Insert sigh of relief here

Did you hear that?

----

That's the sound of me NOT DOING HOMEWORK.

Scratch that. That's the sound of me jumping up and down, doing toe touches and back flips as I think of all of the many things I will be able to do with my life that don't involve research at the library (okay, so these days research in the library actually means remoting in from home while wearing my pj's), writing horribly long and boring research papers, taking tests, and reading thousands of pages of stupid journal articles that nobody really cares about.

Okay, I'm sure SOMEBODY cares about the stupid journal articles. Like the moms of the authors. But maybe not. I have the most fantastic mother ever, and I don't think she ever read the article I had published. I don't blame here. It was 25 freaking pages! I wouldn't want to read it either, unless I'm suffering from insomnia, and then it's a surefire way to get some sleep.

But all that is over. Tonight I finished my VERY LAST HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT EVER. It was a simple 15-page term paper that I churned out in less than four hours. Just as I'm getting more efficient than ever at writing these silly papers... poof, it's over!

And praise the Lord that it's over!

I still have to defend my thesis later this week. And I still have to sit through three more classes. But I have no more assignments to turn in. They're all finished. FINISHED I TELL YOU. And I am a very. happy. girl. Giddy, really.

So giddy that I may not sleep. Hopefully the Benedryl will take care of that.

Thanksgiving 2009

Overheard at today's family Thanksgiving:

Me to my sister & her husband: You guys are so photogenic!

Other sister: You know that means you're going to have ugly children. Pretty people always have ugly children.

My sister, the eternal optimist.

Me to my dad & brother-in-law (before taking their picture): Do something manly!

Dad & bro: (insert grunting noises and muscle flexing here)

We also engaged in a lively conversation about how next Thanksgiving, my new boyfriend (Tony Romo... he's partial to blondes) and I will take on my sister Sarah and her to-be-named-later husband in a competitive game of flag football. This of course follows the assumption that (a) Tony and I are going to fall in love next year, and (b) my sister is going to meet a guy, fall in love with him, and marry him before November 2010. If this happens, I'm pretty sure Tony and I will annihilate them in flag football.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving indeed.

Surprise! (and other various things)

So, they got me. I sort of thought everybody was too busy to remember my birthday, which is understandable since my birthday always falls right before Thanksgiving. As it turns out, my sweet friends were secretly planning me a surprise birthday party, and boy was I surprised. I fell right into their trap, thinking I was going to dinner with a friend from work, and then when our reservations fell through, good old predictable me convinced him to go to my favorite restaurant, which was conveniently next door. In we walk, and there in front of me were 30 of my closest friends. I was so stunned that it took me a minute to realize that it was MY party (for a split second I thought maybe my friends had planned some random get-together and just not invited me... it seemed to be the only reasonable explanation at the moment, as everybody stared at me and nobody remembered to say "surprise!"). But it ended up being a very memorable night, and I'm so thankful to have some very sweet friends and a wonderful middle sister who is also quite devious.

Some other various things:

• I got the most amazing birthday present this year--one I'll treasure for years to come. The girls in my Sunday School class each sent me their very favorite scripture, along with a fashionable flip book to keep my own favorites in (because a fashionable girl must have a fashionable scripture catalogue). I loved that when one of the girls asked my sister what I would like, she replied, "Bethe loves scripture! Get her some scripture!" IIt's so true, and I love that they were willing to share their own little secret treasures with me. It's so neat to know these girls, what they've gone through, what they struggle with, what they have overcome, and then to see what their go-to scripture is. I am so touched by their thoughtfulness.
• I had a wonderful birthday dinner with my family tonight... including my new brother, added just this past June. I must say that as a gal who grew up in a family full of women, it's quite fun to have a little brother (and I'm so thankful that my sister married one that we get along with so well). However, we're at a total loss as to what to buy him for Christmas. We're on a hunt for something manly and wonderful for him.
• Not only did I have a birthday this weekend (the big 2-9... gulp), but I also got visited by the Asthma Fairy. It started on Friday and has now lasted four days. All of the meds and the coughing have caused me to almost completely lose my voice, making me sound like a boy in puberty... which is fitting, because my face looks like that of a hormonal teenager. I'm not sure what happened, but the Asthma Fairy was accompanied by her friend, the Pimple Fairy. I think both guests have overstayed their welcome. They need to leave and send their cousin, the Hot Christian Guy Fairy.
• I turned in my thesis tonight. I'm not sure I've ever been giddy after finishing a paper before, but tonight as I left the communications building I felt like turning cartwheels. One more week and I'll be completely finished with all assignments. Praise. The. Lord.
• Did I mention I'm close to starting a book? It has been a life goal, and I have finally identified my story, named my main character, and worked out a good bit of the plot. I have much more to develop before I begin, but when I have free time, my mind is now filled with what-if's and story brainstorming. This is one of my plans for 2010. You know, that life AFTER graduate school.
• I saw New Moon Saturday night (happy birthday to me). I liked this movie much better than the first one, and even better than the book. I think the fact that there were so many shirtless boys running around on the screen might have tipped the scales in the movie's favor. (sigh) This is one movie I may have to see again.

