Saturday and Snow(?)...

Saturdays are such good days. Generally, Matthew and I get to sleep in, so I don't feel like as much of a lone, lazy bum. During the week when he goes to class and I keep snoozing, I feel the slightest twinge of guilt for not getting up at a decent time and eating breakfast with him. This morning neither of us woke up until 11:20am (after turning off both of our alarms!) Hubs has been working hard on multiple projects and deadlines, so he actually needed the rest. I, on the other hand, have no excuse besides my love for a nice warm bed. We were due for Pembroke brunch at noon with Chad, Harsh, Magda, Sohaib, and Basma; otherwise, we might have continued catching zzz's. But, we made it on time for a feast of waffles, bacon, eggs, coffee, and great company. I think all of us ate for under £16 total. Thank you, highly subsidized student food rates! It was so wonderful to spend time with this group of people. I think Matthew sometimes gets caught up in the academic portion of his program and forgets to tell me how awesome the relational aspect is. I love all of the other students I have had a chance to interact with, and I always look forward to being included in their group outings. My tentative plan is to introduce his classmates to snickerdoodle cookies on Monday as a pick-me-up for working so hard on all their assignments. I took a couple pictures of the Pembroke formal dining hall to give you an idea of the brunch setting.

I wish the giant fireplace on the right had been roaring, but regardless, it was a sweet locale for a meal.

I can't explain how different the undergraduate experience at Cambridge is from the typical American university. Think apples vs. oranges. They both fulfill a need for hunger but look, taste, feel, and smell entirely different. I don't know if that even makes sense. The only thing I could say comes close to what it is like would be living in a sorority. Everything is centralized in the Cambridge colleges as it is in a sorority. You sleep there, have formal dinners there, hang out in common spaces there, and then go somewhere else around town to have your classes. At OSU it is much more decentralized (especially for a freshman); you live in a dorm, eat in a separate restaurant or cafeteria, go to class in multiple buildings, and hang out with friends all over the place. I kind of like the cozy atmosphere of the Cambridge colleges, but I also lived in a sorority for two years, so I guess it feels somewhat familiar. Matt keeps saying that he is going to make our children attend an overseas university for at least part of their education. I say I won't make them do it, but it will be highly encouraged. I have found it to be an extremely enriching environment, but I am also privileged in that I get to live here with minimal responsibilities and a built-in friend/roommate. I guess we have quite a few years before we decide what we will and will not push our kids to do.

Anyway, after brunch I went and mailed my sister's birthday present. She turns 20 on the 7th of this month! Wowzers. Last night Matthew was telling my mom that he will forever picture Jordan as a seventh grader, and I totally agree. I feel like she is way younger than me until I realize that she is halfway through college, has been dating Jeff for like 6 years, and has a much better grasp of hair and makeup than I do. I think I'm probably going to have a mental breakdown when she gets married. I can only imagine how much stranger it is for our parents and grandparents to see us grow up. My mom said that she doesn't really feel that old herself until she stops and thinks about how she has two daughters in their twenties. In my human development class way back when, I remember learning something about how most people judge themselves to be mentally 10 or 15 years younger than they chronologically are. I wonder if my great grandmother, who is 96, judges herself to be like 80. Is there that much difference between 80 and 96? Oh, life. I need to stop contemplating.

I'm leaving in about an hour to go meet Asha to see "The Artist." I know it has been nominated in multiple categories for Golden Globes and all those other highfalutin' accolades. Apparently a lot of critics have praised the film's doggie and say he would totally win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor if such a thing could be bestowed upon an animal. I'm quite pumped, and I'll let you know if it lives up to the hype.

I think this actress (Bérénice Bejo) is just lovely.

In other exciting news, it is supposed to snow tomorrow! And Lord knows, it has been freezing enough this week for me to believe the forecast. There were some tiny flurries a few days ago, but nothing sufficient enough for accumulation. The river is now solid enough for the duckies to walk on top of it! The frigid air is most uncomfortable when riding a bike. It burns my poor asthmatic lungs and leaves my ears feeling rather frostbitten. I'm attempting to crochet a beanie hat in order to combat the cold. Again, I'll keep you posted on how that turns out. I've never made anything besides scarves and blankets, so a 3D fitted object may be an adventure. No promises.

Although it's been super sunny recently, it was probably around 30F when I took this one.

And it still throws me off that everything is so green. The grass in Oklahoma was probably dead in October. It's damp, there is moss everywhere, and I find it all picturesque against the cobblestones.

Well, I need to get ready for the movie, so over and out!