Wow! 2008 went by so fast. I can't believe that I graduated from college this year. It seems like yesterday that I entered as a freshman. So much has happened in the last year, and I can't even imagine what 2009 is going to bring.
What kind of resolutions are you making this year?
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Christmas Surprise
So now that everyone has their Christmas presents from me, I can finally talk about it. I decided that I would make a Christmas CD for my family, and give it to them as my present. I used Audacity, and some karaoke tracks to make it, and it took just under 2 weeks to do. It's not the best quality and the most perfect CD, but it came out pretty well since I was recording in my apartment with a built-in microphone on my laptop, and a do-it-yourself free audio mixing program. I'm happy with it since it's just for my family, but I wouldn't go out and sell/give them to my friends. I'll post some pictures of the CD booklet I made, and the track listing so you can see.
1. Carol of the Bells (3 part vocal a cappella)
2. Thankful (In the style of Josh Groban)
3. Christmastime is Here (In the style of Josh Groban)
4. Silent Night
5. The Christmas Song (In the style of Josh Groban)
6. Breath of Heaven (In the style of Amy Grant)
7. Believe (In the style of Josh Groban)
8. O Holy Night (In the style of Josh Groban)
9. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (In the style of Michael Buble)
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (In the style of Judy Garland)
1. Carol of the Bells (3 part vocal a cappella)
2. Thankful (In the style of Josh Groban)
3. Christmastime is Here (In the style of Josh Groban)
4. Silent Night
5. The Christmas Song (In the style of Josh Groban)
6. Breath of Heaven (In the style of Amy Grant)
7. Believe (In the style of Josh Groban)
8. O Holy Night (In the style of Josh Groban)
9. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (In the style of Michael Buble)
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (In the style of Judy Garland)
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas!
Is it really Christmas? I'm walking around in a t-shirt and flip-flops, and we're planning on going to the beach later! Since my parents just moved into the house, and my mom has only had 3 weeks to get settled in, she decided that putting out all of the Christmas decorations would be too much of a hassle, so we had a wreathe, and that's it. No houses, no tree, no ornaments, and no presents. I actually liked it like that too. It was much less stressful, and no one had to worry about what to get so-and-so, etc.
We also decided to have Thanksgiving dinner for Christmas this year since we celebrated Thanksgiving with Dylan's parents this year and missed out of celebrating with my parents. Plus, we had our regular Christmas dinner when my grandparents were up on Monday. So, that's another reason why it doesn't feel like Christmas.
Hope all of you are enjoying the holiday!
Is it really Christmas? I'm walking around in a t-shirt and flip-flops, and we're planning on going to the beach later! Since my parents just moved into the house, and my mom has only had 3 weeks to get settled in, she decided that putting out all of the Christmas decorations would be too much of a hassle, so we had a wreathe, and that's it. No houses, no tree, no ornaments, and no presents. I actually liked it like that too. It was much less stressful, and no one had to worry about what to get so-and-so, etc.
We also decided to have Thanksgiving dinner for Christmas this year since we celebrated Thanksgiving with Dylan's parents this year and missed out of celebrating with my parents. Plus, we had our regular Christmas dinner when my grandparents were up on Monday. So, that's another reason why it doesn't feel like Christmas.
Hope all of you are enjoying the holiday!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas Eve
It's Christmas Eve, and aside from smelling my favorite traditional Christmas Eve meal, I wouldn't have even known that it was December 24th. It's 80 degrees outside, record temperatures, and the palm trees are blowing gently in the breeze. But the thing that proves to me that it's Christmas Eve is the smell of Beef Stew. Dad makes the beef stew every Christmas Eve, all from scratch. It's so delicious, I wish I could make it as good as him. Every year we have a "competition" of who can get one of the 3 bay leafs he puts into the stew. There is no prize though, which is why it's a "competition."
Hope everyone enjoys the holiday. Get to sleep early so Santa can come!
Hope everyone enjoys the holiday. Get to sleep early so Santa can come!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Georgian Family Holiday
We celebrated Christmas a few days early while we were in Georgia. My dad's parents drove up from their winter home in Florida on Monday, and stayed the night in a hotel nearby. We had our Christmas dinner with them on Monday, and it was delicious. We had a nice spiral sliced ham, my favorite, and some delicious sides to go with it. It was so nice to see them.
My grandparents live in RI from May-October each year, and then fly down to Florida to live there during the winter. They live on the same street corner as two of my grandfather's sisters, so they enjoy getting to see them when they live down there. Although they live in the same town we lived in, we didn't get to see them very often because my sister and I always had some sort o activity in high school, and then once I went to college, I came home less often.
