oh christmas tree, and cookies.

So, this Christmas season I have been doing a few things to try and get into the holiday spirit. One of those things was making Christmas sugar cookies, and another thing was setting up the Christmas tree!

First. Christmas cookies.

Josh and I went to my mom's and made sugar cookies. Josh is so much more domestic than me, but after a few trays I finally got in the cookie groove and made some stellar stars, stockings, and winter trees. We had the best time, and then took them to his parents' house where we munched on the tasty treats.

Here we are in cookie action:





Second. Jayme, Rob, and I decorated the apartment Christmas tree. It was very festive, and we listened to Mannheim Steamroller while we hung ornaments and garland.

Rob and I documented the festivities:







Merry Christmas season everyone!

kiwi.

editor's note: hire an editor

Today's editor's note comes from a site I found while doing research for one of my final projects.

I was writing a paper about beekeeping and, like any good student seeking out legitimate research and sources, I googled "how to be a beekeeper."

One of the first sites to come up was this gem:


Our good friend Blessing Maseko here is touting that he has written one of the best guides to beekeeping ever, and that with his handy-dandy ebook you too can become an expert keeper of the apis mellifera.

Now, upon first glance, you will notice the word "Whilst" starting out the site.

Sounds smart huh?

Well, if you are going to use the fancy version of "while," the rest of what you've written better back that sucker up.

Sadly, there was no backing-up on this site-- except for grammatical surrender.


And that was just the first two sections! The rest of the site was just as wonderfully painful, but you get the idea.

The best part?

It's on sale!


Yes ma'am and sir, you too for the simple price of $47 (a $247 value!) can own the "Beekeeping for Beginners" ebook and take the first step towards bee bliss and honey heaven!

And there is one guarantee you can be sure of, the quality of the book will be as fine as its online introduction!

school is over, and the possibilities are endless.

an alumni.

Well folks. It happened. I accomplished something grand today. Something amazing. Life changing. Something I never thought I could do, but then did.

...I cleaned up my desktop!

See?

I'm so proud of myself!

Oh, and I also finished up my college education. Can't forget to mention that.

You know.

Done with college.

No biggie.


. . .


Oh all right all right!

I FREAKING FINISHED MY COLLEGE EDUCATION TODAY!! LAST CLASS/FINAL OF MY LIFE STARTED AND ENDED TONIGHT! I AM NOW AN ALUMNI OF BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY!! SOOOO EXCITED!!

I am chilling in bed a free, educated woman! I can do whatever I like whenever I want! No one is going to tell me what to do now! I can think my own thoughts! No more printing or staples or folders! I answer to no one and no thing!

...that is, until I get a job in a few weeks. Then I will have to retract pretty much all of those statements.


Curse you real life, way to go and pop my party balloon.

Anyway, enough of the joking (but seriously) around. I graduated from college today, a fine lady of 23 with a degree in Advertising, emphasis in Copywriting, and a minor in English!

WHOOOHOOO!!

Pretty snazzy huh? I'm quite happy about it. In case you couldn't tell.

Ooooo! I need to go buy a fancy frame to stick my Certificate of Smartness in when it comes in the mail! E-x-c-i-t-i-n-g!

I should buy some leather-bound books too, and a globe. And maybe a pair of spectacles. And a black turtleneck sweater. And a Franklin day planner.

Oh, FYI. I suddenly developed a British accent when I left my last final. Because that IS what "smart" sounds like. So just a heads-up for next time you talk with me.

And I do Sudoku while reading The New Yorker now too.

But, enough of me being smart. I'm sure you want to know how my last day of college went right? Well let me tell you!

I arose at 8 AM sharp(ish) and began getting ready to pick up my final project and prepare for my presentations. My darling Josh surprise-assisted me and brought me my project, leaving me an extra hour to prepare. I put on a grey dress with black leggings and drove up to campus with The Naked and Famous playing on my iPod, and didn't hit a bit of traffic. Smooth start.

I arrived at my first final and presented my paper on beekeeping while the class ate pizza. We said our goodbyes, and I then proceeded to write, print, and practice my next presentation (it was on developing film). I turned in my final project, presented my paper, and then ate more pizza.

Mmmm pizza.

At the end I said goodbye to my friends in the class as we promised we would all find each other on facebook. Smooth finish.

I then walked to the exit of my establishment of higher learning and stood at the threshold for a moment.

I stood there as a college student....


And then, with one small step, I became a college grad!

Ta-da!

Yay! Just like that. One moment I'm me, and the next I am a different me!

College student:

College graduate:

Acceptable to wear sweatshirt and messy hair in public:

No excuse:

People give free food to:

People ask for donations from:

Expected to live off of no sleep and pizza crusts:

Expected to go to yoga and have a 401K:

Reckless youth:

Responsible adult:

Yup, the world will view me completely different now. And so will I. But that's a good thing, and I am up to the challenge!

I'm excited for this next stage in my life, and for all the things I will accomplish and experience starting next year. I am proud of all I have done and who I have become over the last 4.5 years, but I have a feeling 2012 is going to be the best year yet!

Oh.

And one more thing.



Dearest mother of mine,

Thanks for all you've done, the faith you had in me when I couldn't find it in myself, the endless hours spent on the phone encouraging and consoling and venting with me, the nice notes and loads of laundry, the pride you took in my successes and the compassion you had in my weaknesses. You were with me every step of the way, and I am so grateful for that.

Most of all, thank you for the strength you always gave me. And for believing in me. And for loving me. I couldn't have gotten here without you.

I love you so!

Sincerely,

The (college grad!) girl behind the blog

final finals week.

Well, it's finals week. The first day of the last week of my college education. I figured that this was a big enough event in my life to document on my blog. Right?! I mean, it's no trip to the beach, but it's still quite exciting!

Also, my mind is melting thanks to endless questions on iambic meter and formal patterns and Italian sonnets and symbols and themes and stupid Edgar Allen Poe and his stories about gouging cats' eyes out.

Yeah. You read that right.

Gotta love getting an English minor.

Anyway, so I thought I would take a moment and post something that has nothing to do with academics.

What would that thing be about you ask?



A really good song, and some pictures from the summer.




For all of you suffering from finals and other stresses... just remember that the heart of life is good :)

aren't these pretty?

Panasonic RPHTX7 Retro Style Headphones

Yes. Yes they are.

editor's note: homophones

Hey folks! I'm back with an editor's note I think we all will enjoy...because it is constantly popping up all over our Facebook pages.

I'm talking about homophones.

A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose (flower) and rose (past tense of "rise"), or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too.

Sometimes improperly used homophones can just add an element of "huh?" to your sentence, like this one:

(Yes, I know. That one is not completely 100% a homophone. But for the sake of this discussion, it is.)

But sometimes it can bring a whole new meaning to what you are trying to say:

Hm. Let's see.

Waist
/wāst/
Noun

1. The part of the human body below the ribs and above the hips. The circumference of this: "her waist is 28 inches".

...I think he meant:

Waste
/wāst/
Verb

1. Use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose.


That is a bit of a difference!

Though, in his comment, both are true. I wouldn't want that ice cream to go to waste or waist either!

Get it? Get it??

...

Anyway, moral of this situation?

When it comes to homophones, yule not bee sari if ewe cheque two know witch won yew wont too right!