on the perfect Christmas

I was extremely blessed this Christmas from everyone in my family and I can't believe how awesome some of my gifts were. Here are a few of the best:

1. The Game of Things: I haven't been able to play it yet but I'm very excited to. It might not be something that gets played all the time because you have to have at least 4 people but it'll be something different to play.

2. Guess Rhonda Hobo Purse: I love love love this purse. I've been wanting a new purse for a while now and wanted something that was fun without being obnoxious. It holds a lot more than it looks like it would which is always a plus for me. Plus the inside has lots of pockets for things like chapstick and headphones that always seem to make a cluttered mess in the bottom of my other purses.

3. Brighton Purse Hook: I've always hated situations when you're out and have no where to comfortably put your bag. I don't like putting purses on the floor and sometimes you don't have room on your seat/the back of your chair to put it either. I'm sure I will be using this all the time, plus its a Brighton heart so it'll look wonderful on the table. I also got a Brighton ring and necklace that are fancy enough to dress up a nice pair of jeans but casual enough to wear more often than some jewelry.

4. Belkin Voice Recorder for iPod: This plugs right into my ipod and creates audio files of anything that I want to record, for me it will most likely be always lectures. Its just super awesome to be able to have them right on my iPod and its also possible to transfer them to my computer through iTunes if I want to email them or listen to them another way.

5. Starbucks Holiday Mug: I've always had tumblers but never really had many good mugs to use when I'm at home. I like this one because its a grande size so it doesn't limit me to a smaller coffee plus its festive and I'll always have a red cup year round. With this I also got Starbucks Espresso Roast for my espresso machine so I should be all set for the semester to start.

6. Victoria's Secret Sleepover Flannel Pajamas: These are the perfect weight for being able to wear them in SD even though they're flannel. They're really soft and the perfect colors. Since its a set it gives me a lot of options to wear different parts with other things in my pj wardrobe depending on my mood and the weather. I am very impressed by Jeff's pick for pajamas for me :-) I also got a VS Pink Hoodie in white with bright blue that will make a nice addition to my wardrobe for days when its cooler but I don't want to wear a dark colored sweatshirt.

7. Barnes and Noble Nook: This is probably the gift I was the most excited for and could not believe Jeff got it for me! I love being able to read books on my own between all the hard, dry science textbook reading I'm forced to do. Plus I'm never able to finish one book completely without starting into another one and this eReader will be awesome for me in that respect. The books download right to the Nook and are usually a lot cheaper than actually buying the hard copy of them from the store. They were so popular that I don't actually have it yet but it'll be worth the wait.

Other gifts not mentioned already include a Floating Strap for my waterproof digital camera so that if I do happen to drop it when I shouldn't it wont sink to the bottom. I also got a collection of Bath & Body Works lotions for in my purse/traveling and gift cards to Starbucks/Subway/Ulta. Last but not least I got a Gap Sweater in red/orange and a Blackberry Skin in bright green for my phone.

on our new addition

Jeff and I got our own Christmas tree for our apartment this year and I love it. It totally makes our apartment feel more holiday-like and I couldn't be happier with it. Somehow it just makes me in a better mood because even though the next three weeks are going to be busy and stressful, the holidays are right around the corner. Plus its an exciting step for Jeff and I together, I've never been able to decorate a home with anyone other than my mom and sister and it makes me so happy to think of him and I together in that sense. As of right now we just have simple white lights with silver ornaments but I think it needs some color, maybe some sparkly red bulbs but we'll see :-)

on the holiday season

We invite you to listen to your desires and to renew your hope, to see the world not as it is, but as it could be. Go ahead, wish. it's what makes the holidays the holidays.

Christmas can't get here soon enough

on mission home

In the last couple months I've really started considering UCD as a higher and higher option for me for school. I love San Diego and the people here, don't get me wrong but somethings changed. I think it might have to do with only having a small group of people I'm connected to here, just a couple friends even though I wish I was closer with others. Plus I think its starting to effect me now that I don't get summers at home anymore, or really, that much time at home anymore. It sounds so meaningless but summers are my one time of the year to sorta relax. It didn't seem weird this summer being here but now I'm starting to feel like I miss it more than I initially thought. I know it would be a big burden off Jeff as well because even though he doesn't say it as much anymore, I know he wants to be home. I think at this point, I'll definitely apply to UCD.... and go from there.

ps- I can't WAIT for Thanksgiving break... 13 more days

on the dreaded 4.0

I suddenly just got stressed about my life. I have 4 semesters left at State, and really only 2 semesters left until I apply for medical school and I don't know if I'll get into the schools that I want. My GPA isn't bad by any means but I looked at UCSD's average scores for people in 2008 and I'm right on the line. And I don't know how this semester is going to pan out. Granted if I get a 4.0 for the rest of the time that I'm here I'll be happy with my GPA but I honestly don't know if that's possible. This semester is tough, well actually its just physio that's tough and I legitimately don't know if I can pull off a B, let alone an A. I've gotten good grades before but now I look back and think, "if I only would have tried a little harder and gotten A's instead of -A's". Its hard for me to balance all the studying I know I SHOULD do with the amount that I actually do since I live with Jeff. I don't want to just desert him for the rest of the semester but I don't want to get bad grades either. Maybe I just need to talk to him about it and tell him how stressed out I am and maybe he'll be ok with me living in the library until December.... at least that's what I hope happens.