When I was visiting John, Tiffani, and Taylor for Christmas, Taylor busted some moves when her new book started singing...

I have tried to upload pics from Christmas but it isn't working so I will try again another time.

Finally, a break!

So I am out of school for a month. I will have lots of free time, but I also have a lot I want to accomplish while I am not in class or procrastinating on homework. I am planning on getting my room and apartment all cleaned up (deep clean), get my finances in order (my car just broke down and it is going to be expensive to fix), get my wireless internet working again, and still make time to relax and enjoy the break. I guess we'll see how it goes. =)

My parents and twin brothers were just here for a visit for Christmas. They headed back to Minnesota today. We had a lot of fun while they were here! Some of the things we did were: hung out with most of our Roseville family, saw some family members who were visting from out of state, went to our grandma and grampy's for grandma's famous speghetti and family fun, played some poker, and mini-golfed. I think they had a lot of fun but I am pretty sure they are glad to get back to their normal routine and sleep in their own beds! Ha, I am excited to have my bed back, too (gotta let my parents use while they are here, right?!)!

I will probably soon be posting pics from my recent trip to MN for Christmas, but I am way too tired to do that tonight! I had a lot of fun with my brother, sister-in-law and niece while I was in MN! We successfully cooked a big turkey dinner all by ourselves, however, we voted that it is way better to have a mom there to cook the turkey... =)

4 days till Christmas...

Well, we are winding down to the last few days before Christmas... 4 days to be exact. The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is more apparent than ever, and if you don't believe me, try driving a mile in less than 20 minutes!

It never ceases to amaze me that during this "joyous" season, people will cut you off to get a good parking spot, they will push over your little kid to get a sale, and they will leave you hanging at your job because they called in "sick" to finish up their last minute shopping!

It is definitely easy to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas: the celebration of Christ's birth! Gifts, Santa, and decorations are all fun parts of Christmas and there is nothing wrong with participating in the whole nine-yards, but don't forget to stop and reflect on what the "Christ" in Christmas represents =)

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope you enjoy the day! I know I will! I get to spend it with John, Tiff and Taylor!

Elf Yourself...

A friend of mine named Katie had this link on her blog: www.elfyourself.com -

I am not going to tell you about it, you have to check it out for yourselves... it's pretty cute =)

You can only "elf" 4 people at a time so here is how I broke it up:

John, Tiff and Taylor:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1170645830

Me, Charlie, and Greg:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1171662974

Mom and dad:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1189480492

Do you procrastinate?

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In the big scheme of things....

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Paper Chain Countdown

I decided to make a paper chain to count down the days until I get to see Taylor, John, and Tiffani. I didn't put too much time into it, but here it is. It is kind of long - 28 days/links - so it almost made the time seem like it is going to be longer than it really is. But, I know it will go fast!

One month....

Yesterday marked the 1 month countdown until I get to see John, Tiffani, and Taylor! I am so excited! If I had time, I would make one of those paper chains and tear off a ring each day!

(Taylor and I this past summer)

Casablanca Moroccan Restaurant

Last Friday, I went to Casablanca Moroccan Restaurant with some friends from my Middle Eastern Cultures and Societies class. Our assignment is to write a paper on either a book written by a Middle Eastern author or go to a Middle Eastern Restaurant and write about the food, culture, etc. We opted for the restaurant because it was easier and more fun!

Most people who know me well know that I am pretty picky when it comes to food (can I blame my mom???). I definitely thought I would not like most of the food I was going to have to eat, if I even dared to try it! Turns out it was not that bad; I even liked some of it. Actually, the whole experience exceeded my expectations.

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The restaurant owners/employees were

dressed in clothes from their culture.

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They serve a dessert type thing before dinner.

This is a very thin, flaky pastry filled with ground lamb

and topped with powdered sugar. Very weird but

not as gross as you'd think! (Not real good either)

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They served pita bread with hummus, carrots and

red beets. I didn't like any of those. They also served

a lentil soup, which I did like.

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The dinner was "family style"- we were served spicy meatballs,

beef, lamb, chicken kabobs, rice, and a whole chicken.

It is worth noting that you get just a spoon, no fork, so you

eat with your hands (which they wash for you when you get there).

The whole chicken in this picture is eaten by just tearing off what you want!

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To promote a cultural experience, they also had entertainment: a belly dancer.
She was actually pretty good. Some people (but not me) even got up and tried to dance with her, but they were not very good.

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This is just a pic of me and a classmate. We were sitting on a bench seat and the table was in front of us, just slightly lower than knee-high. The other side of our table had cushions for people to sit on. You sat in close proximity to other tables so it is a very communal dinner.

All in all, it was a fun night and I think I will be taking my friends there sometime.

Chargers v. Vikings Game

Recently, my dad and brothers, John, Charlie, and Greg, went to see the San Diego Chargers play the Minnesota Vikings (the score is irrelevant)! While there, they had their picture taken and it was added to the slide show of photos on the Chargers website!

Look at how cute they all are!