Christmas went off without a hitch. Other than being up all Christmas Eve with the phantom sickness that keeps reaking...wreaking...reeking (don't know how to spell it) throughout my body. I'll blog about that later since I dont actually know what it is and I refuse to diagnose myself, lets keep it at that I was sick and awake which equals a very unrested Christmas morning. So as I dragged myself from my mom's house across town to our house, I made up my mind this was the one year I wouldn't make it to Grannie Gilbert's house. I just couldn't, too much action, too much talking, too much required conciousness.
My presents from my parents and my brother and sister-in-law were very nice and functional, which I love. I hate when people get you "filler gifts", the stuff you that make you say "Oh thats cute!" and then stick on a shelf somewhere. I need functional in my life and most importantly for my living space.
So as I was putting on my coat for the expedition to Grannie Gilbert's house (yeah, I'm a trooper...or I hate how my dad can do the guilt face at the drop of a hat), I thought 1) I'm crazy tired and b) I really do love Christmas now that I'm an adult. I really thought when I was younger that I would hate it because when you're the big person, you have to buy for everyone else. And yeah...you do, but you also get to show people how much you know about one another. When they open something that was not on their wish list (which by the way I think is weird for an adult, I'm just sayin..) they look at you and say "How did you know?". It lets you know that you did something right.
So after the crazy 3 hours at my grandmother's house, I went home and crashed. Literally. Until 8 p.m. It felt great let me tell you. So the day after Christmas I got up early to start my expedition down to Fayetteville, Georgia to see the beloved boyfriend and his awesome family. By the way, Alex got me a very nice tea-length party dress for Christmas with a necklace and earring combo to go with. I will have to post pictures later after I wear it on New Years!
As far as I know thats it. No clawing, no bad feelings, no stories of bad behavior from the holiday. If I find anything else happened, I will let you know.
Happy New Years!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Oh Questionnaire, oh questionnaire
As posted on both Karabeth and Karen's blog:
50 random things about you! If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 50 things about your friends, and let them learn 50 things about you!
1. Do you like cheese? Very much so
2. Have you ever smoked? Yes
3. Do you own a gun? No, but I am considering
4. Do you like listening to Christmas music? When its appropriate, radio stations who play it 24/7 are a little ridiculous
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Best in Chicago
7. Favorite Christmas song for all time? O Holy Night, especially when my dad sings it.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Green tea
9. Can you do push ups? I think so
10. Who is your favorite Grey's Anatomy Character? I do not watch it and rebel against it
11. What are your favorite pieces of jewelry? My sapphire jewelry
12. Favorite hobby? Crocheting
13. Do you eat "exotic" foods? depends on how experimental it is
14. Do you have A.D.D.? No
15. What one trait do you hate about yourself? I get too involved with other's problems
16. Middle Name? Kaye
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? 1) When is mom going to get here 2) Will the Gilbert ladies like my dirty santa gift 3) What exactly is Alex getting me that he is so worked up about
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Food, gas, and more food
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Green tea, sprite, and tea
20. Current worry right now? Bills
21. Current hate? traffic
22. Favorite place to be? the Chapman house in Georgia :) The love that family has for each other cannot be matched by many families
23. How will you bring in the New Year? Downtown Nashville with Alex and the rest of Middle Tennessee probably
24. Where would you like to go? Austria
25. Name three people who will complete this? No one, the readers of my blog already have
26. Do you own flip flops? Yes, many pairs
27. What shirt are you wearing? a shirt that says something about myspace
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? no, too slippery
29. Can you whistle? Barely
30. Favorite color? Blue, sometimes green
31. Would you be a pirate? No way, I'm a ninja all the way
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Nothing, not in there long enough
33. Favorite girl's name? Ava
34. Favorite boy's name? Russell
35. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing
36. Last thing that made you laugh? My friend Renee and her crazy life stories
37. Best bed sheets as a child? My barbie sheets
38. Worst injury you've ever had? A certain "bike wreck" when i was 9
39. Do you love where you live? Very much so, the weather suits me
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? one, only need one, its just me. a bedroom is for sleeping by the way
41. Who is your loudest friend? Lindsay
42. How many dogs do you have? One, my Reese the foot-long weiner dog
43. Does someone have a crush on you? Not that i know of
44. Do you get embarrassed easily? Not really
45. What is your favorite book? Angels and Demons
46. What is your favorite candy? Snickers
47. Do you know all the words to the Fresh Prince theme song? if held to it, yes
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? I have no idea
49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? fiercly crocheting Alex's moms scarf
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? What day is it?
