New Traditions

My family has changed. I now have a neice and I am now more attached to my boyfriends family. Both are an adjustment but happy ones. This Christmas eve I spent with Stephens family. It was lovely. I was sort of dreading it since I'm not in favor of change but I put a smile on and hoped for the best. And the best I got! It was really fun. We (Stephen, his parents and his younger sister) all got in the car and headed over to church. The whole way there we sang Christmas carols and laughed as we forgot all the words. Once there we enjoyed a really nice candle service (which I'd never been to before). Afterwards we went out for chinese and then went back to Stephens and exchanged gifts. I recieived a gift card from Stephens parents and stationary and a beautiful jewlery box from his sister. And then after that we headed over to Stephens oldest brother and sister-in-laws apartment. It was over all a very happy and festive evening. I'm really looking foward to starting even more new traditions with Stephen in the coming years.

Fingerless Gloves

Here they are. The fingers are a little uneven and they don't match perfectly. But I think they are worthy of my good friend.

Scarf and Fingerless Gloves

I finally got around to learning how to cable! I made Stephen a scarf which I think came out really well. I followed a fantastic pattern and it came out just splendidly! Just like the picture. Stephen is very happy with it and it is oh so warm and cozy. But luckily for him I cannot wear it being that I made it from an acrylic and wool blend and I am super sensitive to wool. It is probably one of the nicest things I've made (not to boast too much!). I have also recently finished (still have to sew up a few fingers!) a pair of fingerless gloves for a friend of mine. Not my greatest work but not bad either. I will have pictures when I finally finish them completely. I really don't enjoy knitting at all. I would much rather make a nice banana cake. But there is something about having a nice pile of knitting in your lap on a cold winter night while your watching a movie. Although knitting has to be one of the most frustrating things I do for a hobby. Go figure!

Thanksgiving Surprise

Well I just have to start by saying that I love thanksgiving. I love to eat so what a perfect holiday for it! I have just always loved the time spent with family and it's always simple and I rather enjoy that. Every year my mom, being the mom she is, always makes sure to invite people who may not have some place to go. So she invited some people here and there but everyone has somewhere to go this year. As of a few days ago we thought it was just going to be the three of us. So I mentioned this to my good friend Grace and asked what she was doing for the holiday being that she is from Canada and living in Nashville. She said she wasn't doing much of anything and one thing led to another and she's coming to the NJ for Thanksgiving!!! I am too excited for words. She is such a good friend and I so rarely get the chance to see her. And now I get to spend a holiday with her. It is truly a blessing!

Across The Universe

So on Sunday Stephen took me on a date and we had dinner (Thai of course) and then saw "Across the Universe" which is a musical set in the late 1960's and the score is all music by the Beatles. Now being a Beatles purist I thought I would cringe at every song sang. But I didn't. Songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" were actually very tastefully done. Most of the songs were sung with a different feel but kept the beauty of the melody. Of course there were a few songs that did make me cringe. "Helter Skelter" being one of my favorite Beatles tunes did indeed make me want to leave the theatre. "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" wasn't great either but it was during the credits so I only had to listen for a bit. "Strawberry Fields", "Dear Prudence" and "Hey Jude" where some of my favorites and I have to admit I never thought I would enjoy those three being that they are on my top 10 list of all-time best Beatles songs. "I am the Walrus", sung by Bono, as well as "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite", which was hardly sung at all, were both a little too strange for me. Being that they were during scenes of LSD use it did seem appropriate. Although, there wasn't much drug use at all. They story line was simple. Boy loves girl. Boy loses girl. Boy finds girl again. Happy ending. The part I thought was powerful were the parts depicting the Vietnam war and the way they portrayed the process of "brainwashing" the soldiers. Very interesting indeed. All in all I thought it was very enjoyable. Stephen didn't really like it but I thought it was fantastic and very surprising. Not worth seeing in the theatres though. I would have been just as happy waiting for the DVD. But I was hardly disappointed the way I thought I would be.

