Happy New Year's Eve!

I give Sean most of the credit for this picture. And those bracelets are so cool.

Confession

Taylor Swift's song "Never Grow Up" makes me unbelievably sad every time I listen to it. Seriously, go listen and tell me if you can stop yourself from crying, or at least tearing up. It got me thinking about a lot of things (i.e. my LIFE) and I was nostalgic and sad. But it's okay! It's a nice song and I had a good day following that.

I have thank you cards to write, people to visit, CD mixes to create, and textbooks to order. My vacation time seems nearly over. (Sigh). That's alright. I've had a wonderful Christmas.

Quotable Friday's Post (Christmas wishes)

Though this quote isn't distinctly Christmas-themed, I found it appropriate for today on Christmas Eve (which for my family is just as much of a holiday as tomorrow will be). For any readers and for all my imaginary ones (and mostly to myself), I'm sorry that I haven't posted very much this month- I've been slacking with no good excuse! I'll work on that. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Preparations, continued

I declared today as my official Get-Serious-About-Christmas-Card-Making Day. So I did, which resulted in a huge mess that my family wasn't thrilled about. Oh well.

But I made a lot of cards today for my extended family and friends who I won't see on Christmas. (Those cards have yet to be made...ahem.) I mailed them all today, so I feel pretty accomplished. Tonight we're making sugar cookies. Here's a better picture that captures the mess I made: 

Oh, I just remembered that I still have to vacuum. I sort of hate glitter. But I cleaned the counter top (as per my parents' demands.) But here is a small sample of my results: 

I really like card-making, despite the fact it takes me an eternity to do. It's one of my miscellaneous talents. Anyway, I hope you had a great day, no matter your holiday preference.

Good Deeds and Christmas Spirit

I did a good deed recently. You should too. 

Our Christmas tree is decorated, the exterior looks very festive, and I spent a few hours today making Christmas candles. They smell like pine trees. I still have dozens of cards to make and gift-wrapping to do, but I will complete it all in time!

Christmas Spirit

Hopefully, if I still am keeping up with this blog come next December, I will post lists of holiday gift ideas. I feel like I have a lot of ideas and I realize how hard selecting the perfect gifts is. I'm the kind of person who believes in gifting gifts and not gift cards. Though I do appreciate receiving anyone's generosity, no matter its form.

While I was nailing Christmas lights to the roof of my house, I thought about how different thing would be if my family didn't celebrate Christmas or Christmas didn't exist it all. Or if Christmas was celebrated on the same scale as a "smaller" holiday, like Easter. It's such a huge production full of obligations, but everyone involved (including me) claims to love it so much. Then I realized that it symbolizes a lot more than religious beliefs and that it gives everyone who participates a unifying goal and a common theme...for at least one month of the year. Which, to be fair, is a pretty good chunk of time for a single-day holiday. 

I love Christmas and the traditions that accompany it. 

(And I'm serious about the good deed advice.)

Quotable Friday's Post

"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

-Clarence (It's A Wonderful Life)

Quotable Friday's Post

Friday's Quotable Post

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." -Plato

The Art of Listening

Music 15, the Art of Listening, is coming to an end. However, it was quite the quarter with a very eccentric professor. These are just a few of the memorable things he said while (supposedly) talking about music. 

"What was he smoking?" (Said on multiple occasions)

"It makes you buy war bonds." (Speaking about a patriotic piece)

"I hope you all did well on the quiz..." -Prof. Hall (Directed at the athletes) 

"I got a 100%!" -Football player 

"Well, that's better than your record on the field." -Prof. Hall

"I like this...I listen to it when I'm cleaning my toilet." 

"Americans do it best!"

"My teacher once told me it was like the skin on your balls. You can stretch it a little but if you do it too much it's painful." (Talking about the singing technique of rubato)" 

"Lots of mostly naked Russians running around..." 

"What about your guilty pleasures? Do you any of think listen to Katy Perry and think 'Teenage Dream' is fabulous?"

I'm realizing I can't even remember most of the hilarious things he said. Oh well. They were amusing lectures.