next stop: epiphany!!

christmas has come and gone. it was good. kansas is a good place to be (even though there is no snow!). i had christmas with my folks on christmas morning and got lots of goodies. then we went to my grandma kenyon's and had christmas all day there. my cousin's son, bryson, is adorable and awfully rambunctious. i got some good card-playing in . . . hope it holds me over until next year. today, we went to my grandma garst's for christmas. it was pretty good too. for some reason, i never really felt connected to that side of the family. i think it's because they all grew up kind of close to each other and my family was farther away. but, i feel like i talked more with my cousins this year than any other year (besides when we were kids and all played together). that made me happy. my cousin deb is engaged!

now, i have to figure out how to see all my friends here and maybe do a bit of studying. hummmm. (that's my version of an typed sigh) i really want to see a lot of people and i don't know how to see everyone (in a 'quality time' kind of way) in less than a week. but, do not fear! i am the queen of creative planning . . . at least i hope so.

i don't know what to do with myself now that the big holiday of the season is over. i can't really celebrate on new year's eve because i'm leaving kansas on the 1st and i prolly need a good night's sleep before i drive twelve-ish hours the next day. and boy-howdy, let me tell you that i have been going to sleep earlier than ever in my adult-ish life. and it's good. bad thing = i wake up before nine and can't sleep any later. i remember the days when i could sleep into the afternoon. but even more scary is that i have started to realize that i think i would be wasting a good part of the day if i slept that late. i know that i promised myself i would never think that way and alas . . . i think maybe a bit of maturity has creeped in. don't worry. don't worry. i will find a way to compensate by becoming more frivolous in another part of my life. any suggestions on where i could use some frivolity?

so, my next holiday to look forward to . . . epiphany!! yay for the wise persons (notice the inclusive language!). i really do think gifts should be exchanged on epiphany rather than christmas but i don't know how to instigate a massive moment in that direction. and, doing something like that might make people realize that the gift-giving of christmas really should have something to do with religious tradition. that would mess up all the commerciality of our great country. this year, i found out that i thought people who aren't christians shouldn't really celebrate christmas. and, goodness do i know that that might make a whole bunch of people mad. christmas, however, really is a religious holiday first . . . it probably shouldn't be national.

well, didn't really mean to go off on that tangent. oh well. but, if anyone wants to give me a gift on january 6th, feel free to do so ;)