Thoughts on Dance

I took a ballet class last night for the first time I think since the spring. It felt pretty good. Emotionally. Not physically! Although I'm not as sore as I thought I would be. Every time I get back into class I remember all the reasons I wanted to be a famous ballerina. And I also remember all the reasons I quit. After deciding I no longer wanted to pursue dance as a career I felt so free and unburdened but as time goes on I realize it was something I had always wanted and I really do have some feelings of regret. As I think about it deeper though I do remember all the emotions connected with my leaving that life behind. I know God will bless me for following his plans for my life and I really do look forward to seeing what they are. I have also spent alot of time thinking about the importance my dance education had on my life. And I found some really invaluable things. I posses a skill that few others do, I am confident and disciplined, I had some fantastic opportunities, and I have gained an appreciation of all art that I will have for the rest of my life. Not bad for 14 years of my life.

This is a picture of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev in rehearsal. She was what I had always aspired to be. She was a true artist who loved ballet not for the perfection but for the beauty of the dance.

Lucy Renee

Well I am finally the proud aunt of Lucy Renee. I've waited for a little under 9 months and that was plenty long enough. I'm happy to say that she is everything I expected and so much more. She's beautiful and sweet and just right. God is so wonderful with his perfect creations. Sarah is doing fantastically well. Her labor was only about 9 hours and it all went so fast. I was not able to actually be there when she came into the world but I saw here just 12 hours later looking perfectly happy and serene. She is the most beautiful little baby I have ever laid eyes on. I can't imagine how I'm going to feel when I have my own children!! Here are pictures. They will be so many more over the next few years most of my friends will probably want to slap me and tell me to stop bragging! Oh well. It's a small price to pay for all the happiness she has brought and will bring to my life.

Camera

So I finally got a digital camera. I went with the Samsung nv3. Its sleek and smooth. 7.2 mega pixels and very fun and easy to use. After doing alot of research I found out the nv10, which is the one I originally wanted, just wasn't up to par. So I went with the nv3 and so far have been very happy. I am still learning how to use everything since I haven't had a digital camera is about 5 years but it's coming along nicely. Here are some pics I took with it this weekend.

Not Global Warming Global Boring!

I read on my cousins blog that today is "Blog Action Day". Apparently as bloggers we are supposed to write about how we are saving the world. Now I am in full support of "going green" as Al calls it and I love the earth the way it is and want to keep it that way. But I don't believe in global warming and I don't think that we should be scared into taking care of the planet God created for us. Few people, myself included, besides hippies and over the top environmentalists, ever really took notice of the earth until Al Gore started blabbing about it. But I am happy people are aware of how much we are a country of excess. Not only do we use way too much plastic and then not recycle it we use too much of everything! Food for example. How much food do you throw away every day or week? Leftovers in the fridge, that little bit on your plate you just can't eat cause we stuff ourselves so full we can't eat that last piece of 12 ounce steak. People in other countries don't live in such excess. So I do encourage people to try to be a little more conscience about these things. But don't do it cause Al wants you to. Do it because it what God calls us to. Protect the earth He so graciously provided for us.

Sorry I got preachy.

College Bound!

So I officially applied to Rairtan Valley Community College! I am so excited! Nervous too but excited. I got my student ID number and I wrote up my homeschool transcript and now all I have to do is send it in along with my SAT scores, take an entrance test for math and I can register for classes in January. I really didn't want to do it but now that I'm on the way I'm so excited. I love learning and it's been awhile since I've done any hard core learning. I plan on taking one or two classes. Definitely math (so I can get it out of the way) and maybe an English. I have to say I am very proud that I scored high enough on my SAT's to go right into English I. Even though my math score was embarrassingly low. I really do take this as a new adventure for my life and it is something I never knew that I wanted. But I'm going to College! How cool is that?!