Well, the quarter is over, grades are in and we made it to Chicago and back with a wonderful family visit sandwiched in the middle. We brought home warm wishes and a new Harley.

Dana and I have been sitting on the couch all day wrapped up in electric blankets and making our way through the first season of True Blood. After she treats me to a delishas seared tuna dinner, that is where we will be for the rest of the night.

Lately my life seems to be revolving around coffee and avoiding the brisk temperature that has settled into Athens.

Last night Aaron and I played with the new xbox upgrade that allows users to watch netflix online movies on the TV through the xbox. It was very exciting. We watched Doug Benson being a huge stoner in his movie, Super High Me, and ate freshly baked (by moi) mini apple pies. Very cozy.

This morning we decided to go on an adventure to McHappy’s Bake Shop on Richland Ave. We were going in search of fresh muffins but they were all out. Instead I had a frosted strawberry jelly donut with pumpkin spice coffee and Aaron had a frosted blackberry jelly donut and a maple frosted cream donut with regular coffee. We sat by the window watching the regulars pull into the drive-thru and read the paper while discussing ridiculous trucks and high school hang outs. <3

Today I am going to try to finish all of the laundry and start packing for break. Aaron and I have a dinner date then I’m going to Jefferson Hall to watch Grey’s Anatomy with Miriam and her friends.

+ finished all school work for the quarter
+ been having good hair days
-  packing
-  it is cold everywhere

Right after Halloween we begin compiling our wish lists then send them to each other via e-mail the day before Thanksgiving. This system works very well because we always have a base idea of what to buy our secret pal, but we can always buy them extra goodies that we find along the way.

Having just finished creating my Holiday 2008 wish list, here are some helpful tips.

1. Write down every thing that you want at this moment. Seriously.

2. Make sure you have a enough items to provide a range of prices. A gift list item could cost as little as $0 (I wish for time spent together with my Aunt who lives half a country away) or it could cost $100 (Colortunes Clock Radio for iPod with Interchangeable Speaker Grilles. please.).

3. I always have items on my wish lists that stay the same every year. This helps when I want to write my wish list but can’t think of anything to put on it. It also helps if these items work on the wish list year round. Then you can use it for your birthday, Hanukkah, Christmas, valentines day, your unbirthday, graduation, etc. My static wish list items are: mermaid stuff, fire king jadeite and target gift cards.

4. Don’t put anything embarrassing on your wish list. Private personal wish lists should be given to those who will buy what we actually want.

5. If you are wishing for gift that can be found online, include a link to the specific website where your future gift can be found. The easier it is to find a gift, the more likely it will be gifted to you.

6. After you have gone through all of this save your wish list and walk away. Do not e-mail it to anyone right away. Take a few days to really think about the items on your list and add or subtract as you need. You will find new things to add to your list and you will realize that you don’t really want a giant brobee doll.

Links:
• check out the colorful holiday Christmas Gift List Mind Map from creativeinspiration
• FamilyFun has a creative 2008 wishlist
• share your wish list with the world on Wishlistr

What are you wishing for this holiday season?

favorite movie soundtracks:

There were no classes today because it is veteran’s day, so I decided that it was a perfect time for me to get a jump start on my final projects. I started by making a list and went from there.

• never got dressed, wore sweat pants and my robe all day
• drank 2 mugs of hot chocolate coffee
• finished my policy proposal
• finished half of my 325 assignment
• watched a lot of travel channel
• washed a ton of dishes
• did not shower
• did not go outside
• looked up flights to MIA
• did not get pumpkin cheesecake ice cream
• did wish for the sun to come out

yep, that’s about it. and now, at 8:00 pm, I am already to go to bed. tomorrow I will wear pink to school and it will make me feel better.

bleh.

Most day, I throw open the shades and let the sunlight spill into my room. Not today though, its overcast and grey. Some days, you just have to live by the lamp light.

Here are some random links that I found this morning:

• A very peachie lady
• One of these amazing Fancypacks could shortly be making an appearance in my life.
• A peachie princess in every way

Tonight I’m going to see the Ohio University School of Theater’s production of Grapes of Wrath with Dina. I’m looking forward to it. Last years play about W.E.B. DuBois was truly inspiring.

Also, I added another bow to my Etsy shop.

This week, all of the links are related to my current most favorite show, Pushing Daisies.

• Top P.I. Emerson Cod has an elusive daughter who stars in his pop-up book entitled “Little Gumshoe.” How did the term “gumshoe” come to refer to a detective?

• Blackcigarette has a superb Charlotte “Chuck” Charles style guide: Parts 1, Parts 2 and Parts 3!

• On the set of Pushing Daisies with ThePieMaker.com

• Are you a PD fanatic? Test your knowledge about the characters, plots and trivia with 4 freshly-baked quizzes.

• Speaking of freshly baked, The Rice and spice Cupboard has a recipe for Apple-Gruyère Pie. Yum!