My Brilliant Plan is Falling Apart

I may have told some of you, but my plan for grad school was for me to be done by May 2012. The program is 33 hours long (including the final capstone class/project). I started school last August, and my goal was to finish with school as fast as I could. Here was my plan:

Take 6 credit hours (so not quite full-time for a grad student, that'd be 9 hours) for every semester except for one semester in which I'd have to brave 3 more credit hours and be a full-time student working full-time. I'd go without a break, meaning I'd take classes during the summer as well. But, it'd be okay because I'd graduate by May 2012.

That plan is now quickly falling apart.

Why? Because my program is not offering any classes this summer. I had not accounted for this, and now my plan is going to have to be this:

I'm taking one 3 hour elective class over the summer (hopefully I can get that approved since it's outside of my prescribed electives for my program), and then I'm taking a full-time student class load of 9 hours for both Fall and Spring semesters so that I can still graduate by May 2012.

In other words....

By this time next year, I might be dead.

Ok, I'm being dramatic, but I seriously am freaking out about how I'm going to be able to handle a full-time class load with working full-time. I could spread it out, but I can't tell you how bad I want to be done by next May. I have a count down already. I want... nay, NEED, to be done by then. I HAVE TO BE!!!!

Lots of people have done it right? I can do it. I CAN do it... I hope.

Crafts, Books, and My Imagination Running Away With Me

Recently, I've been on this crafting kick and I've been reading/following on Tumblr a lot of crafty blogs and crafty-type people for inspiration. I don't know why I do this to myself because we all know how I am about finishing projects that I start. But, anyway, I came across this video that explains how to make a cool invisible shelf that makes it looks like your books are floating on the wall, like so:

Pretty cool, right? So I decided I desperately needed these shelves, because not only do they look pretty sweet, but it would help me get all the piles of books that I have laying on the ground off the floor. Since the video made it look pretty easy, I figured, what the hey. Now because I did not have any big heavy books that I was willing to sacrifice, I decided to go to Half Price Books (oh how I love thee) to find some in the clearance section or there abouts that looked pretty cool that I would not care about cutting into.

Then I came across these lovely beauties:

Awesome right? Perfect for looking nice on the wall since the spine is really all I care about. Well, if you've never heard of Half Price Books, it's a used bookstore that buys and sells (at half price) used books. It is a real treasure trove and I love going there because 1. it's cheap and 2. it's got books and 3. I always find some pretty cool/unique stuff. I love going there just to see what I can find when I have no particular book I'm looking for, like for this project, for example.

Anyway, as I started looking through these red books to see how much they were ($6) and which ones I wanted (I couldn't buy all of them at $6 each!), I noticed that many of them had an inscription on the inside cover (another thing I love about looking through used books). Then I noticed it was all the same inscription over the period of 3 years and for various holidays:

They are all for "Mom" from "Neal" and sometimes from "Neal and Sally." It dates back from the mom's birthday in 1969 to Valentine's Day of 1971. Out of the 12 books in the collection available at Half Price books, only 4 of them did not have an inscription. Despite the lack of an inscription on 4 of them, I feel it's safe to assume that it was an entire set once owned by "Mom" and given to her from "Neal" (and a few from "Sally"). But, here's where my imagination ran away with me.

As I started thinking more and more about the inscription and why this whole set would be at Half Price Books, it made me kind of sad. I'm guessing Neal was the son (I know pretty crazy guess, huh?), and this woman either loved book collections, Newsweek, art, or art museums. In the hopes to get a great gift that he could spread out in several gifts (I'm sure they were expensive, since I just saw that the set is going for $135 on eBay.), Neal decided to get his mom this set of books to show his mom all of these great places and the art contained inside them since most likely she would not be able to go to these far off exotic art museums.

I'm also guessing that Sally was a sister. My mom thought that perhaps she was Neal's wife or girlfriend, but because Sally only shows up in two inscriptions: that for Christmas 1969 and June 14, 1970, I think I'll stick with my sister assumption. I'm curious, however, about the June 14, 1970 inscription, since it's the only specific date in the set. Is that "Mom's" birthday? An anniversary of marriage? Death? Why is this date so significant? The details are too few that I can't venture a guess on this one.

And finally, why did this entire beautiful collection wind up at the Half Price Books in McKinney, TX. Sadly, I think that "Mom" is no longer with us, and as "Neal" was forced to go through all of the things that once belonged to his mother, he couldn't bare to keep this book collection. Maybe they were too heavy, a waste of space, he felt he'd never have a use for them, or maybe they reminded him too much of his mother and all of the occasions and memories he had of her receiving each book and her reaction as she opened the present. Knowing he and the books might be better off in a new home, he sold them, along with others, I'm sure, to Half Price books.

