Bring on Christmas Break!

Yes I still call it by its true name. Christmas Break! I do not intend for that to offend those fragile minds of Atheists or what have yous. It is what I have and always will call it, and just as we've always had 'In god we trust', as should it always remain.

Anywho's my rant is ending there, because I don't want to get into political correctness. :)... So my Christmas Break has finally begun. Oh how this break has been greatly desired and needed. This Semester has been like an acid drip. And no, that is not an over-dramatization. I am cherishing my catching up of sleep, after 3 months of sleep deprivation, my 12hrs. of sleep every night are enjoyed to the fullest. I finally get to clean my apartment, which is greatly needed after the 3 months of neglect. Exercising is back in full swing, and I have missed running dearly. My never ending list of new bands/artists I have to look up for new music will get to be weeded out (I'm excited for a new splash of variety). And finally, that Nicholas Sparks book that I have kept stowed away; has finally been brought out, dusted off, and cracked open.

This break brings many promises of hearty laughs and good times. And so far it has not let me down. Christmas with both sides was enjoyable, minus a few snags of bad grades, a mother freaking out over my excellent winter driving, and a snoody Aunt who felt it was in her place to judge me and the life I choose to lead. But that is in the past, and I am going to have a great amount of stress-free-relaxation, spend a lot of time with that special someone I care a lot about, and I can't forget the most important birthday of all. My 21st! So that's all that matters to me this Christmas Break..

Let the fun and count-down continue.. T-Minus 18 days..
xoxo
~L

Winter Wonderland?

Ahh Winter has finally arrived...

It's never completely here till the first real snow fall. And did it ever! Snow was a little nervous this year with its first performance. It had a few false starts, got a little scared, but finally did it! :)

Now I guess I can say I love snow, when I don't have to be in it. It's pretty and beautiful from the safety and comfort of my warm apartment. Watching it blow and fall from the roof outside the window. But this beautiful view of snow only lasts for a little bit of time. The rest is spent outside. And in this scenario, I HATE SNOW! I HATE THE COLD! AND I HATE WINTER! The joys of college life suck when it comes to Winter time. Waiting for late buses at cold bus stops, almost getting hit by sliding cars at intersections, sideways snow, un-shoveled sidewalks, and a car that hates winter as much as I do. Usually I'm ok with walking in the snow, but never realized how hard it is when your farther away from campus.

My car gets to sit behind my apartment, and when it gets cold out, my car doesn't like to have much heat. When it gets really cold out or is snowing, my car doesn't like to run. There is a snow emergency right now (whatever that means) and all cars must be moved or else pay $200 to get it back from towing. So I go to move my car, get it to the garage I pay to park it in, then realize that in order to get in the garage, I have to turn off my car and use my keys to open the door. But when I attempt to start my car again, it doesn't want to work! EXCELLENT! I'm stuck in front of a garage looking like an idiot trying to start my car. But after a good steering wheel rub and some sweet serenading words of love, it decided it wanted to work.

Not only did I almost have a dead car, I also almost got hit by two cars who decided they would slam on their brakes at the last second to not run a red light. I understand this is the first big snowfall of the year, but still, your Minnesotan's, you should know this by now. Slamming brakes on snow covered roads DOESN'T WORK! GRR.. Sorry I'm a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to Winter.

So now I get to get back into my marshmallow and go to my night class. Hopefully I don't get hit by any cars. Wish me luck.. :)

She's as sweet as Tupelo Honey...

I have this guilty pleasure with listening to Van Morrison. I'm not a big fan of most his songs, there's just a few that really get me. Of course the all amazing Brown Eyed Girl and Moondance. But the one song that I truly love and really have no reason why is Tupelo Honey. I think I like it because it reminds me of my grandma Laurie. Yes, I know this song is about a love interest that is just the world to Van. But that's exactly it, my grandma was the world to me, my best friend, my rock, the shoulder I leaned on, the wiper of my tears and mender of my broken heart. She was as sweet as Tupelo Honey, just the most amazing woman you could ever meet. Everyone loved her, and she accepted everyone in return.
I remember the good times sleeping over, staying up late watching old Turner Classic Movies with a bag of popcorn. I remember her jokes, her soft kind eyes and I miss her voice. But what I remember most, were her hands. She had the most beautiful hands, soft and lined with wrinkles of hard work and love for everyone she embraced. She was always there to listen to me and give me the most amazing hugs...
On days like these, when our day is supposed to be filled with family and stuffed bellies; are days that I will miss her the most. I'm always waiting for her car to pull up, or for her to walk through the door with her big bowl of homemade fruit salad and cranberries. It was a huge reality hit when she never showed up today. The truth finally set in that I won't see my best friend anymore, that I won't be able to confide in her. But then I realize, that though her body may not be here anymore, her soul and love still are. Every once in a while, I'll be sitting at work or at my desk at home, and I'll feel this cold breeze past my neck, or a cool feeling on my cheek. I'm not a believer in ghosts or anything, but I know its coming from her, that she's telling me she's still with me.
So I dedicate this post in honor of my sweet Tupelo Honey. I love and miss you more and more each day Grandma...