We exchanged presents with them, and helped my grandfather set up his new iPod mini, in orange, of course (can you tell who I take after?). It was great to see them, and also give them a chance to see the new house finished. They had seen it when it was being built in July when they drove with my dad, sister, and cousin to the family reunion in Atlanta.
I wish I could get to see them more often, but with us not knowing where we could be living next year, I'm not sure how that's going to happen.
My grandparents live in RI from May-October each year, and then fly down to Florida to live there during the winter. They live on the same street corner as two of my grandfather's sisters, so they enjoy getting to see them when they live down there. Although they live in the same town we lived in, we didn't get to see them very often because my sister and I always had some sort o activity in high school, and then once I went to college, I came home less often.
We exchanged presents with them, and helped my grandfather set up his new iPod mini, in orange, of course (can you tell who I take after?). It was great to see them, and also give them a chance to see the new house finished. They had seen it when it was being built in July when they drove with my dad, sister, and cousin to the family reunion in Atlanta.
I wish I could get to see them more often, but with us not knowing where we could be living next year, I'm not sure how that's going to happen.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
My Mom, the Interior Decorator
She may not have a degree in it, but she is gooood! The house looks incredible! I wanted to cry when I walked in the door the first time because the pictures I have seen don't even do justice for how amazing everything looks.
See for yourself!
See for yourself!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Expired License
So I went to my grandmothers this weekend to help her pack for our trip to Georgia next week. She broke her neck about 2 years ago, and since then she hasn't driven because she can't turn her neck all the way to the right. So, I got her car after she stopped driving, and she's been taking advantage of the free transportation services at her assisted living/retirement home. So, for some reason, I asked my grandmother if I could see her license while we were there because I had this hunch that it was expired. And, turns out, it was. So here we are, one week before we fly to Georgia, and my grandmother's only form of picture ID is her expired license. Great. Just what we needed.
So I got home that night, and researched the TSA's policies for valid forms of identification. And there is nothing on their website about expired licenses. So I give them a call. Basically, the information that I get from TSA is that expired licenses are not valid, and she will need to have her social security card and her birth certificate along with her expired license when we get to the security checkpoint at the airport.
So I called my mom after I got off the phone with her, and she says, "Shit, I have your grandmother's social security card." Turns out, that my grandmother used to carry it around with her in her purse (not a smart idea at all because of identity theft), and so my mom took it and put it in her checkbook. Great, so now we're one form of ID short. My dad gets on the phone and calls TSA, and long story short, we can use her voters registration card in place of the social security card.
But, here's the next catch. My grandmother's birth certificate is so old, that it does not have a city/state seal on it. So now we have to take a trip to the city hall to get her a new birth certificate. When we get there, they can't find her in their database. Why? Because the name originally written on her birth certificate was Joanne, not Suzanne. Wonderful. Now we have to prove that she really is Suzanne, so Grammie tells the records office the story of how when she was born, the doctor put the wrong name on her birth certificate. So when her mother was registering her for Kindergarten, the name was wrong and had to have it changed. Guess how they changed it. Guess. They crossed out the name Joanne and wrote in Suzanne, WITH PENCIL!
We eventually got it changed, and everything is fine now. I hope nothing else happens between now and when we leave.
So I got home that night, and researched the TSA's policies for valid forms of identification. And there is nothing on their website about expired licenses. So I give them a call. Basically, the information that I get from TSA is that expired licenses are not valid, and she will need to have her social security card and her birth certificate along with her expired license when we get to the security checkpoint at the airport.
So I called my mom after I got off the phone with her, and she says, "Shit, I have your grandmother's social security card." Turns out, that my grandmother used to carry it around with her in her purse (not a smart idea at all because of identity theft), and so my mom took it and put it in her checkbook. Great, so now we're one form of ID short. My dad gets on the phone and calls TSA, and long story short, we can use her voters registration card in place of the social security card.
But, here's the next catch. My grandmother's birth certificate is so old, that it does not have a city/state seal on it. So now we have to take a trip to the city hall to get her a new birth certificate. When we get there, they can't find her in their database. Why? Because the name originally written on her birth certificate was Joanne, not Suzanne. Wonderful. Now we have to prove that she really is Suzanne, so Grammie tells the records office the story of how when she was born, the doctor put the wrong name on her birth certificate. So when her mother was registering her for Kindergarten, the name was wrong and had to have it changed. Guess how they changed it. Guess. They crossed out the name Joanne and wrote in Suzanne, WITH PENCIL!
We eventually got it changed, and everything is fine now. I hope nothing else happens between now and when we leave.
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