Studying!

I have decided I am one of the worst studiers on the face of this earth! I have horrible studying habits. I am always trying to figure out how people study and well it never works for me. I have rewrote my notes and made flash cards many of times. I think my problem is that I can not sit still for to long. I always think of something else I could be doing, which is not good! Another bad thing I do is wait till the last minute to study. DO NOT DO THIS! I always tell myself next time I will start earlier, and well I never do. As school is getting harder I really need some really good tips, so please anyone, give me advise!

Oh and just to throw this out there this is my schedule for this week and next week:

Mon: class in the morning, took 4 quizzes online, went to the gym, and study for anatomy lab exam (oh and backed up my computer, due to it getting a virus)

Tues: worked all day, fit some studying in for my anatomy lab exam, and went to the gym

Wed: class in the morning, took anatomy lab exam, wrote a paper, and went to the gym

Thurs: Studied all day for anatomy lecture exam and go to gym

Friday: take anatomy lecture exam and medical terminology(online), work and start studying for 2 finals on Mon

Sat: go to gym, study for anatomy final and politics final(mon), and family party

Sun: work all day and study for anatomy and politics

Mon: class in the morning, take 2 finals, go to gym, and start studying for human growth and development final

Tues: work all day, go to gym, and study for final

Wed: TAKE LAST FINAL!!!

Just need to live through this next 7 days and I will be ok.

Holidays

I can truly say things are a little crazy in my life right now. The holidays always bring stress.

Holidays mean the end of the semester, meaning finals. Holidays mean being either with the people you love, or being without them. The holidays also mean giving up somethings just to make other people happy. The holidays always bring people closer together and make them miss things that use to be. The holidays make people be crazy and do crazy things, good and bad. The holidays mean great food that is horrible for you, like the cookies that are sitting on my kitchen counter. The holidays mean cold weather and snow. The holidays means great smells in the air. The holidays mean a time for giving and caring.

Hopefully everyone can try to stay sane throughout the next couple of weeks. I am hoping I can.

Random thoughts

I cannot believe it is the end of October! Mine and my dad's birthday is in 9 days :) So much has been going on lately.

I feel like all I do is sleep, eat, study and play soccer.

I have been playing soccer almost everyday of my life, which is awesome because I am finally in the shape I want to be in (but it is over in 2 weeks).

I have been working about 12 hours a week, which has been up and down. Some days I make good money and some I don't.

I also go to school 13 hours a week, which isn't going as well as I would want it to be, I had all my midterms last week, which was not fun at all.

Today the sun actually decided to come out! It was been so gross in STL lately. I don't think I have ever seen so much rain.

I still have a whole month until I seen Anthony again, which sucks because it is starting to get harder than ever.

My little sweetheart Zara keeps me happy :) She is always so excited to see me. She makes sure to give my lots of hugs and kisses.

I am very glad to say that I have made really good girl friends with soccer. They keep me busy and smiling.

I need a better phone because I don't have service at all on campus, which could possibly be a good thing

My mom has been making some extremely delicious dinners!

My sister is stressing about getting into college...which causes a lot of stress in my family household.

I think my dad is extremely happy that I am playing soccer again and actually playing the way I can.

I wouldn't change a thing in my life right now.

My sweetheart

time is out of my hands

I can not believe that it is the end of September already. I have been so busy running around in circles lately. Between school, soccer, SLEEP, and work I barely have time to do anything. So far school as been ok but soccer has been making it a lot better. I have met a lot of new people and mad some pretty good friends. I feel a lot happier than I was last year, so that is good news. Soccer has been a little rough. We have lost 4 games and won 2. I have had one goal :) I can't believe it is already time for Amy's wedding. Anthony comes home Thursday night!!! I seriously can't believe it has been a month since I have seen him. I hope the rest of the year keeps coming like this because if it does Christmas will be here any day now. I will try to post some pictures later to show everyone what I have been up too!

Hotels

So I am sitting in a stiff bed in Bloomington, IL at a Best Western. I forget how bad soccer trips are. You always get stuck in the hotel that looks like no one has ever stayed there and that have a funny smell. Everything is covered in some sort of floral pattern. At least I only have to stay here 2 nights. Another good thing is that I am here with 20 other girls and well that always seems to bring some fun around!

Oh and soccer has taken over my life so I have been slacking in the blogging area...I will try to keep up.

It's alive!

