365 Days

Brendan and I celebrate our one-year anniversary today, which is surreal. I can't believe it's been a year. My life before I married Brendan seems a million miles away, but it still feels like we haven't been married that long. Exactly one year ago, I was sitting in the hair salon getting my hair and make-up done with my bridesmaids, so ready to get to the church to see Brendan. The next morning, we flew to Disney World for a fantastic honeymoon. Brendan and I were talking the other day about our plans for New Year's Eve this year, and we agreed that nothing we'd do would be as exciting as New Year's Eve last year.

I'll probably be way too sentimental today, but I don't care. While it feels good to be sentimental about events like your wedding, I know it's not everything. It's so tempting to hold every memory of our marriage up to our wedding day to see how they compare. While one needs to cherish those special events, it's important to look to the future and make more memories, which is what I look forward to doing year after year.

DONE!

I finished my second-to-last semester of grad school, and that's a wonderful feeling! I turned in my 111 grades yesterday afternoon, and now I'm home free; I'm still riding that end-of-the-semester, everything's-turned-in high. I still have to work on schoolwork over the break, though. I need to compile my booklist for Comps and start reading so I can be ahead of my reading schedule when the spring semester begins.

Since Brendan is working right up until Christmas Eve, and I'll run out of things to do pretty quickly in Abilene, I'm making a short trip to San Antonio on Thursday and coming back on Monday. Leaving Brendan for four days won't be fun, but it'll be good to see my parents and take care of some last minute Christmas shopping at a real mall.

Home for the Holidays

Ta-da!

Here's a picture of our first-ever Christmas tree! The ornaments are a little sparse, but that's because I'm too cheap to buy any new ones. I figure we'll collect more ornaments over the years, which will make decorating the tree even more special.

I know my updates have been sporadic lately, but end-of-semester papers have currently taken over my life. I think I can hear an evil laugh from them in the background somewhere... Thankfully everything will be finished and turned in very soon, and I can finally enjoy a well-deserved rest.

We'll be in Abilene for most of my break from school (except for two quick trips to Sugar Land and San Antonio to have Christmas with family), since Brendan's work has mandatory black-out days for the holidays (lasting from Thanksgiving to New Year's) where no one can use their vacation time or take off. Don't feel sorry for me, though. While Brendan's at work I plan on sleeping in, watching copious amounts of CSI, and finally reading books that I chose to read. Ahhhh. I also intend to visit some out-of-town friends, and hang out with my parents in San Antonio for a few days.

Let the countdown begin!