Hi, everyone!
Are you as excited as I am about spring break? Honestly for me, this semester has been quite stressful and really busy. I’ve not been able to spend time doing anything other than work, class, homework, or (a little bit) of sleep, and quite frankly, that’s not good for my physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health. So for me, spring break is going to be a small opportunity for much-needed decompression and “me time”. I say small because I’m going to spend a large chunk of break working on a presentation, four or five papers, regular reading/homework for several of my classes, and discussion boards/quizzes/a test for my eight-week online class that just started. I remain hopeful that there will be a few spare moments, though, to get well-rested, spend a little quality time with my family and friends, and maybe even catch up on pleasure reading or go see Beauty and the Beast. I’m sure many of you have a much more exciting, enjoyable break planned, but I am grateful for the week off if for no other reason than to catch up on many, many things! I’m not sure I’d be able to feasibly get through the rest of the semester if I didn’t have spring break on the horizon!
In the meantime, I’m about halfway through the week…or a test, three labs, a presentation, and four regular class periods away from “freedom”! I’m enjoying the cold weather and snow, though. See my picture below of my Monday drive to Fontbonne…the snow is so pretty.

Happy spring break — stay safe and enjoy your time off!
~Anna
Tagged as:
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Homework,
snow,
Spring Break,
Stress,
winter
Hi everyone! I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend and are ready for another week studying hard at Fontbonne. Today I’d like to share five things I am most excited for — some happening presently, others I am eagerly looking forward to. They’re in no particular order, too, by the way!
- My family’s return from California: This weekend (February 18), my cousin got married. He lives in California, and my college and work schedules did not allow me to attend the celebration. I’m really glad my parents, brother, grandma, and other relatives could all make it out to attend the wedding and reception, but I also have that reserved feeling that we couldn’t all be together as a family — not just for the wedding, but the other fun activities they’ve been enjoying. My mom has been sending me tons of pictures to make me feel included, but it’s still not the same as being there. Monday (February 20) my grandma and brother return, and Wednesday (February 22) my parents return. It’s not that I am incapable of carrying on a normal life without them…we’re just a really close-knit family, and when we’re apart like this, it’s a little bittersweet and lonely.
- Trying new recipes: I’m a dietetics major (only a freshman, so I’m not really into degree-specific classes yet) and I love cooking and baking, whether it’s creating new recipes out of my head (I’m not afraid to take a plunge, even knowing something might not turn out well) or changing up existing recipes to be healthier or appropriate for people with different dietary needs. Tonight, I’m making a fish taco and my own guacamole. It’s always good if you can make your own of anything because then you can control how much of an ingredient you put into the recipe!
- The Triple Crown: I’m a horse girl, and that extends into many areas of my life, including the Triple Crown horse races every May/June — the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont. Two years ago (2015), we had American Pharoah win all three races, which hadn’t been done for 37 years. I can’t begin to express how emotional I was witnessing his wins, and it further increased my enthusiasm for the sport. My mom and I make a full-out celebration of the Derby complete with hats, singing My Old Kentucky Home with utter solemnity, apple juleps (a non-alcoholic trade for the mint juleps), mint chocolate chip shakes, picking our favorite horse to win, and breathlessly watching the two-minute race. By the Preakness and Belmont, it’s time to get serious and just watch the race — no other “partying distractions”. Even if you’re not a horse person or horse-racing fan, it’s so exciting that I guarantee you it’s worth two short minutes of your time!
- Summer vacation: I don’t really get much of a summer vacation because I’ll be taking summer classes at a community college in order to graduate in four years. But there’s a window of time between when those end and Fontbonne’s fall semester starts, so my family and I will be taking a summer trip (what?!) to the east to climb Mt. Washington (a five-year aspiration of mine) and visit Philadelphia, New York City, Washington D.C., Gettysburg, and other great spots. As an aspiring history minor, I’m certain there will be moments of emotion as I realize the deep historical roots of the places I visit…the very places some of the most significant moments in America’s history happened!
- The Winter Olympics: I’m a winter lover through and through (sorry, all you cold-weather-haters), and I have to say this winter has been very depressing to me with the lack of cold temperatures and snow (and I mean SNOW, not the rotten ice that struck us twice earlier this year). A comforting thought is that the 2018 Winter Olympics are just a year away now, though! That’ll get me through whatever crazy weather we have coming at us.
What are some things you’re excited for, whether they’re happening now or way on down the road? Let me know, and have a great week!
~Anna
Tagged as:
cooking,
dietetics,
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horse racing,
Olympics,
road trips,
winter
It’s finally the holidays! That means cinnamon scented candles, gift shopping, glitter and lights everywhere! One of my favorite things about this time of year is family traditions! Here is a list of some of my favorite traditions.
- Staying up late Christmas Eve and watching movie marathons such as the Harry Potter series, Gone With the Wind, and Lord of the Rings
- Helping my mom bake dozens of cookies!
- Driving around neighborhoods to look at the Christmas lights.
- Decorating the tree with all the past childhood ornaments
- My newest tradition is going to the zoo and looking at all the lights and seeing the penguins!
Happy Holidays! What are some of your favorite traditions around the holidays?
Tagged as:
Christmas Break,
holiday,
Traditions,
winter
Another day of snow, another day of leaving the house earlier than normal to go through the chore of cleaning the snow and ice off my car and warming it up for the drive to school (which will be more of a fight due to the weather). If you’ve grown up in the Midwest, or have lived here for any length of time, this winter weather is nothing new, and we all bear it the best we can, wishing for an early spring. Today, however, while sweeping the powdery snow off my car, I had a memory pop up in my minds’ eye and it made me take pause. When I was a young girl I had a microscope and I would look at everything under it to see what my world was like up close. In the winter time I became obsessed with trying to look at snowflakes. I would put my glass slides outside so that they would be cold enough for the little flakes and even set up my microscope in the backyard to observe the delicate crystals in their natural habitat. But one thing I didn’t consider was the hot bulb that made it possible to see anything under the microscope, and so each and every time the beautiful snowflakes would melt within seconds of being observed (much to my dismay).
That memory made me stop for a moment and think about how rushed we all are to get from one thing in our lives to another, with hardly a pause in between to just stop and look around. So I stopped cleaning my car and just looked. The snowflakes were huge and the wind made them swirl and dance around in the air before coming to rest on the world below. For that moment I forgot about classes and deadlines and work and bills and just admired the beauty of the snow. Perhaps everyone should just take a moment in their busy schedule, every day, to pause, look around, and enjoy the beauty of the world around us. Take a deep breath and remember those moments. Cheers!
Tagged as:
snow,
winter