I'm Dreaming of a White (Elephant) Christmas

One of SCL's family traditions is an annual family-wide Christmas party with White Elephant gift exchange. There's a standard $10 limit, and while gifts don't have to be gag gifts necessarily, is there really anything more fun than buying something ridiculous?

Our source of inspiration: As Soon on TV products. More specifically, the BumpIt.

Despite our best efforts, we could not find a BumpIt in time, which saddened SCL to no end. He really thought this would be the best gift ever. I'm not sure if there's just really that high of a demand for these godawful devices, or if they're still in their "TV only" stage.

So, he had to go with the next best thing....
That's right. EZcombs. Aren't they stylish? It's like a grown up version of the Topsy Tail.

And for me, a slightly different but clearly related product...
Look at that cleavage! I really hope a guy gets this one.

The best part was they were both on sale at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, plus we had coupons for 20% off, making these babies $5.38 each. And if we don't get to go because of this massive snowstorm heading our way, I will have new fashionable items to sport after the holidays! :-)

Finals Time

Finishing up his first semester as a PhD student, SCL is swamped with papers, papers, and more papers. Who knew that someone could give you a final that lasts THREE DAYS LONG? Doesn't that seem like cruel and unusual punishment? Good news is that he's got two finals under his belt and is working on part 2 of his 3-essay exam for his final course. Come Saturday, he'll be free!

Honestly, I can't say that this season of finals has been any different than the ones SCL had last year when he was finishing up his masters. At least from my side of things, that is. He's not someone who gets super-duper stressed out over work. He's pretty disciplined, scheduled, and just knocks out the work.

A few things that we've encountered that I'd like to reflect on...

1. Housework. Sometimes I'm a baby about this. I forget that there are times when SCL really picks up the slack for me. I usually forget this when I'm picking up the slack for him. I just got to get over this--and remember that at least in this case, I was doing heavy duty cleaning for a party that I was throwing. Get over yourself, G-S GF!
2. Sleeping. I've been going to bed alone at night while SCL stays up to do work. This has interrupted our sleeping pattern a bit, so I'm looking forward to the nights when we go to bed at the same time. SCL, however, has perfected the art of getting into the room and into bed without making a single solitary sound and rarely wakes me. I, on the other hand, have perfected the art of laying in the exact middle of the bed, preventing my bed buddy from getting his equal share of pillow, covers, and mattress.
3. Conversation. "What'd you do today?" "Studied/worked on exams/read boring books." Not much else going on for SCL these days. Of course, that leaves more room to talk about my new job (!!!)
4. Dinner. It's been Trader Joe's city for us. We've also been going out more than usual, but now that I'll be working from home (!!!) I'll have a lot more time to do domestic things in the new year.

All in all, it's been a fairly painless exam time for me. I can't speak for SCL, but he seems to be on top of things and doing a great job. I'm glad this isn't how it is all the time, but I also feel better knowing this isn't going to be as horrible as I predicted.

Survey Says...

I got the JOB!!!! *dancinglaughingjumpingupanddown*

O Universe, I have finally fallen into your good graces.

My new job begins on Jan 4. My last day at my current job is next Monday.

Merry Christmas to me!

The Scary Things That I've Done This Month

1) Auditioned for Chicago

2) Auditioned at callbacks for the role of Merry Murderess

3) Applied for another job

4) Interviewed for said job

5) Waited anxiously for calls about cast and job

While I know I didn't get cast for the show (damn it!), I am still waiting to hear back from the job. I've tried willing my phone to ring, but so far, it hasn't worked out too well. I know that they want someone to start at the beginning of January, so really, a phone call earlier rather than later would be best for all involved.

Let me just say, despite fears of jinxing it, I would be perfect for this job. The director and I are completely on the same wavelength about it. In fact, my interview was just a straight up conversation with no interrogating questions at all. I felt relaxed, knowledgeable, and even enjoyed myself. And now I'm just trying to stay hopeful that all of my good luck will be concentrated into this one thing.

Keep your fingers crossed.

December--it's not just for holidays

So, have we all recovered from Thanksgiving? After a few days of sloth-like behavior, I've managed to get myself up at 6:30 everyday this week to hit the gym. December is definitely a month where my energy can feel low but the demands on my time are high, leading to potential physical, mental, and emotional stress. To avoid this, I've been working out, limiting my wine intake in the evenings, and popping some Vitamin D every morning. But I'm still really missing that early morning sunlight of the spring and summer.

In my mind, I always look forward to December because I love holiday music, treats, and cheer. But when December actually rolls around, I recall that it's also a really stressful time of year, and I don't just mean dealing with family and gift buying (though those are definitely stress-inducing for me). I mean end of the year craziness at work and of course, SCL's finals.

Up until this point, it hasn't really felt like our schedules have conflicted too much. Since SCL's not teaching, he's got time during the day to do reading and other work, so usually it doesn't really feel like he's in this big scary PhD program. But now, I'm like, "Holy crap! You have finals. Are we going to get to spend time together? Are you going to be stressed 24/7?" and other freak outs like that. Like other painful parts of life, I have forgotten how rough the end of semester crunch can be. I'm wondering how we'll need to negotiate things like time and apartment space.

Stay tuned.