Lord, help me.

Well, since it has been more than two weeks since I last wrote, I decided it was time to finally write. I am sick...and I have no motivation...so that is making it very hard to get anything done. And, with one and a half weeks left of classes, I have no time to not have motivation.

Two weekends ago I went down to the little quiet town of Preston, where Dwight and Amy live. While at their house a couple of weeks earlier for Tate's birthday party, Amy invited me to go on a tour of B&B's, so two weekends ago I drove there and was greeted by the most hospitable little boy yelling out of the back door, "Come in, Gretchen! Would you like something to drink?" Tator Tot is too precious. For real, it takes a lot to be more precious than him. :) I came back for two days of classes before I was able to head home for Thanksgiving, which was sort of stressful as I was trying to write a couple of papers.

Once again, home was lovely. By the time it was time to go, I found myself wishing that I could just stay home until Christmas break. Now, I am stressing over how I am going to get a couple of big papers done by next Monday. Yikes...It's not hard for me to write when I actually know what I will be writing about. I actually love to write, but it is so hard to come up with topics. So, right now, I'm lost. With being sick and all, I just wish I could crawl up into my bed and sleep or watch movies until it is time to go home. Not sure if I will make it these next couple of years. Until spring of senior year, I will be taking 18 credits plus I will have two jobs. I wish I could be done now, how wonderful that would be.

On a different note, I want to make these. Mama, get ready, because we will be doing this when I get home for Christmas break!

Cheer up, Love.

My history professor has a way of making me believe in myself like never before. I waltzed into her office to talk to her about changing my history minor into a major after she mentioned to me that I should think about making the switch a few weeks ago. She was looking over my four year plan and exclaimed in joy when she noticed that I was taking a class from her in the spring. Little did she know that I planned on taking another class after that the next fall from her as well. Luckily, she was excited for that one too. I laughed at her and asked her if she might not get sick of me by then in a joking manner, and to that she responded so sincerely, "No, not at all. I love having you in my classes. You are such a work horse; I can't believe how you pour yourself into the work." That made me feel so exceptional. I think a lot of times I don't think I can keep up with everyone else or that I get caught in this snare of thinking I am not good enough or never could be, but to hear that from her was...truly amazing. This is the same teacher that also asked me to be her T.A. for my last two years of college. I am so excited to work with her and get to know her better because she truly is an amazing teacher. I am thankful for teachers like her. What a blessing.

Lazy Sundays.

I could go for one of those lazy Sundays I used to have when I was still living at home. Ideally, it would be cold, with a fire going, reading some books, or watching Little Women. It's just that sort of day. Ah, that just sounds way too good right now. I think senioritis is kicking in a few years early...

Yesterday, my best friend, Megan, came to the cities to see me. She wanted to do some shopping, so at 11 in the morning we headed to the mall. Pretty soon we abandoned the idea of shopping for jeans, what we had originally gone for, and instead, started looking at all the dishes and home goods in every department store. We were dreaming of what color we would get for a kitchen aide (I chose the pistachio color) and picking out china...sounds lame, but it was so much fun! This will also make me sound lame to every person that thinks you can't start thinking about Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but I was starting to get so excited as I saw the Christmas decorations and the whole bottom floor of Macy's all decorated for Christmas. It was kind of a bummer when I got outside and realized there was no snow. After we left the mall, we drove to the JoAnn's right across the street where I purchased some knitting needles and yarn. That's right, Megan started to teach me how to knit! Admit it, I am the coolest person you know. ; ) We enjoyed a fabulous meal of pasta and cheesy bread along with some coffee flavored ice cream while we watched Grumpy Old Men (the funniest movie right after Tommy Boy) and she began to teach me how to make an infinity scarf. It will be mustard yellow. Already it is so pretty and I can't wait to finish it so that I can wear it! One slight problem...after she left, I realized that it was twisted, so I had to start over and I spent many hours trying to figure out what I had done earlier. No worries though, I have got it under control! Well, better quit dreaming and actually get some homework done!