It's that time of year again! March Madness! I know it's already on it's way but it's better almost to talk about it after it's halfway done which allows more people to realize that it's actually happening. :) But it's really fun so far and there have already been quite a few upsets already!

One upset that had everyone reeling was when Kansas lost to Iowa! I couldn't believe they lost! I was so surprised... a #1 team getting knocked out in the second round. That's almost unheard of. And by a #9! Geez... That I think killed a lotta people's bracket predictions. This is the first year in a long time that I decided to enter a bracket pool and sure enough, after the first weekend I was in 2nd place. But after this weekend, that might not be the case. I ended up having all of the first round in the Midwest correct and the second round of the West right but now I only have two teams left after yesterday's round finished. But I could still have two left in the Final Four and that would make me happy. Except if UK wins then I'll only have one in the final game. So we'll see how Duke and UK fare... :O Ahh!!!

Oh, that was the other upset- Butler beating Syracuse! Most people, if you didn't have Kansas winning, had Syracuse winning. I don't understand why people didn't pick UK like I did but maybe I did because it reminds me of London ( :( ) from last semester, I don't know. So then Syracuse lost and everyone was like, "Whhaaaa...???" It was pretty funny to see my dad's reaction on that one.

Oh, here's something funny. My parents are XU graduates but my dad didn't have XU winning past their game with Pitt! He totally rooted against them! And he's even a huge fan of the Bengals so naturally he hates Pittsburgh because of the Steelers but he apparently thought that their basketball team would beat his alma mater!!! Go figure!?!?!? I was so surprised to hear about that one. And then I was at dinner with my Uncle Doug, Grandma, and my dad at Olive Garden last weekend when I got to see his face when XU beat Pitt. It was priceless. Doug and I had way too much fun teasing him about him not supporting his alma mater.

Oh and then my dad's boss is a Purdue graduate so he was not happy apparently that they lost to Duke. I thought that was funny. Oh well. :) I also had OSU going farther than they actually did (they lost to Tennessee- that's a lesson in spelling for ya geez). The guy that was winning our pool only had one point on me and he had Kansas winning so I don't know if I'll win or not since I didn't fare too well after the end of the fourth round now... :(

Here's some blogging news too: We will be starting either the end of this semester or the start of next year a blog of the month! We will send out forms and students can ask the bloggers questions about things they want to know about the Mount! Then all the bloggers will respond to one question at one time and then that person can see all kinds of different answers to their question. :) It should be really interesting. So keep your eyes open for that one. ^-^ It'll be fun!

Well... off to finish watching the Butler-Kansas State game! I love basketball!!! (But not as much football, that's for sure!!!) :)

I had an interesting night last night. The Campus Ministry Leadership Team (CMLT) put on a good event last night: Sundae Sunday! It was a time for students to gather in the 6 East Lobby, make ice cream sundaes, color some Easter pictures, decorate and make the tallest cupcake, and socialize. It was quite a good event!

For the coloring table, there was a coloring contest and three winners judged by Sam Gaier and Laura Leisring. They chose the winners and each winner won a prize bag that had things in it like gift cards, crayons, markers, coloring books, trivia questions, and other fun little things that I'm sure really add up! :) It was exciting!

Then the cupcake building contest was judged by Stephanie Schoenfeld and Courtney Cole. I don't really remember who won but it was exciting 'cuz I'm pretty sure the tallest one was about 6 inches high or so with icing, twizzlers, and other candies. It was quite disgusting looking I can assure you. ^-^ But they were excited that it got that tall! :) Of course, then it got interesting when I smeared a bit of icing on my friend Megan's cheek 'cuz then she went ahead and smeared me too! So we stuck them together and took a pic! It was quite a fun time!

But it was fun to socialize with all the people who came. There had to be at least 50 people that filtered through. Most people got ice cream, and/or a cupcake, then left. But quite a few stayed to talk, gossip, color, and build! I was excited for CMLT 'cuz they never have this many people show up for one of their events and this turned out really well! I was excited for them! Most events like this are put on by CAB so it was nice to see a different group have success too. :) That is one of the nice things about the Mount: we have such diversity and such fun little things that are put on that you really can't be bored with any of it!

