Red squiggly lines are not allowed!

The start of the new year jump started my schedule and I've been busy every since.

As President of Roots and Shoots I've been busy organizing several events and making sure communication is happening and all that jazz. In between classes I have also been wearing the hat of Co-Editor for the school newspaper. I only have one semester here but I want to leave behind a good foundation for the next person so it won't be like starting from scratch. It's fun to have people email me their stories and checking up on various assignments. I love being a college student and I love being a college student at Trident Tech.

This evening I am working on writing a submission for an award letter when Microsoft Word decides to start acting funny, you know, in that funny foreign way. Word 2007 started marking red squiggly lines.

Red squiggly lines are not allowed! So I get to work: I hit IGNORE repeatedly but it changes nothing. What's worse is that the suggested words aren't even English words anymore.

I already figure out the culprit. Since they are all French words I figure they came from Mrs. Newman's computer who happens to be a French Teacher as well as my advisor. The document she sent me must have been encoded in French which is fine, I am a smart girl, I can figure this out.

About an hour into this problem after audible grunts and groans, a dying laptop battery, and furrowed brows that will no doubt give me deep wrinkles, my husband ever so patiently and lovingly asks "Is everything okay?"

Although he is a computer genius, I am not a computer moron in comparison. So feeling only slightly annoyed, a sharp disdain of "no" leaks from the corner of my mouth with my eyes transfixed to the computer screen.

To prove I am not a computer moron I perform the same function that Microsoft Help informed me 45 minutes previously in front of his eyes only to befallen all the squiggly lines disappear.

Completely acute to my womenly "charms", my husband slowly shrinks away from my line of view and dares not to say a word instead only offering a warm compassionate smile to my angry grief striken face.

Puff with rage at the irony I turn to look at Dan and instantly melt into a giggle. I have to laugh at the situation. The Universe (or God) sure has a funny sense of humor and methods of humbling me.

Why is it only after I try to prove the fail that I fix the problem? Why is it that Dan only needs to glance at the screen and it instantly fixes the problem? I told you he was a computer genius. No you may have him. Get your own computer genius. Sometimes he works for free food and ice cream.

Suffering from "Insomnia"

Only tonight though, it hasn't been a problem lately. I will mark it up to medication, shifting to a new sleep cycle and nerves. Good nerves though, not bad ones.

The nerves are due to being excited and nervous about moving. I know what needs to get done, it just now needs to get done. April is going to be a fun month for me.

We scheduled the movers to come the 2nd week of April because I have finals the last week of April. Then I want to fly to see Dan graduate then I have to come back and take finals. Then Dan has to report to Penn State May 2nd but my last exam is May 4th. I'll sleep on the floor for a bit and have to drive up myself unless we want to pay for Dan to fly back here but that would be a ridiculous waste of money.

Good news is that Dan does not have to work overnights again for at least another FOUR years! Woohoo!!

Tomorrow I start classes again which Dan is grateful for. Although he appreciates the extra cleaning I've been doing around the house, I'm sure he'll be glad to not have to fight me for the video games now. Speaking of; I think I'll play a few rounds until I get sleepy eyes.

In-Laws

There is no more terrifying word that stops spouses in their tracks than "in-laws" other than "in-laws" with "visiting" in the same sentence.

Luckily for me, I love my in-laws. Although Dan and I are our own family, his parents and his brother are an extension of us. I feel absolutely at home and at ease with them.

For Christmas this year Dan and I spent a week with his family and it ranks as one of my favorite Christmas. There was relatively small drama but overall it was comforting and relaxing. It seemed we were busy going and going but I managed several naps somehow.

For gifts I scored a iPod nano and Bare Minerals makeup. They were the only two things I asked for and I got them! Dan's mom got me a few winter accessories for next year. I also scored a few backpacks that were on sale from Kmart. One of the best surprise present was a book light. Dan bought it on a whim but I had wanted one for ever.

The drive back to South Carolina was excruciating! It was the Sunday after Christmas so we were prepared but experiencing it was still tough. Several times we stopped on I95 for about 10 miles because the cars needed to rubberneck. If cars are pulled over to the side of the road, there is NO NEED TO SLOW DOWN. Please KEEP DRIVING.

After an eternity we made it home safely. The luggage is unpacked and groceries purchased. All I have left to do is vacuuming and some space clearing. We have friends staying with us after the first of the year so I'm making room for them.

After that I still have 2 weeks until I go back to school!! In the meantime I will clear out the "office" and get our stuff in order before we move so we can know what goes in storage and what comes with us when we move. We will probably move into a two bedroom apartment so we have to condense A LOT. It's amazing the amount of crap we've accrued since moving here.

We are super excited about moving! It's been four years of living in Charleston so are definitely ready for a new location. We will miss our wonderful friends we've made here but with Myspace and Facebook it'll be easy to keep in touch. The bonus is that we'll be closer to family :D

Slushy Weather

It's currently 21 degrees in PA. It's not too bad but then again I have socks on and am cozy on the couch with a warm laptop in my lap. The kitty came with us and Dan found him asleep on our futon under the covers. 

The sodas are kept in the garage to save refrigerator space. Dan just came back with a Mountain Slush instead of Mountain Dew. Hehehe. 

Other than keeping cozy I have nothing on the agenda for today. We're going to take a family portrait later so I should probably try to look decent for that. After dinner Dan and I are meeting a friend. It's so hard to see everyone when we get in town but we are trying. 

Cross off number 36

Everyone has a list. Although I grew up in Florida, skiing is something I've always wanted to try. 

Today I can cross it off my list!

With Dan and his stepdad, we hit the slopes. Well I hit the baby slopes. I only fell on my tush once! It was fun, a lot of work but still fun. It is definitely something I would try again. 

So far only my shoulders hurt but I'm sure more body parts will hurt tomorrow :P

"normal" Liz

By the way! Dan and I found out that my brain stops functioning coherently around 6pm. My brains waves can't articulate my thoughts and I forget what I am saying a lot. Before 6pm though, I am GREAT.

I was on the phone with Courtney earlier and she couldn't understand what I was saying. My thoughts were all jumbled and over the place. Haha. It's kinda funny sometimes.

I'll be normal in about a week and I will be back to functioning Liz who can construct actual sentences.

Grade Recaps

79 on History paper - overall 81 in class not counting Test 4 or final Exam which is tomorrow!

84 on Lab practical - 91 in Lab which is 30% of Biology grade. Take Bio Exam on Monday.

My Intro to Journalism class grade probably dropped to a middle C because I forgot to take the last test! D'Oh! I just took that exam so hopefully I did well enough to bring me back to at least a B.

After my history exam tomorrow I plan on SLEEPING. I miss sleep.