Peace Out, Missouri

I don't know what I used to do when I was waiting in airports before I had a blog.

I'm leaving Missouri. And that makes me sad. I think that I should have a rule that says I don't get to come home until I've been somewhere for at least 6 months. If I come home when I'm still in the middle of the awkward stage of being new somewhere, it makes me hate it when I have to leave. I'm too comfortable in Missouri and I get to be loud and inappropriate and probably a little obnoxious and people have to still love me. Not so elsewhere.

I feel like I've written this post many times. I love to roam, I love adventure, but part of me wants to be able to hang out in my family's suite at every Mizzou basketball game this season. Part of me wants to be able to drop into my mom's house to watch satellite TV whenever I want. A lot of me wants to be there to play dolls with my niece and Star Wars with my nephew.

I want to be comfortable but I want the good that comes with taking risk. Oh, well.

Back to Arizona, back to my life.

So Close to Home

I was duped by the fabled perils of holiday travel. I got to the airport 2 hours early, something I never, repeat, never do. (Well, I never do now that I don't fly with my mom anymore.) It's unnecessary.

But people kept talking about how crazy it was going to be, so I came 2 hours early. And, people were right, it was busier than usual. But turns out the airport was prepared for that. I even checked a bag and still made it to my gate with an hour and a half to spare.

Thank goodness I have a blog that I've been neglecting and free airport wi-fi. I think I'll make a list.

Top 10 Things I'm Excited About This Christmas:

1) Nativity Challenge 2009- My brother and I have a decades old traditional nativity challenge. It consists of closing our eyes and taking turns picking nativity pieces out of the box. The person who ends up with Baby Jesus is clearly the winner.

2) Satellite TV- This is always my favorite about going home. I watch movies, ESPN, and Discovery Channel marathons (Mike Rowe- I love you).

3) Fighting with my brother- It's inevitable.

4) Christmas Eve Dinner- Another tradition including steak, shrimp from a box, pink salad, and broccoli casserole. Delicious.

5) Presents!- Come on, you're all excited for presents too. Don't pretend like you're above it.

6) Christmas Family Game Night- Always Christmas Day Eve. Very competitive, very fun.

7) Playing Charades/Scattegories/Mafia/Taboo followed by a trip to Steak n' Shake- Everyone get pumped. You know who you are.

8) Watching my grown-up family struggle to put together whatever presents my niece and nephew get- Why so many pieces?

9) Midwestern Stranger Friends- I keep telling people, it's not weird to talk to strangers. Midwesterners know this and I am excited to be back amongst them.

10) Home. Pure and simple.

I love my life and I love my adventures, but the feeling I got when I drove out of Williams reminded me that Missouri is home and there's no place like it. If only it were baseball season...

White (Pre-) Christmas

It's snowing right now. I'm listening to Sarah McLachlan's christmas album, drinking yummy tea, and generally enjoying my life.

All week long, I've been grumbling. It snowed 2 feet Monday night. I can't tell you how simultaneously beautiful and inconvenient this was. My housekeepers missed a combined total of 5 days of work between being stuck and illness. This did not work out well for me.

But this was the last group we have before the new year. And now I'm at home on a Saturday and all my work is done. And it's snowing more on top of the 2 feet. And I literally can't help but love my life.

How many of you were picturing that I live in the desert because I said I was moving to Arizona? Yeah, that's what I thought too, but I live at 7,000 feet and we have pine trees and snow. Crazy.

Here's some pictures:

This is my front yard. Narnia?

Matt, Katie, and Roxy playing in the snow Tuesday morning after we attempted to get my Blazer out, got stuck, and had to dig it out and push it all the way back to the house. We then spent an hour playing in the snow and making chocolate chip pancakes before getting picked up by our boss in the plow truck. It was an adventure to say the least.

Katie waist-deep in snow (kind of).

Roxy goes bonkers in the snow. She loves it.

And my favorite snow picture, of a couple of the dorms at camp. You can see how deep the snow was on the sides of the pathway. Isn't my work pretty?

And looking across the field at the clubroom and another dorm.

A week from today I will be home in Missouri and I'm so looking forward to it. Trust me, no matter how much you love to wander, it still feels good to go home, decorate a tree with your childhood ornaments and be surrounded by the familiar. Let's hang out if you're in MO!

Song of the Day: Wintersong by Sarah McLachlan

Frankie Says Relax

I am so relaxed, I can barely get myself to get out of bed. This is the best feeling in the world.

My life feels crazy right now. I feel like there's not enough hours in the day or energy in my body. I feel like I'm constantly moving, thinking, interacting. And, although I'm a people-person, I'm an introvert at heart. I derive my energy from spending time alone.

Hence, today.

I slept until noon, I made chocolate chip walnut waffles, I read half a book, showered, and then read the rest of it. I didn't blow-dry my hair or put on any make-up.

Now I'm sitting next to Katie and Jen at our kitchen island, blogging and getting ready for our nightly Christmas movie. (Yeah, we're playing a Christmas movie every night of December at our house. It's awesome.)

Needless to say, I am contented.

I've been wanting to blog all about my life but I can't now because it would make me think about how stressful this week is going to be and I refuse to do that. Because I'm going to remain in a chipper good mood and optimistic about the fact that we only have one more group coming before the new year and only two more weeks before I come home for Christmas!

I feel like I'm in college during finals week except other people actually count on me to get my work done now.

I might go read another book...

Song of the Day: Warm Whispers by Missy Higgins (can't get enough)