something new

res⋅o⋅lu⋅tion a determination; a formal expression of intention made

The new year is fast approaching. Every year, I vow to make a resolution and every year, I never do. So I've decided that this year will be my year. And I will write them here so that I can look back and remind myself.

In 2010, I want to:

• try something new
• get straight A's at least one semester
  
• smile more
• spend more time with my family

It's nothing big but it's a start. I'm really going to try to stick to these.

I actually get to check off one thing on my list right in the first month of 2010. Trying something new....

Elizabeth's mom got her and her brother a condo in Park City, Utah over Martin Luther King Jr weekend and they are each allowed to bring one friend. Guess who she picked?!! That's right, MEEEE! We leave January 14th and get back the 19th!! I CAN NOT WAIT!

I've never been skiing before, let alone traveled any farther west than Tennessee. Soo I'm doing 3 different new things - (1) Skiing, (2) going West, and (3) taking a connecting flight. I'm sooo excited! It should be a great experience. Although Mom says my legs will be killing me if I don't strengthen the muscles which means I should probably hit the gym a few times before we go. Maybe that should go on my resolution list too.....? Nah, I'll never stick to that one as hard as I try. lol but hey, at least I'm being honest with myself ;)

came and went

Every year, Christmas seems to come and go faster and faster. This year, it was especially fast. I remember Christmas shopping in a t-shirt and jeans. It was warm pretty much up until the week of Christmas which didn't really put me into the Christmas mood. And the music started playing right after Halloween this year, but I didn't start listening to it until probably the week before Christmas. Just as soon as I get into the mood, before I know it, it's all over. I saw this comic in the paper yesterday and it kind of reminded me of exactly how I'm feeling. Christmas is so overdone before hand that I'm just not into it and then once Christmas has passed, it's all gone. Just like that, at a snap of your finger. I almost wish they would play Christmas music til New Year's and leave all the decorations up just a little longer.


Overall, it was a great Christmas though. We spent Christmas Eve and morning at my parent's house. We went to church the night before Christmas as always and then had Hamburger Helper for dinner. It's always been our tradition. Why? I honestly don't know, but I take comfort in it and enjoy it every year. Then Christmas morning my sister woke us up at 8am and we went down and opened our presents - stockings first. then presents from Santa. then all the rest. It was beautiful chaos. I love Christmas morning. It's so much fun to see all the different colored wrapping paper fly every which way. After all the madness had calmed down, we had donuts for breakfast, our other tradition. Then we packed up the car and headed to Charlotte. Uncle Paul was hosting his first offical holiday dinner at his house. He was very excited. The house was beautifully decorated and the dinner was fantastic. He made a mouth-watering turkey that, as sad as I am to admit, trumps Grandma's at Thanksgiving.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and were able to spend some good quality time with your family. That's always my favorite part of this holiday...being able to spend some time with my family. I hope you were able to really remember the true meaning of Christmas over the holiday as well.

cooperation not included

Every year, my family takes a picture for our Christmas card. Usually it's just of my brother, sister, and me. This year, we took it at the annual sleigh ride in my neighborhood...well I guess, my parent's neighborhood since I no longer live there. It took my mom fifteen different pictures until she finally got one she approved of. Unfortunately, I'm not exaggerating. Do you know how bad my mouth hurt from smiling after that?! Oh well. The card turned out pretty good and my mom was happy with it. I still think it wasn't all that great, but I wasn't about to sit there for another fifteen pictures. And of course my brother and I gave (and still give) my mom so much crap for taking a billion pictures of us before she found the one she liked.

I no longer am allowed to laugh.

I tried to take a Christmas picture of my babies (Kobie and Piper). Now I know why it's so hard. Just like kids, kitties don't sit still. When one is looking at the camera, the other one isn't. Then when I finally get one looking, the other one jumps off. Or is too busy playing with the tree. Forget trying to take a picture of both of them at the same time. So here is our little photo shoot for our Christmas pictures....

The first and only picture of both of them. I finanlly gave up trying to get a picture of both of them. So i did each one seperately....

Piper kept rubbing up on the tree...

...or chewing on the branches.

And Kobie decided she was too interested in the lights to look at the camera.

The sad part is, these are only the best of the worst pictures lol

So here is my final product. Two seperate pictures of my babies with our Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! With love from Kobie ♥

MERRY CHRISTMAS! With love from Piper ♥

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MY LITTLE FAMILY TO YOURS :)

why i'm smiling

I've had a rough couple of days. But when life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. So here are my reasons to smile right now:

1. Christmas movies are on TV right now.
2. I've finally finished my Christmas shopping.
   
3. Christmas is in a few days!
4. I'm going to Charlotte to see my uncle!
5. Kobie slept on my tummy today! She does still love me :)
6. I have to type with one hand right now because Kobie is busy licking my other one while I try to keep her from falling off my lap.
7. Sweater slipper boots are super comfy!
   
