oh and a really funny thing to do to your mom on christmas is to wrap up things she already owns but never uses and put them under the tree.

we got her other things too.

my family doesn’t take christmas too seriously. my grandpa receieved at least 15 jars of pickles from nancy reagan and the bush twins.

Things are pretty pretty I guess.

Had a 24 hour flu last week, and that was awful because I thought it was over with so I drove to Columbia to hang out with Maurine and do Christmas shopping. Then, I threw up in the Fusion Tea bathroom and went home instead.

Family came up for about a week and it was the most chaotic holiday ever. We had four kids under the age of four in the house, and that made a total 17 people here. It is always fun, but by the end of the days everyone is hating each other. For Christmas I got some pretty useful kitchen things like a rice cooker, and then also some pretty unuseful items like gloves (now I have three pair), an electric pencil sharpener (i don’t remember the last time i didn’t buy mechanical pencils), and a book light to clip on my books (maybe, just maybe this’ll get some use), a purple sweater (my sisters received identical ones in different colors). I also received bottles of alcohol as jokes since I just turned 21.

Yesterday my boyfriend came to visit. It had been over a week since we saw each other, but things have been so hectic that it really didn’t feel that long. We went out for Chinese buffet and sat around watching t.v. and Seinfeld all night until I fell asleep. Today was a Taco Bell loving fiesta and more Seinfeld and lovin’ and coffee etc. etc. It’s always nice. Oh, we also watched paternity tests on Maury and that’s ALWAYS a treat.

Tomorrow Maurine and I are going to give Columbia another try, and hopefully I won’t vomit up my bubble tea this time. Since things are not hectic anymore I’m suddenly super super bored, but I have plans (hopefully) everyday until it’s time to go back to Maryville.

Oh, and so on the last season of Survivor (I never watch) one of the ladies is from my “”"hometown”"” so there are signs and banners everywhere that say things like, “Welcome home Twila” and “Way to go Twila”. It’s really very classy.

A couple days ago I bought the coolest New Kids on the Block sweater that I have ever seen and it was only 50 cents.

I’ve been home for about 29 hours and am already bored, however none of the holiday stuff has started yet. Besides taking my much older sister out to shop because I am the only one who can really get her out of the house??? She talks a lot and sometimes I know that she is bringing up a topic because she wants me to tell her things about myself, but she won’t just ask me about it, and I’m not sure if it’d be any better if she did just come out and ask me things ???Question marks, however, seem to give me a lot of power.

Tomorrow I’m hanging out with Maurine in Columbia and doing the bulk of my Christmas shopping and lots of bubble tea drinkin’. I’m pretty excited and am not even dreading the cold outside walking because I’ve buffened up to the whole walking outside while it’s cold thing. It really is a triumphant achievement all because I’d rather walk over a mile to campus than buy a 90 dollar commuter parking pass. it is amazing how impressed people are with that???, and how much I feel I deserve to call people pansies when they drive half a mile to campus.

I couldn’t sleep in my own twin bed last night and I’m catching myself calling my Maryville apartment home now and this is just “”"home”"” surrounded by six pair of quotation marks. Neither place really feels like home home and I wonder when that’ll come around???

it’s christmas break, and i’m really excited to see everybody but i get bored here pretty easily too. also, i think i’m still sighing the sigh of relief that signals the end of the semester. it’s also always weird sleeping in this little bed again by myself.

the last few days have been really nice. we didn’t do much of anything but bake cookies, watch movies and tv, play super nintendo, and drink much more than usual. and i beat him at pool for the first time! the keg/christmas party last night was very unusual but a good time. i haven’t mastered the keg cup tilt and pour thing yet still, but i have mastered the running home in 10 or so degree weather at 2am (according to last night). friday night, i don’t remember the walk home from the pub but he tells me it was pretty uneventful. sometimes i miss the days of having alcohol tolerance, and i just turned 21.