A Weekend of Turkey and Gluttony

Everyone loves Thanksgiving! It's a holiday full of family, friends, giving thanks, and best of all: amazing food! I know my favorite food is hard to choose. But, every Thanksgiving, the following can always be found on my plate: stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey, and green bean casserole. The first three items are all smothered in turkey gravy. I'm odd though and my food cannot be touching when on my plate. I know that it's all going to the same place, but I don't want to taste jello on my potatoes. The two just don't go together, and their tastes don't combine well. Call me weird! As a child, I must have had a hollow leg and a crazy metabolism (or so I hoped) because I could put away at least 3 plates of food! Alas, now I can only handle one. And this Thanksgiving, I was only halfway through my plate when I began to feel full. Perhaps that was because of the homemade Chex mix I ate? I don't think so.

In my family we rotate families to celebrate Thanksgiving with. This year it was my mom's family in Eugene. I was a tad disappointed because I enjoy my dad's side of the family very much, but I'll get to see them at Christmas, maybe. This holiday, however, was slightly different than usual. I had a boyfriend to consider. He wanted to spend the holiday with me and vice versa. The problem? We live an hour apart and our dinners were at the same time (3-3:30ish) and were an hour and a half apart. Big problem. Thankfully, Zach's mother (whom I now love more than ever) suggested that I come up a day early and spend time with the family and then we'd leave after Zach's extended family arrived, therefore, we both spent time with both families. So Zach and I left the booming town of Shaw at about 1:45 on Thursday and made our way down to Eugene and had dinner with my family. I swear that my grandparents must love him or something. Even more than my parents! My grandpa called him "Big Man" (something reserved for my father) and grandma gave him a hug, thanked him for coming, and even remembered his name! I'm pretty sure Zach was very flattered. If only my parents could return that same welcome and goodbye. I hope one day they do.

Little did Zach and I know, but our Black Friday shopping experience was going to start sooner than we realized. I'd planned on being ridiculously crazy, getting up at 3 and being in town by 4. Did that happen? Nope! I was in town by 11:45 Thursday night! Walmart opened up it's sale at 12:01, so you can bet that I was in line vying for deals along with the whole city of Eugene, I swear! From Walmart we proceeded to Kohls to wait in line with Debbie Kelson. Boy was it cold! Thank goodness I have a portable heater, aka Zachary Parker! My man is great at keeping me warm, and is a great snuggle buddy! Girls, I don't share, and yes, I do bite! Kohls was crazy once inside, the line wrapped around the whole store. I sent Zach ahead to wait in line at Target which opened at 4 am, an hour after Kohls. After making my purchases, I ran to Target, found him in line and we went inside. Both of us were on a mission, so we split up and met up again later. According to Zach, he witnessed two people fighting over a last video game. Shouting took place and poor frightened Zach dashed away to find me. Hopefully now he sees how insane people are when the really really want that "great" deal on an item that will be even cheaper in the Day After Christmas sale. Way to go folks! The line in Target was even worse! Thankfully, the employees were really efficient and we made it through the line in no time. From Target, our next stop was JCPenny. Unfortunately, the suit jacket I wanted to buy for Zach was nowhere to be found, it was depressing. So our next stop was Game Stop in the mall where my frugal boyfriend found an even greater deal than the one we'd just found at Target, so it was back to Target we went to return the game. Our final stop of the morning was Fred Meyers. As with JCPenny, this stop was also a fail as the jewlers did not have a watch band to replace the one that Zach had broken. So we left in defeat and journeyed home. I'd tell you all what I purchased at each stop, but then your presents wouldn't be a surprise, now would they?? I ended up going to sleep at 8 am and waking up at 10. It was a LONG day. An eventful and fun one, but long and exhausting!

