How I Spent My Christmas

Jordan and I had a nice little relaxed Christmas.  I had been sick and in bed with a cold for the previous two weeks and my parents' house had tons of snow so we didn't travel.  We didn't really do anything for Christmas other than opening presents.  We didn't have a tree either but did hang the few ornaments we had on our coat rack.  I got some amazing Christmas presents from my parents and from Jordan's parents.  Jordan and I exchanged gifts way before Christmas because we just can't wait when it comes to giving each other presents.  He got me season 1-6 of Adventure Time and I got him some chapsticks, including pizza flavor which he adores.  They're from Etsy and the scents on these are seriously so spot on, it's amazing!  Check out all of their chapsticks in their shop.  The peanut butter and marshmallow fluff and the strawberries and champagne are also amazing scents.  Besides that I only had enough money to get my little cousins handmade blanket scarves and none of the adults in my family presents, because I am forever broke.

I got a lot of presents and only photographed a few but here they are:

the cutest fleece lined leggings from my mom, love them so much!

an aragonite crystal for my collection from Jordan's mom, so pretty!

These adorable buttons from Etsy; they didn't open and close properly but after some fiddling with my jewelry pliers they do.  They are honestly so cute and maybe this was just a bad batch but I'm not going to link to the shop because of that fact.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas you guys! I opened some presents my parents shipped me this morning and aside from that today is pretty much just a day off work in the middle of the week. I'm relaxing and listening to records with the boyfriend (on his new record player) and the animals.  I'm reading unread blog posts and he's reading a book.  And we totally didn't plan to both wear stripes. And you're probably saying, "What animals?! Have you been hiding adorable pets from us this whole time?!?!" And I would say to calm down with all that punctuation and I'm talking about these dudes.

These are my animals. They're cute and easy to care for. The bunny is from my boyfriend and his name is Mr. Snuggles but I like to call him Schnergles or Schnergaley Whirgaley. The monster is Percy, who you've met before if you've been here for awhile. And the cute little baby elephant is Harold. He's the newest addition and I bought him at Fair Trade Winds, where I work.

And these are the presents my mom sent me.  These boots fit perfectly and have studded straps and the sweater also fits perfectly.  And there's a pretty dish for jewelry supplies or pretty stone displaying.  And there was a chocolate snowman which I devoured already because chocolate.

I'll be heading down to see my parents for a week next month, for a much-needed break from work (oh my goodness has it been busy and usually me working by myself all this month) and a late Christmas with the family.  And I'm taking the new boyfriend along.  It should be fun and I'm super excited.  And I'll maybe schedule some blog posts for you guys while I'm away.  I have so much to blog about.

I got a Tumblr recently so I'll probably spend most of the rest of today looking at oddities, since I already read all of the blog posts.  Happy Christmassing everyone!

Christmas Break

My Christmas break was so good.  I was definitely in need of a vacation.  I took about a bajillion photos which I'll be sharing a little bit at a time so I don't overwhelm everyone.  I got to see my family, stars, a deer, and some gorgeous scenery.  I also got to talk to my brother on the phone for about an hour one night, which was amazing because I hadn't talked to him for a year and a half, since he's stationed in Japan for the Marines.  I somehow managed to not cry while I was on the phone with him.  He's my best friend and I miss him a lot.

Over my break I got my hair cut (pictures coming soon!), renewed my drivers license even though I haven't driven for over two years (since before my legs stopped working, which you can read more about in these posts; it was probably a rare symptom of celiac disease), went to some thrift stores with my mom, and tried a coffee shop that had some gluten-free options (the muffin I had was less than great).  I also had Christmas dinner with my parents and grandparents, all gluten-free, and made some yummy Christmas goodies with my mom.  I hope everyone else had a great Christmas too (and Christmas break if you got one).

This Christmas was especially special for me because last year I didn't get to go home for Christmas.  I was too sick to travel anywhere and still unable to hold food down.  It was right before I was diagnosed with celiac disease.  My dad came up and brought me some presents and I was too exhausted to even really talk during his brief visit.  So this year was exponentially better than last year and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit home.

Gingerbread House Pictures and Holiday Recap

Here is the picture of the first gingerbread house I ever made.  It looks okay from the front, but not from the sides at all. Notice the only picture I'm sharing is from the front.

