Christmas 2011

Ok so it's New Years Eve and I'm finally here talking about Christmas. 

Christmas was wonderful as usual. It is neat to do the same things year after year and think about how you've grown, as well as how your family has grown and changed. These are some of the things my family does. 

1. Christmas Eve Service. I love going to church on Christmas Eve. Hearing the Christmas Story. Our minister had a great sermon and it was great seeing people I don't see all the time when I'm at school. 

2. It is tradition to go out to eat at our favorite chinese restaurant the night before thanksgiving and christmas. The waiters are almost like friends. 

3. My mom has so much fun helping Santa Claus every year. Growing up she told me she was on the Elf Council.  When I was younger I would wake her up and she would make me wait at the top of the stairs before I could come while she fixed everything the way she wanted it. Now though she usually wakes me up and makes me come down and see. Clearly I have become much better friends with sleeping in as I have gotten older. 

4. After my parents and I open presents at our house we go down to the country to my dad's parents, where we have Christmas Dinner and we all open presents. My grandmama keeps her house immaculate and loves to keep it beautifully decorated for the holidays. 

Christmas 2011 was one of the best. I look forward to the new year and what it has in store. Everybody have a fun filled and safe new year! 

-Elissa

Cousin Time and Cake Pops

My cousin Katie and I are six months apart and so we have always been close. But we have gotten closer over our college years. College is such a unique time in life that it has been awesome to have someone who can relate to everything I am going to and is often going through the same things. 

Well this Christmas is our last as undergrads, and we got together for a cousin sleepover. We met up went shopping for a few last minute christmas presents. I didn't buy anything but got a great idea for my best friend's present. We went home had some pizza and watched a movie on netflix. Then the next day we made cake pops. 

White Chocolate Funfetti CakePops

sorry it's not the best picture. 

fyi, when making cake pops use a lot of icing when making the balls, it holds the ball together. 

when you're a kid

When you're a kid deciding what you want to 'do' is complete fantasy. Because it is fantasy it is all fun and imagination.  When I was a kid I thought about being

~ A Lawyer

~  A Chef

~ An Interior Designer

~ A Basketball Commentator

Now, as I sit here with only a semester standing between me and "the real world", figuring our what I want to do seems a lot less fun and fantasy. I have always been a passionate person, but for some reason my vocation is far from obvious. I have to remember to have patience and to somehow try to not become passive when the stress gets to me. What I mean is that I need to not be afraid of making the wrong decision because I know that whatever happens God is in control. 

Friday Five Dec 16th

Like, last week today's post is part of Elizabeth's Link-Up!

 1. I get to go home today! I am so so excited. My dad is coming down for the girls basketball game and then we are going home sweet home. My buddy dog will be waiting on me! and momma too!

2. I have gotten all but one of my grades and so far I have all A's! there's one grade left and I don't think I made an A in there but I calculated it and even if I make a B in the class I will have a 3.8 on the semester! Yay for being one step closer to graduating Cum Laude!

3. When I get home tonight, momma and I are going to spend some time together! I checked an it seems like all the good christmas movies are on tomorrow, so maybe we will rent something or maybe she's found the fisher price little people christmas fun movie we used to watch every year. It's a kid's movie but a classic! Tomorrow night we definitely are going to watch A Dog Named Christmas on Hallmark Channel!

4. I had the urge to be crafty and had been wanting to try this yarn wrapped wire word I saw on Pinterest for awhile now but I didn't have any wire hangers. Well Erika, our athletic trainer brought me some she had at home and so I went to work.  I will say it was hard to get the wire shaped into the word, Love. That being said, wrapping the yarn around the yarn was very cathartic for me, I enjoy doing things with my hands, like needlepoint. Here's how it turned out.  Not completely ugly, actually pretty decent.

5. Song of the week- Oklahoma Sky by Miranda Lambert

-Elissa

Friday Five December 9th, 2011

1. Finals will be over tomorrow afternoon. PTL! Then I'll be 7/8th of the way done with college. Exciting. Scary. Bittersweet.

2. Next week it will be just the Basketball teams on campus, and since I work with the women's team that includes me. It's annoying we can't go home for another week because they have a game next friday, but it is kind of fun for it to be just us here. Also we eat good, because the caf is closed and the coaches have to feed us, so that means lots of free food, Zaxby's, IHOP, etc. 

3. Once I am home for the holidays I plan on enjoying it to the fullest. My cousin, who is also graduating from college in May, and I plan on having a sleepover at my grandmother's house. I feel like pinterest baking and crafting is in order. 

4. Speaking of Pinterest. I have been contemplating what to get mom and dad for Christmas and I've been toying with the idea of trying to make mom and dad's christmas presents from ideas I've gotten on there. For Dad- 


- My Dad and I love playing scrabble together and so I think this would be really neat to do for him. 




And for Mom- 

photo coasters. We never seem to have enough coasters, and I think these would be really cool. But I don't know if I trust myself to pull this one off. Honestly, I'm not too sure I'm confident in pinterest dreams turning into reality. But we'll see if I decide to attempt them or not. 


5. This song by love and theft is one of my current favorites. Something about the feel of the song is beautiful, kind of raw. While I am a country music fan, this song is different than most of the stuff out there today. It doesn't have a rockstar vibe that I feel country guys today tend to strive for.

-Elissa

I'm excited that this is my first link up- I'm Linking Up With E-Tells-Tales

friday five

1. F is for Finals, which are next week. F. but in actuality finals won't be as bad as the next few days. I have a term paper for constitutional law due on Monday. And working on it all weekend isn't an

 option. I am in charge of Panther Toy Store,  a yearly event at the college, which is Saturday. AND the basketball team has a game on Sunday 7 hours away and won't be back till the wee hours of the morning. struggle.

2. It's December! oh where has the year gone. after a crazy next few days and then finals, I will be done with the semester and then a week later will be home for the holidays! I love Christmastime, holiday movies are my favorite, especially when I am all bundled up with afghans. 

3. Panther Toy Store, which I mentioned in #1, warrants more than a mention. PTS has been a staple of the holiday season at LaGrange College for the past ten years. I have helped with PTS for the past two years and this year I am in charge. Yesterday was the most fun part of PTS : SHOPPING. My friends and I went to WalMart with the school's credit card and loaded up four buggies of Christmas presents for kids who otherwise would not have much at all for Christmas. Panther Toy Store is an invite-only (we work through the school counselors to find the families) event where needy families can purchase christmas present at greatly reduced prices, (50% off of extremely low prices). Our slogan is "providing a Hand-up not a Hand-Out". 

4. Criminal Minds, is a new obsession of mine. The show kicks SVU's but. so much better. And I love Garcia and Morgan, their weird together but that's what makes me love them. And Shemar Moore is yummy. I also think what I likes the show is that it sucks me in so much I can't multi-task, which is good because I've realized I rarely can sit and just watch tv without also being on the computer, or vice versa. 

5. My suitemate got me into the X Factor and although were often too busy to watch it because of basketball, we stay caught up with it because of ASTRO. this kid is so good. Unfortunately, he got voted off last night, which is absolutely ridiculous. but check out his most popular performance, Stop Looking at My Mom

- Have a great weekend. 

Elissa