So I've told you about the "turkey" part of my weekend, but where is the "gluttony" you might ask? Well you could say that shopping on Black Friday could be considered gluttony, but the part that I would define as gluttony would be the part where I never really left Zach's side. This is because next week is Dead week and the week after is Finals week. My policy is that the entire week of dead week and that weekend before finals is totally dedicated to studying. I lock myself in my room that weekend and study like crazy. It's how I do well on my finals (in general). So that means no boyfriend time for almost 2 weeks, because I have a final that Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It really sucks, but I have to keep my priorities straight. School is top priority right now, even though in my heart my Zachary always comes first. It really is hard, but one day I'll marry that man and I won't have to worry about not seeing him for large periods of time. But for now, I'll have to live with the separation. I view it as a good thing because our time together after the separation will be even more special! The next time I get to see him, he'll be a groomsman in his best friend's wedding. So I'm excited for that!

Well, I have to get up early tomorrow morning. I'm going to try to get Civil War tickets so I can see the top ranked Ducks beat the Beavs hardcore! And since I'm a student, I can get tickets for free! But I have to get in line early to do so. I have no idea what I'm going to do after waiting in line, since my first class doesn't start until 11. But I'll figure out something. So I better get to bed soon sice 5:30 will come sooner than I think!

My study poem

Well, I'm sitting on campus bored, and I should be studying. But do I want to? Noooooooo! So I decided to write this little poem to ease my boredom and it pertains to a class...so it counts, right?

Reactions, Reactions, Reactions

Organic chemistry, how I loathe thee

Everytime you show yourself.

Your mechanisms and bonds and molecules

Make my life a living hell.

Yet though I hate you

With more passion known to man,

With the help of this poem

An A on this midterm I will land.

SN1 substitution reactions are a thorn in my side

With their special reaction rates.

With two steps and rearrangements possible,

An alkyl halide they make.

SN2 reactions are similar, but slightly more simple

Than those of SN1.

With only 1 step and 1 simple product

My work is quickly done.

When identifying the type of reaction

Remember this simple rule:

SN1 is a poor nucleophile, and SN2 anionic and good.

This is your greatest tool.

Alkane reactions are simple

And even sometimes fun.

But when alkenes undergo elminination

Their double bonds come undone.

When dealing with elimination reactions
Zaitzev's Rule is applied.
Take from the beta-hydrogen with the least H's
And a good grade on your midterm, you will not be denied.

E1 elimination reactions

Also have a multiple step rate.

Removing beta-hydrogens

An alkene product they make.

E2 elimination reactions, as with SN2

Are more simply done.

With one single step, and a (usually) predictable product

These reactions could be considered fun.

E1 and E2 reactions

Have something special one must keep in mind:

Different isomers are possible,

Cis and trans being those two kinds.

Cis has the highest priority groups

On the "z"ame side.

Trans has them opposite

Clearly as a result of pride.

There is one special rule

When dealing with E2,

If only one beta-hydrogen exists

Only one isomer exists too.

Cycloalkanes are cool

And special too

In E1 the leaving group can be equatorial

But must be axial in E2.

When identifying the type of reaction
Remember this simple rule:
E1 uses triethylamine (NEt3), and E2 a small/bulky base and its solvent.
This is another great tool.

Addition reactions of alkenes

Are more complicated still.

With unsaturated molecules,

Their bonds you will fill.

With Alkene reactions,

Markovnikov's rule is put into place:

The electrophile adds to the carbon with the greater number of H's

And every exam you will ace.

The addition of a hydrogen halide

Is simply seen.

Through hydrohalegenation

An alkyl halide is derived from an alkene.

Through the addition of water

With a acid catalyst's aid,

An alkene goes to an alcohol,

And a alkane product is made.

When an alcohol is added to an alkene

With an acid catalyst as well,

An ether product is formed,

And it's easy to tell.

With the addition of a halogen,

Using dichloromethane,

Halogenation reveals a vicinal dihalide

And an intermediate ion that is in one plane.

And finally....

In Oymercuration-Reduction

Water is added in

With no rearrangements possible,

The product is easy to pin.

When taking an organic chemistry exam,

Always keep this in mind:

Just relax, you know more than you think you know,

And you'll do just fine!

