Little Sister

I miss her.

A New Year

WELCOME 2010!

Happy New Year!

(If you can't tell what the picture above is... it is New York's Times Square ball bringing in the new year.)

This is NY in 2007... oh my...

"She is in a better place"

No, no one died.

My little sister spoke in church yesterday because she is leaving for the MTC (Missionary Training Center) this coming Wednesday. *tear* Yes, I am sad. She is going to be serving in the Russia Moscow Mission. I'm incredibly excited for her. She is an amazing person and is going to give the Russians a definite run for their money and show they what they are missing. i.e.: the real purpose of life. I'm grateful she gets to have this experience.

I had a couple friends over after church to help eat some of the food and we all started laughing when I said that despite me being sad for Kelsey's departure, she was going to a better place. Sounds like she is dying... but no.
I remember her writing me a few times on the mission... I will be a MUCH better writer than she was. I set up a blog to post her letters that she sends home.

Car flirting

So, there is most definitely an art to driving and flirting. But when they are combined, THAT, my friends, is fun.

Hair color

A friend at work told me I have red hair. She has tried every color out there on her own head, so I trust her. She told me I have the freckles too, so the fact is even more solidified. "It isn't blonde, it isn't brown, it is red."

I'm not sure my hair is "red" per say, but I would say it is more strawberry-blonde. Blonde with a hint of red. (Profound, I know.)

I am a strawberry-blonde head.

VERTIG! FINISHED! FINI! закончена!

I am done. Done. My second to last semester, possibly the busiest semester of my college career, is done. The feeling is crazy - I have been going so hard this whole semester, and tonight, as I was walking home, I was thinking "What next?" What do I do now? What project do I have to work on?

Nothing. I do nothing. I read. I relax. I give myself time. I don't have to do nothing.

He he.

I made a visit to the library and checked out seven books and plan to read them all over the break. I'm thrilled.

I'm also thrilled to spend some concentrated time with my little sister. She is getting ready to go on her mission on December 30. I'm having a pretty hard time with it, but I know she is excited and I have a good and busy semester ahead of me... I'm looking forward to getting back to school as soon as she leaves so I can get my mind off of being alone. I hate the thought of not having my best friend. But, what can I do?

I don't argue with God.

I Am the Captain of My Soul

I have to thank my friend Adam Dyal for posting this poem on his blog. Until I saw the movie Invictus tonight, did I fully appreciate the power of this poem, and what I can do with it in my own life. Powerful words. The last two lines are my favorite.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

My favorite Christmas decorations

I officially decided today that the decoration that makes me happiest during the Christmas season is a wreath.

I'm particularly fond of the Bay leaf wreath. Classy.

Wreaths and garland totally make Christmas for me... but most of all, wreaths. 

"F.R.A.G.I.L.E - Must Be Italian"

For any of you who know from which movie this quotation comes, you truly know one thing that makes Christmas, Christmas.

I heard a rumor going around that Target sells leg lamps... do they ever.

If you remember the classic, "A Christmas Story," you'll remember the father getting his huge award box in the mail. It is stamped with the word: "FRAGILE." He reads it and assumes that it is from Italy. Wrong. It is a leg lamp.

Classic. Merry Christmas.

Missing you

Over the past week or so, I have felt a void in my life. Want to know what I determined the void to be? Blogging.

I missed blogging. It has really become an outlet for me.

I have been unbelievably busy with class, presentation, final projects and exams, as it is almost the end of the semester. My second to last semester of college! Crazy.

I had a funny experience yesterday that definitely just added to the mound of things I'm trying to deal with right now. I snapped my ankle. I tripped on some stairs in the building where I work and have all my classes, and I went down. I heard a loud snap and I fell. I immediately felt all the blood rush from my face and I felt like I was going to throw up. A bunch of people rushed to help me and I just sat there trying to compose myself and understand what was going on... and handle the pain. Four paramedics and a police officer showed up in my behalf. They wrapped my ankle, which fortunately was not broken - only sprained. And then I went on my way to my group meetings.

Then I woke up this morning, pulled on a beautiful gray shirt that I was going to wear for a business presentation and as I was tucking it into my black skirt, I totally ripped the back of the shirt... right down the back. What the heck. It just hasn't been my week. However, it has been such an amazing week.

I guess there is opposition in all things, right?