5...4...3...2...1....Continue Your Christmas Lists!

Dear Josh,

You know how you are counting down until Christmas and it is coming up SO SOON? Well, I have fantastic news. You SHOULD be counting down the days until I get home because THAT is even sooner J Just five more days (not counting today) until I am done with all of this school stuff, just five more days until I can relax for an entire month, and just five more days until I am officially one eighth of the way through my college career. I am almost done with my first college semester, and, OH LORDY, did it go by fast. 

Though that is exciting news that is NOT what I was going to talk about during this letter. Contrary to popular belief (It isn’t really popular belief…I just wanted to use that phrase) this blog is going to cover Thanksgiving fantasticalness, and though it is past Thanksgiving I believe it is still considered the time of the year to be EXTRA thankful about how blessed we are. So, I have been compiling a list of things I have become extra thankful for since I’ve moved to Murray (you should be appreciating these things all you can while you are home).

List Item #1: I am putting this first because it is the most noticeable. Dishwashers. I am SOOO VERY THANKFUL for dishwashers. It is not like I have moved to college and taken on a dishwashing fetish, nor would I like to own more than one dishwasher (although the picture of me sitting in a room filled with shining dishwashers is quite a humorous one…just picture it—you’re a dirty dish if you don’t laugh a little). Through college dorm rooms, however, I have decided that I HATE washing dishes by hand. That means that sometimes I would rather just throw away a cup than scrub it with soap. Lazy? I know. So, dishwashers are a blessing.

List Item #2: This is the typical “college student answer” when I say laundry machines. Trust me, there have been several times when I haven’t worn socks because, well, clean socks are hard to come by. And I can say without blushing that I have driven home in my very last pair of underwear after three weeks of classes just to do laundry. I mean, to see YOU of course. J J J Anyway, laundry machines across the hall from my room that cost exactly zero dollars? THOSE are the blessing, or maybe the fact that I have enough underwear to last three weeks.

List Item #3: While I’m giving “college student answers”, I should go ahead and highlight how great momma cooked food is! Winslow dining hall serves a wide variety of good food, but I’ve been craving pasta fazooil and rosemary bread and puppy chow. Also, in this home-type category I would like to list fireplaces (it has gotten very cold here at MSU and we do not have a fireplace), hugs from my brothers—you included (Please enter the phrase “contrary to popular belief” here, too), life chats with the parentals, and a nice church that has second Sunday breakfast.

List Item #4: Full sized beds. Sleeping on a twin? Not fun. Rolling over in a twin? Not possible.

List Item #5: Being around kids. Seriously! I forgot that going to college would mean that I was around people that were generally the same age as me all the time. There is practically ZERO variety. I like to hold a baby whenever I get a chance; however, it is frowned upon to ask strangers if you can hold their baby.

List Item #6: Close long-time friends. It’s amazing how much you can come to miss someone in such a short amount of time. Since you are a theater kid, as well, you should know what it is like to quote a play, a musical, a random kids forensics piece, or some other tidbit, and have people around you laugh. Murray State Kids just don’t get my Boys Next Door, 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Musical lyrics, and other random references. I know you’ve got to branch out sometime for friends, but I wish they came preloaded with knowledge of your goofy references. Brian Regan quotes anyone? GRAPE!

Although that is not the complete and full list of items that I am thankful of this holiday season, it sort of gives you an idea of the things to start appreciating. That means you should hop up right now, run to load the dishwasher and laundry machine, ask mom to make soup and bread for dinner, drag your full-sized bed in front of the fireplace, grab Max and Nick and anyone who can quote your latest forensics piece, and everyone take a nap! You may have to ask everyone else to sleep on the floor to get the full effect of the full-sized bed, but it’s your call!

Happy Holidays,

Moving Back Home for a Month Maddie

Ramblin' College Girl

Dear Josh,

Alright, do you remember when we were younger and used to play that karaoke game on the ps2? There was one song that went on and on forever, it was completely pointless, and we could never get any points on it because you would have me laughing so hard that I couldn’t sing any of the notes. Well, it was that rambling song. It was seriously called something like that, rambling guy or something, so the title really fit the song. That is why I named my post “Ramblin’ College Girl”, I figure THAT way the title of the post will really fit the post. It’s like your warning that this post is going to be about nothing. So, since I warned you there will be no tolerance for complaining at the end. With that said, let’s begin!

Let me tell you about the best feeling in the world that I am having today. Okay, here is the formula. Have GINORMOUS test in Social Sciences on a Tuesday + Finish the test and all of your Social Sciences homework for the week + Wake up early on Wednesday and finish your homework for your other classes + Stand up to get ready for your 9:30 class just as you get an email + The email says CLASS IS CANCELED FOR TODAY, WEDNESDAY + Lounge around the rest of the morning = BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD.

Basically I just wanted to write and tell you how lovely it is when class is canceled. This is the first time that has actually happened to me. Once or twice I have canceled it for just myself, but everyone else still goes to class. I think that is called skipping though, not canceled class; therefore, it does not go under the best feeling in the world category.

Here is what you can get done when class is canceled:

1.      Watch random videos
2.      Play around with music and finding the perfect “best feeling ever” song
3.      Put away all of your laundry
4.      Fix fish tank with filter because it was kind of pee-colored. 
5.      Clean all of your random dishes (Yay! I have clean cups now!)
6.      Take out the trash, sweep the floor, windex the mirrors and windows, clean the sink, organize the closet, and other clean-like tasks.
7.      Watch more random videos
8.      Surf Facebook
9.      Begin reading boring book for the paper that is due in Social Sciences in two weeks
10.      Write really boring, pointless blog!! 

All of this and it isn’t even noon yet!  I have also spent this time observing my fish to see what they like to do when I am typically in math class. (I know, I have such an interesting not-in-class life). Well, I would like to report that they act just like they do when I am not in math class. I really think my fish are kind of nuts. They swim like they are being attacked all of the time. Personally, I think they are searching for the disappearing fish. I mentioned that I have five fish before? Well, one of them likes to leave and come back whenever it pleases. I’m not sure how because there really is nowhere to hide in my tank.

Dad said that he misses knowing simple things about like what I am doing  and just that kind of thing. I miss that, too. I always want to know what you are having for dinner and stuff like that. Today I am going to probably have what I usually have for lunch—a chicken wrap on jalapeno tortilla J It’s pretty good. Yesterday they had TUNA MELT J J J Mmm…that is one of my favorite lunch days, along with nacho day! I wonder what today will be! I will probably just eat a wrap anyway.

            I don’t have much to tell you since I came home this weekend, so I guess I will stop rambling on and on. I know that you are probably thinking you wish I was as witty and exciting as usual ( Don’t even pretend, I know you think that every day. Oh! My sister, Maddie, she is SO cool and SO funny and SO nice and I SHOULD GIVE HER ALL OF MY HALLOWEEN CANDY) , but this will have to do for now. In fact, this may be the last post for a while! My FYL (Freshmen Year Leader—Megan, she is awesome) told me that the next couple of weeks are crazy. Especially the week after Thanksgiving, that week is called “dead week” technically because professors aren’t supposed to give you assignments due that week or something. Megan said that it really is called “dead week” because you wish you were dead because they assign you so much. I think that is funnier, but I will let you know which one it is!

I love you so much dear brother,

Your Tuna-Melt-Loving-Sister

P.S. I made the post this lovely pinkish color, so that it would be more interesting :) MARKETING!