I Actually Had to Dream of a White Christmas

As members of the LDS faith, we share a belief with many other Christians  that Jesus Christ was actually born in the springtime (April, specifically), and not in the dead of winter like we celebrate. I've heard that Christmas in December has something to do with ancient Pagan rituals and some king wanting to give Christians something un-blasphemous to do, etcetera, etcetera... But I think the REAL reason someone decided to celebrate the birth of Christ at the end of December is because winter needed a little light and joy. And oh how grateful I am to whoever made that decision! Christmas could not have come at a more perfect time this year.

After an extremely stressful semester and an extra few days of work to top it all off, I was nothing short of ecstatic to be home for the holidays. I honestly could have gotten dirt for Christmas and still have been perfectly satisfied. This Christmas, all I wanted was my home and my family and a break from the hectic life of work and school, and that's exactly what I got. My dad and the boys were off of school, Hilary and Brian were spending some time living in my parents' house while they were in-between places and Trevor and Sherstin stayed in Farmington for the holidays, meaning I got my whole family around me at nearly all times. We had the rockinest family Christmas party of all time with my mom's family (Seriously though. It was legendary.), we played lots of games, ate lots of food, made new ornaments for our over-sized Charlie Brown tree, and just enjoyed being together. I even got a bonus of being able to spend a lot of time with my best friend who is finally back in my life after two long years and his family. I didn't even mind that for the first time in my life (that I can remember anyway), the only snow on the ground was the occasional un-melted dirty black mound in a parking lot or on the side of the road. I didn't need a white Christmas--the amount of loving going on filled that void.

I will spare you the details of my winter break (at least for now) and simply state that I had one of the most wonderful and magical Christmases of my life. I probably would have (at least) come close to quitting work and school and life and resorting to being a bum for the rest of my life if it hadn't been for the perfect timing of Christmas. So thank you, Mr. King-man who put Christmas in December to show those dirty Pagans who's boss, you have made my winter a lot less bleak.

Happy Holidays!

Words of Wisdom

I had a great conversation with my mom today. It went something like this:

Mom: Girls are just mean. There's no way around it.

Me: Sometimes I wish I was a boy.
Mom: Then you would be dumb and insensitive.

Me: So mean and catty or dumb and insensitive are my only options?

Mom: Yep.

It's sad because it's true. I have to leave for class in a few minutes, so naturally instead of working on homework I'm listening to music. Here is my song of the day: (I don't know why it is so huge...)

 Low Rising by The Swell Season

I wanna sit you down and talk
I wanna pull back the veils

And find out what it is I've done wrong

I wanna tear these curtains down

I want you to meet me somewhere

Tonight in this old tourist town

And we´ll go

Low rising

´Cause we´ve gotta come up

We´ve gotta come up

Low rising

´Cause I fear we´ve had enough

Low rising

´Cause there´s no further for us to fall

Low rising

Oh for the love of you

I wanna take you to the rock

I wanna jump right in

And see what that big ocean's got

I wanna turn this thing around

I wanna drink with you

All night till we both fall down

Till we go

Low rising

´Cause we´ve gotta come up

We´ve gotta come up

Low rising

´Cause there´s no further for us to fall

Low rising

And I fear we´ve had enough

Low rising

Oh for the love of you

Low rising

´Cause we´ve gotta come up

We´ve gotta come up

Low rising

And I fear we´ve had enough

Low rising

´Cause there´s no further for us to fall

Low Rising

Oh for the love of you

For the love of you

Low rising low rising

I wanna sit you down and talk

I wanna sit you down and talk about it now 

I have a secret love for The Swell Season. You should check them out.

Here's another gem, shown to me by a good friend who doesn't realize just how great he is:

And...I still think "dumb and insensitive" is better than being a girl. Just sayin.

Ode to Facial Hair

Today, I saw a whole group of young men sporting very stylish mustaches. I smiled and thought to myself, "The world could always use a little more stache..." but then I was suddenly sad to realize that Movember/Noshember/Novembeard/No-Shave November is coming to a close. I will miss all the glorious beards, mustaches, and assorted facial hair patterns that have been so diligently groomed by classy men all over. So, in honor of the commencement of a glorious month dedicated to the growing of hair on one's face, I give you the one and only (AND the original)...


Beard Song.

(Rocky and Balls also came out with a song about mustaches specifically for the month of November. I don't love it as much as The Beard Song, but if you want to check it out, click here.)