Nationals, here we come!

Friday the 16th

On Thursday morning, the girls and guys Cross-country teams left for Nationals in Cedarville, OH. While we had a van for both teams, I had the chance to ride with Sarah and Cristy in Travis and Crystal’s car. Poor Travis had put up with four girls going all the way to Ohio (It’s about an 8-9 hour drive). I am glad to report that he survived the adventure.

After arriving in Cedarville, we went and warmed up on the course we would be running tomorrow. The next night, I ran in the open race which is basically a race that has the timer up and anyone is free to run the course. It was during this race that I ended up having my best time of the season!  

If you remember, I am from Ohio so was really glad to be in my home state again for a visit. My family even got to come to the race since they were not too far from the school. But the best part of being in Ohio again was that my dad ran the open race with me. 

Now what you have all been waiting for: the results of the race! On Saturday morning, the top seven girls ran the National race.  TFC placed third out of seven for the girls and third out of eight for the guys!  The guys missed second place by 9 points!  Dr. Garside, our coach, was really excited about the results. I am already looking forward to next year’s nationals since none of the thirteen girls on our team plan on leaving and we might gain a few really good runners to make us even better for next year!  Are any of you interested in running with the team next year? If so, leave a comment and we can have Coach Garside contact you!

 

Though we came for the race, the best part of the trip was probably tied with all the time spent in the car and the epic snowball fight we had on the way home as a team!  Can you believe it? We saw snow in Tennessee!  Dr. Bob, our school president, even treated us to ice cream at Dairy Queen on the way home, YUM!  

Brrr, it's getting cold outside!

Have you experienced the cold weather yet? We have! Here at TFC, I have noticed very quickly that it can get down in the 30's-40's one morning, then back up to the 70's by the afternoon!  It's crazy to think that Georgia gets cold just like up North, brrr!  I still remember telling my parents just a few months ago: "I can't wait to move to the South! It will be warm all the time!"  I guess I'm just glad my mom made me pack a coat, gloves, and a scarf!

I have never been in the mountains while it's cold outside, but this year I experienced my first taste of cold mountain air!  My roommate Andrea left the windows open during the first cold day.  She said "You're from Ohio! Aren't you used to this?!"  I replied with only chattering teeth and went to close the window and turn on the heat.  Of course, the funny thing was as soon as I did, the smoke detector went off in our room.  That's what I get for having the heater on for the first time this early in the season.  Has anyone else had this problem?  I laughed and told my parents about it later; they laughed along asking if I was still sure I wanted to stay in Georgia.   Of course I said yes. :) 

Fall Break!

 Friday, October 26th

Welcome back!  This past Monday and Tuesday, Toccoa Falls students enjoyed two days without classes!  Fall break helped me relax and feel at ease after a week of midterm exams.   Excitement has been building for Fall Break for weeks, but when it finally came, I felt that it went by way too fast!  

Me and Cristy taking a shopping break!

After a full day of classes on Friday, I went home with my friend, Cristy.  Over the duration of the break we slept, ate good food, caught up on laundry, and went shopping, hiking and to Starbucks!  I had the privilege of meeting Cristy’s family and seeing what she did around her hometown for fun.  On Saturday, we went shopping at the Northeast Georgia Outlet mall!

On Sunday, we went to her church, and I enjoyed being a part of a smaller congregation which is nice a change from what I’m used to back home.  Overall, I enjoyed being away, but it was good to return to campus too.

We found a Gazebo on our hike!

Care Package!

Everyone Loves Getting Care Packages!

Let’s face it: sometimes Wal-Mart runs just don’t compare with what your family can send you in a care package.  To college kids, getting a care package in the mail feels  basically like an early Christmas present.  A few of  the girls in the dorm have already received some great care packages from their families back home so I was excited when I saw the golden yellow slip in my PO Box!

Typical care package ideas include:

·         Crackers

·          Chocolate

·         Coffee

·           Goodies specific to your hometown

·         Supplies like extra pencils, pens or personal supplies

·         Wal-Mart gift cards

·         Breakfast foods like pop-tarts or granola bars

In my care package, my family sent me things that they knew I liked for snacks back home like Wheat Thins  crackers. They also sent me an extra roll of quarters for laundry and extra envelopes to mail them some letters back (I should probably get started on those)!  

Friday, October 12th

 Welcome back! This week has been very upbeat as well since we are
currently prepping for an awesome homecoming weekend here at Toccoa Falls College. 

As with most homecomings, it starts a week before the actual event with Spirit Week.  It's been a blast to participate in them—especially Monday because I got to roll out of bed and go class in my PJ's. On Tuesday, we all wore neon colors to class which caused me to wish I had my sun glasses to protect myself from the glare. Wednesday held a unique theme with our "teacher look alike"  and students rocked it! Thursday was lumberjack day (very applicable to our mountainous campus) and today is TFC spirit day! We had a number of people participating in our spirit days which made it really fun to walk around campus.  

There are lots of events going on this week so come back next week for information on how the inauguration ceremony for our 7^th President of Toccoa Falls College went, my cross country race, and the rubber duck race!

Pajama Buddies

Rockin' the Neon Day

Twins?

Letourneau Girls Got Spirit!

Lumber Jack Man!