Belated Christmas-related post

My mother is the queen of Christmas. I wish I could show you my whole house, but that would be a tad difficult. So here are a few pics to show the decor. But she's not only a great decorator, she really makes everything about Christmas grand. From the food and cookies to the gifts, to the movies and music. I love her.






This was an entertaining gift that each of us got. My brother threw his up in the air and it rained money.



This is a great ornament, don't you think?

Merry Christmas Eve!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve! I'm so excited for our Swedish smorgasbord this evening. I love my family! Merry Christmas!

Hot Chocolate: Superior Refreshment

There's something amazing about hot chocolate. It's so comforting. It's hot. It's chocolate. It's delicious. The last few days I've had toast and cocoa for breakfast, which is really nice. I don't normally have time for that during the semester, since that requires actually sitting down for breakfast... So it's been quite delightful. And as I sipped it this morning, I thought, "Hot chocolate deserves a little lovin' for all the lovin' it gives to us." So this post is dedicated to the thousands of cups that are enjoyed each year. I hope you too enjoy some superior refreshment!

Freedom

There is a magnificent feeling that comes with the end of a semester. All semester even at somewhat relaxed times, there was still something hanging over me, an ax ready to fall and slice my head open. But now, there's no ax. There's no bucket of icy cold water. There's nothing dangling in a threatening way above me. I can breathe and relax and sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Freedom. No school. No homework. No work. Just family. Music. Movies. Food. Love. Sleep. Beauty. Christmas.

St. Lucia Dagen

I can't remember what I've written about on here. Have I ever mentioned that I got a nickname from members of my ward? I'm Lucille or Lucy to them. It used to lean toward Lucy mostly, but I get a lot of Lucille lately. I like them both though. Anyway, I'm Lucy.

Today is Lucia Dagen in Sweden. That means Lucy's Day! I was so appropriately nicknamed. This is a favorite family tradition of mine. Traditionally, a young woman dressed in white with a crown of candles brings Lucia buns and coffee for breakfast while singing the song "Santa Lucia." It's kind of a celebration of light. (You can click on the link up there to read more about it.)

This morning as I sent my mom a text to wish her a happy Lucia dagen, I realized "Hey, I'm Lucy now! Yes! This is my day!" Now I'm wishing I had some Lucia bread to share with my friends. Maybe I'll get some pepparkakor (a.k.a. wish cookies). But for now, back to finals.

Rubbish

Rubbish. What a great word. Don't you love to say it? Rubbish! Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish. "This is rubbish." "My paper is four pages long, but what rubbish." "Que rubbish!" (Spanglish) Rubbish. Yep. This post probably belongs in the rubbish. But nay, what a rubbishful thought. One man's rubbish is another man's treasure. Treasure this rubbish. Treasure it.

December? What?

Today is December 1st. I'm not sure how that happened. Wasn't it just barely September? But I'm thrilled that the semester is nearly over. I just have to make it to the end! I don't think I've ever had such a struggle focusing on my studies. I've wanted to blog several times and I keep saying, "I don't have time." But then I find other ways to waste my time, so I'm blogging now. Mostly I wanted to show you my new shoe.

Ain't it pretty? Story? Okay. Actually, I don't know how I hurt my foot exactly. Maybe from dancing around the house over Thanksgiving break. But it started hurting this weekend. I didn't think too much of it at first. But it got worse and on Monday it hurt a lot. So I went to the doctor. They took an x-ray. Nothing wrong there. So I went to the podiatrist on Wednesday and he diagnosed me with flexor tendinitis. It's not too bad really. I can feel it if I move my big toe...so the shoe is supposed to help me not move that tendon in there that's so unhappy. It works fairly well. I had to wear two pairs of socks today though, to keep my foot warm! If it starts snowing...I might have to wear some other stiff shoes on the walk to school. We'll see. Anyway, I find it rather entertaining. Nobody noticed I was wearing it today, which surprised me. I felt like I was walking really funny since my normal shoe is an inch or so taller than this one. But apparently it must not be too weird-looking!

Ah yes, fabulous adventures have I. Happy December!