Nicknames

I just think nicknames are random and funny.

In elementary school, my youth pastor called me Jeffiner, and a couple of the girls called me Jeff for years. They even came up with ridiculous spellings of it like "gPHPHPHfffyyyyyyyyiinNr" or something like that.

My uncle used to call me "Mean Girl" (before the movie). I never did find out the real story behind this one.

Nathan Allen (from housekeeping a few years ago) got the nickname Soysauce...he just answered to it one day, and it stuck.

That same summer, Nathaniel got the nickname Toilet Cleaning Man, which eventually got shortened to T.C. Man, from a couple of kids during family camp.

Not a big stretch, but I gave Kelsey the nickname of Kelsh last summer because I would yell it everytime I came into the trailer for no apparent reason.

The summer before that she gave me the nickname of Chinila. It was the same summer that "Hey There Delilah" was really popular.

The list goes on:
Sunshine--my dad
Bub--Robby
Hoostie--Justin Cloyd
"Mom"--Kelsey's name for my mom
Critter--Kristi
Uncle Monkey--my dad again
Nicoe--Stacie
Annie/Marie--Jess
Shelly--my aunt...her real name's Deborah Michelle
Captain--Morgan...I think you get it.
Bubbles--Stacie


Holiday Tradition #2: Thanksgiving Dinner
For as long as I can remember, we've celebrated Thanksgiving at our house. The guests varied from year to year, but we never went anywhere else. Shelly, Jess, Kristi, and Robby have almost always been in attendance. The dishes have varied as well, but we always always have dumplings. Actually, I take that back. I think there was one year we didn't, and a civil war almost broke out in the home.

My favorite Thanksgiving dinner memory: One of the years that my grandparents came, my mom made lemon pepper turkey. My grandpa is a very traditional sort of man. With his first bite, he gave a kind of scrunched up nose look, and my mom asked if he liked the turkey. "Tastes kind of sour," was his matter-of-fact reply. Then he proceeded to eat it without another word. Poor Mom...but I liked it...

Escape

I've been stuck in routine this past month or so. Work and school Monday-Wednesday...work Thursday and Friday...attempting to be productive Saturday (and then wondering where the day went)...Church and CLC Sunday...and the cycle starts again. I broke away a bit from that routine this weekend, and it was great...unproductive, but much needed, and great.


Jess came out Saturday afternoon, and we did what we do best--hung out, goofed off, watched movies, and girl-talked. Yesterday morning we went to church in the snow, and Jess made some poor guy that she thought she knew feel really uncomfortable. It was great. After church, we went to Applebee's (kind of a tradition) for lunch and chocolate shooters (another tradition). Then we went back to my house (dancing and singing obnoxiously in the car the whole way there), looked at pictures, listened to music, watched Persuasion (Captain Wentworth was cute, but it lacked the Austen wit), ate gummy bears, and watched Waitress (off-beat, but it had a cute ending).


It was a very nice escape from the mundane. But today the routine starts back up, and I have geology in three hours.



Holiday Tradition #1: Christmas Candy--Every year since I can remember my mom and my Aunt Shelly have been making hard Christmas candy a month or so before Christmas. Jess, Kristi, Robby, and I would all help break it up after they poured the liquid onto the powdered sugar and it cooled. (This is what we're doing in the blog header...minus Robby, plus Kelsey and Nathaniel.)Then we would put it into little holiday boxes and hand it out to all of our school teachers, Sunday school teachers, piano teachers, friends' parents, and so on. As we got older we participated in the tradition mostly for nostalgic purposes, adding the watching of White Christmas to the smells of cinnamon and root beer filling the house (smells that stay for the entire holiday season).



There are two Christmas candy incidents that stick out in my head. The first is probably my favorite (and I will probably be thrown out of the house for sharing it). The cinnamon candy is incredibly strong, and it's burnt my aunt's face in the past, so Shelly and my mom adopted a way of handling its potency--they stick wash rags over their noses and keep them there with clothes pins. It's a great spectacle and funny enough to make you wet your pants--well, at least for my mom. Apparently she had to use the bathroom before they started pouring the cinnamon, and Jess made my mom laugh so hard that she didn't quite make it there. The consequence--I have this great vivid memory of my mom standing in front of the bathroom door with a wash rag and clothes pin over her nose, and a wet spot in an awkward area on her jeans.