Where a few have just become my new bookshelves...

Spring Break--Evening Edition

This week is my very first spring break in my entire college career, and sadly it means nothing. I always thought spring breaks were cool, party-filled, friend-filled extravaganzas... perhaps I was misinformed. Or maybe it's because I'm a lame-o and still have to work. Spring breaks just don't mean the same thing when you're working a full-time job without a whole lot of vacation time.

While at BYU, I never got a spring break (although I didn't complain about it... too much... because we got out at the end of April). Now that I have one... not only do I have to work, but I have tons of homework to do. Dang graduate degrees!

Anyway, despite the fact that I'm working all week (although I do get Friday off, so yay!), I'm trying to make the most of my evenings without class:

Tonight I went to the dollar theater with a few friends and saw The Fighter. While I wouldn't say it was the best movie, it made me heart Mark Wahlberg even more (yes, I'll admit... I have a secret crush on Marky Mark). Side note: If you go to see it in the hopes that you'll see Christian Bale and his handsome physique (which does not get me up in the morning, mind you), you will be sorely disappointed.

Tomorrow I'm planning on catching up on some homework (I got to one of these days) and some Hulu and Netflix.

Wednesday night I'm going with a few friends to see The Adjustment Bureau. I don't care what anyone says about it, I'm going solely to see Matt Damon (another secret crush of mine).

Thursday and Friday are still tentative, but I'm sure it'll be something cool and exciting.

Saturday I'll have book club and that is always fun, since I hear we are having tons of various cupcakes. :)

So, even though it's been 6 years since I've had a real full-fledged spring break, this year will just have to be the evening edition.

What Did I Just Do?

For my 1st project for one of my EMAC classes this semester, we were required to write a text-based piece that was 900-1200 words that had something to do with the ideas or concepts we had read about in this specific book. It could be creative, it could be an essay, it could even be a data visualization or a word cloud, as long as we talked about it etc.

Well, I was nearing the due date (meaning, the night before my class), and I had been thinking about doing something creative. I always feel like sometimes (with certain subjects) it's easier to pull out something creative because I can write it up faster, it's more personal, and it usually gets a better grade because it's "creative." :) When I had first started thinking about the assignment, I decided that I'd probably write a short story kind of a thing because that'd be easy for me to write for one, and I'd get the word count, no problem. After reading the section of the book we were assigned, I had an idea on what I'd do, and I just started writing.

Sounds good, right?

Unfortunately, this one piece will get incorporated into a final portfolio at the end of the semester that includes 3 other projects, and they all have to have an overarching theme/point. Which means, I'll have to continue this story throughout the semester and reframe it through the different projects. Which means...

I just tricked myself into writing another novel/novella.

At least this one I'll be forced to finish, so I can get a good grade (and for my point to come across because this 1st assignment turned into just being more like an intro to the story and for the characters). But the whole time I kept thinking:

What did I just get myself into?

What I Love Today

I love the weather today. After the crazy ice and snow and ridiculousness we had the last couple weeks, today is BE-A-U-TIFUL!

I love that today I had a relatively quiet work environment. :)

I love my friends who send me really funny emails, tweets, links, messages, photos, etc. that make me laugh so much and be grateful we became friends.

I love my family for the support that I don't give them enough credit for and the love that I pretend they don't give me even though I know they do.

I love my classes and professors and classmates even though sometimes I get stressed, or I feel completely inadequate while talking with them. But, despite that, I enjoy learning from them.

I love the freedoms and privileges I enjoy by being in this country, living during this time, and earning what I do.

I love knowing that there are people in this world and beyond that care about me, love me, and want me to be successful in this life. And I love knowing that I can know that through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love the person I have become and the experiences I have gained to be that way. In other words, I love being me.

And I love that tomorrow all that Valentine's candy goes on sale!

He's back and better than ever!

You are welcome.

I've made real progress...

As some of you may have heard, the lovely state of Texas was confused by the powers that be for some other state like Michigan or Wisconsin, and us poor Texans didn't know what to do and pretty much shut down the state for four days. School was canceled, my work was canceled, most of the shops and stores either closed or were only open for a few hours, and the grocery store shelves were emptied of all staple foods. The local news was dominated by footage of icy road conditions, and much like police chases, we had continuous coverage of semi trucks jack-knifing on the icy highway along with breaking news of snow and ice falling from Cowboys stadium (you know because the Superbowl is going to be there tomorrow). We had rolling blackouts to conserve the energy and maintain the integrity of the power grid, and most of us holed up inside of our homes, only venturing out for the necessities, which of course led to mean cases of cabin fever. Some went days without seeing another human being.
Everyone had decided this was....

THE SNOWPOCALYPSE!!!!!!

