Welcome to New Orleans

What a great weekend.

Early, early Friday morning Becca and I set out on another anniversary adventure. This time last year we were hitting the streets of New York, but this time we headed south to New Orleans. Katie's wedding was Saturday, and my birthday was Sunday; in other words, we knew it would be a great time.

We must have been traveling at light speed or something, because we arrived in New Orleans before lunchtime. We had the whole afternoon to browse around the French Quarter and see what we could see. We enjoyed a delicious po-boy/muffaletta lunch, and did some serious shopping.

Friday night we hit Bourbon Street for my first ever night out in New Orleans (seriously, the last time I was there I was in the third grade or something). We went to Pat O's and enjoyed a hurricane (or maybe two), but things didn't get too crazy because Katie's wedding was at 11 Saturday morning.

Becca started off Saturday morning worrying me to death about whether we were leaving early enough for the wedding, whether we knew where we were going, if we were going to get there in time, etc, etc, etc. (The worrying continued throughout the course of the day relating to just about anything and everything.) We did actually almost miss the wedding because our directions were not exactly right; special thanks to the man and his son who paused their untangling of Christmas tree lights in their front yard to give us the much-needed directions. Also, once we finally arrived at the church, we had a bit of a parking debacle, but it all ended up perfectly. We got to the wedding with about 6.5 minutes to spare, and Becca practically sprinted into the church.

The wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and unbelievably meaningful. The church and reception location themselves were gorgeous; Katie's dress was the most uniquely beautiful thing I've ever seen; every little detail was special and unique; the homily was one of the greatest tributes to a couple I could ever imagine; Katie and Luke's adoration for each other oozed out of their every smile and touch. Also, above all of that, I got to spend some time with friends I've had practically as long as I can remember, and I had such a great time laughing and catching up with all of them.

Saturday night Becca, Patsy, and I had a phenomenal dinner at Court of Two Sisters then headed back to Bourbon Street, where we met Suzy, Tyler, and Casey. We danced the night away at Razoo, and I rang in my 24th (how did that happen??) birthday with a brief appearance on stage. The night ended with the Becca's wallet being "stolen," and we huddled together on the side of Bourbon to make calls to the credit card company, etc. Poor Becca was an emotional rollercoaster and called just about every member of her family at about 2:30AM; thank goodness we managed to convince her that a call to her mom wasn't necessary...

Before getting on the road Sunday, I experienced another New Orleans "must" for the first time: beignets at Cafe Du Monde. They were as to-die-for as everyone says, and I came away covered in a fine film of powdered sugar.

If it took us light speed to get there, it took us just the opposite to get home. Becca and I both felt like it was years before we saw the lights of Columbus, but we laughed all the way back.

Where will we be this time next year?? We're saying Chicago...

The End of the Act

I can now officially say the semester is finished.

After:
2,191 pages of textbooks
1,341 powerpoint slides
325 pages of journal articles
27 pages of handwritten notes
15 guest lecturers
10 hours of mentoring
9 tests
7 papers
5 presentations
4 quizzes
2 personal journals
1 powerpoint presentation
and countless hi-liters and Post-It notes...

It is finally finished.
It hasn't been easy; it hasn't been particularly fun, but it has been nothing short of amazing, and I feel like I have really changed over these past months. I now know that this exactly where I'm supposed to be, and I'm not sure that I've ever had that feeling before. It's pretty amazing, I'm not going to lie.
Now that all the fun of tests, presentations, and class readings are over, I'll just sit back and wait for my grades to come in.
I'm trying so hard to be patient...

The Day I Turned Uncool: Confessions of a Reluctant Grown-Up

I have a college degree. I live on my own. I pay my own bills, and I file my own income taxes. I own my own car. I have a job. For all practical purposes, I'm a grown up.
For some reason, though, I've never felt like one.
Until today.
I've been battling being sick for about six weeks now, and I decided today it was time to go back to the doctor and finally get this mess cleared up. So, after my violin lesson, I made my way to the same doctor I saw just about three weeks ago.
I checked myself in and read a book while I waited to be called. When I finally got called to the back, I told the nurse all of my complaints, the medicine I took a few weeks ago, and the medicines I'm allergic to. I had blood work done as well as a chest x-ray. I talked with the doctor about possible medicines to get this cleared up, and told her to just go ahead and give me a shot. I received my prescriptions, payed my bill in full and headed to the pharmacy, where I picked up my prescriptions and, again, payed my bill.
I know none of that is really that big of a deal, but for some reason, as I walked out of the pharmacy, the only word that came to my mind was independent. As in, I am capable of and am taking care of myself. It was an empowering thought, but a rather scary and sobering one, too.
I'm not sure if I'm ready for so much responsibility...
In other news, when I went to Wal-Mart to pick up my prescriptions today, I was even more irritated by the place than usual. I've written about my intense hatred for Wal-Mart before, but today was even worse than usual. There were all these kids there with their parents, and, becuase it's 3 weeks until Christmas, they were all hyper and running around like little Energizer bunnies. I must have heard at least six parents attempt to make their children behave with the warning of "You better get back in this buggy/stop running around/put that down... Santa's watching you."
Really? Santa's watching you??
What about the other 11 months out of the year when that skewed method of disciplining a child holds no validity whatsoever?? Santa doesn't really hold much influence in the blazing heat of July...
All in all, between my adventures at the doctor's office and my apparently archaic views on parenting, I headed back to Starkville going approximately 55 miles per hour and keeping my blinker on the whole way, like all the other geezers...

