Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like.......Finals

I am usually the biggest fan of Christmas there is.

By this time of the year, I am usually listening to holiday tunes 24/7, baking gingerbread men galore, have visited and gotten my picture taken with Santa, drinking hot chocolate every night, built a glorious snowman, gone sledding, and have already finished and wrapped all of my christmas shopping.

This year, however, is different.

I feel like a sick combination of Ebezener Scrooge and the Grinch.

I have absolutely no Christmas spirit.

I can seriously sympathize with Cindy Lou Who singing "Where Are You Christmas?"

I don't know why, but I honestly feel like Christmas is not happening this year.

Well....maybe I do know why.

Maybe it is because I am getting married in four days, and I have been so preoccupied with the wedding that Christmas has not even appeared on my radar.

Maybe it is because, due to the fact that we sent out 700+ wedding invitations, the Craig family is definitely not doing a Christmas card this year.

Maybe it is because I will be on my honeymoon for Christmas, so I will not be there for all of the usual Christmas traditions.

Maybe it is because I had the grade papers this year instead of decorate the Christmas tree...boo

Maybe it is because for the first time in 15 years that I don't have a chocolate advent calendar....double boo

Or maybe it is just because I have to survive finals before the most wonderful day of the year can arrive/

Regardless of the reason, I am no where near ready for Christmas.

I have not bought a SINGLE present yet and I have absolutely no idea when I will find time to.

(I should probably finish purchasing wedding presents first anyways)

Hopefully, like Scrooge, I will be visited by three ghosts who will bring back my Christmas spirit and help me check off everything on my Christmas to do list. 

But until then....

Bah Humbug

Weekend Assignment #2

American Heritage is one of the most dreaded classes at BYU, but I absolutely loved it.

I loved it so much in fact that I decided to become an American Heritage TA.

Being a TA involves dealing with herds of freshman on a weekly basis.

Freshman are an interesting species.

I have a few students who could not care less about anything and then I have a few who are the most hyper students you can imagine. 

They are so worried about their grade that they email me multiple times a week, come to each and every one of my office hours, study endlessly for the weekly quizzes, and are constantly checking their grade on blackboard.

As you can imagine, with the notoriously difficult American Heritage final these students are stressed out of their minds.

When we received the lovely assignment this weekend to find someone more stressed than we are (quite a feat considering in the next two weeks I have to grade a massive stack of papers, do a handful of projects, take five finals, do my christmas shopping, oh and not to mention finish planning the wedding and get married) and do something nice for them,

I immediately thought of my distraught American Heritage students.

When considering what I could do for my poor kids, I thought of what I like when I am stressed.........

chocolate.

So for my last lab I taught this week I brought a huge batch of my famously delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Because a little sugar makes every problem less stressful, right??

My students thought so.

They absolutely loved the cookies and forgot about their stress for a moment.

Plus, this selfless act of service will hopefully boost my teacher evaluations too :)

The "Blizzard of the Year"

On Tuesday Utah went into panic mode.

Schools were shutting down, roads were closing, and flights were cancelled.

BYU even shut down campus half a day earlier-something that never happens.

From the emergency news broadcasts, you would think that it was the end of the world.

Officials were urging Utahns to get inside quick and to stay inside.

Emergency preparedness specialists everywhere were pulling out their 72-hour kits.

What was going on you ask?

"THE STORM OF THE CENTURY!!!"

The storm about to hit Provo was the supposed to be "unlike anything we have seen in years"- direct quote from university communications.

After having a lecture cancelled on Tuesday I hurried home, prepared to get snowed in and hibernate for the next several days with a cup of hot cocoa. 

My fiance and I had plans to hang out that night, but his parents told him not to even think about making the drive out to Orem in fear that his car would not make it up my street and that he would crash and die before we were sealed for time and all eternity.

(That had obviously had good intentions)

We were sad that we were not going to be able to see each other that day, but obviously the freakish blizzard called for some caution. 

What was the actual result of the storm of the century?

Maybe a 1/2 inch of snow....maybe.

By the way people were reacting, you would think that it had never snowed in Utah before. 

It snows every year people- a whole lot more than this.

Every teenager in Utah has figured out how to drive in the snow before they even graduate from high school. 

Luckily, my fiance realized this before the night was over and came to visit me.

Our night was salvaged, regardless of the most hyped up weather reports of the century.