Friday my computer battery died, so I went to plug it in and it wasn't charging! I had a little melt down and then called my computer's IT people. They told me it would take 3-5 business days to get a new one and that it would cost 65 dollars! Thank goodness my mom bought a warranty and I got the charger free of charge. The last couple days have been rough. I need my computer for school. All my teachers put everything on blackboard and well you need Internet to get to that. My family has a house computer but it is EXTREMELY slow. I actually had to get on it to print off notes but I could only handle it for an hour or so. I came home from class tonight and well the new charger was sitting on my kitchen table!!!! My computer has life again. My life can go back to normal :)

Sad, yes I know.

Mary Poppins

Saturday was finally the day my mother and I have been waiting for. We got to see Mary Poppins at the wonderful Fox. We went with my dad, aunt, uncle, cousin, and her boyfriend. Our tickets were on the floor and in the center! My mom got these tickets about a year ago and has been very excited to see it since then. The performance was really good. The lady that played Mary did an amazing job. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was my favorite! I am a huge fan of musicals so I was very excited to see one of the most classic movies at the fox. It was a really great night too. The weather reminded me of fall :) I had to wear a jacket. We usually try to go to the fox once a year and I can't wait till the next time we go, I hope something good will come soon!


oh and a little side note. When I did spell check supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is actually a word....crazy.

Summer's Gone

School has started, so summer is officially over in my book. So far my classes have been ok. I really enjoy my anatomy class but that is about it. My other classes are sort of boring. Hopefully it will get better! Yesterday I had my first soccer game against Fontbonne University. We tied 1-1. It was fun to finally play a game rather than just practicing every day. Tomorrow Anthony leaves :( It really hasn't hit me yet but I know it will soon. Hopefully this semester will fly by and then second semester will fly by and next thing you know it will be summer again. Better keep dreaming right?

Sleeping beauty

This is how I find Zara sleeping every morning. It just cracks me up. The other morning her tongue was hanging out of her mouth.

Play day

Yesterday was play day at my house! Anthony brought Lincoln over to play and man did him and Zara have a ball. They were running and jumping and wrestling all over the place. Coco wasn't that excited about Lincoln though. She just kept to herself and stayed up high so Lincoln couldn't reach her. I think Zara really likes Lincoln because he will play with her. At one point Lincoln had every toy out and was laying in the middle of them all. He is so silly! I think we will have to have play dates more often because once Lincoln left Zara passed out.

COCO

LINCOLN

ZARA

They were going crazy over that stick!

Allergies

Fall is approaching and well allergies are here! I am miserable. My eyes itch like crazy and my nose is all runny :( I take a prescription but it just doesn't seen to be doing the job. I blame it on soccer...practicing outside for 3 hours makes everything go crazy! Looks like I will be staying inside and not enjoying this beautiful weather.

Cards game

Last night Anthony took Eleni, Gina and I to the Cards game! I haven't been to a lot of games so it was exciting. The tickets were great. We were on the first level in row ten on the first base line. Anthony's dad got them from a friend and he couldn't make it so he gave them to Anthony and since Ant is such a nice guy he took the girls! (I think he had fun though) We all had a really good time and the weather was beautiful so we got super lucky. It was a really good game and we got to see a home run! No one warned me about the fireworks and I screamed really loud. Scared me to death. We enjoyed some peanuts, nachos and a pretzel. Even though everything is so expensive you just can't help but get something. I am glad we got the chance to go, it was lots of fun!

Hell Week

The first week of soccer practice is always known as hell week. It is usually the hardest week of the whole season. Well this past week was hell week for me. I still have 2 more days to go till we get our one day off, Sunday. So far we have been having 2 and a half hour practices, each starting with some sort of run. It usually is around 2 miles. My body has started to adjust, but is still a little sore. I am more tired than anything. I am really not a long distance runner. I rather do sprints. Most coaches focus on distance, when they should really be focusing on speed. The team is looking a little better than if first did. I was a little nervous that we weren't going to have descent skill on the team, I was thinking that practices would be a little more intense and people would know how to back people up, or even pass the ball. Some of these girls just shock me. When I played for Lindbergh's soccer team, our team could easily beat this Meramec team. I guess I am just going to have to adjust and take this opportunity to get back into the shape I need to be in and enjoy playing while I can. I have met some pretty cool girls though. So they make practice a little more exciting. Hopefully next week my body will be feeling better. My shins are killing me!

Chocolate Cherry Cake

This is for everyone in Anthony's family...I know how much you guys like chocolate and cherries!

Prep: 40 min.
Bake: 22 min.

Cool: 10

Oven: 350

Cake

3/4 cup plus 1 tsp. all-purpose flour

1/3 cup plus 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sour cream

1 tbs. of Hersey chocolate sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 6x2-inch round cake pans. Mix 1 tsp of each flour and cocoa; dust pans. Set aside.
2. In a bowl combine 3/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl with electric mixer beat butter on med. to high for 30 sec. Add sugar, beat until fluffy and smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and Hersey chocolate sauce until smooth. Beat in sour cream and flour mixture. Pour batter in pans; spread evenly.
4. Bake 22 to 26 mins or until edges begin to pull away from sides. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 mins. Remove from pans; cool on rack.



