Do you sell chicken here?? How about chicken flavored candy??
Chicken flavored candy...wa wa wa.
So! The first half of the holiday season is now over, finished, finito, DONE, and went off without a hitch. Despite the minor setback in lackage of Christmas cookies in our house (no, I don't usually search the fridge for cookie dough rolls, thanks Mom), there is enough food (TURKEY) to feed a small army (TURKEY). Needless to say, I made noodles for dinner (christmas-shaped noodles, no less) because I've eaten enough other food (TURKEY) that it's coming out of my ears (figure of speech, guys, figure of speech). I've been informed that I appear to have lost weight recently (must have been since getting home since until a few days ago, there hasn't been food in this house)....but I'm sure I've gained it back (ghirardelli chocolate and milk...), and if I haven't yet, I will. People don't know what to get me for Christmas these days...so I get one of two things: money and big boxes of chocolate (grandma!). Not that I'm complaining in the least...I can go out and get my own Christmas presents, which so far has been movies, and a long-sleeved tshirt that says MASH 4077th (YAY!).
That and I've spent enough time in church these past four days to tide me over for the next four months. I am never going to church again. Until probably Easter, or Palm Sunday or some big holiday or if I'm home and my parents drag me out of bed (though they have given that up recently, it's easier! hehe). Don't believe me? I have been to church every day for the past four days. ARGUH! For not being extremely religious (or really religious at all, as a matter of fact), that's a lot. I suppose it was Christmas for two of those days...ugh. Christmas Eve was a new endeavor, though, because I went to church with Joe, so that was fun/interesting. It further proves my theory that this whole denomination stuff is pointless, because if you boil it down, everything's the same, except for possibly atheism and buddhism and confucianism and jainism and stuff. I really didn't see much difference between my church (Lutheran) and Joe's church (Catholic). Like I explained it...
Katie: Why are we going to St. Sebastian's? What's the difference?
Me: Um, it's Catholic?
Yea, that more or less sums it up. That and it's bigger, and Tom Barrett was there. And they have a priest. Other than that, I didn't see much difference. Unfortunately, they didn't use the organ as much as Joe had hoped (as that's part of the reason we went with him in the first place), but eh, details, details. For the two carols they did play it, it was gorgeous. I wanna play an organ like that (I suppose I should continue to learn first, though. I do love my organ shoes though! yay pretty silver shoes!)! I really should learn the organ, that would be a good extracurricular job for post-college. I'm not coordinated enough to use both hands AND my feet when I play though....that's far too much thinking. Blah. That and the million different keyboards, and the whole pulling out stops thing and what you can mix and what you can't...it's enough to make a head explode. That and I complain incessantly about going to church anyway...
The past three days, however, I have been contributing to the service music, so I guess that's a viable reason to spend too much time at church. Christmas Day was somewhat of a nightmare, though, because everything I had to play was in the low register of my instrument, and my instrument was being tempermental (damn oboe!) and honking instead of being pretty (#&$#!)....which was incredibly frustrating. I did get to redeem myself in the last two days, because I got to play NOT LOW stuff, which was good. My reed only freaked out at me once, and that was today. So I was happy. The organ at my church is frightfully out of tune though, and combine that with the fact that I'm still adjusting to the tuning on my new oboe, especially when I play by myself. All in all, it was good practice for that (eep!) recital in, um, just over three months. So I shouldn't complain, not about the playing anyway. And I got to play pretty Bach (Cantata no 147, Wachet auf!), which is one of my favorites, Coventry Carol (thought of you, Kali!), and two gorgeous arrangements from the Carols for Oboe and Organ book that Professor Hughes lent me, so it was all good. I'd be a good soloist, if I had enough patience to practice. :)
Christmas! It was fun. I spent time with my crazy family, the entire family was there. Seriously, every single immediate family relative I have, I saw on Saturday. Both sets of grandparents, all three aunts, both uncles, and all five of my cousins. And my parents and sister. Which isn't that bad, but we had Christmas at my grandma's house, so ugh! Cramped! Not enough space for everyone. I spent too much time sitting at the dining room table because there was nowhere else to sit, and consequently ate far too much food (it was there!). Then I got home and my parents have made a turkey (hence, why it's coming out of our ears at home!), but my grandma had made turkey and ham. I don't like ham....needless to say I have eaten too much turkey since Saturday.
