bill cosby is always right.

i'm obsessed with these kids. they're hilarious and adorable. they're staying with us for the weekend and here are some highlights from their first night.

me- so ethan how's life since christmas
ethan- well, i speak twenty-five languages now
mom- spreken ze deutsch?
ethan- pause. diana! don't question me!

ethan- it doesn't matter if you can't understand what ruth and christian are saying, you have me to translate.

me- christian, do you want some water before bed?
christian- no...but do you want feet in your face?!

ethan- thom! mommy and me got you a bag of snickers!

dad- thanks, bud!

ethan- well, mommy got them for you but you can still give me one! or...three?

kids DO say the darndest things.

sometimes i wish i had my own home that i could decorate and paint and style any way that i want.

what's unfortunate is that, until 5 minutes ago, my dream home was just a mix of colors and patterns in my head; but i don't think i can go back to that time now that i have laid eyes on this:

i think i just fell deeply, deeply in love. how am i ever going to live without you, you beautiful thing?

**from here

thoughts

1. sometimes it's good to become apathetic in the morning. avoid many awkward run ins.
2. why would someone with the last name wood become a doctor?
3. i should never have watched julie & julia because now i want to cook.
4. i can't cook.
5. new years resolution?
6. you know who can cook? my mom. she created her own recipe for moroccan chili the other day.
7. i apparently need to catch up on classic dustin hoffman movies. i watched the graduate the other day and part of rain man today and they're so good. i need to see them all.
8. new years resolution?

so long, oh nine.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
lived in an apartment with a boy, worked at a camp for special needs children, watch the candidate i voted for get inagurated as president.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
i didn't make any, but i'm going to make some general ones for this year. (lose weight, exercise more, cut out soda, read more classic literature...generally make myself into a better person)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
my cousin kate had the most adorable little red headed baby.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
thankfully, no.

5. What countrys did you visit?
stayed state side.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
a job at school, money, motivation

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched in your memory, and why?
july 24-26 sally's cabin weekend
july 30-august 2 visit to new england with tu crew
it was a good summer, haha

8. What is your greatest achievement of the year?
becoming more confident and mature, fully realizing that i'm destined to be a teacher and that i was fooling myself otherwise

9. What was your biggest failure?
not feeling motivated this semester, not losing weight when i really should have

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
not really, i was super sick one weekend in october but nothing major. no swine '09.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
haha, my north face polar fleece. i may sound like THAT GIRL, but it's the truth.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
first and foremost my papa. even though he is getting worse and worse by the day, every time i see him i still see a strength and courage that most people lose after what he has been through. he is one of the strongest people that i know and going through terminal cancer has only proved this to me.
my mom for continuing to be a strong woman, my dad for always making me laugh, my brother for maturing into a good kid, and all of my friends for being them. i am obsessed with the people in my life.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
no ones really, it was a good year in terms of people.

14. Where did most of your money go?
food and clothes.

15. What did you get really, really excited about?
going home after freshman year and going back to school after summer. it's a cycle that i am happy with.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
party in the usa, if i could turn back time, jumper

17. Compared to this time last year are you:
a) happier or sadder?
happier, this time last year i was looking up what i would have to do to transfer schools. now i couldn't imagine leaving temple and my friends there.

b) thinner or fatter?
fatter, but not by much. i hate myself for this.

c) richer or poorer?
poorer, by a lot. it sucks not graduating every year.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
be uninhibited

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
have my guard up

20. How did you spend Christmas?
my aunt and cousins came and we opened presents and played the wii all day.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
yes, i fell further in love with my friends.

22. How many one-night stands?
365, one for every day of the year.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
the office, glee, community, gossip girl (i'm not going to lie)

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
nope

25. What was the best book you read?
i'm only in the middle of unaccostumed earth by jhumpa lahiri but it is hands down the best. so plainly written but beautiful. the stories are so poignant. i also reread dress your family in corduroy and denim by david sedaris which is still the funnist book ever written in my mind.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
cloud cult, monsters of folk, she & him, ted leo

27. What did you want and get?
this is going to be cheesy, but happiness. i was uncharacteristically unhappy at this time last year and i am happy that those days are over. this year may not have been the most spectacular of my life, but something can be said for being happier.

