Spring break wasn't very springy...

Okay. I know I haven't been as consistent with my blogging as I should be. Problem is, there isn't anything going on to blog about. Spring is a long time coming in Northern Illinois this year I guess. I mean, look at this weeks forecast.....

Last year it was about 80!!!!! We were doing yard work and Austin's dad overheated!

I was really hoping that over Spring Break we would be getting the planter out and that spring flowers would be starting to bloom. The woods in our cow pasture are so pretty in the spring, and I'm really looking forward to taking pictures of them to share with you.

I'm also looking forward to mushroom hunting. I found my first Morel Mushroom last spring. Austin loves the way they taste. I think they taste gross.

I helped Austin find these last year. He has a super secret spot where he hunts for them.
Because we had such a weird spring though, it got too warm for them too fast I guess. There weren't many to find anywhere. We searched all over the place. It was really hot and humid and we were sweating, so we didn't hunt for very long.

So until it finally quits snowing and spring starts there probably won't be a whole lot of farming blogs going up.  I am trying to work on organizing my blog and start some regular features. Stay tuned!


Is there anything that you would like me to write about? Leave me some suggestions in the comments!

This completely explains my love of Jane Austen

So last week a friend of mine at school mentioned these awesome videos in class.

They are called, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. They are what Pride and Prejudice would be if told through a series of vlogs.

I started watching them after we got Issue 11 of the Kaleidoscope sent to the printer last Thursday, and I LOVE THEM.

What really gets me about these videos is that they very closely follow the original novel, but they are set in modern times, not 1813.

I've often talked with friends about Jane Austen, and why her novels amaze me so much. I've even said it before in this blog. 200 years after her novels were published we are still reading them. They still resonate with young women (and men) all over the world. We still go through the same heartaches, disappointments, and triumphs that Jane's characters go through. But even still, why would a 21st Century girl feel that Jane Austen is one of her closest friends? (It might make me a total nerd, but that is really how I feel. Jane just gets it.)

These videos take what has ultimately proved to be a timeless story, Pride and Prejudice, and place its characters in a modern setting. Details of the story are changed only slightly to make it more believable for modern viewers, and what do you know? We have a youtube hit.


I also love these videos because I felt like I was reading a book. I am really emotionally attached to these characters. I am having a really hard time reminding myself that is NOT really Lizzie Bennett and she is really NOT meeting Mr. Darcy. I love when that happens with movies and television shows. I now follow as many of the characters that I could find on Twitter. (How cool is THAT?!)

I really adore these videos. I haven't gotten to watch all the "side" stories yet. Lydia has her own set of videos, Maria Lucas has her own set of videos, and so does Mary Bennett. There are also unnumbered Q&A videos that I haven't gotten to watch. (Give me a break! I've only had a couple of days!) That is probably what I'll do tonight after I get my work finished.

....Now if only someone would do this with Persuasion....

What do you think of these videos? Have you watched them? Will you watch them?
Let me know what you think!

A SNOW DAY!!!! in March....

 Well. Today is the fifth of March. After waiting all winter for it to snow, it finally came down and blanketed the world.  I woke up early this morning to John tapping on the porch window at the dogs (which can be REALLY loud). I checked my phone, and sure enough there was a text message from the local news station that Kishwaukee College was closed today. You know what that means....

...SNOW DAY!

Front yard. Yes, those are  Austin's snowmobile tracks.

I spent pretty much the whole morning in my pajamas. Austin was a little more ambitious and rode a 50 mile loop on his snowmobile before lunch. After lunch he decided to go back out and get some more riding in. That was when I finally got dressed and went outside.

I can hardly even explain to you the absolute peace and quiet that exists with snow. The snow seems to suck up every last noise from the dogs running to the cats meowing. I couldn't even hear Austin's sled. I walked to the end of our drive to see if I could see him back in the field when I realized I couldn't even hear him! I couldn't see anything either. The nuclear plant is only a mile or so away from here, but I couldn't see the cooling towers at all. It truly fees like we are in a snow globe.

