Ho Ho Ho... you may kiss the bride!

As the end of 2011 nears, I've said goodbye to a few things already.  One of them is milk... because it really jacks my stomach.  I've welcomed Almond Milk to my refrigerator as it has more calcium and vitamin D, and no sugar.  More room for candy... hello.

I feel like the last two weeks have been like watching that one stupid news broadcaster try to maintain balance in a hurricane in their red or green coat issued by the network.  I've been like the hair on the head of the news broadcaster, flying around in the air, out of control.  Take this example as an apology if I've missed your call and failed to return it or completely ignored an email from you.  It wasn't intentional, it was survival.

One of my best friends from Whidbey, Callie, got married last weekend in Sunriver, Oregon.  What a fantastic place!  It was as gorgeous as she was - except she was more covered in white one because it hadn't snowed yet and everything was brown.  I suppose she'll be brown once she returns from her sunny honeymoon.  A stunning wedding...

It was amazing and even more fun because of the mix of friends that had gathered to celebrate with them. They live in San Diego, so the "California Crew" flew up and were just way more fun than us.  It's true.

us.

them.

The day after the wedding, we all met in the Village at the skating rink.  Christmas songs were sung by the trees and lights covered the buildings that the colorful train drove between.  At one point, my sister looked across the skating rink at the ten or so "Cali Crew" that were taking a skate break against the rail and said exactly what we were all thinking, "I don't know why, but I like them all so much more than us.  They are way more fun.  Just look at them... skating with zero inhibition.  Even attempting triple axles and backwards skating.  I'd never do that... I have weak ankles."  They had stayed up until 6am that morning, after the wedding, and were bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for their next adventure.  None of them must have kids... now it takes me days, weeks, sometimes months to recover from an all-nighter.  But, I'd never try a triple axle, not even before kids.

It was the most fantastic 16 hours total I've ever spent in a car... wonderful people and new friends... the weirdest clothes I've ever packed for a trip (keep reading)... and eight of us hanging in a beautiful home with high ceilings, lots of bathrooms, and plenty of alcohol.

At 7pm the night before I left for the wedding, I completed my final exam for the psychology class that I took this fall.  I hadn't exactly read all of the chapters before the exam, and decided to cram 150 text book pages into the final 48 hours before the test.  I should write Disney and thank them for providing entertainment for my son while I read next to him on the couch.  I was also recovering from a gnarly cold that left Baylor on antibiotics and me sleep deprived and cranky. I was also trying to get my house, suitcase, and fake tan ready for a 4 days trip for the wedding. I was a mess.

To avoid leaving anyone in suspense, I am happy to say that I got a 96% on my test, and a big fat 4.0 in my class.  That's right, the straightest "A" around.  I'm going to miss my class so very much.  It was so hard to say goodby! Five hours every week I was able to sit in front of a brilliant woman (really, she is amazing... she knows everything about everything.  I asked if I could just sit in her other classes and listen without doing any work.  She laughed at me...) and learn about things that I find fascinating.  It was killer.

And now it's time for Christmas.  My sister and I forced the other passengers in our car to stop by a TJ Max in Oregon so we wouldn't have to pay tax on some of the things we didn't even want to buy.  We loaded up on gifts and were out of there in an hour.  I hate the gift portion of the program.  I felt like I just blew a bunch of cash on a load of shit that nobody really cares about (ok, I hope they do), and for what?  To prove that I love them?  I say that I'm going to bake cookies or make a craft for everyone to bring back the true meaning of Christmas, but then I run out of time, and buying my stepmom new PJs online is a lot easier than trying to do a hand painted pattern on the side of a vase with acrylic paint.  You know?

Baylor memorized jingle bells, we decorated our tree, he sat on Santa's lap, and is getting everything he asked for on Christmas morning.  I wrote "To Bay.  Love, MOM" on his gifts under the tree and it really made me feel like a parent.  I've never listened to Christmas songs more than I have this year and I've been baking cookies just to make my house smell cozy.  Now that my class is over, the only thing on my list is to enjoy the holiday season... oh, and kick this new round of a cold that I got from staying up until 1am three nights in a row.  What on earth was I thinking?!