Hello dear readers!
First of all -- see Mollie's blog for pictures of things like the Halloween concert. I will try to get some of my own pictures up once Kyle gets home tonight and fixes my laptop.

I can't believe it's already Christmas! I'm so glad to be done with another semester! AND I got my grades today... not bad, if I do say so myself. And if you were around me at all this past semester, you know that those were not the easiest grades I've ever earned. I was quite proud.
ANYways.
I am home for Christmas! I got here on Saturday and I'm here for three weeks. I finished almost all of my Christmas shopping today, and I wrapped everything I've bought. As of now though, the Dickerson household is void of Christmas tree, so all the gifts are being carefully stacked under the piano. Except for mine which have nice big bows that I made to try and compensate for the years of crappy gift-wrapping that always accompanied my gifts. It's not that I didn't try. I'd just cut the paper a centimeter too short, or I'd run out, or I'd cut crookedly. Wow, that makes me sound really incompetent. But it doesn't matter cuz my gifts look nice this year! Anyways. The point was that my gifts are sitting on top of the piano because I don't want the animals knocking the bows off or tearing the paper.

I hope to get some Christmas pictures up here eventually so you can see what Christmas at the Dickersons is all about.

Okay, updates, updates, let's see. (See Mollie's most recent blog -- a lot of our Thanksgiving activities overlap)

1. Yes, I am still dating Chad. (He will probably hate this picture if he ever sees it...)

2. This story actually happened almost two months ago now, and I don't know how it didn't make it into the blog then, but I will share now. So I parked the Subaru at my friend Brittany's apartment in what she assured me was visitor parking. I went to class, and then I practiced, and then I went over to Chad's apartment for a while. (Chad lives right across the street from Brittany.) And at the end of the night we say goodnight and I run across the parking lot to hop into my car parked on the other side of the street and make it home before curfew. Only it was really odd because there was this big empty spot where my car used to be. And I searched my mind frantically, thinking I must have parked it somewhere else and forgotten about it. But that was wishful thinking. Chad picked me up (he was on his way to take his little brother Stephen home to the dorms on the other side of campus). We took Stephen home and then I called the towing company. Yes they had my car. They would be to the lot in about 20 minutes to set it free if I would bring the ransom money. How much you ask? $100. Yeah. To which I reflexively replied "Are you serious?!!" Then realizing that he probably wasn't saying that to be funny at 12:15 in the morning, and that he had my car and I didn't, I added "Yeah, I guess you are..." before he could say anything. So Chad nicely drove me to the ATM, I withdrew $100 in cash and brought it over to the impound lot in an unmarked black garbage bag. Okay, I'm just kidding about the black garbage bag, but it sure did feel sketchy even if it didn't look it.... hanging around in a dark parking lot at 12:30 in the morning with $100 in cash in my pocket. Let me tell you, in the short time that I had that money in my hand, it's life flashed before my eyes. There was so much happiness it could have bought me. Because as I handed the guy (who didn't look that much older than me or Chad) my money, I knew that money really does buy happiness, because giving it to this guy wasn't getting me any. So I retrieved the car safe and sound. Seeing my Connecticut license-plated Subaru Legacy in the impound lot reminded me of Lady and the Tramp when Lady gets impounded with all the sketchy dogs. I felt bad for my poor car. It was probably scared to death. So innocent. Don't think I don't realize that it was all my fault it got towed in the first place.


3. Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles. I survived marching band. And I not only survived it, but I didn't do too badly either. I was completely surprised by how much fun I had. Unfortunately, being in marching band has branded me a band geek in its purest form. Case in point: After a marching band performance, I ran home to change only to find that I had been locked out of my apartment. After knocking on several doors at which no one answered because it was Stake Conference that night, I finally found an RA who was home, who coincidentally happened to be my FHE Brother's girlfriend. My FHE Brother was at her apartment and saw me in uniform (and didn't see the back which says "Viking Marching Band" ... or at least I think it does...) and commented on my cool uniform -- asked me if I played soccer or something. No, these are the marching band uniforms. "Oh" he says. And you know the kind of "Oh." "Oh" well. I guess there are worse things in the world.
Marching Band friends. Yes, they exist.