I know that there is Pancake and Ponder on Tuesday morning, "New Moon" is being shown on Tuesday night, a game night on Wednesday night, "Bucket List" on Thursday night, and a comedian on another night-- all this week! Who thought the Mount would have so many fun things in just one week!!! :D This will be an exciting time for the Mount students!! :)

I feel like a hippie just writing that title: Flowers, Hugs, and Kisses. Doesn't it sound like something that would happen in the 70s or something? lol :P

Random acts of kindness seem to be a continuous theme recently. Such as in the Olympics. Joannie Rochette won bronze for womens singles ice skating on Thursday night after she did her long program but she did her short program on Tuesday night. But her mother passed away suddenly from a heart attack on Monday. And yet Joannie skated anyway. She considered a tribute to her mother to skate regardless and it was what her mother would want her to do. And throughout this entire ordeal, she has been receiving all kinds of support, help, and sympathy for her loss. She was, in the end, even elected by the rest of her delegation to carry the flag for Canada in the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

Another moment has been the earthquake in Haiti and the enormous amount support the world has shown them in this tragedy. Water, food, and supplies have been pouring in from everywhere along with countless volunteers trying to help this devastated country. And now Chile has been hit been by a 8.8 earthquake- one of the worst in recorded history- and tsunami I'm sure they will receive even more support. These acts of kindness are amazing and so touching.

And even the tiniest things that only matter for one person is important. For example, my roommate Maria. She is a nursing student and has to be up at 5:30 AM so she can get to the hospital by 7 AM until 3 PM. And since Sam is still sleeping, and so am I, we set a chair in the hallway for her so she can sit while she eats her breakfast. It may not be much, but if you have to be up that early and really don't want to, sitting is much more appreciated than standing. It's always the little things that count. Speaking of that as well, my boyfriend brought me carnations (the flowers) and a bag of Hershey's Hugs (white chocolate) and Kisses (regular) just randomly. He said it was because the day ended in 'y.' How cute is that? And what a way to end the weekend!? :P

Random acts of kindness and ones that are the simplest and most helpful are the ones I appreciate the most. Life is full of them if you pay close enough attention... :)

So this week has been quite an eventful one the country hasn't it? I heard on the news that 49 out of the 50 United States received some amount of snow in one way or another this week. Hawaii was the only one who didn't. I read somewhere that DC had, what, 39 inches of snow? My uncle who lives in the middle of Penn. said they got 27 inches on one day! And one cousin who goes to school in Maryland near DC said they ended up getting a snow week instead of a snow day! They had Friday the 5th off for the first wave and then just proceeded to get one day after another the next week until his school just shut down for the rest of the week! A pre-spring break break. Geez.... :)

Let's see, we had school last Friday but classes on Saturday were cancelled which, unfortunately, didn't benefit me at all but it was nice for those students who do dread Saturday classes. Then Monday we all crossed our fingers for snow and get a snow day and fortunately enough we did! Then Wednesday we weren't sure what would happen but we did get a delay until Noon so I got to miss four classes over that period and one practicum opportunity. Once we did get out onto the roads, they really weren't that bad and I was happy that we got a small break nonetheless.

Of course that meant bright and early on Thursday morning I had to get back into the swing of things and actually make an effort to try to get back to normal. Hard to do when you sat around doing nothing for almost 48 hours straight. I can only imagine how my cousin feels on his snow week. I also heard that we are supposed to get another 2-4 inches on Sunday night into Monday morning so maybe another snow day...? :) Wouldn't that just screw everything up. Most places are closed on Monday already for Presidents' Day but the Mount will be open for classes and whatnot so if we do get a snow day that'll benefit us but no one else really. lol :)

