Why I Love December

December is my month. Yes, my month. Despite the nasty, cold, snowy weather, I am happy in December.

Even working at Starbucks was awesome at this time of the year. The holidays were my favorite time to work in coffee shops.

Several of my friends have birthdays in December (Happy Birthday, all!) which means hangouts, gatherings, and general fun. Hanukkah is (usually) in December, as is Christmas. That means Christmas and Hanukkah parties. Isaac and I get to go to two Christmas parties, one for each of our work places, and I am already excited. Dressing up, going out, and having dinner! We don't get to do that very often. And we already have disgustingly coordinated outfits planned for his work party.

We were invited to the annual Hanukkah party that my dad's side of the family and their friends have. Get to hang out with family and friends and eat latkes. And who doesn't like that?

Once December is here, I allow myself to listen to Christmas music, watch Christmas movies, read Christmas and Hanukkah books, and enjoy the lights. Lit menorahs and Christmas lights make me smile.

Plus, it is my birthday. And I love my birthday! That often turns into a week-long celebration.

I suppose it boils down to December being FULL of fun events which allow me to spend a ton of time having fun with my friends and family. And that is pretty exciting.

March 12

Today is my step-grandmother's birthday. Yay! Happy birthday! (I'm not sure that she sees my blog, but I stalk her on Facebook and, of course, I am thinking about her today.)

And then I remembered that it was also the second anniversary of my grandfather's death (as well as the day I took the GRE). First off, what a horrible birthday for my step-grandma. I can't imagine how heartbreaking that would be. She's a strong lady, though, and she somehow manages to handle everything. Tough as nails.

I was remembering the day I took the GRE. I was a horrible, nervous wreck. My mom met me for a bit so I could grab a chai before the test (to avoid the caffeine headache). She knew that Grandpa had passed away earlier that morning, but didn't tell me because she didn't want to stress me out more or distract me from the GRE. And even though she must have been heartbroken, she actually hid it from me pretty well and tried to keep me positive.

So I was remembering and feeling a little sad, but grateful for my incredible and amazing mom and my wonderful and tough grandma. I feel that I have been a pretty lucky girl with my family. I guess I just wanted to share.

Busy Month

Hello everyone!

Sorry about the lack of posts! I just wanted to give a little update on my life.

It seems that half of my friends have birthdays in July, so I have been doing lots of birthday stuff.

I am also in a friend's wedding near the beginning of August, so there is a lot of wedding stuff going on! On this note, I got my bridesmaid dress which is pretty but doesn't fit (I know, they never fit). It's too big in the shoulder and the bust (story of my life), but too small in the hips and butt! I about panicked when I tried it on, but it was far too late to re-order and the women in the shop told me it would fit. All I can do now is loose some inches from my hips and butt! So I have been working out nearly everyday for that and my friends and I have started Insanity yet again. We need to be fit and sexy for NDK, anyway.

I have been working a little on my costumes, but not as much as I probably should be.

In important news, I am going back to school for my Masters. Sadly this means I have to move and leave Isaac and the rats at home for the year. I also don't have a place to live yet, which causes me some stress. I am excited to start the program, however. It is an intensive, year long program for a Professional Masters (which boils down to more credits per semester, finish in a year, and don't write a thesis). I have my classes all set up and I've ordered my textbooks, so I'm feeling pretty good about it.

I just took on a new student to tutor in reading. While I passed the test that says I can tutor reading, I find it difficult to teach because I learned at such a young age, I can't remember how I was taught. It has been an interesting experience so far, but I enjoy it over all.

And we had some of Isaac's family in town during July so we spent lots of time with them. Then my friend, Amie, came into town so we all spent a ton of time just hanging out. Which led to me not sleeping much hence no blogging.

Is that about it for the moment? I think so. I will try to get some more posts out with a little less delay!

And we will end with some pictures of my adorable rats, since I haven't blogged about them very often. They make me very happy!

I like it when they are in rat piles.

Me and "the boys."

Little Remus (aka "Bright Eyes.")

Silly Romulus!

Enjoy! Thanks for reading!