It's the most WONDERFUL time of the year.

This is so true...

There is nothing I love more than Christmas!  The red and green, lights everywhere, stressed out parents and candy canes.  One of my absolute favorite things about Christmas (other than the whole REASON for Christmas) is the candy cane. Red and white striped delicious pepperminty treats. No holiday season is complete without them.  Of course NOW-a-days you can get candy canes in any size, color, or flavor your heart desires, and I think it is fantastic. :)

My house was invaded by even MORE of my family, bringing the total people count to 9 and pet count to 4.  Adding my crutch-yielding Aunt, ADHD cousin and 2 dogs is a blessing and a curse.  We love them dearly, but certainly in small doses :) Sharing a room with my 17 year old BOY cousin was not the highlight of my week, but it was fun I have to admit.  We are very close; like brother and sister, and I haven't seen him in over a year.  It was slightly stressful having them here, but I will certainly miss then when they're gone.

My friend..who was perhaps not going to be home for Thanksgiving, did in fact make it back. On the 24th (of November).  I am so unbelievably glad to have him home.  I have missed him a lot.  I think its time I tell some of our story :)

          His name is Nick.  He is 22.  He is in the United States Marine Corps and I could not be more proud of him. :) He has sacrificed everything and served in Japan, Korea and Afghanistan.  I met him 1 year ago on New Years Day at a family New Years party of his.  (I knew his family cause I was friends with his brother and his brother's girlfriend).  I had met all of his immediate family, except him at this point.  I thought we hit it off really well, and we had a really fun night :)  He was home on leave for the holidays and would be going back to Japan on the 16th of January.  I didn't really want to think about it, so I just had fun for a couple of weeks.  I ended up really starting to like him a lot, even though I knew it was probably not the best of ideas.  He left for Japan, which was very sad, but he told me not to worry.  In the next couple weeks I tried to go back to normal.  Get to know new people at school, make friends, and even try to date.  It didn't work, and I didn't feel right about it.  I was interested in someone else and thats it.  Over the next 11 months and 8 days, we talked, fought, didn't talk, and made up.  I feel that he is one of the most genuine people I've ever met and I adore him.  There are personal reservations and emotional and physical obstacles for both of us, that are keeping us from being together and seeing each other perhaps as much as we might like.  All we can do is cherish the time we DO have together and live each day to the fullest.  No one knows what will happen and when it will happen, but I truly believe everything will work out in the end and it will be for the best.  No matter what happens, he means so much to me and will always have a place in my mind and in my heart :)

Whew.. Well theres my little philosophical rant for the day :)  I do hope that he is safe in everything he does.  He is a wonderful person.

BACK TO CHRISTMAS!

I love the Christmas spirit as much, and probably more than the next person, but something Christmas would not be complete without; PRESENTS!  Christmas has never been extravagant, expensive or in other words big, in my house, but everyone has always gotten something. Usually FROM everyone, and it is a token of our appreciation and love for one another.  There has only been one thing I've asked for for the past 2 years, and I finally got it.  A Casio WK-200 76 key keyboard.  I am a voice major, and taking piano lessons and I have had nowhere to practice or let my creative juices flow.  It was such a shock and a surprise and I am so happy with it.  I didn't get much else; some Nemo paraphernalia and gadgets here and there, but honestly, I am 100% content with my keyboard as essentially my only gift.  It is perfect.

As of now, it is 2 am and my cousin rolled over and punched me. :) I think I am going to go to bed, and I  will post again tomorrow. Hopefully :)

Goodnight all, I hope Santa blessed you greatly :)

-R

A site that I really love.. It has inspired me to tell people things about myself that normally I would hide.  I started with people that already like and love me, so we'll see how the rest of that journey goes.  I hope this does something for you too :)

http://www.postsecret.com/

Thanksgiving!

T-minus 6 days until thanksgiving :)  I hope everyone gets to be with their families and loved ones this holiday.  I know someone that I wish was here, might not be home for thanksgiving, but will be very soon after.  I can't wait for him to be home; I have missed him so much.  :D

With Thanksgiving comes Christmas, (36 days) and with Christmas- besides being the best time of the year- comes exams.  I know that I feel like there is not a whole lot to do, but so much I need to do at the same time.  I hate this feeling; it causes stress.  I always feel so unprepared and yet in the long run it turns out that I was perfectly fine and had nothing to worry about, but none-the-less; stress.

(This post was put on hold due to exams and the holidays :])

I did just fine on all of my exams, and I had a pretty substantial GPA this semester. Not completely proud of it, but satisfied :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I know I did!

-R


I've always thought these were SO COOL. Go ahead. Try it and let me know how they turn out. :)

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1S28rf/www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-belts-and-bracelets-out-of-soda-pop-ta/