28. What did you want and not get?
i can't really think of anything. except a million dollars.

29. What was your favorite film of the year?
inglorious basterds, up, district 9

30. What did you do on your birthday?
had a taco feast with my friends, danced in the rain to michael jackson, and played frisbee at dickinson

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
motivation and a job, which kind of go hand in hand.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
old navy, whatever flattered and fit my body. it was a rough year in this department but i like a bunch of things that i got this year. i wouldn't say i have a fashion concept.

33. What kept you sane?
my mom and my friends, 717 and tu.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
john krasinki, barack obama

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
i think living with a gay man made me more and more upset about gay rights issues. i want everyone to be happy in their choices. (not that i didn't always care about this one, just more personal now)

36. Who did you miss?
my family and 717ers when i'm at school.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
no one really, but i became a lot closer with a lot of people.

38. Tell us a valuble life lesson you learned in 2009?
just relax. and just dance.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"so i put my arms up, playing my song, butterflys fly away"

a poopyhead christmas.

christmas was beautiful! seriously in love with the holiday.

i felt older this christmas, like it wasn't all about me and that felt suprisingly good. i realized that i don't want as much anymore, so i don't need as many presents underneath the tree. i get bigger more important things and presents are about quality not quantity. i'm not going to lie and say that there wasn't some jealousy as ethan, ruthie, and christian sat eagerly at the top of the stairs waiting to go down and see what santa brought them and all i wanted to do was sleep another 4 hours. (they woke us up at 7:30) i miss the excitement that comes with childhood and truly believing in santa, but christmas is still beautiful all the same. it was bittersweet, because it's most likely the last christmas that we will spend with my papa, my mom's dad, but we made the most of it.

"if hall and oates met at temple, do they have a hall hall?"

i am obsessed with my family.

today my dad, brennan, and i continued our 19 (15 with all of us) tradition of christmas eve shopping. every year, we go out and get my mom's presents and brennan and i both get to pick an early present. i'm sure it started as my dad going last minute, but i really love our little tradition.

here are some highlights from today's trip, because it was crankier than most.

• brennan and i buying my dad's present in cvs and him thinking it was "ass wipes"
• brennan buying the worst gummies ever and ending up throwing them at my dad's car from across the wal mart parking lot.
• my dad asking brennan to get me a "super buffet" or "matress warehouse" gift card and brennan going into both places to ask if they did gift cards then walking right out.
• telling the boys that jayda thinks hall & oates are nerdy. brennan getting offended. my dad explaining what nerd means. ("in my day, a nerd was someone who farted in the bathtub and ate the bubbles")
• my dad using the word "unfurl" to tell my brother to unfold a poster. brennan making fun of him. 20 minutes later my dad gets mad at brennan and this conversation occured:
  dad- i'm about to unfurl something
  brennan- if you fart, i'm outta here
• trying to pick out a new santa for my mom's collection, each involving an animal. calling her to say, "ok mom, a donkey, an elephant, a sheep, and a squirrel walk into a bar. which one do you sit beside?". she hung up on us. we chose the santa riding a donkey. it's nicer than it sounds.

i love my boys.
merry christmas, everyone.

(c)luvin home.

i am seriously in love with carlisle. everything about it feels like home. there hasn't been a moment that i haven't been happy since i've been home. a list of things that have happened:

1. i wore my snuggie out in public, meaning to tyler's hockey game.

2. snowed a lot. very pretty.

3. had a drunken dance party with my parents and their friends. so much fun.

4. had a 717 gift exchange party with my BFFs.

5. got lunch with todd, jayda, and jack. then went to the cutest used book store.

6. went sledding/impromptu snowball fighting at 10:30 at night with some long lost friends. fell in love with sledding at night.

7. went to wing night with BFFs. embarrassed myself in front of yet another waiter.

"how do you like the cake?"

"i like it! it has raspberry in it and i'm happy with that!"

8. played my favorite game, loaded questions, with my favorite people.

seriously in love with the 717. seriously in love with home. seriously in love with christmas break.