PRAISE TO THE UNIVERSE! LOVE IS REAL!

I have a shocking announcement, dear readers: I AM IN LOVE!

We met at a Walmart a few days ago, and it was love at first sight. Now I admit, I am quite jaded when it comes to love. Several have done me wrong and the emotional wounds they have inflicted may never heal. However, I found a love that has brought healing to my life. Something that makes me certain that I will be okay. Ladies and Gents, I present to you, the love of my life...

Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier

Isn't it amazing? You just add water, about 9 tsps of Vicks VapoSteam, plug it in and it goes to work on your worst sinus symptoms.

Do you cough at night? Not anymore you do.

Do you have chapped lips and a dry, red nose from coughing and sneezing 24/7? Psh, as if.

Do you find yourself waking up multiple times during the night because you can't breathe? Whatevs.

This is a Godsend. It cost about $17 at Walmart and I knew the very moment I laid eyes on it, I had to have it. I've been sleeping better, my cough hasn't been keeping me up, and my nose doesn't feel like it's on fire anymore.

HOT DAMN! Get it? HOT.
I'm too good.

I've also stocked up on my favorite 'get well' necessities. I bought my Puffs+Vicks+Lotion... is that hail? OMG! LUCIUS!!!

I'm back. It's just lots of wind mixed in with lots of rain yielding raindrops pelting the window at high speeds. Ridiculousness. Thankfully Lucius is UNDER A TREE!!! OMG, what if it snows, the branches get heavy, and they crash onto Lucius?! I've got to save him!!! But I'm so warm and snug... damn. This is like Sophie's Choice. I've got lots to think about... maybe I'll-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Ally

SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011!

Wooooohoooooo!!!

Dallas is in for it big time. According to weather.com, our lovely city is set to be inundated with snow tomorrow. This is exciting news. Last year, it snowed for 24 hours straight, and we got 12 inches of snow within that time. It was AMAZING! This year, I hope it does the same. I am still sick, but I am willing to sacrifice the small glimmer of hope for recovery to frolic in the snow for a day. Everyone's got their eyes and ears glued to the forecast, and so far, I like what I am seeing...

Chance of Snow: 100%
That's the kind of stuff I like to hear.

Pretty much every year I've been here, we've experienced snow. Ah, you know what that segue means? You guessed it. Snow pictures. Let's take a trip down a snow-covered memory lane, shall we?

Freshman Year... I had NEVER experienced snow like this
as far as I could remember...

Junior Year, engaging in a snow fight...

Me sliding down the hill at the priory on a pool raft...
I slid into the middle of the street. It was AWESOME!

Sophomore year, it iced. Needless to say, it was a dangerous
and painful climb up to the classrooms.

I woke up, put on my jacket, and went outside in my pj's.
It was so cool being the only one out there. It was silent and still...
amazing.

Our campus was just blanketed with snow... so gorgeous!

My humble abode... covered in snow!

Another year, another snow day, another happy me!

Snow falls around our tower

The view from my 3rd home: the science building.

Me and my 2 girlfriends enjoy the snow day...
Sure we had to go to class, but it was snowing. Therefore, we didn't mind.

Even at night, it was still coming down and sticking. It looked
beautiful out there.

You couldn't see the sidewalk to save your life... so I plodded
through the deep snow in my Uggs, aka: my Clydesdale boots.

LOOK AT HOW DEEP MY FEET WENT IN!

The apartments... at last!

On my way back to my room...

The trees looked beautiful all covered in snow.

These were beautiful, but a little pathetic, too. It made for a laugh.

SNOWPOCALYPSE!

The front porch of my home was just COVERED in snow.

A look down the snow-covered mall.

The Tower stands strong despite the snow storm.

And there you have it. A trip down memory lane. Hope y'all stay warm! Goodnight!

Ally

"You still wanna be here when one rolls out and coughs malaria into our faces?!"

I feel horrible today. I woke up and my throat felt AWFUL! I'm trying to find someone to go with me to the grocery store to get things like soup, more cough drops, more kleenex, pretty much anything I need to kick this illness in the ass. At least I have some help...

Thanks, Natalie Dee.

It's basically like that. Down to the dead eyes...

Yesterday was hectic. I had to get Lucius to the Volvo place, come back, go to class, have a meeting, go to the zoo, take the loaner back, go back to school, party, sleep. The party was fun. It was middle-school themed and there were boys with gelled hair, butterfly clips, lots of Abercrombie shirts, and plenty of awkward dancing. The highlight for me was showing up in my BSB shirt!

I then got tired and went home and passed out after taking 2 Motrin PMs.

I did go to the zoo to get my name badge and get a taste of what we're going to be doing there. It sounds like tons of fun!

Here are the highlights of my day...

It was dark when I left school...

Then suddenly sunny-ish?

Some of the girl giraffes at the zoo

What's up, chump?

Patrick just chilling out :)

Me with the Elephant Fountain
I believe I have a photo here from
when I was a wee little child :)

Time to go shopping/not dying...

Ally

"It's Friday, I'm In Love..."

This morning, I woke up at 6am like always, but this morning I had to actually get out of bed and get to the Volvo maintenance shop at 7am. I am happy to report that Lucius has been safely deposited and will hopefully be okay by tonight or the weekend. I have a loaner car who I shall name 'Cloud'. It's a pretty nice car. I was a little embarrassed to have to go back in and ask how to start it. It has the key/button ignition, and I got confused. However, the salesman was kind enough to give me a tutorial on how to start/stop the engine. It's a rather pretty car:

'Sup, Cloud?!

