Yes, believe it or not, I am still alive.
I know I've been extremely absent this month, so much so that Sheila (Book Journey) called to check in on Friday. It was extremely touching and thoughtful — thank you Sheila! It meant a lot to know that someone actually noticed my absence — what a great thing book bloggers are!
I seem to be in some kind of rut but I'm hoping to come out of it. I finished a book this week (Fall for Anything — Courtney Summers) and have two reviews to write and few other random posts so expect to see more from me this week. School takes a lot out of me; I'm generally in bed by 8pm and still have a hard time rolling out of bed in time to get to work. I get home from work at 4pm and it's so hard to correct anything much less, oh I don't know, read, post, or blog hop before 8pm without feeling absolutely spent. I have been told this is simply the average first year teacher experience and have been promised that it gets better.
Wedding stuff is going great; Dan and I traveled to Bismarck, ND, last weekend for our first marriage "class" and on Veteran's Day my friend Button took me around Sioux Falls and I found a lot of important essentials (more on that later). Everything is seemingly falling into place (thankfully) and hopefully now I can start to relax and enjoy being engaged.
On Friday I traveled back to Aberdeen for Northern's Semester Swing Dance. The Swing Dance has always been an epically important day of the semester for me, even now that I am no longer a student. It's the one night a season where college students and alumni can get dressed up (in a classy fashion), go to the historical Ward Hotel on main street, an enjoy listening to Jazz Music and dancing. When I say dancing I don't mean that grinding "hot mess" kind but legitimate dancing, whether it be the waltz, Latin jazz, jazz, or even the tango. Set in an old hotel on a dance floor with a chandelier and other architectural features and with everyone dressed up, it is almost like stepping back in time. It's the most amazing experience.
My best friend Puffer (below) has been my date for the past three years and I wouldn't have it any other way. Yes things have changed, now that I'm not a student I don't everyone there and my dance partners have significantly decreased now that I'm engaged (Dan had to work this weekend thus his absence). Unfortunately the Swing Dance has been growing in popularity; this alone would be great. However, we have outgrown our amazing "mood-setting" venue and by 10:00 it is impossible to find a spot on the dance floor to actually dance without getting stepped on. Because of this, and because I am old lady who goes to sleep at 8pm, Puffer and I actually left at 11pm for IHop.
I left Aberdeen on Saturday and got back to Sioux Falls around noon and had plenty of time to do absolutely nothing before Dan finished work and we could go see Harry Potter! Last night, unfortunately, I came down with an awful cold and feel horrifically sick. So today I'm lounging, reading, and getting caught up in the blog world — exactly what the doctor ordered!
So... what have I missed?