4. On the Saturday that Thanksgiving Break began, the Wind Ensemble was required to sit in a 5-hour recording session for the Temple Dedication music. I'm excited to be a part of the Temple Celebration, so I shouldn't complain too much, but still. It was a very long rehearsal. And it ended up taking almost 6 hours if I remember right. And we couldn't leave for Provo until after that, so it was a long day.
The technical people.
Sister Soelberg, the director.
The band.



5. I followed Chad and Stephen to Provo for our week-long Thanksgiving Break. (The reason why we didn't just go together is a long story in and of itself so I'll spare you the details...) I spent time with my family and Chad's family just doing family things. We had Thanksgiving at my grandma's in Orem, where all of the kids but Michael were present. As Mollie pointed out, we haven't had that many of us together for Thanksgiving in... probably 6 or 7 years.
The whole family together for dinner.
The turkeys.

6. I drove back from Provo after our Thanksgiving Break, only to drive back again for Christmas Break. (This was not part of the original plan.)

7. I played in the Wind Ensemble's first and only concert of this semester. It was exciting -- but after the Halloween Concert, regular concerts seem a little more boring. But we were being recorded for a promotional DVD we're putting out for our tour next semester to "The Deep South". Yeah, I know. In all fairness, we were supposed to go to Mexico. I got my 150-dollar passport and everything.

8. I played in the Symphony Concert -- Mahler's Third Symphony -- on December 7th and 8th. It was a student-faculty side-by-side concert which was cool because I got to sit next to and play clarinet with my professor who is co-principal clarinetist for the Orchestra at Temple Square which plays with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

9. I finished up my last week of class/finals last week, and then drove to Provo on Friday afternoon. It was kind of a whirlwind end of the semester, and some aspects of it kind of caught me by surprise. Just ask my friend Brittany.

10. After a near 5 hour drive to Provo, a 45 minute drive to Salt Lake, an hour flight to Las Vegas, a 5 hour flight to Hartford, and a 45 minute drive back to 2 Shanley Court, I finally arrived home for Christmas. Which so prompts my traditional list of things I'd forgotten/appreciate-more-since-I've-been-away-at-school about home.
1. XPect Discounts. Need I say more?
2. Wood floors.
3. My own room.
4. The dog to keep me warm because my parents don't heat my part of the house.
5. Two pianos. This is a big one. There were several times throughout the semester when I finally made time to play the piano only to find that there were no available pianos anywhere.
6. Not living with 5 other girls. ... and along with that, living with boys.
7. How many Christmas decorations our family has.
8. How "New England"-y Cromwell looks.
9. My moms turtles.
10. MY FISH!!!!!! I missed him so.
11. Being able to go down the basement to look for peanut butter, or soup, or powdered sugar, or whatever is not readily available upstairs. It's like having a store in your basement! It's great.
12. Being able to "go down the basement" at all.
13. Cromwell Ward.
14. Borrowing clothes/shoes from my sister. (She doesn't know about this yet... I already borrowed a pair of her shoes that she left here. )
15. Washer and dryer right in my own house that you don't even have to put quarters into!
16. The news.
17. A Kitchen Aid mixer!!!!
18. Looking in the fridge and knowing that all the food in it is mine -- I can eat whatever I want.
19. Having a bathroom that I don't share with 5 other girls.
20. Neighbors.
21. Having a yard.
22. Big screen TV.
23. FRIENDLY'S
24. The North Eastern accent -- where people don't make fun of me for the way I say "pocket" or "copy" or "option" because they say it the same way. (Although they do still make fun of me for saying "Rud-off" instead of "Rud-OLph".)

Well, I suppose that's enough for now. You're probably tired of reading, and I'm tired of sitting staring at the computer screen in the non-heated part of the house. I hope this entry finds you alive and well. I'll try and get some Christmas stuff up here before too long. But we have to have a Christmas tree first!