first day back

Well the first day of my second semester of grad school was pretty painless-- but then again reviewing the syllabus and reciting the roster is generally the biggest accomplishment on the first day of school at any level. However, after glancing at my schedule that continues to fill up, I can already tell this is going to be a BUSY semester-- yikes!

books to read...

After seeing a segment on TV about a man by the name of Daniel Tammet, who has both Asperger's and savant syndrome and could basically be classified as a genius in his own way, I was extremely anxious to read the books he has written on how his mind works. I am very intrigued by anyone on the Autism spectrum and I love learning about how the brain works, so when I first heard about Daniel Tammet, I was craving more information on this unique person, and sure enough I got them both as Christmas gifts! I'm still on the first one (I've been reading other books as well), but it is quite addicting. It is hard to explain Daniel Tammet and his books, but I would definitely recommend them to anyone! He has been compared to Raymond Babbitt in the movie "Rain Man"-- Daniel Tammet can recite pi (3.14...) all the way out to 22,000+ digits by memory! He has a specific color, texture, size, shape, and emotion associated with each number in his mind-- who wouldn't want to read about how that works?! "They" say he might be able to help researchers better understand those on the Autism spectrum, because unlike most people on the spectrum, he knows why he thinks the way he does and can explain why certain things are overstimulating to him.

back to school breakfast

My Crate & Barrel order arrived yesterday and I've been wanting to use my little syrup guy that my mom gave me for Christmas. So, I used it all this morning for breakfast!

O is for Orange Juice

Waffles!

snow day x 2!

Tomorrow should be the third day of my second semester of grad school, but as a result of the 10+ inches of snow that fell in Kearney (and the rest of Nebraska), we have had not one, but TWO snow days! So, tomorrow will be my first day of the second semester. I dug my car out of the snow yesterday, there was a drift around it that went above my knees!

My car nearly blends right in with the snow!

apple cinnamon granola pancakes

There is a restaurant in Kearney called The Egg & I, and they have the best apple pancakes ever! My mom and I tried to re-create their "crunchy granola and apple slices baked into a whole wheat pancake, sprinkled with cinnamon and served with cinnamon butter" for breakfast yesterday. Ours were very similar to their amazing flapjacks and they were quite delicious if I do say so myself!

New Year Resolutions

My resolutions for 2011 include:

Blogging 1-2 times a week : )
Making my bed every morning
Journaling every night
Cooking dinner a couple times a week
And of course...exercising more and eating healthier!

a is for apple

c is for cherry
o is for orange

I purchased these adorable juice glasses from Crate&Barrel with some Christmas money!

C&B was having such a great sale that I also got these mugs-- I can't wait to receive it all in the mail so I can use them!

'Tis better to give than to receive

Some of the gifts I gave this year include the following:
This basket I put together with two bottles of wine and a candle, all from Tekamah, along with two bags of chex mix made by my mom and I.

I gave my mom this journal that Mother Rabbit uses, and I bought one for myself as well-- they are just so cute, I couldn't resist! So now our goal is to journal in them every night!

 

I received this fabulous Panasonic Lumix camera from parents which I am anxious to use.

I also received this pitcher and set of six sherbet dishes made of yellow depression glass. For those of you who know me, you may know how much I love the look of depression glass and the color yellow, therefore I LOVED this gift from my aunt Melinda!

Reese's cookies

One of my favorite candy bars of all time is Reese's, combine them with chocolate chip cookie cookies and you get an amazing treat! What more could you ask for?!

puppy chow

My brother Blake's favorite treat by far is puppy chow. He loves it so much that he decided to make a batch all by himself!

He claims these were the only clothes he had clean...

monster cookies

It is a tradition in our home to make oodles of Christmas goodies, which result in stacks of tupperware containers full of treats just begging to be consumed. This year we didn't bake quite as much as usual, but Stef and I were craving monster cookies (not something we generally make for this holiday), so that's what we made-- with festive red and green M&M's of course!

break!

My apologies for not  blogging in over a month now. I was completely swamped during the month of December as my first semester of graduate school came to an end, but I survived and I managed to receive all A's which was a goal of mine. I thought I would be doing much more blogging over my three week break but my younger sister claims that I'm always on the computer (I feel as though she's always texting on her phone) but none the less, I decided to use my break more for family time and some much needed relaxation. I have enjoyed every minute of my break, but as anticipated it has gone way too fast-- let me fill you in now before my life is once again consumed by classes, clinic, and work!

I hope this gets to her...

I saw this video today on my MSN homepage. It has quite an interesting story behind it-- check it out, it's called I Hope This Gets To You.

psalm 100

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.   
² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.  
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his people,
   the sheep of his pasture. 
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.  
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I have this verse marked in my bible, it is one that I gave my little sister when she was confirmed, and I feel that it is quite fitting this time of year.

apple crisp

My Thanksgiving contribution...

