Ah...college

Another semester is closely approaching with freshmen moving in this weekend. My assistant director's son will be one of the many freshmen moving to Hamilton.  This is her first kid in college and she is going through the shopping list trying to think what he needs to survive on the hill.  I was trying to remember what I brought to Ithaca with me that fall semester many years ago.  I remember coming to campus with a packed Ford Explorer but leaving at the end of the year with a packed twelve-passenger van.  Somewhere between fall and spring semester, I brought or bought a lot of stuff.

So the question remains, what does one need to bring with them to college?  Well how about a cordless phone?  Nope.  These are the days of cell phones.  Students will no longer have to worry about if their cordless phone still worked if you take it with you to the next room or down the hall.  If you were one of those people that didn't have a cordless phone, you were running up and down the hall every time a phone rang because you thought it was yours.  How about a tv? Well duh, that is an absolute yes, especially here at Hamilton.  Each room has cable.  I remember how there were only one or two people who had cable on my floor and they became your best friend because of it.  In fact, one of my favorite memories of college was running down the hall to my friend Kristin's room for Dawson's Creek or next door to Kim's for Party of Five.  Those were great bonding moments where everything stopped for an hour so that we can watch tv together.  Now, I'm not sure if college kids have that sense of a tv community, since they can watch whatever they want in their own room, or stream it online. 

Oh how college has changed since I graduated in 2003.  Either way, regardless of what they bring or don't bring to the hill I'm excited for another semester with my students.  For my friends in the world of academia, I hope your fall goes well and remember it's only thirteen weeks until Thanksgiving break and sixteen weekend until winter break. 

Little Things

Since moving Upstate a lot has changed for me.  One thing has been my work schedule; I no longer work long hours and my commute from home to the office is five minutes instead of thirty.  I found myself with more time on my hands and no hobby.  With the help of one of my students, I learned to crochet. 

I have mostly made hats for newborns, toddlers, and children which I have tried to share with my friends who have kids.  Here are a few of my projects I have made with the help of some crochet patterns that I came across on Easy Makes Me Happy.  If you are interested in a hat or anything else I have made, send me an email.

Monkey Hat- Girl
(Boy's Hat comes without the flower)

Flower Headband

Girl Flower Beanie

Bunny Bunny Hat

 

Owl Hat
(Sorry for the sideways image, I can't figure out how to rotate the image)

 

Setting Goals

Everyday I read the blog, "Get Rich Slowly" which has helped me think about my personal finances, spending habits, and life in general.  Today's blog post was all about setting goals. This is something I tell my students to do but in all honesty I don't practice in my own life.  So here we go with a short list to start, in no particular order.

• Pay off credit card This is something very tangible and can be easily done!
• Crochet enough stuff to warrant an Esty page
• Take Scout on more walks This is something more for me than Scout.  Every since Nick and I left New York City we are not walking as much and this is pitiful because we live in a very nice, picturesque village where there is plenty of walking room on the sidewalks.
• Put more money into my savings
• Buy a house
• Buy a piece of Stickly furniture at an auction  One day I would like to beat out a dealer!
• Read more Again, I am not doing as much of this since leaving New York City.  I think it is because I am no longer sitting on the subway for 30 minutes.
• Listen more Sounds easy but maybe one of the hardest things to do, especially when talking to young college students.
• Do more with the community
• Learn to take care of bees

I hope to cross-off some of these or add to the list as the year continues.

Bidder #40

Since moving Upstate, Nick and I started going to auctions.  This has been an addictive habit but we have seen some wonderful antiques, furniture, and everything in between.  Today we spent the morning at Marquis Antiques in Earlville, NY.  Normally, I don't get emotional with my bids but I really wanted these Arts & Crafts hanging sconces. I guess they just weren't meant to be mine :(

Ice Castle in the Snow

Nick and I spent last weekend in what is called, "the north country".  It was our first trip to Lake Placid and Saranac Lake during the winter so we were very excited to see what the mountains looked like in the snow.  Needless to say, it was a winter wonderland. 

We just missed Saranac Lake's Winter Carnival but luckily the Ice Palace was still up.  I say lucky because only days before the weather was warmer and it started to thaw all the snow and ice.   Since the Palace melted a bit the days before, it was closed to the public for fear that chunks of the ice and snow would fall off.

The Ice Palace has a special place in the hearts of those in the area since one has been built every winter since 1898. 

Later in the day I headed into Lake Placid in hopes of finding a gift.  I did not find what I was looking for, but I did get a shot of the dog sleds on the lake. 

Sorry that the dogs are small, but the lake is pretty big.

I wanted a dog but got a bear

When Nick and I decided on getting a dog, we never thought we would end up with an Airedale Terrier.  Everyday, Scout has amazed us on how big and strong she is.

We use the mantle as a place to keep items out of Scout's range.  It is a great place to put the loud, squeaky, bouncing ball away at the end of the evening.  However, we are starting to notice that Scout is wising up to our actions.

Scout started with just sitting in front of the fire place, looking up at the mantle with a very determined look.  Then slowly, she reared up onto her back legs, like a bear, and was standing straight up.  She was able to stand like this for a minute, enough time for me to snap a quick picture.  Luckily for Nick and I, she was not tall enough to grab her ball or anything else off the mantle. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Congrats to my cousin, Samantha, on her recent engagement to her boyfriend of four years, Tony.

There were multiple ways Tony could have proposed to Samantha, over dinner, on the beach, or maybe a nice weekend getaway in Napa.  Well, Tony went with the "Go big or go home" approach and proposed while on the red carpet of The Grammy's.   Congrats again to the happy couple!