As we are getting closer to spring break here at UP (13 days to be exact), I have been extremely busy with tests, projects, and papers. Being sick makes getting things done harder because I don't have a lot of energy. On Thursday, I FINALLY found out what's wrong with my stomach: yeast infection. I took a pill on Friday and I'm supposed to see improvement in 3 days. I'm also supposed to avoid sugar for a while because it feeds on yeast. ): Not easy for this sweet tooth gal, but smoothies and sugar free popsicles have made this doable. (: However, I've also been fighting a sore throat since Thursday. Fortunately, I haven't lost my voice yet, which was great since my concert was last night.
What concert, you may be wondering? I am a member of the Choral Union, a women's choir that brings together both students and community members. Last night we had our first concert which was great. We sang a medley of Irving Berlin classics ("Putting on the Ritz," "Let's Face the Music and Dance," and "Steppin' Out with My Baby"), Portrait in Blue ("Birth of the Blues," "Am I Blue?" and "Blues in the Night"), and a medley of songs from Hairspray ("Good Morning Baltimore," "I Can Hear the Bells," and "Welcome to the 60's"). We had soloists for "Good Morning Baltimore" and "I Can Hear the Bells." I have a lot of fun in choir, and it is one of the highlights of my week.
My friend Kaelyn's family have been here in Portland for the past few days. On Friday night, they came here and we played Apples to Apples, which was a lot of fun. After we hung out with Kaelyn and her family, we decided to call it a night. I went to bed hoping I could get some much needed hours of sleep. Unfortunately, at 4 AM I heard a noise. I woke up to see if it was an alarm or a fire drill. I stepped outside of my room and saw people running down the hall so my roommate and I followed the suit, freezing cold and unhappy to be woken up from sleep. My friends and I were mad at whoever pulled the fire alarm, but I later found out that someone left a burner upstairs on the 5th floor. Still, I would have prefered to sleep at that hour instead of standing outside in the freezing cold quad. Luckily, I was able to get 6 more hours of sleep.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Valentines Day!
An update on my two week stomach bug: On Wednesday, I got my blood drawn. Fortunately, the results came back normal. Unfortunately, the symptoms aren't going away so I'm getting tested for parasites. Even though I was glad my blood test was normal, it's frustrating not knowing what's going on. Hopefully, I'll know next week.
A little piece of good news to share: Arielle, my best girl back home, got into UP! She's hoping to visit in April when she comes here with her choir. In addition to UP, she also got into ASU (AZ State), CSU SF and East Bay.
Despite being a single gal, my friends and I still celebrated Valentines day by watching movies and eating yummy desserts. On Friday night, three of my friends and I made cookies in the microwave. They stuck together, but turned out to be yummy. Twilight was playing on campus this weekend, and since I missed it in theaters at home, my friends and I went to see it. The movie wasn't quite as good as the book, but I'm glad to say that I saw the movie.
Yesterday my friends and I went downtown where we saw a movie and had dessert afterwards. We saw He's Just Not that into You, which was not my favorite movie, but the ending was sweet and my friends liked it. After the movie, we trekked to Rose's, a delicious bakery behind the Llyod Center. I had a latte and an excellent chocolate croissant that made me feel like I was in Paris again.
Roommate picture!
My parents also thought of me in honor of Valentines Day. My dad sent me cards (one was from Lily, my beloved kitty), a heart paperweight, and a pen he made in his wood turning class. I love how the pen feels, and homemade gifts rock! My mom sent me heart magnets and sticky notes, in addition to lots of goodies, which I've been sharing with my friends.
Pictures of downtown Portland
A little piece of good news to share: Arielle, my best girl back home, got into UP! She's hoping to visit in April when she comes here with her choir. In addition to UP, she also got into ASU (AZ State), CSU SF and East Bay.
Despite being a single gal, my friends and I still celebrated Valentines day by watching movies and eating yummy desserts. On Friday night, three of my friends and I made cookies in the microwave. They stuck together, but turned out to be yummy. Twilight was playing on campus this weekend, and since I missed it in theaters at home, my friends and I went to see it. The movie wasn't quite as good as the book, but I'm glad to say that I saw the movie.