Ipod Blues

Every morning I have the same routine that I follow to the T, or maybe an S. Every morning my alarm goes off at exactly at 6:30AM so I can get ready for my German class. Ugh, stupid alarm clock! There is no time for any snoozing or sleeping in till 9 like my roomies. Nope, 6:30 comes around, I am up, out of bed, making my coffee and doing my little workout session. All the while listening to music so my thoughts can be on hold.

Then yesterday happened. Now this might not seem so huge and dramatic to you guys/gals. But it was like water torture to me! I go for my Ipod which sits on my desk wrapped in its straight jacket of headphones. I need to know where everything is at all times, because at 6:30AM when all is dark and still asleep, and I am still blind, I tend to run into things. Even when my walk is as simple as a few steps from my bed to the bathroom. Sorry I was rambling.

So I go to grab my headphones, tip-toe out of the bedroom so I don't wake up my roomie. And make my way to the kitchen to start the coffee. I proceed to put my headphones in so I can listen to my music while getting my Ab workout on. and then nothing. NOTHING! My Ipod won't turn on! Of course I've had this scare before, which in this case, I just restart it. Hmm nope STILL WON'T TURN ON! The minutes are dwindling down to when my mind starts to turn on, and I'm not going to make it. And on it turns.

Now when I say my mind turns on, I really mean on! I have neurons firing in every direction. I bounce from subject to subject. "Did I forget to turn my alarm off?" "Did I finish my homework that was due today?" "Why did I delete all those messages from my phone, do I really want to forget those things?" Mostly I use music to keep the thoughts I don't want to think about at bay, but that morning the tears began to roll. There was no way I could even start my work out now, I was too consumed. So I go back into my room and try to finish getting ready. Luckily my bathroom has an obnoxious fan that I get to listen to. It almost works as good as my music. I finish getting ready, now poofy eyed. I down my coffee and am out the door at 7:25.

I never realized how addicted I was to my music and Ipod till I got on the bus. I also never realized how annoying it is to hear the chit chatter and music of all the other bus occupants, until I was forced to. So not only did I get to think when I didn't want to. I got to ease-drop on boring stories of the strangers surrounding me. I go to my classes, and now had to be 'social'. Ugh! After work I impulsively went to the store to look for an MP3 player. Thankfully my impulses are not with buying things, because my Ipod decided it was just pretend dead!

I'm happy again :).

My very first!

Alrighty folks...

So this is my very first blog, EVER! I don't really know what I'm doing, or what a blog really is even. But I will try my best to not let you down.

I know your not supposed to inform people when you are nervous, because well then they focus on that. BUT IM NERVOUS! I mean what do I write about? Are people really going to be reading every word I write? What if I misspell something? Well that's a given. I've grown up in the technology era of lolz, jks and dunnos. So expect to find some mis-spelt words. Like I'm sure I'm misspelling misspelt. :)... Oh and just an FYI I love smileys. You must expect to see several of them. :) :-P :D...

First I thought I'd describe my title of the blog . It basically means what it means. I hate wearing shoes, and I go barefoot or sockfoot if it's a little cold out, as often as possible. Shoes are just too constricting and stinky. I like my feet to be FREE!. Which is why I'm a Summer Girl. It's always flip-flops or no flops all Summer long. If it weren't for those, 'NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO SERVICE.' signs in store windows, I'd be walking in barefoot. :)...

Since I started 'Thoughts of an Avid Barefooter' right around the time my new lil Cayd Man was born. I thought I'd write about him :).

Cayden Michael Helmer, was born 11/12/09. Cayden for all of you who don't know yet, is my sister Jessa's little man. He was born about 2 months early. We had a few scares, but he is going strong! Jessa is finally home as well. She went home Sunday, but I'm sure she wants to get put back into the hospital so Cayden isn't alone.

All Wednesday, Jessa had been going through very slow and painful labor. And that night there was a huge mistake the nurses made with Jessa's drugs that sent her and Cayden both into pretty bad withdrawals. Luckily, though not painlessly, they both came out great. Thursday, Cayden was in a bit of distress, so he was delivered via C-Section. Mom, Jessa and I were all pretty scared about the outcome. This was eased a bit when we saw the little arm of our warrior appear.

Mom and I took turns watching as they got Cayden cleaned up and breathing. He did great, and refused to cry for the nurses. But he didn't refuse to flirt. He was sending winks and high fives in every direction. Finally I got the OK to let the cameras roll, and I tell ya, Cayden is definitely not camera shy. He was stealing the limelight!

After all the hussle and bussle, they moved Cayden down to the prison of a nursery and started on their tests and measurements. He's a big boy for a premie! 4lb 10oz., 17in. long, 12in. head! But he was and still is a very adorable little guy! Cayden will be in the hospital for about 3 weeks because of his premieness, but hopefully will be home without complications for Christmas.

The way Cayden has fought, really is a miracle! He had so much going against him, but he stayed strong and still is. He did have one instance where he stopped breathing for 20sec. but that isn't going to stop him! I can't wait to watch him grow...

So, that was my first blog... What do you think? Did I do good?

Well stay tuned, because there will be more.
<3 Leiha