Winter Break

As some of you may know, I was given two weeks off from work while school is closed for winter break. Now that I am currently over halfway through my break, I'll fill everyone up on what I have been doing. The early part of my break consisted of doing a little last-minute Christmas shopping. On Christmas Eve, our immediate family opened gifts. On Christmas Day, my sister and brother-in-law and both of my grandmothers came over and we had a scrumptious meal. It was nice and quiet. Although a bit uneventful, I was happy to visit with everyone and see that they were doing well. A couple years back, I spent Christmas in the Emergency Room after my grandmother dislocated her shoulder (she was chasing after a grocery bag and fell down, of all things), so quiet is good! Haha! 

I haven't spent very much time at home because I have been out and about visiting with my sister and other friends nearby. I am taking advantage of being able to do whatever I want whenever I want and not having to worry about getting up early for work. That being said, I do believe that I have my days and nights mixed up now. I will have to start getting back into my normal routine soon. 

The past couple of days, I have been in a crafty mood. Last night, I helped my mom dye some eggs to give as Christmas gifts (I'm not the only one who procrastinated this year). The process is called Pysanky, which is a traditional craft in Ukraine. It's a little tedious, but fun. Pysanky involves drawing a design on an egg with beeswax, and then dipping it in the dye. The parts of the egg that are underneath the wax are protected from the dye. Once you are finished dying the egg, you melt the wax off with the heat from a candle. My mom likes to put a few coats of polyurethane over the shells to protect them and make them shiny. Once the polyurethane dries, we will be blowing the eggs out, which is something that I haven't learned yet. Below are a couple pictures from last night. 

My mom's original design: A nativity scene.

My original design: a rooster

My rooster after I had completed the dying process. 

After my mom went to bed, I decided to experiment with dying other surfaces other than eggshells. I was curious to see if the dye would stick to a seashell, so I made a Snoopy shell. The dye didn't stick well, but I still think it turned out pretty cool. 

My experimental Snoopy shell. 

 Tonight, I decided try my hand at candy making. I had bought some candy molds at Goodwill awhile back and never gotten around to using them. I made chocolate owl lollipops, and chocolate puppy prints. I also made Oreo balls, since I have been craving them ever since Granny Eyre brought them to our Halloween party. I am planning to take these treats to my sister's New Years Party tomorrow night so that we can have something to snack on. Although I don't want to share, I know how horrible I would feel if I tried to eat them all myself!

That's about all I have for now.  Hopefully, I will make a post soon about my New Years Resolutions

 (that is, if I decide to make any). I hope all is well! 

Until next time, 

Miss Ellaneous

Christmas Past and Christmas Present

Amist all the Holiday festivities, I am going to take time out to write this blog post. It is really strange for me this Holiday season. I am torn between the old and new. So let's take a walk down memory lane for a while.
Christmas Past:
Around the beginning of December my sisters and I would head up to the attic where all the stuff my mother and father wanted to keep hidden from guest would be. Climbing into the attic was always a momentous occasion in the house it only happened four times a three times a year, but I will save that bit for another post. Back inside the attic it was always chilly and dark but we knew our way around to the Christmas section, which basically was half the attic space anyway. It would take at least an hour to haul everything down into the now cramped living room but it was worth it. My favorite part about decorating was separating the Christmas tree sprigs into the different color coded sections and spreading the branches out. First we would decorate the ten foot slender tree full of gold Christmas themed decorations. Then we would move to the dinning room where we would decorate the silver tree which was my favorite. I should mention now that Christmas was my mothers favorite holiday. She loved all the decorating, cooking, gathering it entailed. I remember the first time my dad let me climb on the roof and help him hang Christmas lights. It was exhilarating. I am a bit afraid of heights but once I stopped focusing on the ground and instead on the task at hand of untangling lights it was fun! The best part about Christmas past for me was the food though. We would spend weeks planning menus and looking over my mothers old cook books planning the perfect food items. Shopping was always rough though because a big family means lots and lots of food. One of the foods my sister Faith and I would make every year was Watergate salad and heavenly hash. I hated the heavenly hash because of the cherries but I loved making it every year. Rice krispie treats were exciting to watching the marshmallows bubble up and listening to the crack snap and pop sounds. Meatballs and smokie links were a must and bacon wrapped chicken livers were the worst but my father loved them. Lots and lots of cheese cubes and pickles to munch on along with ham/cheese wraps and veggies for the taking. If you went hungry at Christmas it was your own fault. The best part wasn't the decorating, or the food but rather the company. I loved spending time with my folks, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews playing games, laughing, talking, and just sitting around. It was nice. I would not trade those Christmas day breakfast's for anything either.

