Christmas: The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole

Just to get everyone in the spirit! This is my favorite Christmas song!

Weekend

     As a college student, I still must be able to make time for homework and studying, even though it was a holiday break. I actually have two tests and two papers due the Monday we get back from break, so I couldn't just take the short break to relax. I did have to work a lot. After Thanksgiving dinner, I had to get ready and go to work at 11 pm that night. I worked until 7 the morning of Black Friday. From about midnight until 4 am, the store was crazy. Clothes were all over the place and the line for the registers was a good hour long. The ladies I work with who were ringing up the customers did not have a break for about five hours. It was very, very busy! I had fun though. I got home around eight in the morning and slept for about four hours then went up to Birch Run and shopped for a few more hours. I got all of my shopping done for my family and boyfriend. All I have left to do is my friends.
     All of my friends were home this weekend so I also got to spend some time with them, catching up and what not. I went out to dinner with them a few times and we went bowling one night. I was finally excited to be able to have a social life again! Since I am taking 21 credit hours next semester, I decided that I probably won't be able to work as much as I have been. Work and school together is very hard and I am not sure how people do it! I feel like I am constantly going and I have no free time. I miss being able to say "I'm bored!" Aside from that, I studied and watched Michigan lose to OSU again... it is so heartbreaking being a Michigan fan. I hope they get rid of Rich Rod.
     Today, I did take a few hours out of my day to help my family pick out our Christmas tree and put up the Christmas lights. The Christmas tree is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I love decorating it and being able to spend that time with my family. It truly is a special moment for my family. I don't believe there is one Christmas, since I could walk and talk, where I did not help pick out the tree, cut it down, and then decorate it. Just another family tradition!
     I finally made my Christmas list. I basically just asked for clothes and Spain gadgets considering in Europe they have all different adapters and such things. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. The music and happiness that comes with the season is beautiful. Besides the snow and bad weather that may occur, I love this season. I don't mind the cold actually. I am a skier and I love to have snowball fights and building snowmen. My dog loves the snow, too! I am excited that my sister is coming home for a whole month soon. It will hopefully the perfect way to end the year! Hope you all had a good holiday break and I will talk to you later this upcoming week!

The Drowsy Chaperone and Intimate Apparel

     As a student, I am required to take a few general education classes. I decided to get involved in theater. I am taking Theatre 100 and I am having a blast with this class. It is online, but I recently went to both of the UM-Flint plays on campus and would like to share my experience with my first play ever at school's theater.

     The first show I went to was called The Drowsy Chaperone. It was a musical about a man, who acted kind of as a narrator, who is listening to the record for this musical, and as he takes us through each song, we are introduced to the plot of the play. The story of the play was about a a young woman names Janet, who is giving up fame and fortune to marry Robert Martin. Janet is a star of a show called "Feldzeig's Follies" and this show has a lot of money to offer to her. Her producer, Feldzeig, comes along with her to try and stop the wedding so she does not give up on this show. Feldzeig is threatened by two "gangstas" pretending to be chefs so Feldzeig will make sure Janet will partake in these next follies. Feldzeig hires Adolfo, a Latin bumbler to try and seduce Janet. However,  Adolfo mistakes Janet for her Chaperone and they begin a romance. The Chaperone is a drunk and lousy Chaperone considering she lets Janet run off to her groom although it is the day of the wedding. Meanwhile, Janet doubts her love for her groom so she dresses up as a French lady and seduces Robert, who ends up kissing this "french lady." Janet walks out and the wedding is called off. However, Adolfo and the Chaperone decide to get married. Feldzeig and the two "chefs" are thrilled. In the end though, Janet and Robert confess their love for each other and get married and run off with the entire cast to the honeymoon and are flown away by a random aviator named Trix. The entire musical takes place in the apartment of this man in chair. The wedding broken up and then back on again all had to do with the Drowsy Chaperone letting Janet escape to see Robert.
      Overall, it was very ironic, funny, upbeat and I enjoyed the play. I am actually going to try and look into this play on Broadway. I think the UM-Flint students did a great job and I would definitely recommend this play to everyone!

