Another week gone and one more starting

After realizing that it has been a week since her last post, the northern princess realized that her blog friends were probably wondering what is going on. To be honest, not much really at all, just adjusting to the new life as a teacher/student/coach and dealing with creating new relationships. The past weekend was spent with old friends, taking in much needed t.v. time, a fantastic soccer game, and good conversation. Sadly, all good things come to an end and as the northern princess made her way out the the fabulous Twin Cities, she realized that this new place called the northland really can be her new home if only she could find the right highway out of the city. Once found, the northern princess reflected on her weekend and discovered that even though she is far away from what is comfortable, being uncomfortable is okay sometimes and can lead to some very interesting times. While being out of ones comfort zone can lead to confusion, sometimes is leads to self discovery and that is what this northern princess needs to do. Figuring out how to be herself again with out the comfort of familiarity is difficult but there are always people to help out along that way and that eventually it will not be so bad and this will become familiar and the old be just be home, the place to go to get away and be nostalgic, a place with family, friends, loved ones and a life that she is very happy to have lived. But the new northern princess is no longer the princess in the south cause inevitably a new one has moved on on this northern princess' old space and there is not enough room for two princess', so this northern princess is happy to be northern but still loves everything and everyone is the southland. Peace and love to all...-The Northern Princess

The state fair and a long weekend... What could be better?

This is going to be a real short post cause it took forever to post pics and I need to get to Kato to meet up with friends. The state fair was a blast, unfortunately I eat to ton of grease and sugar and my tummy hated me for days... Ugh, but it was worth it. I was supposed to be productive today but that didn't work out cause I did laundry and the pretty much killed the rest of the day. I am looking forward to the day off tomorrow so that I can work on my lesson plans and get caught up with homework as well as sleep in and relax. We are getting a new girl to the department and I am on the welcoming committee to that will take up some time tomorrow. Fay is a transplant from New Orleans because her school doesn't exist anymore so she is coming up here to the northland to finish up her masters. From what I hear she is pretty cool and is just happy to be getting out of the city and away from all the destruction, so we are all doing what we can to make her feel at home. Well I will give you updates tomorrow when I have a little more time.
Peace and love to all.

Anything you could possible want you can find on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair.
I'm not sure what the deer head has to do with wallleye on a stick in this pic,
but I thought that you all may enjoy it....

Danielle and Hillary with the bucket of cookies.... we all got hats at the fair....
Danielle saw her first cow at the fair, she loved it until she realized that
in order to get leather, you have to kill the cow...

A bucket of cookies from the worlds best cookie place is a great way to add a few pounds
and the perfect dessert when paired with cheese curds. Don't worry though, I did share the cookies...
and went to visit the dairy people and got all you can drink milk for a dollar to wash it all down.

Hey Y'all, here is a picture of me with some of minnesota's finest cheese curds.
And yes, I am wearing a coyboy hat, it's just what you do at the state fair...
and it is pretty damn cute if I do say so myself...

One week down and only 14 more to go...till Christmas that is

So I have made it through my first week of Grad. school! Yea! My first day of teaching went well, but unfortunately I find myself much more entertaining then I students found me to be. But that is okay they will come around. I have a pretty tame week. One major breakdown last night lead to a long night of coffee at Embers with Nadene. I hate those people that just look at you and have to power to make you feel stupid. They should all die.... Not really, they should just realize what they are doing. I have found a great friend in Nadene and am really glad that I have her here. She is FANTASTIC! Unfortunately, our phone conversations leave me with getting nothing that I have planed done, oh well, there is plenty of time for that.

Bad News though. A couple of my friends and fellow T.A.'s are from New Orleans and has been dealing a lot with that situation down there. So Frank has been able to contact his ma and pa but is fairly certain that his g-ma did not survive the storm. Please all of you back home say a little prayer for him and his family. Also my bud Fee's family is still missing and she cannot contact any member of her family back home so keep her in your prayers also. Thanks you guys. It has been a really rough week around the T.A. office and trying to support Frank and Fee to the fullest but I think that we are all doing what we can for them. It is hard knowing that you really arn't giving them the comfort that they need because even they don't really know what it is they need. So any extra prayers that you can send is appreciated.

I think that this weekend a few of us are going to go up to the state fair to test out the cheese curds and buckets of cookies... I am not sure what this is all about but everyone says I need to try it. It is a fantastic that I get a 4 day weekend, I need it. Grad school is hard...

Well, I think that I am going to head off to bed soon so that I can get up early and try to be productive. Peace to all back home, I hope all is going well.

Love ya!
-- The Northern Princess

La La LA

After a rather uneventful week and an extreamly uneventful last two days, I will finally get to coach someone on POI. FINALLY! I have been sitting around for the last two days, just sitting, not even getting my lesson plans done or reading what I am going to be teaching, just sitting and playing on the internet. So I am pretty excited about this. Ooh, my coaching appointment just got here so I need to sign off and get to work.

