Officially a Pioneer!

Well today was move in day! It was totally wonderful. Things went very smoothly. We were able to get everything up to the room with no problems at all. I really thought I had way too much stuff but after we had everything situated, it really isn't so bad. There's definitely quite a bit but it all fits and it looks very homey. One of the best things about our bedroom is that we have a big window that looks out over the mountains. One of the main things I wanted from my dorm was to have a nice view and I am so happy that I got one. We did have a little minor speedbump because the outlet behind my bed didn't work. Thankfully maintenance came up and fixed it right away. I am so lucky that my roommate is super amazing and we get along great. We will be good friends, no doubt.

Not only do I have a nice bedroom, but we also share a kitchen and a bathroom. This means we have two more suitemates but they're seriously awesome too so it's great. We have a full fridge already which is always wonderful :) thanks to the moms for helping us with that! We probably spent about 5 hours setting everything up but things look great now and I am so happy.

After move-in and short information session, we met with our RA. He seems super nice as does everyone on the floor. It's so awesome that almost everyone I have met is friendly. It makes this transition so much easier. Then we had our very first DU pep rally. The most exciting part was when coupons started to rain down on us. I grabbed a Noodles&Company coupon so now Cordy and I get to have some BOGO noodles! Woohoo for free stuff. After the pep rally we went to our dorm social and I started a game of Apples to Apples which was pretty fun; and we got to eat a lot of cookies! I was also able to meet some of the Varsity hockey players which was SO amazing. At DU, hockey is basically what football is to Notre Dame. Athletes are kind of like celebrities to me so meeting these hockey players was insane.

I am so happy to be at DU. This is already great. I am also super exhausted so I'm gonna go to sleep on my new bed :)

Bargains Spelled Backwards!

I'm in Denver! I am so super excited just to be here and I cannot wait to move in tomorrow. The excitement is unreal. Denver is marvelous and it's going to be so fun to explore over the next four years. But today, we had to get some serious business accomplished. Obviously if I'm going to school in Denver, skis are a necessity. So me and my aunt, Ashley, hit up Sniagrab.

It was totally overwhelming. The sidewalk was completely full of vendors and little tents. I had no idea that inside the Sports Authority would have even more stuff! It was humongous, like a giant warehouse of snowboarding and skiing stuff. There were racks and racks of jackets and coats and fleeces. Once we got past all of that there were hundreds of pairs of skis lining the walls. We decided to start there. I found beautiful purple and blue (my colors!) skis. They are seriously so gorgeous. Poles were pretty easy to find, nothing special there. I was surprised to see how many different kinds of boots there were. I'm confident that I found the most comfortable pair possible...granted ski boots will end up hurting no matter what. Oh well, it's worth it. After getting my gear, I bought my Epic Local Pass so now I can go skiing all the time...well when I'm not studying.

Basically, I'm just really excited for everything that's going to be happening. And it all begins tomorrow morning! Also, pray for some snow up in these mountains. I want to go skiing ASAP.

Road Trippin'

Woooo road trips sure are exhausting. I find it strange that they are so tiring because all I did was sit in the car for 14 hours. We left at 4:30 am and for some reason I always have a hard time sleeping in the car. Listening to my Titanic soundtrack didn't even help. I spent most of the drive in the back seat desperately trying to get comfortable. The rest of the time I was singing badly or reading Storm of Swords (Game of Thrones book #3). SPOILER: Joffrey's death is AMAZING in the book. Chicago is great and Colorado is greater...but the drive in between is pretty painful. Iowa and Nebraska are both very needed states in the USA I'm sure but it basically goes like this: "corn, corn, corn, cow, corn, corn, wind turbine, corn, horse, corn, corn and more corn."  Not the most exciting things to see.

So I know it sounds like I'm complaining a lot but I actually really enjoy road trips. I think they're super fun and I love driving and listening to music and just watching the world go by. But after awhile when your butt starts to go numb from sitting so long, it's a bit less enjoyable. The great news is I'm about 80 miles away from Denver and I'll be at DU in now time. For now, it's time for me to go to bed (at 8pm) because I'm about to pass out.

Peace Out, Palatine

Alright kids. This one is gonna be short and sweet. Somehow we managed to get all my crap loaded into the car. There's not very much room for me in the back seat so I guess it's good that I'm little. I'm definitely saddest about leaving my puppy. The thing is you can talk to people on the phone but you can't really talk do that with a dog. Ya definitely can't cuddle through the phone. I'm gonna miss the little punk a lot. 

Leaving home is bittersweet for sure. But I can't stay home forever. It's time to move on to bigger and better things. The nerves are there too but I'm mostly just excited to see everything that DU has in store for me. I've been talking to my classmates online for months and I just really want to meet all these new, exciting people. Honestly, I'm sick of waiting. I'm ready. 

Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Room

Tomorrow night we are loading up the car with all my stuff and driving into the city to spend the night with Noni and Popi. We'll be on the road to Colorado before the sun rises on Friday morning. That means tonight is the last night I will be spending in my own bed for a few months. This is actually super sad because I have the best bed ever. It's just a twin but it is so comfy and I have this amazing soft blankie (no worries...the blankie is coming to DU with me). I'm a little bit in love with my bedroom. There's this awesome teal and turquoise color scheme going and it's so beautiful. The best thing about my bedroom is that when you walk in...it's me.

There's pictures of NYC on the walls. There's pictures of me and Austin and all of our friends. There's Steelers and White Sox and Blackhawks memorabilia. There's a Disney calendar and a Belle babydoll. There's a House Targaryen magnet. There's just so much random stuff and it all represents the things that I love. My house is awesome and every room is wonderful but my bedroom is special because it's mine. It kinda sucks that I have to leave it. A lot of that stuff is taken down and packed away. It's still a gorgeous room but it's different now. It looks naked. I guess I'll just have to turn another room into home...challenge accepted!