I started my practicum last Monday, before all the snow, and I had a great first experience there but then they had no school on Wednesday and they have no school for the holiday on Monday so I'm missing another two opportunities to go so I'm not sure at this rate if I'll get in my 50 hours or not. I'm sure I can find other times and dates to go but Mondays and Wednesdays just work best. But we'll see... It's just hard to have a routine down, get something introduced, then have weather interrupt everything everywhere, and then trying to get back into it. I really don't like. If the federal government can get a snow day, shouldn't the whole country get off as well? Thank you Ellen for that comment. :) Love that show! lol

But we have our Mid Semester break on this coming Friday and that'll be nice to have a scheduled break, not that we really need it considering the break we just had in the middle of the week. We'll see how it goes though. :) I really want to go visit a friend at UD either that weekend or the next when she has her mid break but I'm not sure when it'll work out, if it does at all. But I hope so. :)

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, or as Sam calls it "Singles Awareness Day." lol That's just when we need to put all the singles together and then they won't be single anymore! lol The guy I've been seeing has something planned that day for us but he won't tell me what it is so I'm in for a surprise. I'm not really into surprises so I'm not sure how I'll react. lol But to you all, Happy Valentine's Day in advance. :) Hope its a fun pink and white day! <3

So this weekend was an awesome one if I do say so myself. I had an amazing time doing different things with my friends and all for different reasons. One thing I did this weekend that I was very excited about and had a ton of fun at, was the Polar Bear Plunge.

The Polar Bear Plunge is a annual fund raising event for the Special Olympics in our area. Their goal was $80,000 this year but as far as I know, they raised $102,290.51 which is so much more than they were expecting. This event is similar to those that are walks, runs, jogging events in which you sponsor someone for a cause, but this one is a bit different. Instead of walking, they go swimming. A participant raises money, at least $50 or $75 depending on your age, and then after you achieve that minimum goal, you show up on the day, you wa feet tall- just an inflatable backyard pool), and one of the other jumpers jumped in to "save" him. They yanked him right out and took him in the nearest tent to see if he was okay. They eventually told us that Oscar was fine and that he would not be going to the ER. It was kinda scary though. I felt bad for him, and his wife who didn't even know that this was going on at all.

In the end, though, it was a ton of fun and a great event to raise money and awareness. Newport was packed with people the whole time and a lot of the jumpers seemed to have fun jumping. I enjoyed it and I would have not known this was going on if Farva had not said anything to me about it. Being a part of special education, this was a great opportunity to see people and what they do to support this extensive community. I enjoyed it all. :)

So it's the end of the semester... I can't believe we've finally made it here! It seems like we just started! I also can't believe it's the beginning of December too! Wow... Time flies!

So as the semester comes to an end, we have projects, papers, presentations, and exams to go through. We also have good byes, plans for break, a month off, and dorms to clear out. With all of this in mind, it makes me sad that yet another semester at the Mount is ending. I have made so many wonderful friends here that I can't stand thinking that I won't see them as often as I do now when I graduate. It's sad... 

Another thing that I rarely think about it packing for the break. As part of being in the dorms, we have quiet hours in effect so that people can study. No loud noises, disturbances, reckless behaviors, etc. It's a hefty fine if you get cited by the cops or RAs for that. We also have to prep our dorms for the absence as well. We can't have things plugged in, batteries for fire alarms will be replaced, and we have to take anything home that we want. We are not allowed to come back to "visit" our dorms. I'm not sure why, especially if I remember in the middle of the break that I need something that I have in my dorm. That's something I'll have to work with while I sit here packing. I have to take home clothes, chargers, clocks, etc., and make sure I have it all out by 5 PM on Friday. Of course it doesn't help that my roommates, Sam and Maria, and I are going to Brown County for the weekend. We're leaving all our stuff here and coming back on Sunday to pick it all up before going home. It's the easiest way to get things done. We check out with our RA today. I don't remember what that pertains to but it's something that's got to be done.