For those in other states where snow and cold weather is the norm, I'm sure this was your reaction to us:

Well, I don't know about you guys that were stuck in the house, but I used my time to work on all those things I wrote about in my last post. I was super proud of myself because I mostly just wanted to sleep and watch TV (which I did plenty of, mind you).  I edited 2 chapters of one of those books, worked on school and church stuff, and made real progress on my dad's stockings (I have now finished more than half the colors that are used!).

I do have some bad news though...

My mom's stocking is never going to be completed (at least not by me).

I had a friend who volunteered to help me get started on my mom's stocking, and even she was telling me I'm never going to have it done in time. It's a counted cross-stitch, and the pattern is a bit complicated, at least for the cross-stitch dabbler. Well, my mom can't go without a stocking, so I searched online for a new kit that was more like my dad's (read easier to do cause I don't have to count anything and just have to fill in the colors that are already painted on the material).

So, this is my mom's new stocking, currently on its way from Utah to Texas:

Hopefully this pattern will be a little easier and I can finish it within the year.

Yes, I've made some real progress all thanks to the SNOWPOCALYPSE!!!!!

2011--The Year of Finishing

And no, I don't mean this year will be all about races, faux painting my walls, or getting new flooring.

This year I've decided that it will be the year that I finish all (or most) of the unfinished things/projects I have in my life. A long time ago I told you about how I always make a list every summer of things I'll try to finish, but I never end up completing anything (or very few). Well, as I started thinking about all the things on those lists and what my new year's resolutions should be, I decided that I should combine them because clearly, I have a problem.

My problem is I get really excited about something, or I decide to try something, and I have to do it right then. But, if it ends up taking too long or I lose interest, I tend to put it away or stop, thinking I'll pick it up later when I have more time. But of course, I never seem to have enough time, other things get in the way, there are more important things to do, I forget about it, etc. I have a pile of books that I've started and haven't finished, arts and craft projects that are half complete, and various other things that I've been meaning to get to but haven't started.

So in an attempt to make myself a better person, and one that finishes what she started, I've decided that I'll make a master list of the things I've been meaning to finish, and I want to get a majority of them completed by the end of the year. Some of them I HAVE to finish, others  I'd like to finish, but I won't be too upset if I don't get to them. After all, I've got a lot of projects on this list (and if you'll notice, a few of the projects will seem familiar, since I've had them on other lists. See, I really am terrible at this).

And because I'm a big believer in making yourself accountable for your goals, I'm sharing these projects I need to finish with you, my blogger friends. Hopefully, you can bug me about getting them done, and as I complete and mark things off my list, I'll let you know. Well, here they are:

HAVE TO FINISH THIS YEAR

• The 3 books I had agreed to edit for a few family friends and my grandfather. Why does this have to be done? Well... I'll be honest, all 3 authors are fairly old, and I want to get their manuscripts back to them before something terrible happens, if you know what I mean.
• The Christmas stockings for my parents that I started in high school. It has been ridiculous how long it has been since I started these and have yet to finish. My parents ask me every year, and they've had the same stockings since they first got married. The waiting has got to end, and I have to finish them. By Christmas.
• Finish writing one of the novels I've started. I have started about 3 novels, with ideas for a few more, and I have yet to actually sit down and finish writing them. Some require some research, which is why I've stopped, but the one I'm hoping to finish (I started it when I was a junior at BYU) is the furthest along and doesn't require any research (at least not yet).

LIKE TO FINISH THIS YEAR

• My BYU graduation album/scrapbook. I have the pictures, so it's not like they are going to go anywhere, I'd just like to finish the scrapbook so I can put all the scrapbook crap away in a box.
• The various books I've yet to finish. Again, I'm pretty good at remembering where I've left off on a book even if it's been awhile, but I'd like to be able to put away this pile of books by my nightstand. (I'm hoping audible.com and librivox.org will help me in this endeavor.) Also, I'm pretty sure my little sister would like me to finish the one I've borrowed from her (An Abundance of Katherines by John Green). She keeps bugging me about where I am in the book, and every time I tell her I'm in the same place since the last time she asked me, she gives me this exacerbated sigh and walks away.
• My New York collage/poster. I had this bright idea to make a collage poster of all the bags and postcards I got while on my trip to New York City last year. I should probably actually do that since they are all sitting in a bag in my room.
• Print out/make a book out of my blog. I like to use my blog as a journal, if you couldn't tell, and a while back when I abandoned my Xanga (yes, I'll admit, I totally had a Xanga that I updated fairly regularly), I made a word document of every Xanga post I had with the plan that I'd print it out and bind it so it'd be my journal for future generations to read and admire (read: mock and criticize). My friend Mary did this with her Xanga posts awhile back and I thought that was a good idea. Again, the word document ain't going no where (I have it saved in like 3 different places), but I'd like to actually print it out and finish it. This one should be fairly easy for me to accomplish this year. Yay!