The reaction to the fact that it was going to snow was what was "unlike anything we have seen in years".

Haha. The End.

Thanksgiving Break

It is the middle of November.

The fall in the air is quickly turning into winter flurries.

You can see haggard college students,

entirely burnt out from endless midterms, research papers, and mcomm proposals,

distracting themselves during classes by checking the delta airlines website making sure their flight plans are still in order.

This can only mean one thing.

Thanksgiving break is quickly approaching. 

Thanksgiving is a funny little break from BYU students.

It allows out-of-town students to visit their distant families, and gives local students like me a break from making the 15-20 minute journey to campus every day. 

It gives the boys a chance to take out their pent up aggression during a turkey bowl and the girls a chance to hone their homemaking skills by helping their mothers with the feast.

While this vacation is a nice break, it cannot even compare to the upcoming Christmas break.

This is because while we are given a few days of classes off, there is still the lurking stress left in our minds of all the things we need to get done before the semester ends in three weeks.

We feel guilty about lounging around on the couch, when we know we should probably be studying for finals, working on final projects, or in my case, working on assembling 750 wedding invitations.

Our overwhelming to-do list in the back of our heads keeps us from being totally able to appreciate this holiday of gratitude.

Christmas break on the other hand is a completely different story.

A student has now checked off everything on that notorious to-do list and has nothing to do but decorate gingerbread houses, catch up with family, go christmas caroling, go sledding, and drink hot chocolate.

Talk about bliss.

Regardless of the fact that Thanksgiving break is significantly inferior to Christmas break, it is still an important holiday. It is the first real break we get from fall semester, and should be honored.

It is because of its importance that I suggest we get the entire week off, not just Wednesday through Friday.

The Monday and Tuesday of that week are pointless anyways, since a majority of students fly home the weekend despite the two days of classes, a large share of classes are cancelled, and the students who do show up fro scheduled classes are focused on anything but the professor's powerpoint.

The Joys of Registering...

Getting married really is a good business.

Its a win-win situation. 

You get ridiculous amounts of love and ridiculous amounts of free stuff.

Fantastic.

It's like Christmas, only better.

Another fun aspect of getting all this free stuff is that you get to pick out most of it.

AKA you register.

I have come to realize though over the last few weeks after registering at three different locations,  that registering is a very different experience for men and women.
This came to as a surprise for me.
Registering was something I had always looked forward to and I was quite shocked to realize that my fiance did not quite feel the same way.

You see, women view registering as a magical thing.
You get to wander around a wonderland of things you never knew you needed and it is possible for you to pick them all!
With every item your excitement grows,as does the idea of all the memories you will soon be creating.
You think of the meals you will be cooking for your hubby as you register for your non-stick pans, of the fabulous dinner parties you will be throwing with your brand new bone china, and of the beautiful bouquets your husband will bring you to fill this gorgeous crystal vase.
As you can imagine, registering for future brides is basically the best thing that has happened to you since getting a sparkly new ring on your left hand.

For men on the other hand, registering is somewhat of a painful experience.
It is something that you can't get out of because your fiance insists that she "wants you to be involved" and "wants to experience this together."
But despite what she may say, you both know that your opinion means next to nothing in this process.
She is going to pick out what she wants, and it is your job to agree with everything she says and not question why she needs all the kitchen utensils to be color coordinated.
Registering does have a few things going for it-
like the registering laser gun you can run around the store and pretend to be James Bond with, the steak knives, and the free cookies-but all in all it is draining experience.
It means hours and hours of shopping and you don't even get to bring anything home with you.

Men and women really are two very different breeds.
Register for at least an hour and this will become clear.
Tips for future brides: Before you go to register, pack snacks in your purse.
They will give your fiancee a desperately needed energy boost :)

Love Me Some Rio

This Tuesday was a very special day.

Election Day.

The first Tuesday in November, which is always full of crisp air, autumn leaves, and angry political debates.

For my family, election day also means that mom will be working all day at the polls.

AKA Dad is in charge of dinner.

(Yes I am living at home to save money before the wedding)

My Dad asked me what he should pick up for dinner and without having to think about it, I told him, “Café Rio!”

If you ever ask me what I want to eat there is a 95& chance I will say Café Rio.

I crave it ALL the time.

Anyways, my dad agreed and went off to pick up our dinner while I stayed home and graded my huge stack of American Heritage Papers.

