Summer is Just Around the Corner!

I am so thrilled that the blogging, as well as school, is all coming to an end. I never saw myself as a blogger. But it was a requirement, so I had to deal with it. And I survived but I don’t plan on blogging forever. As for school I have one more year left. But I’m excited for this year to be over, and for the summer to begin.
Summer to me has always been a time for me to work, work, work. But this year I plan to play a bit more than I have in the past. Canoeing will be my number one summer activity because it’s so relaxing and fun. I plan to go on several canoe trips with many friends and family members. But I do need to work too. Summer is the best time for me to make lots of money. I just hope I can save a little better this year. When I have money I tend to spend it quickly. I guess that’s what I get for being a waitress; I make cash and cash is easy to spend.
My boss would like me to work a lot this summer. She basically wants me to learn how to run the place. I think that it will be a great opportunity to make more money and learn new things. She wants me to be in charge of things like: answering the phone during the day, helping with canoes, and she has other simple tasks for me to complete on a daily basis. I’m probably going to seize this opportunity because I’d rather work at the Riverview Inn, than have to get another job.
Other than that, not too much is new. I resigned my lease so I can still live only a jump, hop, and skip away from WTC. Since I’m going another year, it makes sense for me to do this. My neighbor is moving today and I’m a little saddend. Now that she’s moving out I realize that we didn’t hang out as much as I would have liked. But we celebrated her leaving the other night, and we had a really good time. She is definitly leaving on a good note. I’ll miss her much; but I hope to keep in contact with her.

A Newborn and Summer Wishes...

Finally the baby has come! Mavrik Lee is here at last, and he’s adorable. My friend Natalie and I visited him in the hospital Monday afternoon, and I cannot wait to see him again. The first thing my friend Karlie said when I entered her hospital room was, “Never have a baby!” So I think that I might take her advice and refrain from having any children for a long, long time. But when I was holding the little cutie I couldn’t help but get excited to babysit him sometime.
Other than the new baby not much is new with me. Friday’s weather was amazing and I can’t wait for summer to officially start so I can start hitting the beach. I think I have a slight case of senioritis even though I’m not a senior in high school any more. I would definitely just like to be done with school and all the homework that comes with it. But in all reality I have one more essay, and one more speech before I can escape this place. The last speech I must complete is a commemorative speech; and I have no idea who to commemorate. And I’m surely tired of writing papers. But soon enough I’ll be swimming with the fishes!
I’m really excited for next year though. One of my best friends decided to ditch Platteville and transfer to WTC. So next year will be pretty fun for us. I never get to see him now because he’s so far away; and it will be a nice change to see his face more. Speaking of seeing more faces, summer is always a good opportunity to see more friends and family which is another thing I’m looking forward to. Also Pfaff family camping will be another great experience. The Pfaff side of my family gathers together and camps for four or five days. Fishing, swimming, and eating are the highlights for me. We usually have a Friday fish fry with all the fish we catch, but in recent years we haven’t caught too many fish. So my dad usually brings back-up fish that he has caught at an earlier time, just in case. I can’t wait!

Summer's On It's Way!

I am super excited for my best friend to have her baby. She was supposed to pop yesterday, but I didn’t receive a phone call from her so I am guessing she hasn’t had her child yet. But when she does have her little boy, I am to be the Godmother! I’m really happy about that. Although it just means I’m going to have to buy him presents for his birthday and Christmas; I’m still looking forward to having him in my life. She is the first of my friends to have a child, and it will be interesting and fun to babysit for her whenever possible.
Other than baby news not a whole lot has been going on lately. I’ve just been doing a lot of homework and getting ready for summer. Tuesday I turned in my portfolio, which was something I put a few hours into. The portfolio contained things like my resume, references, cover letter, work samples, and transcripts. It was actually fun going back to my high school for a bit so I could get my transcripts. I ran into a few younger friends as well as my Choir teacher; whom loved me! Mrs. Pfaff (Choir teacher) gave me two DVD’s; my senior year talent show, and my last play—Hansel and Gretel. I really enjoyed watching them when I returned home because I never actually got to watch them after they happened.
I’ve also started tanning to prepare myself for the summer sun. But so far I’ve just gotten a bit burnt. But I need to get ready because May 20 is the first day two of my friends and I will be going canoeing. We also have a trip planned for June 11 for my friend’s birthday. I can’t wait! It will be a relaxing journey, but I doubt that I will be able to swim yet because the water will still be quite cold. But I’ll wear my swim suit anyway, and I’ll probably end up in the water eventually. Most likely this will happen on accident rather than on purpose. But I cannot wait to get my swim on; it’s one of my favorite parts of canoeing. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Speech and Easter!

