"God places the heaviest burden on those who can carry its weight"

(Worked in some time to get to the Mendenhall glacier for a few minutes.)

It has been a great semester so far! I have to admit that the snow and rain has worn down my spirit a little but there is no rain or snow today and I think I might have seen a glimpse of the sun. Getting to know my new roommates has been fun. It's always great to meet new people. Last night was SAA dinner and a movie so I went to meet the new SAA board members and watch the movie Easy A. It was funny but a little weird not having my normal SAA people around. Other than that, I have just been plugging away at homework. I am waiting for a few books to arrive still that are on back order. Right now I have homework in every class to do. I took the day off Friday to relax a bit since I didn't have class. Yesterday I worked on art homework and Multicultural Education. Today I am listening to Georgia Tech kick butt against Boston College, while preparing to tackle some Educational Psychology.


(This is my car on the fourth day of snow AFTER I had cleaned it completely of snow the day before.)
As far as financial aid and all that fun stuff goes, I think things are finally coming together. The exchange kind of messed up everything but I think that it has all worked itself out. I should be getting a bit back that I will put towards my Praxis II. I have a few classes that will end in February and one class that starts in February. It will be nice to get rid of a few of these one credit classes that take up a lot of free time with busy work.
So that's pretty much all the updates for now. I have to get back to the endless amounts of homework I have left.

MIZ...

(Walking to the gym for class. Don't you wish your gym had this view?!)

Classes are underway and I am sure that this will be the hardest semester I have had to date. Mainly because the workload is sooo much. It is only Wednesday and I am stressing about the classes I have had. I still have half my classes that I haven't even been to yet. My step mom reminded me to slow down and take one step at a time. I'm on the homestretch!
I have some good news though! I was able to change out my car battery and my car now runs like a champ again. That was a huge weight off my shoulders. Especially since it is supposed to be -20 degrees for the remainder of the week. Oh how happy I am about having a nice warm car to ride (and sing at the top of my lungs) in!
Also, I have met my roommates now. They are so sweet and quiet. I missed the sound of silence when I was in the Virgin Islands but here....ahhh....it is a beautiful sound. Speaking of the Virgin Islands, I was required to fill out a form about my experience and turn it into my exchange coordinator. She decided to pass the form up to the head of NSE so that something could be done about the problems I had. It's nice to know that people care. However, I doubt UVI will change it's ways.
Lastly, I ordered my books online today. I am so excited to get these books in so I can get to work. Some of these classes I need to be reading for right now! Oh well, no need to stress about something I can't change. Tonight, one of my professors said he didn't care if we didn't have our books for the first few weeks. He said he realizes that it takes time and money to get mail here. Now that's what I like to hear! In this class we had to do introductions. Just short intros about our name, where we are from and live etc. When it was my turn I said I am originally from KC Missouri. The professor interrupted me to cheer "MIZ-ZOU." I think I might like this class....

Pilot: "For those of you wondering why our first officer just ran out of the airplane..."

Well here I am back in Juneau again. It was a long day yesterday full of sheer craziness. My first flight was upgraded to first class, which was very nice. The extra space was enjoyable but I had to laugh at the flight attendant who kept asking me questions like:
"Miss Peterson, can I hang up your coat for you?"
"Would you like a beverage while waiting for everyone to load, Miss Peterson?"
"Miss Peterson, there is a blanket in front of you if you are cold. Can I get you a snack?"
It was funny and almost annoying at times. The fight was short from Kansas City to Texas. I had a little time, two hours, to get something small to eat and take a restroom break. I'm not sure what happened but when I printed off my boarding passes at the beginning of my trip, all my window seats were taken away from me. On the long four hour flight from Texas to Seattle, I was stuck between two large men who just had to take up all the arm rests. It was the most uncomfortable ride ever. The man to my left must have been one of those secret security dudes. He was given free drinks and stuff. I found it funny that he passed out for most of the trip, until he started twitching in his sleep. HA! It was weird. The old man to my right kept elbowing me and never once said sorry. The whole trip, everyone was talking about football. I was sitting in the mist of the Eastern Washington University Eagles (football). Apparently they had just won the national championship. That explained why there were so many big men there! It was crowded.
After another short (2 hr) layover in Seattle, I boarded a plane with salmon carpet. No I'm not talking about the color salmon. There were actual fish on the carpet and walls of the plane. I was in row 26B, another middle seat. By the way, there were only 27 rows. In the seats behind me were three kids, their grandparents sitting across the aisle. These kids made me rethink my major. haha.
Just when I thought we were getting ready to push back from the airport and taxi onto the runway, the pilot came over the intercom:
"For those of you who may have just watched my first officer run off the plane, we have just realized the air conditioning is not working in this aircraft. We will be changing planes. Unload the plane and head to gate C18."
So there we all were, waiting for the tram from gate N to gate C. No one could understand why an airplane would need air conditioning when it is flying into Alaska. I'm not buying the story. So anyways, we all loaded into another airplane, the Disney one, and waited for stupid paper work to be finished before we could fly out. We were an hour late taking off and my head was hurting so bad I thought I might be sick. The screaming kids behind me didn't help. Three hours later we landed in Ketchican so that the plane could unload a few passengers and de-ice. A little over an hour after that we landed in Juneau.
A good friend of mine, Susie, was waiting for me at the airport and we took my bags and promptly left for the school. I was surprised to find the CA's still checking in people at the campus lodge. It was about 12AM when I unpacked a fitted sheet and curled up with a little brown fuzzy blanket and pillow (Thanks Jamie!). What a horribly long day.
Today I managed to pry open my solid brick of ice out in the parking lot, also known as a car. I now have my comforter for my bed and a few big pillows. It's 1:40pm right now and I just finished listening to Kansas City lose and Georgia Tech win. Now, I think I will unload some more of my car and maybe venture out on the public transit. We'll see!
Classes start tomorrow! and so does my workout! Wish me luck!

