I'll Be Home For Christmas

Listening to this song this afternoon made me wonder why being home for Christmas is important for so many people... So deserving of a song.

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Since I started college, and moved away from Wisconsin, I've wondered where my home is. Initially, I thought my home was simply where I was living, so I began to consider school my home. There, I had the bed I slept in, my belongings, friends, and my life, but I was missing something - my family. I missed the smell of the house, the noise we'd create talking around the dinner table, doing my homework with my brother in the kitchen while my mom made dinner, working on projects with my dad, and saying goodnight to my parents every night.

When I see my family now, I realize it is their company that I consider my home. My home has become as much of a sensation as a location. For me, home has become a place where I am comfortable, where people care for me, and where there is an endless amount of love and friendship.

I think it is for this reason that when I was in college, I referred to my dorm as my home, now, my apartment has become my home, when I am at a hotel with my family, I often refer to our room as our home, and when I am in the house I grew up in, I am also home. (Needless to say, I tend to confuse those around me when I refer to my home, as I consider all these places to be my home.)

Someday, I hope to have a family of my own and together, we will make ourselves a home. For tonight, I am with people who love me, and I feel at home.

 

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Homeward Bound

 

I’m kind of useless when it comes to packing. I usually try to put together a list of things I need for the different obligations I have, but I tend to end up throwing lots of random pieces into a suitcase I have to sit on to zip shut. But I'm going home!

Yay! See you soon!

A Splendid Weekend

I spent this past weekend in Northampton, MA, at my alma mater - Smith College.

(No, there wasn't snow, but isn't this beautiful?)

It was the first time that I have been back since graduating in May. Seeing some of my friends from school was absolutely wonderful. I have missed them like mad, so it was great to reconnect and relive the good old days of dorm life.

A few highlights of the trip:

After just a few hours of being in Northampton, I dragged everyone to Local Burger. As one of my favorite restaurants in the area, there was no way I was not going to have a burger. The moment I bought my plane ticket, I began craving a cheeseburger like a hormonal pregnant woman. Being the great people they are, we were able to make it and got more food than any of us desired to eat. Since it's Local Burger though, we finished it all.

I was fortunate enough to have been at Smith during one of the infamous shows at the Greenhouse. So we saw lots and lots of mums and all sorts of other plants the garden has.

The weekend was also characterized by a perpetual concern for the state of my cell phone, as I forgot the charger. This concern was immensely amplified, however, when I realized around 2 am on Saturday night that it was missing. As anyone who has lost anything knows, this is one of the worst feelings possible. Fortunately for me, the first place we checked was the lawn. My heart lifted out of my chest when I saw it light up on the lawn as we called it. Crisis averted.

I also the new first years and chilled with my AWESOME friends!

Annnnd the planning has begun for my trip to Europe this spring! Hopefully we'll be visiting Paris and London. It will be over the week of Easter, so maybe we'll see some of the festivities.

 Yay!

Bedtime.

You're First

YAY!

I have my first follower! (Even if it is my roommate. And I begged her. {I love you roommate!})

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A Few Things That I Miss

Since graduating from Smith, there have been a few things about the school that I have been missing liking crazy. Some are people, some are places, a few are things, but altogether, I am really starting to miss this place. 

Since graduating, I have been blabbering on and on about this school to everyone I know. I really did love it, though. When I went to Simon's Rock, I was still trying to figure out who I was and trying to figure out college. At Smith though, I was older. I had begun to figure out college and I was surrounded by a house full of girls looking for friends, fun, and a challenge. I had begun to understand the more academic aspects of schools and was ready to understand myself and my place at Smith. Altogether, this made for an incredible environment, a great learning experience, and I have made some of the best friends I have ever had.

A few of the people I love, here...  

(Aren't my friends gorgeous?)

This girl - a fellow diva

This girl - my co-adventurer

This girl - my husband

This girl - soon to be travel buddies (!)

 

These girls too

 
And so many others that are more or less summed up here - by Park House!

I miss you beautiful ladies and I cannot wait to see you tomorrow! So much fun. It will be epic.

Will be back after the weekend!

Once Upon A Time, I Was The Perfect Housewife

... For anyone who knows me, and knows the fact that I am anything but the perfect housewife, this may be a shock. But yes, it was Halloween. Furthermore, it was simple to put together, which was needed considering I had been sick/out-of-town the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

Needless to say, DC was hopping. Earlier that day, the Steven Colbert and John Stewart rally occurred. Estimates said around 215,000 people were in town for the rally, which made the city a mess (lines were formed at the metro outside my apartment for at least three hours in the morning.)

Highlights of the rally included the Roots, the Mythbusters (who were recently in DC for the National Science Fair and may have been filming an episode {possibly with Obama}), then of course, Stewart and Colbert. Their part of the show included a replica of a Chilean miner rescue pod, Cat Stevens and Ozzy sharing the stage for a short set (crazy I know), and other random guests (including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, R2D2, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, T.I., and a closing speech by Stewart.) (photo source)

Anyway, a few friends from high school were in DC for the event and stayed at my apartment. My roommate also had friends visiting, so Saturday night, there were about twelve of us in our two-bedroom apartment. If it hadn't been Halloween, giving us the perfect excuse to go out and come home exhausted, it would have been interesting.

But, we went out. As I said, I was the perfect housewife (a costume which prompted being proposed to thrice throughout the night) and my roommate and co were "Counting Sheep." Surprisingly we saw two other sheep while out and my favorite costume were the Chilean miners (of which we saw at least three groups.)

So, that's when I was a housewife. I hope your Halloween was fabulous!