I completed yet another speech this week and I am thrilled that there is only one more left. The speech I had on Monday was a persuasive speech. And for mine I decided to encourage my audience to play more Scrabble because it allows socialization and mental stimulation. I think that I did a great job, and it provoked a great discussion when I was finished. I always find that I am extremely nervous beforehand; but once I get up there and give it everything tends to go smoothly for me.
As for last weekend, I had a wonderful time. Saturday was filled with food and family. Which are two of my favorite things. First I had to go to my cousin’s baby shower which was pretty fun. Although we did play some shower games that I had already played the Saturday before. But altogether it was a good time. But I feel I had an even better time when I went to my Grandparent’s house for Easter. My grandma and grandpa hid eggs for us again as usual. And I think it’s great that they still do that because it makes me feel like a kid again. The most exciting part about the hidden eggs was that hidden inside the eggs were sweet prizes like candy and money. Two things that I am very fond of!
I also had a pretty busy day on Sunday. Usually the restaurant I work at doesn’t open until 4:00 p.m. on Sundays; but for Easter we were open at 10:30 a.m. We also had a buffet, which we only have on Easter and Mother’s Day. We were booked solid with reservations, but because it was buffet many of the waitresses and I found that we were doing a lot of standing around. This made it seem not so busy. But I did end up getting out of there with $85 which is excellent for a Sunday, but I was hoping for a little more. Oh well, there will be another holiday coming up soon again.

Babies Everywhere!

Last weekend I attended baby shower for one of my best friends. And this weekend I have another one to go to for my cousin. It’s fun because my friend is having a boy so I picked out cute little boy things, and the next shower is for a baby girl. So now I’ll get to buy things for a little girl. My friend is due in about two weeks and so we gathered all of her friends and relatives at the Riverview Inn, where I work. We had a great time socializing, eating, and playing fun baby games.

One of the games we played involved diapers and candy bars. I’m sure you have a mental picture of what I’m getting at. We had to figure out what candy bar was in each diaper. The worst part was that most of them were crushed and melted so it really looked like baby poop! But I did my best to try every one without making a face.
The next game was to name that baby food. There were six jars of baby food being passed around and we had to guess what kind they were by looking, smelling, and if for those who were brave enough by tasting them. I was one of the brave few just because I wanted a prize bag for winning. And I did win; I got all but one right. The sweet potatoes tasted like squash to me!
We also had a sheet of paper where we guessed when my friend, Karlie, would have her beautiful baby boy. She is due on April 22, and my guess is that she will have him on April 24. I hope I’m right, I wonder what I’ll win! Nevertheless, I cannot wait to go to another baby shower this weekend. It will be even more fun because it will be with my family, of which I haven’t seen in quite a while.

You've Got to Love the Internet!

Recently I have been watching alot of my favorite shows. But not on TV at night when they air. No, I enjoy checking out all the new episodes online. And my favorite site right now that allows me to watch primetime television is www.hulu.com. It's a great site that's free and easy to use. I also like that you can fast forward and rewind--something you can't do unless of course you have Tivo or DVR.
The shows I'm indulging in right now are The Office, Family Guy, House, and Dollhouse. Dollhouse is quite interesting. It's basically about human trafficking, memory loss, and mind control. Moving on, House is about an incredible doctor who is also an ass to say the least. Please excuse my french, but that's the best way to descride Dr. House. This hospital drama is mainly about Dr.House and his team solving extraordinary cases, and saving lives.
The Office has been one of my favorite shows for a long, long time. Steve Carell, from 40 Year Old Virgin, plays Michael Scott the Regional Manager. And he acts similarily to his character in the movie I've just mentioned, which makes this show hilarious. Throw in the odd Dwight Shrute and things get even funnier. But my favorite character by far has to be Pam Beesly! I guess you could say I look up to her being that she is a receptionist, and that is something I would like to be someday. And lastly Family Guy is great! I cannot get enough of it. The randomness of the show never fails to entertain me.

