a child is born

1. it's christmas eve!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!
2. got to talk to my boyfriend : ), had a delicious lunch and then went to my grandparents' for christmas part one and then to church! love the christmas eve service; it's always been my favorite!
3. watched a christmas carol, continuing with tradition, and it was wonderful as always. 

i hope everyone had a great christmas eve and has an even better christmas day! it's my FAVORITE day of the WHOLE year. can't wait! merry christmas to all, and to all a good night! and...god bless us all, everyone. keep it in your heart why we are celebrating this beautiful time of year. remember those less fortunate than you and keep all in your prayers and thoughts. do all you can to help and to spread good cheer. focus on the important things and keep a smile on all day. love and merry christmas eve all around!

swan queen & christmas eve

1. such a long day today! i was in town for over 12 hours. had my car worked on, went to lunch, saw my sister, ate with the family, went to see black swan!
2. seeing my friend for lunch was so great! he has been in spain all semester and i missed him oh so much. we got to talk and catch up and have fun and it was really nice. boyfriend is up next.
3. can't wait for christmas eve tomorrow! my favorite holiday is about to be upon us!!! love love love.

black swan was such a creepy movie. it (apparently...didn't know this before i saw it...) is the story of a ballerina's struggle with herself and with reality. she is playing the part of the black swan and the white swan in an interpretation of swan lake and is too goody goody to be able to play the black swan believably but is perfect for the white swan role. she goes crazy trying to be perfect but at the same time not perfect. good movie but has some debatable elements. more importantly, tomorrow is christmas eve. YAY! but really, it was a good movie and has a beautiful score and was wonderfully filmed. i definitely recommend it. and apparently true grit is a great movie as well, so i'll go ahead and recommend that for anyone not interested in a ballet movie.

even the penguins

1. shew! been awhile since i've blogged i feel like, but that's just because i posted early yesterday. 
2. last night was fun! it was nice being in the big cabin and going ice skating today and being with old friends. we are all different now, but still get along well.
3. i have such a busy day tomorrow! but i am excited. it is also a long day, so i need to get to bed soon.

just some thoughts...hypocrisy. tolerance. logic. those are my three words that i think are important to remember. i am over the hypocrisy. it is infuriating and petty. logic is so important. not using logic is a surefire way to make me angry and it's also completely nonsensical (clearly...) so i don't understand why some people can't see logic. but that brings me, very appropriately, to tolerance. this is something we ALL need to practice and that means me too. i have to be understanding and tolerant and open to possibility. so that's that.

big day!

1. i am not bringing my computer tonight, and even if i did i am not sure i would have internet. so i am blogging now! earliest blog post ever? maybe...i'll have to go back and check in 10 days. 
2. got my haircut today, thank the lord. it still looks a little post-haircut unsettled but i think i'll like it once i give it a few days. didn't have time to get my car washed/detailed since i was meeting yayas for lunch. 
3. leaving soon for an overnight with my friends for a 21st birthday party! whoo hoo! 

i am trying to take this all one day at a time. the time leading up to christmas always seems to pass so slowly! but i know that i will look back in a few weeks and it will all seem like the blink of an eye. hope everyone is enjoying their break so far and that people get to spend time with those they love over the holidays! i have to finish up packing before i leave so this is it for now!

mars!

1. lunar eclipse tonight! should be pretty cool if the cloud cover isn't too much. it'll be freezing though. oh well...hopefully it's a nice christmas-y red.
2. had a pretty busy day today but not busy enough! i want the time to fly. hopefully starting tomorrow, the countdown to christmas will go by super quickly! and then the countdown continues. 
3. love actually quotes: "we're here!" "i hate uncle jamie!" "let's go get the shit kicked out of us by love!" those are my top favorites.

i wish i could just stop this right now. i don't really have stuff to say that i haven't said already in the past 350 some odd days (i don't do math). i'm bored of this by now and i'm sure the few people who read it are bored too. but i will keep going and maybe you will keep reading and we can all be bored together. it just seems like i have said everything i can say. and the holiday season is all full of happy and shiny things anyway, which i have certainly blogged enough about. basically all that is left is for me to reflect on the year this has been and re-read all my posts. there only 11 short days until i blog my last post (for this blog, anyway) but it seems such so much longer than that. what am i possibly going to say for eleven more posts? i don't have funny or witty things to blog about anymore. all my deep and/or sad posts seem to have been written already too. perhaps after tonight's lunar eclipse i will have some spark of inspiration to write about the wonders of the universe and the mysteries of light and shadow. but thinking about it, i feel as if i have written that post before. it is all so much closer than i think and i know i will wake up and 2010 will be over. i am actually feeling bittersweet about it. it's been such a great year...how can 2011 top it? then again, to think that 2010 is the best year and all are downhill from here is a bit unrealistic and also a bit too pessimistic (because...what if it is true?). but i am banking on 2011 at least being really fun...but i have a bit of an ominous feeling about that year. perhaps it is because i am wary of...things right now. i am sure 2011 will start to look up right as 2010 is leaving me (you cruel lover). but i am waking up in just a few hours to witness this miracle of nature, cloud permitting, and must get to bed so i can get a third of my sleep now and two-thirds after.

