December 30

December 28

We saw lots and lots and lots of cars in the ditch on the way home from Nebraska.

December 27

Things you might see in Nebraska: GIANT cases of beer.

December 26

I officially title this post: "Things you see on the way to Nebraska in gas stations."

December 25

We spent the day today driving on treacherous roads to Nebraska for my grandma's memorial service. The roads were ice-covered, snow-packed and had numerous drifts from the gusty winds. It was a very, very long drive, but we made it to our hotel safely; and my brother's flight made it in just fine.

Merry Christmas.

December 24

This past Sunday, we went to go visit my in-laws for their family Christmas and we also stopped by to see our favorite baby again to drop off her Christmas teddy bear. Here's DH, Amery and the bear. Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

December 23

I always loved the big bouncy ball bin at the store. Alliteration.

December 22

Salad.

December 20

We got a new vaccum. It is hot pink, and it was only $35. It was an impulse purchase (since we have hardwood floors), but it works great, and now we don't have to go outside and shake out our rugs in the winter.

December 19

My folks came to town today to celebrate my hubby's birthday. We had lunch and then went to see Avatar 3D. It was a fun flick, but we had to sit in the front row because we were late from lunch. I do NOT recommend to anyone watching a 3D movie from the front row of a theater. Here's mom and I in our 3D glasses.

December 18

Tonight after work I went and watched DH's indoor soccer team play in the season finals. They made it to the championship game and came in second place in the league. Here's a cell phone video of them goofing around between their three games tonight. The one with the ball the most is DH. :)

December 17

Yesterday was a tough day for me.  My maternal grandmother, Edith, passed away.  She was a beautiful, fun and kind woman who I always loved to visit.  As children, not only would she have games for us to play, but she would play them with us.  She always had a little gift or toy for me everytime I saw her.  I love her very much, and will now celebrate her life when I am celebrating my husband's birthday every year.  Love you, Grandma.

Grandma holding me as a newborn back in the '70's, you know, before digital cameras.

At Grandma's kitchen table.

A recent photo from the last year captured on Skype.  That's her sister in the background and my uncle.

Me and Grandma.

My grandpa, grandma and me.  The lady in the back right is my great-grandmother who lived until she was in her late 90s.

Grandma at her kitchen sink within the last year.

Me, my mom, grandma and my aunt.

My maternal grandma, me and my paternal grandma in 1992.

Grandma, me, Great-grandma Ziggy and Mom.  Let's just ignore that bad haircut and tinted glasses and think about how amazing it is to see four generations of women together.

Another generational photo, circa 1988.

Grandma helping me knead some dough.

At my third birthday.

I love my grandma in this purple dress at my uncle's wedding (and my mom's looking pretty cute there too in the brown)

She looks beautiful in this photograph.

December 16

Happy birthday to my dear husband, aka DH!!  The poor guy had two finals today and has a cumulative chem final tomorrow.  I got these cool candles with flames that were supposed to burn different colors, but I was a little disappointed at the variety of colors...of course, I didn't use the whole box, so who knows what else was lurking in there.  Happy birthday, baby!

December 15

I found this little message from Dove tonight to be inspiring as I'm studying for my last final exam of the semester.  I'm having some major end-of-semester burnout, and I'm ready for it to be finished.

And I thought this video was beautiful and relaxing for anyone else who is a little over-stressed right now.

December 14

Help!!!  I sloshed hot wax all over my favorite fleece.  Anyone have any ideas as to how to get it out??  I haven't googled it yet because I've been cramming for finals all morning.  I'm thinking hot oil maybe to dissolve it and then some sort of emulsifier to get the oil off????  Sigh.  Any suggestions are welcome.  It's pretty much already ruined anyway.

December 13

Ah, hey, look, my landlady finally had the kid come and shovel her sidewalks....4 days after the snow and after everyone has trampled it down into a three-inch pack of ice.  Awesome.  Please note my sarcasm.

December 12

Due to the recent blizzard, I was forced to pull out my warmest winter coat.  I found this pair of gloves in the pocket....they're a little lacking.

I found this video on another blog and thought I'd try sharing it.  We'll see if it works....my first attempt at embedding video.  The little pup is so cute, but I really, really want him to flip over!

And just in case anyone was worried....

December 10

Thought the blog needed some color.  This is my little collection of goodies that I see while sitting at my desk studying nearly every day.  Done with lecture for the year.....just a few tough exams next week and then I get a break!

December 9

Well, I can hardly believe it, but U of I cancelled all of their classes today.  There's something exciting about a snow day, a feeling that was probably engrained in me as a wee child growing up in the Midwest.

Some pretty snow-covered berries.

DH shoveling our sidewalk and stairs.

And me enjoying the weather.  It was a bit cold when I first sat down, as you can tell from the expression on my face.

My snow angel.

December 8

We blew a fuse in our house for the first time, literally.  No circuit breaker, just a bunch of fuses in multiple fuse boxes.  Good thing Wal-Mart had a bunch of extras ready for us to purchase or I wouldn't have been able to update my blog and cook my panini. 

December 7

First snow of December today!

December 6

Everytime I go into a Borders bookstore, I am unable to not pick up a bargain book about the human body.  I'm not sure at what point my ever-growing collection makes me a little creepy.  But, seriously, how cool are these pictures??  (Edit: to include microscope photos from inside book)

December 4

We went out with some friends to celebrate a birthday and had this delicious sushi tonight.  I highly recommend the Key Lime martini at Formosa. 

December 3

DH and I often watch the Food Network.  We recently saw on a show called "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" a clip about an Elvis panini.  So, of course, we had to try it for dinner. 

Step 1:  Sourdough bread and peanut butter.

Step 2:  Cheese (we used Munster)

Step 3:  Bacon and bananas

Step 4:  Parsley

Step 5:  Cook

Step 6:  Eat.

The first half of the sandwhich was pretty good....but I suppose anything with bacon is pretty tasty anyway.  By the time I got to the second half of the sandwich, it was all just a little too much.  It was fun to try, though.  Once.