Wow, this break has gone by fast!  I  have enjoyed being home so much and being able to see my friends from high school, but I am also ready to go back to Bluffton and finish the semester!  Hard to believe there is only two more weeks of classes and then one week of final exams.  I am excited to get back on campus.  I have missed my friends.  This break is only five days but that's long enough for me to miss my Bluffton family.  I don't even want to think how much I will be missing everyone when the three winter break gets going.

I was crazy enough to go shopping on black Friday.  My mom, sister, and I went to Walmart at midnight to get some good deals on movies and other things, and we also went to Kohl's afterwards, which had a line from the front of the building all the way down to Walmart (So like 1/2 mile long line of people).  It was a fun time.  I saw some of my friends from high school at both places, and even one of them seem to be following me as she also went to Walmart first, Speedway to get coffee, and then Kohl's.  I laughed everytime I saw her.  I ended up going to bed pretty late Thursday night.

Columbus Friday and Saturday was awesome.  I am a HUGE OSU fan and being able to go see the men's basketball team play Friday night and see the football team crush Michigan again was just awesome!  OSU's campus was crazy before and after the game.  Beating rival Michigan is always important, just like Bluffton beating our rival Defiance is always a good thing.  I just don't think the celebration of Bluffton beating Defiance is as big or as crazy as the celebration of OSU beating Michigan is.  It was a good weekend in Columbus.  I am ready to go back to Bluffton though and finish the semester up!

Thanksgiving Break has been wonderful.  I love being able to go home for more than just a weekend.  I've been able to catch up with some of my friends from high school and also still keep in touch with my friends from Bluffton.  Even though it is break, I do still have to do some homework for classes next week.  I don't have much, but I still need to remember to get it done before break is over.  I also have started running again to get ready for our first indoor track meet on December 11.  Getting back into top shape is a pain in the butt, but it is well worth it in the end.  

Since it is Thanksgiving, I just want to say how thankful I am for the friends and family that have surrounded me for 20 years.  I love each and everyone of you.  Don't forget to take time to tell those people that are special in your life.  They help make you the person you are today.

Tomorrow and Saturday I am going to be in Columbus!  I am quite excited.  My family and I are going to watch the men's basketball team play Miami (OH) tomorrow and then Saturday is the OSU vs. Michigan game!  I love being on campus for the Michigan game.  OSU's campus has even more energy than it does on other game days.  My sister and dad will be going to the game, while my mom and I are going to watch it on the big screen somewhere on campus.  I get to experience another college campus' activities on the weekend.  I always love going to OSU when I can.  I still love Bluffton though, but it is nice to get off campus and go to another campus.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I love weekends where I can just sit around and do nothing.  This weekend was exactly just that.  I didn't have much homework to do so I was just able to hangout with friends and just relax.  Although watching the OSU game wasn't that relaxing until the game was over and they won.  I love competing in races for cross country and track, but I also love having weekends free where I can just enjoy time with my friends, which is part of the college experience.  Watching college football with my friends and the boyfriend is always fun.  I get into OSU games and when things aren't going well for the Buckeyes, I tend to yell at the TV sometimes. haha  My friends put up with it though.

Today, I saw Harry Potter and now will be able to join in the conversation with many other Bluffton Students who have already seen it.  It was just awesome!

This past Sunday night was midnight madness here on campus to kick off the basketball season for both our men's and women's basketball teams.  People got in line early because the first 100 students got a free t-shirt, and I was lucky enough to be one of those one hundred students to get one!  

The night started off with some Bluffton students  dancing to "Thriller" and even J Denny Beaver danced along with them.  It was awesome! Then there was a free throw contest, half-court shot contest, 3-point contest, slam dunk contest, and a contest for the most spirited Bluffton student.  There was also a student versus staff basketball game in which the students won!  Overall it was a fun night.  Good luck to both the men and women basketball teams this season!  

This week has been very nice since I don't have cross country practice and I don't start track practice until after Thanksgiving break.  I have much more free time to get homework done and hangout with friends.  My friend Alison and I went up to Toledo yesterday afternoon to go to the mall!  We had such a fun time and both of us were able to get some presents and some things for ourselves.  I love having time off just to be able to relax and to be able to give my body a rest from a good cross country season.  

Cross country season is officially over for this year.  I have mixed feelings about it.  I am excited to have a little break before indoor track starts up, but at the same time, it's going to be weird not being around the teammates that I love on the weekends or during the week.  Over the season I have bonded with everyone and they haven't just been my teammates, but they have become my family.  We ended our season this afternoon up in Holland, Michigan for the DIII NCAA Regionals meet.  Each race had about 300 runners in it, so there was plenty of people to run with.  

I am looking forward to just relaxing this week and get my homework done earlier than I usually do.  I am not a big fan of track, but I am looking forward to being around my "family" again during the weekends.  It's nice having a team that is so close and knowing that any of them have your back.  It's been a great season XC Beavers, can't wait wait for the next one! 

Happy November everyone!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone by.  Only 3 more weeks until Thanksgiving!

This week has been a crazy one.  Saturday was our HCAC Cross Country meet down at Transylvania University.  I absolutely loved the course there and was able to best my 6k time from last year by over a minute. All the girls ran really well and so did the guys.  I love this team and it's hard to believe that we only have one more meet for the season.  The guys got mohawks to run with and our coach even got a mohawk!   Kevin even spiked his up which made it look extra sweet.  His girlfriend, Alison, who is also on the team, wasn't to thrilled with it, but it did look extra sweet, especially when he was running.  You could definitely tell where he was during the race! haha

We got back Saturday evening, and I left campus again to go on a solitude retreat for my Spiritual Disciplines class.  I was nervous about it  at first because you where going to be near people, but yet couldn't talk to them for  24 hours.  There was also no television or music.  Yet, I really enjoyed it.  I was able to focus on my homework so much more than what I usually am able to in my dorm room.  It also was just nice to be able to get off of campus and away from the hassle that college can be sometimes.

Volleyball won their first round HCAC tournament game Tuesday night.  Now they go on to play Mount St. Joseph's tomorrow at Transylvania University.   Good luck ladies!

Here are some pictures from the cross country meet on Saturday at the beginning of the guy's race.  You'll be able to tell which one is Kevin since his hair is spiked!

Starting Line

And they are off! 

Well hey there Kevin!