Got Shrek 2, which is both funny and good, since I got it for my parents for Christmas too. I guess I'm not going to have to come up with an elaborate plan to steal theirs before going back to school afterall. I might want to get Shrek at some point...I KNOW I won't be able to steal that one from home! (I somehow was successful in stealing it for an entire semester last year...craaaaaazy). Like I said, though, getting money for Christmas leads to buying my own Christmas presents. I wasn't going to do it the day after Christmas, but I was out at Best Buy on Hwy 100, and found Indian Summer (agh! one of my favorite movies ever! yay!), and Amelie (one of the cutest and funniest and best movies ever that i've only seen like once, but loved, and yay! had to get it...such a great movie), so whoops, there goes that intention of not getting anything the day after Christmas. Watched Indian Summer today, I just love that movie. Even though I laugh hysterically at the great fashion sense of 1993, I just love it. It reminds me of my days at camp, and makes me wonder what a camp reunion would be like. It's not like we ever caused trouble there....nooooooooo....(TPing! and saran wrapping beds, and putting mattresses on the roof, and putting a canoe in a cabin...and meddling in the love affairs of 6th graders. Yes, camp was fun).
Oh! Speaking of camp, I saw my friend Eva today. So I know she's still alive, which is good. Haven't seen her since about two months after graduation (July? 2001), and haven't talked to her in about, um, well, almost three years now (Jan? 2002. yikes). Not that I talked to her tonight, but I saw her at church, so my chances of seeing her again are greater. So that's good.
I'm about to go crazy, though! Seriously!!!!!! How does one function living at home?? My parents are driving me crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! I have absolutely nothing to do, nowhere to go, someone is ALWAYS at home, so it's not like I even have quality peace and solitude...noooooo! Tomorrow I might drive over to either Barnes & Noble, or Schwartz's or maybe Borders (but I don't have a gift certificate for there, and the other two bookstores I have gift certificates for...so I should probably head there last) just to find something to read. That or the library. My grandma gave me some books to read, but I started one of them (the first in the series) and it was painfully boring. So I'm giving it up for now, unless I get extremely bored. Ha, cause that's not going to happen....
That and I think it's just the fact that I have now been at home for a week and four days or something, and I haven't spent this much consecutive time at home since LAST JANUARY. I don't think I even spent this much time at home ALL SUMMER. I spent three days at home in May, four days in July, and four days in August. So, no. I haven't spent this much time at home at once since LAST YEAR! ARGUHHHHHHHH! I hope I never have to spend this much time at home ever again.
Well, at least I get to spend some oh-so-fun time with my parents on Wednesday night...we're going out to dinner with one of their friends, but hopefully at least one of her kids will be coming along. We all kinda grew up together, and we're sort-of around the same age (they're 22 and 24), not to mention I haven't seen either of them in ages...so it'll be fun. We're going to Hooligan's for dinner, and Von Trier's for drinks. Drinks! It's still weird to drink around my parents....
So I might have a roommate for next year...MY SISTER. Could be interesting...but I could definitely live with her. I've had little more than a piece of styrofoam separating my room from hers for the last eight years or something (before that it was a curtain. Yes, a flimsy piece of fabric. That's it), so if we had a two-bedroom apartment...complete with DOORS, I think that'd be even better. Hooray for that! So, yay for having a potential roommate. She's not a big partyer, she'll probably be at her boyfriend's a lot, and cripes, we're sisters. I think we're long past the point of killing each other. Besides, she'll be in college, and I won't be, so I doubt we'd see much of each other anyway. And I get along better with her than anyone else in the family.
Speaking of my sister, she wants me to go shopping with her in Chicago. I'm broke, but we'll see. I definitely need some new winter clothes, so, maybe it would be a worthwhile investment.
Uff! Had a lot to say! But I'm going to go to bed now. Yay sleep! :)

- posted by L. @ 1:18 AM