Spring Break!

Spring break was great for the most part! I got plenty of rest and relaxation. The only problem I seemed to encounter was the fact that I became very ill the first 4-5 days of the break. Unfortunately for me I got the flu, and the flu made me get bronchitis. I was coughing so much my chest hurt badly and I had to miss work Saturday night. I hate missing work, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I was so run-down and wore out I wouldn’t have been much help to anyone that day. But once the sickness went away, I tried to make the most of what spring break I had left. So I went shopping and spent some quality time with friends and my family.
I have to say; thank goodness the good weather is back! It seems to me that winter actually flew by this time. And it’s usually about this time that I get “softball fever”. I enjoy playing catch and hitting some balls at the batting cages. But there is nothing like playing a great game of softball. I’m no longer in high school so if I really want to be on a team it would probably be co-ed slow pitch, and that’s not as exciting as all girls fast pitch. So for now I’ll have to just deal with the facts and just play catch and bat in the cage.
On a different note, I recently went to the Rivoli and finally viewed Twilight. I loved the movie so much that now I am planning on reading all four books of the series. I have just begun reading Twilight, and so far I love the book even more than the movie. It seems that books are always more interesting because they go in great detail. But it’s always fun to see that book turned into a feature film. It gives you more of a visual to actually see the characters and events up on the big screen.

Money, money, money

Recently I read an article in the La Crosse Tribune talking about how parking tickets are due for a big jump. And being that I have already gotten three this winter, I'm not so thrilled about this change to come. Granted each ticket was only three dollars; it still was an inconveinience to me. And if these parking fines are going to go up even more I'm going to have to be extra careful about where I park.
Another rising price is the cost of ciggarettes, I am a smoker so this does affect me too. Now the smokes have gone up before so this does not surprise me, it only makes me want to quit even more. So this price change could potentially make me healthier; so that's a plus.
I was also watching the Colbert Report last night which also gave me some insight on other changes. For example the sales of alcohol and McDonald's has gone up, but astonishingly the sale of guns has also skyrocketed. This is a bit scary to me. Since the economy is bad everyone is out drinking, eating Mickey D's, and buying guns; it just doesn't make me feel very safe. Also Colbert reported that the government is trying to tax the rich more. This only will result in angry wealthy people. Most of the rich feel that it is not fair to tax them more just because they work harder than others. That may be true but they should know by now that not everything in life is fair, and this was bound to happen eventually. It's not right to over-tax the poor who have little to begin with, now is it?
I'm just hoping that everything will work out eventually, and that this new depression will dissappear in time.

The Past Two Weeks...

I’m very proud of myself lately because I checked out books from the library for the first time. I’ve been busy lately and I just haven’t had much leisure time, so I haven’t hit up the shelves in a while. But unfortunately it was for research for an informative speech I had to complete. My speech was about anxiety disorders, and I feel like I did a pretty good job. My delivery could have been a bit better if I would have practiced it a couple more times, but other than that I think it went well. I explained to the class what anxiety is, the symptoms of the disorder, and way to cope; so they could better understand what anxiety disorders are. A big part of the assignment was to choose a topic that everyone could relate to as well as interest them. And my topic was very effective because everyone has anxiety and I’m certain most of the class was feeling anxiety before they gave their speech that day. I know that I was!
Moving to this past weekend, I had to work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as I usually do. I made a pretty good amount of money and none of my tables were too complicated. I do recall, though, Saturday one man complained that his Pepsi tasted like Diet Pepsi. It was regular Pepsi, and there wasn’t much I could do. I can’t make the Pepsi taste like Pepsi! Other than that the nights were pretty uneventful. Sunday there was a table of 20 right at 4:00, which wouldn’t have been so bad if half the table wasn’t children. Seriously, there were kids running all over in the restaurant. I felt a little sorry for the other customers, but that happens.
Not a whole lot is new in my life right now. I’m just struggling to get my homework done correctly and on time, as well as work on the weekends. The homework load has been a bit heavy lately, and it can get to be overwhelming at times. But once I put my mind to something it gets finished, that’s for sure. Now I just have to work on getting at least eight hours of sleep every night. So I can have more energy to get everything done!