(You know it's going to be a good semester when there are Ninja Turtles on your door)

There are some people who will remain in your heart. It's ok. Let them live there. Just don't let them stop you from living.

It's Friday the 7th already?! Wow! Time sure does fly when you're having fun. I was worried that I might get bored being home for a month while most of my family was at work. However, I have managed to keep myself busy. Kinsey has also been by my side the majority of the time I've been in. Everyday there is something new she says or does that just cracks me up. I am going to miss everyone so much when I leave, but I think I will miss her even more. I asked her if she wanted to fly with me to Alaska and she said "When I get bigger. I'm to little to fly now." She is adorable, even her little tantrums.
This break I have made the rounds pretty well. I spent plenty of time with the parents and made it out several times to see my grandparents on the farm. I made it to my dads family a few times for Sunday dinners plus I saw them over Christmas. I saw the step family more than usual, which was nice. We had a Christmas party and New Years lunch. I just got back from eating lunch with my step-grandma, step-aunt and step-mom. Most importantly, I got to see my two great grandmothers; one is 96 and the other is 92. They are such strong women who I love and admire so much. On top of that, I got to see a good friend of mine from high school, Brooke Ahart. We met up twice this break but I wish we could have met a few more times. She is so fun! The first visit she showed me her house and we chatted while Kinsey and her daughter Lilly played. The last visit we took the two girls to the Fun Run. I'm not sure who was more exhausted after that day, the girls or Brooke and Me. Haha.

While I have made the rounds visiting people, I have also kept myself busy with basketball games, singing, shopping, etc. I watched cousin Kyle play ball in Excelsior and then watched cousin Alex play ball in Wellington. I love watching high school basketball. Not only does it bring back memories but it's nice to visit with the family too. I can also make comments about the coaching and playing, knowing that I am leaving soon so it doesn't matter if people get mad. Haha. Only joking..Maybe. Moving on, I have cut my hair twice since being in and have been up to the mall to spend those gift cards. I'm not sure if everything will fit in my suitcase to take back with me, but I should probably figure that out soon! On January 2nd I sang Mighty to Save at church. It went well, considering I only had about a week to prepare. It can be seen here once the church posts the service online. They are a bit behind. Also, Jamie and I met a few days ago and recorded a song for Great Grandmas funeral. It sounds morbid since Grandma is still with us, but we knew we wouldn't be able to sing it live without crying. So, we took the music she wanted and recorded it for her. It's nice to have it done because I am never sure when I will be able to return to Missouri again. Plus, it's always fun to sing with Jamie! It brings back so many memories!
Besides all the above things, I have pretty much just been eating and enjoying American food again. haha. So much for that awesome work out I had going on in the Virgin Islands. I plan to start that back up as soon as I am in Juneau.
There are times when I think about Missouri, especially in spring time, and I wonder if I will ever live here again. There are parts that I love about the Midwest but I am not ready to settle down and stop traveling. I don't know that I will ever be able to stop traveling now. Maybe it is an addiction. Oh lord!
So now I am returning to Juneau, Alaska. Just a few months ago this time seemed years away. It seemed like I would never leave that tiny island. Part of me was afraid the only way I would make it back to the "mainland" was in a casket. A horrible thought, I know, but now the time has come to pack up and leave again. I am completely stressed out about everything that needs to be done. My financial aid is screwed up from my exchange. Right now, I owe the school money still and they can drop my classes if they want. I have professors emailing me left and right about assignments that are coming up. I have the head lady over my student teaching sending me emails about what all I have to have prepared for next year. Literally, the last email had ten documents attached to it. AND the lady just sent me a new email with a few more revised documents. Ugh! To top it off, my car has stopped working. I think it's the battery but wont know until I get back to Juneau. I am pretty sure my tiny car is covered in three feet of snow by now anyways. Apparently, it wont jump start. I guess I have to have it towed or something. Sigh. All the while, my little bit of money I received for Christmas is slowly slipping from me. I have to take my Praxis 2 test, which of course cost me some money. I have to pay for my car and whatever it needs. I have to get books for my classes! I am stressing...I hate not having plans figured out and it seems that the older I get, the more my future is uncertain.
Welp, I suppose I should start packing. Tomorrow morning will come fast.
It's been a great visit, Missouri! Thanks for the white Christmas and see you in a year or so...