obligatory end-of-the-year post.

so here it is: the last day of 2008.
i think tradition is to search back through the myriad of thoughts that you accumulate throughout an entire year and kind of find one thought or idea that unifies and sums up the whole year, something that is at first glance kind of a "yeah duh" statement, but upon further inspection is found to be rather deep and have profound meaning relative to the specific events in your year.
either that, or tradition is to just recap all the things that you have done in the past year and leave any interpretation or any sort of moral that could be derived from said events open to the readers imagination.
either way, i think i am sorely lacking at the moment in both profound thoughts or the motivation to think all the way back to january. and im pretty sure you dont want to hear all the stories about my last semester in fancy house, my first car, my second summer with penndot, my family's cross country move, or the first semester of my senior year. if you really want to relive my 2008, the archive is right over there on the left. read away.
its been a busy year. there have been a lot of changes, and there are a lot of big choices left ahead of me to look forward to next year. i've had a lot of challenging experiences, a lot of time to think, and even more times where i wished i could just stop thinking altogether.
today is an end, yes, but its also a beginning. a whole new year is just a few hours away. maybe ill wake up tomorrow and feel completely different, but most likely it will feel like just another thursday. another day in which i think about buying books for next semester, decide to start job searching... tomorrow, and end up playing mariokart with my brother. there will be frustrations, and joys, and challenges, and triumphs. its still a little scary, but hey - i thought the same thing about this year and look at me now -

still in one piece and maybe only a little worse for the wear.
i laughed, i cried, i survived another year :)
and just in case you were really hoping for that little piece of profundity, (is that even a word?) here it is:
God is Good.

its NEVER like this here.

this is looking out our back window up the road into town. you're probably thinking 'what road? what town?' exactly. what i didnt get a picture of were the piles of snow eight feet tall in the middle of mainstreet. whats funny is that you can still see all the dirt in our yard. just keep in mind, its not normally like this.

Christmas in Why-ohm-ing :)

we decorated our tree. we did not get it from 'up on the mountain.' it has twice as many branches as the ones from 'up on the mountain.' i think its pretty. we have significantly less ornaments this year than in years past, so we added lots of snowflakes when we put the angel on top. :)

it comes complete with an angel choir above the stable, the skiing penguin, and even some of our family that cant be here for christmas, on display front and center :)

you should have come home for christmas, then you could have helped decorate the tree :)

only FOUR more sleeps! :)

keeping busy.

although it is very cold and brown here, people have managed to find various ways to keep themselves entertained. Watching tv in the big room wrapped in a blanket in front of the pellett stove is my own personal favorite, but some like to be a lil more active than that.
Staci has been filling her time by filling the role of my personal assistant, keeping close tabs on my personal life, keeping me updated on the minute by minute changes in Nathans whereabouts (in a lovely singsong voice), and insisting that i meet Chad (who i should marry cause then we could be sisters and i'm cool so i would be a good sister to have and if we had kids they'd be taller than me cause he's tall and i'm short so they'd be medium size so it would be PERFECT). its like some sort of Bachelorette show gone western :) the guys seem to be less than impressed with me. they keep their distance. i'm a nice girl, really i am. i promise.

absolute.

i would have blogged this yesterday, but i was absolutely exhausted by the time i would have had a chance. i got up at 345 pittsburgh time, got on a plane at 615 (pgh time again), took off around 7, and got off the plane 2 hours later around 8 minnesota time. three and a half hours later i got back on another plane at 1130, and took another 2 hour flight to billings montana, getting off the plane around 1230 wyoming time. there were hugs all around and a pinto horse (remind me to post the pic its actually made out of pinto beans) and then the shopping commenced. we shopped cuz it doesnt make sense not to if your goin to town, and then headed home around 7. i went to bed around 930 wyoming time cuz my eyes werent staying open anymore, and if you add up all those crazy numbers i was awake and moving for about 20 hours. totally worth it. its good to be home :)

for the money. and/or is the loneliest number.

peas in a pod.

strikes: out or turkey.

Fantastic. Horsemen. Connect.

o'clock shadow.

a half dozen of the other.

Minutes in Heaven.

In the corner pocket.

Love Potion and/or On Cloud...

Lords a Leaping, Little Indians, take your pick.

11 days and counting...

not sure why this is underlined, but I FLY HOME FOR CHRISTMAS IN 11 DAYS!!!


dont get me wrong, i was excited about Thanksgiving, and seeing all my sisters and grandparents and as many cousins as i could, and i thoroughly enjoyed all four Thanksgivings i had this year (of the Canadian, Genevan, Grandma, and Compound varieties) but nothing compares with how excited i am for this semester to end and to get on a plane and fly to Montana then drive to Why-ohming and see my Mom and Dad and Brother and all the people i've heard a lot about but have yet to actually meet :) it should be a good time. i want to snuggle with my dog, and sleep in my own bed, go snowboarding at least once, and revel in the fact that i have a family that loves me So much. if i can survive through wednesday, it should be relatively smooth sailing from there til the end :)

(and just in case you thought i might have forgot to document this last, this will in fact be my last fall semester!)