Fall Football

Last weekend Peter and I went out to see the Cal Bears play in a game against Washington State.

I am not the biggest fan of football, but this was actually surprisingly fun.

Last time we went to a game, it was late at night, lasted forever, and Cal lost - pretty badly. This time, everything was different. They've been doing pretty well due to an amazing quarterback (so I've heard), who is apparently a potential number one pick in the draft this year. The game did not last 4 hours this time, and it was during the day which is always ideal.

At the beginning of the day we headed to a t-shirt shop on Telegraph so that I could get a Cal t-shirt and feel spirited for the game. Then later we headed over just in time for the start of the game and had seats near the student section. As someone who did not attend a college with a big football team, this was really fun to be around. They have people to teach you the cheers and to tell you when to be loud and when to be quiet, which is helpful for a football noob like myself.

Some pictures from the game:

I'm so glad we live in a world with Octobers...

Hey!

Sorry for the  l o n g  hiatus. School started and I was feeling swamped.

Now that it's October, I'm feeling a little less overwhelmed, which hopefully will translate to a little more blogging.

I have a lot of things coming up in the next two months that are causing me to get my act together, and with that I have a few short term goals I need to meet over the next month. Hopefully this will help hold me a little more accountable.

1. GRE studying! That's right - I signed up for my $195 (WHAT!) test today! I'm taking it next month and after a practice reading comprehension section today... I definitely have an area of focus. I'm feeling OK about the math section (which I feel is kind of a given since I teach the math that is on the exam), though I still can't get to comfortable. We'll see how it goes!

2. Go on a shopping freeze! I went on a diet and lot a bunch of weight over the last few months, and as a result I've gone a little shopping crazy. After treating myself to a new pair of jeans on Friday (and two new pairs of shoes) at Nordstrom Rack I'm finally calling the new wardrobe done... for now :) I'm going to see if I can hold off until after Christmas.

3. Improve my meal planning - I feel like I am constantly getting a quick bite out to eat because I don't have any food in the apartment and I am getting so sick of it! I need to get a lot better about buying food that I'll eat and actually putting the time into cooking it! I am a huge contributor to the food waste the EPA is so avidly trying to cut, and I need to put in my part to stop throwing out so many groceries! Such a waste!

4. Host a potluck - Peter and I went over to a friends house for a potluck on Saturday and had such a great time. Whenever we've done this in the past at our apartment, there a few too many people, we have such a hard time limiting down our numbers. But it seems like there is a sweet spot in terms of numbers to making potlucks work in a tiny apartment. This time around I want to aim for 10-12 people and I think we'll be good to go!

5. Become a pumpkin pie making master. Hopefully with an uptick in potlucks, I will not be the sole-eater of pie therefore undoing all the hard work I've done in the last month to lose a bunch of weight! However, every year around Thanksgiving I have a huge urge to be at home in New Jersey surrounded by my Aunt Maureen's delicious pie. So, for the last two Thanksgivings, where I've been in California, I've made up for that by making A TON OF PIE. I definitely need to work on my pie crust skills (who doesn't!), but I do want to mess around with the pumpkin pie this year to branch out from the back of the can :)

6. Have weekly fresh flowers around the apartment. This is something I'm always longing for, and I don't know why I never just purchase for myself. Fresh flowers make me so happy, and having a bunch on our dining room table will definitely make it feel a little more like fall in Berkeley

7. Wake up earlier - I've done this a few times in the last few weeks, where I wake up about an hour earlier and then can have a leisurely morning with tea and some bonus teacher planning time. I want to start doing this more regularly to get an early morning walk in before the rest of Berkeley wakes up.

I'll check back in with these at the end of the month and see how I do!