On the first day of Christmas, December gave to me...

(Both the good and the bad:)

1) A full tank of gas for only $22. I know. It's like a Christmas miracle.

2) A $20 check from what I thought was a scam, but ended up being not so much a scam, and instead more like $20 in my bank account.

3) The inability to park in our parking spots because those darn construction guys are blocking off our driveway.

4) Sylar killing off Elle in Heroes. Seeing as how I originally started watching Heroes because Kristen Bell was going to be in it, and the only reason I still tolerate it is to see Kristen Bell, I will probably stop watching Heroes now. If that show gets a season four I'll be amazed. Thanks a lot, Sylar.

Update:

The first annual Thanksgiving Overnighter and Subsequent Black Friday of Awesomeness is so far going splendidly. It's 1:40am, and energy is still high. We've played two rounds of The Office trivia, and we're back to the second set for Rock Band. Ryan and I are pouring through the Thursday paper, making our lists and checking them twice. Soon we'll be forming our plan of attack for 4am. So far it looks like Old Navy and the free MP3 player are going to win the race for first store.

It's all so exciting!

Thanksgiving 2008

Just some things I'm thankful for currently:

~Down blankets

~Dennison's hot and chunky chili

~Ultimate frisbee on Thursday nights

~A job that challenges me in a field that I actually want to get into

~A holiday dinner with the family that went off perfectly (my family must be growing up!)

~Extra cash just in time for holiday shopping

~Old roommates who just today got engaged and are super excited... and due over here any minute now to tell the story

~A rad little sister that likes to hang out with me

~Awesome friends willing to be guinea pigs for the first annual Thanksgiving Overnighter and Subsequent Black Friday of Awesomeness.

~Stormy days that offer so much inspiration

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Does Rock Band count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Climbed a mountain
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (on Heroes?)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

November 22, In which we scavenger hunt it up at the mall

There was a scavenger hunt to commemorate Jared's 25th birthday. Three teams of four were set loose in Grossmont Center, armed with cell phones, cameras, and a couple dollars each, in the hopes of being the first team back to Shakey's with everything on the list. 

It was awesome. Except Jared is a dirty cheater. And that's all I'll say on the matter. 

Team Jordan: Girl Jordan, Liz, Dan Blair, Emo, and Boy Jordan

The girls at Shakey's

The security guards at Target were great at playing along with the instructions to, "Get an on-duty Target security guard to sign your bicep."

This guy was great for telling us what Jared's team ordered for the task, "Buy Jared's favorite Grossmont Center dessert."

A-G-O

"Dress up in crazy clothes."

"Challenge a stranger to a race." After Boy Jordan beat this little girl, he pumped his fists into the air, and when we questioned why he didn't let her win, his response was, "I can't let a girl beat me!"

"Pose with a manequin."

"Build a pyramid in a grassy knoll."

Good times with those camp people, I tell you. Good times.

Twilight the Movie was almost as bad as Twilight the Fourth Book.

I took Britt on a sister date today to see Twilight, my first time watching, her second.

And, man alive, did they ruin that book. I understand that for movies based on 300+ page books, they have to strip some things out, but generally, they're supposed to leave the important things... such as, oh, off the top of my head, character motivation. Otherwise you're just left with a stupid stock character who falls in love with a creepy vampire for no reason whatsover, and a 100 year old vampire who suddenly has made it his eternal life's mission to protect this human girl... for no reason whatsoever.

You've got to leave in the important details, people. I can't imagine that movie making any sense whatsoever to anyone who hasn't read the book. One of the hardest things about transferring a book to movie is getting across the characters' thoughts through what they're doing, as opposed to reading them straight on the page, but it was like they didn't even try to get in the characters' heads.

Things like this make me sad.

Those Spring Awakening kids are so great...

We didn't get any pictures, despite the fact that I smuggled in, not one, but two cameras into that theater, but we ended up with some fun memorabilia anyway:

I think my favorite part is Sarah Hunt laughing in the background at Chase Davidson's awkwardness. I had to cut off the first thirty seconds of him trying to pull Blake Bashoff into the frame with him and asking, "What should I say?" The kid can perform on a Broadway stage every night, but put a camera in front of him and he's suddenly shy. Go figure.