Whirlwind Week

My least favorite part of Christmas is when you take down the Christmas tree. But that hasn't happened yet.

I have been sans internet for the last five days or so, which has actually been rather nice. Monday morning I drove to my parents' house in Chatham and spent a few days there hanging out with friends and family before heading home last night. It was nice to recuperate after the insanity of last week. I thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas services, but I put more work into them than I usually do. (Oops, should I have confessed that?) So I slept a lot while at my parents'.

My aunt, uncle, cousins and grandparents all joined my fam for Christmas dinner. This usually provides some interesting moments, but I must admit that our last 2 family holidays have been really nice. I think it helps that my cousins have "grown up" quite a bit in the last few years....they used to tattle on each other and pick on each other through every meal, making it kind of awkward for the rest of us. But I think they have grown out of that phase.

My aunt brought over the game Apples to Apples on Christmas....if you haven't played, I highly recommend it. It is extremely entertaining. My favorite part of the game was when my grandpa put in the card "ninjas" when the word was "addictive"...and then proceeded to be shocked that my cousin Matt did not choose "ninjas" as the closest match to "addictive." I believe it went something like this: "What? Ninjas? Matt, come on, I put that in there just for you! How could you not pick ninjas? Ninjas!!"
It's funny in general to hear my grandpa get fired up about anything. My other favorite quote of the evening came from Brent: "Eyes!?! Eyes are SO soft!!" Of course every exclamation was uttered with a hint of protest. It was highly enjoyable. We finished out the evening with a few rounds of speed Scrabble as well.

Of course every trip "home" has its share of drama, and this one was no exception. I did have a chance to see the new building my former church recently completed....it is rather amazing. They have a beautiful kids' space, and the artwork is incredible. I would go there just to take my kids to that spot.

So here's to a happy New Year. So far I'm excited about it.

so this is christmas...

Christmas always seems to sneak up on me. I mean, I've known it was coming for the last 6 weeks or so, but now that it's less than a week away, I am starting to begin panic-mode. Not because I still have shopping to do (at least I don't think so), not because the weekend is going to be so crazy, but because I want to actually __pause__ to think about Christmas. The week before always gets me all wound up, and I don't take the time to __pause__.

I am really excited about our Christmas services, though. Not only does our building look amazing, but the services are going to be phenomenal. And I don't say that from a pride standpoint, but because I love Christmas and I'm excited to share Christmas with everyone else. Ahh. But it is the only day out of the year that I ever want snow, and it doesn't look like we will have any. How unfortunate.

In other news, for everyone wondering what I'm getting for Christmas....well, it will not be any sort of jewelry that goes on any of my fingers, particularly the 3rd finger of my left hand. Let me just reassure you of that so you can stop asking, stop looking at my hand, stop dropping hints, stop winking....ok, so no one has really been winking, but I have had several people ask. I promise that if that event occurs, it will be posted.

Hershey came out with peppermint kisses this holiday season. They are quite delightful.

So the other day...

So the other night I was getting ready for bed, and as I said goodnight to Shelley, I mentioned that I was going to go read a book. To which she sarcastically said, "A whole book?" And I of course said yes.

Turns out....I read half of the book I was starting. I couldn't put it down. And I only stopped because I thought I needed to go to sleep. But my mind was not ready to shut down, so I definitely lay awake for the next hour or so, and since I hadn't really had dinner, my stomach was growling, which caused a major stomach ache in the morning....and I skipped working out altogether because I hadn't slept (due to the book and stomach growling) and because I wanted to eat.

So this could be problematic--reading so much. You would think that by now I would know this...I mean, 4 years of college as an English major should have taught me as much. Books should come with warning labels: may disrupt sleeping and eating patterns, causing all biological functions to be thrown into disarray and confusion. But only the really good ones. Such as The Bright Forever, which I am currently 2/3 finished with. I can't wait to get to the end.

I recommend....

JoniKay, Kimberly, Kimberly's sister Sarah, and I went to see The Holiday last night.....I recommend it to anyone who enjoys extremely implausible love stories that happen during Christmas. Luckily, I am one of those people, so it was quite enjoyable, and perhaps one of the cutest movies I've seen in quite some time.

But my favorite part was Kimberly, in the middle of the movie, saying, "I love old men!...I have always said, old men are the best!"

And my other favorite part was walking into the theater with JoniKay and having to fight off the crowds in order to save 2 seats for Kimberly and Sarah...and by fight off the crowds I mean try not to sit too close to the ONE other person in the theater. I think there were around 10 people there by the time the credits rolled, so that wasn't too bad. Movies on Monday night = excellent. Movies on Friday night = lots of high school kids, as per our James Bond viewing experience.

