Day 365

The last day of a year makes people reminisce about the last 365 days and look forward to the next 365. 2011 flew by and was absolutely wonderful and I have no doubt that 2012 is going to be even better, if that is even possible!

Yesterday I got to see my friend Laura for the first time since May which was delightful. I also have been able to hang out with Jenny a lot this break. 2012 will ring in our 9th year of being friends.

The Lovely Laura

Jenny-fer

2012 will make me a senior in college and will start my last year as a PA in Solberg. I will see some of my best friends graduate from college and will begin my 'grown-up' friendships with them. I will continue to see my two groups of girls do phenomenal things and I will meet the final batch of girls that I will be a PA to.

2012 is going to rock and I am going to do great 'Sanna' things!

Grandpa Notes

One of my favorite blogs has a recurring post called 'Liner Notes.' The author posts pictures of her family during their recent adventures. I am going to copy her idea with a regular post about my grandpa and my relationship with him. This summer when I was living with my grandparents, the next-door neighbor asked if I had any friends out there. My grandpa responded that I had him. So true.

Earlier this week during dinner my grandpa spread jelly on a piece of cheese. At first I was slightly disgusted but then my mom and aunt pointed out that I love anything my grandpa loves. This is true and is the reason I stop regularly at Menards for Maple Nut Candies and am going back to Sioux Falls today with two bags of them. Moral of the story: Colby Jack cheese spread with homemade raspberry jelly is surprisingly good.

Spear-y

This is the first year in three years that my mom, Brytten and I have spent Christmas in Spearfish. And it was wonderful. I spent these six days with my wonderful family, riding horses, working in the shop with my grandpa, tending to the chickens and the ducks, wrapping presents, eating cookies, running in my new sneaks, watching movies, becoming obsessed with How I Met Your Mother and thus telling Abbie to "Suit Up."

Spearfish Creek 

 I rode John's new horse, Chico and Jackie's horse, Sven and now am determined to own my own horse someday. Pictures of horses have been added to my 'dream book' from Jackie.

After my mom made a simple comment about needing a button for one of her projects my grandpa got up from the table and went out to his shop. He came back carrying a big white cement bucket and made us guess what was in it. The guesses included cement, baby ducks, and eggs. False. The huge bucket was filled with buttons and he purchased the whole thing at an auction.

While my grandpa and I were working in the shop on Christmas Eve for about a ba-jillion hours we came across the box that holds the cradle that all new babies in the family sleep in. He pointed it out to me and then asked if I still plan on using it. Good grief.

Spearfish Creek 

During a convo between my grandpa and I, we expressed the fact that we are each other's favorite people.

Spearfish Creek 

Today I stole the mini-van, blasted the road trip cd's I made and drove around my favorite town. I stopped at the Green Bean like I did nearly everyday this summer, went downtown and made a few purchases and then walked around the park. I strolled over to the fish hatchery and found it humorous that besides being a PA, my favorite job I have ever had was working at a fish hatchery.

One of my purchases was a future-teacher present for Abbie and this wonderful old book that will eventually go in my library.

Christmas at the Grands

Merry Christmas! Christmas at my grandparents' house is absolutely delightful and this particular Christmas has been exceptionally wonderful! Look for a longer post tomorrow but for now here are some pictures of what Christmas looks like at my grandparents' house.

Glow from the fireplace

And To Love I Rhapsodize

Since Fall Break, I have wanted to do a blog post about windows. My original intentions were to devote an entire day to driving around Sioux Falls taking pictures of windows but then I was searching through all my old photos and found oodles and oodles and oodles. The photos came easily and then I recognized the beauty in the lyrics of "Windows in the Skies" by U2. Hence the following the blog post.

I find windows very artful. I like to think about how many people have looked through my three dorm windows at Augie. They saw the same thing I did but at various times through history. I like that Jackie and I have shared two of the same windows.

My dorm window

Minneapolis

Minneapolis

The shackles are undone
The bullet's quit the gun

Minneapolis

The heat that's in the sun
Will keep us when there's none

Minneapolis

The rule has been disproved
The stone it has been moved

Railcar at the D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery 

The grave is now a groove
All debts are removed

150-year-old plantation in Louisiana 

Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
What it's doing to me

Looking out the bus window to the Gulf of Mexico 

Love makes strange enemies

Tennessee

Makes love where love may please

Minneapolis

The soul and its striptease

Atlanta, Georgia

Hate brought to its knees

Atlanta, Georgia

The sky over our head
We can reach it from our bed

Atlanta, Georgia

You let me in your heart
And out of my head

Giraffe in the Omaha Zoo

Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
What it's doing to me

Old Market in Omaha 

I know I hurt you and I made you cry
Did everything but murder you and I

Old Market in Omaha 

Our love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize

Old Market in Omaha

Oh can't you see what love has done
To every broken heart

Old Market in Omaha 

Oh can't you see what love has done
For every heart that cries

My grandpa's '53 Ford Pickup 

Love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize

Matthews Opera House in Spearfish

Oh can't you see

Sparkle

Several times this semester when my girls have come to me with problems, I have suggested, in addition to giving actual intelligent advice, to buy something sparkly for themselves. One of my girls now owns sparkly Converse, a sparkly dress, a sparkly headband, and a sparkly cardigan. The combination of finals and feeling icky made me take my own advice over the weekend. I found adorable sparkly flats that have a lovely ballerina quality to them. Then when I was telling my best friend Jackie about them, she presented me with my Christmas present. This is why we are best friends... her gift to me was a large clear-pocket book with a pink sparkly cover to hold all of my ideas and dreams. She named it "Sanna's Great Big Book of Great Big Dreams."