 

I had a fabulous Thanksgiving back home with my family. I have so much to be thankful for this year, God has truly blessed me with so many amazing people in my life. I hope all of you have just as many wonderful things in your life, and that you take time to thank the Lord as we head into this Christmas season!

mangled mug

Last year I received an awesome Harley-Davidson travel coffee mug from my parents for Christmas. After using it nearly every morning and almost lasting a year, I had to say goodbye to my coffee companion. The other night I had my hands full, and as I attempted to set the mug on my counter, it fell off and cracked on my tile kitchen floor. It was a sad day, here was the end result...

However, my mother knows my obsession with coffee, so she lovingly replaced it with this one as a "Thanksgiving" present!

double chocolate mocha trifle

I made this along with a cornbread casserole for the "Friends Thanksgiving"!

pharynx & larynx on walls...oh my!

My parents were town a few weekends ago for the RMAC volleyball tournament so I had my dad help me hang my awesome new wall decor! I received this from my friend Mark who confiscated it from his speech path mom. Having this on my living room wall makes me so happy in the nerdiest way, but it's bound to strike up a few conversations!

Loper volleyball

The Loper volleyball team won the RMAC Tournament on November 13th in Kearney, which qualified them for the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Minnesota-Duluth and top seed SW Minnesota State in the NCAA Tourney before ending their season to no. 2 Concordia St. Paul. My cousin Cola, who has been their starting setter for the past four years, earned the Division II National Player of the Week title on November 9th. The girls had an amazing season and I'm going to miss watching them play.

Cola and I after the RMAC Championship game
and her last home game as a Loper

celebrating Chris

One of my good friends from UNL, Chris, took his own life on November 5th; needless to say the past few weeks have been filled by coping with the loss as well as celebrating his life. Chris was a second year doctoral student. He had received speech therapy for most of his life for stuttering and was working towards his Ph.D. to help others like him. Chris was an amazing person, his laugh, smile, and squeal of excitement could brighten anyone's day! During my senior year as an undergraduate, he became a great role model for me and loved offering advice. Chris had a sassy free spirit and loved to dance. My best memories of Chris are those which included Rock Band and chips & salsa. Chris will never be forgotten and I am so glad I was able to be a part of his life.

My speech path friends from UNL at my Ugly Christmas Sweater Party 2009--
Chris is front right

Chris came to watch me present my UCARE poster
Walking back from chips & salsa
He always reminded me that I was his favorite Loper

spaghetti supper

I made spaghetti, actually pasta shells with meat sauce, and white hominy for supper last night; it was nice to cook again, it had been a while! After I devoured my meal, my cousin Jackie asked me to play intramural volleyball last night-- we went 1-2 but it felt great to be back on the court again, and I'm surprisingly not sore today!

family football rivalries

My brother Blake and I with our cousin Chris and his wife Karla

My relatives from Missouri came to Lincoln this weekend for the big football game; they even crashed, I mean joined our tailgate! Despite their gold and black apparel, we enjoyed every minute of having them in town-- we enjoyed it even more when the Huskers beat the Tigers!

"Shootin' Blanks" lead singer, my cousin Tyler, and the other guitarist

My cousin Tyler and his band, “Shootin' Blanks” from Kansas City also happened to be in town this weekend and played at Uncle Ron’s both Friday and Saturday. They’re a great red dirt band and we all have an amazing time rockin' out when they come to town!

sorry punkin

My pumpkin masterpiece! HAHAHA.

fruit salad

A few weeks ago I made this delicious fruit salad for a potluck and I thought I would share the recipe with all of you-- it's simple and delicious, what more could you ask for?!

mmm...fruit!

beautiful apples

The finished product!

 Creamy Fruit Salad:

1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained
1 can (16 oz.) sliced peaches, drained, cut into bite-size pieces
3 bananas, sliced
2 unpeeled red apples, cut into bite-size pieces
Fruit Sauce:
1 pkg. (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1 c. cold milk
1/3 c. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
¾ c. sour cream

In a large bowl, combine all fruit. Mix together gently; set aside. For sauce, combine al ingredients in another large bowl. Beat with a wire whisk until smooth and mixture thickens. Gently fold into fruit. Cover and chill for 3-4 hours before serving.
Fresh fruit may be substituted when it’s in season. Fresh peaches or nectarines are delicious. I added grapes to mine!

time flies when you're having fun!

Lately it seems as though I have been swamped during the week and busy making memories on the weekends and I haven't had time to blog. Well, after spending 12 hours on campus yesterday, and 12 hours on campus today, I came home from night class, threw on some sweats, and cracked open a bottle of wine. Despite all of the papers, projects, and presentations I could work on, I am going to blog my little heart out instead. I've had a few friends and relatives inform me that they do in fact read my blog to stay updated on my life, so here's to all of you, cheers!