter of the people who were there the first day were gone. It still worries me, though.  I’m so gullible.

I probably shouldn’t admit that on the internet.

I went out last night for the first time all quarter. I know my school has a reputation for being a “party” school, but I’ve never been the party type. I am perfectly fine with staying in and watching a movie. Last night was a lot of fun, though, because I got to spend time with people I don’t normally see very much, and it was nice to just get out of the house for a few hours. That’s not to say I’ve been cooped up in the house all weekend. In fact, I’ve spent many of my waking hours this weekend at Donkey because I find it’s where I do my best work. I like to think I keep them and Jimmy John’s in business.

I don’t know why I felt the need to blog tonight. Tonight words are coming so much easier to me than they have in the past, and as I mentioned in my last post, it’s getting easier and easier for me to just write again. I’m a bit stressed right now about a lot of things, and while I’m not really writing about any of them, it helps to write in general. I know I’m not really writing – I’m typing – but I’ve written enough today to give me a moderate case of carpal tunnel.

Anyway, week six starts tomorrow. I can’t believe I’m over halfway through winter quarter. I have something every weekend until the end. I’m most excited about something I forgot to mention in my last post. I scored front row center seats for Ingrid Michaelson and Mat Kearney on March 11. I’ve never had such good seats to anything. Little, MGM and MGM’s friend are accompanying me and I am so excited. I just think it would be really cool to be friends with Ingrid. She seems so normal. If you look at any of her concert videos on YouTube, you’ll see that she has an incredible connection with any audience, and she is in no way a diva nor does she have a holier-than-thou attitude so many artists seem to have these days. This is one of my favorites of her.

Now I feel like I can maybe knock out some reading. When I started writing this, my stomach was in knots and my head was starting to hurt. There was no way I could get any sort of work done. I don’t feel that way anymore. I’ve rediscovered my favorite therapy.

T(of)urkey day and more

HELLO!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and if you went shopping on Black Friday I hope you didn’t encounter too much trauma 😉

My Thanksgiving was quite nice. We ate later (5:30 pm-ish) than we normally do, but it wasn’t a problem. I tried tofurkey for the first time.

I wasn’t too impressed, but it does make for a nice Facebook profile pic, don’t ya think? I found this particular tofurkey (purchased at Trader Joe’s and pictured before it was cooked, although that’s probably obvious) to be alright on the inside, but the outside was so tough I couldn’t even cut through it with a knife. I think next year I’ll skip the turkey substitute and just eat more side dishes.

The rest of the spread was tasty, though, so I can’t complain.

You can’t see it all, but we had sweet potatoes with marshmallows (:) ), mashed potatoes with a warm ranch dressingish sauce that was pretty scrumptious, corn pudding (sounds kinda gross but totally the opposite), broccoli with a lemon pepper seasoning, dressing, rolls, maple-kissed sweet potato muffins and of course real turkey for the carnivores. An 18-pound turkey, at that. I think that’s a little much for only three people to be eating, but my mom made a turkey soup today that seemed to use a lot of the leftovers. A few hours after dinner, I ate some pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream as well as another muffin. Thanksgiving also gave me an excuse to wear one of my favorite (and most inexpensive!) outfits:

Each piece I’m wearing? <$35. The boots I’m actually not sure about because they were a gift, but I know they are from Kohl’s, so they probably weren’t too pricey. Oh, and Vic looked adorable as always.

I did not participate in Black Friday, but I do have friends who had to work retail that day, and I mean it when I say that I really felt sorry for them. People can get mean when it comes to half-priced toaster ovens and two-for-one cashmere sweaters or whatever it is that tempts people to participate in this madness. If you worked that day, I salute you. If you went shopping…well, to each his own, I guess.

Instead of taking advantage of the various sales, I was perfectly happy sitting at home with one of my oldest friends playing Scrabble and watching movies. It was so nice to see her for the first time since this summer, and she also made me a beautiful chain of origami cranes and cubes and such because she’s ten million times craftier than I am. It’s hanging in my room right now. I love it.