She included this quote by Christopher Reeve (or Reeves as is written in the book!): "At first dreams seem impossible, then improbably, then inevitable."

So here I am sipping hot green tea and listening to the Classic Broadway Showtunes station on Pandora because that's what I do when I am sick and all I want to do is fill up my dream book! While also wearing sparkly shoes of course. But alas, I have to study for my Art History final.

Sanna's Great Big Book of Great Big Dreams

Spearfish Sunflowers

Sunflowers became my favorite flower this summer after hiking Crow Peak surrounded by them and then driving home to Sioux Falls and whizzing past fields of sunflowers. I might have to pretend that I can see millions of sunflowers next to the interstate when I go out there next Wednesday! 

My Girls

I always refer to the residents of the two floors I have been a PA to as "my girls." I have 61 girls and by the time I am done being a PA at Augie I will have been a PA to close to 100 girls. I am certain that all of them come into my life for a reason and I love spending a year with them not only helping them get through their freshman years and adjust to college but also figuring out exactly what the reason is why we came into each other's lives. Today a few of my 1N girls took a study break and came back to Solberg (their first home at Augie) for an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. I loved saying hi to my current girls in the building while spending time with my first batch of girls.

My 2N girls

Some of my 1N girls 

They will always have a special place in my life 

I have to give my sister, Brytten Noel, a lot of credit for why I am such a good PA and why I love it so much. Her endearing pain-in-the-assness has helped me deal with a wide variety of young women trying to figure out their lives. I have recognized something in all of my 61 girls that reminds me of Brytten. She was my first girl. 

Words on a Page

Today is Augie's Reading Day and instead of reading my Mass Media Law book I would much rather read from the selections and piles of books all over my room!

A Wednesday for the Record Books

Today was just absolutely wonderful and I am extra-cheery despite the rainy weather which normally is so not my thing. Some people would be annoyed with me today because as several of us were walking to take our chemistry test this morning and were complaining about the rain hitting our faces and eyelashes, I decided that I love it when my coffee has a splash of rain water. Think there would ever be a "Coffee with a Hint of Rain Water" Keurig blend?

Then I got my 35-page art history paper back that consumed my life a week ago and I got a great big ol' A on it! At that point nothing could have tampered with my great day, but it continued to get even better!

Jackie and I went to see "Footloose" at the cheap seats and besides it being an awesome movie and totally falling in love with the new Ren (even though I will always love Kevin Bacon), one of my greatest dreams came true! For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be at a movie where there was no one else in the theater. It finally happened today! And with my best friend Jackie, which made the experience even better!

This was quite possibly the best rainy day and best Wednesday ever!

Dancing Queen

Many of my conversations during the past couple days have expressed my love of ballet. I even found a video of Stephen Colbert joining the Nutcracker pas de deux! Since my first week at Augie as a freshman I have been on the dance team but I miss ballet so-much-so that I whipped out a tour jeté in my dorm room before climbing into my loft last night. Now this afternoon, before I delve seriously into studying for the Chemistry test that is looming over me, I threw my hair into a ballerina bun, winged my eyeliner, dug out my pointe shoes and listened to the Nutcracker suite. I might always study like this.

Wunce Upon a Time

My mom and I are still at Coffea but this seems like a blog-worthy post. Brytten is about to take her first college final and is going in to the momentous occasion with what sounds like about two pots of coffee in her little self. She has called my mom and I, as she says, "literally 27 times." These comical conversations have included her telling us that the back fell off of her desk chair but now it makes a nice makeup stool, she made our grandpa do his first pinky promise, and she almost fell out of her bed because her blankets started rolling and she was in them. All of this has been said at about five times her normal speaking rate.

She needs a burger.

These very Brytten-like interactions prompted my mom and I to share our favorite Brytten-isms. My personal favorite is when I came across one of Brytten's papers from when she was in about 8th grade- as in way too late in life to make this mistake. She started her story with, "Wunce upon a time."

That's right... Wunce.

Here is Brytten in all her glory.

16th Birthday Celebration

Wunce upon a time, Brytten knitted.

She is going to hate me for this... 

Prep Work

It is Monday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. which means that I am sitting at Coffea with my mom alternating between homework and my blog. Because most days I would much rather delve into my blog than study for my upcoming finals.

I was going through all my photos that have been taken within the last three years to prep for a post I have had planned for months. Ooooh the suspense! Look for it the first day of Christmas break, Wednesday the 21st. While doing the prep work I found this photo from one of the first outings that Abbie, Kaycee and I had from freshman year!

Family Tree

Another one of my girls gave me a very Sanna-like Christmas present. One of the first days of the semester after moving onto 2N, Leah told me she thought we would be friends. We definitely are. She and her mom were searching for a Christmas present for me earlier this month and found this lovely bauble. Leah had it wrapped in a gift bag with "Joy" on the bag. I love anything with trees and birds and this gift seemed fitting for the family 2N has become.

Her mom told Leah I would always have a special place for it in my house or apartment (or dorm). I love that now I have received two gifts that will always be visible for me and will always remind me of my girls.