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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....

Yesterday, my mom and my dad went out for some last minute Christmas shopping. My mom took my dad into a store she had only ever been to once or twice and my dad has never set foot in while living the past 5 1/2 years in Dubuque. Never once. Never planned to, either. Pier 1 Imports... so there was this contest in there for a grand prize and then only five 1st prizes. The Grand prize was an old volks wagon bug in perfect condition and stuff. 1st prizes were $500 gift cards to Pier 1 Imports. My parents went ahead and put their names and phone numbers/emails on a card and put them in to be randomly drawn. This morning my dad got an email saying he'd won! Not the grand prize (which would kind of stink because you have to pay for the insurance and license plate and other stuff in 30 days in order to own it), but one of the 5 first prizes.
So my dad won a $500 gift certificate to the store he never planned on stepping foot in until my mom dragged him in there. All because he went.
Haha.
He says "Why couldn't it have been Best Buy?"

Have a Merry Christmas everybody!

Our Christmas Tree and stockings and mantle over the fireplace.
Decorations on top of the piano.
Cookies for Santa! (and everybody-we made a TON!)

It snowed more last night. The trees outside are gorgeous.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Southern Winters


I kind of miss the Texas Christmases... where we would open presents in tshirts and shorts rather than being bundled in sweaters and fleece blankets. :P

Here's Molly, Sally and me saying goodbye to our Grandparents on Jan. 1st, 2000 as they get ready to head back to California from Lubbock, TX. You see Sally's in a t-shirt and Molly and I aren't wearing jackets.. in another picture we have (I couldn't put it up here) you see a huge crowd in tshirts. It's kind of crazy..

The temp difference in February between Alabama and Iowa is quite obvious, too. You can see the jacket on the ground in front of the swing set. (Molly's on the slide and I'm on the swing.)

But, had we not moved here, I might never have had a white Christmas! haha I had my first white Christmas here a few years ago... it was definitely something new...

Snowy Pictures

Tango doesn't like the snow that much.

She got stuck... I was mean and took a video of it and freeze famed it before I helped her.

The teenager's van across the street was burried by the snow plow.

We park behind our house and we don't have a garage, so here you can see my dad's car and my car stuck in the snow. It was all the way up to my back bumper! (we got a snow blower)

All 5 cars.. the silver one is Marissa Alexander's while she's in Utah visiting family. Her car and Molly's car were surrounded by snow and impossible to get into with out the snow blower.




There were some leaves that had fallen after the snow.



Grace, after playing in the snow.


It'll snow another 3-6 inches by Christmas. It already snowed another 2 inches on top of this. That makes 13-14 inches on the ground, by the end we'll have 16-20 inches of snow on the ground.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Brrrrr!!!!

It is so cold here in Northeast Iowa!!! High of -5 today, that's what it is right now outside. We're in a blizzard warning, though there's no falling snow. It's all blowing snow from the foot+ of snow on the ground and roof tops that's causing white outs. Also carrying -40 windchills.. boy it was NOT fun walking outside in a skirt this morning.

Everybody in the Priest house is looking forward to Christmas in 4 days.
I'll have to put up some pictures of all the snow soon. They're on a different computer..

In case I don't get on before Thursday, I'd just like to say Merry Christmas to everybody! :)

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Year of '08

Funny little surveys.. they're fun to fill out every now and then. I would post this on facebook, but I do so many of these things on there, I'll give it a rest

This year:Did you get a boyfriend or girlfriend?
nope, and I've never had one.

Did you make a new friend?
yes. :)

Did you get into a physical fight with anyone?
no

Did you go to a funeral or wedding?
I went to a few weddings

Get so drunk that you passed out?
no I would never do that.

Smoke weed?
Never have and never will.

Lost your voice?
yes :P

Had someone tell you that they liked/loved you?
other than friends and family, no guy has ever told me something personal like that in my life ever. :\

How has '08 been so far?
I've turned a lot of pages in life this year... and they're still turning. Very quickly.

How old do you want to be when you die?
old enough. ;-)

Where was your last kiss?
never been kissed... goodness these love questions can get old and kind of annoying.

How do you feel about love songs?
I used to love them... as of lately I can't relate to them anymore. Depending on my mood, sometimes they make me gag.

Who was the last person to call you?
Mary Z... I got her message from Sunday today. :P

Have you ever talked on the phone in the shower/bathtub?
no, but I had to stop a shower to talk on the phone before. Not fun in January I must say..

Where's the person you miss most?
where is the person I miss the most... hmm.. I miss a few people equally, and they are in: Utah, Kansas, Illinois and Virginia.

Do you just want to yell in someones face right now?
Not yell, but discuss and tell off and kick in the shins (or kick snow in his/her face), yes.

