Wintery Weekend

Mark and I had a wonderful weekend! Friday night we had Mark's brother, Tom, over for homemade pizza (Mark started the dough in his classroom so it would have enough time to rise). Saturday we woke up early, packed lunch- leftover pizza, soup, carrots, and hot cocoa, stopped at Sophia's for some delicious baked goods and headed up to Devil's Lake. This was my 3rd trip up to the lake and it was as beautiful as ever. We tromped around some on the frozen, snow covered lake and then went cross country skiing! This was my 4th time going, and the trail was absolutely beautiful. 2.5 miles through natural Wisconsin. We did one loop- ate lunch in the warm car and then did another loop. It didn't even feel cold! I ended up just wearing a t-shirt with a fleece. On our way home we stopped at the Natural Bridge park (pictured above and below). The park was not open...the trails were hard to find and covered with lots of snow, but we proceeded anyways and it was well worth it! The rock formation was beautiful and it was really cool to see the park in it's natural winter setting. We made spinach crepes for dinner, and Sunday morning went to Lazy Jane's for breakfast(Mmmmmmm).

On Devil's Lake
On the skiing trail
On Devil's Lake- snowy bluffs in the background

More News

I came home from work today and I had good news- I got accepted to University of Tennessee!

It feels good to get an acceptance letter. The bad news is they can't offer me any financial help...so I probably won't be able to go there anyways...but...it's a confidence boost that I got into one place!

Counting my blessings

Last week I got rejected by UW...today I got a rejection letter from Texas...being rejected sucks, but instead of dwelling on this I'm counting my blessings.

My life is wonderful and no letters can change that. My family is wonderful and supportive, I have a wonderful and supportive boyfriend who I love very much, I love Madison and am thoroughly enjoying the winter despite my Florida roots, I have wonderful friends all over the place who love and support me. My coworkers at Tandem are mad I didn't get in which makes me feel good.

I still have 3 more schools to hear from...I'll keep you updated.

Also...I shouldn't feel too disheartened about my rejections because these are the odds I'm up against...

at UW they had 260 applications for 30 spots.
at UT they had 254 applications for 10 spots.

The competition is stiff out there!

On the frozen lake

Winter is full of endless wonders. Changes in nature just seem way more evident when there are seasons. Saturday Mark and I walked out on Lake Mendota. For those of you who haven't been to Madison...Lake Mendota is huge! It is 9,740 acres and it's frozen. You can walk on the water. Mark and I were walking out on Picnic Point which is a land jetty that goes out into the lake and the path was extremely icy...so footing was actually better on the lake where there was still snow. It is strange walking on an area that not too long ago was liquid. Near the end of the point there was a large ice heave. Because water expands when it freezes there are large cracks called ice heaves where the ice is pushed above the other ice since there is nowhere else for it to go. It's kind of daunting walking near it because it looks like a huge crack, but as you can see in the top picture the ice is really thick. The second picture is holding the camera down into the ice heave. Mark and I just sat for awhile and listened to it. It makes loud creaking noises as it shifts internally. Ice is a pretty crazy thing.

I love winter so far. I get excited every time it snows. It is a magical thing.

All is well in Madison. I am extremely happy. Now I'm just waiting to hear back from grad schools. I should hear from UW soon. I would like to stay here. I love Madison...I love Wisconsin...including the weather...I love Tandem...and as if that wasn't enough I have a wonderful set of friends here and a wonderful boyfriend. I'd like to stay put. However, if I don't get into UW I applied to some other wonderful schools. Hopefully I'll get in somewhere. I'm itching to get back into school.

My friend Megan (who I've known pretty much since birth) is coming today. I'm excited to share the winter with another Floridian! She's only seen snow once. The weather promises to be beautiful. I'll post pictures soon.

Say a Little Prayer for Me

Today the UW professors are meeting to figure out who they're going to accept...keep me in your thoughts...I'm crossing my fingers. Hopefully I'll find out in the next few weeks!