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday. I won’t say how old she turned because I’m sure she doesn’t want that information so out in the open, but I will say that she definitely looks about eight years younger than she actually is. I got her a silver bracelet with a running greyhound on it from Etsy, and my dad took a hint from her and got her the entire series of Gilmore Girls. She spent a good portion of the day painting her bedroom because the ugly wallpaper it had when we moved in 11 years ago finally got to her. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product, because it’s a really nice color and she’s working hard 🙂

Later that night we went to The Office, which I think is becoming a favorite in my family. I ate way more than I did on Thanksgiving, and I was stuffed for the rest of the evening, which is really saying something. We started out with mozzarella medallions with a balsamic glaze and a tomato caper compote on the side. So. Good. We were also served bread, and obviously I wasn’t going to turn that down. We each had a house salad after that, and then finally our entrees. I had the Mega Grilled Cheese, which had provolone, American and Swiss cheeses plus tomato. That was served with a heap of to-die-for fries. I ate every last crumb. Finally, for dessert, we had the Best Apple Pie Ever Ever Ever, just like last time. Tasted even better this time. My mom and I split it because it was humongous. If I had eaten just one more bite, I probably would have exploded. It was great. Of course, we couldn’t leave without snapping a picture.

Hmm. Vic must really like that scarf. It’s cute!

In between everything the past few days, I’ve been catching up on 90210. I haven’t been able to watch it since the middle of the first season, and w-o-w. I think I watch it partially just for the clothes, but can you say DRAMA? I’m not normally into the super dramatic shows – my favorite shows are The Office and Glee, after all. For some reason, though, I find myself slightly addicted. I guess it stems from the fact that Big and I watched basically the entire original series last year. No shame. I’ve also rekindled my Gossip Girl love from freshman year…there’s no denying those wardrobes are enviable.

On a completely different note, remember that 10-page paper that I hoped my soc professor would deem A-worthy? Well, I got an email from her today, and she, in fact, found it A-worthy! I always get so nervous when I write papers even though I’m a journalism major, so this definitely boosted my confidence. Maybe it will hold me over until final grades come out on Tuesday. Eek!

 

 

 

To blog or not to blog…

Hmm, not even a question.

I don’t have anything particularly exciting to report. Finals week is upon me, and I’ve got three papers to turn in before Friday at 5 pm. Totally manageable with the help of lots of caffeine. I hope.

Friday morning I slept in until the glorious hour of 11, and sidled upstairs for Friday brunch – one of the best parts of living in the sorority house. Probably the unhealthiest, too…

I grabbed an egg and cheese English muffin and a chocolate chip pancake and chatted with my little sis (who will be referred to as “Little” from now on). After surfing the interwebz for longer than I should have and watching the AAA mechanic put a new tire on my car, I got my sh*t together and went over to the graphics lab at ye old J-school to work on my final project. I had already Photoshopped all of my pictures, I just needed to lay out everything in InDesign. It took my Adobe-challenged self about an hour and a half to finish, and when I did, I was hungry. I texted Little to see if she wanted to get dinner. She texted back saying that she and a couple of our friends were planning to get Mexican, and would I like to join?

Yes. Yes, I would.

We went to a cheapo restaurant called Rio Grande which is famous for not carding when you order alcohol. We were just looking to eat, though, I promise. And eat we did.

Maggie and Little. When she ordered a fajita burrito, she had no idea it would be so huge.

We headed back to the house and watched movies and just hung out. I stayed up really late for some reason talking to a friend from high school I hadn’t talked to in over a year. It was so great to catch up with him, and we made plans to hang out when I come home for break (FRIDAY!). One of my sorority sisters also introduced me to a game on Facebook called Happy Aquarium. I escaped the Farmville craze, but I’m not sure I can say the same about this game. I’m obsessed with keeping my tank clean and fish fed. My life is really exciting, I know.

Saturday was spent studying at Donkey and diagnosing myself with bronchitis. Mucinex and fluids are my BFFs right now. One of the alumna from my sorority came to visit yesterday, and she told me she reads my blog. So, Christina, if you are reading this, hi! Potential employers: give her a job! She’s legit. K, thanks.

Today was spent much like yesterday. I spent a lot of time with Ian Fleming, something I should have done several weeks ago, but such is the life of a typical college student. I took a break around 5:30 to take a holiday-themed picture with my sorority in front of our (beautifully) decorated house for our website and newsletter. I’m excited to see how it turns out; maybe I’ll post it on here.

Well, it’s Monday now. Just barely. I have to present and defend my final graphics project at 11, and I have my last history class at 3 (thank all that is holy). Then it’s writewritewritewrite until Friday-ish.

If you’re taking finals this week, good luck 🙂 If you’re on semesters or not in school, have a fantastic week anyway!