Overheard

There was a lady on her phone next to me at the salon this morning. Here's my favorite part of her conversation:

"I had to call in my Methodist friends because my Catholic friends flaked out on me."

I guess the Methodists are second-stringers?

The Work of Christmas

I always have a hard time after Christmas because everything just seems so dull. The wintertime pre-Christmas is so different from the bleak, cold, cloudy post-Christmas winter. The excitement and family time is over, and we're all back to the daily grind. Though I do feel a bit renewed, it just isn't as much fun without such things to look forward to. In church this morning, we read the following poem by Howard Thurman. Kind of gives a different perspective and I think presents a good way to look at this time of year.

The Work of Christmas
Howard Thurman

When the star in the sky is gone,
When the Kings and Princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins--
To find the lost
To heal the broken
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner
To teach the nations
To bring Christ to all
To make music in the heart.

The Windy City

I know we've been back for a while, but I just think this story needs to be shared with everyone. On Saturday, after a great time in Chicago, it was time for us to head back to Memphis/Nashville. We all (my dad, sister, and I) went to hear a really great community band concert at 8am, and then we were off to the airport. Mind you, our flight didn't technically leave until 3:40pm, but we just HAD to see our Tigers play (and BEAT!) stupid Georgetown. After they pretty much cheated and beat Vandy last year in the Sweet 16, I knew that I couldn't handle another of my teams losing to them again.

You're not really supposed to check in for your flight more then 4 hours prior to your departure time. Well, we checked in with (literally) 3h 58m until we were scheduled to leave. If we checked in a normal person time, we would have missed the game entirely. So, we were the only Tiger fans in Harry Caray's in the Midway airport. Oh well, we witnessed the WIN. It was very, very therapeutic for me. Maybe I'll get over last year's loss sometime soon (maybe)...

While that game was certainly the highlight of our day, the two-hour delay would come in a close second (not). Yeah, we left Chicago about 30 minutes after we were supposed to land in Nashville. Needless to say, I didn't make it to the Vandy games that night, like we had planned. After a two-hour delay (with like 45 minutes of it sitting on the plane in the gate), that flight was probably the roughest I've ever been on. The women behind us thought it was absolutely hilarious, but I was less than impressed (and got a bit irritated with their joviality).

Overall, it was a really great trip that included shopping at the biggest Macy's I have EVER seen, an amazing room overlooking Lake Michigan, and a bit of reassurance that I could actually make it living there!

Looking Up

Things are really going well, and I'm happy! My dad is getting to go home from the hospital today--for anyone who was wondering. Marissa came yesterday and we got to go watch the Tigers win, and then watch the UT-WKU game, which was really good. Good, fun basketball with my sister...get much better than that-I don' t think so! Now, I'm in the home stretch of my last semester of actual college (next semester is student teaching) and it's not so stressful. Last week definitely was, but now it's just tests that I don't really have to do all that well on, so I'm liking that! Once I'm done listening to my music for my jazz exam, I'm downloading my first Christmas music and that makes me happy! Hooray for holiday spirit!!

Christmas Get to Know You

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper is so much more fun.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real. My mom and I have had many a fight over this. I cried the year we got a fake tree.....

3. When do you put up the tree? The day after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? Right after New Year's.

5. Do you like egg nog? Never had it. Why? Because it sounds gross.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My pink dance bag with ballerina slippers on it and my name embroidered.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Well, no.

8. Hardest person to buy for? How about everybody. I don't get to go shopping because Vanderbilt makes me go to school until Christmas day.

9. Easiest person to buy for? My sister.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. I had really intended to do cards this year, too....

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The list is kind of long and might offend some people I love, so let's just say that I don't love all of the things I get ;-)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's A Wonderful Life and White Christmas (it's a tie)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Ideally, the day after Thanskgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Does giving it to Goodwill count?

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Breakfast casserole from my Mimi or dressing from my Mamaw (okay, we eat that a Thanksgiving, but still...)

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear. I know that colored ones are festive, but my mother has taught me to associate them with tackiness.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

18. Travel at Christmas? If home to Memphis counts.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer and Vixen. Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. Oh and Rudolph. Is that all of them?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

21. Open the presents? Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Not having time to enjoy it because I'm in school/Chicago.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love our tree at home. It's very old school kind of Victorian, with all kinds of handmade ornaments from when I was little. I hope my own tree looks like it someday :-)

24. What do you want for Christmas? Christmas is the only day of the year when I like surprises.