Gobble Gobble!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. A lot of things have been swirling through my mind (as always). But, first thing's first...what have I been up to?

It's Thanksgiving break, and after the football game on Saturday (LU vs. Elon...LU won!) my dad and I hightailed it outta there, westward-bound. We stayed overnight in Lexington, KY and then woke up on Sunday morning. to drive the rest of the trip to St. Louis. Since then, I've seen some old friends, had fountain Ski, and eaten some Pizza Market pizza (thank the One above for chicken/bacon/ranch pizza!!!).

Last night was a perfect night. My brother and I met up with my mom, sister, 3 nieces and nephew to go see the Shrine in Belleville. For those that don't know, it's the slang word for a really cool Christmas display over at Our Lady of the Snows. The lights were beautiful, as always. Inside, there was a Christmas tree room with a bunch of trees decorated with different cultural influences, like from Ireland, Kenya, Japan, etc. There was also a kid's room with a bunch of different crafts to do, dress-up, and a puppet show! Of course I colored, made my own button, and an ornament. Plus I learned the song from the puppet show, complete with motions.

PS: I rode a camel!!! It was so cool!

I have a dress for the band banquet. It has a white bust with a bit of rufflage and sort of has an empire waist. The rest of it is black satin, and it flares out sort of like an A-line dress would at the bottom. It of course has black tulle and white straps, I believe. It's beautiful! Pictures of course will always come later.

I saw JASON MRAZ finally for the first time. I've been waiting at least 5 years to see him in concert and I was deeply pleased with how it went. He's really talented...a very creative individual. He blends so many different elements of music together that you would never think to combine. I've got a few concert clips (lucky for me, he allows photos and recording at his shows!) that I will post eventually.

Last night was something remarkable. My brother and I had a really long conversation about a bunch of family-related things. We dug down a little deeper than I had expected, but it was so nice to be able to talk with him. I understand a bit more about our family and I learned a lot. We talked for about 3 hours, I believe. The older I get, the better our relationship gets. :)

I can't wait to be a teacher. Just thought I'd say that!

I'm so excited for Christmas. Thanksgiving is tomorrow, but I've always been a Christmas gal. I want to be one of those women who do a bunch of homeade things for the holiday, not only baking, but making decorations, too. I want to be a homey kind of person.

I'm striving to be well-rounded in all areas of my life. It's a slow process.

I can't wait to see Taylor again! But of course, I always have work to do so I can't talk to him for a bit. Plus my cell is dead. DLP classes show no mercy...I have a draft of a paper due Sunday.

Ay que fabulosa!

Claymation Christmas!

Alright, I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but when cold weather hits, my brain automatically turns to Christmas. Currently, I'm watching Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas on YouTube. My parents recorded this onto a VHS tape way back in the day. It's a tradition for myself that I watch all the old holiday shows/specials that we taped from the 80's and 90's. It keeps me grounded. I guess I just like to feel like a little girl again and remember when everything was A-OK with my family. I love all of my family so much, and sometimes it's really hard to enjoy the holiday season because there's so much drama going on with everyone. I hate having to split my time between family members. It's hard to celebrate unity when your parents are divorced. I love my parents so much, and I guess I understand why they had to divorce.....I just wish for Christmas, they'd put on a happy face and be in one place for once.

I really enjoy holiday nostalgia. :)

I've been working on Christmas shopping lately. I'm so excited to start the holiday season. I'm going to try harder this year more than ever to make this a fabulous Christmas for everyone, especially Austin. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who can understand him...I know how it feels to have dueling parents. I know he loves both his mom and his dad, and I love my mom and dad, but it really is hard. The problem is that he's the only child, so he gets caught in the middle more. I will be doing my best to make this a wonderful winter for him.

I'm so pumped to see my family!! For New Year's, I'm planning on spending it with Taylor....hopefully my dad will give in and buy me a plane ticket. If he won't, I'll buy my own. It will be wonderful to actually celebrate a major holiday with a boyfriend. No, it's not Thanksgiving or Christmas, but it's a start. It's something special. :)

I think I'm almost done compiling a list of goals. I want to be a well-rounded, multi-faceted person. I want to be a better person. This list can help me do that! I will eventually post it.

Today I went to the dentist. I have to get a root canal. :( Oh well. At least I'll be able to chew on that sight of my mouth again! My dad and I went to a new Mexican restaurant, and apparently the waiter was interested in me. I didn't notice, which is definitely a good thing. I only have eyes for Taylor, and I couldn't be happier about that! :)

I'm in looooooooove! It's a wonderful thing! It's a wonderful life with someone who loves you in return!