Canoeing on the River

Is it time to go canoeing yet? This is the first thing my friend Natalie said to me as we stepped out of our cars into the freezing weather. Now it's far from time to go canoeing but we're already planning our river adventure out. There doesn't need to be alot of us, just as long as there's a cooler stocked with refreshing beverages and tons of sandwiches. And Natalie, I'm sure, will come with a bag filled with fun size Funyuns, my favorite!

We start our voyage by the Black River Bridge in Melrose and we end up back at the Riverview Inn. It starts off slow, you have to decide who's going to be doing all the work. I usually choose the canoe with two boys in it so I have to do little to no work. But as you get going things start getting smoother and you really start moving along. It's extremely peaceful on the river, and when the sun's out you get a great tan, or burn!

Along the river are large rock formations that are great for jumping off of. It's nerve racking, but once you convince yourself to jump you'll want to do it again and again. There's also many sandbars to dock on. There's usually no problem finding one unless the river is high, but if that's so you probably shouldn't be canoeing. Sometimes when the river is low it's hard to get around too. One trip I recall having to get out and push the canoe a number of times. That wasn't so fun.

Another fun trip on the river consisted of me, two friends, and four tubes. We strapped a cooler on the fourth tube, and we floated down the river. It was a slow adventure, but I love the water and I had a great time. I cannot wait to have some more fun in the sun. And I always have good times on the river!

St. Valentine's Day

First off I would like to give a big sarcastic “thanks” to St. Valentine for this depressing holiday. Don’t get me wrong it’s most definitely not miserable for those who have a special someone. But for the others that aren’t with anyone, this day is just a reminder of the fact that they are indeed single. Personally I don’t enjoy this holiday because in the past, I have never had a good Valentine’s Day. In fact, one year I had a boyfriend break up with me the day before Valentine’s Day. How’s that for a V-Day gift? Not so great, I know. But other than that every year I have been Valentineless, which doesn’t give me much hope for the holiday. So when February 14 rolled around the corner this year I basically only looked forward to a busy night at work. We served over 300 people that night and I made over $150. So I guess in some sense I do like the holiday a little.
This year I do have a boyfriend, but it didn’t surprise or upset me when he didn’t do some romantic gesture to show he cares. Honestly he doesn’t have to I know that he does care. Plus we both had to work that night, so going out to eat would’ve been impossible because we were the ones serving all the other couples their Valentine meals. Granite it would have been nice to get some flowers or even some chocolate, but it’s not necessary. Sometimes I think that Valentine’s Day was made up so candy and flower companies could bring in some more money!
I do remember a time though, when I did enjoy this holiday of love. But that was before I even understood what love was. Yes, you remember when you were in grade school and you gave your crush that Valentine that said how cool you thought they were. I especially liked remaining anonymous by writing that I was their secret admirer. And I bet that you can almost taste those cute, little conversational hearts everyone got in their boxes. Or the chocolate hearts that didn’t taste as great as you thought they’d be. But one of my favorite things to do was to make those beautiful boxes. That was one of the more fun parts of this day, besides eating all that candy!

MOVIES

I absolutely love everything about movies. I enjoy renting them and watching them at home, but I really like going out to see them while there in theaters. There’s always movie theater popcorn and Sour Patch Kids involved when I go to the cinema! But lately I’ve just been renting flicks and watching them in the comfort of my own home (aka my tiny apartment). Redbox is a wonderful thing; a dollar a night for a new release is great.
The last movie that I had the pleasure of viewing was Saw V. Sadly I wasn’t exactly satisfied with this film. I found myself somewhat confused; it was simply just too hard to follow at some points. But it didn’t let me down with the whole blood and gore part. Those movies are almost too hard for me to watch sometimes, I tend to have a weak stomach.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is another movie I thought was worth viewing. Yet once again I was let down. I enjoyed the first two “Mummy” movies, so much that I actually grew to love the characters. Unfortunately the directors of the third film decided to change actress for the female lead. I was completely thrown off! I would have much rather seen the actress I was so familiar with, play the part. Other than that I felt the humor was dry and that this story was almost better left untold.
On a more positive note, I also watch the film, The Rocker. This movie did not disappoint me at all. Rainn Wilson played ‘Fish’ the lead character and he impressed me like he always does on “The Office”. I thought that the movie was great just in the fact that his new band got so far in the music industry in such little time. ‘ADD’ was the title of his band that consisted of his nephew and two of his nephews friends. I think that the movie sent a good message to people of all ages, but also was hilarious.
There are a few flicks I’m really eager to see such as: Twilight, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Yes Man. I know that Twilight has been out for a while, but I just haven’t made it to the theater to check it out. I’ll probably just wait until it comes out on DVD so I can rent it for a dollar. It’s much cheaper that way!!

