A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
I hope everyone had a relaxing, happy Christmas. I certainly did. Today I woke up, got ready, ate egg bake (traditional holiday breakfast, and delicious! I really must make it.) and opened presents with my family. I got my mom a circular yoga mat (a new yoga trend Julia alerted me to last year) and I think she really liked it. Got my Dad a set of pyrex containers cause he hates when my mom puts a plate in the fridge and covers it with tinfoil so he has no idea what leftovers are available. I let my mom get me a present for DB cause I had no ideas for him, and I got Sammie a stuffed Billiken. She found it very humorous and fun. I was glad my presents went over well. I'll have to get DB something good for his birthday. He got me the Mamma Mia soundtrack, which was perfect. I also got it on DVD yay! Sammie's obsessed with that movie, and we watched it sing-along style the other day.
What else did I get? Some nice new clothes from Grammie, a very cool sushi book from Sammie, things to do my hair with (blow dryer, curling iron, barrel brush) from Mom (cause I have nothing like that!), Jersey Boys tickets, a golden aspen leaf, sunglasses, a cute scarf, soft soft socks, sandstone coasters (I've wanted those a while! Our current coasters are vodka advertisements we stole from Llywellyn's.) and giftcards for new shoes and walgreen's. All in all, a super satisfying x-mas. We laughed hard at some of the silly gifts, (like the ridiculous barrette that came with Sammie's blow dryer!) but nothing will ever be as funny as "toggles."
The rest of the day was spent scrapbooking with Sammie, chatting, relaxing, and then heading down to Denver West on this cool, clear Christmas Night for a traditional Christmas action movie. Haha. We finally saw Quantum of Solace, and frankly, I really enjoyed it! I found it very exciting! I'm glad that's the movie we picked, and I'm glad we went early cause now we have the rest of the evening to just chill. Sammie and I got slurpies and made ourselves sick-ish by finishing them entirely!
I have started an academic SLU scrapbook, like the one Mom started and I finished for Cornell. It's a nice way to preserve things like acceptance letters, awards, invitations, grades, campus photos, etc. Anyway, started nicely. I like making really cute scrapbooks, because when they come out cute, I want to look at them, and then I actually look at all the nice keepsakes that otherwise would sit in a folder or a box.
Speaking of grades... I got mine, and to my great surprise, I got an A in each of my three classes! I was so pleasantly surprised!!! I was expecting A in Medieval History, god-knows-what in Paleography, and B+ or perhaps A- in Theory. My revisions must have been impressive, and really what he was looking for in the theory paper, for him to give me an A in a class where that paper was 80% of my grade. WOOHOO! Now I will not feel nervous giving a copy of it to the few people that have asked for one, since it's been deemed A work! It feels good to have such unexpected success my first semester, especially considering what a stressful few months it has been. It helps me believe that I'll continue to do well, no matter what graduate obstacles and assignments and questions and exams get put in my path.
... I want to learn a bit about medieval pottery in my British Isles class next semester, cause Dr. Thomas Finan's an archaeologist and just the person to start learning about it from.
In other holiday break news, last night the fam and I went out to the Keg to (a) have a delicious delicious Christmas eve dinner, and (b) to spend the free dinner coupon they sent me for my b-day. I got a yummy steak topped with grilled shrimps and a twice baked potato, sat by a nice warm fireplace, had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and man, we all had a wonderful time. I really enjoy my family. After dinner, Mom, Sammie, and I went off to the 7:30 Christmas eve mass at Christ the King.
I LOVE THAT CHURCH. Whenever I went to church in St. Louis, it was nice, but nothing really sparked me like the church did when I was making my confirmation. Religion was such a big part of my life then, and when I go back to Christ the King, and especially when I hear Father Chris give a homily, and sing the Our Father to that familiar tune, I remember exactly why religion was so important. THIS Church, this parish, this priest, FITS and fulfills what I need and am looking for in a church, parish, and priest. I love the welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, the joy, the colorado-ey architecture, Father Chris's humorous, heart-warming, and reassuring homilies, etc. I especially love how they don't make you feel bad if you don't come to church very often. Anyway, there were LOTS of carols, so I was happy cause I love to sing. It was nice Sammie came with us and enjoyed herself. Ah... it's good to be home.
ok. I'm freezing. Time to go sit by the fire. Tomorrow - shopping, yoga, and seeing Jersey Boys with Sammie!
