Oh, the humanity.

I saw this on leah's blog today, and I think it's really rad and you should watch it.

Fifty People, One Question: New Orleans from Benjamin Reece on Vimeo.

The humanity is beautiful, a little portrait of each person in film.  

To see more, go to fiftypeopleonequestion.com

Week in my shoes: Day Seven.

1:14pm.  A Christmas Eve walk to the beach, catching up on some Rob Bell and enjoying the 70-something degree weather.  Lovely, lovely.
A solitary walker...it was pretty much deserted today.

3:35pm.  Getting all the wet and dry ingredients mixed up for the recipe Nancy sent me: Christmas Morning Muffins, which we will be enjoying on Christmas morning.  I listened to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols while I mixed.  And that's an apron, not a skirt, just to clarify.  I guess I didn't get my jeans in the shot.

6:25pm.  Ready for the candlelight Christmas Eve service.

Merry Christmas to all of you!  I think I'll be watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the 1966 version) tonight all the way through to my favorite line of all:

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes, or bags!  And he puzzled and puzzled 'til his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

Love to all of you.  I hope that tomorrow is a day of deep peace, and great joy for you and yours.

Week in my shoes: Day Six.

I was warned.  My friends who got out for break before me told me that it felt like going from a dead sprint to standing still in a matter of days.  It's totally unsettling, and although it has been fun to sit around and watch tv (cable! It's mesmerizing!), read a book, etc.  I feel like I need to be doing something all the time, and everyone in mi casa works for a living. Bummer.  So...today I spent a while playing with my camera.  I finally got a shot of my spiky hair (or the part that happened to be sticking up today):

And why you don't notice it:

Is it just me or do my eyes look really freaky in that second picture?  They look dilated or something...

Here's how bored I was:

I've turned into Tara.

On to my day:

10:07am.  When you're the only person left at home while the others work, kitchen cleaning gets delegated to you.  At least that's how it works at the Sturzenbecker casa.

1:24pm.  On my way to the mall (at a stop light). I don't know why December 23rd seemed like a great day to go get some protein powder from GNC.  Christmastime + the mall = ugh.  

3:17pm.  Grocery shopping with mom for the last few things we need for Christmas.

Week in my shoes: Day Five.

I'm beginning to wish I had a pocket-size camera, because my D-SLR is a little bulky...and grabs attention when I take it out to take a picture of my feet.  Oh well.

11:42am.  At Anthropologie, aka My Happy Place, trying on clothes.  This was after my 6-month skin cancer check-up (all is well) where I almost took a feet picture then decided (a) there is a limit to the number of places I'm willing to look really weird, and (b) well, I don't think I need another reason.

5:32pm.  Today was actually a little chilly.  So, we started a fire, because by Wednesday it's supposed to be back in the 70s.

6:55pm.  Enjoying some Lebkuchen.  My grandmother mails us her homemade German cookies every year, and although most of them were eaten before I got here, some lebkuchen were saved for me, since they're my fav. 

Two more days until Christmas!  Yay!

Week in my shoes: Day Four.

I think I've decided winter break is the best thing ever.  Here's my proof: 

10:43am.  A relaxing morning, reading a book.

2:23pm.  I took a walk to the beach (in my Toms), to get a glimpse of the ocean, finally.  It was a lovely 70 degrees.  Heaven.

Dad came too.  Even better.

Week in my shoes: Day Three.

The most boring/awesome day ever.  You will notice a lack of pictures from approximately noon to 4pm, and that would be because I was sleeping.  I finally got dressed at 5pm.  It was a glorious catch-up on some sleep.

9:06am. Being pretty lazy.  I watched mom cook this morning and kept her company, then I read around 13 pages of On Beauty before falling asleep for the entire afternoon.  There went my walk to the beach!  But oh that nap was much needed.

5:56pm.  Dressed, finally.  And helping mom get things together for their annual Christmas party.  I'm in her shoes, since I couldn't find my black flats in my packing rush.