Frosting
8 oz sour cream
1 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbs. marashino cherry juice


1. Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Beat on med-high until fluffy.
2. Use serrated knife to horizontally cut cakes in half to make four layers total. Spread frosting inbetween layers. Heap remaining frosting, swirling in peaks. Refrigerate.




I only did 2 layers because I didn't have the right size pans and I put chocolate covered cherries on top :) You could always just buy chocolate cake mix and just make the icing too! Hope you guys enjoy.

He makes me smile

Yesterday I got a little present in the mail....

Isn't my man just wonderful! His parents raised him so well :)

Weekend update

The weekend flew by. Frank and Brittany were in town and we all headed to the Zoo Friday day. It was gorgeous outside and the Zoo has changed so much since the last time I have been there it was neat to see everything. It was packed and there were little kids everywhere! Mrs. C took lots and lots of pictures so you will have to check out her blog (hopefully she will put the pictures up), but I took some pictures before my camera died :( It was a lot of fun and it was good to see Frank and Brittany. After the Zoo Anthony, Mrs. C and I went to Imos to get some yummy pizza. Thanks Mrs. C!

Saturday I had to work all day :( I did get a break though, so I took Zara to the vet to get her stitches out!!! She is all good now. I got off a little early too so I was able to go out to eat at Hacienda with Anthony's family. We ate outside since it was so nice out. They have the neatest set up there. It is just a fun atmosphere. It was good to hang out and relax with everyone. School starts in 3 weeks so I need to get a whole lot of fun in to make sure my summer is complete!

Coldplay

Friday night was finally Coldplay! A group of us all headed out to Verizon in my mom's old van :) Casey had just had knee surgery on Wednesday so we took advantage of the privileges we reserved. We got to pack in the first section of the parking lot and got a golf cart to take us to the grass. Lazy I know but it was all for Casey :) I have seen them once before in 2005 and they put on the most amazing show. Friday night they topped themselves. They are great performers. Even if you don't like Coldplay I am sure you would have enjoyed the show. They use tones of lights and video. During the song "Yellow" they sent out huge yellow balloons! They make sure to keep you interesting in the show. They are also just a highly talented group. They sound exactly like their CD, if not better. I prefer them live, which takes a talent if you ask me. We all had an amazing time and the weather was perfect so we were very lucky.

Anthony and I

They came out to the grass and were about 50 yards away from us

Casey and Ant with the big balloon

:)

The ladies

Me and my bestie Casey

Poor Baby

Today my little baby Zara got spayed and a micro chip . Anthony was a kind soul and spent the night to take her with me because I couldn't do it alone. We took her in around 6:45 am. She looked so sad when I left her. I think she knew something was going to happen. I spent all day holding my phone making sure I didn't miss the vets call. My sister kept telling me that she died...I didn't find it to funny. They finally called around 2:30 pm and told me everything went really well and that she would be ready to be picked up at 3:00 pm. When I got there it took them a little time to get her to me because apparently no one would answer the desk lady's call. Once she got her I almost cried because she looked so sad and out of it, she did wag her tail though. They lady explained all the details to me about keeping her incision clean and keep her calm. As I was leaving I noticed there was dry blood on her belly and on her legs. I was a little upset because they were telling me to keep it clean. I haven't been so happy with Webster Animal Hospital but the place I got Zara from will pay for the spay since I took her to Webster. Once she is getting her stitches out we will not be returning there. For now all my baby needs to do is sleep and stay away from my crazy dog Coco.

Amy's Shower

Sunday, after our crazy time of camping, was Amy's wedding shower. I rushed home to get all ready and Mrs. C picked me up at 12 because she had to run around and do some things before the shower at 1. Angela and I helped set up some things, like these crazy bells! They were cheap and wouldn't stick together so Angela and I were having a hard time trying to figure out what to do, we finally just gave up and stopped. They had wonderful food there: chicken salad sandwiches, salad, and broccoli salad. Amy's seemed to have gotten a lot of great things to help her get her life started. I think she was a little over whelmed. It was good to hang out with Anthony's family and see Amy since I never get to see her. I can't wait for the wedding in September! It will be a lot of fun :) Good luck with the rest of the wedding Amy!!!