50 random things about you! If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 50 things about your friends, and let them learn 50 things about you!
1. Do you like cheese? Very much so
2. Have you ever smoked? Yes
3. Do you own a gun? No, but I am considering
4. Do you like listening to Christmas music? When its appropriate, radio stations who play it 24/7 are a little ridiculous
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Best in Chicago
7. Favorite Christmas song for all time? O Holy Night, especially when my dad sings it.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Green tea
9. Can you do push ups? I think so
10. Who is your favorite Grey's Anatomy Character? I do not watch it and rebel against it
11. What are your favorite pieces of jewelry? My sapphire jewelry
12. Favorite hobby? Crocheting
13. Do you eat "exotic" foods? depends on how experimental it is
14. Do you have A.D.D.? No
15. What one trait do you hate about yourself? I get too involved with other's problems
16. Middle Name? Kaye
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? 1) When is mom going to get here 2) Will the Gilbert ladies like my dirty santa gift 3) What exactly is Alex getting me that he is so worked up about
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Food, gas, and more food
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Green tea, sprite, and tea
20. Current worry right now? Bills
21. Current hate? traffic
22. Favorite place to be? the Chapman house in Georgia :) The love that family has for each other cannot be matched by many families
23. How will you bring in the New Year? Downtown Nashville with Alex and the rest of Middle Tennessee probably
24. Where would you like to go? Austria
25. Name three people who will complete this? No one, the readers of my blog already have
26. Do you own flip flops? Yes, many pairs
27. What shirt are you wearing? a shirt that says something about myspace
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? no, too slippery
29. Can you whistle? Barely
30. Favorite color? Blue, sometimes green
31. Would you be a pirate? No way, I'm a ninja all the way
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Nothing, not in there long enough
33. Favorite girl's name? Ava
34. Favorite boy's name? Russell
35. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing
36. Last thing that made you laugh? My friend Renee and her crazy life stories
37. Best bed sheets as a child? My barbie sheets
38. Worst injury you've ever had? A certain "bike wreck" when i was 9
39. Do you love where you live? Very much so, the weather suits me
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? one, only need one, its just me. a bedroom is for sleeping by the way
41. Who is your loudest friend? Lindsay
42. How many dogs do you have? One, my Reese the foot-long weiner dog
43. Does someone have a crush on you? Not that i know of
44. Do you get embarrassed easily? Not really
45. What is your favorite book? Angels and Demons
46. What is your favorite candy? Snickers
47. Do you know all the words to the Fresh Prince theme song? if held to it, yes
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? I have no idea
49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? fiercly crocheting Alex's moms scarf
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? What day is it?
Friday, December 12, 2008
A Christmas Miracle came 2 weeks early!
IT SNOWED! Here are some pictures from my night spent over at my friend Lindsay's house being I was stuck there. Hope you like!
SNOW WARS!
I am Snowtacus!
A Winter Wonderland
Me and Lindsay, snow buddies!
SNOW WARS!
I am Snowtacus!
A Winter Wonderland
Me and Lindsay, snow buddies!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Its the end of the semester as we know it...
Today is my last day of classes for the semester! From here on out, the rest of this calendar year will be filled with hanging out with friends I have deserted during my hard studying, celebrating holidays with family, and much much crocheting. Also, up until about next Tuesday I will be checking my student account to check on grades that teachers will refuse to post until the last moment possible. If only they knew that I actually care about what I'm making in my classes!
Some things I hope to also do on my Christmas vacation:
- Ice skating- I consider this a must for the Christmas vacation in lieu of actually living somewhere where it snows regularly in the winter.
- Read- This semester has taken a great toll on my reading. I need to finish some books I have borrowed from my dear friend Sara, and I wouldn't mind reading some Dean Koontz books.
- Spend some quality time in Georgia with Alex's family, and then bring him back here for New Years
- Get some extra work on the side- Yeah I know, this is supposed to be my down time, but I really need the money.
- Start big crochet projects- Like afghans for certain boyfriend's mother's birthday.
I'm hoping all that will keep me busy for the month I will be on vacation. If not, be sure that I will be blogging, so give me some fun ideas to take up my time!
Some things I hope to also do on my Christmas vacation:
- Ice skating- I consider this a must for the Christmas vacation in lieu of actually living somewhere where it snows regularly in the winter.