7:34pm.  Hanging out at the Christmas party. The last picture I took for the night.

What happens when mom gets ahold of my camera? I have a million pictures like this to delete:

I must have been pretty into whatever I was saying...

On to my wonderful package (which I love) from Nancy.  She sent me these ornamets, which I promptly hung on the tree.

She emroidered then sewed them - amazing!

I love the bird!! I'm going to have to figure out how to make one of these guys once I'm reunited with my sewing machine.

For the swap, we also had to share a holiday tradition, and Nancy sent a CD of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which she listens to on BBC on Christmas Eve.  I will be doing the same this year!

She also sent a recipe for Christmas Morning Muffins, which will be added to our regular Christmas quiche for breakfast.  Nancy is a list-writer, and sent along a notebook for my lists, too!  It was such a wonderful gift, and I'm so happy to have a new tradition or two!

 

A wonderful swap, indeed!  And I promise my feet will go more interesting places tomorrow, since they never really left the house today.

Week in my shoes: Day Two.

Loong day. 

7:46am.  Still so much to do (I didn't finish half the things I wanted to).

9:14am.  In line for some coffee with Silas T.  I had a lovely coffee date with Amy and Silas before going home to finish packing.

3:26pm.  In the Oklahoma City airport waiting to get out of there.  And reading Domino.  I love Domino (you can barely see my shoes, but alas, that's how I sit).

7:46pm.  In Atlanta. After my gate was changed, I picked up a copy of Time...Obama is the person of the year.  An issue I'll want to save for later.

8:54pm.  After my gate was changed again. Just waiting. (I didn't take a picture when my gate was changed a third time, as my patience was wearing a little thin).  And my legs are WHITE. Seriously.  At least my dermatologist will like that at my skin cancer checkup!

I came home to a package on my bed from my swap partner Nancy.  I can't wait to show you what she sent tomorrow, it is so sweet and thoughtful!!

Week in my shoes: Day One

Today I wanted my shoes to inspire some confidence for my very last exam, so I went with a bold (for me) choice: cowboy boots.  I bought these fellas the summer before I moved to Oklahoma, hoping to blend in a little (ha).

10:23am  Picking up some presents at Hearts for Hearing. One of my preschoolers this rotation left them for me and another clinician.  Too sweet.

11:06am.  Studying for my Speech Science final at Java Dave's, an unpretentious coffee shop near school that has really terrible music (which I didn't notice until today).

5:57pm.  So much to do.  I'm home free except for the laundry, cleaning, and packing that need to be done.  Fish is already with his keeper though - one less thing to worry about! 

Things making me happy today:

- Being finished with a long, difficult semester.

- Christmas lights synchronized with music:

A week in my shoes: beginnings.

This year I took place in a holiday traditions swap, and was paired with this cool lady from London.  She recently did a "week in my shoes" theme, and I loved it and am going to copy her.  So, you will see each day this week through my shoes, starting tomorrow.

Like today, for instance:

On my way out the door for my third exam.  It's really cold.  I'm a little prone to hyperbole in this arena, as I was raised at the beach, but I think anyone would say this week was viciously cold.  So here are my warm tootsies in their sweater boots on my SC state flag doormat.  Word on the street is that the weather at home is in the 70s.  When's my flight, again?

I haven't told you guys about my classmate Taylor.  She is a kindred spirit...we both have a love of etsy, all things handmade and vintage, and she is an excellent knitter (and trying to teach me).  Here she is (it's blurry, but you get the idea):

Anyway, our program is moving into a brand new building over break, and they're getting rid of tons of stuff.  While our classmates go for anything newer that they might still be able to use in therapy, Taylor and I weeded through all that crap for the things everyone else would call outdated.  And look at my treasures, some vintage Christmas decor:

Are you kidding me with the vintage cuteness?  Taylor got some awesome prints from the 50s of some typical nuclear-family and Susie Homemaker scenes.  You should ask her to see them, because they're amazing.  And will make awesome kitchen decor.

