the one about christmas

My Christmas was very low-key. We drove to my grandma's house, where she cooked a huge meal (I tried to help) and all my aunts, uncles, and cousins joined us. We have such a big family we have to eat at three tables to accommodate everyone!

We did presents, my cousins loved the ones I gave them (made my heart warm!) and then we played the most vicious and intense game of monopoly maybe ever. 

It was a great day. :) 

Hope you guys all had a wonderful Christmas. And to my non-Christmas-celebrating friends, I hope you had a wonderful NBA season opening day.

Fill in the Blank Christmas!

  Link up with Lauren at the Little Things We Do to fill in your blanks!

 

1.   The best way to spread Christmas cheer is   to sing Christmas music loudly and obnoxiously while passing out delicious holiday treats, like candy cane bark which is the best thing ever, by the way .

2.   The thing I love most about Christmas is  spending time with my family. Getting ready for the holidays can be stressful, but the time together is so worth it  .

3.  The holiday season is a time for  reflection and goal setting. It's a time for thinking about what you got out of this year and what you want out of next year .

4. My favorite thing to eat at the holidays is   peppermint anything, except peppermints. I straight up hate peppermints. But anything flavored with peppermints is the best.

5.  I will be spending Christmas   with all my family on my dad's side. We all go to Grandma's house and hang out for a few days.

6.  Tis better to (give or receive?)  give! I mean, everyone loves to receive, obviously. But giving is better, more heartwarming.

7.  I'm dreaming of a   cold    Christmas.  It would be nice to have a white Christmas, but I don't think I've ever had a white Christmas ever. It would be nice though. 

What are you guys doing for the holidays? Do you travel to see family, or stay home? Share your plans. :)

RUPERT A.L. GRINT, You've Kind Of Been John C. Mayer'd. And Kanye O. West'd.

Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint. You guys have heard of Rupert A. L. Grint, right? He became super mega famous after playing a certain Ronald B. Weasley in a certain Harry Potter series. You also might have seen Rupert A. L. Grint in Cherrybomb or Driving Lessons, the latter of which I know to be an awesome movie, the first of which I'm just assuming is an awesome movie because it has Rupert A. L. Grint in it.

Basically, Rupert A. L. Grint is cool, and should move to America. Because in America, lots of people like Rupert A. L. Grint. And Rupert A. L. Grint's awesome red hair.

By now, you have probably noticed that I'm saying Rupert A.L. Grint a lot. See, I read this blog called So Caroline Says, and a little over a year ago she blogged about Kanye O. West after another blogger named Aunt Becky blogged about John C. Mayer and a funny thing happened - Aunt Becky became the third ranked Google link when you google his name. Then, in an even more hilarious twist, Caroline became the actual top hit for Kanye O. West in Google.

 Yup. Go Caroline. And Kanye O. West. 

But why should John C. Mayer and Kanye O. West get all the attention? Why does it always have to be some Americans getting all the attention? I mean screw that, right, Rupert A. L. Grint? Why can't a nice British actor, like Rupert A. L. Grint, get some attention from the blog community? I know those posts about Kanye O. West and John C. Mayer were talking about what total douchecanoes those guys are, but Rupert A. L. Grint is not a douchecanoe, so this post is mostly going to be about how awesome Rupert A. L. Grint is instead.

So this post is for you, Rupert A. L. Grint! Rupert A.L. Grint, may you always have adorable red hair. To you, Rupert A. L. Grint, who apparently has two middle names and I mean, what the hell is that about, Rupert A. L. Grint? Is that a British thing? Whatever, it's cool. For you, Rupert A. L. Grint, who owns an ice cream truck with REAL ice cream in it, according to Emma C. D. Watson (again with the two middle names?). To you, Rupert A. L. Grint, who sometimes dresses kind of grungy but looks too clean cut for that (sorrynotsorry).

 

Instead, Rupert A. L. Grint, I will always prefer the photo below, which is black and white so we can't actually appreciate your fantastic red hair, but that's okay. I wish I actually had photo creds for either of these photos, so hey, if you took either of these photos of Rupert A. L. Grint, let me know in the comments and I will give you credit for your photos of Rupert A. L. Grint. And if Rupert A. L. Grint himself is reading this, hi. Tell me who took these photos of you.

Also, Rupert A. L. Grint? It's #35 on my Life List to hug you. And as you're getting to follow your childhood dreams of owning an ice cream truck, I think you can understand that since I went to the premiere of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in L.A. when I was 11, I have had a childhood dream of hugging you. So, Rupert A. L. Grint (and Rupert A. L. Grint's publicist that's reading this), let's make this happen. I'm willing to fly to England. Just sayin'.

13 hours left!

That's right - only 13 hours left to enter that giveaway I wrote about here. If you're wanting for family portraits, a couples/engagement shoot, or just some individual spots, you can win any of those! It's really easy to enter, just go to the original post and do as it says. :) I'll announce the winner tomorrow morning on the VCPblog! Get excited!

It's Closing Time

Everyone knows that song Closing Time, by Semisonic, right?

This song is what my life feels like these days. And I'm sure that everyone that graduated from high school or college from 1998-2000 said the same thing, but I identify so strongly with this song these days that every time I hear it, it moves me in a way very few songs have before.

Closing time. Open all the doors and let you out into the world. 

I'll be honest: As I get ready to graduate from college on Saturday morning, I'm nervous. I'm excited and thrilled, and really proud of myself for actually doing this because I had so many opportunities to not, but I'm also nervous about what comes next. I've always known what the next few years of my life would look like - this is the first time I don't have a plan like that. It's cool and wonderful, and also a lot of pressure. Going out into the world, the Real World, finally.

Closing time. Turn all of the lights on over every boy and every girl.

I keep thinking about that moment when I walk across the stage and am handed my diploma. What if I trip? I probably will because, well it's me and I fall a lot. And I tripped at my high school graduation, so I might as well trip again. I know no one pays attention at graduations, but my family and a lot of friends will be there watching that moment directly in the spotlight.

Closing time. One last call for alcohol so finish your whiskey or beer.

My friends and I have been doing a lot of weekly happy hours this semester. I'm going to miss that as we all graduate and move elsewhere.


Closing time. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here. 


I never quite considered College Station 'home,' but I will be sad to leave it. It's true that I can't stay here - this city was good for college, but there's nothing here for me career-wise. It's too small, and I'm going to be working in big cities. Capitals.


Closing time. Time for you to go out to the places you will be from.

I've kept this a secret for a while now, but I suppose now is as good a time to announce this as ever: Soon, I'll be saying that I'm from Washington D.C. I'm spending the holidays with my family then I'll be D.C.-bound after the first of the year. I'm doing an internship up there for the semester then... well, who knows? I've loved D.C. for a long time, so I'm excited for that city to become a place that I call home someday.

So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits. I hope you have found a friend.

I've found friends in college. Some of them are moving to D.C. with me, which I'm excited about, and that makes the move a little easier. I've stayed friends with the most important people from high school. And as cheesy as this sounds, I've made a friend of myself. The most important thing I've learned in college is to be faithful to myself, true to my needs and desires, and to love myself. It was a tough lesson, but the most important one the last three and a half years could have ever taught me.

I know who I want to take me home.



But that's for another post.



Take me home. 

Closing time. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.