8. The year is almost over, 2010 here I come...
9. I had a fun night out Saturday with my roommate Lauren, who I haven't gone out with in a while.
   
10. Sleeping in has occurred a lot this break, which is much needed.
    
11. I got a Christmas present from my boss for the first time in 3 years of working there.
12. I discovered 100 calorie ice cream sandwiches, and they are just as good as the normal ones!
13. I went to the dentist, and again, didn't have any cavities.
14. I ended this semester with 4 A's and 2 B's...my best grades for any college semester to date!
15. I have great friends who are always there for me. I love them.
    

PB&J

it's 1:55am on a saturday night (well i guess technically sunday morning) and I just made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. i haven't had one of these in ages. hmm probably since my freshman year of college. i forgot how much i like them. except i don't have milk which is kind of disappointing. oh well, i'm still enjoying it.

now kobie and piper are trying to steal it from me. i guess that's what i get for eating it in bed.

why does making one simple little sandwich provoke so many thoughts?

eating pb&j reminds me of elementary school. i don't know why since i'm pretty sure i didn't even eat them in elementary school. daddy always use to make me cold cut sandwiches or wraps for lunch. but when he did make me pb&j, he would always cut the crust off because i don't like crust. i have the best daddy ever. i miss having him make me lunch. welcome to the real world, i guess...

it also reminds me of how simple life use to be. remember the days of elementary school when liking a boy didn't lead to broken hearts. my little sister (10 yrs old) has had a "boyfriend" since second grade. his name is evan. i asked her the other day if she ever had playdates with evan. her response: "well no. but i chase him around the playground." haha ohh how i wish life was that easy again.

another reason life was so simple, school wasn't stressful. of course, back then i thought it was. i hated my teachers for giving me too much homework so that i couldn't go out and play before dinner. but looking back that was nothing compared to what i have now. i never had all-nighters back then. now it's quite common, unfortunately.

it's funny how when you're little, you wish to be grown up. once you get there, looking back, it was kinda nice to be little. but i definitely don't wish to be little again. i miss certain things but i like my grown up, crazy, hectic, stressful, beautiful life and i wouldn't trade it for the world. i'm very happy with the way my life has turned out. sure there's bumps in the road, but they make me a stronger and much better person.

so i leave you with this quote... "sometimes being an adult is exactly what you imagined it would be when you were five: staying up late and eating Lucky Charms for dinner." i thought it was cute. only i guess for this post it should be eating PB&J for dinner. oh well. back to my peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

freedomm!

I can let out a loud sigh of relief now. Finals are over. It's been a tough few weeks - the stress started to get to me. I was running on little to no sleep. Tears were constantly right there. I fought them off a lot. But I have survived. I made it through, alive. Exhausted, warn out, dark circles, hair a mess, back hurting...but I'm in one piece. And for that, I'm grateful.

Now, I have a month and two days off (but who's counting lol). I will be using that time to work and spend time with my family. It is a much welcomed break. Since I'm enjoying the feeling of the weight being lifted off my sholders, here are some good things going on:

• Winter Break - one month and 2 days of enjoying NO school work
• Christmas shopping - I'm almost done!! I'm always a last minute shopper and this year I've managed to get presents for everyone but my mom. That's a huge accomplishment for me :)
• Christmas - can you believe it's only two weeks away?! Where has the time gone?? Can't wait to spend some happy holiday time with my family
• New Years - I don't know where I'll be or who I'm celebrating it with, but I'm just excited about a new year. I hope 2010 is a good one.

I love this season!! Seeing all the lights and decorations and hearing all the music, just makes me want to smile :)) I'm feeling great for the first time in a few weeks. I'm stress free and I'm lovin' it! Hope everyone's enjoying their holiday seasone as much as me!

the season of giving

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
toys in every store...

Ahh, I love this time of year. Christmas is coming!
Tis the season of giving.

One problem though: I'm the worst gift giver ever! I can never think of anything to get anyone. Some people have the natural ability to buy (or even make) great gifts that the gift receiver really enjoy and appreciate. I've tried to be that person, but no matter how hard I try, I've been unsuccessful. This year, I've had to narrow my list as I'm a little tight on money. Which means I've also narrowed my budget for each person. So it looks like my gift giving isn't gonna be improving this year. The great ideas that I do have turn out to be out of my price range. Go figure!

I find it the hardest to buy for my dad. He never really needs anything and doesn't ask for much, so when I try to find something he will actually use or appreciate, I come up short. My brother is pretty easy. I just buy him some Duke paraphernalia and he's happy. My sister use to be a piece of cake but as she's grown older, she is becoming harder to figure out. I want to get her something that she'll open and make her eyes grow wide but that she'll acutally use for longer than a month. I've seemed to run into that problem the last couple years with her. Mom is probably the easiest to buy for. I have a few ideas for her this year but we'll see if I can afford some of them.

Well, it's about to be shopping time for me - and I'm really dreading it this year. Wish me luck because I'm gonna need it. If you have any ideas, sugguestions would be greatly appreciated :)