Egret

Well hey there! It's been awhile, eh? So I suppose I should divulge the fascinating details of my break thus far. Brace yourself...

As most of you know, I spent the first week of break at my grandparents in the bustling metropolis of Tyler Hill, Pennsylvania. Just to put things into perspective, their post office is smaller than the one on campus (and interestingly enough has an emu living behind it- a perfectly logical place for such a huge bird to live, don't ya think?). The trip started out with a bang, or screeched to a halt before I ever left, if you will. I love Atlanta traffic. No really, I simply adore spending one hour moving at a snail's pace down 400 only to make it a lousy seven miles. I ended up taking MARTA so Dad could make a 10 o'clock meeting and so I could make my flight (I'm not too fond of missing flights...).

And while I'm at it, let me rant about our city's transportation. I got on the train at the peak of rush hour- 400 was a parking lot (as it always is), and the stinkin' train was not even half full! What's wrong with those crazy people?! We have this clean, fairly reliable, economical transportation at our fingertips, and most people who have the option to conveniently use the stinkin' train would rather sit on stinkin' 400 as the train rolls past them. What's up with that?!

Ok, I'm done. So I get to the airport, wait on no lines and stroll to the gate at about 10 o'clock. I decided to bypass my traditional coffee (I was in the terminal with Seattle's Best, and I have made this deal with Starbucks that I won't partake of their competitors if they will simply give me the best Cafe Mocha ever, every time I go) and I sat and read Crime and Punishment (which I am finding to be quite fascinating!). Now, let me preface this with the fact that I had felt like crap for the past several days, and that morning left me feeling the same. It was a fairly decent flight, except for the jarring turbulence at the beginning that brought back memories of one of my first flights- I was quite young, and the flight was a bit turbulent, but I distinctly remember my ears popping so badly that I just sat there and cried (I was probably 5 or 6 and not quite the rough and tough gal that I am now). Needless to say, by the end of the flight, I felt pretty bad- I mean, really bad. Um, it was a good thing I happened to come across that little white paper bag in the seat-pocket in front of me as I searched for the holiday catalog. However, I was very discrete, and I don't even think the guy beside me even noticed (not that I cared or could do anything about it...). And the worst part about flying into Philadelphia is that the winds are always so funny that even the best of pilots bounces down the runway- a perfect conclusion to the perfect flight... My grandparents picked me up, and we headed north. It began to snow about halfway through the drive (making the windmills invisible as we crossed over the mountains- boo hiss). I don't really remember reaching Rutherford Hill- I collapsed in bed and that was that. My grandmother was afraid to leave me the next morning before she found out that I was, indeed, still alive.

The rest of the trip was spent running errands into town, baking cookies for some families in the area who are having less-than-ideal times, crocheting, watching educational television (ask me anything about Alaska, ice roads, the construction of Paris, early airplanes...), and um, lots of other intellectually stimulating things. On one evening, we went to the Settlers' Inn, which is an amazing restaurant. It was all decked out in holiday decor- absolutely beautiful! Along with wonderful company, I really enjoyed butternut squash ravioli with mango cream sauce- yum. And I think I mentioned that my grandmother knows everybody- so this restaurant probably holds about fifty people, and my grandmother knew 6 of them (I counted!)- and this restaurant isn't even in their town! Crazy.

On the last day, we went back down to Philly for my one and only cousin Sara's sixth birthday party. It was really great! I just love my family so much- they make me laugh, and they're all so unique, but in a good way! Uncle Rich's family was there too, and sometimes I forget that I'm not a part of their family- they're awesome! And also equally wonderful is the fact that I'm taller than at least half of those crazy yankees! Woah! I wish I could spend more time with them, but alas, when you live that far apart, at least we get to see each other as often as we do. I spent the night at Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave's, and we had pizza and rented iRobot, and life was good :)

So there's my vacation, folks. I know it doesn't sound too exciting, but hey, it was just what I needed and wanted- can't ask for more than some good, quality family time! I returned home to start Christmas shopping (I work best under pressure, as in, I finished shopping on Christmas Eve, and then started wrapping...hehe...).

I got some Katy time, which was wonderful. We had our traditional Monster Popcorn as we watched the Incredibles (ok, that's a lie, we got there early and finished the popcorn before the movie started- oops). Otherwise, it's just been crazy getting ready for Christmas, and I'm just getting over the recovery phase now. I was afraid I was starting to get sick, and then I was going to have to get mad, but it appears as though my body is just suffering from the inability to decide how it feels. Oh well. Finally got back to working out again and caring about my health and little stuff like that. No more sweets, no fried foods, and I think I'm going organic now. It's kind of sick what the FDA allows farmers to do to our meats and veggies and such. I know I won't be eating meat at Saga- no telling what it is- and I'm on the organic milk and Soy milk bandwagon now (oh goodness, don't get me started on that... did you know that milk is actually pus?). So yeah, health nut Erin is back, although most of you probably didn't realize she had gone :)

So yeah, Santa was good. We decided that we would only do three gifts this year, but somebody forgot to send Saint Nick that memo. I'm not complaining ;) I got a microwave, a vacuum, a DVD player, cool chime things, disease books, the 9/11 Commission Report, cds, Target giftcards, canvases, and other goodies. I'm spoiled rotten. Oh well, what're ya gonna do?

The Christmas Eve service at our church was incredible! It's hard to describe, but they really succeeded in getting across not only that we were celebrating Christ's birth, but we're celebrating why He came in the first place- to die for us. How easy it is to look over the resurrection as a part of the miracle of Jesus at this time of year. At church, they did one of those readings where they parallel the birth of Jesus with His last days- very powerful stuff- God was definitely working in our church that night!

And God has really been working in my life too, which is really cool! He sure is making things happen for me- it's incredible- a while ago, I decided that I was really gonna leave all of this stuff I was unsure about in His hands and trust Him to do as He will, and that's exactly what He did! I may have had to wait awhile, but my God is a faithful God and He keeps His promises- I just have to put my faith in Him. It took a long time for me to really do that, but now that I have, I just can't believe my eyes! Thanks God! You're the best :)

And so now, we are fast approaching the new year, which brings us precariously close to going back to school. I think I'm ready for it- let's get this show on the road, right? I miss you all, and I love y'all so much! God bless :)