Catching Up

Wow! Has it really been 3 weeks since I've written on here? Holy cow it's been awhile. I guess I've just gotten so busy in real life that I haven't had time to entertain you all with the thrilling tales of my day to day existence. In that case, I've got a lot of catching up to do....

Let's see, my last entry was on October 17th...what's happened since then?? Well, for starters, I've had 3 midterms: 1 math, 1 nutrition, and 1 organic chemistry. Let's start with math, since it came first. My math teacher is pretty much a featherbrained platinum blonde with a high voice and a lisp....kinda annoying! Anyway, she finally posted a midterm review like the Friday before our midterm (which are always on Tuesdays for that class). I got started on Sunday night and knew right away that I was screwed. It is usually not a good sign when you look at a practice midterm and have no idea what you are trying to solve for, or even how to solve the problem. Needless to say I was in a pickle and starting to panic. So what do I do? Call Zach! His brother is a math genius...he'll help me! Wes was a gigantic help and in no time at all I was done with the review and before I knew it, Tuesday had rolled around and my midterm was upon me. As soon as I sit down in my seat and await the start of the exam, the guy next to me turns and begins a conversation like I've known him forever. I've never seen this guy in my life! Yet he rattled on like we were old friends...I guess some people are just uber friendly or this was his subtle way of hitting on me. Either or, I was weirded out. But after finishing my test, I felt pretty damn good. And my score proved it: 90%. It is now apparent that I have multiple reasons to date Zach now. 1) his charm 2) his dashing looks 3) his loyalty, honor, kindness, and overall personality and 4) his brother Wes! Good reasons in my opinion!

My next midterm was my nutrition midterm the week after math. I spent the weekend before at Zach's. Zach and his dad went hunting that Saturday morning so I decided to utilize my time and study for nutrition by taking a butt load of notes. Now that's dedication! I felt very confident in my knowledge for that midterm...so I was a little disappointed when I only ended up getting like an 87-88%. It's nothing to sneeze at, but I was still frustrated with myself. Simple mistakes, I assume. I wish that could be said for my organic chemistry midterm. I went in feeling very good about this midterm too. But as soon as I saw that test, my heart sank, my mind shut down and I began to turn on panic mode. I left that exam room feeling absolutely awful! I stayed at Zach's that weekend too and had him look up my score for me: 79%...the class average, but not my usual par. Needless to say I was a little disappointed, but at least I didn't fail as I had feared.

After my chem midterm, I headed up to Western Oregon University for their Halloween Dance, a tradition of sorts. I attended last years' and had a blast. This time, I took a date with me: Zach. We both dressed up at vampires/pirates. I, in my corset, a ruffly black top, leggings, and boots and Zach in a ruffly white top, a vest, black pants, and long black boots. We made quite the stunning couple and I got tons of compliments on my outfit! I spent the night at my friend Kate's house and then went to school the next morning. After school, I picked up my unbiological sister Jenny and we both went to the Celtic Thunder concert! Oh my gosh! It was so much fun, and the music was amazing! Right after that, I drove straight up to Shaw, changed into my costume, and went to a Halloween party with Zach. The weekend was spent watching movies, carving pumpkins (which he made me gut...something I've hated since childhood), dinner out, and trick-or-treating. It also happened to be our 2 month anniversary on the 30th. Love you baby!

This past week has been a rough week. I haven't been sleeping well, I found out I have another math midterm this coming Tuesday, and my classes are all moving super fast with the material. This weekend was welcomed, even though Zach spent the weekend down here. It's always rough...but we made a pumpkin cheesecake, which turned out beautifully! We watched the Duck game, and today spent time with my second family. We even had a heart to heart talk and I got out some emotional baggage of my own. It's great to be able to trust him with that stuff. It's a nice and welcomed change from the past...

But, now it's time for me to get some sleep...I need to really get some good sleep for the coming weeks. They're gonna be long...