This time tomorrow I'll be home free.  Stay tuned for the week in my shoes, starting tomorrow!

Well, as I have another exam in two hours, blogging seemed like a fantastic idea.  Here are some pictures of Silas' birthday party, which was a nice little study break.

Yeah, that's my lens cap.

Happy Birthday to Silas!

I have a bunch more, but I'm hiding out in the COMD building and the room I'm in has a terrible wireless connection.  So that's all.  I hope your Monday is lovely.

One down.

My first exam, in my most difficult, stress inducing, is-this-really-what-I-want-to-do-with-my-life class, is over.  And I blew that thing out of the water (I know, because I just got my grade back today).  I think I've been holding my breath since October, and the relief is wonderful.

However it has taken all my energy that I need to study for Monday's exam.  So it's blogging and picture time!  The School of Allied Health (which my program is a department of) had a Christmas party for the local Head Start classes. So fun!

That's me and a classmate, while the kids were eating (can you tell we're in the PT part of the building?).  It was such a fun party.  The kids ate some pizza, there were lots of games and crafts for them to do, and Santa came!! Here he is getting run over by a million preschoolers:

Ahh yes.  Each of the kids got a huge bag of toys and a picture with Santa.  The little boy I was with just kept asking "I get to keep all this?! This is all for me?!"  Yes, indeed.  What a joy it was. Although let me just throw it out there that the bubbles were his favorite part, and probably the cheapest thing in the bag.  Doesn't it always work out that way?  It's the simple pleasures that are the best.

I have my second hardest exam Monday, so what am I doing tomorrow?  Going to Silas T.'s second birthday party, that's what.  Well, after an intense morning of studying. And then I'll be studying that evening, and Monday morning (don't worry Mom, I'm not slacking!).

But the end is so close I can feel it.  I don't even know what it's going to feel like to not be stressed for a month...walking to the beach, visiting friends, sleeping in...okay, this is no longer productive, since I just want to go home.  

It's snowing!

"Snow in the South is wonderful. It has a kind of magic and mystery that it has nowhere else. And the reason for this is that it comes to people in the South not as the grim, unyielding tenant of Winter's keep, but as a strange and wild visitor from the secret North."

-Thomas Wolfe

If it were the pretty winter wonderland type of snow, I would share a picture.  But it's not.  It's the kind you have to be here to enjoy.

And I feel worlds better, after 5 days of being cooped up inside. Finally!  

My arsenal. *Edited*

Yesterday I noticed I had swollen tonsils. Not a great sign.  Then this morning I woke up with a sore throat.  And I'm approx. 10 days away from exams.  That's just not permissible. 

I would normally just start with some echinacea, but not with a threat such as this.  I am on Airborne, DayQuil/NyQuil, and Echinacea.  If that doesn't work, well...it just has to, or maybe I'll get a steroid shot (natural-remedy girl flees under the threat of exam week).  Even if it just delays the inevitable, after the 19th I can have the plague for all I care. 

**I'm afraid it was too little too late. I'm sick. Blah.

What my kids are going to listen to.

This album (and Elizabeth Mitchell's others) are the only kids music I'm going to be able to tolerate.  But I'm hoping for some little hippies anyway. 

And they can listen to THAT as many times as they want (I have).

Long on pictures, short on words.

I'm having a wonderful time at my grandparents' house!  Here's a little of what's been happening...

A cramped car ride (from the airport):

A beautiful view:

Fun with my sister-in-law:

An extremely rare occurrence: a picture of Mark with a genuine smile!

My delicious Thanksgiving main dish (roasted acorn squash stuffed with wild rice, pecans, and cranberries) :

The Thanksgiving sunset:

I learned to play spades (just in case I ever end up in jail, according to my brother):

And some Christmas cookie making today with Grady!

I hope your Thanksgiving has been just as lovely as mine!