I could probably come up with a few more if I think about it some more, but I feel like this is a pretty good list that I can actually accomplish this year. Let's hope I can do it. I don't want to go another year with my parent's stockings looking like this: 

Dad's stocking: I realize it's hard to tell, but only the red and green and Santa's skin are done.

My mom's stocking: Haven't even started.

Life has been crazy

I have been behind on a lot of things, blog reading, blog posting, school reading, etc. You know how when people get so much stimuli they just shut down? This month has brought so many changes in my life that I pretty much don't know what to do, so I watch TV or do something very unproductive because I don't actually want to do what I should be doing. I'm starting to get over it, but I just wanted to give a report on said changes, you know in case anyone was curious.

I got a new calling at church. I am now the Relief Society secretary. I'm excited and kind of overwhelmed since the previous secretary was pretty non-existant, so I'm having to basically start from scratch with everything and reorganize everything. I'm hoping things will calm down more and it won't be so much work once I get everything squared away. Let's hope I'm right.

I started my second semester of grad school. I'm still only taking two classes, but they are both going to be very intense, and I might die from the workload. One of them is Digital Textuality, which in all honesty, I'm still not sure what that even means and I'm on my 3rd week of class. It's one of those "we'll figure it out as we go along and decide as a class what we want the requirements to be" kinds of classes, and if you know me but at all you know that I DO NOT do well with those types of things. My other class is about media and democracy/government, and our professor basically told us that we'd spend half of the semester talking about Wikileaks. Again, if you know me but at all, you know I don't like talking about politics and government stuff because, well because it just does not interest me. Also, the workload for this class is a TON of reading, and the professor is one of those that if no one says anything 2 seconds after he asks a question he just calls on someone and puts them on the spot. Ugh. Lord, help me survive this semester. After this I'll just have 3 more to go. YAY!

Today they "restructured" my department at work. Because of the rumor mill, I kind of already knew it was coming and had a pretty good guess about what'd go down. But even despite knowing how it'd probably end up, it still was kind of a shock when it actually happened. It doesn't affect me too much except for the fact that I now have a new boss. We'll see how things go, but it doesn't make me any more excited or happy, I'll tell you that. I'm trying to have a positive outlook on it all (something I'm trying to work on and make a habit as one of my resolutions), but sometimes that is really tough to do.

I'm also starting to contemplate, well more than contemplate, moving out of my parent's house and into an apartment. It probably won't happen until August, but I have to start saving up money and go through things to keep, throw away, or store. I've lived with my parents for 3 and a half years now, and it's definitely time to skedaddle. But, in that 3 and half years, I've collected a lot of crap (not to mention the crap I had brought with me from school). So now I got to go through all of it. I was always planning on moving once I graduated, so I'm just moving out 6 months or so earlier.

Speaking of graduating, I should be graduating by May of 2012, if all goes according to plan (which it sure as heck better especially because of that restructuring I told you about), which means I have to start looking into what I can do with that degree and where I'd like to work/move to etc. Granted this is still aways away, but it's just one more thing I've been thinking about recently.

With all of that said, life has been crazy. Although, I'm not sure I'd like it boring, so I guess crazy is better than that. I might not have much of a social life or blog life this semester (although my school blog will have 2 posts from me every week!), but I will try my best. I hope everyone else is doing great and embracing the new year with excitement. Me? I'm already wanting it to be 2012.

My Dichotomous First Semester

As I'm soon about to start my second semester of grad school next week, I thought I would report on how my first semester went. Let's just say I loved it and hated it. I took two classes, and one of them I absolutely despised and the other I absolutely adored.

The first class was my aesthetics of interactive art class. I know I've already told you a little about this class, but basically, by the end of the semester I was counting down the days till it was over. The teacher was unclear on what she actually wanted when it came to assignments, I only got to know a few students that seemed relatively nice and normal and the other ones either didn't talk, or if they did I didn't want to hear about them. The intellectual hipster dude really pissed me off at the end of the semester with his final presentation, and I was so glad to be done with that class. I wouldn't say that it was a hard class because it wasn't actually. It was fairly easy. Just some reading assignments, a few presentations to do and that was it. But, being in class was agonizing and a huge waste (most of the time I played angry birds on my phone or did reading for my other class). I really didn't learn much from the class, and what I did learn it was from the reading and research I did for the presentations. I came home after that class every time complaining about how I'd want it over already. I like school, but I have never hated a class so much in my life like I did this one. All I can say now is, I'm glad it's over, I'm never taking a class from that professor again (and luckily I don't have to since it was an elective class outside of my program); and if that hipster dude is in another of my classes (which I'm praying he's not), I'm slapping him. No, really, I mean it.

