Hey there! Thought I was dead, didn't you?

This is my first, last and only post of the semester. *Gasp* 

I think the reason I didn't post anything was a combination of two things: one, I felt like I was running around like crazy this whole semester, and two, after posting so much about Hawaii, anything I said about my life in ND would bore you- maybe me too. So that's why I didn't. These months flewww by though. So so so much has happened since this summer. Did you miss me?

There is no possible way to update you on all that has happened, so I won't even try. 

But I will put up some pictures of recently enjoyed things AND do an Awkward & Awesome post. Merry Christmas. :)
*if you just want to read the awk&awe, scroll to the bottom of this post, otherwise, just keep reading. :)

 I took the most time consuming, challenging & rewarding class this semester: Ceramics- Intro to Throwing. It started out painfully brutal, and I thought I would never be able to throw anything (lopsided or not) in less than 30 minutes. How do the pros make it look so easy?! I did NOT give up though. I persevered, and 6-7 25-pound bags of clay (do the math) later, I have 32 mugs, 6 pitchers, 16 bowls, 4 plates, 2 colanders, 3 vases, and 2 bottles. Well, I've given stuff away, so I don't have that many pieces anymore. :) If I had all the time in the world, I would probably keep doing this. but I don't, so I won't. Maybe it'll be my grandma hobby.

 For Thanksgiving break, Nate, Mark and I went down to the cities (Twin Cities). We visited lots of family, ate too much delicious food and enjoyed not having to study for a few days. We stopped to play on a frozen lake. There were chunks of ice on the shore so we were tossing them out to see if the middle was frozen yet. I saw a piece that looked like the Big Island and so we found pieces for every island. :) 

Stupid idea, cool picture. 

I was walking through campus and saw all these Christmas tree, so I wanted a picture of them. Well, the only way to get the perfect angle was if I hiked through half a foot of snow with running shoes and freeze my fingers off because of my touch screen phone. I still haven't forgotten a quote from my middle school co-op art teacher: "Suffer for your art." :)

Saturday afternoon adventures. 

Some call us crazy, but that's okay. It was the opening day of Lincoln Park (warming house & free ski rentals), so we had to go... even if it was -7 (felt like -22). Needless to say, we didn't see too many other people out and about. 

This is what you're suppose to do at a gym, right? ;)

Quick afternoon project

Before moving up to North Dakota, I had never heard of or seen Sundogs. They're amazing! And that same night I was in awe of the sky again because half of it was lit up with Light Pillars. (I thought they were the northern lights, but I was corrected:) GO GOOGLE LIGHT PILLARS RIGHT NOW if you don't know what they are. They were breath taking!  God never ceases to amaze me with his creation! 

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AWKWARD & AWESOME TIME {12/14/13}:

Awkward stuff:

+Folks, I became a "person of Walmart". Yes, I'm ashamed, but I will still tell you the story. It all started when I dropped the marshmallow creme at the checkout. It fell and rolled under a rack, so I was on my hands and knees trying to get this marshmallow creme. I finally got it after dusting their floors with my hair. I didn't look around to see if anyone had noticed... because I knew people had. ugh.

+My immunology professor told us it would be lethal to try to memorize a chart in her power point. "So don't even try," she said. Thank you!

+Forgetting my 8am class was cancelled. Yaaaay.

+Climbing up on glazing counters. That's normal here at the art building.

+The "Soda man" (guy who delivers our soda at work) leaned over to cut open a box, and he had Mt. Dew boxers. Way to represent your loyalty, dude.

+Professor: "Don't get in trouble this weekend. Call me if you need bail."

+A lady asked if I was Canadian because of the way I said 'pasta'.

+Walking up the 5 flights of stairs to get to class everyday (sometimes twice) this semester and I'm STILL out of breath by the time I get to the top.

+Nate showed me his axe shampoo; it's brown... Brings a whole new meaning to the word shampoo.

+Customer: I'm so glad there's a Starbucks on campus. It reminds me of home.
Me: oh! You're from Seattle?
Customer: *blank face*
Me: Washington?
Customer: *blank face*
Me: Oregon?
Customer: *blank face* I'm from the east coast.
Me: oh...
(Thankfully his friend was there to inform him about the origins of Starbucks, so I didn't have to.)


Awesome Stuff:

+Practicing my Mocking Jay whistle while I climb the 5 flights of stairs. There's a good echo in there. :)

+Being able to bike with no handle bars... No handle bars. 

+So thankful for a garage. We don't need to scrape ice off the windows yet.

+Slamming on the breaks and my backpack flipping upside down came with a blessing:  my missing Lifeproof headphone screw fell out of my side pocket of my backpack. (I had been looking for it all over the place!!)

+Reading old Awkward and Awesome posts here.

+I parallel parked perfectly for the first time since driving school.

+Kid quote: "Hiking is slow walking, and I want to practice hiking." -a tired, not very athletic 7-year-old.

+God's faithfulness in this adventure called life.