Y'all just wait and see what comes at the END of the blog

This blog comes in 4 parts! (And it will be short because I need my sleep because tomorrow I have to take two finals...)

Part 1!! Final exams!

The reason you haven't been seeing any posts from me is because I'm studying for/taking finals! Yay studying! (You have my excuses now, I can move on.)

Part 2!! $50!

I went to the Paisano semester-end dinner where I got to chat more with the other writers and editors and get a free italian dinner. And then they awarded small scholarships to the editors and contributors and I got $50! Hello, shopping!

Part 3!! My Mom!

My mom is the most wonderful, amazing, awesome woman and I am so glad that I've got a claim on her as my own. (Well except for Duncan has a claim too, but you know what I mean.) Because yesterday she overnighted me these:


Cute little gift bags for each day of the next week while I take finals. (Even though they're not chirstmas presents, I still put them under our tree!) Thanks, mom. Love you bunches, and even though it's technically wednesday right now, I haven't opened Wednesday's bag yet.

Part 4!! The Magical Number 32 (degrees)

OH MY GOODNESS IT'S BELOW FREEZING AND SNOWING OUTSIDE. And despite the fact that it's half past midnight, the entire apartment complex is up and about and throwing slushballs at each other. (!!!!!SNOW!!!!!) To give y'all a clue of exactly how unexpected this is, Abby wore a tanktop today and I wore my flipflops while I walked to campus. (OMG SNOW!!!!!!) I just stood outside on my balcony and laughed for about 10 minutes... I'm so happy. Snow is so cool. ("You know who comes from the north and who comes from the south when it snows," Abby just said dryly as someone else screeched.)

(SNOW!!!!!!)

Post office luck

Yesterday I went to the Post Office to mail two Christmas packages.

Now, I think I can count on one hand the number of letters and packages that I have sent in my life. (This does not include thank you notes.) I have been inside of post offices only a handful of times, and part of me thinks this could be a sad thing. The other part of me is glad that we have insta-communication through the internet and I can save a lot of money because email and facebook don't require stamps.

What this all boils down to is the fact that my experience of post offices is mostly through what I hear from other people. So going there yesterday was kind of a new experience for me. My experience yesterday was a good one, and this is why:

1. It took 10 minutes.
2. There was one person in front of me in line.
3. The employee who helped me was really nice.
4. Postage was only $6.
5. Right as I left, about 10 people came in.

#4 makes me happy, very happy. My mom warned me the other day (and I have heard throughout my life) that international postage can get really expensive. The list also makes me realize that post offices aren't so bad... maybe I'll even write a letter sometime.

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Studying going well, by the way. Ahead of schedule = Very good. One day of class left... completely finished with Politics, Astronomy, and English classes for the semester (since my English teacher canceled class tomorrow morning... Yay, I can sleep late!) A little sad that my Astronomy class has ended, though.

Chugga Chugga

I feel like Hermione Granger. (Except without the magic part.) I actually drew up a timetable for studying for my final exams.

(There's that bit in book six where Hermione draws up a studying timetable for herself, Harry, and Ron and when Ron gets his he says, "You've left me a night off a week! Thanks!" and she comes back with "That's for quidditch practice." So if you're still wondering why I feel like Hermione, she reminds me of timetables.)

(If I had my books with me I would quote it directly... but I don't.)

Me and final exams go way back, (seven years, actually) And despite the many exams I have sat through in the last seven years (Assuming 7 classes per year, the number is 98) I have never made a study schedule. Oh sure, teachers would spoon feed us reviews and give us a calendar with a proposed schedule... but I would never use those. Why on earth would I actually study for finals? They're easy to ace.

Well, I think that Abby is getting to me. Her constant blabbering about studying (and seeing all of the signs around campus reading "Freakin about Finals?") has made me suddenly care about my studying habits. So I have drawn up a schedule for myself (color coded to boot) and will (hopefully) be sticking to it.

(So far so good.)

I am chuggin right along to my finals, and then my glorious month of Christmas vacation...

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While sitting in my Astronomy class today, we were talking about extrasolar life, or life outside of our solar system. Apparently there are 329 extrasolar planets that we have found to this day, whereas 15 years ago, the number was none. We spent part of the class today talking about how life forms (or our ideas, because we don't actually know what sparks life) and he said that one of the main problems we need to solve in order to find out how life forms is how abiotic chemistry leads to biotic chemistry... and apparently this is all under the study of "Astrobiogeochemistry"... Which leads me to believe that it is the study of absolutely everything.