Corny? Yes. Unrealistic? Yes. Cute? Absolutely.

Tiny little miracles.....

So I'll admit....I'm definitely not a Scrooge about Christmas, but I can tend to be a bit of a "Scrooge" (if you will) about....babies. It just seems that everyone is having babies right now, and it's a bit overwhelming.

But truthfully, I love babies. They are tiny and amazing and the most perfect little things ever.

Last night I had the honor of seeing the littlest baby I've ever seen....Lucas called me at around 1:30 this morning to say that his niece was due to arrive in about half an hour and invited me to come to the hospital. By the time I got there, they had just brought this tiny little squirmy thing into the room....Keira....and she was just as perfect as could be. Weighing in at just shy of six pounds, she was so tiny, so brand-new, so little....I just couldn't get over it. So I have had my first newborn experience.... Lucas claims that he is nervous about having a niece and would rather have had a nephew, but I keep telling him that little girls are the best thing in the world. I think now that Keira is here he will start believing me.

Luckily I had my camera with me (although I have yet to download my pictures, so there will be none for now....)--which is an important life lesson: always carry your camera. You never know when you will need it to capture the important things in life....especially if everyone else forgot their cameras. Sometimes I think about taking my camera out of my purse, but I never do. I am so smart...s-m-r-t....

Thanks, Laura...

So I would like to thank my new "addiction" (facebook)for providing me with today's blog fodder...and Laura Schnake, who belongs to the group from which I stole this.


You know you are from Springfield, Illinois when:

~You could give a Lincoln tour since you were 12
~You know what a horseshoe/pony shoe is
~You have gone to a LHS/SSEHS/SHS basketball game just to be cute
~The Illinois State Fair makes your life worth living for 10 stright days
~You have hung out at Wal-Mart. Alot.
~You know that Springfield is home and birthplace of the greatest rivalry ever: Cubs vs. Cardinals
~You didn’t swim in the lake all summer because of leptospirosis
~You know what leptospirosis is
~You know the 12 Pains of Christmas
~You DO NOT go to Douglas Park
~You are accustomed to everything closing at 9
~You can identify what part of Illinois someone is from because you don’t have an accent
~You make a point to not rub Lincoln’s nose
~You have at least one thing with 103.7 WDBR on it
~You remember “Da Bomb”, Assylum, and Eclipse
~You know what the PCCC is
~You know and love the pink elephant

Oh no.....

I have a new internet addiction. Let me rephrase...it has not yet become an addiction, but I do have a new internet pastime....it's all Josh's fault that I now have a facebook account, although so far it has proved rather exciting. You know how when you get something new you can barely contain yourself from being occupied with it? That's the stage that facebook and I are currently in. I'm sure the novelty will wear off shortly, but so far it has proven to be rather amusing.

I could not make myself get out of bed this morning...not because I was tired, but because (I swear) it was about 40 degrees in my room. And I am not lying. The only good thing about winter is that it is a rather cuddly season.....it involves sweaters and blankets and mittens and such. Don't get me wrong, I'd take flip-flops any day to snow, but it does have its moments. Not to mention Christmas lights. I am a recent fan of Christmas lights. I love how festive they make everything look....although I must admit that I am not a huge fan of the "new" Christmas colors--blue, pink, and all those other weird colors. Those do not say Christmas to me.

I highly recommend:
Sarah McLachlan's new Christmas CD. I love it.

I recommend:
Getting dressed up at least once during the holiday season in something that makes you feel sexy. Oh yes, that's right. Lucky for me, I have several holiday events to attend. And a wonderful boyfriend who frequently takes me out on dates. :o)

I do NOT recommend:
Running across any parking lots. There is a great risk of falling. Be very careful.

Why....

...are bathrooms always cold?

Seriously, this does not make sense. For obvious reasons, you would expect a restroom to be warm, right? But no. I used the restroom this morning at the church and it was at least fifteen degrees colder in there than in the rest of the building. And the water is always cold too. So using the restroom in the winter is never an enjoyable experience.

Lucas and I saw The Fountain last night...if anyone else has seen it, please submit your feedback. I am interested....Lucas has his own opinions, so I would like to hear some others.

Snow Day

It's the first snow day of the year.

Breanne's school is closed today, so we are partying it up at home.

And by partying, I mean.....watching movies while I mend things and then update my blog. It's really very exciting.

This is what it looks like outside: