Birthday Pictures

I think I can safely say the birthday weekend was a success. It was really nice to see my family, and I'm looking forward to spending more than 24 hours with them over Spring Break. This drawing was a gift from Michelle, which I framed and now have hanging on my wall. I fall a little bit more in love with it every time I walk into my apartment and see it hanging there.






What this picture doesn't show is us messing up each other's cakes while my mom got the candles and then us trying to feel bad about it when my mom came back and expressed her displeasure at our cakes being less pretty. As you can see, we really pulled off the whole remorse thing rather well.

Italy

It's been voted a no. We're going to wait and do it right. I feel good about this decision - we have enough going on this summer without a trip abroad!

Home Hunting

Now that Kevin and I know where we're going in four months, we've started the slow painful process of searching for a place to live. Apparently, the apartments in New Haven are hard to come by and expensive. Graduate housing is extremely competetive, but no less so than any apartment anywhere near campus. According to people that have lived and worked there, we have to be careful what neighborhood we settle in and it is wise to settle as close to school as possible. The fact that Kevin's applying to work at the hospital located on campus makes a nearby home doubly convienent. We'd like to sell my car to reduce our expenses and if one or both of us could walk to work/school, it would save us a lot of time and money.

My dad warned me about the attitudes of the east coast, and already I'm finding out that he was right. I'm trying to grow thicker skin - really I am, but I've lived in the midwest my whole life and I'm simply accustomed to a certain degree of civility. However, in the brief interactions with realtors I've had on the east coast, I'm often cut short, bluntly told no, or sent impersonal, attached emails that offer no kind of courtesy or friendliness, and do not answer any of my specific questions. In my experience in Missouri, business people are always nice to potential customers, because they want customers to spend money at their particular business. In New Haven, no one seems to care. It's a seller's market; I'm competing for them - not the other way around, so it seems like they have no reason to be nice to me and would rather not waste their time doing so. It's a little frustrating because I'm not quite used to it yet. It makes the hunt for a home that much harder.

I think every girl envisions the place she'll live when she gets married and I don't think any of those visions include a frat house across the street, crushed beer cans in the lawn, or cramped study spaces packed with books and papers. I want a grown-up, cozy space that looks more like a house than an apartment. We found one like that, which is slightly out of our price range, but there aren't any units available. For the first year at least, we may have to settle for a 500 sq ft little space that we can easily afford and just put up with all the inconviences that come with living on a college campus. If we can spent four weeks in a car together and not kill each other, we can spend 12 months in a little apartment, right? If we can get in, that is. What's crazy is that applying for an apartment on campus is just as competitive as trying to get into the school in the first place.

Another big decision we're facing is Italy. We had already decided not to go, but Kevin's cousin recently announced that not only is she marrying an Italian man, but they are getting married in Rome this summer. It would be so amazing to return to Italy and experience a real Italian wedding with food and family... Weddings are a huge part of the culture there, and it's something that I've always wanted to experience, but never thought I could - I mean, we'd be treated as family! I can't imagine a better way to celebrate our own marraige. However, with all the moving and trips and weddings we already have going on this summer, the budget is going to be tight as it is. So, do we take the plunge and risk having a depeleted emergency fund or do we play it safe and miss the once in a lifetime Italian experience? We're still talking about it. We're both pretty torn on this one. When it gets closer to time, we'll have a better idea of exactly where our finances are. More specifically, in the next two weeks I'll find out what kind of scholarhips/loans are going to be awarded to me, if any, and I have a feeling that might play a major role in the course of our summer.

These are the flowers my Mom and Alice sent. Don't they brighten up the room? I just love them! More news on grad school: I got the actual acceptance "packet" which consisted of one piece of paper and a little magnet. I was excited to get it and all, but I was really hoping to find out more about when the program is starting. I also found out that I can't apply for housing until April. That was a little disappointing because I was hoping to get that all squared away before March so that if either Kevin or I need to head off to CT and look at apartments, one of us could use our spring break to do it. By one of us, I mean Kevin, since my spring break will be spent doing wedding stuff in Springfield.

This is the quilt I've been working on so hard the last few weeks. The top part is finished, as you can see in the photo. I'm now in the process of sewing all three layers together, but it is hard and very slow. And I'm not doing such a great job, but I think I should get an A for effort because I am putting a LOT of effort into it. This makes it more disappointing when the results are far from perfect, but still - Alissa will like it because I made it right? I hope so. I just wish the back looked as "put together" as the top does in this picture and not all crumpled and wadded.