     The second play I attended to was Intimate Apparel. Intimate Apparel was a play about an African American woman, Esther, who lives in a boarding house with her mother hen and maid Mrs. Dickson. Esther is aging and loves her life but is not happy about the fact that she is not married without kids. Esther sews clothing, especially intimate apparel for her only friend and prostitute Mayme and a wealthy, secret friend Mrs. Van Buren. She buys all of these fabrics from Mr. Marks, the owner of the fabric store. He is a Caucasian male. Esther desires for a husband. Mysteriously, Esther receives a letter from George Armstrong, an African American man from the Panama Canal. Esther cannot read or write so Mrs. Van Buren and Mayme help her write and send these letters. Eventually, George asks for Esther's hand in marriage and the day they meet face to face is on their wedding day. After marriage, Esther finds out George is not the man he said he was in the letters. Come to find out, George cannot write either and he paid someone to write the letters. George is having an affair with Mayme and Esther quickly learns of this. Her and George act like they are going to work things out but she gives him all of her life's savings and he runs off with it and goes to Mayme. Esther realizes after a while that her true love is Mr. Marks, but she is forbidden to love and be with him. In the end, Esther is left with no money, husband, and is back to sewing clothes.
     In my opinion, the story line was great, but I thought the acting was a little boring. I was impressed by the set and costumes. I truly enjoyed the experience but I wish I could have been more entertained. Overall, the story was great and I am sure it is a hit on Broadway. I just wish the characters had been more excited about the roles.
     In sum, my first two experiences at UM-Flint theater were fantastic. I enjoyed the plays, one a little more than the other, but I am starting to think of theatre as a minor. Is anyone in class with a theatre major/minor that could give me more info? I would greatly appreciate it. By the way, here are two links for the Broadway shows of these two shows! Click for more information. Have a great Thanksgiving, I'll post probably again after the holiday and Black Friday!
     Links: The Drowsy Chaperone and Intimate Apparel

End of the Semester Tips!

This is a good video for study tips!

End of Semester Worries!

     So, I can't believe the end of the semester is less than a month away! I already scheduled for my classes next semester. I am basically finished with Spanish classes. Only my minor left! I am finished with my gen ed classes after this semester so I am ready to move on and get my degree as a teacher. Since it is the end of the semester, it seems as if professors strategically plan to have tests and due dates on the same days each week. So, in order to not stress, I would strongly advise to not procrastinate! It was interesting, I had a great discussion this week with a few other classmates' in other classes and almost all of them say that they do their best work when under pressure (basically, when they wait to do the assignment the night before it's due). I thought to myself and I cannot even imagine doing this because in my opinion, if I waited until the night it was due, my brain would freeze and I would not be able to even get more than a few words down. If the assignments and studying is started earlier, I do a little bit at a time each and let is absorb into my brain. It seems to work for me.
     One thing I have always been taught was not to panic. If confused, always ask questions. If I don't ask questions and come test/assignment time, I will be frustrated with myself that I didn't ask because I could have known how to solve that math problem, for example. This week, I had a few things due. Over Thanksgiving break, I actually have four assignments that are all due and I am already working on them so I can spend more time with family and less locked in my room studying. Finals are always worrisome. I worry all the time that one slip-up will ruin my entire GPA. I try my best to get those negative thoughts out of my head and walk into an exam or assignment with my head up. However, for many students, that doesn't always happen no matter how much they prepare. That is the key to success though; preparation. Here is a link for some other information that may help you with end of the semester stress.
     Hope everyone has a great weekend! Go Blue and study hard. Prioritize!!!

Soldiers Surprising Their Loved Ones: PART ONE

Since last Thursday was Veterans Day, I just wanted to say thanks to all of our troops and people fighting for our country! God Bless America. Here is a video that will make just about everyone cry.

The Thanksgiving Song by Adam Sandler (subscribe if you like this video)

A little ahead of myself!

I went back over my last few posts and realized I have been talking about Christmas more than Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving is next week! Normally for Thanksgiving, my grandparents from Florida fly-in. However, since my grandpa is older and his immune system is not as efficient, my immediate family and I are on our own. Last year, we have everyone over at our house. My mom cooked the best turkey I have ever eaten. My favorites on Thanksgiving are the turkey, ham, macaroni and cheese, pumpkin bread, and stuffing. I am not a fan of cranberries, mashed potatoes, or gravy (yikes!). It is funny that everyone always says that there is something in turkey that makes us sleepy. I recently learned in my biology class that is untrue. The real reason we get tired is because all of the blood in our body is directed to our stomach because we just ate so much and we do not have as much oxygen and blood going to our head, which in turns makes us sleepy! Very interesting I thought. Here is a link for more info about this myth.

Since it will just be my family and me, we decided to have our turkey dinner around 4 in the afternoon. Then, since we recently just purchased a wii game system, we rented a few fun games and are going to have family game/movie night. My family and I love to have game and movie nights. We are all very competitive too! My favorite part about Thanksgiving is after dinner, we start a fire and sit and talk about life. Since we are all busy and all over the place all the time, we do not have enough family time anymore. Family is the most important part about life though. Also, we start talking about Christmas and the family gift we would all like to purchase. Since we are annual Black Friday Shoppers, we barely go to bed. We stay up until about two, get ready, and go shopping until about noon. The rest of the day, we sleep! However, depending on what time of day I work on Black Friday, we may have to adjust our schedule!!