Just some thoughts

Thanksgiving is coming. In about two weeks, actually. I'm really excited to go back to St. Louis for the holidays. Thanksgiving is kind of a teaser, though. But one week back there will give me just enough to manage until Christmas. After my last final, I get to have about one month to soak up all the sights, fabulosity, and ease of the area. I will be visiting the people I miss the most, eating at my favorite places, drinking Cherry Ski from DAIRY KING, and maybe hitting up the Lory for a movie.

Here are some things I can't wait to do when I get back:
1) Eat at Dairy King. This is pretty much my most favorite restaurant of all time. The Ski tastes FABULOUS..it doesn't taste that way anywhere else. The fries are to die for, and the ice cream is like no other.

2) Go to the Jason Mraz Concert. Okay, I've never done this before, so it won't be nostalgic or anything, but I've been waiting for seriously at least 5 years to see this man in concert. One of my dreams will finally come true!

3) Visit my high school. If I don't get a chance to do this during Thanksgiving, that's alright...I can always do it during Christmas break. My school was so small..it was nice knowing everyone. It will be refreshing to go to a place with a bit over 400 people in it....as opposed to LU, where there's about 10,0000 or so.

4) PIZZA DAY! This was a tradition in high school. Pizza day was once a week, and a group of my friends and I would order it from the local pizzeria, have it delivered to school, and enjoy it there. It was so special!

5) Christmas shopping in the city. There's nothing like going to the Galleria and taking in all of the decorations and music as you travel from store to store or going downtown to the old Famous-Barr building (now it's Macy's) and shopping on all seven floors!

6) City lights. One thing my family does around Christmastime (there's a few up during Thanksgiving) is drive around St. Louis and look at the lights. Especially downtown, like Keiner Plaza, Lindell Boulevard, the zoo...

7) City Activities. Ice skating in Forest Park, the train display downtown, Science Center, the zoo...

8) Visiting with my friends. I don't get to see them but a few times a year now, and so I cherish every moment I get to spend with them.

9) Being with my family again. In particular, my neices and nephews. I swear...those children are my heart and soul. I helped raise those little pipsqueaks...I'm so proud of all of them. They're all so special and talented and smart. :)

I'm going to compose a big long list of things I want to do with my life...some goals, if you will.

Now, about today. Today was odd. After "The Convo Fiasco," (aka things not going as planned, so I get upset, frustrated, and not-intentionally take it out on the boyfriend) I had to sober my attitude up really quick. Taylor is really good at being patient with me and cheering me up...so it didn't take long. :D I learned how to complete the matrix for a 12-tone series in music theory. It got me really excited...I love learning so much. Then I found out we actually had rehearsal today....Chic-Fil-A for lunch....turned into spilling a peppermint milkshake in my dad's car. So, I'm here at home. Not in trouble anymore, but making sure my dad knows I didn't do it on purpose.

Life is funky sometimes.

Whistle While You Work

So, here I sit. In the high chair. In the computer lab. At school.

I don't have any homework to do today. So I'm catching up on The Office.

This is the glory of my job. Monitor the studies of our beloved athletes, help them out if/when they need it, do my own homework, relax when I'm done, and get paid all at the same time.

This job is perfect.

I find that I can't sleep very well at night anymore and I don't know why. I wake up in the middle of the night, thinking about Taylor. I seriously hate being away from him for very long. It's the weirdest thing...I've never been like this before. I can't fall asleep for hours, and when I do, I wake up just a bit later...then it's hard to fall asleep again. I find myself just craving him...it's hard to actually put my body at rest when he's not with me. I suppose this may be a sign or something.

I've never depended on someone like this before. It's sort of....refreshing.

I've finished up his gifts for his birthday and for Christmas. Now I get to tease him for awhile! :P Just in case, I'm not posting what I have for him until he gets them.

Today marching band rehearsal was pretty short, which is awesome, considering the day gets shorter and shorter and colder and colder. Got to eat dinner early. In theology I started to make a list of possible Christmas gifts for my family. I need to investigate this further! I need to call my sister, my mother, and my brother. Plus, I need to scout out the whole scene at my brother's when I get there for Thanksgiving.