The second incident again involves Jess. Two years ago, she took a huge chuck of candy that hadn't quite hardened completely and stuck it in her mouth. The consequence--it molded to the roof of her mouth and she had to wait until it dissolved before she could talk again.

Great memories. I'd say making Christmas candy is probably my favorite holiday tradition.

"But now and again, I lose sight of the good life..."

I trust God completely, but sometimes situations and circumstances still feel sucky. Oh well. It's just part of the whole life thing I suppose...

...but I'm still trusting.

"There's too many things that I haven't done yet
There's too many sunsets I haven't seen
You can't waste the day wishing it'd slow down
You would have thought by now
I'd have learned something

I made up my mind when I was a young girl
I've been given this one world
I won't worry it away
But now and again, I lose sight of the good life
I get stuck in a low light
But then love comes in"

--from Many the Miles by Sara Bareilles

"Play it once, Sam, for old time's sake."

I'm listening to As Time Goes by from Casablanca. I know Casablanca isn't a Christmas movie, but for some reason this song reminds me of Christmas...like it should be in It's a Wonderful Life or something.

It doesn't quite feel like the holidays yet. Perhaps it's because it was in the seventies just last week. I'm starting to get there though. Thanksgiving's in a few weeks, and I'm going to Madison to see my sister this year. It's going to be my first Thanksgiving away from my parents...not to mention my first time traveling by myself. I'm excited for two reasons. First, I haven't seen my sister since March, and I am in desperate need of some sister time. I'm ready to laugh over dumb things until my stomach and cheeks hurt for a few days :) Second, Thanksgiving marks a whole month and then some of Christmastime. I love Christmastime! There's so many great things about it. Just to name a few:

*Obviously it marks the birth of the Savior
*Family
*Old movies and musicals
*Christmas trees
*Snow
*Sledding
*Christmas candy, cookies, and chocolates
*Pumpkin pie
*Christmas shopping
*Christmas music
*Hot chocolate
*Sitting by a fireplace
*Twinkling lights and decorations everywhere
*Break from school/work
*Snowangels, snowmen, and snow forts
*Sweaters, scarves, and mittens
*The end of one year and the beginning of a next
*Celebrations
*Watching the ball drop
*Memories
*Gingerbread houses
*Wrapping presents
*People filled with holiday spirit

*Sigh* I can't wait :)

Saying Hello

Dear Winter,

It was nice to see you today. Thanks for the light snow. I heard Christmas music welcoming you at the store yesterday. I know we won't be on such great terms by late February, so let's enjoy each other while it lasts.

Love,
The girl who still loves catching snowflakes



Note: To those who hate snow and winter in general...please don't judge me.

Meet My Mom

If only I had words to describe my mother; unfortunately, there aren't any. However, I can give a glimpse of the woman who has put up with me for the last nineteen years.

Glimpse One:
I've known my mom for, oh, nineteen years, and in these nineteen years, she never even hinted to me that she could knit. That's probably because for the last forty years, she didn't realize she could. But guess what, she bought some knitting needles and some yarn yesterday and has been knitting me a scarf non-stop since. Apparently she learned when she was really little and just assumed she couldn't anymore. How amazing memories and minds are.

Glimpse Two:
Since I can remember my mom has always picked the good things out of the cartons of ice cream. In fact, I didn't even realize that cookies 'n' cream had chunks of oreos in it until I was probably thirteen. Today I learned her secret. She took out the carmel ice cream that has gobs of chocolate and carmel in it, and proceeded to do as she always has and dug through the carton taking out all of the gobs and then eating them. But here's where she gets really smart. She then proceeded to pack the ice cream back down into the carton, so it wasn't even apparent that she had been digging through it! The only dead give away...the carton of carmel ice cream is now mysteriously full of plain vanilla ice cream...

And that's my mom...or at least a couple of my favorite sides of her...