Christmas Present:
Tomorrow marks the second Christmas that I have spent away and the first Christmas season that I did not spend with my family of "origin". I am a little down trodden by this because of all the good memories I have associated with this season. I will not let it keep me from making new traditions and memories however. I have spent the past two Christmas with my best friend and her family. It has been a blast. Card games, board games and camaraderie galore. I have learned through the past few years that you can have a family of origin and also a family of choice. I have chosen this wonderful group of fun, loving individuals as part of my family and I do believe they consider me part of their family as well. Today we did something I am not use to we opened Christmas presents. Going around in a circle one at a time each of us would open a gift. It was peaceful watching everyone and seeing the look of happiness as each gift was unwrapped. I should mention my best friends uncle is a funny individual. She and I got the exact same things from him in our bags and her two brothers both got the same thing as each other as well. That is my kind of shopping there :) It was all really nice and I got a beautiful card from the grandmother. The food might not be as exciting as I have had in the past but it is an adventure everyday seeing what is going to be for lunch and supper.

I do want to make mention of the real reason behind Christmas, which is Jesus and His birth. Without that there would be none of this Holidayness. So I ask myself and you who read this to take a minute or two out of your busy holidays and reflect on why we celebrate and who we are really celebrating. If you get a chance also you should check out Luke 2:1-? and Matthew 1:18-?. I hope you all have a merry christmas and joyous new year :)

Lessons From Psalm 23

This is a very familiar psalm for many people, myself included. While reading this piece of passage just a bit ago I realized something I’ve never known before. Shepherd staffs have hooks on them to help pull the sheep back to them. Duh right? Not for me until now. God is always there leading my not so brilliant self around. There are many distractions satan and this world distract me with. From those distractions I sometimes get stuck in some giant holes but God the great shepherd has his staff with the hook on the end pulling me back when I start to wander away. I am so blessed to have God in my life pulling me back from those tight spots. This semester I have learned a lot more about how God, in all His greatness, can still keep pulling me back to Him no matter how far away I get. Something else to take away from this psalm is that no matter how scary life gets, for me that happens a lot, God will always be there for you fighting to keep you.

Christmas is coming!

It seems that every time the TwentySomethings get together, we fail to make a blog post, probably assuming that someone else will make it. This time I shall!! Let the world (well the one other person besides ourselves that actually read this blog...I hope there's one other person) know that we do all still hang out together.

We had our third annual Christmas get-together at Martha S.'s house since she's the only one currently who has a house that isn't also shared by her parents or owned by the college. As always she had the place decorated all cute and Chrismas-y. The plan was to eat snacks, exchange gifts, decorate cookies, and just hang out. All of those things happened. We stuffed our faces too much, received more presents than we deserved, made beautiful cookies, and enjoyed each other's company.

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment. Martha S. holds our group picture and The Farmer's Daughter has some better pictures, so I'm expecting some follow-up posts to this.

The collection of Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookies.

The group

My ugly Chrismas Sweater Cookies

Preparations to decorate.

Martha S. is starting a new trend with empty picture frames. She's famous, you know, so you better pay attention and follow suit if you want to be in style for home decorating.

The feast! We always say we're gonna have less food.

These adorable reindeer made by Martha S.

The tree and presents.

Work, Work, Work!

This post will probably be a bit short, because I have to get up early in the morning. I have been working almost non-stop recently and it's starting to catch up with me. Also, I had almost completed this blog post and my wonderful computer decided it was going to restart itself and I lost everything I had just written. But anyways, I am still riding the bus and have also started doing some custodial work at the middle & high school. Tonight, I didn't get home until almost 9 pm. Custodial work is hard work. I admit that I have taken janitors for granted until now. Their job is one where nobody really realizes that you are doing it until you don't. It's one where you work long hours behind the scenes to make sure that whatever building you are cleaning looks presentable. They are the ones who make sure you have toilet paper in public restrooms! Haha! I have had to do things that most people would turn their nose up at, like scrubbing toilets and scraping used chewing gum off of the floor. I have spent long hours on my feet, and had to do quite a bit of heavy lifting. To be honest, though, I don't mind it because all of the people I have worked with have been so kind and helpful. The people who you work with on a daily basis really will make or break a job, and I am thankful to be surrounded by smiling faces. This job pays a little more than the bus monitoring job, but I have missed seeing the kids on the bus as much as I was.

All of this being said, I do not plan to be a sub bus monitor or janitor for the rest of my life. Many people seem to be worried about me because I do not have a better paying job, or one that uses my degree. I am confident that I will get one eventually, but I have been so busy working that I haven't had time to be on the job search, and you can't usually get a job without applying to it! Haha!  Hopefully, Christmas break will give me some time to relax and recoup and I will be able to get my crap together. 

All of this time working has kept me away from home quite a bit, and I am sure paying for it! I recently bought a wireless dog collar for Callie, which has allowed her to roam free in the yard. She can only go 95 feet away from the house with the collar, or she will get shocked. It only took a couple times being shocked for her to learn her boundaries and there have been no more issues with her leaving the gate to bother the neighbors or chasing the chickens. However, she now has a new favorite pastime, which includes tearing up everything that she can get her little paws on. 

Callie made a mess of my mom's flower pots on the porch.