I'm just sad that we are all taking a break and that we are now more than half way done with our college careers. Only three semesters until the real world. It's quite a burden to think about. I'm not sure I'm ready for it just yet... Ah! Oh, by the way, it snowed this morning and it was a beautiful sight to wake up to. :) 

Now, we have a month off, only one exam to go, a vaca with my girls this weekend, Christmas, New Year's in New York City!, and return on January 11th is the plan for the next month. I am so excited! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Enjoy!!! :)

So last week was Thanksgiving. I hope you had a great holiday. I did! We had classes on Monday and Tuesday. I had one on Monday at 9 AM until about 11 and then only one on Tuesday- that ticked me off a bit. My teacher told me that he was going to quiz us on the first ten pages of the chapter and we all have semi-horrible grades in his class so we all wanted to take the quiz to better our grades. Well, low and behold, he decided after we all got there that he was going to cancel the quiz. Ugh. That made me so mad. It was my 2:15 PM class- the last one offered in the time allotted for day classes for the Mount. The last class in the day time before break. And no quiz. I wanted to stage a walk out right then and there. But I stayed... took notes... got ready for end of the semester exam... Ugh... 

But Thanksgiving was good. Slept in, watched football (good job Packers beating the Lions), and listen to Dad ramble on and on and on about how good the turkey smelled in the oven. I couldn't smell it. I don't know what he was talking about. Then we went to my aunt's house for dinner- turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, corn, rolls. The goods. :) Watched TV, played Guess Who?, had fun. Then my mom decided to talk me and my aunt into shopping with her on Black Friday. At 4 AM. She was crazy. But my aunt and I agreed. It was stupid in my opinion but whatever. I'd never gone out at that time before on Black Friday so I said what the heck. We got home about 10 PM on Thursday, I stayed up watching TV until 12:30 AM, fell asleep and then woke up at 3:30 AM to go shopping. Yes, I actually got up. My mom didn't think I would. But I did.

So we picked my aunt up at 4 AM, and my little 9 year old cousin. I was surprised she wanted to go with us and that she actually got up that early. My aunt said the same thing about me too. Weird. So we got to the mall about 4:15 AM and it was crazy. Women everywhere. I thought it was going to be a bit more hectic than that but since we didn't get there before the doors opened, it wasn't that bad. So we shopped a bit at Pennys, I found Christmas presents for my two roomies, found two sweaters for myself. Mom found a few things, so did my aunt. Then we changed stores to Kohls and on the way there, Lexie (my cousin) found a booth in the mall that sold African frogs. She convinced my aunt (her grandmother) to buy them and she would pay her back with her allowance money. $28 for two silly frogs that won't ever get bigger than a quarter, you only feed twice a week, and change the water for only two or three times a year. Ya. Go figure.

So found a few more things in that store. Then we went to IHOP for breakfast at 8:30 AM, took my aunt and cousin home, and Mom and I continued onward. We went to Stein Mart next where I found the best deal: a $150 comforter set for only $25- marked at $60 for Stein Mart, at half off, with a $10 off coupon. It was a steal! I was so excited! And it looks perfect in my room!!! :) Then we went to Macys and Target. Found a thing or two more and then were done. I stayed up til about 1 then napped to about 4 PM. Then we went out to celebrate with my brother. My brother got his first job with graphic designs and he starts tomorrow for Ripple Junction, a tshirt company. He's starting at 10 hours a week but may increase to 25 and possibly work from home. It sounds interesting and he's excited. Putting his education to good use, yay! :) I'm so proud of him!!! 

Now we're into our final week of classes- I have only three more days of class, one day of observation, and then next week is finals week. I have only one final and that just happens to be Thursday at 10:30 AM. Go figure. The last day of exams is the day I have mine. But then my roommates and I are going on a four day vacation to Brown County/Nashville, Indiana, and coming home that Sunday before returning to our homes for our one month break! How awesome is that!? I can't believe the semester is practically over. It went by way too fast... I hope your Thanksgiving was great last week and I hope your upcoming holidays are great!!! :) 

As I sit here... trying to write a paper... and having absolutely no luck... I wonder about if I discussed any of my ceramics projects. And I don't think so... So now I will. :)

This semester I finally had time to put a ceramics class into my schedule. I took two years of it in high school and now I finally have a chance to get back to it. :) In high school I took a semester of hand building and three of throwing on the wheel. This semester I had to go back to hand building in order to get to throwing- which I may never actually get to do here at the Mount. I just don't have a lot of free time in my schedule for it.

