Christmas Break Update # 1

Hello all!

I know I posted something yesterday but this is the first official update from me during Christmas break. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and continue to have a great rest of 2010 and a happy (and safe!) New Year celebration!

As I already said, I had a fabulous Christmas! I was awoken at 7:30AM in the morning by my little sister who informed that it was "time to open presents!!" I had a wonderful time watching my siblings open their gifts--especially the ones I gave them! :-) I, myself, received a rather large box full of books. I had asked for classics because I need to read more. :-) Some of the titles I am particularly excited about are

• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (Obviously, this one isn't a technical classic but I'm still excited to read it. My sister gave it to me.)

Right now, I'm reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and am liking it a lot so far. However, I believe the phrases "I really do" and "and all" will be eradicated from my vocabulary entirely by the time I get done reading because I will be so sick and tired of hearing them. :-)

Another gift I was excited to receive was scrap-booking materials. I got two starter kits, different glue dealies and a massive array of stickers. I think my favorite scrap-booking tool is (and don't laugh) the Tub o' Scissors. It's this huge barrel of 12 pairs of scissors that all cut in different designs. I might be geeking out a little too much for some scissors, but I like them a lot. ;-)  

After the present-opening extravaganza was over, some more family came over and we ate Christmas lunch/dinner. We did Thanksgiving part 2 because my grandparents spent the two months prior to Christmas in Israel, where Turkey Day is not celebrated. So they were very happy to eat some stuffing and turkey and all that jazz. :-)

So Christmas--which was preceded by a lovely Christmas Eve service at my church--this year was great. I'm looking forward to the New Year and will probably have a post about resolutions and whatnot. Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :-)

Jesus is...

Jesus is more fulfilling than success

Jesus is more secure than money

Jesus is better than job stability and a steady income

Jesus is more powerful than a signature 

Jesus is sweeter than good friends

Jesus is more satisfying than finding an earthly true love

Jesus is better than family peace

Jesus is stronger than my biggest struggle

Jesus is calmer than a silent night

Jesus is more loving than anyone else you know

Jesus is more soothing than a sweet song

Jesus is more reliable than anyone you know

Jesus lived the life we couldn't

Jesus died the death we deserved

Jesus loves

Jesus lives

Jesus saves

"This is my position concerning my condition. This is my position, my life be definition: Jesus is life."

~Steven Curtis Chapman: Jesus is Life

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; sweetest name I know. Fills my every longing; keeps me singing as I go!"

~Luther B. Bridgers: He Keeps Me Singing

"All the weak find their strength at the sound of Your great name. Hungry souls receive grace at the sound of Your great name. The fatherless find their rest at the sound of Your great name. The sick are healed. The dead are raised at the sound of Your great name."

~Natalie Grant: Your Great Name

"If you left it up to me, every day would be a holiday from real."

I'm a happy camper this evening. I took my last final this morning (a nasty one, too. My journalism professor rather enjoys writing tricky multiple-choice questions.) and am officially on vacation for the holiday season!

I celebrated the end of the fall semester with my sister after our French/Journalism finals at the Einstein's in the Union. She ate chicken noodle soup, I a toasted asiago-cheese bagel with strawberry cream cheese (Meg Ryan from When Harry Met Sally much?) and we both drank chocolate milk. It was a lovely send-off to my plan of eating healthy over the break--and hopefully a long while after that, but we'll see. :)

For the past few days, I have been contemplating what to do over this long holiday and now that it is finally upon me, I find myself sort of just sitting around and reveling in my freedom. :) Today after coming home, I played a few rounds of Robot Unicorn Attack on Facebook (don't laugh. Well okay, I suppose you can, but only a little!). I am usually not a big fan of Facebook applications, but this one is appealing to me for some reason. After that, I finished watching Across the Universe with my sister and then decided to try to get back into the swing of writing. For some reason unbeknownst to me, it has been difficult to write anything creatively over the past few months. Buckling down to write something from my imagination has been close to impossible, simply because there wasn't enough time or because I was too burned out to concentrate. Also my new-used laptop has been acting up all semester long. As of today, it won't restart; I think he's finally kicked the bucket (only adding one more bullet to the list of 'why Molly should buy a Macbook in the spring').

But anyway, I sat down to write and surprisingly, the words came with ease. Though, they only flowed for around two paragraphs, I am thoroughly satisfied with them, thus making this first day of vacation an immense success. I am excited to have no scholastic responsibility looming about for a good few weeks. Hopefully, I'll be able to make some headway on this brand new idea that's been lolling around in my brain for a few weeks. There are other things I want to do in addition to writing my little heart out. I want to start scrapbooking all my pictures, read some new books, and watch movies. :) My sister and I watched the Time Traveler's Wife (which I will probably write a personal review about later) last night and then Across the Universe today which I have already seen. I borrowed Meet Joe Black from the library, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm sort of on a sappy movie kick, so if you have any good tear-jerker suggestions, let me know! :)

What I want to do more than all of the above over this Christmas break is to catch up with mis amigos (as). I feel like ever since I started school I fell off of everyone's planets. I have so much catching up to do with everyone and now I have plenty of time to do so. One of my very best friends is coming home from Mexico next week and I am stoked to see her! 

I hope to post every week or so about what I've been up to lately during this most fantastic stretch of break.  I want to use this time to catch up all the things I've been missing like sleep, reading my Bible, talking/hanging out with friends, writing, and everything else under the sun. Thanks for reading! :)

But if you left it up to me
Everyday would be
A holiday from real
We'd waste our weeks
Beneath the sun
We'd fry our brains
And say it's so much fun out here
But when it's all over
I'll come back for another year

~Jack's Mannequin--Holiday From Real

Perfect

Oh, tie me to the end of a kite
So I can go on, I can go on with my life
Every marigold I pass below will be my guiding light
I just want to go away from here

Oh, tie me to the end of a kite
So I can go on, I can go on with my life
Every time the wind blows stronger,
I will feel my spirit rise
I just want to go away from here

Oh, tie me up tightly by your side
So I may go with you where ever you reside
And anytime the road looks dimmer
I will be your guiding light
I just want to go away with you
I just want to go away with you


-Rosie Thomas: Kite Song

So much to say, so few words

"Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend. But I always thought that I'd see you again."

~James Taylor: Fire And Rain

"And now I recall that time...thunderstorm outside, words you could never say they hold the loudest tone. Tick tock the time, distant look grows in your eyes. And fools never ask, afraid of what lurks in your mind. I always knew, somehow always knew."

~Vanessa Carlton: Fools Like Me


"Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good."
~Wicked: For Good

    "No matter how hard I've tried to make you disappear, I have found you can't erase a part of your life. No matter how good or bad it was, it'll always be there. And after all the hate and silence, I have found that there is still a place in my heart for you."

~Molly O'Sullivan: The Bicyclist

I miss you and I think about you often. I wonder how you're doing and I wish I could talk to you. I miss being friends and at the same time I don't. I know so much is happening for you right now and it sucks to be missing it. I wish you all the best in life. 




(Updated 4/19/11: The Bicyclist has been renamed The Lion & The Rock)