Date Night

Remember those times in high school where you'd dress up for the dance, go out with your date and just have fun? Well who says those times have to end when you reach college??? I say that I can dress up and go out whenever I damn well please! And so, that's what Zach and I did Saturday night. Commence the weekend tale......

This weekend was Zach's weekend to come down to my house to stay the night. He arrived Friday night. Little did he know that I had plans in store for us. I took us up to Skinner's Butte in Eugene. I was warned ahead of time to go up when it was still light out, for it is not located in the best part of town...aka pot-smoking, tree-hugging, crystal meth tweaker central. Nevertheless, with my big hunking man to protect me, I had no fear of the drug dealing Eugenians. I found a random trail and we proceeded to hike. We ended up at the bottom and Zach gave me a piggy-back ride all the way back to the top. What a trooper! We then watched the sunset together, me cuddled up next to him with his jacket on (I was cold! As usual). It was very romantic. I also presented him with a card. This card was just a tangible, written version of my feelings for Zach. My dear Zachary. I thought he was going to cry.....I know I almost did. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Friday evening. We even finished off the night with my favorite Disney movie: Beauty and the Beast!

Saturday dawned and I woke up and made my love waffles....from scratch! Not just any waffles. Chocolate chip waffles!!! They were delicious, I must say. We then ventured to Bimart and Safeway for some grocery runs (including finding him white underwear...the purpose of which will be revealed later). Then came the best part. My second mother, Debbie was kind enough to do my hair...as usual and help dress me up with her wonderful jewlery that she sells. Premier Designs: you are like my new hero! I felt like a million bucks!

Doesn't he look great??? I LOVE his white suit! Not many guys can pull it off, but mine sure can! I felt so lucky to have such an amazing looking date by my side! We had to many amazing pictures taken before we even left.

What a keeper right? Just the look on his face is enough to see how much he loves me. It never ceases to amaze me. And how he's holding me with such care. Debbie did an amazing job taking these pictures! Thanks so much Debbie!! (I know you're probably reading this)

So we went out to Olive Garden, shared soup, salad, and breadsticks, spinach and artichoke dip and a lemonade. It was so romantic. The funniest thing was that we were called Mr. and Mrs. Parker by the hostess. It was really odd. Just because I had a ring on my ring finger doesn't mean I'm married. Especially since the ring did look fake, at least in my eyes. But I suppose at a distance one could be mistaken. But do I look old enough to marry??? (that's a rhetorical question by the way....) Dinner was super good and I had an amazing time, as I knew I would! The best part? Sitting next to my love and looking into his eyes and seeing the emotions there. Knowing that this is actually something real. Something I've never experienced. That was my favorite part. We had planned on going to Sweet Life, but you know what Zach said? He said he'd just rather go back to the house and have snuggle time. Awwwwwwwwww! What a perfect guy! I'm a snuggle whore so of course I couldn't say no! Especially since we snuggled while watching The Princess Bride. Best. Movie. Ever. Period. "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" .....I just had to! You know you were expecting it...don't lie!

It's always a hard thing when he has to leave. I nearly burst into tears this time. It feels like a part of me is missing in his absense. Like there is a hole that can't be filled. Luckily, this time, he left me his quilt, so I can imagine his arms wrapped around me like the warmth of the quilt. It's a comforting thought. I don't know if I'll ever give it back. Sorry babe!

My night was filled with math. Lucky for me, Zach's oldest brother, Wes was willing to help me. Love you Wes!! And I eventually got through it. Hopefully some of it sticks with me, or I'm screwed on my midterm coming up on Tuesday. Please God help me get through it. And since my brain is like dead, I'm exhausted and I think it's time for me to head to bed. I may be getting sick, so I need my sleep. Good night all!!

My love; my Zachary,

You're probably reading this again, and I want to thank you for being the wonderful you and the amazing boyfriend that you are. I am truly in love with my best friend and it feels amazing. I could not ask for more. Once again, this post is dedicated to you, my love. My heart is and will always be forever yours.