Yesterday my friends and I went downtown where we saw a movie and had dessert afterwards. We saw He's Just Not that into You, which was not my favorite movie, but the ending was sweet and my friends liked it. After the movie, we trekked to Rose's, a delicious bakery behind the Llyod Center. I had a latte and an excellent chocolate croissant that made me feel like I was in Paris again.
Roommate picture!
My parents also thought of me in honor of Valentines Day. My dad sent me cards (one was from Lily, my beloved kitty), a heart paperweight, and a pen he made in his wood turning class. I love how the pen feels, and homemade gifts rock! My mom sent me heart magnets and sticky notes, in addition to lots of goodies, which I've been sharing with my friends.
Pictures of downtown Portland
Sunday, February 8, 2009
A Few Highlights That Balanced out Winter Sickness
Unfortunately, I still have this nasty stomach bug I had last. ): I started eating regular food Monday night, and have had various responses to eating (eat little, can't finish everything, don't have problems). I went to the Health Center on Friday and the nurse thinks I have stomach infection and gave me some meds that I have to take twice a day before meals. If I'm still feeling sick next week, I'll have to get blood work done. Sadly, I'm starting to feel sick again like I did last weekend. I also had a bit of a sore throat yesterday, but it's pretty much gone. Fortunately, I was not contagious so I was able to go to classes. (:
Despite being sick and busy, I was able to have some fun. On Wednesday night, I went to a reading by Anna Keesey, a local fiction writer, with my friends MacKenzie and Dana. She read us excerpts from Little Century, her current novel in progress, and was very passionate about her work. After she was done reading, my friends and I met her and enjoyed talking with her. We're required to attend one reading or lecture for our English classes, but we had so much fun that we're going to attend more.
Friday night was essentially a night of pure fun. My friends and I decided to switch things up and go to the Cove (cafe in the student center) instead of the Commons (cafeteria) for dinner. Our RA hosted a make your own "Where am I?" board event. She brought magazines, magazines, scrapbook and colored construction paper and we made boards telling others where we were. We also had cupcakes, which of course, were yummy. Later that night, we watched Armageddon, an action movie with a little bit of romance.
Yesterday, my sore throat was bothering me so I relaxed and did a little homework. Last night I went to Nicola's, a delicious Italian restaurant with my friends and some friends of my friend Traci. Since there were ten of us, we got to eat in the private room. I had a veggie calzone and it was to die for!
That's all for now. Until next week!
Despite being sick and busy, I was able to have some fun. On Wednesday night, I went to a reading by Anna Keesey, a local fiction writer, with my friends MacKenzie and Dana. She read us excerpts from Little Century, her current novel in progress, and was very passionate about her work. After she was done reading, my friends and I met her and enjoyed talking with her. We're required to attend one reading or lecture for our English classes, but we had so much fun that we're going to attend more.
Friday night was essentially a night of pure fun. My friends and I decided to switch things up and go to the Cove (cafe in the student center) instead of the Commons (cafeteria) for dinner. Our RA hosted a make your own "Where am I?" board event. She brought magazines, magazines, scrapbook and colored construction paper and we made boards telling others where we were. We also had cupcakes, which of course, were yummy. Later that night, we watched Armageddon, an action movie with a little bit of romance.
Yesterday, my sore throat was bothering me so I relaxed and did a little homework. Last night I went to Nicola's, a delicious Italian restaurant with my friends and some friends of my friend Traci. Since there were ten of us, we got to eat in the private room. I had a veggie calzone and it was to die for!
That's all for now. Until next week!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
My Birthday from Good to Bad
As most of you know, Thursday was my birthday. I am 19, and as far as I'm concerned, it does not feel much different that being 18. I know it's my last year as a teenager, but I don't think this will hit me until next year when I turn 20.
My day started out well. Thursday morning my friend MacKenzie woke up early (she doesn't have class until 2:30) just to give me my birthday crown, sash, and earrings that she bought at Claire's when we were there last week. I wore it for most of the day and tons of people wished me happy birthday. I also got lots of texts, cards, and calls from friends and relatives alike.
