Sleeping Arrangements

Kelly and I purchased a new bed recently and it was delivered this morning. Yay! Now we have a brand new bed that is just for us! This one has never been slept on by anyone one else EVER and will be with us for quite a while. Yay! This purchase has been so important to me...See, I think that everything carries with it a certain energy through its lifetime, bearing memories and signatures of people and events that collect along the way. You spend something like 30% of your life in bed, so that's a lot of history for one object to collect. Kelly has had the bed we have been using for somewhere near ten years. I'll let you put it all together as to the distinct importance this purchase is to me. The underlying message is that this is just for US and no one else EVER. Yay!

Best Christmas Ever

This Christmas was amazing. After just moving home and being under so much stress recently, it was really nice to just have a good, relaxing time.

Friday, Kelly and I went to Grandma Tammy's house and had dinner with her, my dad, Tera, Conor, Chuck and Grandpa Don. Since I baked pies for everyone, I used that as my excuse to not help with dishes. It worked!

Saturday morning we went to my mom's early to be there when the kids opened their presents. I think the best part was Denisha's excitement when she received the Barbie she had really wanted. Then more of the family came over and we opened presents again. We ate dinner, Kelly and I napped, and we all played with the new Christmas toys.

Then, Chuck took us to the airport and we flew to Portland. I can't even begin to tell you how great it was that we were going to the airport together to leave together rather than to tell each other good-bye. Kelly's parents met us at the airport in Portland and took us back to their house where we sat well into the late hours of the night drinking wine and visiting. Two of his sisters and some cousins were there, so it gave me a great opportunity to get to know some more people in the family.

Saturday night the plan had been to spend time with his mother's siblings and their families, but we didn't get to town until that was over, so Sunday morning, two of Kelly's aunts, an uncle and a cousin came by the house. Some family also called Saturday and Sunday night to say hello and let us know they were sorry they missed us, which made us both feel good to know that. It really helped me to feel more included in the family.

Sunday was spent mostly with Kelly's siblings and their families eating and exchanging presents. He has a bunch of adorable neices and nephews who I can't wait to get to know better. It was so funny to me - everyone kept apologizing to me for the family...But the more time I spent with them, the more I grew to love and appreciate Kelly because I felt as though I was getting to know him that much better. I know it's just a funny thing that people do in these situations as a joke (the whole apologies thing), but I really loved spending time with them and letting them get to know me, too.

But ah, we're back in Boise - arrived yesterday morning - and used last night for lots of sleep and relaxation. I just want to give a shout out to everyone we spent time with in the last few days...meals...gift exchanges...conversations. Thank you. You truly made this a very special holiday and a wonderful memory.

Domesticity

There's something to be said for enjoying time off. I have recently been enjoying my time off by playing the role of the house domestic and I have been loving it. I've been cooking actual meals (rather than just macaroni and cheese), knitting, sweeping, scrubbing the bathroom, doing laundry, picking up dry cleaning, wrapping presents...You name it. I've really been enjoying myself. Last night I went running, too, which brought back fond memories of the three week period when Hannah and I were determined to run a 5k. I feel like I can breathe again and it is nice.

But alas, all things must end and this will all end when I procure for myself a position in the working world. So, if anyone knows of someone who is hiring in the Boise area...hook me up!

A Long Way From Virginia

I am finally home, which is a long way from where I was less than a week ago. Now I'm chillin in the City of Trees rather than in Colonial Williamsburg and I love it. The flight was horrid and actually landed in Boise almost four hours late, but it did make it.

I'm finally home, which is a long way from where I thought I wanted to be a few months ago. I've been acclimating myself not only to the freaking cold weather but to living with new people and to being next to Kelly rather than separated from him by a nation. I've been unpacking and getting over a head cold and convincing my body that there's been a time change. I've been breathing and sleeping at night and crying because I'm happy.

I'm finally home, which is where I shall stay for quite a while. The transition is challenging me, but I don't honestly think I would want it if it wasn't.

Brunch

Our apartment's Holiday Brunch was an excessive success today. We had so many people over and they all brought so much food and drink to share. When the UPS guy came tonight after the majority of people had left, we fed him, too. We also fed the GRA and her friend who is in town to visit. And a boyfriend who stopped by to pick up his girlfriend. I say "Kudos!" to Hannah, who did the majority of the planning (and stressing) over the entire event.

Finito

Well, everything is done. I just took my one final exam (and nearly fell asleep while taking it) and everything is turned in and everything is all packed up. Tonight I'm finishing the purse that I knit for Surita yesterday and I'm SLEEPING. Tomorrow we're having a nice, big brunch for all our buds at our apartment. Hannah's been planning it for a few weeks and is super excited about having a party. Then comes Wednesday and I will go home.