I cannot WAIT to go back to St. Louis. I miss the midwest so much. I thought I'd be ridiculously happy to be away from there. The truth is, it's my home. I hate being away. I miss Illinois....Seriously. The things and traditions I know and love are so far. At least I can see them when I go back!! I made a list of holiday traditions and things that I love about the St. Louis area. I'll maybe do a little ditty about that one day later.

I bought some ornaments from the Hallmark store in the mall. I plan on getting one more...I got one for my nephew, and my brother....the Grinch for Austin and the leg lamp for JD...or for my dad, I haven't decided. The last one will hopefully be Flick getting his tongue stuck to the pole. That one will probably go to JD now that I think about it. The plan is give these ornaments to my favorite men after Thanksgiving dinner is over, because we decorate the tree the day after Turkey Day. Something a little special for the guys. :)

I have another small ornament...I think I may give it to Taylor's mom. His family comes this weekend..I got it for free, and I don't really need it. Plus she does nice things for me all the time, so this would sort of show my gratitude for her kindness.

I was just surprised with a smoothie from my coworker. God blesses me with the best people, I swear! :)

King of Pop

I just spent about two hours watching Michael Jackson on Youtube. Now, you can say what you want about him, but you have to admit he's a fabulous entertainer. He's so talented...he invented the moonwalk! He dances like no other and his creative intuition is matchless.

Here's what I think about him...He has been under the public's eye since he was 5 years old. Kindergarten-aged. He did not have a normal childhood at all. He has been under scrutiny for years by so many different people, like his father, producers, record labels, everyone. Imagine the enormous amount of pressure he must have experienced growing up. Precision in song is no easy feat...put that together with super-sharp dance moves...Constantly rehearsing, trying to get better and better. Always under watch, he dealt with tons of self-esteem issues. Show business holds beauty in such high regard, it's easy to feel insufficient. Battling a skin disease as well does not help matters at all in the self image department. While he continued to blow the minds of audiences world wide, I think that life just got him and his mind started to fall apart. No matter what he has or has not done, I don't care. Look at the man...Michael is such a humanitarian...he has a huge heart for children and supports various causes around the world. He gives his time and money to help others. I refuse to believe that MJ has nothing but goodness within his soul. If he's wronged someone, I sincerely believe that it was unintentional. Like I said, say what you want, but you can't deny the facts. The King of Pop and his musical legacy will forever live on.

I will be singing, "The Way You Make Me Feel" all day tomorrow. And possibly moonwalking. Woo!

Goodness me

One of the things I would like to do is to keep a record of my life. While a regular diary is cool to do, I know myself...this is just cooler to do.

I went to the VMI football game today with my dad. It was really cool to go somewhere with him. We made the mistake of sitting on the VMI side instead of the Liberty side, and there were crazed, football fanatic military men and women everywhere. Had a pretty delicious hot dog, though. I don't normally eat hot dogs. I don't like the way they're cooked in the home or even really in restaurants. I try to save my hot dog-eating experiences for sporting events. They just taste better there. My dad and I also shared this megaphone full of peanuts. Mmm...

So with Sen. Obama being President-elect and all, I feel like I need to put in my two cents. I'm anxious to see what he actually has in store for this country. You all know very well that every politician makes promises he/she can't keep and things may happen that we never saw coming. I'm sure he has some cool stuff planned, and I'm sure he has some not-so-cool stuff in mind. The thing is, we do need to support Sen. Obama and his efforts to make this country better. We should be proud of him for breaking the mold, not making jokes about him (for example: "funny" text messages saying that all white people should report at the cotton fields on Monday or that the presidential limo is going to get spinners and dubs). If you don't agree with him and his views, cool. Don't hate him. Hate does not unify a nation. I know I will be praying for him throughout his term...come on, the man deserves it. He's had 8492058902 death threats already, and that alone can only get worse right now...plus he's going to be making very important decisions for us, so he'll need all the help he can get.

He may not be the president yet, but in 2009, he will be my president and I will support him in the best way I know how.

On another note, I've started working on gifts for Taylor's birthday and for Christmas. Also perhaps our anniversary. I've purchased a few things and I'm really excited about getting it all together for him. I'm such a crazy girlfriend, he deserves the best of everything for putting up with me on a daily basis.

I need to balance my priorities better. I've been doing an okay job lately, but I could be doing better. I need to spend my time efficiently while doing homework so I won't have anything left to do once I get home from work. I want to be able to spend my (very little) free time at home, doing other things, like getting ready for the holidays, being productive (cleaning or cooking), or reading.

It's all do-able.