NC bound in just two days!!!

Okay, obviously still slacking on the December posts and it will only get worse when I go to North Carolina. The chances of me having something really worthwhile to blog about (or the patience to deal with my parents' super slow computer) are unlikely. Maybe this is the part where I should enable email blogging so that if something really worthwhile happens, I can just update from my phone without character limitations. Something to ponder...

Justina has agreed to take me to the airport Thursday morning, so I'm super excited! This means I can actually bring a checked bag and avoid the ridiculous cab fare! Thank you so much, Justina!

Tomorrow at work is a half day because we're having our company holiday party at Kings (and I love me some bowling!) at 2, so we're leaving the office at 1:30. Also, for the party, casual wear was approved, which means I'll get to wear jeans to work on my last day before vacation. Basically that means that I don't have to wash work clothes tonight when I do laundry. Anytime I can avoid laundry, that's a good thing.

My flight is at 7:30 on Thursday and then I have a short layover in Newark. I'll get to Asheville around 12:30, at which point I'm attempting to convince my dad to take me to Target. I really don't want to have to drive back to Asheville unless I absolutely have to (or unless I'm going out with friends), so it would be nice to get my Christmas shopping squared away from the get-go.

Then, on Friday, I'm sleeping in!!! I'm so excited about this part of my trip. It's only first thing in the morning as I'm turning off my alarm at 6:30 to get ready for work that I realize just how excited I really am about sleeping in. I'll likely only sleep in on that first day, but it's still going to be really sweet.

I'm also really excited to see all of the little ones! I can't wait to see my niece, Haylee, especially. She's just over two years old and I can't get over how cute she is! :-)

I'm still bummed I'm going to miss the Love in Stockholm show on Thursday night, but I've been advised that the January 1 show I'm going to is going to be better anyway, haha. Hey, I'll take it, even if it's not true. Something tells me that this Thursday, with Sam in town, is going to be freaking amazing. That's alright though, I'll live. :-) Hopefully I'll be doing something super fun...

Or sitting at home with my parents...

:-) Either way, I can't wait!!!

Love

Feels like I've really been slacking on the December posts. That's probably because I was working so hard on my abstract for WCBCT that I wasn't really thinking about the other things happening in my life.

That said:

LOVE IN STOCKHOLM WAS AMAZING LAST NIGHT!

Glad that's out there. I had such a fun time last night. I knew that I was really into their music and their style thanks to their myspace page, but seeing them live was 10x better. Not only do they sound amazing live, their energy is unmatched by any local band I've seen (not to mention unmatched by most big time performers). It was the most carefree fun I've had in a long time. There's just something about their sound that gets me going.

These guys are definitely going somewhere. I'm so glad I know about them now so I can see them before tickets to a show cost $100 each for balcony. :-) I can't wait until the next show!!!

For anyone who is curious: http://www.myspace.com/loveinstockholm

Their new website debuts on January 23, so keep an eye out. I'm telling you, these guys are amazing musicians and amazing people! :-)

Have I mentioned they're amazing? What about awesome? What about "going places"?

:-)

Holidays and Secret Snowflakes!

In 8 days, I will be in North Carolina, attempting to find Christmas presents for everyone in my family.

:-)

I'm so looking forward to the mountains and waterfalls (yes, I'm planning a trip up to Highlands). The weather in the NC mountains around the holidays can be so hit-or-miss. Sometimes the high is in the 30s while I'm there, sometimes it is in the 60s. I'm really hoping for it to be on the colder side this year, as I'd like to get some pictures of the waterfalls in their frozen-over form. If that doesn't work though, I'll be just as happy.

I can't wait to drive! Yes, that's the main thing I'm looking forward to. I plan to drive all over the place while I'm home. :-) It's the little things in life. Granted, by the time I start week 2 at home, I'm sure I'll be wishing I could just get on a bus to go somewhere (especially late at night when maybe I (ahem) shouldn't be driving). Guess I'll have to find a chauffeur for those moments. :-)

I'm not particularly looking forward to paying the dentist out the wazoo to clean my teeth, but oh well. Just one of those things that has to be done and it will be cheaper for me to do it while I'm in NC than while I'm in MA.

And I just completely ignored this post for two hours. Oops.

I got my Secret Snowflake gift at work today! It's something I've actually really wanted for a long time, so I'm super excited about it! I got a tear-off "This Day in History" calendar!!! :-)

I think this probably makes me a nerd.

Exhausted

I hate emotional exhaustion because it takes so much more out of me than any amount of physical exhaustion ever could. Part of that is because I put so much of myself, emotionally, into almost everything I do.

I'm so glad I didn't get married when I was 19 like my ex fiance and I planned when I was 17. Not only would I not have been ready for that, I had no idea what I wanted. Okay, no idea isn't fair. I can see parts of him in almost all of the guys I've dated since. I obviously had some idea (provided that those parts aren't what keep causing these things to fail, hahahahaha). But seriously, it's a refining process, and I just have to stick it out.