Well, the semester is over, and I am REALLY happy about it. I've been enjoying a much-needed break for the last two weeks. J and I went to my mom's house for the holidays and visited with my family and some of his friends. I've been running 4 four miles nearly every day and am putting some more effort into exercising, which is something that suffered during last semester!

I ended the semester with an A in Organic Chemistry and an A+ in Ecology and Evolution. My eco and evo professor was really fantastic and I wrote him a thank-you note and got this in return:

Thank you for your note. Each year after grades are posted, I receive several e-mails from my students. But I can assure you those notes are rather different in content and tone from yours!

Congratulations on your outstanding achievement in Ecology and Evolution. Not only did you receive the highest grade out of a class of 161 students, the 2nd ranked student was several percentage points below you.

If you ever need a reference, I am happy to write a strong letter of recommendation for you.

So, I officially have a reference for when I want to apply to grad school.

I will probably go to school full time starting in the fall. J and I are talking about taking the month of August off and hiking the Long Trail, which would be really hard, but probably mega-rewarding. I think that immersing myself in the natural world would do me a lot of good!

All that feels a long way off, though! We just got almost three feet of snow last weekend and it seems to be getting colder and colder!