Black Friday Shoppers!

Once Thanksgiving passes, schools begins to really fly-by and sooner or later, the end of the semester is over and then Christmas and New Years. It is crazy how this is my 20^th Thanksgiving already. Now that I am older, I am appreciating the family time and the time off my busy schedule. I hope everyone has plans and a wonderful Thanksgiving! My next post, I will walk more in detail about the upcoming end of semester and the stresses and worries!

More!

Here are some links for Thanksgiving and Christmas that are fun to check-out!

I forgot to mention, one of my favorite parts of Christmas is the lights. My family and I always drive through neighborhoods just to see them!

The Holidays!

My dad and the tree last Christmas!

So the holidays are coming around. Christmas is actually one of my favorite times of the year because I think this is a holiday where gifts do not matter all that much, but rather the memories and happiness while being with friends and family. Thanksgiving is also a great time. I have so many things to be thankful for, especially the fact that my dad is still here after three heart attacks in the past three years. When my family lived in New Hampshire, we would always drive up to Michigan for Thanksgiving and Christmas to be with my dad’s side of the family. Now that we live here, everyone moved away! However, just being here with my immediate family is the most amazing thing in itself. My mom prepared the world’s best turkey last year. My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is my grandma’s pumpkin bread. For Christmas dinner, my sister and I normally make our parents dinner. This year, I think we are making a big honey baked ham with macaroni and cheese! I love to bake too. I still make all those sugar cookies and decorate them for Santa.

After Thanksgiving, my dad, sister, and I always get up to go do the early shopping. It has just been a tradition in our family. My mom takes no part in that though! She feels claustrophobic and hates shopping anyways. The past few years, we bought one big present for the family. Two years ago, we bought us a nice 60 inch flat screen for the family to use. Last year, we all went to Florida and that was gift! This year, we decided to each make a Christmas list of the five things we either want/need and we are going to have a nice celebration just at home. I have not put too much thought onto my list but I think I am going to ask for a few things for Spain. I also might like to get a few pieces of clothing, since I basically wear the same things throughout the year!

My family in Florida last Christmas!

On Christmas morning, we have had a family tradition of us four since we were born. When my sister and I were too young to walk down the stairs, my mom would sit us on the top of the stairs and my dad would video-record us walking down the stairs into the living room with the tree. Now that we are older, Amanda and I still are forced to wait at the top of the stairs. It is funny how Christmas morning, we all are awake at 6 am because we still have that thought that Santa was actually real and really came! Gosh, I remember the day I found out Santa was unreal. I was heartbroken for a whole year! My parents actually hid Santa from us until we were 10. Nowadays, I am hearing that parents start when kids are like 7 or 8. Overall, I am super excited for Christmas and Thanksgiving!

Weekend off!

This weekend I do not have too much homework and I do not have to work! Erik is coming home and we have lots of things planned. We are going to the movies, out to dinner, watching football all day Saturday, and I am taking him to The Drowsy Chaperone at the theater here at school on Sunday! I am so excited to just relax and not have too much to worry about. This past week, I have been super stressed. I had four papers all due this past Tuesday. It was crazy and although I did not procrastinate, I still pulled an all-nighter on Monday night. It was not fun. This week has also been stressful in my family. My mom was laid off her job after a year and it has been very hard on her. We have been trying to cheer her up, but nothing seems to be working.

This is my sister, puppy, and I on the top of the stairs on Christmas!

This weekend, we also have a work meeting. I guess some of the drama I was talking about in earlier posts has finally caught up to some of the girls who started it and karma is coming back around! We are also talking about Black Friday. All of us girls must work a double-shift. The mall opens at 2 am and closes at midnight! I am actually hoping I get the early shift because a tradition in my family is so shop on this day. Thanksgiving this year should be fun too. My whole family is coming in from Florida to celebrate at our house!

Here is a picture of one of our Christmas Tree's!

I cannot believe Christmas is just around the corner. I feel like school just started. When I was younger, as a family, we all just bought as much as we were allowed to spend and just made Christmas about the gifts. Now that my sister and I have grown up, we realize it is more about the love and spending time together. I actually am a snow-person. I enjoy skiing and if it's going to be cold, it might as well be pretty! I have only ever had one Christmas without snow and that was last year when we all went to Florida for the holidays. It was not the same without the snow. I do love Christmas time. I love the music and the feel of happiness and joy. My favorite family tradition is cutting down our tree and decorating it. Also, even though I am still young, I still make Santa cookies! Next post, I will talk more about Black Friday and Christmas shopping! Have a good week!