chew & savor, but most importantly...swallow

I'm all about savoring the moment.
Sometimes this feeling, however, can be greatly inhibiting. Last night as i lay in bed watching the lights on my christmas tree dance back and forth, i realized that it would be the last christmas eve i would spend as a "child". Next year will be my first Christmas as a married woman.

A huge part of me was excited at the thought of sharing such a hallowed holiday with the love of my life, but at the same time the idea that this Christmas was the end of something, caused an immediate rush of pressure to enjoy.

I lay there almost in a panic, thinking of how important it was that e-v-e-r-y m-o-m-e-n-t of this Christmas eve and Christmas MUST be enjoyed to it's FULLEST extent...but...how?

I tried at first to think of every Christmas from my childhood and play it back in my head like a movie montage or series finale but all i could think about was whether or not the lights on my Christmas tree were bothering my sister who was sleeping beside me. then i moved to forcing profound thoughts into my head while attempting to form this great life lesson that could mark my passage into adulthood but then i started wondering if my Christmas tree lights were bothering my sister who was sleeping beside me.

this was a beautiful Christmas. although the gifts weren't as exciting this year and i even have to take a few back i realized something in trying so hard to make it the "perfect" Christmas...
i learned that when i try so hard to savor the moment i often ruin the moment entirely. it's like chewing on a piece of meat for too long-it tastes good at first but eventually it gets soggy and limp and altogether gross (graphic, i know but it works).

that's what i started doing with Christmas. i was forcing the enjoyment and fun and importance of this particular one in my head so much that i got stressed out over it being the perfect memory. i didn't even know what i needed to make it perfect, just something magical like birds singing carols outside my window or every gift being made of gold...i don't know...i just wanted to enjoy it so badly that i chewed it over and over and over again squeezing every last flavor of the season out until it was limp and altogether gross. but that's no way to enjoy the holiday. i'm incredibly blessed and even though this Christmas didn't contain a chorus of heavenly hosts belting the benediction to my childhood, it was a beautiful time of enjoying family and friends.

so this Christmas i learned to let go, to savor then swallow and as i do, let the sweet aftertaste of my blessed childhood remain in my mind for years to come.

Nog: defined

Merry Christmas!
Among the many things that fill my head this time of year (i.e.-presents, family, love, peace, joy, yada, yada, yada...) eggnog, is defnitely high on the list.
I'm amazed at how i've never questioned this creamy, delicious drink before but this year i stopped to think about the name.

Eggnog?
What is that? nog? egg? an egg's nog? if an egg had a nog it's not something i'd curl up on the couch and sip.

so i decided to do some research...
turns out the british word for beer (what eggnog was originally made with) was "nog" or "noggin". another possible explaination is the fact that colonists in America referred to thick drinks as "grog"-thus eggnog: egg+grog.
you can choose which origin you'd like to throw out at parties, i'm just satisfied in knowing a nog isn't something that falls off an egg and is thrown in a drink at Christmas time.

speaking of parties...if you find your self at one with everyone's glasses of eggnog held high in the air, recite this quote and you'll have pleasure to spare :-)
"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." H.W.Mabie
(say it in an english accent and you'll have the whole room wrapped around your little finger)

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

(all the facts about eggnog were found on about.com...although making something up and passing it off as facts did cross my mind)

verbal h'orderves

usually i go into posts with a plan, a writing blueprint if you will, but this one is off the cuff...

well it seems that i've had so many post ideas since i started writing this that i'm going to have to refine them and come back.
so consider this little "ditty" (haha funny word, say it out loud-go on say it, you'll laugh) just something to wet your proverbial appetite :-)

later!

Finally Finals

It's finals time, which means it's truly beginning to look a lot like Christmas! (at least that's what Johnny Mathis is currently crooning)

I do love this time of year. Not at all because it involves endlessly pouring over books and straining your brain to remember every minut detail the teacher has stressed over the past four months, but because you automatically have the pity of everyone who knows how stressful finals time can be!

