Oh, But The Leaves

I have an announcement.

It's hugely exciting.

Are you ready??

The leaves are turning color!!! I love this time of year. It's beautiful here in Michigan during the autumn months, and even more exciting is the fact that fall means winter is just around the corner, and do you know what that means? Christmas. I love absolutely everything about Christmas. The lights, the music, the gently falling snow glistening under the street lamps, the hot cocoa by the Christmas tree..everything.

My boyfriend took this photo on Michigan State
University's campus last year--beautiful!

I'm getting ahead of myself. Fall. As a kid, I looked forward to packing up all my new school supplies, unpacking, and then repacking them and heading off to school in the morning. Fall also meant my birthday had arrived (even though now it means I'm getting older, apparently), and that provided an excitement all its own. Plus, what's more fun as a kid than raking up the leaves into a huge pile and promptly throwing yourself into them, effectively destroying the newly raked lawn?

This year, fall meant a new beginning for me, in a way. It felt a little strange not packing up my possessions to move back into a cramped dorm room, but not doing so also began to solidify the thought that if I so choose, I could be done with school forever. Very strange feeling, indeed.

I'm officially not a student now, though I believe I will always be a student at heart. New things fascinate me, and I thoroughly enjoy soaking up the information contained between the binding of a brand new book. The amount of books I read increases tenfold as the weather turns cooler, I think. To me, there is nothing more satisfying than being surrounded by the beauty in nature with my nose in a book, curled up in a cozy blanket, and something warm to drink. Ah, perfection.

Who's Ready For Football??

Shhh..What's that sound?

Some of favorite sounds of the fall, of course! College football season has officially begun, and the fans are out tailgating, and announcers are making cheesy comments. 

I am happy to report the Spartan victory over Youngstown State on Friday. Granted, Michigan State had it relatively easy playing the Division II school, but still...at least we didn't suffer the same embarrassment as the University of Michigan in 2007 when they lost to Appalachian State. The only thing that would've been better is if Michigan had played Slippery Rock again and lost to them. Talk about karma.

My first game at the Big House with my boyfriend
and our good friend Chad!

Personally, I'm getting excited to see the Michigan vs. Michigan State game this year, especially after State's win last year. It was my first time at the Big House in Ann Arbor, and even though I'm not a Michigan fan, I will admit it was pretty cool, even though I did the unthinkable: I wore a Michigan shirt.

I promise it wasn't mine, I had to borrow it. I still maintain I did so for safety reasons since I would have been pretty outnumbered in MSU gear in the middle of the UM student section. Yikes!

We had awesome seats, too. We were on the Michigan 20-yard line, and only about 15 rows up. Can't get much better than that!

If you ever get the chance, even if you're not a Michigan fan, go to the Big House for a game. The atmosphere is incredible. There is so much energy from the fans (of course, the closer to the student section, the better!), and the approving roar coming from the stadium after each touchdown is overwhelmingly satisfying.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to perching in front of my T.V. with a bowl of popcorn on Saturdays (Yes, Mondays, too!), turning the volume up, and obsessively checking my Fantasy Football team's stats.