just want to sleep

1. such a long day. and tiring. church was early this morning and then training was frustrating. then the funeral at two. that was really hard. then the family christmas party which was really fun. 
2. i'm just ready for bed. i figure the earlier i go to bed, the quicker the days will go by. i feel guilty for wanting them to go by but i'm just so ready for it to be over. 
3. i can't wait for christmas. unless i do interesting things on the days leading up to christmas, this will probably be one of these three things i list up until then. christmas eve, christmas day, new year's eve, new year's day, january second. 

i think tonight it's important to talk about support. i am so grateful for the support system i have. it's been a tough but great year and i'm thankful to be getting through it unscathed (knock on wood...refer back to superstitious post if necessary). i hope these final few weeks end on a high note and we all enter the new year safe and happy and ready for a new beginning. so tonight my bucket list item is random but a good one (for me). make sure that i make some sort of new year's resolution EVERY year. and stick to it.

no time like the PRESENT

1. pretty good day today. woke up without an alarm, wrapped christmas presents (!), went to the gym, and chilled at da house. 
2. watched this movie the spanish prisoner tonight and it was pretty confusing! but good. and i could totally work for the fbi based on my deduction skills. 
3. grades are in (almost...they're reported at least...) A, A, A, A-, A-. YAY for a good semester! it makes me feel all accomplished and stuff.

i am not looking forward to tomorrow. it is going to be a very hard day. funeral at 2. but i have a family christmas party that night, so i hope that will cheer me up. it'll be nice to see most everyone and to be around good food and even better company. also, the eggnog is always delicious. i'm sure it'll be back to the gym on monday for me! but that's okay-my holiday season will be eat ALOT and exercise some. hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far!

break mode

1. YAY! I AM HOME! and could not be happier to be here. i woke up and packed all my stuff and said goodbye to the girls and drove back! had a good night with my mom and now i am going to bed early and getting ready to be in break mode for a few weeks.
2. i am very happy about my grades so far...an A- in italian, an A in film and culture, an A in my genocide class, and an A in my southern lit class. WAHOO! i needed grades like that after last semester. 
3. hope everyone has safe travels this weekend and i can't wait for christmas! one weeeeek. 

is it obvious that i am happy? haha. i'm in a very good mood and i hope it stays this way for most of break. the holidays are always stressful to some extent but i have a game plan to deal with stressful situations that arise. looking forward to this weekend and this upcoming week. so much to do and so excited to do it! but also...absolutely nothing i have to do and that feels great! i am so blessed to have the life i do and the family i do and the friends i do. praise be! the holiday season makes me so happy.

cool yule

1. had a pretty stressful day. final at 4 and it was icy and sleeting outside all day so walking around was even more hazardous than usual. before the final i was writing for an email exam and also studying. finished my email exam finally...took forever. 
2. procrastination is no more! i am officially done with my fall semester and it feels great! now i just wish christmas would hurry up and get here and then the new year! it's crazy that it's almost over...i can't wait for break!
3. a week until christmas eve! and then it's christmas day! my favorite time of the year. 

this chopped episode is great! it's holiday themed and it is getting me in the holiday spirit even more. it was weird saying goodbye to everyone for a few weeks but i know that we all have great things to look forward to next semester. i am about to go to sleep and wake up at whatever time and then pack up and drive home. YAY!

poor nana

1. what even happened today? i went to lunch with my friend and it was really good to catch up and eat good food. then i studied and wrote some for my email final. can't wait to be done after my 4 pm exam tomorrow!
2. i have to pack and do laundry and all that boring stuff before i can leave though. so that'll get done tomorrow and tomorrow night, then friday morning some too. 
3. 18 days!

not much to talk about tonight! because i am being boring and a lame blogger during exam week. and at the end of the year. it's almost over! i have had such a great year...but i'll get to that post later. today has been pretty crazy. i feel like only my friend group would manage to have a fun and crazy and drama-filled exam week.

too much

1. had a pretty relaxing day. woke up and talked to people, then took a walk in the freezing cold weather. it was good though. i am glad i went. 
2. having a pretty interesting night so far...it's crazy! once again, reading day eve. 
3. have lots to do tomorrow and i am ready for it. had a good meeting today too...but am now trying to stay inside because it's so cold. 

sometimes i get bogged down with everything that is happening but i have to just step outside and get a grip. today's walk helped that. i am considering going on another one tomorrow. if i get enough of my email exam finished and start on my cheat sheet for the exam on thursday then i definitely will. and i need to go get a new battery for my car! before it dies...