My trip to see my family was short, but good.  I got to see my brother and his girlfriend, my parents, my grandparents, my aunt, and my adorable little 6 year old cousins.  I can't believe they're already 6!  They were at my grandparents' house in the pretty dresses they wore for their dance recital.  I got them a story book with Disney princesses and magnets to create scenes, and they absolutely loved it.  We had early Christmas at my parents' house and they gave me some really good smelling candles and my mom got me a cute top and cardigan.  My mom cooked a really delicious pork roast and mashed potatoes and corn.  I raided my old room for a bunch of stuff, including my card-making supplies and some cardigans.  My grandma's Christmas tree is always really pretty, so I took a picture of it.

For actual Christmas, I ate dinner with G's family.  We had lamb and potatoes and peas and brussel sprouts.  G's cousin's girlfriend made a really delicious rum cake.

Both of my Christmases were really great.  I hope you all had a great Christmas too.

Home for the Holidays

Well, kind of.  I'm going home tomorrow to see my family.  My dad and brother are going to come picke me up. It's four hours away and I'm really looking forward to it, because I thought I wouldn't be able to go home this year.  G doesn't have time off work until Friday, and Friday through Sunday, it's supposed to be really bad weather in my hometown, so we weren't going to be able to go.  But then my mom had the idea for my dad to come get me and bring me back before the bad weather hits, so I'm leaving tomorrow and coming back Thursday.  It should be really fun and I'm super excited.  So that's why I won't be posting anything for a few days.  And if you have absolutely nothing else to read because my blog is the only thing you ever have to read (totally impossible scenario, but work with me here), may I direct your attention to the "Blogs I Enjoy" tab at the top of my blog.  If you click that, you will find lots of fantastic reading material that should last you until I get back.

This Has to be Said

I don't like Christmas music, at least not the traditional stuff.  It's probably because my mom plays it constantly both in the house and the car from before Thanksgiving until Christmas, and sometimes afterward.

The only "Christmas music" I like is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack.  There's nothing like "What's This?" to put me in the Christmas spirit.

Picture Pile 1: Baby It's Cold Outside

First off, I'd like to welcome my 24th follower, Baz from The Tragic Whale.  You should really go check out this girl's blog and then follow it.  She's hilarious with plenty of tragic whale stories and fashion advice from mom stories.  She's also really good at sewing awesome stuff.

None of these pictures are my own work.  I just like them, and I have linked them all to their sources. Enjoy them and be inspired.

A Brief Recap and Miscellany

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I'm back and not dead. So remember the minor freakout where I thought I was having appendicitis for a second time? I later decided that is was probably a gall bladder attack after Googling my symptoms, which is never a good idea. I told myself that if the pain increased I would go to the hospital. I drank a Sprite and it helped a lot. My conclusion was that I was severely dehydrated. So now I'm back and only slightly worse for the wear, as in I quite probably have a broken rib.  But I'll get to that later.

The word of the day is belladonna. The Italian words bella donna translate to fair lady, but belladonna is the name for a poisonous plant also known as deadly nightshade.  I think it's interesting for something so dangerous to have such a pleasant sounding name.  It's sort of a misnomer, meaning false name. Thanks Lemony Snicket for allowing me to have a two for one special on words. Belladonna also fits in well with my taste in movies. Hard Candy, Ginger Snaps, and Let Me In all share this element of what appears to be innocent and vulnerable actually being dangerous and deadly.  And as a sidenote, if you know of any more movies with this belladonna element, please recommend them to me in the comments. Thanks.

Okay, so this is where the actual post starts, well the part that I was planning to share in this post anyway. Here is the recap of my break, please hold all questions until the end. New wheelchair, lots of rubik's cube-ish Christmas presents, some snow, lots of staying inside, temporary fear of Apples to Apples caused by my being hospitalized and not able to read, write, or talk for about half a day, bad fall leading to probable broken rib, learning to be left handed because said probable broken rib is on my right side, learning to knit, having a picnic in Hawaii with my 4 and 5 year old cousins, almost having H ride back up to school with me (He did say that he would ride with me sometime in the future with either his parents or mine driving. He also found me an online version of a Tim Burton poem anthology that I really wanted.)

I also took some pictures of random stuff. Here they are.

 my super cool wireless mouse

the three newest additions to my Rubik's cubes, don't know how to solve the 4x4 yet

And now, what I consider the most exciting news of all, I know what tattoo I want! It is more like a conglomeration of three and costs a lot more than I can afford, but hopefully sometime in the distant future I can get it. I don't have a picture except in my head. I want to have a really cool phoenix on my back with two dragons, one red one blue, behind it breathing fire over my shoulders that turn into hot rod style flames going down my arms.  I want to get the phoenix to remind me to rise from the ashes and not let anything stop me or make me quit, the dragons as symbols of adversity, and the hot rod flames to accept the fact that I may be in a wheelchair for a long time, but I am still me and nothing can change that.