It's Been A Rough Day

Everyone has them. They're like the the burnt oatmeal that you find at the bottom of the pan because you forgot that you left it on the stove.... A rough day. That's how mine was. Maybe because it's Monday, maybe because I didn't get enough sleep...whatever the reason, today just hasn't been my day.

My day started off with slumber (like every other day, right??). I had a horrible dream. In this dream, for some reason only God knows, I joined a sorority. Now, for those of you who may not know me, I would NEVER do this consciously. I have no intention of getting drunk every weekend and getting raped. Nasty shit goes down in a sorority. So I have no clue whatsoever why I would ever even dream of being in one. But, we don't choose our dreams. Unless you are a lucid dreamer, which would be freaking legit! I dreamt that I was in the sorority house, and was trying to locate my bed, which was on the third floor (do sororities even have 3 stories?? This one did!) and was in a room with 4 other beds. I got lost and my fellow "sisters" were making fun of me, and did not accept me one bit. I look in the mirror, and my attire is that of a complete nerd! Baggy pants, loose fitting turtleneck sweater, hair in a ponytail, and glasses. I don't even wear glasses in the real world! What the hell?? I meet my roommates; 2 of which are exceedingly kind to me, and show me around. They take me under their wing, and it's so pleasant. Next thing I know, two guys from the frat across the street come in and I must admit, they were good looking! One of them looked a lot like my boyfriend, strangely enough. They too are kind to me. The house mother, on the other hand, hates me. She ridicules me every chance she gets. I call my parents and beg them to let me come home, but they won't hear of it. So after suffering for a month or so, all of the sororities and fraternities are called out on their front lawns to sing their house song (if those even exist in real life, but in my dream they sure did!). For some reason, my sororities song was The Circle of Life, and me being the newbie, I was put on display like Simba and was jeered at by all of the other students. After that, I woke up. Not a good start to my day.

After shaking off that dream, I begin to get ready for school. This includes printing out the days notes for my lectures. The problem? Blackboard won't let me sign on. "The server is currently unavailable" my computer screen tells me. Which does NOT make me a happy camper! I finally manage to get the notes printed. Then comes the task of getting dressed. This is usually a 10-15 minute process. Why, you ask? Well, it's because I never know what I'll be in the mood for until I start looking. So I settled for this look today:



don't ask me why, but I just felt like wearing it and I felt damn sexy...so there! Every girl needs to feel that way every now and then. So as I leave my house, I drop my sister's calculator off at the high school and head to school myself. I get about halfway and realize, I forgot to grab the notes that I took such pains to print out this morning. Wow Kenna, great going! But, I don't have time to turn back, so I keep driving.

I arrive on campus and hope to find parking close to my classes. Do I? Of course not! Not with the way my day's going, it would throw it off! So I drove around for 10 minutes and thought I'd try my hand (or wheel?) at parallel parking...that was a no go. Not enough room. So I drive to the complete opposite side of campus and find parking right away. Of course....Well now I'm stuck walking across campus in my heeled boots and I need to stop by the library to print out my notes. What happens when I walk into the computer lab? They're all taken. Just my luck! So I have to walk around and stalk people to the printer like I'm a molester waiting to kidnap their computer as soon as they leave it unattended. I eventually managed to get one and 5 minutes and 49 cents later, I left the library with only my math notes printed out. I figured that in O-chem, we wouldn't get to Ch. 5. Boy was I wrong. Not even 15 minutes into lecture, we start Ch. 5. Perfect...So I'm stuck with primitive handwritten notes. Which are great for memorization, but the pictures are hard to draw and I don't have enough time. Oh well...at least I understood the material. Math flew by and I was on my way home.


I come home, finish my O-chem quiz in record time, get 10/10 and then head to my volleyball game. Not only is nothing set up, but I don't feel well, at all. Yay for being a girl....come to find out, I have to referee our game. Definitely wasn't in my job description but seeing as I'm a woman of many trades, I took the challenge and ran with it. It was the highlight of my day! Those girls always brighten my day. It's so great to see them out of the court enjoying themselves and just loving the game that is a passion of mine. It's so fulfilling!