ready for thursday

1. it's been another long day. i woke up early and went on campus to write more of paper before my italian final at 12. it was pretty hard but i got out and then finished my paper with not long to spare. 
2. came back to the apartment in freezing weather and sat and vegged all night. i watched tv and talked to my boyfriend and loved it. 
3. still been thinking a lot today. it all weighs heavily on the mind. 

tonight is my night to chill out and go to bed. i need a long and good night's sleep after the past few days. it's definitely been hard and sad and stressful. lots to think about but i have to keep pushing through until christmas break. hopefully things will start to look up by then.

only the good die young

1. this day has been pretty terrible. it started out okay but then i got some really bad news. so it's been downhill from there. 
2. this is my busiest day of finals week, too. i have a paper due at 4:30 tomorrow and a final at noon. so trying to do work has been awful/impossible today.
3. i hope everyone stays safe and warm during the snow storms. 

i just don't have any words tonight. other than i hope everyone stays safe and happy during this holiday season. such a tragedy and just so unexpected. hope we can all learn from this and be smart about our actions. hopefully he'll protect other kids from making the same mistakes. my mantra from earlier in the year was "fly" and i think that is fitting tonight. bucket list item: always do my best to watch out for my friends and surround myself with those who will do the same for me.

cookies.

1. had a not very good day. woke up on the wrong side of the bed and then had to write a paper all day. DA WORST.
2. got an A on my southern lit final essay and an A for the class, so that was basically my high point. 
3. had a qdoba night with friends so that was at least really fun/delicious. 

my friend told me to say alice died. okay. that is just a joke and it's not true and i don't even know anyone named alice. it's a nickname for our other friend. but anyway...there. i said it. i could blog right now but all i can think about is genocide and my migraine and my random night. there was just too much looking at a computer screen for me today and i am paying for it now. so i am going to bed and waking up to finish my paper (hopefully, though i do have time on monday) and then studying italian. ALSO, i decided that i am seeing narnia on monday...probably by myself. but i don't care! i am determined to see it and also want to see it as a matinee and monday or tuesday would be the best day for me. goodnight!

yes, i watched this movie tonight...

1. i'm done with this day. it hasn't been a bad one...in fact, it's been a pretty good one. i am just ready to sleep...i woke up really early and had a semi-productive day, but this weekend is crunch time. 
2. can't wait to give christmas presents!!! it's my favorite part of christmas. 
3. i will be home in one week...how exciting is that?! and just two weeks from then...yay!

i just bought an external hard drive. i figured that since i already went through some hard drive drama, it would be a good idea to get a new one and back up all my files on my own hard drive in case anything happens. i would be devastated to lose all my stuff! so i am not sure if i made that a bucket list item at some point but i know it has been on my to-do list forever...so i just hope nothing bad happens before i get home and have a chance to back up everything! my plan is to work some more on this paper and then go to bed...and then sleep for a good amount of time before having a super productive day tomorrow. finishing my paper tomorrow would be awesome but it is not my ultimate goal. i need to study for italian so maybe splitting up saturday and sunday into halvsies would be a good idea--half genocide paper and half italian studying? BENE.

more pie!

1. i have to wake up so early! and i got not nearly enough sleep last night! ahhh. and there was no point in napping today because i was going to go to bed early...perhaps my nap will be postponed until tomorrow.
2. i got to listen to my psychology idol speak today. and meet him...and talk to him...and he liked my ideas. i should have just shown up in my nerd outfit from last night's party. couldn't have been more appropriate. 
3. in one week my semester will be over and i will be getting ready to head home for the holidays! where has the time gone? i am almost kind of sad that is has gone this fast...but it was a helluva lotta fun. and i am even more excited for next semester!

my new plan: go to the gym tomorrow. haha. i need to start working out again! i need to continue it over break too so my workout clothes are definitely coming home with me. even if i just walk outside that is at least exercise. and i cleaned the apartment today and that definitely burned some calories. plus, the gym will be a good way for me to beat the exam week blues. it officially starts tomorrow, but luckily i'm not having to take an exam until monday. once i get this paper turned in, i will be checked out. hip hip hooray for the holidays!

ldoc!

1. interesting reaction...but what does it mean?!
2. had a good last day of classes...i only had one, haha. but i had two participant sessions to deal with so that wasn't the best. but tomorrow is a reading day so that means i can sleep in. 
3. i am a pumpkin. don't ask questions...

he's on the cusp, can't you see that? that is all i have to say. also, i need to go to bed. right now. goodnight!

kids these days.

