My Birthday in Pictures

# 1 I woke up to beautiful sunshine over the lake in the backyard. It was sooo nice outside all day!

# 2 Me, Alison, Derek, and my parents set off to Disney World! We spent the morning and most of the afternoon in Animal Kingdom.


# 3We rode Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, and saw "It's Tough To Be a Bug" and "Finding Nemo" along with tigers, alligators, birds, and anteaters!


# 4We went to Outback Steakhouse for lunch/dinner. It was so good!! I absolutely LOVE steak :)


# 5
We came back to the house, where we enjoyed some delicious ice cream cake and I opened up my birthday presents - a cute jacket and....(drum roll....)

an iPhone!!
Thank you, Mom & Dad!!!

Also, thanks to all my friends for the birthday messages via text, phone call, and Facebook :)

All in all, it was a GREAT birthday!

"God bless us ... everyone"

MERRY

CHRISTMAS!

May the Christmas season bring you happiness and joy :)

TAGGED

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Definitely wrapping paper for receiving. It's harder for wrapping though...but worth it!

2. Real tree or Artificial?

I've always had a real one, so they hold a special place in my heart :) However, once I have my own home, I'll have to experiment before I decide which one I'll go with.

3. When do you put up the tree?

Um....I don't! My mommy and daddy put it up while I'm out at school in Utah. Makes it easy for me though. I just get to come home and enjoy it! But I help take it down, of course.

4. When do you take the tree down?

A couple days after Christmas? It's always before I go back to school so I can help....

5. Do you like eggnog?
NO!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Definitely the year we got a puppy! My parents had to hide it in the pool house on Christmas Eve and then bring her in on Christmas morning. So memorable.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Definitely my dad ;)

8. Easiest person to buy for?
That would be my mom.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
YES!! Last year, my mom got me the Willow Tree set!! I absolutely love it!!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
I don't do either.....don't blame me, I don't have a family of my own yet! But I prefer receiving cards. We always hang them up all over the house.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Can't really think of anything right now....

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Just watched it - The Muppet Christmas Carol! I know it sounds ridiculous, but it really is very very good!! I love singing along with the songs :)

13. When do you start shopping?
I start thinking about it right after Thanksgiving, but I don't really start buying until December.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Nope

15. Favorite thing to eat or drink at Christmas?
White chocolate covered Oreos, Hot chocolate, Candy canes, etc!

16. Lights on the tree?
Um, yes? What exactly are you asking here? Well, yes, they are definitely necessary for the tree.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Haha, this year, I've been listening to "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey, haha. But typically, my favorites are from Josh Groban (his "O Holy Night" is FABULOUS).

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel....home :) I've been lucky enough to always with my family on Christmas so far.

19. Can you name all of Santa 's reindeer?
Yes! In the order they are announced in "Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer," they are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Comet, Cupid, Doner, and Blitzen, and then Rudolph of course.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
We have used both, but I prefer a star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
One on Christmas Eve, the rest on Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
SOO many people out shopping the same time I am!! (I finally finished today, thank goodness, haha)

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
My favorite ornaments are the ones my mom gets with everyone's pictures in them. And I'm an old fashioned kind of girl, so I generally like the standard red and green for colors.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Honey Baked Ham, Rolls, Yummy Cream Cheese Pies!!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I already posted about this! It's here...

I suppose it's too late for me to tag anyone else since Christmas is merely 2 and a half days away, but oh well :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

Concerts

This past week was GREAT because I went to a concert Wednesday night.....then another on Thursday....and then ANOTHER on Friday :)

On Wednesday, Haley and I went to the A Cappella Jam, and saw Blue Mountain, Goody Two Shoes, Noteworthy, and Vocal Point! I bet no one knows who any of those groups are, but me and Haley really enjoyed ourselves! Unfortunately, I have no pictures from this particular event....

On Thursday, I went to see Haley sing in her French Choir concert! She had a solo too, the last number of the night (saving the best for last, of course), and it was great! She looked so good with her cute new haircut, and sang so pretty too :)

(unfortunately, this video was taken AFTER she'd already done her solo. It's the French version of "O Holy Night" or as they say in French - "Minuit Chretien")

Then on Friday to start off the weekend right, I went to the Muse with Luis to check out Rosetta Roulette, Grand Cross, and Clockwork Illusion. It was really loud, but really fun too!

(this is Grand Cross)

On another note, finals start this week......

BOO....

However, I'll be done as of Wednesday at 5:30 PM, and then I head home! I can't wait to spend some time relaxing at home in Georgia with my family :)

P.S. Sorry for the low quality on the videos! I just took them with my phone.

Speedtest - How fast are you?

91 words

Typing Test

On a side note....it's SNOWING today!!!

Copycat

I'm copying Katie and posting this :)

What I'd like to find under the tree this year:

1) Another coat/jacket that is not a ski coat, maybe a brown one?
2) Vans shoes
3) Any clothes! :)
4) New hair dryer (mine is okay, but it's starting to overheat a lot)
5) Movies (any really, I like them all)
6) Books (something for me to enjoy over the break)
7) Upgrades for my laptop (bigger hard drive, etc.)
8) Anything Harry Potter or Disney related :)

That's about it! :)

Living in Utah

You'd think I'd already know this from years of living in Utah, but every time fall starts coming to a close and winter is around the corner, I have to be reminded....

If you wake up in the morning and see this outside your apartment....




That DOES NOT mean it's warm outside :)

Playing Catch Up

Just a few things that have been going on:

1) THANKSGIVING IN ALTONAH - Derek and I drove to Altonah to spend Thanksgiving break with Grandma, Grandpa, Scott, Katie, Luke, Alison, and Anthony. It was really nice to see everyone and eat some delicious food! It was good to get away from school and relax for a while too. We played games, went bowling, and watched a lot of movies. Most importantly, I got to see Alison's beautiful engagement ring - Nice job, Anthony :)

2) FINISHING UP CLASSES - The last day of classes is one week from today! I'm excited, but also not happy about finals which start the following Monday. However, this year will be the earliest I've ever been home for Christmas since my scheduled finals are pretty early in the week, so I'm pretty happy about that :)

3) CAR MAINTENANCE - Today I finally took in the Altima to get everything all fixed. Apparently the battery was barely working, so I got a new one, and got a few other things fixed. The only downside is that I took it to get emissions after I got a new battery, which apparently will make it fail! They told me to drive it about 100 miles and then it will pass! I'm not sure I'll drive 100 miles before I take it back again since I don't drive it that much, so we'll see.

That's about it! Classes have been keeping me busy with various assignments and projects. By the way, if you haven't already taken my life satisfaction/fast food/exercise survey, please take it at this link: click me!
We've already had a pretty large response so far, but we need a few more, so if you can take a few minutes to take it, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!!
:)