Christmas loot

$$$ Cash money $$$ (to be used later on toward the purchase of a BIG ___ TV!
Chief hoodie
Illinois welcome mat for my new house (you know, when I get one)
Applebee's gift card
Red Lobster gift card
Wal-mart gift card (already used!)
VS gift card
SOCKS!!
Chief laser light thingy
ESPN ornament

Go Trent!

I just want to see if this works:

A new, ice-covered leaf

I don't even really know what that means, but I feel like today is the start of something new.

I am dating again. (Hi Aaron!) My sister and I had a fight last night, but hopefully things are ok now. I woke up with a headache this morning, but it has now subsided. I heard from my friend Jen today, and she sent me a nice, long note about goings on. It is the Christmas season, and I'm going to try really hard to focus on Emmanuel for the next two weeks until Jesus' birthday. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound...

Next week I have my first real infant photo shoot scheduled. Should be fun and nerve-wracking (how the heck do you spell that?) all at the same time. Wish me luck!

I'm mostly done with my Christmas shopping/making. I've been sewing like a crazy woman!! Next item of business is to start the holiday baking. On the schedule: almond bark covered pretzels, Christmas cookies, peppermint bark...

Today I'm going to email a former friend for the first time in at least 2 years. This is part of that "new leaf" thing I think. And two people have suggested that it might be a good time, what with the Christmas season and all. It's scary stuff since we ended on really bad terms, but what's the worst that can happen? She can ignore me?

I realize this is a really sporadic blog post. Oh well!!

Merry Christmas to everyone! - Tiny Tim

Ok, I feel guilty about my last post.

Illinois can win the Rose Bowl. It will take a near-perfect game like the tOSU game however.

Ok, I feel a little bit better. And I will not chump edit my last post.

So we're going to the Rose Bowl.

And I'm about the only person in the Illini Nation that is NOT excited about it (OK, I can think of 1 or 2 others).

I'm going to channel my inner Outkast here:
"I know you'd like to thank your #$%@ don't stank
But lean a little bit closer
See that roses really smell like boo-boo
Yeah, roses really smell like boo-boo"

Let me tell you why. First, it is Pasadena, CA and that means $$$$ *rubs thumb and two fingers together to symbolize $$ that I don't have*. Second, even if it is the freaking ROSE BOWL, we are going to lose. Everyone says "yeah, we beat tOSU at the Horseshoe, surely we can bea USC in their backyard." Right. We are facing a football powerhouse in an unfamiliar environment 2000 miles away. I hope I am proven wrong about my 2nd point, but I digress.

I'm going to work on planning a CU gamewatch party with my left-behind friends instead. We'll have a good ol' time and spend $$ on NYE that we didn't have to spend airfare, sleep in on Jan. 1 and watch us march into enemy territory at 3:30 p.m.

I don't want to be a COMPLETE pessimist here, but I don't like the look of Illinois athletics for the course of the next 2 months. I'm afraid of Arizona and Mizzou in basketball. After going to STL for wins for nearly 7 straight years (read: I didn't go to all 7), I am not prepared to lose on the 8th time. And Arizona is at the UC this weekend. They're not unbeatable, but they're good. I guess the upside of the UC is that it IS our home away from home, and MJ will PROBABLY be in the house. OHMYWORD!!

Alright... I have some work to do. And even though I'm crabby, I must sign off with a thunderous GO ILLINI!!!