Then there's my other class. I absolutely LOVED it. It was the intro into my program (so that's a good sign that I liked it so much), and my professor was awesome. She was new to the University, but she did an amazing job and I learned so much in class and outside of class. There were a few classmates that bugged me, but I made so many other friends with everyone else that it was easy for me to ignore the few annoying ones. Have you ever sat in a class or been somewhere and you just felt that that was exactly where you needed to be? That's how I felt sitting in that class. After taking that class, I realized that even though I might not know what kind of job this degree will get me or where it will take me in my life, it was something I was supposed to be doing and that if I was dedicated enough to it, it would get worked out in the end.

Let's hope that this next semester is less of the former and more of the latter.

Christmas Memory 10: My Gift to Jesus

My grandmother used to have this tradition that we used to do every year on Christmas eve when we were over at her house. She had a white gift box that she placed on the fireplace, and in it, it contained pieces of paper all written by us from the year (or two) before that was our gift to Jesus. We were supposed to write down something that we would do better in our lives that next year as our gift to Jesus. We would promise to pray more, read our scriptures more, be a nicer person, think of Christ more, etc.

The following year, we would open up the gift and read what we had written and decide whether or not we had done what we said we would, and then we would write a new one. This was a tradition that never really carried over, but I still like the idea of giving a birthday present to Jesus and having it be something I will do better the following year.

This year, my gift will be to be more Christlike through and through; read my scriptures more, pray more, and just be nicer and less judgmental of people. It'll be difficult, but it's for Jesus, so I'll try my best.

Happy Birthday Jesus, and Merry Christmas to all of you!

Christmas Memory 9: Secret Santa

Every once in a while my family would pick two or three families to play Secret Santa for and drop off some goodies. When I was younger, I remember there was one time at one of the big family reunion Christmases that it was supposed to be my turn to take the basket and ding-dong ditch the house. I was too scared to go because I was afraid I'd be caught, so my aunt ended up going, and I still kind of regret not doing it.

Luckily I've had more opportunities to do it since then, like there was one time that for Young Women's we were supposed to each take turns doing one of the "12 days of Christmas" for a family in the ward. We had made all kind of stuff for them, ornaments, food, I even think we made them a tree skirt. That drop off was fun, until when I was running away I slipped in some mud and totally fell and got mud all over me.

But, one of my all time favorite secret santa dropoffs wasn't exactly for Christmas time. My freshman year at BYU, me and a few friends decided that we were going to do the "12 days before finals" for one of our favorite professors. He had had a party at his house, so we knew where he lived, and we had paid attention through the semester to see what he liked. We did crazy stuff, like we knew his favorite state was Massachusetts, so we got a bunch of things that MA was known for (Boston baked beans, the first post office-stamps, etc.). I even think we made him a mixed CD of some Christmas songs.

I was the get away car, since I was the only one in the group with a car, so I had to park down the street aways and duck down. At first, they got away with just running back to the car, but then our professor got hip to our  arrival and he started coming out and looking for who it was, so they'd have to stay hidden. He would send his son out to go look around the house and investigate. Then he started making comments in class, like he was going to set the dogs out. No one else had any clue what he was talking about, but we did. We almost got caught several times, but we didn't let that stop us.

Towards the end of the 12 days, we had 11 of our classmates write thank you notes to him or things they appreciated about him etc, and then the last day we gave him a really nice framed photo/painting (or maybe it was a figurine, I forget now). The last day, he had left a note on his door for us. Telling us that they'd really like to know who was dropping off these presents because they wanted to thank us in person. They told us to knock and stay so that we could come inside and enjoy some hot chocolate etc. I think we did decide to stay, but when we knocked, no one came to the door. So, we figured it was for the best and just left.

He figured out it was us since we took another class from him the next semester and he asked us. He told us that he was very thankful for our kindness because he hadn't been doing very well and was considering retiring and not teaching anymore. But he said that because of our gifts, he realized he needed to keep teaching because he was making an impression after all.

Favorite Secret Santa moment ever.

Christmas Memory 8: Some I Don't Remember But Are Told About Every Year*

One of these I do remember, but these other memories, my parents tell me about almost every year.

My mom told me that my very first Christmas I had gotten put in a pile of all the Christmas wrapping paper, and I got so excited that I started flinging it around and sucking on it. Here's a picture of proof:

When I was four, I had (apparently, because I have no recollection of it) really wanted a doll house. But, my mom found this girly Lego-type house and playground instead (because a dollhouse was too expensive). My parents always want everything set up from Santa, unwrapped, so that it's all cool and awesome when you first see it. My dad decided he wanted to put the house all together for me. So, my Uncle (this was one of the big family reunion Christmas years) told my dad that he should superglue it all together so he wouldn't have to build it again. So my parents and my aunt and uncle stayed up till 2 or 3 in the morning gluing and putting together this dollhouse (that I don't remember at all. Awesome, right? Totally worth it.).