Finally.

So even though it has been a few days since I have posted, nothing is really new. I did my microteaching and I think that it went fairly well, besides the fact that I felt like a monkey. I think that I will be okay though. Friday we had the department picnic it was a good time. Free food makes everything better, especially when the mom money only lasted 3 days due to the outrageous gas prices. Friday night I went to see the 40 year-old virgin, it was good. I laughed and people in the theatre made fun of me but that is okay. I also went out to the bars in Mankato, it was a first time at the dance club and of course I danced like it was my birthday. Nadene didn't know what to do with me. She just sat there and laughed. We were up way to late and I ended up staying on her couch instead of driving back here to St. peta. Last night we had a T.A. b.b.q. and it was okay. I think that everyone had their own sort of agenda but I managed to deal with the snatches. Then I got the worst stomach ache of my life and went home only to not sleep all night because of the awful pain. But magically it went away and now I am feeling better. I am trying to get ready to take off for the coaches meeting but my motivation to get in the shower is a little low this morning. And I don't want to have to drive all the way to Shokopee, which is a little burb of Minneapolis. But I will and we should get the coaching schedule so that will make me happy. Anyway, I need to get a move on things. Talk to you all soon. I took some pictures last night so I will try to get them posted as soon as I can. Much love to all!

dum, dum, dum

Okay, so I am really tired of school already. Well not really, I am just tired of this stupid training thing. It is really boring and we have been doing it for two weeks now and I don't feel any more prepared then I did before training started. I am trying to write up my syllabus and my course calendar right now but it sucks so I am giving up for awhile.

I am exhausted today. I feel like I have been hit by a very large bus. I am not sure what to do about that. I think I need to take a nap. Unfortunately, I have to go to some TA thing tonight, what may be fun except I am living in poverty right now so I don't even know why I am wasting my gas to go back to Mankato, but I guess I have to do what everyone else is doing for a while at least.

Anyways, I am grumpy today so I am going to sign off. Write again when I am not grumpy anymore.

I love the weekend

This has been a good weekend. I realized this week how much I love weekends cause then you don't have to do anything unless you want to. So this weekend I didn't do anything. I had people over last night, we played Phase 10 and were out of control, it was a good time. Today I sat around all day and watched T.V. Did you know that there is a Bring It On 2 titled, Bring it on Again. Well there is and I watched it. I actually liked it better then the first one. I also watched most of coyote Ugly which was also a good time. I just finished my first lesson plan. It isn't very good but I got it done. Tomorrow in class we are have computer training so I will finally be able to work all of the online stuff. But sitting at a computer for three hours doesn't sound like to much fun to me, but oh well at least it is better then listening to the crazy people argue. Anyways, I need to get to bed. Peace and Love!
BestFrienda, thanks for all of your help, I love you!
BestFrienda #2, I love you too, you are fantastic and are now my teaching mentor from afar. Talk to you tomorrow.

Party Pics, these people are my only friends..

Danielle at my party
Jezi-Bell, she was a riot
Nadine
Brandon and Sarah

Who needs a centerpiece when you have a Jezi-Bell Marie in the middle of the table.

Bad Kitty...

I know that I have lost a little loyalty to my blog but I promise that I will keep blogging, I have just been lazy lately. Jezi-Bell Marie is in BIG trouble. She crawled up on my end table between the couches and knocked off a full glass of V8 Splash so now there are red stains on my carpet and my white area rug, she is a bad bad kitty.

Anyways, I was supposed to head up to Minn/St.Paul this weekend but decided that I can not afford the out of control gas prices and now have a weekend at home planned. I think that tonight some of the other T.A.'s are coming over to play Trivial pursuit or something so that will be a good time.

Class is boring. All we are talking about is how to have a mulitculturally sound classroom and such and being that I was an Ed. Major for two years I feel like I am back in American schools and being as I have taken 4 cultural studies classes I am really really bored. But next week is when we get into the real stuff about teaching and have lesson plans and syllabi due and all of that good stuff. The fun thing about MSU is that everything is done online and being as how I went to H.C. where they spoon feed you everything, I am a little lost about online registration and online classes and all of that stuff, but I am slowly figuring it out.

I still haven't gotten any autographs. I tried to yesterday but they were all mean to me so I didn't get any autographs, however due to the fact that the Vikings feel that we all owe them something, I did almost run a few of them over because they ran a red light right in front of me and Sara. But fortunately for my car insurance that did not happen.

Well, I need to get into Mankato to do some shopping so I will try and take some pics of campus so that I can post on here. Peace and love to all of you.

...

