GAH- this past week at school....

Well, to be back from Spring Break was no easy.... break.
Hahahaha, I'm sorry, I just had to do it. Anyway, being back from Spring Break, ALL of my teachers decided that this week would be a good time to have papers assigned/due. Yahoo. So, basically, my entire week was not hearing about what other people did on their break (although I DID hear some pretty great stories- a couple of friends of mine went to Belize! Wow!), but instead sitting in my room (which I am STILL loving that I have it all to myself. Man, each day it just gets better and better) and writing papers.
Oh well, I had a birthday dinner with a few friends of mine celebrating mine and my friend, Jess's birthdays. We went to The Trojan Horse (Greek) and had amazing food. I had never been there, but I am def going back. And, before it got kind of cold and rainy, I did some walking around and found some more great little cafes in Bloomington that I will have to check out further when it's warmer on some weekend...


Here is "the group" out to dinner. From me moving clock-wise are my friends Marie, Marisa, Kirsten, Jess, and Sarah-Anne. We had a great time munching on Gyros! Although, I had "The Drunken Salmon" which was marinated in bourbon and WOW- one of the best pieces of salmon I have ever had. We also had "Flaming Cheese" with pita which was a hit...

For two nights this past week, I stood in front of some of the bars on campus with the group that is going to Zambia to try to con drunk people into buying our various baked goods. That was funny. Well, minus the really cold weather and having to stand in the snow, it was fun. We did pretty well, I think. Laura (the trip leader) said that she thinks that we made about $120 each night, so $240! That's great! (Sidenote: thank you again to anyone who sent me a donation. I really appreciate it!)
Yesterday, Jess and Marie and I all went to the west-side shopping mall place (which I had never been to until Auntie Kathy and I explored it before Spring Break) through a successful run of the bus. That was fun- we went to Kohl's (since it is having a sale on EVERYTHING) and I got a track jacket for $2.50! I know, that's crazy. We ate lunch at The Cracker Barrel which I always enjoy. Had some french toast (I'm all about the breakfast) with different fruit toppings on it. It was a good day.
So, now I'm off to the brunch that is being served downstairs (on Sundays, there is always hot brunch downstairs. You can be sure that I catch THAT one every week, hehe). I THINK (now, Mom, I'm pretty sure that this one is right) that I only have 5 weeks and 2 days left of school. Yippee!!! Ciao all-

-a

Leaving Me A Comment...

By the way- to leave me a comment after you read one of my posts- just click on the link underneath the post (after I am all done with my latest entry) that says "0 Comments" (since I usually have none, haha) and write me a little something. Don't worry about having to put your email into it or anything, you can just click the option that says "Anonymous," just make sure to sign your "post" with your name so I know who is writing it! (Like signing your name at the end of a letter) I would really appreciate! I love to have your feedback... hope all is well! ciao

-a

Spring Break 2006! Chicago!!

Hey all!
This is the official post covering everything that I did over my latest Spring Break!
On Thursday night (March 9th), my beautiful and wonderful Auntie Kathy drove all the way over here to IU to pick me up and take me back to Cinci! We had a great time around the campus (although it rained the whole time! blah!) and discovered a new shopping center! (with a kohl's! yes!) I had such a great time with her (favorite Auntie? Hmm....). Then on Friday night I went, along with 18 of my other family members, to Lakota West High School to see my cousin Kara in their school's musical, 42nd Street. What a great show! NOTHING like Grandview's musical, no offense G-view. I loved it. On Saturday night, I went back to my old high school to see Grandview put on Fiddler On The Roof. For being such a dramatic and dark play, I thought that they did VERY well. That was great to see a lot of my old friends up there on stage- also very weird to actially watch the musical. I hadn't done that in over 5 years!
But, the REAL Spring Break occured on Sunday morning when my good friend, Trophie and I left Columbus for Chicago ! Woohoo! I set out driving, and except for a little mix-up with some Mapquest directions around Indianapolis, we got their successfully in the late afternoon. Our hotel (Club Quarters) was located RIGHT on the river (perfect location) just a block away from Michigan Ave. and two blocks away from the Theatre District. On Sunday night, after walking around some, we ate at Pizzaria Uno to get some good ol' Chicago Deep Dish Pizza (SOO good), and then went back to the hotel (after getting caught in the rain- eek!) and watched "The Nanny" (which was officiall dubbbed the show of the trip- we watched it whenever we were in the room! What a great show...).