The Sound of Music

I was watching Seinfeld the other day, and Elaine, George, and Jerry, in one of their oh-so-typically banal conversations, were discussing whether they would rather date someone who was blind or deaf. It got me to thinking about which one I thought would be harder to deal with... blindness or deafness?
Last night, I think I found my answer.
It came to me in the unexpected form of the Mississippi State University Choir's Holiday Choral Concert, which I went to on a whim when I got out of class early.
The choral concert was absolutely phenomenal, and I got chills from the feeling and emotion contained in every piece. I felt like I could honestly hear God's power and majesty in their voices; and the guy who played the organ was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
In fact, let me take a moment to tip my proverbial hat to the whole choir; I was beyond blown away with the talent and dedication that was so evident in that group of people. First of all, they were huge; through looking at the program, I estimated about 165 people. Some of you may know that, as an undergrad dead-set on experiencing just about extracurricular activity available at Mississippi State University, I was a member of the choir for a very brief time during my sophomore year of college. (I know, I know... you didn't know I could sing. There's a reason for that: I can't. I'm pretty sure the director just took pity on me because I somehow managed to struggle through to the end of the audition piece.) Anyway, it has definitely grown since then... a lot. Also, beyond being humongous, they were just so good. I mean, they were really good. They really made me proud of my university.
Of all the many, many blessings God has bestowed upon my life, the gift of music is one I treasure most. Words put to music take on different meanings, and sometimes music alone says things that even the most eloquent of words cannot express. Listening to a great song on the radio, hearing a story unfold through the crescendos and expressions of classical music, sitting down at the piano and playing a favorite piece, and feeling out the next note on the violin each stirs deep emotion. That's probably one of the dorkiest, cheesiest things I've ever said, but it's true.
I cannot imagine a world in which I could never hear music.

The Forgotten One

So... in my mammoth holiday movie post the other day, I somehow forgot one of my most favorite Christmas movies, which always brings back memories of my childhood. I know a lot of people have never seen it or maybe never even heard of it, but ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS is one I love. (The day I found it in the $5.00 bin at Wal-Mart was the greatest day; yes, I found it in the $5.00 bin. Don't act like you never spotted one of your favorite movies haphazardly dumped in there with some garbage like From Justin to Kelly or Junior...)

The Favorite

I love Christmas.
Period.
I don't know if it's the December birthday thing or what, but I just love it.
Seriously.
I started listening to Christmas music and watched my first Christmas movie of the season the night before Halloween. I had my apartment and my mom's house decorated by November 15. I'm burning my way through my third "Smell of Christmas" candle. I'm telling you, I love it.
As much as I love the music and the lights and the smells and the excitement, the thing I probably love most is the movies. I'm a movie lover in general, but there's just something special about a Christmas movie.
So, tonight I thought I would share my favorite Christmas movies and a few favorite quotes (because y'all know there's few things I love more than a good movie quote). These are in no particularly order because, let's be honest, I love them all.

CHRISTMAS VACATION

"Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?"

"Get off me, you fungus."

"Worse? How could things get any worse? Take a look around here, Ellen. We're at the threshold of hell."

THE HOLIDAY

"Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend."

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET

THE SANTA CLAUSE

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

THE POLAR EXPRESS

"But you don't want to be bamboozled. You don't want to be led down the primrose path. You don't want to be conned or duped. Hoodwinked. You don't want the wool pulled over your eyes. Railroaded. Seeing is believing. Am I right?"

"At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed it fell silient for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe."

ELF

"Don't listen to Leon. Leon's never been anywhere. He doesn't have any feet."

"It's just like Santa's workshop. Except it smells like mushrooms, and everyone looks like they want to hurt me..."

"Do you have any friends? Do you have a best friend? Does he have a big coat, too?"

WHITE CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT

HOLIDAY INN

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

LOVE ACTUALLY

"I love that word 'relationship.' Covers all manner of sins, doesn't it? I fear that this has become a bad relationship. A relationship based on the President taking exactly what he wants and casually ignoring all those things that really matter to, erm... Britain. We may be a small country, but we're a great one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham's right foot. David Beckhams' left foot, come to that."

"We need Kate. And we need Leo. And we need them now. Come on."

"Now which doll shall we give Daisy's little friend Emily? The one that looks like a transvestite or the one that looks like a dominatrix?"

HOME ALONE 2

"You can't be too careful when it involves underwear."

"My grandfather says if my head wasn't screwed on, I'd leave it on the school bus."

HOME ALONE

"This house is so full of people it makes me sick."

"If it makes you feel any better, I forgot my reading glasses..."

"The dope was whining about a suitcase. What was I s'posed to do? Shake his hand and say, 'Congratulations, you're an idiot'?"

"Bring me back something French!"

So, there you have it: the movies that make my holiday complete. Did I leave off any of your favorites??