Hello everyone, sorry I didn't post the last few days I have been busy. Everything is going well. I am meeting new people, some are cool, some not so much. If you all thought I had an accent before you should just hear me now. I don't have much time to post right now cause I am supposed to be out the door to mankato for dinner with Nadine. She is cool, she could possibly be a new friend although I have not yet done the Gwynne test on her. I might do that tonight. Okay, I have to go or I will be late. I promise that I will write again later and give you all a full update.
Peace and love!

Day one over, moving on to day two

So the first day of training is over and luckily it was painless. I got my first gradebook, scary huh, and got my keys to the buildings, and finally got registered for classes. Tomorrow I should find out when I have to teach so that will be good, or possibly bad if I have and 8am class. We all know that I am not a morning person. I met the other forensics girls, they are pretty cool. Sara and I are going to carpool in tomorrow cause she lives here in St. Peta as well. I wish that there was more going on but right now there just isn't. Tomorrow I get to meet the director of the grad. Programs.

Oh wait I do have a story....
Okay, so you all know how I am not a big football fan right. In fact I really don't know anything about football. Anyways, right now the Minnesota Vikings are on campus for their summer training camp and it is this big deal but to me they just piss me off cause they are loud in the hallways and I cant come in through the main doors to MY building, the building that I have keys to, so it is mine. Anyways, after class today I was wondering around trying to figure out where to turn in my financial aid crap when some random guy comes up to me and is like, "Hey do you know where the blah, blah, blah is?" I was like like No sir, this is my first time on this campus and I have no idea where anything is. Sorry. And he walks away. So I go to enter the student union and this women who was sitting there watching us, asks me if I have any idea who that guy was, and said no and she started laughing saying, "oh honey, your not from around here huh." I was like no mam I am not from around here. And then she says," Honey, that was Dante Culpepper, he plays for the Vikings." I reply, oh, that's nice and walk away from the lady with the hairnet.
Well as some of you may know, I guess that was kinda a big deal, well not to me but to some it may be. So I apologize to everyone for being stupid and not knowing anything about football and getting his autograph. But tomorrow I will try to be more aware of everything and try to score some autographs.

alright I need to check out, write again soon.

Oh yeah, how do you all like the pictures from the archives???

A fun pic from our first trip to Minnesota.... Gotta
LOVE Gayville, South Dakata.
"Hey BestFrienda, there sure are alot of people out
in Gayville." -NorthernPrincess

aww.. how cute

Too cute for words

Tomorrow is the big day

Greetings again. Tomorrow is the big day. My first day of teacher training. I am really excited and really nervous. Today has been a lazy day kinda. I super cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom and have been working on reorganizing my room and my office/spare room. Last night went out with James to Mum's for a few drinks, nothing much to exciting and I was home by 12:30. I meant to get up and go to church but for some reason today was the only day that I actually slept past 6am. I woke up and 11 and missed going to church. I suck.

Chatted with my BestFrienda for about an hour today. I am never really sure what we talk about but we always end up talking for at least an hour. I love it. I miss my bestfrienda.

Things here with start going out of control after tomorrow. I think that I have finally figured out where things are on campus so hopefully I wont get lost tomorrow and be late for my first day of training. I will just leave like an hour early and go to StarBucks to ensure that I will not be late.

That is all that is new right now. Talk to you all soon!

BestFrienda #2, thanks for all of your fantastic advice. I love you.

Back in the Northland

Hello everyone. I hope that your weekends were fantastic. Nebraska was good, hard to leave but I had a really good time while I was there. Last night when I got back I went to RibFest with James and this another TA named Kathleen. She was a tragisity to say the least. It was a good time once James and I ditched Kathleen, but the night ended early at like midnight so I was able to get some sleep, something that I did not do while down South.

Oh and I met another one of my students... Its kinda awkward when someone walks up to you and says, "Holly from Hastings right?" as I am holding a beer he tells me that he is on the Mankato team and has been looking forward to my arrival to help him with his POI ( I will not tell you the topic at this time, I am trying to talk him out of it....)

I am currently avoiding an old TA cause he is kinda stalking me, so I keep telling him that I will call but then don't and he doesn't have my number so it is all working out for me. Not that I should be choosy on who I hang out with cause I don't know anyone else but hey I can if I want to be.

I am currently really frustrated with SpenceDogg cause he is all like why don't you come see me and I am like I just to Nebraska and back why don't you come up here and he is all like well I don't have any money... He has TWO jobs. I haven't worked in like a month now, like I have the money to drive to SouthDakota, UGH I hate it when people are like that, SpenceDogg if you are reading this, I am frustrated with you, you have a car and TWO jobs, you can come and see me. So there!

Anyways, I need to go and do laundry and then go into Mankato to go to the bank. Fun stuff I tell you. Anyways. As for the request that I post pics of my apt on here, I will as soon as I get everything that way that it should be, let me do my laundry first and then I will work on the pics. Alright, I need to go, talk to you all soon!