So I come home from my volleyball game and get to work on the math homework I've been putting off. It's not due until next Monday, but I was procrastinating to wait until this evening to do it (I know, I'm pathetic). So I begin to work on the spawn of Satan: Math 111 homework. I get partway through, and once again, I have trouble with a server. Are you kidding me?!? I work on this long-ass problem that for some reason, I'm too stupid to figure out. Until I realize that I was pretty much doing it right the entire time and just thought I was doing it wrong. So 30 minutes later, I enter my answer, get it right, and the server kicks me off again! Oh my God!!!!! Of course, when I get back on, the problem is different. This happened twice more before I finally got an answer in. By that time I was pro at that problem. The rest of the homework proceeded without a server glitch but my brain seemed to be a permanent glitch. I kept making stupid mistakes and was talking a blue streak to myself. My family must have thought I was crazy. Which I was, I was possessed by math...it's an evil thing! By the end of my homework, my brain was fried and I was frustrated beyond belief. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to turn in an assignment.


What I'm hoping is that I've gotten my horrid day out of the way early this week. I don't know if I could handle another day like this later. It might do me in. The night hasn't been getting much better, so maybe if I go to sleep soon, I can sleep it off. Unless I have more crazy random dreams, then I'm screwed. So here's to sleeping off a rough day....

Can It Get Any Better??

Wow, it's been awhile since I've blogged. You all must have been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for me to tell you about my pathetic (or not so pathetic) life! Well, I'm here to quench your thirst and to stop the suspense. Are you ready? Here we go!

Well, this past week started off with Organic Chemistry and Math as usual. On Mondays my professor, Dr. Myles, posts a quiz that opens at 10AM and must be completed by 5PM on Friday. When did I get mine done? At approximately 7:42:15 PST on Monday evening. Okay, I haven't a clue the exact time I finished it, the point is that I finished on Monday evening. And who got 100%? That's right, me! The girl that was so stressed and was not looking forward to O-chem. I'm grabbing it by the horns (or perhaps, bonds??) and am running with it. I'm even ahead on my math homework, life is looking up in that regard!

Work on Tuesday night was fairly uneventful. No falling and spilling dishes everywhere, much to the dismay of my co-worker, Aaron J. He was so hoping to have another laugh at my expense, or perhaps with me. One usually doesn't laugh when they are injured until after the fact and they've iced their wounds and are through being sore. Such was the case with me last Tuesday. Either way, I was fairly safe and even managed to get out at a fairly early time. It was a good night!

Wednesday was an amazing day! I did NOT want to stay for the entire day. 11-5. No sir!! So I decided to leave my O-chem recitation early, skip Nutrition 104 and go to my girls' volleyball game in the Burg. I busted butt across campus, drove home and made it to the game. I walk in the gym (am complimented on my attire by my entire team), talk to the other coach, turn around and who walks in? My amazing boyfriend, Zach. The sweetheart had decided to surprise me. And me, being blonde on the inside, and apparently blind, had no idea that his car had been sitting right outside. Just goes to show you that I was solely focussed on volleyball. Most girls get that way when they go to a makeup counter or the trendy clothing store. Tunnel vision on their favorite items. A nuclear war could be going on around them and all they would see are the skinny medium denim washed jeans that were $49.99 now marked down to $29.95. (But I'll never find a deal like this again!!) Yeah, that's how I felt about the game that day. I kinda ruined his surprise by not noticing him, but he being the loving boyfriend that he is, quickly forgave me and watched me coach my game. And believe it or not, my team won! It was a glorious day! Afterwards, Zach and I went out to dinner at the local Chinese food restaurant. The little turd made me eat some hot sauce. Thought my face was going to melt off!! So I sought revenge and smeared copious amounts of our pumpkin pie blizzard in his face. Karma I say! We rounded off the night with a delightful children's movie. For what better way to end a night than a good ol' kid movie? Nothing if you ask me!