This semester we have to have done 15 projects- one for each of the 15 weeks of school: a coil piece, a slab piece, a template piece, a compression piece, a mold or drape piece, three pinch pots: one smooth, one textured, and one organic, three stamps, a narrative piece, a historical piece, a human figure piece, and a mug. I currently have made: a "broken" coil piece, a "ring toss" slab piece, a puzzle template piece, a jack-o-lantern compression piece, a basket drape piece, a flame drape piece, a swirls mold piece, an egg smooth pinch pot, a ribbed textured pinch pot, a flower organic pinch pot, a bulls eye stamp, my initials stamp, a star stamp, a boat narrative piece, a joker historical piece, six "readers" human pieces (six people each lounging in a different position reading a book), and a mug. So I have a lot.

I cannot tell you how relaxing ceramics has been this semester. I just find so much time to really concentrate and hone my skills in this class. I am a fast worker and enjoy all the time I can get making my pieces. My friend and roommate, Sam, has almost if not more pieces as me. She and I make way too many just for the fun of it and the creativity. We are just arts kinds of people. The Mount offers a hand building class (ART 140), a throwing class (ART 340), and independent studies. Also, a co-op I think and capstone/senior thesis class. They are taught by Pam Korte and we have a ton of fun in class, and outside of it. I thoroughly enjoy all of it! :) I recommend taking at least one fun art class at the Mount. It definitely is less stressful and relaxing outlet. Or at least it is for me. :)

I guess I've never really figured this out, but I just recently did. I'm addicted. I'm addicted to the internet, to my computer, to my cell phone, to technology. I guess I've never noticed it until it's was pointed out in class the other day.

I am taking two Reading classes and on Thursday, in RDG 331 with Dr. Miller, and we were discussing a project that will be due at the end of the semester. It is either a thematic unit, centered around resource materials, or a content folder, centered around a single expository picture book. And we could pick which project we wanted to to and that's what would be due at the end. Well, we were confused about the thematic unit and what we were supposed to do for that project. 

Dr. Miller said that the thematic unit was supposed to be a unit of activities, hunts, and projects that required the use of resource materials, such as the dictionary, thesaurus, almanac, encyclopedia, etc.. Then she asked us how many of use knew what an almanac was. Only one person raised their hand and that was one of the adult students. She explained that is was a book of, more or less, minutia. If you looked up this date in history 100 years ago, it would tell you everything that happened that day, along with the weather, temperature, etc.. I was surprised. I thought an almanac was a bit like the Guinness World Book of Records, full of foolish things that didn't mean much. But I guess it was a bit more than that.

Then we talked about how kids don't know how to use text and books and libraries, etc.. It was just an eye opening experience that we all take for granted. We all know how to use the internet, but we also know how to use books, we like to read (for the most part), we can use technology for our advantage BECAUSE we know how to use print and text. But kids these days don't. 

For example, my cousin just turned 9 today. My aunt, her grandmother, bought her a $400 laptop for her birthday. A 9-year-old. She got a laptop. What the...? My other cousin, she's, what? 10? And she has a cell phone. How these kids manage to live in a world full of technology and can still manage the same things we can now is ridiculous and probably unrealistic and probable. The birthday party today was also Spongebob themed- a TV show. I'm not sure I would want my 9-year-old (if and when they get to that age) to have a birthday party that is themed after a TV show instead of something else, like soccer. I'm not saying that TV is a bad thing, but when I look at my cousin, it is.

And I think back to my childhood when my mom didn't even know what a cell phone was when I was in high school. And how I loved to read- and still do. I devour books in a day or two- I'm not kidding (I'm reading an 8 book series and I'm book 5 and I've only been reading for about a week and a half now). I love reading. I love the written word. But kids these days, they don't care. 

