Valentine's Day

Now, everyone knows that Valentine's Day is traditionally a day of disappointment. A special time of the year where women's expectations are too high and men's greatest efforts are too little. More so than usual, I mean. If you're single, it is an especially soul-crushing day, when everyone in the world it seems is paired up apart from you, and you are sure it will remain this way for all time. This is how Valentine's Day has been for me in the past. But then, this year, something amazing happened. Something I never thought was possible. I got a boyfriend. And he is wonderful.

Over the course of my dating career I have learned a few things about Valentine's Day that can make it more enjoyable for everyone involved. Today, I would like to share some of those observations with all of you.

1. No Pressure: One of the biggest issues with Valentine's Day, I am convinced, is the amount of pressure that is placed on it. The need for it to be "perfect", and the idea that anything less than that is a failure. This is just silly! Don't put so much pressure on the day, and it will automatically be better.

2. No Money: There is another idea surrounding this day that oodles of money need to be spent in order for it to be a success. False statement. It has often been my experience that the less money is spent, the better. My best friend and her boyfriend had a shared Taco Bell dinner that was full of romance and laughs. The best thing you can do is just spend time together - go for a walk, watch a movie, make dinner together. Soak each other in. You won't regret it.

3. Talk: V-Day doesn't have to be some big surprise that the guy cooks up for the girl to be wonderful. Talking about plans beforehand and brainstorming fun ideas together can be a great way to enhance the anticipation and make it a shared activity.

4. For Singles: Last year I was single on Valentine's Day and had a blast on a group date with all of my other single friends. We went out to dinner together, and spent the night with each other having fun. There is no need to be sad on this day as a single person! Being single can be lots of fun, and that should be celebrated.

This year my Valentine's Day was spent at my boyfriend's apartment, watching movies with his roommate and her boyfriend and relaxing. In the evening he cooked me an amazing meal of king crab legs, corn on the cob, peas, and garlic bread, and the whole day neither of us even thought about the heaps of homework awaiting us the next day. Success indeed! :)

Emma's Senior Night

In life, little sisters are like trial children for their older siblings. We feel protective of them, we adore them, we share in all of their joys and sorrows, and sometimes they drive us crazy. In most cases we also take care of them, although in my particular case it's usually my little sis who's reminding me to take food out of the plastic wrap before putting it in the microwave. Whatever our relationship with them, it is always special when we can be there with our sisters during their important moments in life, and lucky for me, this week I was given an opportunity to do just that.

At Gateway Regional High School, the girls' basketball team is like a family. Even though I haven't played for them in two years, I still feel a strong connection to the school, the team, the coach, and the experience. This year, I had more of a reason than ever to get to as many games as I could given that I go to school three and a half hours away - it is my little sister's senior year. And this year in particular, senior night was going to be a spectacular event. You see, when I played for the Lady Gators, the team didn't win a single game in five years. That's right, five. Then, my senior year, everything changed and we ended up going to tournament! Now, in my little sister's senior year, not only are they going to tournament but they are League Champions and undefeated at home. Watching this transformation come about has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

So, as a family we decided I was going to surprise my little sister on her senior night by showing up. So three missed classes, a bus ride and a car trip later, I was sneaking into my old school with my big sister and brother-in-law, a bouquet of roses and basketball balloons. When they called the families of the seniors out onto the court and Emma saw me, her look of confusion and then her exclamation of "oh my god!" and prompt tearful break down were entirely worth the five hours of sleep and crappy bus ride it had taken to get there.

The game was incredible, the girls played amazingly. And, very different from when I was there, the stands were packed, there was a great pep band playing, and varsity cheerleaders filled the timeouts. (Though we all know that the cheerleaders should technically go in the "negatives" column. No offense to any cheerleaders reading - it's just been ingrained in me and now there's nothing I can do about it.) After another incredible game from the Lady Gators, the girls brought home their 12 win of the season, and so brought the regular season to a spectacular close.

Pics from the epicness:

My little ginger warming up (#43)

The Seniors!

The girls during the National Anthem. F.A.M.I.L.Y.

My girl on defense. Against behemoth woman.

The pep band!

Good form ladies

Another win in the bag for the Lady Gators

Seniors after the game with Coach, Emma feeling the emotion of it all.

The Loot.

To any of the Lady Gators who may be reading this post, I would just like to let you know something. Cherish these moments. This school, and this team are so special, and will be so important to you for the rest of your lives. No matter where you go or what you do, your memories from this time will stay with you, and your hearts will bleed blue and gold.

155 Items, $50, and Five College Students: Scavenger Hunt of the Year

A Florida driver's license, the original Duck Hunt game with gun, a My Little Pony with blue hair. These are three of the one hundred and fifty-five items my four friends and I set out to find over the course of this week while participating in Champlain College's scavenger hunt. Patrick, Liz, Ian, Brooke and I demonstrated our not inconsiderable skill in such areas as wheedling, cajoling, and trash-talking with competing teams, all things necessary to be successful scavengers. We searched all over Burlington, used every contact we had at our disposal, and pulled out all the stops with the $200 first place prize shining in our eyes. On the night of the tally we piled all of our pictures, childhood toys, a hula hoop, Carlton the plant, a sombrero, and various other goodies into boxes and bags and trooped them all over to the meeting point. For an hour and a half the facilitators called out items and checked off lists for the six teams competing while we sorted piles and ate Doritos in anxiety and excitement. The tallying complete, the facilitators gathered together to compare notes before the big reveal. A hush of anticipation fell over the room as the woman organizing the event, Morgan, came to the front of the room. First place - not us. Second place - not us. Third place -US!! $50 was ours for the taking, along with the memories of some good times together.

Here are some pictures from our escapades!


The teams assemble to tally their finds and await the results.

One team member had to come to the final meeting dressed at a Ninja Turtle. Hooray Patrick!




Some of the items we found: A Coach handbag, boots with fur, animal crackers, and a singing card.


A picture of all of us in a bathtub? Check.


Playing leap frog with the statue on Church St.


A picture by a mural off of Church St.

Revamping the Blog

Clearly, something must be done. The posts are getting shorter and farther between. No one is reading them, including me. They are more short news updates than anything else. I'm putting my foot down. I promised it wouldn't get to this point, and by golly, I meant it. So I'm increasing my scope, broadening my horizons, whatever you want to call it. Here goes.

It is becoming clearer daily that writing solely about knitting and spinning does not give quite enough material for a blog. With my full-time student status, friends, boyfriend, etc., I don't have the time to devote to my craft that I'd like, and therefore do not have the goods about which to write. So I started to brainstorm. What else could I write about? What is interesting, fun, and will provide enough substance to fill out my sadly lacking blog? And then my brilliant roommate, in her infinite wisdom, got it. Being a college student. Better yet, a college student living in Bankus Hall at Champlain College. The shenanigans we get into up here are worthy of our own tv show - they would be perfect for writing about on a blog for all the world to see and ridicule!

So, the idea is here, and now, after a lot of soul-searching, I have also learned something about myself: I need structure. I obviously can't handle writing a blog post whenever the heck I feel like it (have you seen some of the posts lately? Pretty pathetic), and so have decided to put some restrictions on myself. There will be a new post up every Saturday by the end of the day. We'll start at one per week, and see how it goes.

Ok, I think that does it for now. See you next week!

P.S. Quick Knit for Those in Need update: I got word yesterday that there is a 99.9% chance of my budget being approved and everything moving forward! More updates soon I hope. :)