I felt rather cool driving it. It's shorter than my Lucius, so I was a little nervous driving it for the first time. However, I think I've got a handle on things. Well, time to get ready for class. Off to the zoo this afternoon! Then our party... dang! I'm all booked...

Ally

Week, END!

C'mon, now. Will you just END!?

I'll admit, I've got a pretty intense schedule lined up for the next two days. Tonight is TGIT, which stands for "Thank Goodness It's Thursday", ('cause we don't take kindly to using the Lord's name in vain, here). Tomorrow, I have to take my sweet in to the repair shop because the Check Engine light came on, and I'm not checking the engine. I'm having a professional do it. If I checked the engine myself, we'd all explode.

Poor Lucius. He looks so sickly.

Once I return to campus in my loaner car, I have a meeting with the degree plan lady. You see, after much consideration, I have decided to take a semester off before coming back and completing my studies. I think going to school pretty much every day since I was 5 has taken its toll on me, and I fear I may be going insane. Again, if it weren't for this semester off, we'd all explode. Moving on...

After class on Friday, I have to get my patookus to the Dallas Zoo, where I begin my research internship. I am so excited and very much looking forward to studying the animals. I believe we will be doing our research in the new African Safari exhibit. That makes me happy :)

Finally meeting the giant giraffe ain't too bad, either.

Lastly on Friday, we have a dance/birthday party at the apartments. It's middle school themed, so I asked my parents to send me either my cheerleading or soccer uniform. I should get it tomorrow. Thankfully, they are kind enough to oblige me by seeing to it that I am happy. They are great folks, but you already know that :)

I'm still a bit sick. I took two decongestants/antihistamines, and two tbsps of Tylenol cough syrup. I am happy to report that my pharynx is starting to deflate and the contents are running out, little by little. Also, my ears have popped, which is GREAT news! I love when you're sick and even the littlest things can make you feel like you're on cloud 9.

Another announcement: I have made the paper again, making this my 3rd appearance in the school newspaper. I was interviewed by the lovely Gabbi Chee about renting my books. The first two times were (1) an April Fool's Day article about the murders of several grad students, and (2) a CSO report about me being really sick but refusing an ambulance to the hospital, (like a boss). I'll be sure to cut out the article and perhaps we can frame it. As cheesy as that sounds, I think I'll actually do it.

Well, time to get a move on. Gotta go get my chai tea latte (which I only buy when I'm ill), and get myself to Environmental Chemistry... then Physics II Lab. GAHH! Week, just END already!!!!!

Ally

"The greatest wealth is health." - Virgil

If that's true, I'm pretty poor right now.

Hello, dear readers. It's already half into the second week of school, and I'm sick. This is ridiculous. The following Natalie Dee comic sums it up just fine:

Seriously.
(Check out nataliedee.com for more hilarious comics!)

The worst part is that I could feel it coming on little by little. Yesterday was when it hit me and I was pretty upset about it. It's not even that horrible. Thanks to the ENT, I can breathe just fine. It's my nasopharynx that's all inflamed and congested. That's the worst. It's like I wish I could shove a dental suction tool up my pharynx and suck it out. Seriously. EVERY TIME I have this, I think: can I just use the suction to clear this? It's horrible. Perhaps a sandwich will make me feel a little bit better. Or an apple. Or anything. SOUP! Oh my goodness, how could I forget that we have soup?!

When I'm at home and I feel bad, Mommy usually gets out the big guns: Coke, Saltines, and an egg.

BY YOUR POWERS COMBINED...

Now the crackers and coke make sense, if you have an upset stomach. The eggs, however, tend to confuse people. What it's for is to absorb any malicious spirits inside the sick person, and for sucking the illness out of that person. I thought I was alone in this unique method, but one day during Lyric Theatre last semester, I found I was wrong! I got really sick and my teacher took me to the bookstore to buy some coke and crackers. I made a comment about needing an egg to complete the recipe for success, and the bookstore lady freaked out. She then went on to tell me that her husband is Mexican and whenever their children are sick, her suegra does the egg to them. I was so excited to find someone else who knew about it, and could vouch for my sanity. Now how's about that soup? Nothing gets you ready to fight an illness, (and do Gen Chem II homework,) quite like soup. Hope the cold weather doesn't find you ill, like me. Take care!

Ally

It's A GIRL!

We here at Narvaez Nuggets are proud to announce the newest member of our family,

Calliope Iphigenia "Callie" Narvaez!

It's my cat in a box!
My cat in a box, girl...

She is a loving kitten who needed a good home. We adopted her from the Houston SPCA about two weeks ago, and she has loved every minute of being with her new family. To be honest, she hasn't stopped purring since we got her. Her motor's going to break down soon... so she'd better check herself before she wrecks herself.

In addition to being very loving and affectionate, she is also very strange. She has this habit of stretching out her back legs every now and then while walking around. She also likes to jump onto people and climb them like they're Ents. I am not an Ent. However, she doesn't see it that way...

"I have told your name to the Entmoot,
and we have agreed you are not an orc."

She is very cuddly and likes to play around in the garage with her toy mouse. She is very fond of Stacy already, but Stacy is still deliberating within herself.

Seriously, when is she going home?
Seriously.

Now I must retire to my bed. I am exhausted and nervous about my chem test. Lawdy Lord....

Ally