Here's our hotel. Boy, was it hard to find that little blue awning amidst the big chicago buildings!

On Monday, the weather was wonderful- we walked up and down Michigan Ave. without any coats or anything! It was great. We started out our day with some croissants (mmmmm.....) and shopped, shopped, shopped. We ate lunch at Navy Pier while we were there looking at all of the deserted shops. It was a fun place to go and look at all of the little trinkets and everything. By the end of the day, I bought some clothes at Filene's Basement and GAP, Trophie didn't get anything. (I tried to urge her to get something, no such luck). That night, we went to see "Transamerica" in one of the movie theatres downtown (a GREAT movie- I recommend it for ALL to see) and then we went to the cheesecake factory in the ground floor of the John Hancock Tower for SINLY desserts. mmm.... so much for lent, haha.
On Tuesday we went to the Chicago Museum of Art and saw so many famous works of art. I didn't realize how many famous pieces were right there in Chicago! Then we walked all the way to the Field Museum and saw a fabulous Pompeii exhibit (which I would have NEVER chosen if it were just me- I'm so glad that Troph wanted to go see it), I learned a lot from it. Those poor people from Pompeii! We walked back to our hotel (Tuesday was the day that it was pretty cold), and since the walk back from the Field Museum took exactly one hour (Troph timed it, haha), and it was cold, we just wanted to get back to our beds, hehe. We watched some T.V. and got ready to see WICKED! What an amazing show that was. I agree with my Aunties when I say that I think that it is the best show that I have ever seen. The vocal abilities of those witches! Amazing! The sets and costumes were very good too- it really changed the way that I thought of the original "Wizard of Oz." EVERYONE should see that show.
Wednesday morning we got up and while Troph contemplated getting real Burberry shoes EVEN MORE (this was an ongoing battle through the entire trip), I took advantage of the "Free Coffee Day" at all of the Starbucks. (yes, I was a'buzzin')Finally, after the shoes were purchased (whew!) and the great shoe-debate was over, we walked to Cereality (an ALL CEREAL cafe- Allison's Mecca) and grabbed some great breakfast. Finally the shoes were purchased (whew!) and we were on our way our of Chicago. The drive back was fine, but definitely felt longer than the drive there.
Being back home was great, though. Since I had only been there for one day before I left, it felt great to be in my own house. Overall, the trip was amazing. I know that I will always remember it. Remind me to show y'all my pictures! Hope that your Spring Break went well/is going well!

-a
(I tried to get more pictures on here but Blogger seems to be acting up- just remind me to show you the rest of them when I see you!)

SPRING BREAK!

Woohoo!!!
Off to Chicago avec Miss Trophie!!! AAAHHH!!!

more on THAT later :)

-a

My room...

Hey!
I just realized that many of you haven't seen where I spend most of my time this year, i.e. my room here at IU! I live in a dorm complex called Collins, and I live in the specific building Edmondson (named for some guy I don't know anything about, haha). Well, this afternoon I got a little bored (since I have ONE class on Fridays- ha!), so I decided to take pictures of my room. I hope that this doens't confuse you all too much- the first one starts out at the entrance to my room from the hallway and it rotates around, like if you were standing in the middle of my room and turning to your right.

There's my beloved lava lamp! AND, my new retro microwave/fridge set.

Here is the newly furnished guest bed (since I don't have a roommate this semester). Fancy Schmancy!

This picture shows my window (that looks out into the quartyard) and a side-view of my desk (note the desk chair), which is where I spend much of my time. On the windowsill, you can see my little plant, Dippy!

There's a better show of my desk and my bed. Haha, and my busy wall decorations.

Those are the the closets. Not that exciting- but good for my clothes! As you can see, my coat and jeans/towels are hanging on the outside.

And back to the beginning. That's my dresser again and out the door, the other one you see, is another girls' room across the hall... yeah, kinda weird to have them right there, but watcha gonna do?


I hope that everyone is doing well. I will be out of school in less than ONE WEEK! aaahhh! See you, Auntie Kathy, in SIX days! Good luck to everyone in this final push towards Spring Break! Ciao

-a