Because Olivia Says It's Been Awhile Since I've Blogged

Last night, as I was watching my team get defeated in the Holiday Bowl, my friend Olivia asked why I hadn't blogged in a while.  It's only been little more than a week, but I suppose, for most people, the last week of the year is pretty eventful, and therefore, blogworthy.  So, Olivia, here is my attempt at catching up:

The day after my kidney stones showed up was the last day of school before Winter Break.  I contemplated whether or not to just take the day off, but I ultimately decided against it.  I wanted to be there to wish my students a happy holiday, to thank them in person for the gifts they brought, and to let them know that I was OK.  Also, my co-worker Steph had the idea for all of us to bring a food to share that our family traditionally eats at Christmas.

So, although I was in a little bit of pain, I woke up early to make monkey bread.  It was the first time I made it by myself, but I'm told it turned out to be pretty good.

Although everything looked really good, I was feeling nauseous, so I didn't eat lunch that day.  Maybe next year.

On Thursday, I finished some last-minute shopping and then headed for my hometown.  My family went out for dinner at a new Mexican restaurant in town.

I would like to insert that one of my most favorite parts about going home is that I eat for free.  Food, in my opinion, always tastes better when you don't have to cook it yourself or pay somebody else to cook it for you.

For the rest of my stay at home, I basically did nothing.  I was still not feeling up-to-par, and my overly concerned mother waited on me hand and foot.  While I realize that I am an adult and completely capable of taking care of myself, it was nice to be pampered a bit.  And I think my mom secretly enjoyed it.

On Christmas Eve, I got myself out of the recliner and ready for church.  Afterwards, my mom prepared a nice steak dinner for my immediate family plus my aunt and my cousin, Chloe.  I, of course, don't eat steak, so it was chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese for me.  We opened presents with Chloe and my aunt, watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and went to bed.

On Christmas morning, we opened our Santa presents with my immediate family.  Among my favorite gifts of the day were:

An electric mattress pad

A heated throw blanket

a stand-up mixer

and a new camera.

Santa was good to me this year, as he always is.

As much as I love getting presents, I enjoy giving them much more.  This year, I gave my mom an iPod nano, an iHome, and an iTunes gift card, which she loved.  My mom isn't exactly technologically proficient, so it took some time to get her to figure out how to use everything.  I got my dad one of those bracelets that claims to make your body more balanced (he wanted one), a framed picture of Memorial Stadium, and earwarmers.  I got my brother a bunch of clothes that he wanted.  I spent way too much, as usual, but I really like gift-giving.

We then went to my grandma's house to have Christmas with my mom's side of the family.  We ate a big lunch and then opened presents.  My grandma has a cat, which I am allergic to, and the medicine I took was not non-drowsy.  So, after opening presents, I laid down in the recliner and fell asleep for a few hours.  When I got back to my house, I slept for several more.

This soon became the theme of my break.  All I did for the remainder of my time at home was sleep, play solitaire, nap, eat, and watch football.  And it was kind of nice.

On Wednesday, with speculations of a snow storm to come, I headed back to Lincoln.  It took me the rest of the day to get caught up on my recorded television shows take down my Christmas decorations and put away all of my new things.

On Thursday, I drug myself out of bed so that I could go to school and get some work done.  When I left for work, it was 60 degrees outside, which is unheard of for this time of year in Nebraska.  When I left school three hours later, it was  30 degrees, and we were in a winter storm warning.

When I got home, I made these:

This picture and this recipe came from this blog, which I adore almost as much as I adore these cupcakes.  I have taken them to work a few times, and they went over famously.  My co-worker, Steph, even called them "life-changing."  So, I thought I'd make them to take to Ashley and Jeremy's house while we watched the game.

The game during which Olivia told me that I needed to blog.

So, Olivia (and the rest of blogworld), that is what I have been up to as of late.