For all those who don't know, I am planning to attend EBI second term.  It begins Feb. 23.  I'm very excited, but also a lil nervous...

Until then, I'll be working at Gloria Jean's again part-time, starting tomorrow.  I'm quite excited at the thought of all the free coffee again!! And seeing our daily customers (even grouchy Mr. Wheeler), pulling shots of espresso, hearing the lovely sound of milk frothing 'neath the shiny silver steaming wand, measuring out pounds of whole-bean Huehuetenango (pronounced "way-way-ten-ango")....ahhhh....

But I will not enjoy hearing the noisy blenders .  Or driving the half-hour to work and fighting the rush-hour traffic in Peoria.  Or giving up my late sleeping-in mornings.  Oh well, "...Into each life some rain must fall..."

Here's me in all my barista glory, in case you were desperate to see a picture...which I'm sure you weren't...



And some more pictures for good measure...

At Christmas, Renee was busy trying to make Tobey happy one night while the rest of us played Ten Thousand.  Hence the blanket and teddies.


One of Dad playing with the Cutest Niece and Nephew (aka Renee and Ryan, respectively):


And what post is complete without a pix of James?? "He ain't half the man he used to be!"
(If this picture confuses you, look closely at the mannequin in the background...and its missing limb)


The computer is lovely, bright, and sweet -
But I have promises to keep
And mochas to stir in the morning
And lattes to make till it gets boring.


...ok that was kinda lame...

Today marks a very special anniversary...


sometime in April


sometime in November

Yes, since today is December 3, that means that James and I have been dating for exactly 7 months!  Congratulations to us!    It's been a very happy, wonderful, and entertaining seven months. 


OTHER NEWS (just in case you're rolling your eyes and wishing I'd post about something else )
My family went to Florida last week for Thanksgiving.  It was great seeing all my cousins again and getting to eat catfish, cheese grits, hush-puppies, sweet tea, boiled peanuts, and other delightful Southern foods!  mmmmm....

We drove back to Illinois Sunday night and were greeted by lots of snow.   It snowed all day Monday.  Today the sun has been shining though, so the snow is melting and falling off the roof in huge chunks.  I nearly had a heart attack today when a particularly enormous avalanche fell on the roof directly over my head.  That little section of house shuddered like an earthquake. 

Also, our neighbors babysat Tobey while we were gone.  They spoil him like crazy.  Anyway, he got into some rat poison Thanksgiving evening.  They couldn't tell how much he'd eaten, so they frantically rushed him to Animal ER, where the vet made many nice, true comments about him ("He's a very nice dog", "not an ounce of fat on him!! very powerful!" ), induced vomiting, then sent him home with pills.  He's acting fine, so I'm not worried.

Anyway, I'm getting all excited bout the Christmas season....asking mom to get out the Christmas decorations, looking at recipes for candy & cookies (any suggestions?), planning stuff to do when my sisters, bro-in-laws, and boyfriend come out, and last but not least.....listening to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra!!  (yes, Bethany, it's your CD, we found it yesterday and have been enjoying it since ) The last time I heard some of these songs was at their concert this January (wow, good stuff!!!!).

This is getting rather lengthy, so I will close with a meaningful little poem I wrote to commemorate this day:

Snow falling on the roof
Makes my heart go poof.*


*Not literally, of course.  Metaphorically speaking.