Holiday Merriment

'Tis the season!! Here are a few of the activities I've taken part in so far (who knows why I'm such a glutton for the bullet lists):

• taking crisp winter walks and relishing the scent of fireplaces around the neighborhood
• making appointments for a certain wedding that's approaching
• baking and decorating gingerbread cookies in 4 colors of frosting (although I could never find cookie cutters for gingerbread people, so instead they were more like random gingerbread items and creatures)
• wrapping just about everyone's presents except for my own
• making spritz cookies with my mom's good old cookie press
• decorating both our main big tree and a smaller tree just for the Vienna ornaments :)
  
• currently enjoying Mexican hot chocolate (just the package of powder and hot milk with a bit of ground cinnamon and vanilla extract added)
• listening to old Christmas CDs (especially Glenn Miller, which sounds awesome coming out of our antique-looking CD player)
• coming up with funny questions about Ben for an upcoming shower

OK, so the last one isn't really holiday-oriented, but still fun anyway. And it's really awesome to fill up my sleep meter completely each night before I get up in the morning, although last night I dreamt that I was up until 2:30 AM at an event I couldn't get out of before starting revisions to a paper that was due the next day, along with a final in the same class. My subconscious might be having trouble accepting the idea that I've gone almost a week without getting less than 8 hours of sleep on any given night.

So basically, right now I'm all about rejuvenation, creature comforts, and holiday stuff. If I can find all the ingredients, I might try some new recipes today or tomorrow for supper. I've also come to the conclusion that I'm something of a homebody, because most evenings I am most content to snuggle down with a family member, a good book, or the remote. (My favorite snuggle buddy in days of old, our beloved pet Mittens, is not around any more; otherwise he would have been at the top of the list.)

And now various sentimental holiday forces have taken hold, so here's a photo tribute to the dear old guy. Who wouldn't want to cuddle with such a handsome, sweet fellow?

wow...Christmas

Warning: This post qualifies as an official blogging binge. In terms of length, this one's not for the fainthearted. No one need feel required to read every word.

Whew!! It's almost surreal being back home, realizing that I'm actually done with classes and most of my grad school app stuff. Crazy, I'm tellin' ya. It's so good to be here. For such a long time, it seemed like the juries, tests, papers, projects, and applications would never be done, so now that they are, it doesn't feel completely real. It's amazing, the amount of stress the human body can endure. That doesn't mean it's healthy, of course, but with the grace of God I survived. (I know I'm being pretty melodramatic here, but fellow students, I'm sure you understand!) This semester I worried that the GRE alone would eat me (but John convinced me this wasn't the case), so trying to put out fires during dead week and finals week were enough to make a crabby Christy (which is fairly unusual, I'd like to think). Finally, congrats to all those of you who just completed similarly daunting tasks (or should I say, groups of tasks).

Thankfully, IT'S OVER!!! (in Strong Bad voice) It's been a looong time since I caught up on Strong Bad emails or anything else on that site. Maybe I'll have to go see what's new one of these days. But not until I watch my high school friend win America's Next Top Model, courtesy of the invention of the VHS tape. (Is "VHS tape" a redundant phrase like "ATM machine" and "GRE test"? If so, I apologize.)

Anyway...stuff I'll be up to over the holidays:

• Wedding planning!! As much as I can handle. As much as it takes. As much as my time at home will allow. Yesssss!!!!! (I've been denying myself wedding planning in favor of studying almost as long as I can remember, so this will be a treat indeed. Ben, prepare for lots of stuff to be decided long-distance. I won't say "without you," but...well, pretty much.)
• finalizing gift shopping. Just realized that I need to help Santa find one more stocking stuffer, so one of these days I'll have to brave the mall or embark on some similar expedition.
• personalizing a cool gift for someone who probably doesn't read this, but I won't mention it just in case.
• maybe going to my own bridal shower?!? sounds like fun times but I haven't been informed yet of when it is...hmm...
• eating the rest John's honey gingerbread cookies. yum. They came in handy at the Lincoln airport when my flight was delayed over two hours and I got the munchies. BTW, my mom said cardamom is a potent spice, so that may have had something to do with how...delicious they were. :P
• waiting eagerly for Christmas so I can watch my parents get the cool stuff I got for them (yes, this is actually why!!)
• probably traveling to see family, although I don't know when just yet
• being sad that the video podcast of the pancakes does not play on my iPod
• missing Ben, but at least I have a sparkly thing to look at this year
• hoping for a candle that smells like a Christmas tree (yay fire! but I was a good kid at the service this year although I scared Andrea by sitting next to her...)
• enjoying the relaxing time away from academic responsibilities
• hopefully hanging out with high school friends while I miss college friends (unfortunately, I'm realizing that this is the way life will always be, never having all your friends at once)
  
• working on my UCARE project (at least that's what I'm telling myself right now)
• practicing for my March recital (ditto)
• doing some studying for possible assistantship interviews this spring
• finishing Memoirs of a Geisha, which I started in the Lincoln airport yesterday. So far it has been worth the money I spent on it, which is a lot for me to say because I hardly ever actually purchase books.
• reading more theory books for my honors thesis
• drawing up possible plans for the future of music at the Lutheran Center next semester
  

Hmm. I have lots of stuff to do. But at no point during this next few weeks should I feel like I'm having teeth pulled or anthing, which I can't exactly say for the past couple weeks, with all the paperwork and deadlines, etc.

As a reward for those of you who actually made it to the end of this really really long post, here's a link to the snowglobe I posted around the holidays last year. Those of you who have been with Morblog long-term may remember it. For those who haven't -- it's a must-see. Trust me. In fact, I'll probably repost it a few days from now as its own post, in case people miss this one. But enough of my babbling already:

Holiday Snowglobe Watch the people for a little while, then be sure to try shaking it. Hehe...I really love this thing. It hasn't gotten old from last year. Does this make me a bad person?

The West Wing Goes Exotic

I gave Ben a DVD set of The West Wing for Christmas. However, when he put it into his computer to watch an episode, the computer recognized the disc as "Bellydance Surprise: Queen of Flowers." It also graced the screen with a picture of an exotic-looking woman who was apparently ready to belly dance on the screen. Fortunately, the episodes themselves are fine. Apparently the government now supports belly dancing. ;)

welcome to dead week

I finally found a bit of time during which I can blog -- from Westbrook, of all places. The end of the year is pretty crazy. That's about all I have to say. Tests, projects, performances, the Christmas service, papers...obviously planning the Christmas service is the most fun. Getting done with stuff is pretty fun too. When I'm this busy I almost feel like a bump on a log, which is the opposite of how I actually am. It's because I sense the world going by without my noticing. Busy equals getting really absorbed in stuff. This is good for efficiency but bad for things like contemplation, peace and relaxation. Oh, well. The Christmas season is upon us. It won't be long now. Take care everyone, and stay alive this week.