has it really been THAT long?!?

wow. it's been a while. i'm sorry. i guess life just caught up with me. so, here's the run-down of my "break." it all started the day after my last post. the last day of finals week, to be exact. i was on my way up to campus to drop some stuff off before i headed home for the holidays. i had everything packed (as far as i knew at the time) and was going to leave from campus. it was a bit of a snowy day, but knowing that the city does not like to plow the streets in town, i figured that i would be ok on the interstate (that's usually how it is). as i waited patiently behind a pick-up in the left turn lane at the stop light, i looked up into my rear-view mirror and what did i see but another large pick-up pulling into the turning lane. pulling into the turning lane and not really stopping. not even really slowing down. next thing i knew, it was a pick-up and neon sandwich.

"neat," i thought to myself.

so, the three of us pulled into the gas station on the corner, and proceeded to find the non-emergency police number. the officer showed up almost as soon as we called, and after talking to all of us, proceeded to arrest the person who was driving the truck that rammed into me. apparently driving with a suspended license is not a good idea. the poor kid thought he was just going to be late for his final, but ended up missing it all together. i wonder how he explained that one to the prof.

by the time i got my insurance company called and all that jazz, i figured that it would be too late to head for home, especially since i had no driver's side tail/brake light or blinker. that would not be fun, especially in the dark. i ended up hanging out with my friend who was going to be moving to ohio (the third one in less than a year. am i missing something?), and later that afternoon the twinging started in my back. so, i went to the doctor, and he said whiplash. again, neat. i went home, took the prescribed muscle relaxer and went to bed. the next day, i left for home.

*i'll stop right now and apologize for the saga. it's been an eventful month, and i've been meaning to blog about each event as it happened, but there just hasn't been a whole lot of motivation. i'll try to continue to break it up with witty and sarcastic remarks along the way. and maybe even some photos. yay photos!*

it was a long drive. i had to stop frequently, since i was not allowed to take muscle relaxers and operate a motor vehicle at the same time. (i don't know, it could make the trip across the state a lot more interesting...) i got home fairly soon after dark, but probably should have left a bit sooner than i did. i somehow managed to forget ava's gift, (see the not earlier about thinking that i had everything ) so i had to stop in soo foo and pick something up. she'll be getting a random gift of little people next time i come home. if i remember it. :)

anywho, i can barely remember the week i spent at home, it feels like so long ago. i really enjoyed getting to spend some time with everyone. doom got to see a lot more of me that most others, except for the family. i spent some quality time chatting with doom and ho, and then we went to national treasure. it would have been a really great movie except for the fact that i am now bothered by really bad history and geography. as far as action goes though, it was pretty good. and despite what they show, sylvan lake is not directly behind mt. rushmore. i know it's just a story, but still...

so, i really miss the niece. she's too cute for words. i only got to spend a couple of days with her and my sister. i really wanted to be home that friday night, because there was to be a slumber party at the farmhouse, and i missed it. sadness. that meant one less day with everyone, which sucked. a lot.

christmas eve was wonderful. the family (minus the brother plus lord baron daddy) was there, and we had a good time watching the niece help everyone unwrap their gifts. thank you all for the wonderful loot! i scored a digital camera, luggage, yarn, a spiffy crochet hook, 'teacher' clothes, and a bunch of other wonderful stuff. thanks to you all!

the card my brother gave me was hilarious! see:

the rest of the week included the dinner at whimps with andrew, his girl, and her boy, which you may have read about on doom's blog. i was excited to see affreca there too, since i don't get to see her much. it felt i was home when i saw all of the people i hung around in high school (plus a few awesome others... jessica). i miss whimps.

at the end of the week, i got to hang out in the milk barn and make glass beads with pappa tom. it was fun, despite the fact that it was freezing! i also opted to stay an extra day so that i could go to church with my mom on sunday, rather than being home to unwind before a long day at work on monday.

here are some of the beads that i managed to make:


um... what next? well, i made it back, worked all day, and bummed around for a while. i helped hire new people for one of my jobs, which was interesting. i've never really interviewed anyone before. it seems like that time flew by too. i got everything figured out for school. i'm going to graduate in may with a history degree (minors in geography and english), and maybe i'll go back and finish the education stuff later. i just can't do it right now. it would mean yet another full year here, and that's not happening right now.

anywho, on her way to wyo, jessica stayed a night at my house. i hadn't brought her xmas, birthday or graduation gift with me to vermtown, so i gave it to her here. i got her some crochet hooks and a reference book, and for graduation, a flask. not just any flask tho, a holy water flask. the ladies at the jewelry shop where i had is engraved laughed pretty hard. here's a photo, you can't see it, but her initials are also engraved on the bottom.

i guess that's all for now. hopefully i'll be able to blog more often this semester. it's a goal.