Funny thing was, they had to break it apart to put it back in the tub so that we could go home with it. Hilarious.

The last one that I do remember was one year I really wanted this:

I absolutely loved that thing. It came with hot chocolate mix and tiny cups and stirrers. I made my dad put it together and then make me hot chocolate so many times, and I made him drink out of those tiny cups that he got really tired of it. But he did it anyway because he loves me. :)

*Note: Some assembly required.

Christmas Memory 7: A Christmas Gift I Remember

I know after 24 years of life, I've gotten plenty of Christmas gifts. Some I still remember, some I vaguely remember, some I still have, some have been long forgotten or have been repurposed (I'm pretty sure several of the stuffed animals that my mom now has under one of our Christmas trees were previous Christmas gifts to me). But, after thinking about gifts I got when I was really little, there was one I remember all too well.

When I was three, I got this little gem:

I used to play with this thing all the time. And I mean ALL the time. I went around the house singing any tapes I could get my hands on. I'm pretty sure it was a Bryan Adams tape and a Wham tape (but my mom doesn't think so, but I remain convinced those are the tapes). I do know I had some kiddie tapes as well, including this:

In fact, I listened to that chipmunk tape so much, that my parents got super annoyed and threw it away and convinced me that it got lost.

Oh the lies of Christmas.

Christmas Memory 6: Gorky/Bernard The Elf

Remember how I talked about how my family has the tradition of the elf bringing us pajamas every year? The reason for the tradition was mainly when we were younger, so it could get us to go to bed. So when Gorky (or after The Santa Clause came out, Bernard) brought our pajamas, we knew it was time for us to go to bed because Santa was on his way.

I always loved it because the door bell would ring and we would open the door to find a basket of pajamas for all of us. We would rush outside and look in the sky to see if we could see the reindeer or sleigh that the elf had borrowed.

I always thought it was great how Gorky/Bernard always knew our sizes and the kind of pajamas we wanted. Although as the elf and us got older, sometimes he'd forget what pants were for who (read my mom couldn't remember which pants she bought for which kid). My parents got tired of the elf for awhile and would always say that the elf had died in a freak accident and couldn't do it anymore. But we'd always say that Santa had plenty of other elves to help out, so we still got pajamas anyway. When I discovered the truth about Santa and therefore the elf, I got to be the elf a few times.

The ploy would be that my mom had the basket already to go and sitting in an inconspicuous garbage bag in the garage. Then, my dad would demand that I take the trash out. I would begrudgingly take the garbage outside to the trash can and also pick up the "other" garbage bag. After disposing of the evidence, I'd sneak around to the front of the house, set the basket down, ring the doorbell and run like hell to the back of the house again. My parents would always stall for me so I'd have some time to come back inside, and my younger siblings would all ask if I saw the elf since I was outside. I'd make a big show about how I saw something so that's why I had run back in (since I was breathing heavy from ding-dong ditching my own house). They'd tell me I missed it and he totally brought pajamas while I was taking the trash out, and I'd act sad that I hadn't seen anything.

Once my other siblings discovered who the real elf and Santa was we each had to take turns being the elf. The last year when Marin found out, she got to be the Elf and we had to pretend because she hadn't gotten a turn. Now that we all know, my mom just pulls the pajamas out of her closet and doles them out to us (still confusing whose pants are for who). Ahh the joys of pajamas from Bernard the Christmas Pajama Elf.

Christmas Memory 5: Why We Have a Fake Tree

So according to my mom, when I was really little we used to have a real tree every year. But, then my parents discovered how much neater and cheaper a fake tree was, and for as long as I can remember we've always had a fake tree. But, there was one year when we decided to venture into the long forgotten world of a real tree.

I could be wrong, but I think we got inspired when we went to have Thanksgiving in Chicago with my Aunt and Uncle and we went with them to chop down their Christmas tree (I was amazed you could even do that. I always thought that was only in movies like Christmas Vacation). We decided that we wanted a real Christmas tree too, so the next year we drove out somewhere in Nowhereville, Texas to a giant Christmas tree lot to pick out a tree. We went the already cut route, and took it home with us.

Our family always decorates the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. So, that's when we got the tree and decorated it. It looked beautiful with the ornaments and lights. My mom even let my dad put tinsel on it (which she hates cause it's messy, but that's what my dad's family always did on their tree), so it made it all shiny and sparkly. The nice pine scent was in the air, and it wasn't because my mom had lit a pine-scented candle. The picture perfect, real-life Christmas tree.