My cohort met for lunch today at the Green Leafe Deli next to campus. We had an awful waitress, but the food is superb. I loved it because we were all there - and they wanted to get together with me one last time before I leave. I've never really had a large circle of friends, so this is all new to me. Usually I have to say good bye to everyone one at a time because my friends don't usually know each other, let alone hang out with each other. Even Tim was there. He's the only guy in our program. I love it that he hangs out with us because I could totally see him wanting to reject our group bonding experiences because he's already had a ten-year career, he's the only guy, he's married and he has a kid. But instead he comes out with all us girls and is just as curious about our lives as we are about his.

I have to admit that I'm feeling a lot of apprehension about the transition my life is about to undergo because I have a distinct level of certainty and therefore security in what I am doing now and I have a great fear of losing that. But a wise, caring Metallica fan recently told me that fearing the unknown is ridiculous and I happen to agree with him. Plus, I know that I will be replacing the certainty and security I have now with a different type and a different level of certainty and security that I'll never attain on my own. I really have no idea what I'm getting myself into, but I plan on walking boldly forward with my eyes open to see everything around me, my ears ready to listen intently, and my heart prepared to grow and change with each new experience.

Moving

My room is all packed up now. It looks like I'm going to be leaving soon. And I really am. I will be home in 72 hours from right now!

Song Dedication For Patri

Because she made it through.

We used to say for fun,
Let's say you lived, and then you did
You speak to the weak, an old picture of me
Everybody says they want to be free
and it's a decision, so I am leaving
And I don't want your hand-me-downs
They're old, they're all worn out
No, I don't want to hang around
I don't want your hand-me-downs.

Rockstar

In the last two days, I have written a 16 page paper and a 12 page paper, thus completing my homework for the rest of the semester. I am a rockstar!

Now the issue of packing...

A Song Dedication For Kelly

Here is a part of a Lisa Loeb song called We Could Still Belong Together:

If I hold my breath
If I shut my eyes
If I disappear just for the afternoon.
If I can't help shouting
If I lock you out
If it's not important,
completely unimportant to anyone else but me,
We could still belong together
and together is much better.
We're okay, so hey don't worry now.
Oh wow.
Yes, I complicate
I know, it's just my way,
but "If?" is a question that I ask and nothing more.

Team Trellis

Well today I became a Superserver. I think it's because I finally broke my first glass today. I came home with $124 in tips, which is super fun. It makes me think I could learn to like this. Ha! What a joke. Two days left. Then I'm done forever.

On a sad note, I've noticed that I get sad when I help large parties. I feel sad because it makes me think about the family I don't have here. More specifically, it makes me think of a large dinner party in my near future - the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. I guess I think about that rather than the wedding reception because it will be in a restaurant (similar to the place where I work and hence wait on people) and I'll be surrounded both by the family I've known my whole life and by the family I will spend the rest of my life getting to know. It makes me sad because I miss them. Ten days left. Then I'll be with them forever.

3P

Yay! Good news!. It's about time some of the responsibility is shared...

It's Not Easy

It's really not. I've been having anxiety-ridden dreams. There's so much going on now. So much is getting ready to change. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm scared at the same time. This really isn't as casual as everyone seems to be treating it. This is what I want. Am I ready?

Washington, D.C.

I just tried to post a huge commentary on my day yesterday in D.C. with Hannah and something happened that made that post disappear and now I'm pissed. So, here's the extremely shortened version.

We went to Vera Wang and tried on wedding dresses just for fun. I tried on three, one of which was nearly $9,000.

We went to the WWII memorial. Two words: absolutely beautiful.

We went to the National Museum of American History where they had a phenomenal exhibit on the history of Brown v. Board of Education. I was frightened at the sight of the KKK robe they had on display and felt oppressed by this empty costume and invisible eyes of malice that stared at me through small eye slits behind the glass pannel. I cried at the video showing riots and actions taken against the black community as they tried to integrate the schools. I cannot believe they would do that to children - innocent, young people who only wanted to be accepted as human beings! A man walked past me at one point and commented to his female companion that he didn't "see what the big deal was." I read recently that my generation is growing increasingly ambivalent to race and is actually more racist on the whole than our parent's generation because we don't think critically about race since we haven't had to deal with the implications of racism like they did. I find it disgusting that we can't live easily with people different from us unless they're struggling just to be heard because otherwise we don't listen and find it so easy to walk away. They had a book there called One Drop of Blood: The American Misadventure of Race that I want to read next semester when I have time off from school.

So back to the trip...We then met her friend Brian who is totally cool and had dinner at a tapas restaurant. Then we drove home. No traffic the entire day, either, which was not only nice but remarkable and relatively unheard of. By the time we arrived at the grad plex, though, we were both having trouble keeping our eyes open. Overall, a wonderful day!