It's Me Again!

So we meet again. And I don’t have the slightest idea of what to blog about this time around. So I might as well talk about someone I know alot about—me!
Coming from Wisconsin, it’s not hard to understand why my favorite food is cheese. I love all kinds of cheese whether it is cheddar, mozzarella, Colby, and so on. But batter fried cheese curds, now were talking! I really like cheese because of its versatility. It can be used with a number of other foods to create amazing cheesy dishes. What a boring world this would be without cheese!
One of my favorite past times is to watch movies. I love movies that make my tummy hurt from laughter, but I also love a flick that makes my heart race with fear. I also love mind-boggling films, as well as stories based on true events. Some of my favorite movies include: Super Troopers, Donny Darko, Grandma’s Boy, The Labyrinth, Wisconsin Death Trip, Talladega Nights, Scary Movie I, and Vacancy.
Another thing I love to do is go out and experience the great outdoors. Camping is great and I do it every year with my family and friends at least once. We usually only camp within Wisconsin but we’ve been to Minnesota a couple times too. I enjoy swimming a lot so camping really gives me the chance to be in the water. Speaking of being in the water, I also love to go canoeing down the Black River in the summer. At the restaurant that I waitress at there are canoe rentals, so whenever I would like to I can rent one. And I get a lovely discount making the canoe only cost me $5. Now that is a deal! So I usually end up doing that at least four or five times over the summer break. To be totally honest, even when I’m not canoeing I can be found down on the Black River somewhere swimming, tanning and just having a good time. I pretty much live on the river once it’s warm enough to jump in the water.
There are some other interesting things about me, like the fact that I am on my fifth car and I am only 19 years old! I actually totaled two of them; only one accident was my fault though. I somehow hit a mail box on the opposite side of the road with another car. It was still drivable but it eventually died. I also had another ride that had a transmission that decided to stop working. So I’ve had some tough luck with automobiles. They don’t really like me all that much.

Ah wishful thinking.....

It's all about me!!

This is all really new to me. I've never blogged nor have I ever really wanted to. But I don't have much of a choice in the matter, so here it goes!
My name is Danielle Pfaff, I'm originally from Black River Falls, WI, but moved to the small town of Melrose Wisconsin my freshman year of high school. And I'm absolutely glad that I did so. The three and a half years spent at Melrose-Mindoro high school were great! I participated in choir, drama, softball, and I was always working when I wasn't in school. Softball was awesome! I played second base, and I actually recieved the Golden Glove Award my junior year for making the most outs in a game. That was a great achievement for me. Besides throwing a softball around I love to sing, all the time and at any time. It doesn't really matter where I am I'm likely to break out into song. Drama was a big part of my life in high school. My junior year I actually got the lead in the musical "Oklahoma", which was amazing! The three nights we performed where exhausting, but totally worth all the work. I would like to continue doing more acting but i can't seem to find much time for anything with my busy schedule. I thought about going to school for acting, but decided on something more realistic. That's why I'm going to WTC for business. I'm in the Office Support Specialist program and I may possibly go onto the second year to get a degree as an Administrative assistant. I'm unsure about a lot of things right now, so I'll just see how things go I guess. As for my work life, I am currently working at RiverView Inn in North Bend Wisconsin. I have waitressed there for almost five years now. I thought about getting a job closer to me here in La Crosse, but I make good money and I guess I somewhat fear change. After I'm finished with school I hope to get a good paying job as a receptionist or secretary somewhere. There are so many opportunities out there for my career field, and I can't wait to get out there and experience them!