Sitting, watching, waiting, wishing

My original plan, about two weeks ago, was to make a blog entry all about decorating our house for Christmas with pictures and all sorts of media... but as per usual, I make plans and God chuckles. So, instead, I'll tell you what I've been up to.

Whatever energy I've had leftover from STILL searching for a job, I've been thinking about law school and Washington D.C. and I think I've decided that D.C. is going to come before law school. I miss that city more than I've ever missed any place that isn't my parent's house. I miss the independence and the challenges and the constant motion. Besides, law schools are more likely to take students who have spent a few years in the professional world, so I'm taking the LSAT in February (and I'm GOING to get a fantastic score. Failure is NOT an option), and hopefully sometime in the next two years I can take a job in D.C.. I want to get the LSAT out of the way, since the score is good for five years and my study skills are still tuned.

Of course, after committing to sing (for the first time in public) at church on Christmas Eve (which is TOMORROW), I came down with a sinus infection. Again. I get them a lot because I have unusually large sinus cavities (which, ironically, make me a good singer) which are susceptible to infection if I miss dosages of my allergy nasal spray. Have I missed any of said dosages in the past month? Noooo... But that doesn't matter, apparently. I HATE sinus infections, because the only way to get rid of them is decongestants... all of which make me drowsy, even the non-drowsy variety. So I've been wandering around my house in a sudafed-induced fog for the last week. I'm finally starting to feel better, but my throat is rather dry and singing hasn't been so pleasant as of late.

Pending no more sinus disasters, I'm singing "I Celebrate the Day" by Relient K at our church's midnight service. I love that song, the lyrics describe perfectly how I feel about my faith walk, and for a long time I've felt like it was music I wanted to share with others on Christmas.

So I'll share it with you :)



Have a merry and blessed Christmas full of His love, joy, peace, and light.

The Holiday Family Saga beings

The holidays are upon us, and thus the marathon of extended family visits begins!

Last week, my aunt and uncle from Denver came in to celebrate my dad's birthday and to go through my grandfather's correspondence... When Grandfather was in college, the FBI, and the Navy, he wrote letters to positively EVERYONE and had the foresight to not only write in great detail about everything but to make copies of every letter he sent. So we have letters about everything from Harvard Yard to Pearl Harbor and Japan during WWII. And then of course, we have totally awesome documents such as his letter of resignation to J. Edgar Hoover. So my aunt and uncle and dad spent a weekend going through all of the letters and putting them in order. I'm not sure what they're going to do with them now, but ideas of a "The Letters of JRR Tolkien" sort of book have been thrown around.

So we had a few family dinners with them, and it was nice to catch up. We also talked about a family reunion in Mayenne, France, which is where we trace our earliest ancestors... and our name, for that matter.

On my mom's side, last night we had a MacFarlane family reunion. Now, as you might have guessed MacFarlane is a decidedly a Scottish name. Now, whenever my Scottish relatives get together there is usually kilts and haggis involved, and last night was no exception. Haggis is definitely an acquired taste... I didn't have any last night but I have in the past (at Papa's, my grandfather's, beckoning... "You're not Scottish if you've never had Haggis!!"). It's hard to describe. But it STINKS. All of Papa's brothers were wearing kilts. I love it. It's hilarious. I always threaten my brother and cousins with the prospect of a Scottish wedding just because all of the groomsmen and the groom have to wear kilts... I probably won't, but who knows?

Today is my mom's birthday, so we have another family dinner, and of course tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Busy, busy, busy!

Not a lot going on otherwise. I'm STILL looking for a job, but I'm optimistic. God will provide!