About 30 minutes later I heard the garage door open and raced down the stairs to devour my beloved rio chicken salad.

To my dismay, I saw that my dad was carrying a Costa Vida bag,

My Dad saw the look of horror in my face and asked me what was wrong.

I told him he went to Costa Vida, not Café Rio.

The next words that came out of his both were absolutely blasphemous.

Children be warned, the following statement may be disturbing.

My own father said, “Who cares? They are the exact same thing!”

My father is a very wise man, but I must say that on this account his was abysmally wrong.

Café Rio and Costa Vida are not the same thing.

They may have the concept, but they are totally and completely different.

Different flavors, different service, different quality, different everything.

Café Rio has better flavors, better dressing, you get more for your money, and the people are way nicer.

It just all around superior in everyway.

I mean they melt cheese on the tortilla of your salad…what more could you ask for?

As hard as they may try, no one will ever be able to beat the original.

Anyways, all fresh-mex places are not created equal and it is a huge pet peeve of mine when people claim that they are.

Done rambling.

I think I am gonna go get me some Rio J

I can already taste the chicken salad with cilantro dressing.

Halloween Time

Halloween is upon us.

The freakish holiday that makes no logical sense.

I am sure it has roots in some grand historical tradition, but I have no clue what.

But regardless of its background, or lack thereof, Halloween is here in full force.

It is amazing how much this holiday changes for you over time.

For most holidays, it seems that traditions stay relatively the same.

For example, no matter how old you are on Thanksgiving you are going to eat turkey.

On St. Patrick's Day you will wear green.

Come Christmas day, you will open up presents.

However, depending on your age your Halloween activities will change drastically

For babies and young children this holiday can be a bit dramatic.

You are dressed up in some constricting, uncomfortable costume because your parents think it is sweet/precious/funny/adorable.

You are then dragged around town in the freezing weather for no other apparent reason than your parents want to show you off to their neighbors.

You don't even recognize your own mother and all the weird noises are scary.

You are not yet capable of eating hard candy without choking, so there really is no pay off  here.

.

In elementary school, this holiday is all about the costume. 

You decide what you want to be months before hand and pester your mother for weeks to purchase/buy your perfect costume.

The worst case scenario on Halloween is that it will snow and your mom will make you wear a big coat that will completely cover up your amazing costume

Halloween costumes are the talk of recess and you make sure that no one else is going to copy your brilliant idea and look like your twin during the annual Halloween parade.

Next to costumes in importance is the candy. 

Oh the candy.

A simple bag will not be sufficient to contain all of your trick or treat treasures.

Nope, you have to revert to the pillowcase.

You trick or treat with your parents (embarrassing) or if you are lucky enough with a group of friends.

After you finish up knocking on all the doors within walking distance, you go home, drink some hot apple cider, and proceed to make yourself sick by consuming copious amounts of candy.

In high school, the Halloween dynamic shifts once again.

Costumes begin to get sluttier. (Think of the Mean Girls quote of Halloween being an excuse for girls to wear lingerie in public)

Any trick or treating on your part is likely to receive a rolling of the eyes by any of your neighbors.

So instead you spend the spookiest night of the year at some Halloween party with friends,

likely to end with a scary movie and cuddling with new love interests.

In college, Halloween becomes all about the dance party.

There are endless places around town to get your groove on  and bump and grind against masked strangers.

Costumes have much less thought put into them, and are generally thrown together the day/morning before.

Costumes become even more risque. 

Candy is all but forgotten at this stage.

Newlywed Halloween.

Couples try to come up with some creative matching costume to impress all of their other couple friends with.

They will likely attend some sort of couple Halloween party,

where everyone will participate in fun games and activities, with pumpkin carving and pumpkin cookies likely, and most importantly be ridiculously in love and adorable. 

Middle Aged Halloween.

You throw on some scrubs and call yourself a doctor if you bother to come up with a costume at all.

You take your kids trick-or-treating for a few hours or stay home to pass out the goodies.

Mothers get stressed out about sewing the perfect costume for their kids and dads get stressed out about the expensive pressure from the Jonses to provide the neighborhood kids with king-sized candy bars.

It largely is just a nuisance of a holiday.

Elderly Halloween.

What are all these crazy kids wearing?

Back in my day, fashion was much more dignified.