Full Fledged Holiday Season

It's official. I have now entered the holiday season. It is one week until Thanksgiving and one week until the Christmas season can officially begin without judgement. I have Christmas music on right now, it's finally gotten cold in College Station, and my boss has a Christmas scent machine thing going in her office.

Bundling up with a warm Tazo Vanilla Roobius (spelling) Tea Latte and venturing out into the cold just makes it feel like Christmas. Sometimes I want to live further north where it gets cold earlier and snows. However, in Texas it's nice that holiday season starts at the exact time the cold finally arrives. If I moved north, I'd probably start decorating for Christmas in September.

Tonight I will probably bake my apple bread that I've been waiting to make. I finished a final exam last night and am done until December 2nd. This means I have about two weeks of sweet nothingness and wonderful time with family.

My plans for the next week or so? Ok, I'll give you the lowdown:

Monday: Class and Work.
This will be nothing special, but I suppose getting through it will make me that much more thankful for a break.

Tuesday: Elephant Walk and Thanksgiving Dinner and Bonfire.
I participated in Junior Elephant Walk last year. It was the celebration and recognition of the Junior class rising to become the Senior class. We walked around campus to key spots to get the spirit up. This year, for Elephant Walk (which Jr. E-Walk sprouted from), we will be walking to key spots again, for the ceremonious last time in our years here at Texas A&M. Elephants walk to their most memorable spots before they die. This is the symbolism for the day.

Tabitha, Grace, Emily, and myself will also be celebrating Thanksgiving together Tueday night. I'm making scalloped sweet potatoes and stuffing balls. Grace is making green bean casserole and some pies. Tabitha and Emily are still undecided but it'll all come together. I'm excited to get to have a pre-Thanksgiving celebration with the best girls I've had in college.

After dinner, we'll go to the off campus bonfire. They moved it off campus after the university-recognized bonfire collapsed on campus (exactly 11 years ago today). I haven't been to bonfire since I've been here, so I figured this year would be perfect, seeing as it is my last opportunity to attend at a student.

Wednesday: Two Classes and Driving Home and Wedding Registry.
My two classes are still meeting. It's ridiculous. Almost everyone cancels class the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. But my notorious professor is definitely keeping us in attendance. Therefore, I'll be leaving right after the second class, and should be home by about 3:30 or so, pending traffic. Phillip and I are taking on the monstrous task of registering that night. We'll see how that goes.

Thursday: Thanksgiving.
Samantha, Gary, and Jeremy will be joining us, as well as Phillip, for a yummy traditional meal. It's always really relaxed but still festive. I love that we don't make a huge fuss and don't have some intricate time table. We'll eat around the time the Cowboys game starts, and most likely the Morrisons will join us for dessert and hanging out. And yes, wine will be involved.

Friday: Eye Appointment and DJ Interviewing and More.
I have to get my eyes examined for new contacts. It has to be done. Then afterwards, Phillip, Heather, and I are going to Dallas to meet with a DJ. Hopefully he's as good in person as he seems and as good as his reviews from credible sources. The rest of the day will be just hanging out with the family and maybe Christmas decorating/light looking. [Or, as Tabitha calls it, "Christmas Lighting."]

Saturday: Baby Jaquelyn's Baby Shower!
I can't wait to spoil this baby rotten. She has already received so many gifts, but now we get to formally celebrate her arrival in January. I'm so excited to see everyone and show Manda how much we all love her and her baby. I just need to go shopping soon for the perfect gift.

Sunday: Driving Back.
Sadly, I'll be leaving on Sunday. I hate leaving, especially after a long weekend of great food, wonderful friends and family, Phillip, and love. Luckily, once I go back, I'll have less than 3 weeks before returning FOR GOOD.


Phew. That was a long entry! Sorry about all of that writing.

6 months, 24 days, 4 hours, 30 minutes

Quick Update

I emailed SMU yesterday to inquire about the status of my application. That sounded fancy, didn’t It? I got an email back this morning. He said they’re still interviewing and hope to have a decision by the end of the month. This is great news! This means they haven’t made a decision yet and I’m still being considered. Please continue with the prayers, everyone. As much as I’d like to think I’m not already in love with this job, I am. I want to say that I haven’t put all of my eggs in one basket and want to think that I’m not too obsessed with this job. But the truth is, I want this job more than grad school or nursing school combined. This is my passion and I’d love to be able to use it. But if nothing else, this was a good experience and further confirms what I’m supposed to do with my life.

6 months, 25 days, 7 hours, 15 minutes

Great Day So Far

I haven't had a great day in a long time. Today has been great so far. I had a great cup of coffee. A money situation was finally solved. And great songs keep coming on the radio.

Now to take this day from great to perfect, I just need SMU to call and offer me a second interview. If they don't by the time I get into work, I'm sending the email. Prayers please!!

6 months, 25 days, 5 hours, 30 minutes

ATX

So yesterday, shortly after updating the blog, I had a sudden burst of spontaneity. Heather was bragging about this magnificent restaurant she had discovered and I was super jealous. So then she says, "Why don't you drive in and join us?"

I had all of my to-dos completed yesterday and nothing for the remainder of the evening. I had class this morning at 9:10 that I couldn't miss, but that was the only catch in the plan. So I went. I got there, we hung out, went to the place - totally worth it, by the way - and then I left Heather's place at 6:00am to come back to College Station. Success.

This restaurant last night was called Halcyon. It's a coffee bar with alcoholic coffees and espressos. There was also table-top smores! Definitely worth the 12 hour stay. And I got to see Heather. :)

6 months, 27 days, 4 hours, 15 minutes

“I’m Going to Muster Every Ounce of Confidence I Have… For You, I Will”

Good song. Great song for an afternoon like this one. I feel like it’s so much later than it is since I woke up so early, but that’s a good thing. Today I cleaned my room, cleared out my closet for donations, packed up my summer clothes to get ready for moving day, and am currently in the middle of laundry. It’s been a pretty productive day so far.

For the rest of the evening, I’m going to continue to get things done and relax at the same time. Maybe I’ll finally make the apple bread I bought the ingredients for last weekend. Maybe. We’ll see.

6 months, 28 days, 3 hours, 30 minutes