I tried to upload pictures of the flowers my mom and Alice sent me and of the quilt as it has progressed so far, but I was enormously unsuccessful. I used a different scanner this time, so I think the picture may have been too big for my blog. It's a shame because I wanted to show off my mad sewing skills. Oh well.

I'm still waiting for my acceptance packet. I can't wait to get it so I'll know where I can live and when I actually start school! It's all still very, very exciting!

Celebration

A group of us went out last night to celebrate my acceptance. It was a lot of fun, especially since I haven't spent many weekends in town lately. It was so nice to hang out with everyone, all together! We were out pretty late and I'm pretty tired, but it was definitely worth it.

Kevin and I have been talking about Connecticut a lot and we're both really excited. We think it will be an adventure to explore the east coast for a few years! We've been looking at apartments and have decided to apply for the ones on campus, since they're so close and relatively inexpensive. They're a nice size, too, especially the two bedroom ones. He's going to apply for a job at the Yale Hospital next week too - lots of exciting things are starting to happen!

It was hard to see him go this afternoon - I really look forward to having him around more often. That might be the best part of this May.

Snowing

It's snowing... AGAIN. It's very pretty, but very cold.

My partner and I just finished the first portion of our research project, which is due on Monday. For this reason, Kevin drove down this weekend instead of me. It's nice having him here and getting to see my friends on the weekend, but I surprised myself by missing the long drive and the escape. I've gotten to enjoy the long rides in my little car with my Harry Potter books to keep me company (I'm on the third one!). I especially enjoy getting away from Kirksville for a little while - I like it here, but I am ready to move on.

Someone tore off my side mirror today while I was parked at the rec center. I only had one to begin with and I do not appreciate having none! I had to go to the police station, which was conveiently located about twenty feet from my parking spot and fill out a report which I'm sure will do absolutely no good getting my mirror back. Whoever took it off took it with them, so to get it fixed, I'd have to get the whole thing replaced. This is frustrating because I don't plan on taking my car with me to Connecticut. If I'm only going to have it a couple more months, it seems wasteful to spend the money repairing it. On the other hand, if I want to sell it in May, who's going to want to buy a car with no mirrors?

!!!!!!

So a lady called me this morning from Connecticut to tell me I'm going to Yale in the fall!! I promptly called all major family members and had a minor freak out session with each one. I still haven't been able to call Kevin. He's been at the hospital all day, but I can't wait to tell him we finally know where we're going this summer!!! I'm so excited!!! I had to look up Connecticut in order to spell it correctly, making me wonder what in the world those admissions people were thinking!

Good Decision

Somewhere between finding breakfast made and all four of my car windows scraped, all by Kevin before he had to be at work at 6:30 this morning, I thought to myself: Good decision, girl. Good decision.

I had a rather uneventful week. I spent most of my nights with friends. Kim came over for dinner on Sunday. Amber and Elizabeth came over for dinner on Wednesday. Thursday night, I spent a lot of time catching up with old friends on the phone. Friday I spent completely and totally humiliating myself.
I went to my psych research class after spending twenty mintues straightening my hair and having a nice lunch with Kim, Amber, Elizabeth, Cathi, and Joel. There are twelve people in my research class and we sit at a conference table facing each other. About half-way through class, I reached over the top of my head to smooth down my hair and realized with a surge of horror that my wrist was stuck. Stuck to the very top of my head. A button had caught in my hair and the more I pulled, the more it stuck. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed how long my hand had been on top of my head. Let's be honest, in that class, there's nothing else to do besides notice people who's wrists are stuck to their heads. I yanked and pulled while people stared and stared and finally leaned over to my research partner and whispered, "would you please follow me to the bathroom?"
We got out into the hall and could not stop laughing. Were we in a sitcom? What was going on? Do things like this actually happen in real life? It took her a full five minutes to get that ridiculous button out of my hair and we could not look at each other the rest of class without cracking up. I so hope no one remembers in class on Monday, but I know everyone will. I am such a dork.
Now I'm in Iowa, trying to get some homework done. I've had two dreams about recieving packages and envelopes from Yale. Maybe this is a part of my anxiety in waiting for an answer. I just want to know where I'm going to be in five months so I can start planning my honeymoon and my life after college. Of course I can't place too much meaning on my dreams because I also dreamt last night that I was in charge of taking care of two palm sizes babies on a camping trip. It was very hard to keep their caps on their heads. Oh, and then there was the dream that Elizabeth ate my hair and hid my camera in a granola bar, while Amber, Phil and I were with her on a cruise and Phil kept chasing monkeys around the boat, trying to capture them and take them home as pets.