Thursday was fairly uneventful. For some reason I struggled in my volleyball class, but that's to be expected every now and then. I was merely wishing for time to race by faster so that I could spend the weekend with my love on Friday. Friday rolled around and my lectures went by mercifully fast and I was on my way to Shaw! For reasons unbeknownst to me at the time, I was to be at Zach's by 2:30 and no later. Well, no problem, I thought. I arrived at his house around 2:00, let myself in, and got to work on my O-chem homework (like the overachieving, Type A, OCD person that I am). Next thing I knew, Zach's parents were getting me all bundled up and ushering me out the door. I was SO confused! I'm not from the Salem area, so as we were driving, and I was chatting with Sherri, I had absolutely no idea where they were taking me. They could have been taking me to a temple and offering me as a virgin sacrifice for all I knew. I was confused because I had expected Zach to be home at 2:50, yet here we were, driving away from the house. It was a "What the hell is going on??" moment. We pulled up by the Lancaster Mall and I went from confused to completely and utterly lost. As we drove around by the theater, I saw my handsome man standing outside, then I knew what was going down. What I didn't know, was that he had remembered that I had said quite some time ago that I wanted to see Secretariat when it came out. What an awesome boyfriend I have! It was a wonderful surprise, and I felt like the luckiest woman alive at the moment!

Saturday dawned and we spent most of the morning snuggling together, until be both decided that our mutual need for food was much greater than our need to be snuggling with one another. Gotta have your priorities straight! My stomach said that it didn't give a rat's butt about Zach, it just wanted to be fed. And unfortunately, at one point that overruled my head and heart and I was ravenous. I was like a fat kid when he sees a twinkie truck...no one could deter me from food! Luckily Zach's dad must have sensed my impending hunt for food and made me pancakes. Oh my how they hit the spot! After breakfast (which took place at noon!) we sat around because we couldn't figure out what to do. It seemed like the argument of the weeked in the family was going to be the paint color for the living room. The green did not suit Sherri, but she could not fid a color that she really liked that complimented the furniture and lighting. Of course, the guys had their own opinion. But everyone knows that girls have to stick together, so my mission was to help pick out a color. Which I eventually succeeded with. We're girls, we do that! So Zach and I watched his mom paing until Zach suggested going to Silver Falls. I'd never been before, so it sounded like a wonderful idea to me! What a wonderful place! I had an amazing time! The waterfalls were exceptionally beautiful:

what a long hike though! I discovered that I am sorely out of shape and need to workout. Perhaps I'll start doing that. Or perhaps I'll just continue to bitch and moan about how I look and how out of shape I am and refuse to workout, as usual and as is how a typical American is. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea to me! Who wants to break stereotypes anyway?? Why do you think they're there? To be followed!! And if I broke stereotype, I wouldn't be considered American. I must to everything the American way...bigger!! Anyway...it was an amazing spontaneous activity and I had a wonderful time. We got some amazing pictures together; it was very romantic.

You can't really see his face, but there is my handsome, sweet, caring, amazing, wonderful, compassionate, tender, and loving boyfriend: Zach. The man who holds my heart, my love. He never ceases to amaze me. I know a lot of my posts contain something about him, but he's just so important to me and truly makes me happy. Something I haven't really been in quite some time. It's so refreshing to be able to smile almost every day just knowing that he is mine and I am his. To know the feeling of being safe, warm and loved in someone's embrace. It's an amazing feeling and one that I wouldn't trade for the world. I don't plan on letting this one get away from me. And you all can mark my words. Someday, he's going to be mine forever, and then I'll never have to say goodbye to him after a weekend together. I can wake up looking into his eyes, knowing that I am loved unconditionally for forever an always. I cannot wait until that day...