The problem was that we had to keep the tree alive till Christmas. Turns out that it was a huge problem.

About a week and a half before Christmas, that beautiful, picture-perfect real-life Christmas tree was looking like a decrepit, mug-shot, dead as a doornail, pathetic Christmas tree. A ton of the needles had already fallen off, all of the branches were drooping to the ground, causing many of the ornaments to just fall off. It was pretty sad. So, we took all of the ornaments and lights off and threw the tree in the backyard and put up the fake one.

And that's why my family has always had a fake tree ever since.

Christmas Memory 4: Lights

So, as I mentioned in my previous Christmas memory, my family always goes to look at lights. I feel like this will be something that we'll always do no matter how old we are. Although, as of late we've grown cranky and impatient in our old age and have gone earlier in December so we could avoid the crowds. But there have been specific houses and lights that I remember loving to go see:

When I was younger we used to go to my grandparents' house in El Paso every other year for Christmas (it essentially was our family reunion). And every time we went down there, on Christmas Eve, we would go to this one neighborhood that would be lit up. So many people would come see it, that they made you park outside the neighborhood and walk around inside; no cars allowed. For some reason, I like walking; you can appreciate the lights for a longer amount of time and not worry about hitting the car in front of you while you are looking at them. Anyway, there was one house I loved because they made it look like the top of their Christmas tree had to stick out of the top of the roof. Favorite house, every time.

When my family moved to Plano, we discovered this neighborhood off of Legacy, called Deerfield. At the time, it was a new developing neighborhood and to try to get people to buy the houses, they decided to have everyone put up Christmas lights to get people to come. It's become a tradition ever since, and nowadays it's just kind of gotten annoying because they have carriages, limos, and buses, not to mention all the regular cars that come. Don't ever go to Deerfield on Christmas Eve in a car. You'll get stuck and be in that neighborhood for hours. Anyway, there's a few houses that I love seeing in Deerfield: there's one house that has a big window above the door with several wooden archways inside that makes it look like a castle. (This one has nothing to do with lights.) The other house is one that every year they make a snowman, a Santa, and a toy soldier all of balloons. I don't know how they do it or keep them together or if they have to redo it because the air goes out of the balloons, but I love it, every time. There's a new house in recent years that has been featured on the national news that has over a million lights (or some ridiculous number like that) and it's all set to music. It's very bright and cool, but I still like the balloons.

The last house I used to love going to actually doesn't get decorated anymore. My parents discovered it, I forget when, but we started going every year. But, about 5 years ago or so, the owners of the house decided they were getting too old to put everything up (they started in October every year taking everything out and setting it up) and stopped. But, this one house was on a corner, and every square inch of their front yard would be covered in display cases and lawn displays and lights. They had a case of penguins, peanuts characters, a flipping TMNT, some Looney Tunes characters, several Santas, angels, a few nativities, and tons of other things. This was one you definitely had to get out of the car and walk around because it would be decorated all the way up the walkway. It was intense. I loved that house. I'm just glad it wasn't mine.

Christmas Memory 3: Traditions

There are certain traditions that my family does every Christmas Eve (in no particular order):

• Our big Christmas dinner where we have steak and shrimp and lobster and/or something else equally delicious. 
• We read the Christmas story (you know the important one about Jesus).
• We go out and drive around to look at Christmas lights.
• We open one present on Christmas eve, which for me always ends up being the card one of my grandparents sent because I want to save the cool stuff for Christmas day.
• My dad reads The Polar Express, and it has to be my dad, and he has to ring a bell when he's done. (If you've read it, you understand why).
• We all know when it's time to go to bed because Santa's elf comes and brings us pajamas! (Although this one we've kind of altered since we know the truth, but this tradition will be better explained in a future Christmas Memory post).

And the thing with these traditions is that if we don't do these I get upset. I don't know why, but I do. Last year we went to another family's house for dessert on Christmas eve and while it was fun, I didn't want to be there that long because we had to get home to do all of the traditional stuff! Yeah, I know. I'm weird.

But one of my favorite traditions is singing Christmas carols, but not just any Christmas carol. It has to be The Twelve Days of Christmas. I think this is one my grandparents started doing, and I like it so much that I make my family keep doing it every year. (It's just not Christmas unless we sing it.) But, it's more than just singing. There are actions that go with all of the verses, and you go faster and faster as you go along so by the time you get to the 12th day, you're ready to sit down because you're tired and out of breath. I remember when I was younger singing it at my grandparents' house and watching my dad, uncle, and grandfather all constantly pulling up their pants as they performed the song. What's hilarious is we always forget all of the verses every year, so we're always stopping and trying to remember.