1. last day of tuesday classes of 2010! YAY! the day went pretty quickly and i am glad it's over! i finished up all my work on time and get to relax for a day or two. one class tomorrow, two sessions of participants to run, and then FREEDOM. can't wait for tomorrow night.
2. almost wrapped up all my christmas shopping. as i get older, the shopping becomes more difficult. more people to buy for and harder to figure out what to get. sometimes i miss the days of giving coupon books to my parents...haha. 
3. trying to figure out a schedule for my exam week here. it really shouldn't be too bad. i have an italian exam on monday, a 10 page history paper due on monday afternoon, a film and culture exam on thursday (that i can use a cheat sheet on), and an emailed english exam due friday afternoon. 

tonight...oh man. i read this article about cyberbullying and it blew my mind. it is shocking what happens on the internet. i am supposedly of this technology generation and i guess i am since i was addicted to instant messaging when i was in middle school, but i totally missed the facebook and myspace phase for middle and even most of high school. people's ENTIRE LIVES are online now! i mean, hell, look at me--blogging every night because i actually think that people care enough about what i have to say. how arrogant! and granted, i am doing this in part for me but i also enjoy (most of the time) writing about stuff i think people will care about reading. but still. this article just absolutely made me crazy. and so nervous for kids growing up in this environment. basically, what is most threatening about online bullying is the anonymity, the difficulty finding the culprit, and that basically nothing can be done about it. i talked with my roommate about it tonight and was adamant that my kids would not have the online stuff at such a young age...but is that realistic? my parents trusted me to use IM wisely, which i did for the most part, though i was not innocent of participating in cyberbullying and was a victim of it. it was just how my friends were all communicating. and i did have time limits for my screen names, which was definitely a good step, and i was policed to some extent. but the rest of it was all basically up to me--and i turned out okay. so what is the right thing to do? the article is quite long but well worth the read. http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111504/as-bullies-go-digital-parents-play-catch-up it is just so confusing to know how to handle yourself as a kid and as a parent. there are so many fine lines to toe that it becomes exhausting for both parties. i am mainly appalled that the kids who cyber bully are such horrible little demons. how can kids think this stuff is okay?! maybe even i am too far removed from the middle and early high school days to remember how it is being that young and growing up and trying to fit in, but damn. these stories are extreme...which is why they were chosen for the article, i guess. this is just another reason i am a psychology major. i'm just trying to understand adolescents.

safe travels all around.

1. had a great day today! my genocide class is officially over (minus the 10 page paper i have to turn in next monday) and my italian class was really short. i got a lot of work done today too...all i have left is to edit/extend my paper and turn it in by midnight tomorrow!
2. got to talk to most of my favorite people today; it was da best. lots of catching up happened and lots more is to come over the next few weeks! exciting. 
3. getting even more excited by the day for christmas break and next semester! i think that my posts in these last few weeks will be up-and-down a lot of the time but still hopefully contain a lot of exclamation marks. 

it's bedtime for me...i am exhausted and have a long last day of tuesday/thursday classes ahead of me tomorrow. sorry to be boring...i know it's a regular thing for me lately. but i'll get back to posting good things soon, like i said, once classes and exams are OVA. can't wait!

you are beautiful

1. productive day...sort of. finished a paper that is due tuesday and found out that my other two assignments due tuesday aren't due until midnight, yay! and the take home exam i have due on tuesday is only supposed to take me 1.5 hours, so i will knock that out tomorrow.
2. had a fun post-sleepover morning with my friends and then went back to the mall to shop with them, but i did not buy anything. all the snow melted but it was still pretty in some shady parts of town. 
3. talked to my boyfriend today for a not-so-happy reason but all is well now and that is good news. also talked to my parents and they seem to be loving NYC at christmas (how can you not?!) so i am happy for them. and a wee bit jealous...

4 weeeeks. YAY YAY YAY YAY. if you couldn't tell, i am very excited. and in less than 2 weeks i will be home for christmas break! yippee! i feel like once i get past tuesday, things will start looking up. they are not bad now, i just have a fair amount of work to get done. and then a pretty nice exam schedule time-wise that doesn't involve toooo much work. i am still on my everyone-should-be-grateful-this-holiday-season kick so that is what you get to read about tonight. my roommate and i talk a lot about the issues we have with this country. i think they are all legitimate concerns but i always feel a bit guilty. i am so fortunate to live here and to have all the blessings that i do. when those blessings are thrown into jeopardy on a day like today, i realize that even more. it's important to remember that life can change in an instant. i know all this stuff is so cliche and everyone is over it, but it's true. i get irritated when some things become cliche because then people stop listening. but that doesn't make them any less applicable just because they are overused. so just remember, especially this holiday season, to be thankful and quick to happiness and slow to anger. it's all about living side-by-side with those around us and livinglovinglife. because, after all, it*s a beautiful day. i wanted this item to be ambiguous because i want it to be something continuous as opposed to something to just tick off a list. so...bucket list item: help those around me see the beauty in their lives.