Rex playing in the trees of the windbreak. The dogs love the snow.

Rex

The cattle hanging out in the feed lot. These were the only cows that were out. Everyone else was hiding in the buildings.

If you know Austin, it won't be surprising to see him doing something as crazy as this on his snowmobile. (Wait until this summer when he gets on a four wheeler. Yikes.) This is nothing compared with what he usually does. He always tells me the story of the winter he did a BARREL ROLL. Yes, you read that correctly. Actually, he did it twice. He did it once and no one saw him, so he rode and told his cousin to come back and watch him, and then managed to do it again.

He says it is the coolest thing he has ever done on a snowmobile. I think the coolest thing that he has ever done is SURVIVED.

Yes. My boyfriend is a nut. He built a ramp with the snow he plowed from the snowstorm last week. Then jumped it with his sled.

Again, here he is jumping.

We haven't plowed yet since the snow is still coming down. I'm sure we are going to have even bigger ramps... great...

So how is the weather where you are? Is it snowing? Is it warm? Let me know in the comments below!

Editorial -- Taking your time

Recently I've spent a lot of time thinking about why people expect a person to finish college at a certain time. People aren't the same, and they don't learn the same, so why would they take the same amount of time through college?

Anyway, that is why I wrote this editorial. Enjoy :)

P.S. Sorry I haven't put up a new post in a while. Things are getting crazy at school, what with trying to study for Midterms and completing scholarships by their deadline! Gotta pay for all this college somehow! I'll be putting up some more posts soon I swear!

Tick... tick... tick... taking your time

Published in the February 25, 2013 issue of the Kishwaukee Kaleidoscope

First I have a question to ask you, Kougars, and then I have a confession to make.

Raise your hand if you believe that Kishwaukee College is a two year college. 

Yep. Just like I thought. Everyone, including myself thinks that.

Now for my confession. This is my third year at Kish. 

I came to Kishwaukee College with the totally rational expectation of completing my associates degree in two years, and then transferring on to another school. That was my plan, and most people probably have the same plan when they enroll here. Every semester I enrolled in at least 12 credit hours, 12 being the minimum number of credit hours needed to be considered a full time student. In fact, that is the number I based my enrollment on every semester that I've been here. 

When I came to Kish for my orientation day and they showed me how to register for my classes, the counselor who helped me told me specifically not so sign up for any more than 12 credit hours. She told me I would be overwhelmed.

Naturally, I thought that as long as I had twelve or more credit hours I was fine, and was doing exactly what was expected of me.

But I've been doing some math. It takes 64 credit hours to graduate from Kish, right? So I divided that by 4, which would be the number of semesters if you were here for 2 years and didn't take any summer classes. I ended up with 16. You would have to take 16 credit hours each semester to graduate in 2 years. 16! That is four more credit hours a semester than is needed to be a full time student, and unless you are taking some sort of advanced math class, that is two more classes to add to your schedule.

I don't know about the rest of you, but with the class schedule I already have I really don't know where I would fit in two more classes. Besides I think I would drown in homework every night trying to keep up with all of those classes. I'd end up failing at least one class, if not several, and would have to retake them, and ultimately wouldn't end up graduating on time anyway.

Up until recently I felt ashamed that it was taking me so long to get through Kish. I felt like I didn't measure up somehow. The feeling became even worse when my little sister started college. How embarrassing would it be if she managed to finish college before I did and she started two years after I did. I really struggled with these feelings for quite some time. Then suddenly I realized something.

College isn't a race.

Sure there might be a "typical" path to follow, but why would I want to be typical? I'm a special and unique person, and my college experience is going to be unique. So even if it takes me longer to get through college than is expected, that is okay. The important thing is that I don't give up, and that I eventually reach the finish line and am handed my diploma, whether that is next year, or 10 years from now.