Christmas Pictures

Joyeux Noel!

Ever since I was a little girl, I hated for Christmas to be over. There was something sad about having unwrapped all the presents and taken the last picture in front of the Christmas tree. I think that at 24 I'm past crying about it, but I do still feel a little sad.

There is something special about Christmas time. I love the decorations and sparkling things and having nice greetings to say to each other. I love all the yummy food and the excuse to have parties and people over.

I know, I know, it comes quicker every year. But I hope everyone has had a chance to enjoy Christmas this year with your family and/or friends.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve Eve

Yesterday I drove home just in time to join my cousins, Jenny and Jeremy, and Charles in playing Christmas Carols. It had been a little while since I played the violin, so I'm not sure how much beauty I added, but it was fun! I love the sound of stringed instraments together.

Today my mom and I baked things and got ready for the weekend. Tonight I am going to Heather's new house for dinner and a sleepover. It should be fun. I can't remember the last time we've had a real sleepover! I might have had to ask permission..... :)

I hope everyone is having a good time in your respective homes. One thing I appreciate about the holidays as I get older is just the time spent with friends and family. It's nice to have an excuse to get together, bake good food, and enjoy each others company.

A moment of Silence for Tennessee Christian

Today the news was finally announced. Tennessee Christian is being sold to HCA. The transaction should take place on Febuary 1 pending state approval.

So, I guess I have an end date on this rotation. I'm still not sure what my next job will be. But at least I have a time frame for this rotation.

It's a sad moment for Adventist Healthcare. Tennessee Christian is 100 years old and many Adventist have spend time here for various reasons: the nursing school, the school of anesthesia, working at the hospital, living in the community... My grandparents met here many years ago.

However, I think that given the circumstances, it is the best thing for the hospital and the community. It will be an interesting transition from a not-for-profit faith-based hospital to become a for-profit hospital.

For more information visit http://www.ahss.org/newsdisplay.asp?ID=6053

Ironic

Have you ever noticed that often the person that you love the most can also hurt and frustrate you the most? It's like an all access pass to your emotions, inspiring both excited and happy ones as well as deeply saddening and maddening ones. Funny how that works.

Most of you know that I am a big fan of the self-help book. I love reading books like "The Five Love Languages" and taking different personality assessments. It's interesting to me to understand how I am and how other people are that are different from me.

I believe that any marriage/relationship can benefit from reading a good book on the subject of relationships each year; however, I'm coming to the conclusion that it's %^$* hard to really love someone and make things work.

I used to be quite idealistic about love and marriage. And I know I still am to a degree. But just because some one is your "soulmate" doesn't mean you don't want to scream at them once in awhile or that you are always going to connect in a positive way.

I personally think that this sucks. I'm all for good feelings and not fighting and just being happy. But being emotional myself, I know that just doesn't always happen. Sometimes feelings get hurt. Sometimes people overreact. Sometimes we aren't nice to those we love.

How one deals with this is still a bit gray to me. I know there must be a better way then what I sometimes fall into. But I'm also learning that there is no perfect solution nor is there a perfect person. I guess the only thing you can do is keep trying and with God's grace, hopefully improving a bit every day.

One class down!

I just submitted my Marketing plan and now I am finished with my first MBA class! I'm quite excited about the break from homework. Now on to finishing my Christmas shopping :)

Defrosting

Yesterday it was some cold temperature resulting in frost on my car and a general cold all around. Today I'm happy to report that the high was in the 70's and it's not very cold at all :) I do love Florida in the winter time. Granted, a bit of cold is nice so that I can wear my coats and scarfs and such. But I don't need months and months of it. I rather like being able to run around in a sleeveless shirt in Februrary. Yay for Florida sunshine.

Such a great show!

Commander and Chief came on again tonight. It's such an inspiring show. Last week I went to a Leadership Retreat and one of the topics was "level 5" decision making. This is where a leader makes a decision that is difficult, and risky, but is the right decision for the good of society. For example, when the Washington Post published the Pentagon Papers, they didn't know if the Supreme Court would sanction them and cause them to be shut down. They received strong threats from the Nixon administration. But for the love of journalism, the leader made the decision to publish the papers. That's a "level 5" decision.

Mac makes these kinds of decisions in every episode. Today she choose to save a woman who was going to be stoned to death for adultary even though it had dangerous foreign policy implications.

Anyways, it's a good show if anyone has free time on Tuesday evening. :)

Snow village

Tonight I went to JoAnn's Fabrics in search of a wreath. I came a way with the beginning of a Victorian snow village for only $20! I got a cute little house, 4 sets of people, some street lamps and Christmas trees. I've always thought these little villages were cute so I'm rather excited about this addition to my Christmas collection.