Here I am with two of my cousins! We went out bowling with the family a couple of weeks ago, and it was a ton of fun!

This is at my boyfriend’s lacrosse game in Platteville, Wisconsin. It was a FIVE HOUR DRIVE, and despite leaving at 6am, I stayed awake for both of his games.. Kinda. I did take a 20 minute nap in the backseat between his games, but they were fun!

I went to dinner with my parents two weeks ago, and my mom LOVES this soup. It’s called menudo, and it’s a Mexican tripe soup. Its interesting.. But definitely not my cup of tea!

My ultimate guilty pleasure = nachos! These were from a restaurant popular with Tommies called The Wild Onion on Grand Ave. My friend and I didn’t finish them.. But we tried! SO GOOD.

I baked this Lemon Poppyseed Blueberry bundt cake for brunch with my boyfriend’s family. FROM SCRATCH! I didn’t start baking until this year, but now I love it. And yes, this cake WAS delicious.

It’s not the greatest picture, but if you look closely.. it’s me! Yes, I’m on a billboard! As I mentioned before, I work at Coffee Bene, and they decided to put me on a billboard. So for now, you can see my face above Snelling Ave & Selby, right above the Starbucks

The first half o the semester was a little rough- between classes, work, and friends I’ve been swamped. BUT I planned a Spring Break trip with a couple of my friends to Daytona Beach last week, and it was definitely the break that I needed.

Here are some pictures!

Now I’m back, so what lesson did I learn on this trip? DON’T FORGET TO PUT ON SUNSCREEN! I forgot to on our last day and I got burned badly because the sun was BEAMING the entire day.

With the weather getting nicer here in Minnesota, we might need to break out the sunscreen earlier than ever…!

Sorry it has been a while since I’ve posted, the last 2-3 weeks have been a whirlwind and things are finally starting to get back to normal. Spring semester started about 2 weeks ago, and everything has been great. I’m taking 2 COJO courses and my final required Spanish course. I’m also doing an internship at my job, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, so it has taken a while to get use to it all, along with my job at Coffee Bene.. But it has been great!

I also celebrated my 21st birthday two weeks ago, it was ton of fun! My birthday happened to fall on the Superbowl, so I went to a restaurant near campus to celebrate with a couple of friends.

A failed attempt at a picture.

And yesterday was Valentine’s day! I know a lot of people aren’t huge fans of the day, but I always find it very cute to spend it with people you love. My boyfriend surprised me with a homemade dinner and flowers, which was very nice (and yummy!) and then we went to the Wild hockey game afterwards. One of the perks of being a student? Student discounts! I got the tickets through a student discount deal, and they were great seats.

The BEAUTIFUL flowers I recieved

Our great seats!

Because of Twitter, I have..
*Won DJ Hero for the Wii
*Won a Top Chef Cookbook
*Interviewed the editor of City Pages for a class assignment
*Been Retweeted by Boyz II Men

Okay, so the last one isn’t a huge deal (it was at the time though!) but social media has done wonders for me. I follow UST on Twitter and a couple weeks ago they posted that MPR was looking for input on students and their work habits. Being that I am a student worker, I replied to MPR and gave them some information on my work schedule over J-Term. A few days later, Tim Post with MPR got in contact with me and set up an interview. I had the opportunity to talk about the strain that my work habits puts on my school work sometimes, but it was great to let other’s know that most college students aren’t “lazy” like the stereotype sometimes describes.

Here’s the interview/story: Employed students’ workload puts studies at risk.

A lot of people I know heard the piece, which makes me happy not just because it boosts my ego (just kidding) but because I know that people will see how hard college students really do work, not only in school but outside too. Between clubs, jobs, keeping up with friends and 30 Rock episodes, its a tough life sometimes but we all know that it will soon (hopefully!) be worth it.

Since getting a kindle for Christmas, I’ve been reading nearly everyday and I can already feel my vocabulary expanding! J-Term is a really nice time to read leisurely just because I’m not taking a class or anything, so I really have time to enjoy books instead of being forced to read for a class.

The first book I finished was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I really wanted to read it because I heard it was great, and a film was coming out.. and it was great! Such an exciting read.

I also finished the Hunger Games trilogy, which the first film is coming out in March.. and you MUST read these books! Such quick reads, and the action in the novels will literally make you sweat (at least it made me sweat a little!)

Another thing you should know about me: I’m obsessed with comedy. Especially comedy writers, the writing process, stand up comedy, SNL.. all of the above. I finished Mindy Kaling’s book (writer on The Office and plays Kelly in the series) which was completely inspiring.

I’m also obsessed with Tina Fey. She’s hilarious, I loved her on SNL and 30 Rock is simply amazing. I’m in the middle of reading her book, Bossypants, and I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a funny read.

Another great thing about Kindles? St. Thomas has them avaliable for checkout at the O’Shaughnessy Frey library, and they have all types of classic and contemporary titles, here’s more information: http://www.stthomas.edu/libraries/collections/kindle.html

So my advice to you? Read away!

And to leave you with some laughs, here’s Tina Fey photobombing Amy Poehler at the Golden Globes this past weekend

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Winter break has been amazing so far. As soon as finals were done, I slept in. It was wonderful, believe me. For Christmas, I went back to my parents house in Vadnais Heights and stayed with them for a couple of days. Those days, of course, were filled with baking (or at least my attempt to do so), last minute Christmas shopping (which was awful!) and hanging out with my friends who were also back in town.