 I just realized how much we're all addicted to technology and it scares me. What will happen to education in the future and how will my role in it be shaped by advances and things out of my control? It worries me and I'm not sure what to expect. I'm not sure I want to know. And on the other hand, we have to be up to date with the newest technologies if we want to be considered knowledgeable and modern. It's a vicious circle that I don't want to be in but can't avoid. I just hope that it doesn't ruin our future generations because of it...

Wow. That blog was a bit more philosophical than I wanted it to be. On the other hand, the Bengals beat the Steelers, 18-12. I was excited. lol :P

So. I'm really close to my family, especially my mom. And this past weekend was a kind of testament to how close we are. We spent almost 72 hours straight together- I mean, attached at the hip, never-really-being-apart kind of togetherness.  This past weekend was my 21st birthday. We all know what that implies so I won't go into that. But because I have only one sibling, my twin brother Alex, my parents decided to go all out more or less. It started at about 8 PM on Friday and lasted until about 6 PM Sunday. Friday we went to Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Yes, Ohio did pass the bill to allow the casinos to be built but obviously those aren't up yet. Well, we got there around 10 PM, found the buffet for dinner, and then went into the casino at Midnight. You're not allowed in the casino AT ALL if you're not 21 (so no little kids running around or anything). It was awesome. I got "happy birthday"ed by the casino people and that was really kewl. We played until about 3 AM, among other things *hint, hint* and then got up about 11 AM on Saturday to gamble until about 2:30 PM.  

Saturday was my actual birthday. Then after the casino, Alex and I picked up some of our friends and went to Hofbrauhaus in Newport at about 4:30 PM. It was actually a surprise birthday party for my Aunt Cookie, who was turning 60 (actually on Tuesday), so we celebrated our part of the party before she got there. Then it was all around chaos after she arrived. I even got carded while there. I was feeling special. lol :P Then after that, Alex and I with our friends went to Gameworks on the Levee. We stayed there until about 10 PM. I then went to my friend Nick's house, he turned 21 this past Wednesday. I partied with them until Midnight when I finally called it quits. On Sunday we, the four of us in my family, went to the Bengals home game against the Ravens. We won 17-7. It was a good game. Of course, I got carded there too. :P I was having a great time by the end of the game. And the whole weekend I was with my family- but especially my mom. My mom is one of the most special, if not the most, person in my life. For my 21st birthday she gave me a ring. See... when she was 16 she got a ring from her mother. It was a flower with a diamond in the middle and the diamond used to belong to her grandmother- my great-grandmother. So, for my 21st, she decided to continue the tradition. I got my grandmother's diamonds, her mother's. There are two small ones and one bigger one. I found this awesome swirl pattern in a book at Ashcroft and Oak and had the diamonds set into my own special design. It's not ready yet but when it is, I'll post a picture. I am SOOO excited about this ring! It is something I will treasure forever. I think it is a very cool concept. It is something I'll prolly end up doing for my daughter when I have one- which, as my mother keeps reminding me, won't be any time soon. lol :P 

And when I got back to the dorms, my roommates gave me their presents (they both went home for the weekend :( which made me sad but I couldn't stop them). Sam gave me movie tickets for the Esquire Theater and Maria gave me a set of margarita glasses. Again, *hint, hint.* But there's no alcohol in our dorm as per Mount policy (you can if everyone in the dorm is 21 but if they're not, then you can't- it seems fair enough).  But this entire weekend was something I won't ever forget. And I did it the whole time with my family. I loved every minute of it! P.S. This past week was also College Week Live online. I got to talk to a few people about the Mount and it was kewl to see some interest generated for the Mount. I had fun. This coming weekend is the Bridge Bowl hosted by the Mount on Saturday. It is when we play our rivals, Thomas More. We call it the "Bridge" Bowl because they are more or less directly across the river from us in Kentucky (I can see the Ohio River from my dorm). We won 2 years ago and lost last year so it seems to be a tradition that the home team wins the game that year. Hopefully we'll win again this year. :) You should come out and cheer the Lions on to victory! I know I will!!! :P