Yet Another Update

It seems like I only post random updates like this one, but sadly, this is really the only thing I have had much time for in the past few weeks, so bear with me for a while longer!

-Tevis invited me over on Monday night, and I made an unpleasant discovery. As I walked into his living room, I noticed that he had a new watch on his arm. It was a nice watch, and that was fine, because he had been on the market for a new watch. Well, everything was fine about the situation except for one thing: I had already bought him the same watch for Christmas. I wasn’t too excited about it, as I had bought said watch last month, only days after he originally pointed it out to me. It wasn’t that I was mad about the situation, because I wasn’t. It was more of the fact that I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to give him something that I knew for a fact that he wanted, since he is impossible to shop for. He told me that his mom had given it to him as an early Christmas present, which was when I had to tell him about my predicament. The look on his face after I told him was an expression of amazement and sympathy, and he did his best to try to make light of it, by telling me that he could wear it on his other arm, that he could wear it on his ankle, that he could keep it as a backup if he lost/broke the one he already had, or that I could give it to him anyway and he could re-gift it. Although his suggestions made me smile and laugh, I wasn’t too interested. The silver lining to this is that I still have ample time to return his watch and get him something different; thank goodness I kept the receipt!

-My one and only final for the semester went just fine. I haven’t looked to see how I did yet, but I’m not too concerned about it. The worst part of my final was having to listen to the baseball players who sat behind me regale their tales of drunken debauchery from the night before. Have I mentioned exactly how much I despise baseball players? Oh well; life goes on.

-On Tuesday night, PLC had to serve at another banquet, with this one being more time-consuming than the last. There were about 300 people in attendance, and the Gantz Ballroom was packed. Personally, I could’ve gone without serving at this banquet, as I had other things that I could’ve been doing instead. At least we got a free meal out of it, along with the satisfaction of being told by the caterers that the Enid PLC is better at serving banquets than Tonkawa’s PLC is. Also, we were told that they have already fired three of the Tonkawa kids…how exactly does that happen?

-After we were done with the banquet, I went back to my dorm to do some end-of-semester cleaning. Carissa and I decided that we would split up the cleaning between the top and bottom floors. Technically, the top floor has less space, but it also has the bathroom, so that pretty much makes up for it. I volunteered to clean the top floor, since Carissa would be staying two extra days and was sewing downstairs. After two hours and a trip to Dollar General to get more cleaning supplies, I successfully got the bathroom/upstairs cleaned, including the shower, which was on the verge of being gross, in my opinion. When Carissa saw the shower, she was amazed, and she then told me that when she gets her own place, she will hire me to clean her shower! Hooray for The Works tub & shower cleaner!!!

-After cleaning, I also managed to get the bulk of my things packed up. I literally felt like I was leaving forever, and it appeared that way, too. The thing I do like about moving some of my things out is that it gives me an opportunity to see what all I have and haven’t used, and what I really need to bring back. Also, I think that I will have to take some clothes to Hope Outreach, as I haven’t really worn some of them since I moved in. I have come to the realization that it is time for me to part ways with much of my wardrobe, as I am outgrowing it not physically, but mentally. There are a few of my shirts that make me feel like a junior high kid when I wear them (probably because that’s when I got most of them), and I have gotten all the use out of them that I will probably ever get. Furthermore, I think that I should also go through my closet while I am home to weed out clothes that I haven’t worn so that they, too, can be given to someone else who is in need of gently used clothes.

-Thursday was an all-around good day. Besides the fact that it was my first official day of Christmas break, I got to spend my day with a menagerie of people. I began the day by picking my mom up from work and heading to town for Kyle’s Christmas program. (At he & Cody’s school, they split up the programs and have one for the Pre-K/Kindergarteners and one for grades 1-5.) Although I got there a little late, I still loved it! After his program, my mom and I had hoped to eat lunch with Emily, but because of circumstances beyond our control, we weren’t able to (No, she didn’t go into labor, if you were wondering.).  Instead, my mom and I decided to go out ourselves and enjoy a nice lunch at Pastimes, somewhere the two of us haven’t been in quite some time. After lunch, we headed to the mall so that I could return Tevis’s watch, and find a new present for him, which I did. We also did a little more Christmas shopping for a few people. Finally, we headed home for a little while. After eating supper, my dad joined us in our trip back to town for Cody’s Christmas program. Cody’s program was obviously longer than Kyle’s was, but it had a few welcome surprises. Their principal, who was in the Notre Dame choir, joined the children in singing “What Child Is This?”. He has a wonderful voice, and made it even more delightful. All of the songs were beautiful, almost moving me to tears…what a way to get someone in the Christmas spirit! One of my bigger surprises was getting to see a good friend of mine from my Confirmation class. I haven’t seen my friend Emily in almost a year, as she goes to college in Connecticut. She and I had a great chat, and it made my night to get to see her!

-Tonight I will be keeping Cody and Kyle while Scotty and Emily go to Scotty’s Christmas party for his work, and also enjoy one last night to themselves before the baby arrives (more on that in a bit). I have a few ideas about what we might do tonight, including our supper plans, and perhaps watching “Home Alone”, which is their favorite Christmas movie. I am looking forward to spending some quality time with them!

-My other “big plan” for the day is getting the Christmas tree put up. I know, where have we been, Christmas is only a week away, etc., etc. . In my house, even though we have resorted to having an artificial tree (I prefer real trees, to be honest.), we usually keep the tree up until sometime after the new year…usually around the feast of Epiphany, so it makes more sense to put it up later. Also, time hasn’t really warranted for my parents to get it put up, so I will be all over that today, after I finish cleaning the living room. Perhaps Cody and Kyle will also have to help me decorate it this evening!

-On a final note, in about 45 hours, Emily will have her baby!!!!! Of course, I will keep everyone posted on what is happening, although it won’t necessarily be up-to-the-minute news. It will probably be later- that-night-after-I-get-home-and-to-a-computer kind of news. Regardless, there will be pictures galore! I am beyond excited to meet my new niece/nephew, and even more excited to know what it will be…and to be able to stop calling the baby “it”!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend before Christmas!!!