Thursday nights are our date nights. Since this semester began, it's been so busy that usually Mikey and I don't get to see each other much outside of fast lunches and rushed dinners, so we invented Date Night. Last night we went to The Mill, a little coffee shop right on the corner of campus that Mikey had a gift card to. It's cute and not as overpriced as Starbucks or Scooters, but we never go because we try to limit ourselves to Places That Accept Union Caf Cards. So that limits us to, well, the caf. And Coopers where we buy candy. Anyway, we tried a few new drinks, one of which was Hubert's Strawberry Lemonade. We also got a biscotti and a bagel and I got an orange-green-tea concoction that was a sort of carbonated orange juice. 

Oh- and hopefully an update for Mi Año en España coming soon!

Yes. College is all fun and games. Ok, it's all fun and educational games. In two of my classes, from now until spring break, we are playing giant class games. One is Renaissance and Reformation, where we are "ReActing" the aftermath of the Trial of Anne Hutchison. Lots of Puritan stuff, which reminds me of the snow Colonial House, fashioned after other PBS series Texas Ranch House, Pioneer House, and 1800s House. All of these are very good shows. But instead of volunteering to be put in a Colonial house, or church, with reality TV camera men following us around, we each assume a role (supports of Anne, supporters of John Winthrop, or immigrants) and must write our papers, speeches, and conversations as that character. I am Supporter of Winthrop Number One. 

I love my cat's eyes. I just found this photo in my iPhoto library and decided I had to share! I will get to see him and my whole family this weekend!

The snow began on Friday night right before midnight. My Weather Channel App predicted five to eight inches, a prediction that was quickly passed as the snow continued to fall all day. Only second service was not cancelled yesterday, and the majority of those attending were college students and kids and families here for music fest. 

After church we walked over to a friend's house for lunch, since none of us wanted to dig our cars out or attempt driving on the snow-covered roads. The slush soaked into my boots and Mikey had to carry me over most of the streets. We finally arrived to a warm welcome and a delicious lunch of casseroles, salad, and sheet cake. 

Since it was Music Fest weekend, the 220-member choir was singing at a 4:00 concert, so we soon began trudging back to CVC. 

The boys had a job shoveling snow all night, so RaeLea and I planned on a girls' night in. As we walked back to the dorm, the snow still falling, we decided we would start our evening with a snow adventure. All day we had been wanting to go sledding, so we decided to walk over the the lake dam and see if we could find any UC students who wanted to share their sleds. 

We left the dorm around 6:00 and headed out to the parking lot. All but one of the academies visiting for the weekend decided to stay the night because of the weather. All over campus students were having snow ball fights, cleaning off their cars, and digging paths in the snow. 

Sky glowing, we walked through the hushed streets of College View taking pictures and laughing and joking. Since it had rained all day friday, the trees were covered in snow to the very tiniest branch. 

We finally made it to the dam and climbed all the way up the huge hill to the top. It's hard to believe that in August we would run up the dirt path in shorts and Nikes. Now, we trudged through knee-high snow wearing several pairs of leggings, jeans, three or four pairs of socks, coats, gloves, and hats. When we got to the top, the view was worth it. We could see the clocktower glowing through the snow, and kids sledding in the bright night all around. Upon reaching the top RaeLea declared that she was ready to conquer Everest. 

After spending half an hour or so at the lake, we decided that hot coffee and a movie awaited us so we headed back down the slope and through the unplowed streets. We were still not freezing when we arrived back at campus, so we decided to check the student center for snacks. We ran into some academy kids (my cousin and his girlfriend) and as we chatted the sky lit up and the lights went out. We didn't want to go back to our dark room yet, so we walked around looking at all the trees that had fallen in the storm.

We walked over to the gas station for some snacks before heading back to the room. The dorm was pitch black and soaked boots lined the halls from what we could see with our tiny flashlight. We had been gone on our adventure nearly three hours. Our friend Savannah came by and we sat in the flashlight-lit room talking and before we knew it, after an hour and a half blackout, the power was back on. We popped in a movie and enjoyed the rest of our evening with popcorn and chips. 

I never was much of a Midland Mustang. My 8th grade year several of us limped through a volley ball season consisting of four games. We were 1-3 at the end. 

I always thought that if I decided to grace the Mustang team with my athletic prowess, I would be Shelby, a Midland Mustang. A Shelby Mustang. Since my talents lie in areas other than sports, I never accomplished this goal. 

Other than Apple or cute vintage cereals, there are very few brand names that I would actually wear on a t-shirt. Sports teams? never. Youth events I attended? nope. Summer camp shirts? no way José. I'm just not a big t-shirt fan. There are two brands, however, that I've always wanted to sport on my tees. Apple, of course, with an "I'm a mac" shirt. And Shelby Mustang. A year or two ago I searched the internet for one I could tolerate that was not hideous with a super creepy Cobra, and last night at Target I found exactly what I was looking for.

According to my dad's comment below, the car was indeed a small factor in the naming process when I was born. 


"Mom and I both liked the sound of what became your first name, and for me it had additional pleasant overtones of all-American racecar driver and custom-car builder Carroll Shelby (still alive--see this ). When we went to the hospital and you signaled what would be your lifetime speed after a very short session of labor, I said to Mom, 'That Shelby's a speedy racer!' And was it ever true." –my dad

My usual class during this time has been cancelled for today. My Renaissance and Reformation class has no homework this entire week. It's kind of throwing me off. But hey, I can't complain. 

Last night was the evening class. I enjoy it, it's like Book Club once a week and you get a grade for it. However, if it's supposed to meet from six to eight-forty, why am I still sitting there at nine? Got back to the room and found messages from Mikey on the answering machine. He has Jones Soda. After taste testing each, he let me keep them.

Sugarplum: It's like carbonated Dimatapp. And maybe we should stick to black and white pictures. Gingerbread tastes like you are drinking gingerbread cookie dough. Pear tree is the best, although it's not true to its name. If it really wanted to taste like a tree, it should taste like the UC caf salad, which has so many assorted greens it tastes like you are eating tree leaves, dandelion, and pokeweed. Maybe Jones should stay away from holiday specials.