What else did I get? Some nice new clothes from Grammie, a very cool sushi book from Sammie, things to do my hair with (blow dryer, curling iron, barrel brush) from Mom (cause I have nothing like that!), Jersey Boys tickets, a golden aspen leaf, sunglasses, a cute scarf, soft soft socks, sandstone coasters (I've wanted those a while! Our current coasters are vodka advertisements we stole from Llywellyn's.) and giftcards for new shoes and walgreen's. All in all, a super satisfying x-mas. We laughed hard at some of the silly gifts, (like the ridiculous barrette that came with Sammie's blow dryer!) but nothing will ever be as funny as "toggles."
The rest of the day was spent scrapbooking with Sammie, chatting, relaxing, and then heading down to Denver West on this cool, clear Christmas Night for a traditional Christmas action movie. Haha. We finally saw Quantum of Solace, and frankly, I really enjoyed it! I found it very exciting! I'm glad that's the movie we picked, and I'm glad we went early cause now we have the rest of the evening to just chill. Sammie and I got slurpies and made ourselves sick-ish by finishing them entirely!
I have started an academic SLU scrapbook, like the one Mom started and I finished for Cornell. It's a nice way to preserve things like acceptance letters, awards, invitations, grades, campus photos, etc. Anyway, started nicely. I like making really cute scrapbooks, because when they come out cute, I want to look at them, and then I actually look at all the nice keepsakes that otherwise would sit in a folder or a box.
Speaking of grades... I got mine, and to my great surprise, I got an A in each of my three classes! I was so pleasantly surprised!!! I was expecting A in Medieval History, god-knows-what in Paleography, and B+ or perhaps A- in Theory. My revisions must have been impressive, and really what he was looking for in the theory paper, for him to give me an A in a class where that paper was 80% of my grade. WOOHOO! Now I will not feel nervous giving a copy of it to the few people that have asked for one, since it's been deemed A work! It feels good to have such unexpected success my first semester, especially considering what a stressful few months it has been. It helps me believe that I'll continue to do well, no matter what graduate obstacles and assignments and questions and exams get put in my path.
... I want to learn a bit about medieval pottery in my British Isles class next semester, cause Dr. Thomas Finan's an archaeologist and just the person to start learning about it from.
In other holiday break news, last night the fam and I went out to the Keg to (a) have a delicious delicious Christmas eve dinner, and (b) to spend the free dinner coupon they sent me for my b-day. I got a yummy steak topped with grilled shrimps and a twice baked potato, sat by a nice warm fireplace, had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and man, we all had a wonderful time. I really enjoy my family. After dinner, Mom, Sammie, and I went off to the 7:30 Christmas eve mass at Christ the King.
I LOVE THAT CHURCH. Whenever I went to church in St. Louis, it was nice, but nothing really sparked me like the church did when I was making my confirmation. Religion was such a big part of my life then, and when I go back to Christ the King, and especially when I hear Father Chris give a homily, and sing the Our Father to that familiar tune, I remember exactly why religion was so important. THIS Church, this parish, this priest, FITS and fulfills what I need and am looking for in a church, parish, and priest. I love the welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, the joy, the colorado-ey architecture, Father Chris's humorous, heart-warming, and reassuring homilies, etc. I especially love how they don't make you feel bad if you don't come to church very often. Anyway, there were LOTS of carols, so I was happy cause I love to sing. It was nice Sammie came with us and enjoyed herself. Ah... it's good to be home.
ok. I'm freezing. Time to go sit by the fire. Tomorrow - shopping, yoga, and seeing Jersey Boys with Sammie!