I do play the "i've got finals" card more then i should and it's simply because i love the pity look i get in return when i do.

haha evil, i know.
i will really miss it when i graduate...until then, i've got to study!!

Thanks&Giving

Autumn is a yummy word.
The very essence of it is warm and brown and makes you want to curl up with a blanket and watch the leaves perform their yearly glorification.

My favorite thing about fall are the cloudy days. Not just because i love cloudy days, but because the clouds provide the perfect backdrop on which the trees paint their most magnificent colors yet.
Fall is the best because it holds the promise of the holidays, it's like the prelude to a book you know is going to be the best you've ever read, or the opening credits to a movie you've been greatly anticipating.
Everything about the season is so inviting.
And that's why it's my favorite.
Last Thursday as i walked around campus i took pictures of trees until i could literally no longer feel my finger from the cold, it was awesome :-)

I love being out there and getting to watch as the trees weave their gold and yellow quilts on the ground.

Maybe my enamored state is due to the fact that this is only the third time in my life where i've lived in a place that even has a true fall,
regardless
i'm truly thankful for a Creator who has such a vivid imagination and loving, creative hands wih which to create such a spectacular picture.

the spiciest spice of them all

so you're reading this-good! that's a start.
you're probably here because you value my opinion so greatly that you're waiting to make your next life move before you hear what i have to say!
no?
ok, then you're probably here because you find me so fascinating that you can't wait to delve into my inner most thoughts...
still no?
would you believe...you should be doing homework or studying which translates to your sudden fascination with everything but school work?
yeah, that's probably about right.
either way you shake it, though, your here and i'm glad.
now how to keep you here...
well i've decided to flavor this blog with some spicy controversy-and by controversy i mean things that i believe in, that could be considered controversial....feel free to lash out at me if you feel the need...
ok five things-here we go-
5 britney spears, amy grant, reba, jennifer lopez-can't sing
4 facebook is too complicated, and a waist of time-myspace is better.
3. cats rule.
2. chocolate could be done away with
1. i don't think a woman should ever be president-whether they ride in on their husband coat-tails or not, females are too emotional to run the free world.

there you have it, some light and airy controversy to get your brain going and a two minute break from whatever it is you're supposed to be doing-how could you ask for more?
be sure to keep reading-this blog and books in general :-)

the naked truth

The qualities of a truly good quote, in my opinion, are that it has to make me laugh and think at the same time. The bevy of words bellow did just that...

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains a half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor. - Neil Gaiman

Oh the pressure of having a good blog title!

Blog is a baby word. I know this because you still have people above the age of 40 asking, "what's a blog?" everytime the word is mentioned. It is, however, quickly growing in age and popularity and soon the question asked instead will be "you don't blog?" followed by the what's-your-problem? face.
Although i do enjoy blogging and have since the words conception, i don't revel in delight in the words growing popularity because the more people blog, the more voices there are, making it all the more difficult to understand anyone as we shout over each other to be heard.

What is it about blogging that people find so alluring? Maybe it's like Wikipedia-nothing on there can be sited as fact yet we still find ourselves quoting it as if it were scripture. All it takes is someone deciding to give a thought some page space.

Although blogs may not always give us facts or definitions, they do give us insight into other peoples lives allowing us to momentarily escape our own. They're like 30 second books, or a two minute pass to look through someone's window without being considered a creep.
I love blogging because it's an open venue to say and write whatever i please. No deadlines, no restraints, no grammar rules (even though i'll still follow them religiously), just me, the cursor, and you (the non-creep peering through my window).

So the next time a baby boomer asks you "what's a blog?" you can proudly say it's whatever i want it to be and be sure to read elizabeth's at elizabethwithane.blogspot.com :-)

Until next time....

right out of the shoot and off the bat

on you mark....
i've been blogging for four years now on various teen-fueled sites such as xanga and myspace and now that i'm rapidly nearing 24 i figured i should blog a little more seriously

get set....
so this is my first of many blogs where i will...well i really have no idea at the moment what my writing theme will be but that's the greatest thing about blogs-you don't have to have one

go!
enjoy :)