- Read- This semester has taken a great toll on my reading. I need to finish some books I have borrowed from my dear friend Sara, and I wouldn't mind reading some Dean Koontz books.
- Spend some quality time in Georgia with Alex's family, and then bring him back here for New Years
- Get some extra work on the side- Yeah I know, this is supposed to be my down time, but I really need the money.
- Start big crochet projects- Like afghans for certain boyfriend's mother's birthday.
I'm hoping all that will keep me busy for the month I will be on vacation. If not, be sure that I will be blogging, so give me some fun ideas to take up my time!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Activism at its finest
Let me start by saying that I'm usually a pretty peaceful person. Currently in the state of Tennessee, namely the Board of Regents system which runs many state universities including my own MTSU, we are going through a huge budget crisis. To make a long story very short, the Chancellor of the Board of Regents has written a memo to the state of Tennessee to "suggest" a few changes that could take place to reduce this budget crisis.
If you want to read the whole shebang, visit this link.
I will simplify the high points that the group I am joining are rallying against.
Some of Chancellor Mannings "ideas":
"Specifying in the curriculum that students must take a defined number of on-line courses in order to graduate at the baccalaureate and associate levels."
"Designing master's level degrees and work to be taken exclusively on-line."
"Establishing tuition differentials for lower division and upper division courses."
"Establishing tuition differentials for different majors."
"Eliminating or consolidating more programs."
"Reconceptualize faculty workload, moving away from defining it in terms of number of courses taught and toward defining it in terms of the number of students taught."
"Reduce academic work scholarship amounts so available funds can be distributed to more students."
If you didn't pick it out from reading any of these ideas, what Chancellor Manning is proposing is discrimination. Tuition differentials for lower/upper division courses means that those students who are struggling to make ends meet while in in lower division classes such as pre-requisite courses are going to find it that much harder to pay for school when their junior and senior years roll around. If students need a great reason to quit school, there it is laid out for them.
Tuition differentials for different academic majors is definitely discriminatory because it means that a Pre-Med student might have to pay more for school than an English major. If they choose to do this they wont have to worry about eliminating programs, because there will be no more students to participate in these programs. They will be choosing either other schools who do offer those programs for cheaper, or they will just choose an alternate career goal. Does this seem like a life-changing decision to anyone else other than me? Does it seem like we're forcing people to choose between their dreams and their pocketbooks?
I could rant on and on about this subject, which I fully intend to do in a more public manner in the upcoming days. I will be joining SOS (Save Our School), a non-partisan, pan-campus organization of people who would like the Board of Regents to know our stance on the issues. This does affect more than one school, so I hope to be able to spread the word to other Board of Regents schools also.
Have a wonderful activist weekend!
If you want to read the whole shebang, visit this link.
I will simplify the high points that the group I am joining are rallying against.
Some of Chancellor Mannings "ideas":
"Specifying in the curriculum that students must take a defined number of on-line courses in order to graduate at the baccalaureate and associate levels."
"Designing master's level degrees and work to be taken exclusively on-line."
"Establishing tuition differentials for lower division and upper division courses."
"Establishing tuition differentials for different majors."
"Eliminating or consolidating more programs."
"Reconceptualize faculty workload, moving away from defining it in terms of number of courses taught and toward defining it in terms of the number of students taught."
"Reduce academic work scholarship amounts so available funds can be distributed to more students."
If you didn't pick it out from reading any of these ideas, what Chancellor Manning is proposing is discrimination. Tuition differentials for lower/upper division courses means that those students who are struggling to make ends meet while in in lower division classes such as pre-requisite courses are going to find it that much harder to pay for school when their junior and senior years roll around. If students need a great reason to quit school, there it is laid out for them.
Tuition differentials for different academic majors is definitely discriminatory because it means that a Pre-Med student might have to pay more for school than an English major. If they choose to do this they wont have to worry about eliminating programs, because there will be no more students to participate in these programs. They will be choosing either other schools who do offer those programs for cheaper, or they will just choose an alternate career goal. Does this seem like a life-changing decision to anyone else other than me? Does it seem like we're forcing people to choose between their dreams and their pocketbooks?
I could rant on and on about this subject, which I fully intend to do in a more public manner in the upcoming days. I will be joining SOS (Save Our School), a non-partisan, pan-campus organization of people who would like the Board of Regents to know our stance on the issues. This does affect more than one school, so I hope to be able to spread the word to other Board of Regents schools also.
Have a wonderful activist weekend!
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