On a Day Like Today

I loved today.
First, today was the first day of December, my without-a-doubt favorite month of the year.  Now that the weather has gotten frigid drastically colder, it really is begining to feel a lot like Christmas!
Also, today was a huge day for me school-wise.  After getting up at 4 AM to finish one of the three huge projects I had due today (in addition to a final), I am somewhat in shock that I'm not catching some serious zzzzzzzzzzzz by now.  I think I'm just on a momentary high due to the completion of my two hardest classes for the semester.  Always love that feeling.  I'm sure I'll be sawing logs sleeping peacefully as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Today's greatness continued when I got this little gem in my inbox.  I loved every minute of this video, but the part where the girl tells about the love letters is my favorite.

PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God from Frank Warren on Vimeo.
If y'all haven't jumped on the PostSecret bandwagon, I would highly recommend it.  I read the blog on Sundays, I have the books, and I get Frank Warren's emails; I think PostSecret is fabulous and unendingly fascinating.  Becca is also convinced that I send in my own secrets because I just "seem like that kind of person" (I'm not sure exactly how to take that... insult?  compliment?), but I don't know what secrets she thinks I have because I'm always spilling my guts to y'all. =)
Another reason today was great is that, after my final this afternoon and before my night class, I spent the afternoon in one of my favorite ways--curled up on the couch with a great book and a great cup of hot chocolate.  Does it really get much better?
Today did, actually, get even better.
Tonight I went to the Starkville Symphony/MSU Choir concert, which was beyond phenomenal.  For the majority of the time I felt like I was at some extravagant ball at Pemberly, hoping Mr. Darcy would come whisk me away for a waltz (that's a Pride and Prejudice reference, for those of you are not gaga crazy in love with the work of Jane Austen).  (On a sidenote:  who knew harpsichords still existed?  I thought they had gone the way of the lyre and other extinct musical instruments, but I am no longer living under such misconceptions.)  Anyway, as I said, the whole program was wonderful.  I find symphonic music so dreamy totally romantic and altogether swoon-worthy.
Anyway, speaking of great music, have y'all started listening to Christmas music?  It's practically all I listen to these days.  What are your favorites?  Here are my top 10 favorite Christmas songs of all time:
10.  It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: Bing Crosby
9.  Christmas in Killarney:  Bing Crosby
8.  When a Child is Born:  Kenny Rogers
7.  Because It's Christmas:  Barry Manilow
6.  Hanukkah Song:  Adam Sandler
5.  Kentucky Homemade Christmas:  Kenny Rogers
4.  All I Want for Christmas is You:  Mariah Carey
3.  Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas:  Judy Garland
2.  Song for a Winter's Night:  Sarah MacLachlan
1.  I'll Be Home for Christmas:  Josh Groban (complete with the voiceovers from soldiers currently serving overseas; I've heard this song about 59 times, and I cry every time)
********I have to give special recognition to the entire Hanson (yeah, like as in "Mmmmmmbop") Christmas CD, Snowed In, which is without a doubt my favorite Christmas album of all time.  Don't hate; it's awesome.
********I also have to clarify that I really do have good taste in music, but I blame my mother for my undying love for the dorkiest Christmas music on the planet.  Y'all know Christmas music is hokey by its very nature; don't act like you don't love Bing Crosby.
Oh, yeah, and there's one other song I'm really loving this holiday season.  It's pretty new, so you may not have heard it yet.  It goes something like this...

Cowbells ring, are you listening?
Down the field, Dixon sprinting...
A beautiful sight, Rebs crying tonight,
Walking with the trophy in our hands.
Ran away with the Egg Bowl,
Don't feel bad for the Rebs soul,
A beautiful sight, when the dawgs bite,
Walking with the trophy in our hands.

Pretty catchy, huh? =)
How. bout. them. dogs??  Am I right??
I'm still loving the sheer butt-whipping awesomeness that was the Egg Bowl 2009.  
So. much. fun.
Anyway, hope you all had a great day, too!  Happy December!!  

Time Out for Fun

First off, let me just say that I adore PostSecret.  Do y'all love it as much as I do and look forward to checking the new posts on Sunday?  I really want to go to the event in Birmingham in two weeks, but I really doubt if I'm able to get a ticket.  Anybody in Birmingham (or, even better, a student at UAB) and want to help me out with a ticket?  Anyway, if y'all don't read PostSecret, you should definitely check it out.  I had to show y'all this one because of, well, the obvious.  Mississippi State on PostSecret... very very cool:

This weekend was all kinds of fun.  Not really utterly inappropriate ridiculous fun like last weekend, but fun, fun, fun all the same.  Alex, Amanda, and Wex came to stay with me for the MSU vs. GA Tech game, and we had the most laid back game weekend.  I was so excited to see and get to visit with each of them, especially Alex who I hadn't seen since he moved to the Windy City.  (No offense to you two ladies... I loved seeing y'all, too!)  Here's a few pics from the weekend:

Today, feeling so much better than I did this time last week, still found me laying around and watching movies all day on a rainy Sunday.  I did manage to pull myself together to actually go out of the house and watch a movie, and I thoroughly enjoyed Whip It, starring the cuts-like-a-knife funny Ellen Page.  It was a good time, with a few good laughs.  You may think it looks a little silly ( I mean, roller derby?  really?), but it really is a good time.  Unlike Adventureland, which I watched this afternoon and by which I was wholly underwhelmed.  (I think a large part of that may, I'm not too proud to admit, have a large bit to do with my utter hatred unfailing distaste for Kristen Stewart...so sue me.)

Finally, I wanted to share something dear to my heart with y'all.  I don't know why I haven't shared it before now, for it is truly one of my most prized possessions:  a quilt made out of most of my sorority t-shirts from college.  I wanted a quilt for a long time, but I had a vision in my mind of what I wanted it to look like, and I couldn't find the right person to bring that vision to life.  Until I stumbled upon Andrea (in Michigan, no less) that is.  So, in the middle of July, I boxed up my t-shirts and took a leap of faith, shipping them to Michigan with my mother's nagging helpful words ringing in my ears all the way, telling me that, more than likely, I would never see those shirts again.  Well, Andrea proved her wrong, I daresay.  This little beauty arrived back in my life in mid-August, and to say that I'm obsessed with it would be a gross understatement.  I show it to everyone (even boys... like they care), and I blabber about it constantly.  So, like I said, why in the world have I waited so long to show it to y'all??  Pardon my tardiness, but here it is:

Anyway, tomorrow and Tuesday are fall break for us, but I have to work, so it's only partially fall break for me.  Oh, well, mini breaks are better than no breaks at all, eh?  I'm already getting excited about another crew flocking into my humble abode beginning on Thursday.  The Springer Bed & Breakfast has been quite busy this football season, and I, for one, am loving it.  Hope everyone has a great week!

PS:  I decided one final thing today.  I treated myself to a Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider today (it's the weekend, and smelling them all week nearly made me crazy... don't judge me), and I'm pretty sure that they will be exclusively served in Heaven.  You can drink as many as you want to and never gain a pound because, well, it's Heaven.  Until then, I'm having to severely limit myself, but it's hard to resist them; I swear they're fall in a cup!