Here we are, engaging in a little Rock Band/Sing Star action

On Christmas Eve, I received a Kindle Fire from my boyfriend (I got him a Kindle Touch, so it was definitely a “Kindle Christmas”) and I’ve been attached to it ever since. I finished “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” yesterday, and I’m already halfway through “The Hunger Games” today. I’ve been a reading machine! But it’s such a great device; I’m thankful for it!

So what does the rest of my winter break have in store? I’m working full time at one of my jobs (Army Corps of Engineers), and I’m going to definitely catch up on some Netflix movies. I’ll be sure to keep you updated!

BY THE WAY – WHERE IS THE SNOW!!!!!! It’s December 30th, and I walked outside today with my thin peacoat. I haven’t even broken out my winter jacket yet! THIS IS MADNESS! It’s extremely mild, no snow on the ground, and it’s almost January. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it one bit. I’ve been dying to get out and go ice skating! Sledding! Anything!!! Let’s hope it becomes winter soon, before we all go crazy

After 3 papers, 2 finals and 1 presentation, I am finally DONE! As of 12:30am today, I emailed my last paper to my Theology professor and immediately fell asleep afterwards; I was exhausted! It has been a rough week, I’ve had many of 2am study nights, along with long nights working at the Coffee Bene (finals week is one of our busiest!) and attempting to get sleep in the middle of that all.

If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to NOT PROCRASTINATE! It is possibly one of the worst decisions you could make during finals week. If you want any type of rest, just do your homework early. Get your papers turned in early. AND study early! Cramming sometimes helps.. But not nearly as much as studying in advance.

So now that I’m finished, what do I do now? I’ve been attempting to finish The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (such a good book!) and now I’m just working throughout J-Term. But first, Christmas! I love the holiday season. My only disappointment? That it will be a brown Christmas! There’s no snow outside!! Such a bummer.. But I’m excited to spend a ton of time with my family and loved ones. Plus, the food doesn’t hurt either

I’ll make sure to post pictures from my holiday festivities soon!

In the midst of my days filled with coffee, homework and studying, I find time to do one of my favorite things – my radio show. One of my good friends, Channing (pictured above with the faux-mustache) and I have been doing our KUST Radio show since freshman year, so about 2 1/2 years. Every week, we come together, play our favorite tunes and have some random banter with one another – all while broadcasting to the internet masses (aka our friends).

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on my past 2 1/2 years at UST, and I’ve realized that our show is the ONE thing that hasn’t changed for me since I’ve started college. Sure, my musical tastes have changed (I listen to MUCH better music now), but Chaotic Tendencies has always stayed the same, and I’m so thankful for that. I’ve realized the importance of always having that ONE thing you could return back to, and have fun with, no matter what. During stressful times (like finals week), the one thing I ALWAYS look forward to is spending two hours in a studio with one of my best friends, and I have KUST Radio to thank for that!

If you’re interested in listening to my radio show, Chaotic Tendencies, it’s on Tuesdays from 6-8 pm on: www.kustradio.com!

Sorry it has been a while since I’ve posted! Life is getting hectic by the second. But.. The end is in sight.

But first, an update! Thanksgiving break was AMAZING. I spent Thanksgiving with my boyfriend’s family, and that consisted of tons of turkey, pie and embarrassing family stories which were greatly appreciated of course.

I opted out of the “Black Friday” shopping hoopla, and chose to get to sleep early instead. I’d say I made the best decision, yes? (Waiting in line = my biggest pet peeve)

I then decided to spend the entire weekend lounging around, working a shift at Coffee Bene, and.. not do homework. TERRIBLE DECISION, but the break was needed.

Now, I’m really playing catch up. With about three weeks left in the semester, things are starting to become REAL. Time to start stocking up on coffee and get started on the THREE papers I have due at the end of the semester.

I’m keeping my mind focused on holiday break.. Sleep.. Hot Chocolate.. Holiday Music…….

I went to see Twilight: Breaking Dawn at midnight last night.

Alone.

My boyfriend and I usually go to a movie a couple of times a month, but “Breaking Dawn” was one that he refused to see (I don’t blame him) so this forced me to either a) find another friend to go with or b) go alone. I go to films alone a lot, just because its usually my chance to be alone and really appreciate a film without distractions. Plus, it helps that Grandview Theater is less than a block away from my apartment, and only about 3 blocks away from St. Thomas.

But back to the film… I ask that you do not judge me for my actions. In my defense, I’m a huge fan of thebooks, and the other films aren’t extremely terrible. But this one was highly questionable in my opinion. I won’t spoil the film for any of you planning to see it, and I’ll let you make your own opinion on it, of course. But, lets just say I would have rather spent$8.50 on something much more worthwhile, like a Jimmy Johns sandwich?

To be perfectly honest, I watch a lot of terrible movies. Granted, I watch a lot of really GREAT movies.. But most of the movies on my Netflix instant queue are terrible, and I will admit that. AND the last film I PAID TO SEE was “Tower Heist” (yeah, I saw it, feel free to judge, it was terrible too).

Either way, staying up till 2am to watch sparkling vampires and werewolves was okay, I guess. But I’ll save my next midnight premiere for the Avengers.