These are my friends in the first few weeks of classes!

Top left (left to right): Me, Barbara, Megan, and Kathleen

Top right (left to right): Kathleen, Megan, and Me

Bottom left (left to right): Barbara and Me

Bottom right (left to right): Barbara, Me, and Kathleen

Academic Update:

I did not do as well on my biology test as I would have liked. It is a big adjustment to learn the new kind of studying and learning that college requires. I also had a test in my horse care practicum class, but I have not gotten that back yet so I'm not sure how i did though I think I did ok. Its hard to stay caught up with homework and stuff because there is a lot of reading but its defiantly manageable.

Riding Teams:

I had a last minuet call back yesterday and the list went up today. I am on the home team in the flat division that I qualify for. I did not make the traveling team. In the whole scheme of things it is not too bad since there are 4 spots in each of the flat teams and jumping teams, so I got one of 16 spots but seniority plays a role and there are a good amount of people trying out for my division. I am a little disappointed but I can re audition next semester. I think that I will also join the ICTA team which is the cross country team. There are not as many horses capable of that kind of competition so I probably will not show but I will get to practice. I really like the instructor and they get to jump a lot and its really cheap for the entire season. I'm excited because I really want to be jumping more.

My Birthday:

It was awesome!!!! It was strange not being at home with my family but I had a really good day. I celebrated with my family before I left after Lauren wedding so that was good. It was also strange not to be with my sister on her birthday. My family including my nana sent my birthday wishes the night before. When I woke up early for horse care practicum I had an amazing message from one of my best friends, Olivia, waiting for me. At horse care, one of my friends told my professor. She is really funny and every time she saw me she would sing to me all goofy and it was really funny. By the time I got back in my truck I had like 10 messages wishing me happy birthday from my friends back home. Throughout the day I continued to get message from everyone I love!

I also almost burn down the dorms. Honestly it really wasn't my fault. I followed the directions for instant mac and cheese to the tee and it turned all black and got all smokey and the fire alarm went off and the fire trucks cam and everything. But I swear it was the microwave not me. However a burnt pasta smell still lingers in the hallway.

To celebrate me and my friends got dressed up and the 4 of us went to dinner at an Italian place called Zapponeli's. We shared a pizza and 2 pasta dishes. The food was amazing and we had a ton of left overs which we finished off today for dinner. We got a little goofy at the end and we had a blast. We went to Giant Eagle, the local grocery store, and bought a cake. We went back to campus light candles and ate cake with the third floor RA. Then I got a phone call with church people singing happy birthday to me. It made me so happy. Thank you so much for those of you who made my birthday special!!!!!!!!

Sick:

I had a fever last night with aches all over my body and hot and cold flashes. My fever was down a bit today but I'm still having similar symptoms but I am feeling better so I hope it will be short lived. Being sick makes me a little homesick but I will be ok.

Horse Stuff:

So before I left for the wedding I tried out for the IHSA horse show team at my school. I made the team that participates in the shows that we host at school but I will not know for a few more days about the traveling team which is really competitive to get into especially as a freshman. I had one practice for IHSA so far and it went really well. I rode an amazing horse and she now is my favorite:) And shes one of the horses that I take care of for my practicum class so I get to love on her everyday:)

Friend Stuff:

I have been having a lot of fun with my friends doing silly things like decorating our RA's door, going to target with harry potter scars on our forehead. We have a lot of fun and I love them a lot. I miss my friends and family from back home as well.

Fish and Frog:

I have a fish names Iwearmysunglassesatnight (as in the song "I wear my sunglasses at night") who is blue and red beta. And I have a water frog that lives with him that is names Waldo because he likes to hide, and then when you look for him then you can say "wheres Waldo." I love them so much! They are really funny to watch. My friends have fish and two others have frogs too!

more to come soon!

Going Home:

Ok, so there is a lot to catch up on so ill start from about where I left off. I was able to go home for Lauren's (my cousin for those of you who don't know) wedding. It was a pretty busy schedule with flying in, the rehersal dinner, the wedding, church, riding my horse, and flying back here but I loved every second of it. Saturday I got to go to lunch and do some old fashioned UP exploring with some my friends. The wedding was beautiful and amazing and so centered and God. I love my new family to death and I had tons of fun dancing at the reception! On Sunday I got to go to church and see some of my friends. Though I did not get to see all of my close friends I really had a good time with those who I did get to see. I got a little more homesick upon my return but I'm starting to readjust to my life without so many family members and friends that I love. I also got to see my beautiful amazing horse and trainer. She had set up this amazing series of jumps called a gymnastic, but basically to put it simply it was like 5 jumps in a row with a stride or less in between each one, and then she set up a 3 foot 6 inch line for me. The jumping made me so so so so so happy, especially since I'm feeling jump deprived here back at school. My trip home was amazing and fun. Coming back was a bit hard emotionally but I'm surviving. I have lots more to share, but i have to go for now. More soon! I promise!

Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I have not posted anything recently! Things are crazy right now. I've been studying for my first test and its huge! I just wanted to say I have new stuff coming soon, though I will probably post things by smaller topics through out the week so its not quite so daunting. But I promise, they are coming soon!

Prayers appriciated for my bio test tomorrow morning!

I'm starting to fall into more of a rhythm though I still have a lot of adjusting to do left. I'm getting a feel for my classes and worked this weekend to get into the grove and not be overloaded by my studies. Its a lot more reading and not as much studying (which I kind of expected) but it still takes a lot of adjusting to a new way of school work. Though I really like my biology book. I know it sounds strange and maybe its because I read the chapters after we talk about the subject in class. My teacher is really good at explaining things in a way we understand. Right now we are just pretty much reviewing what I learned in bio freshman year of high school however she has explained things in a way that I understand things on a whole new level, which is impressive because were now basically done reviewing everything I learned in my whole freshman year. haha. Anyways the point is that I'm leaning new study techniques and for my bio class reading the chapter after the lecture is really good because I understand what I am reading the first time and makes reading go faster. My English class is pretty fun too. We have not done a whole lot yet, because my teacher is ADHS (serious) and hilarious! Classes have been really fun and funny and I have a pretty good idea what she expects from us. My horse care practicum class is getting a little better. Its still a little stressful but I'm getting faster at cleaning stalls to LEC standards. It really exausting with all the manual work, so I get fairly fatigued. But it will make me stronger so thats good for sure. Right now its a little hard, but every once and a while I get time for a nap here or there and that does help me out a bit. Once teams and open rides and other clubs get going it might get a bit trickier.

Which leads me to ANNEX. ANNEX is a christian club run by the students. There's worship and a discussion time and a email prayer chain thing. I feel a lot better about Gods plan for me here knowing that support is there. I'm a little concerned about the time and times of another book study during the week as it is late and I have such early classes, but im hoping after this semester it will be easier with not as early classes. So as i breifly mentioned there is a book study starting next week, which will be good it sounds like. And there is a retreat in the fall that would be fun.

Overall, im doing pretty well. I get pretty homesick at times. I am going home this weekend for Laurens wedding which will be awesome. I'm ready to see family and friends and MY HORSE. Being around other horses makes me miss her a lot and I'm feeling jumping deprived (I've jumped 3 fences since we left for the road trip here a month ago). Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email(jules_loves_horses@yahoo.com. I'd love to hear from you guys!