She also tore up an expensive pair of muck boots

Both my parents got new laptops for the first time on Black Friday and have had their noses stuck in them ever since. So, between working, cleaning up after Callie, and taking care of the household chores virtually by myself, I have had little time to think about much else. At least I can't complain about being bored, right? However, I do really miss my friends and am looking forward to seeing all of you very soon. Many of you have been posting about what you are thankful for, and the thing I would be most thankful for would be free time..if I had any! LOL

Until next time, 

-Miss Ellaneous

These are a few of my favorite things...

Looking down our blog, I realize almost all of us have made lists in our posts lately...I think lists are really easy to read and it makes the post look so organized. So, I'm going to cave to peer pressure and follow the trend. I'm not sure why I have the urge to make this post, but I've been wanting to make a post of some of my favorite things. In a way it's sort of a spin-off on the 'thankful' posts like Martha S. and Captain Something Fun made...because of course, I'm very thankful for my favorite things. Here goes:

1. Fru fru coffee/ espresso drinks (and coffee shops)...as the other Twenty-Somethings know, I love the comfort, low-lighting and of course the specialty drinks of coffee shops. Anyone want to meet up at one sometime soon? :) Also, I recently bought a carton of Starbuck's Peppermint Mocha iced coffee drink at the grocery..it was a splurge, but it's pretty good!

2. Pinterest. I could spend hours on there and still not get enough. I have been getting alot of good gift ideas off of there lately...and ideas for Christmas crafts too!

3. Baking. This is especially a favorite around the holidays. It's so much fun trying new recipes and sharing the goods with other people. Buddy the Elf said "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."...I think the best way to spread Christmas cheer is actually baked goods. ;)

4. Christmas movies (and music)! Oh, I need to get to re-watching my old favorites and remembering to turn on the Christmas music, because they both make me happy!

5. Crafting...I absolutely love being able to make things for myself and the people I care about. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been knitting alot and I find making things to be a great stress-reliever. If you're looking for another reason to start knitting or crocheting, check this out, it's a craft that's good for your health!

6. My family's pets. Speaking of stress-relievers..it's so nice to live with and around so many animals. They're a good excuse to get outside and take a walk, plus they're always around to hug and love on whenever you need it. And...they always greet me with a wagging tail when I come home late and my parents are asleep.

7. Taking Pictures! Since getting a smart-phone I don't take nearly as many high-quality photos as I have in the past. But, high-quality or not, I love taking photos. Right now I'm participating in a December photo challenge and I'm posting a photo everyday to Instagram. Most of the photos have something to do with the Christmas season and I think it's kind of a fun way to get into the spirit of the holidays. Plus, I always love looking back at my old photos.

8. Jason. Last, but certainly not least. I love this boy to death. He isn't a thing, but he is my favorite.

Of course, this is only a few of my favorite things. Time to wrap it up though and get back to being productive! I hope you're all having a lovely start to the Christmas season!

The Farmer's Daughter

What I'm Thankful For

Well, although Thanksgiving has passed, I still want to share a few things I'm thankful for this holiday season.

1.) A wonderful M.D. I have had several not-so-good experiences with doctors in the past. In our for-profit healthcare system, it can be hard to find practitioners that work hard to make clients feel assurance with the care they receive. The M.D. I started seeing in October, Dr. Yin, has ensured that I feel confident in my health. He is thorough. He listens. And is kind too. I truly appreciate him.

2.) Good cookin' Being home for Thanksgiving, I ate and ate and ATE some more. Dressing, gravy, watergate salad, chocolate pie, Butterfinger trifle, sweet potato casserole, deviled eggs, Oreo trifle, banana pudding, ham, turkey, mac and cheese, millionaire pie, pistachio salad... the list goes on and on. I'm also thankful that I can cook decently because of some of the women who prepared the feasts this Thanksgiving. My grandmothers and great-grandmother taught me so much of what I know about cooking. I have also learned a few things from my mother-in-law over the last seven years.

3.) Our new home (and dryer!!) We've been in our townplex (we're always debating on whether it's a townhouse or duplex, so I've settled on this term) for a little over seven months now. The longer we're here, the more I like it. It's roomy enough to accommodate guests for parties and overnight stays. The utilities are CHEAPCHEAP for its size. Plus, we're slowly making it feel homey-er. And yes, we finally purchased a new dryer as the majority of our Christmas for one another. It should be delivered sometime next week and I am soooo EXCITED! No more drying racks. No more single loads per day. I'll be able to all our laundry on Saturday's if I want to. Woohoo!

4.) Online banking Gosh, if Lucas and I didn't have it, I don't hardly know what we'd do. We check our accounts religiously. It makes it soo much easier to keep up with spending. We still have to pay a few bills by check..... nightmare. Good example: Sent a check in the mail to pay my doctor bill over a week and a half ago. It still hasn't came out of our account. It's a pretty big bill and there's nothing we can do but wait and calculate that out every single time we need to know how much expendable money we have. Blargh. So for us this tech-driven feature is a godsend.

Since I have been sitting at the computer off and on for over two hours now... I'm going to stop here. Maybe I'll add to it again soon. Adios.