This one was recorded a few years ago, but here's the last verse to give you an idea:

Christmas Memory 2: A Little Humor For the Holidays

Being the oldest child, I was the first to find out the truth about Santa Clause, but I also got to keep up the charade the longest for my siblings. Sometimes it was fun, getting to help set out my siblings presents, eating a few of Santa's cookies, and filling the stockings while they had to go to bed (although, my parents always made me go to bed before they put out my gifts so it'd still be a surprise for me too).
Other times it was hilarious:

One year my brother, Cameron, was about 9 or 10 years old and he desperately wanted a scooter. But not just any scooter, a Razor scooter. It had to be a Razor and it had to have blue wheels. He had been bugging my parents for one and had told Santa in person and in letter form exactly what he wanted.


Being the dutiful loving parents that they are, my mom and dad bought Cameron a scooter from "Santa". Santa's gifts are always left unwrapped and are just placed in front of the tree. So as I helped my parents put out Santa's presents (except for mine) on Christmas eve, I noticed that there was no Razor scooter. Instead there was this:

A finger scooter.

Don't worry, the real Razor scooter was there hidden in the backyard, but Cameron didn't know that. I thought it was hilarious, but I couldn't wait to see the look on Cameron's face Christmas morning.

I wish I had taken a picture. His reaction was so funny, I about died of laughter. He held it up with this disgusted look on his face, clearly upset that Santa did not understand his request. We tried to convince him. "It's a scooter!" we all told him. "That's what you asked for, right?" "Maybe you should have been more specific." He didn't know whether to be sad or angry, so he just kind of was shocked. Then he got mad. Especially since we were all laughing hysterically.

Before it went on too long, my dad pulled out the real scooter from the backyard, and Cameron's faith in Santa was restored and he was happy again. I still look back at this memory and laugh.

That Santa has a great sense of humor.

Christmas Memory 1: Light Bulb Hell

In the period of 3 days over Thanksgiving (not counting the holiday), my family (either one or two or all of us) made a trip to Target 8 times. Six of those times were Christmas light bulb related. Here’s why:

The day after Thanksgiving is when my mom makes my dad go up to the attic and drag down all of the Christmas decorations: lights, trees, nativities, Santas, snowflakes, advent calendars and all. Once my dad brings everything down, him and my brother(s) start putting up the outside lights, while my mom, sister, and I put up the Christmas trees and various other décor inside.

Well, when my dad and brother started putting up the outside lights, several lights were out on the icicle lights. So, my dad and brother ran to Target to get some more light bulbs, thinking that it’d be cheaper to just replace the light bulbs than buying all new icicle lights (because the kind of icicle lights we have aren’t made any more). Oh how wrong he was….

As my dad started replacing the light bulbs in the outside lights, my mom and I proceeded to put up our 9-ft Christmas tree, only to discover that the entire top part of the pre-lit tree was out. My mom and I figured it wasn’t that many at the top, so we could replace the bulbs. So, we started pulling them out and noticing that it never seemed to end. So we made another trip to Target to get more replacement lights (since we ran out of the bulbs that they came with).

But, Target, it seems, doesn’t sell just bulbs, so we had to buy strands of mini lights and take the bulbs out of those strands to then turn around and put them in the strand that was out. My mom replaced all of those bulbs on the top of the tree… guess what. Still didn’t work. So she just wrapped a separate strand around the tree and you couldn’t even tell. Then… the bottom of the tree went out. So we had to get another strand to wrap around the bottom.

Then my dad realized there were more lights that were out in the icicles, so he bought a light bulb checker and more strands of lights at Target. My dad, my brother, and I spent all night checking every freaking bulb in those icicle lights (5 or 6 strands… I can’t remember now; it’s all a blinding blur). After sustaining some injuries, we got all of them to work and we called it a night.

The next morning my dad finished up checking the bulbs, made sure they all worked, and then put them all up on the house. And then after putting them all up and plugging them all in, he discovered a short in the wire because every third strand of icicle lights was out. That’s when we decided to go back to Target to get all new icicle lights. Came home and put those up, and it would appear that everything was again right with the world.

Until my mom started putting up our 7-ft, family Christmas tree… The whole middle section of that tree was out. We knew by now that it would not be worth replacing the bulbs (because the bulbs on this tree were shaped differently and so we wouldn’t be able to just buy more). So, we had to go back to Target to buy more strands of lights.

I might be missing another trip to Target somewhere in there because we went so many times that I honestly can’t even remember the individual trips. It just seems like we were just there all day. We will more than likely be buying a new tree or two at the after-Christmas sales for next year. Let’s hope this light bulb hell won’t happen again.

Oh, and guess what… yesterday, a middle section of the 9-ft tree went out. Luckily we had an extra strand of lights from a previous trip to Target, so my mom wrapped that around the tree. If another part goes out, we’re celebrating Christmas in darkness, ghetto tree and all.