Camping

This weekend I had some time off and went on a float trip as well as camped out. The weather sucked but it was still a good time. There was 15 of us that went floating. We went to Garrison's in Steelville, MO. We arrived there around 930 am and had an hour and a half to set up camp before we had to met up to go on the river. We went on the Meramec river and man was it cold. I tried to stay out of the water as much as possible. We went on a 6 mile float, it took us about 4 and a half hours which isn't to bad. After the float we all hung out, I took a nap because I was dead tired. I was in charge of the grill again like last summer. We had hamburgers and hot dogs. We had such a crazy amount of food. A whole picnic bench was covered in chips, cookies, brownies and other things. We played some soccer and card games after dinner and made the best out of the sun that we had. Once the sun went down we got a nice fire going since it was around 50 degrees out. Everyone was getting along so great it was a nice drama and carefree trip :) A group of us were playing a game and many people lost their voice and got a great ab workout in because we were all laughing so hard. I was the only one who brought a water camera so I got some pictures thank goodness.

Busy couple of days

I am looking forward to the next couple of days. Tomorrow I have to work in the morning/afternoon, and then I will have to pack up for a float trip that I am going on with a group of friends on Saturday. Friday I have to work open to close...it will be a long day but hopefully I can make some money. Sunday is Amy's (Anthony's sister) wedding shower. I am so excited. I hope she likes what I gave her because I made her something special :) It will be a crazy couple of days but hopefully it will fly by. I am glad I have the weekend of work because I would not want to miss out on all of this. Can't wait to see everyone and I will let you all know how the trip goes. I just need to wear sunscreen so I am not pink for Amy's shower!!! That would be embarrassing.

Missing someone.

For the last couple of weeks Anthony and I have not seen to much of each other and when we do usually one of us falls asleep. Anthony has been working his little butt off doing some construction/landscaping. He has been working at least 8 hours a day, if not more. I have been working more too, trying to keep up with some of my spendings. Anthony has hockey 3 days a week and I have soccer 2 days a week. Our schedules are not being friendly at all! This summer is flying by and I know I will have to be saying bye soon...not to thrilled about that. I feel like this has always happen to Anthony and I. When we first started dating senior year we never saw each other. Anthony had hockey everyday of his life and traveled on the weekends. I had a mix of soccer and work, so when Anthony had time I didn't. I really wanted to do a lot this summer. I wanted to go to the Zoo, the Science Center, Grants Farm, ride bikes (we have done that a little bit), go to parks and so much more. Hopefully our schedules free up a little bit because I sure am missing my Anthony time. Well I have the day completely off tomorrow and Anthony has to work all day and then has hockey. Looks like another lonely day...Friday day is looking clear.

Break

So I finally have a few days off work. For the last couple of weeks I have been working everyday. One of our servers had to have surgery so I covered some of her shifts. I really needed the money, but working everyday at a restaurant can make you lose your mind especially at Crestwood Mall (the people are not the most put together people in this world). The weather will hopefully be nice so I can get some sunshine and some play time with my baby girl (Zara). Tomorrow I do have a busy day though so lets just say I am looking forward to Wednesday so I can relax and have some time alone and not with crazy mall people.




I did get to relax the other day with my mom and dogs before I had to work a pm shift. It was beautiful outside!

Zara is learning bad habits

The clouds were so beautiful

Tomatoes

My mother's fountain that she just go and is obsessed with

Zara following Coco as usual

She always has to lay under me

My little stinker

P.S. As of right now I am sitting in my bed listening to Zara snore....

Weekend Sum

This weekend was busy but enjoyable. Friday I worked until close. Anthony and I then went over to my friend Amanda's house for a little while. We weren't there for to long because we were all so tired. I did get a few pictures. Purple was the color of the night.

Saturday I had Zumba in the morning, which wasn't that great because it was a sub and well she had very basic moves which got boring. I then had to work in the morning and then headed to a family reunion. It was about 98 degrees when we got there. Most people were outside. I just don't know how they do it. Anthony and I were both dying. My sister thought she was going to pass out...she is a baby at times. There was some great food though and it was good to see some of the family. No pictures were taken unfortunately. That night Anthony, Alyson, Joe and I went to Froyo down in the Loop. I have been wanting to go there for a long time. It is a self serve place. They have about 6 different frozen yogurt flavors and any type of topping possible. It was very tasty and helped cool us down. Sunday I worked again and Anthony painted our deck. He worked a lot longer than I did and got a little sun burnt too. That night a group of us went to the drive-in in Belleville. We saw the second Transformers, which was awesome! Plus the drive in was pretty awesome. You can bring your own food and drinks, the only thing is that it is about 30 minutes away. I will say it was totally worth it though.

This weekend had a lot going on, but was very exciting. Hopefully we will be heading back to the drive in soon. Hopefully everyone had an exciting weekend!