Must get to bed... the dark circles under my eyes from a lack of sleep will definitely not serve as a compliment to the pimples on my face. Oh, the joys of being a 29-year-old teenager.

PS--This is the two-year anniversary of this blog. Check out my other birthday posts here and here and here. Happy birthday to me.

Good Weekend

Let's see...

Twilight Pre-Party

Girls' Night Out at the Mavs game

Painting party

Steak dinner & New Moon

Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Lunch

Flag football tournament

Decorating for Christmas

Family dinner (possibly more steak)

Turning in my graduate thesis

... and my birthday. A very good weekend indeed!

Christmas Newsletter-2009 Edition

I started working on my 4th Annual Christmas Newsletter tonight. It's my annual tradition of showing my year in pictures... here's a few from last year...

Here's a sneak preview of one of my newsletter pics...

Want to be on the mailing list? Send me your address!

Grief

Death is a funny thing. You may have no clue it's coming, and then BAM, it hits you. In my grandmother's case, we knew for months, and the dying process seemed to crawl by. And then one day you wake up and it's over.

So then you start the funeral preparations, calling in family, trying to get everything planned for the big event. Folks know what to do, how to help. They bring food. They tell stories.

But my grandmother didn't want a funeral, and we are honoring our wishes. So instead of a predictable plan, we have had to figure out our own way to deal with the loss. For my family, it meant a fun family dinner that first night, first sharing some hard information, and then transitioning to some great belly laughs. My family is good at belly laughing. Then yesterday the women of the family went shopping. Ironic, because we aren't a shopping family, but it was something to do, a mission we could conquer and something completely frivolous to enjoy after some stressful weeks.

I found the perfect area rug for my bedroom. And then suddenly I knew I had to paint my bedroom. And having a mission was a bit comforting--next thing I knew we were at the hardware store buying supplies, and then painting until almost midnight, sharing more belly laughs and reminiscing about fun family times of the past. So less than a day after we went shopping, my room looks completely different, and I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. And control. And that is strangely comforting.

More fun family things are planned for tonight. It's amazing how a very full schedule can suddenly and immediately clear itself with one brush stroke, replacing obligations with simply resting and bonding. Loss is never easy, but it's a wonderful reminder to enjoy the people around me. And it's a reminder that because of my faith, I can have hope.

Africa

I want to go to Africa in 2010. More specifically, I want to go on a mission trip to Tanzania with my church. I had a few things that I worried might hinder my traveling (first and foremost, my annoying and currently uncontrollable asthma issues) but I have started finding solutions to what I thought were closed doors. I'm a bit terrified of the idea of traveling to the wilderness for two weeks, but my heart is aching to go.

Last night I had dinner with my wonderful Christian parents--both leaders in their church and big advocates for spreading the gospel. Here is what our conversation looked like:

Dad - So you really want to go to Africa, huh?

Me - Yep. I really want to go.

Dad - You know what happens to folks who go to Africa... they all come home wanting to adopt an African orphan.

Me - Oh really? Would that be so horrible?

Dad - Nah. I'd watch him for you.

Me - Well it's settled then. Africa, here I come!

San Diego

Just got home from my last trip of the year. After adventures in Miami, Colorado, California, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Croatia, I think I'm ready to hole up in my house for a little while and cocoon. I'm only a month away from being done with school, and between now and then all I want to do is hide and nest and eat cereal.

But San Diego was plenty beautiful. I'll upload pics soon (have you noticed I often promise pics and rarely post? It's because I know all of you probably see them on Facebook, and it takes too long to upload them twice). But I'll do my best to upload them. Really. Probably. While I was in San Diego I walked along the beach in front of the famous Hotel del Coronado, I ate the most splendid Spanish food at a spot in the Gas Lamp District, and I enjoyed seeing several hundred marines at my hotel one evening for a marine ball. Many had come alone, it was just a darn shame that I hadn't packed my cocktail dress in that humongous suitcase of mine. Sigh... maybe next time.

I also got to speak at the national PRSA Conference. That was a bit of a career highlight for me--2,000 public relations gurus at my industry's largest conference of the year, and somehow I ended up getting a bio in the event guide! I only spoke at a break-out session, nothing huge, but still it was one of those neat resume-building experiences that I'll probably never do again. All in all, it was a pretty nice trip indeed.

Back to the cocoon... I will see you in mid-December.

400th Post

In honor of my 400th post, something completely random...