In addition to the cards and calls, I got some nice presents. My first present came last Friday, and was the book Marley and Me, from my dear family friend Lynnie. The book is about a dog, and Lynnie is a dog lover with two wonderful dogs of her own. I enjoy going for walks with her and her dogs when I am home, and her dogs have become my adopted dogs. On Thursday I got roses from my parents (which is quite fitting since Rose is my middle name), and a cute box and 2 dark chocolate bars from my friend Hayley. My friend Bryce got me a Border's giftcard, which I'm excited to put to good use. Both my grandparents sent me checks that I plan to put in my savings account or spend in some way.
Despite all the fabulous gifts, cards, calls, texts, and birthday love, my night did not end favorably. I got sick late Thursday night with a stomach bug. I'm not sure what caused it because I had a Mongolian grill (veggie, tofu, and shrimp stir fry) in the Commons. I've had this plenty of times and never gotten sick from it. That night, I was studying with my friend Amy for a stats quiz. Her roommate Christina had this Xanga drink (exotic juice which she said includes pomegrante). Although I'm not 100% sure, I think the juice is what caused me to be sick.
I woke up with a low fever (100.5 to be exact) Friday morning so I had to miss classes. ): Thanks to my understanding professors, I am able to take my stats quiz and turn my English assignments in Monday. Although my fever was gone by Friday night, my stomach is not better. I'm well enough to go to classes, but I still have to be careful of what I eat. My diet this weekend has been fluids (tea, water, cranberry juice), dried cranberries, cereal, pasta, crackers, and soup. I've also been living off Pepto. Not exactly how I want to be eating on my birthday weekend
My family was supposed to come in this weekend and take my friends and I out for dinner. Since my stomach is not better, I did not want to go out and not enjoy my birthday meal or worry about getting sick from something. I spent this weekend resting and catching up on homework. I'm really bummed that I got sick this weekend because my family was excited to visit and I was so excited for my friends to meet my family (and they were excited to meet my family). Fortunately, my mom's going to look at her calendar and find some dates when they can come and visit. So now you know why I don't have a lot of pictures. Hopefully, I'll have some when my parents visit!
My day started out well. Thursday morning my friend MacKenzie woke up early (she doesn't have class until 2:30) just to give me my birthday crown, sash, and earrings that she bought at Claire's when we were there last week. I wore it for most of the day and tons of people wished me happy birthday. I also got lots of texts, cards, and calls from friends and relatives alike.
In addition to the cards and calls, I got some nice presents. My first present came last Friday, and was the book Marley and Me, from my dear family friend Lynnie. The book is about a dog, and Lynnie is a dog lover with two wonderful dogs of her own. I enjoy going for walks with her and her dogs when I am home, and her dogs have become my adopted dogs. On Thursday I got roses from my parents (which is quite fitting since Rose is my middle name), and a cute box and 2 dark chocolate bars from my friend Hayley. My friend Bryce got me a Border's giftcard, which I'm excited to put to good use. Both my grandparents sent me checks that I plan to put in my savings account or spend in some way.
Despite all the fabulous gifts, cards, calls, texts, and birthday love, my night did not end favorably. I got sick late Thursday night with a stomach bug. I'm not sure what caused it because I had a Mongolian grill (veggie, tofu, and shrimp stir fry) in the Commons. I've had this plenty of times and never gotten sick from it. That night, I was studying with my friend Amy for a stats quiz. Her roommate Christina had this Xanga drink (exotic juice which she said includes pomegrante). Although I'm not 100% sure, I think the juice is what caused me to be sick.
I woke up with a low fever (100.5 to be exact) Friday morning so I had to miss classes. ): Thanks to my understanding professors, I am able to take my stats quiz and turn my English assignments in Monday. Although my fever was gone by Friday night, my stomach is not better. I'm well enough to go to classes, but I still have to be careful of what I eat. My diet this weekend has been fluids (tea, water, cranberry juice), dried cranberries, cereal, pasta, crackers, and soup. I've also been living off Pepto. Not exactly how I want to be eating on my birthday weekend
My family was supposed to come in this weekend and take my friends and I out for dinner. Since my stomach is not better, I did not want to go out and not enjoy my birthday meal or worry about getting sick from something. I spent this weekend resting and catching up on homework. I'm really bummed that I got sick this weekend because my family was excited to visit and I was so excited for my friends to meet my family (and they were excited to meet my family). Fortunately, my mom's going to look at her calendar and find some dates when they can come and visit. So now you know why I don't have a lot of pictures. Hopefully, I'll have some when my parents visit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)