Was today a good day?
It was pretty good... a lot of good stuff happened, but I've been extremely tired and in some pain and it's snowing and the roads are bad (fyi, I don't like snow). But I like to be positive, so today was a pretty good day.

Whats wrong right now?
it's snowing, but school isn't delayed in the morning, I'm deprived of sleep, I feel sick, and I'm tired of stupid people.

What are your plans for this weekend?
Sleep.

Are you dating the last person you kissed?
seeing as the last person I kissed was my dog, no. I've never been "dating" someone, never kissed anyone. I feel kind of alone, being one of the oldest in many of my groups of friends (church and school) and never having had held hands with a guy, a guy has never told me he likes me, never been kissed, had a relationship, or even had a guy flirt with me outside of a group date. It seems as though everybody else has... I'm not wishing I could have all this stuff, I'm perfectly fine where I am, and I know I should be where I am. I don't want to be as emotionally scarred as many people my age... but it gets kind of lonely and I wish I had some good friends who were in the same place and age I am..

Do you still play in the snow?
I make art sculptures and sled for maybe 15 minutes. :P

Seven days from now, will you be in a relationship?
unless Mr. Miracle walks by, nope. But that's ok... despite my rant from earlier, I'm kind of anti-boy at the moment.

Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you babe?
I'm not a sucker for nicknames like that, so no, I don't think babe is cute. For couples it is, but if I have no relationship with the guy, then it's just kind of creepy.

Is there someone that you believe you will always be attracted to?
attracted to: yes. Really liking him: no.

Would you forgive a cheater?
Well, we must, and I would of course. Would I be able to trust them? It'd take some work to gain my trust back.

Have you ever, in any way, been betrayed by someone you trusted?
this year? kind of. Ever? Yes.

Are you mean?
Nobody's perfect, but I don't think I give off the impression of being a mean person..

Where was your default picture taken?
The one on this page was from California. My facebook one was taken in a car on the highway somewhere inbetween Iowa City and Dubuque.

Did you date anyone this summer?
noooope

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To an anonymous person (you can state who it is or not ) say 3 nice things: (this isn't somebody who reads this, so it's kind of pointless)
1. She's so pretty :)
2. She is very smart and I love her!
3. She's such a good example and I love her. :)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you trust people easily?
sometimes

Whats one thing you wish you could take back?
Saying some things...

Who's the first person in your contacts list in your phone?
idk and I don't want to go get it to find out. :P

Does it matter when your friends bring up your past mistakes?
unless it's a special discussion, yes it does matter. If we're friends, we'll forgive and forget, right?

Do you sing obnoxiously in the car?
not loudly, but I sing along to classical music yes XD so all I say is "ahhh and ooo and dum" and stuff... XD

When was the last time you stayed up all night on the phone?
never been up all night talking. :P

When is the last time you got really frustrated?
today, but I didn't show it.

Do you curse a lot?
no

Would you go in public looking like you do right now?
sure

What are you listening to?
the heater

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Snow Day


I fiddled with the camera and the Christmas tree, made some B&W, and got this.
There's around 6 inches of snow on the ground. About 3-4 inches of it is new. School is canceled, since it's almost 10:00 and it's still snowing and the streets are... not the best.
I don't mind school being canceled. It means I have time to study for the ACT, which I am taking this Saturday. Wish me luck!
I have yet to do my Christmas shopping.. we drew names for the 4 youngest kids (me, Sally, Grace, Oliver) as to who would buy who a present. I drew Grace. Oliver got me, which means that my parents will get me a gift. :P
I have got so much going on in the next 2 weeks.
Today: Quartet for a holiday party. We play for 45 minutes and we're actually one of the main attractions, so we're not just background music. Bit of a surprise when I found that out on Saturday..
Tomorrow: Youth Christmas Dinner, Laurel's in charge (which means Leah and me, seeing as we're the most active in the presidency and the only ones who really care that this is run smoothly). I offered to do some music, so now I am playing in 3 groups, all in 45 minutes. Then I have to leave early to go to a rehearsal for another church I'm playing with. O_o
Thursday 12/11: Test day at school.. I have I think 3 tests that day.
Friday 12/12: Appointment at Children's Hospital of Iowa.. fun.
Saturday 12/13: ACT and Madrigal Dinner. I'm in the Madrigal strings.
Sunday 12/14: Playing cello for another church with their choir. Then there's a youth rep meeting (I'm the youth rep for the YW in the Dubuque ward) around 3:00, then Madrigal again that night. Thank goodness Youth Symphony is canceled.
Monday 12/15: Cello lessons, maybe Christmas shopping?
Tuesday 12/16: Dubuque Senior High Christmas Concert in the Senior Auditorium. It will be amazing, come and see us!
Wednesday 12/17: Help a friend with his Eagle Project.
The end... I think.

I got my haircut and I love it. No pictures yet. Haven't had time for a self-photo shoot. :P