Happy Holidays

School's done, the kids go a little longer. I think Alexander's last final is Monday, and Allison's is Tuesday. Allison has to be out of the dorm by Thursday, then we'll be home together for a bit. I am off until the day after Christmas, and I'm being super lazy and watching TV. I' almost caught up with Desperate Housewives. I watched all the "previously, on Desperate Housewives" for the seasons I did see, then I'm watching the episodes I missed, but I'm going to miss a few episodes that aren't on abc.com. They have all the ones from November and December, up until the writers strike, but the September and October ones I might have to purchase through iTunes.

I have DH, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Boston Legal and Big Love to watch. I told you I was being super lazy!

We're pretty much done with Christmas shopping. When the kids were little, we talked a lot about the meaning of Christmas, and told them that the Wise Men brought baby Jesus three gifts, and we were keeping Christmas at three gifts for us as well. They have always been okay about it, they didn't get greedy, they understood the reason, and it taught them to carefully request their gifts. We've kept up on that, and it's a good thing!

I had a signed lithograph and a copper etching from the same artist, given to me as a gift, and Butch had those framed for me for Christmas, and they are beautiful. If you get the chance, look for a book called St. Nicholas and the Valley Beyond, by Ellen Kushner, art by Richard Burhans. I bought this book when it was published in 1994, and fell in love with it. I wanted mine signed, so I located the artist, and sent him the book to sign. He did, it was great! Then, our library has an annual fundraiser where we create literary themed baskets for auction, and when I told the artist we were going to base our basket around his book, one thing led to another, and he donated a set of signed prints, and a copper etching, signed and numbered, and even came to Reno for the event! What a grand evening! So I got to meet him and his wife, they are a lovely couple! For Christmas last year he sent me a signed and numbered copper etching! Anyway, long story longer, that's what I had framed!
Okay, enough babbling! Happy holidays to everyone!

Stick a fork in me...I'M DONE

Well, that's it folks! I just finished and turned in my last final exam. It is due on Sunday, but I stayed up really late last night to finish it, then I proof-read it and refined it a little bit and turned it in. I think I officially become a graduate on December 15, next Saturday. Yay! I will walk through graduation in Vegas, since it will be shorter!

I turned in all my other assignments early, and now I just have to pay attention to the discussion boards for the last week of school, but I have no real committments for classes. It feels really good, and I am anxious to have a life again!

I stayed up really late to finish my final, so we could pick up Allison and go see "The Golden Compass", and get our Christmas tree and decorate it. The movie is pretty true to the book, not exact, and skips a ton, and doesn't even finish the book, but still a good show. Then we went to Cabela's just to look around. I've never been there, they make their own fudge on site, it's pretty good, and they have a restaraunt right inside the store! Huge aquarium of freshwater game fish. Anyway, Allison went to a birthday party, so she didn't go get our tree with us, we'll put it up and decorate it tomorrow.

Oh, and I won an auction on ebay for a new nativity set. Obviously, it's the picture you see up top. It's made from banana fiber, the waste product from harvesting bananas, and is made outside Nairobi, Kenya. It was unique, and I didn't have one from Africa. I have some that represent Africa, but not actually made there.

Have a great day, people!