(It also makes me want to major in Astrobiogeochemisty and have a minor in physics... just so I can get it all covered.)

I am pleased

(Warning: Knitting content ahead!)

I am pleased, because Christmas gifts are going well...

I finished the stripey one... (You all guessed what this was, and she who shall be receiving it has already seen and approved it... so I do not mind spoiling.)


Started something else... (It is the most delicious mohair/silk blend... I want to eat it. It's ShibuiKnits Silk Cloud.)


And I don't mind spoiling this. These will be this year's adorable little miniature ornament, like last year's mini mittens. I give you...

Mini stockings! Aren't they adorable? They each take around an hour to do, and they're just so easy. It's turning out to be a fun way to experiment with fair isle.

It's beginning to look a lot like

Because Thanksgiving is over, it is obviously time for Christmas to start! I have things on the needles, I have lights over my door, and I have the heater on... Oh yes. Clearly it is time for Christmas. I may have to bake some cookies now!

First off, go here for my mother's blog about the Chuy's parade. She says it better than I have the patience to. ;) Long story short: Best year that we've participated in. The first year was nice because it was hot (like 85-90!) Last year was "misable" because there was hardly any turnout due to the fact that it was cold and wet. Remember how I defrosted for six hours afterward? And this year... well, yes, it was a little on the cold side, but it was a great turnout and we all had fun waving and dancing with the vegetables. As someone near me said after another person had high-fived Mike (the Carrot!), "We're doing excellent PR for vegetables."

So the drive back to San Antonio was uneventful. I listened to Harry Potter #7, because I have it in my car, and I clearly have not listened to it enough in the last year and a half. :) (As an aside, I now have all of the Harry Potter books on my iPod, and have been working my way through them for the last month or so... it's fun to hear the stories again. Just in case you were wondering, I'm on book 3.) So yeah. Uneventful drive. Got home and unloaded the car... and brought home THIS:


This is the little tree that Duncan and I have gotten to decorate for forever. Because we could have it upstairs, we could put all of our paper decorations that we made in school on it. The jury is out on whether we will find an angel for the top.

And also graciously supplied from home...


ICICLE LIGHTS!

They were very long icicle lights, so we knocked on our neighbor's door and asked if they wanted the icicle lights on their side too. ("Of course!" they said.)

Look at us, all festive!

Abby finally gave me a birthday present when I got home because she finally had a chance to shop without me driving her there. She bought me a cute UT sweatshirt, and I love it! I've been needing one...

Another knitting blog will be coming your way soonish... sure to bring fun camera angles and a variety of colors. I have to be all sneaky nowadays that people who receive presents read my blog. And plus, Legolas isn't around to model. (<- I like the last one best. Funny, funny, funny...)

Altough I am sure you are unaware of this as you read, it's 1:18 AM right now and I have to sleep. G'night, all!

49-9

Hoo boy, I love going to UT games. Especially the games when we STOMP all over the opponents.

(49-9!! Woo!)

Seriously, I love going to UT games. The pregame hype is my favorite, I think. The UT band is awesome, with so many people they can cover the entire field with members.


Sometimes I think that when the game actually starts, it's a little disappointing!

Another part of the games that I always enjoy are when the whole 90,000 person crowd starts to chant "TEXAS FIGHT". One half says "TEXAS" and the other "FIGHT" and it's exhilarating to hear the sheer volume of it. (I mean just look at that. The entire stadium was filled.)


Here are a few shots of the game... Enjoy! (Needless to say, I brought my Fancy Camera.)

Okay, so I have never seen this before, but this thing kept me entertained for the entire game! It was a floating camera held by strings that were attached to the stadium lights.

One of the greatest parts is when the team runs out of the fog.
Hook 'em Horns!
Before the game they always roll out the Texas-sized Texas flag. :D
Look! It's Bevo! It was his birthday last night.
The kick off...

And a few band formations for ya!

...This was the funniest part of halftime: Everyone in the band left one shoe on the field after they spelled 'TEXAS'. If you look hard you can see it!


Overall, a great night. We stomped all over the Aggies and that is how it should be.

(While we were walking back to our car during the 4th quarter, we scored another touchdown. We passed by an Aggie while we shouted "Touchdown!!" and the guy said: "I don't know who did it, but I wish nothing more than a stubbed toe on him.")

On the needles

What could they be? Hmmmmm...

Are they christmas pressies? Hmmmm...

How much do I dislike the auto-focus because it doesn't really focus right? Hmmmm....

Only time will tell...