Now getting away from the mushy stuff (which I do love by the way, but I have to appeal to all of my audiences, as a good writer does...but who says I'm a good writer??). After returning from Silver Falls, we enjoyed pizza and sat in the hot tub for quite some time and just talked, which is always to easy to do around him. Another thing I love! And we ended the night once again with a movie. I decided to stay another night because I just couldn't bring myself to say goodbye quite yet. So I got up early, my man made me breakfast (French toast...which seems to be a regular breakfast for us now) and I got on the road. It always kills me to say goodbye. Not to mention it was raining and I despise the rain! I live in Oregon, one of the States that receives the most rainfall and I detest the liquid from the sky! Yet, I still choose to live here. What's wrong with me????

I went to work at 11:30 and it was super slow. Not to mention I didn't feel well one bit. So my wonderful manager took pity on me and sent me home where I proceeded to work on O-chem homework (for those of you that don't remember, it was the homework I had started on Friday at Zach's before my surprise) and finished my math homework as well. In addition, I booked a room at OSU for my jewlery party on the 20th after like 20 minutes of trying to figure out how to do so...I must be too stupid to figure out how OSU works! Either that, or I'm too smart because they write directions for idiots. Either way, I eventually figured it out.

Now I'm in a predicament as to what I want to do the rest of the night. I know a shower is on the agenda, but I think I may continue to reminisce about my amazing week and weekend and hope that this week and weekend are even better!

My dearest Zachary,

I know you'll read this like the amazing boyfriend that you are. I just want you to know that I love you and I miss you. And that wherever I am, know that I am thinking of you and loving you with all of my heart. Thank you for such an amazing week and weekend. I look forward to spending many more with you. This blog is dedicated to you, my love!

Weekend of All Weekends

Wow, what a weekend! I know people probably say that all the time, but my weekend was amazing! Not only did I finish all of my homework prior to it's beginning (someone write that on the calendar!) but Zach got to come down! Our one month anniversary was Thursday. I can't believe it's been a month already. It has flown by, yet it seems like we've been together for ages. That's probably because we've known each other for a year and were friends first. Something just feels so right with him, it sounds odd, but to me, our future looks bright.

Friday just seemed to pass by uber slowly. Doesn't time always do that when you are anticipating something big? Yeah, that happened to me. Zach was coming down after he was done with class at 2:20. I finish class at 1 on Fridays. So I went home and started on my math homework. That class makes me feel like a dunce. I haven't taken math since junior year, so I'm a tad rusty. And I don't like feeling stupid. But surprisingly, I finished my homework in record time, and found it quite simple! Perhaps Zach should come down more often, if not just to make me finish my homework more quickly! So after I finished math, I took notes for my nutrition class. Call me a nerd, but I don't mind doing this. Reading the textbook has never been so enjoyable! We haven't even started the chapter I'm taking notes on...overachiever much? Yeah, I think so. So this is what I did until Zach arrived. As soon as he pulled up the books went away and I ran and lept into his arms. To my surprise he brought me a rose and chocolate. What a sweetheart! We then went out to dinner for our anniversary, and he drove, in his SEXY car--a 1995 bright red convertible Chevy Camaro. Oh my gosh...that car is amazing! I love it!!!!!

After dinner, I drug him to my high school's football game where the poor guy had to sit through watching me play in the pep band. He's such a trooper! Of course, he got the privelage of warming me up after the game with a movie and some cuddling. In the morning, I made him breakfast and kicked his butt on the Wii! Following video games, I decided to go get my ears pierced. He held my hand the entire time, even though I felt like a wuss. But my ears look pretty! The day just seemed to speed by. We watched the Duck game with my family, which was actually one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend. It was great family time with the most important people in my life. We watched Avatar then it was time for him to leave: the hardest part of the weekend. It took all of my strength to let go and walk back up to the house. It hurt to hear him driving away, knowing it would be another week before I see him again. I still miss him like crazy and have all day today, but I know that it will be amazing when I get to see him again and I look forward to it as each day passes.

All sentiments aside, I think it may be time for me to turn in for the night. The sooner I go to bed, the sooner tomorrow gets here, and the sooner the weekend gets here when I get to see him again. So good night all!

Zach, if you're reading this, I miss you like crazy and I love you so much!