Santa done good this year.

I'm a couple days late, but I think you can forgive me for that. I hope everyone had as merry a Christmas as can be; I certainly did. I took pictures of the goodies I got that I most loved. Here we go:


It seems minimal, but they all meant a lot to me. Our financial status is not as plentiful as it has been in the past, but I'm not complaining. I got nearly everything I asked for, and most importantly got to spend it with my whole family. But enough of the mushy stuff, I'll show you all I got.


This here is a beautiful snow hat I found at Buffalo Exchange when I went down with Mama to get my Secret Santa a present. I tried it on and pouted 'cause I didn't have enough cash on me to get it. But it's gorgeous! I broke it in all Christmas day and wore it to Disneyland yesterday when the weather got suuuper chilly that night. (the expansion on Disneyland comes later)


As the title might tell you, it's the Dumb and Dumber DVD. YAY! I've wanted this movie for so long, I can't even describe how happy I was to get it. I know just about every joke from it and they still haven't gotten old. I'd list the ones I know, but it'd leave you scratching your heads and stroking your moustaches.


Again as you can tell, it's both the Across the Universe DVD and CD. And again, YAY! Craigy got that one for me, and I tore it open right away to watch. It's such a trip of a movie to watch, but so good. The Let It Be sequence is heartbreaking and gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. It makes me want the voice of a black woman even more.


The sister (A.K.A. Kelly) gave these lovely little things to me. The mannequin looking thing is a jewelry holder. It's difficult to see, but hanging from it is a beautiful flower pendant, a blue jeweled ring, and feather earrings. They're a good mix of hippie and vintage -esque jewelry that I always complain about wanting. She hit the nail on the head on this one!


I apologize for the crappy quality of it, but this is a very elegant white lace top from Buffalo Exchange that Mama (again) went out and got for me when I pouted (again) about not having enough cash to get it. It's originally from Forever 21 according to the tag, which is so fitting, 'cause I live and breathe that store.


This top is (once again) from Buffalo Exchange. I love this one especially, 'cause it's from Free People, but thank God, only cost about 20 dollars. How do I know? I tried it on before pouting about it. This means I have a pair of pants and top from Free People that were only 40 dollars altogether. That, to me, is a steal.


These gorgeous high-waisted shorts are from my Forever 21 wishlist. I didn't think I'd like a pair of brown shorts, but these drew my attention immediately a. because they're high-waisted and b. their texture feels really cool. I'll probably wear them with the white lace top for an all over vintage indie vibe. Now all that's left to find is a good pair of vintage lace up boots and I'll look like a rock star.


Again, sorry for the crappy quality. The LBD. She's fierce, she's sexy, she's seductive, she's right up my alley. It's Breakfast at Tiffany's meets a gothic Marilyn Monroe. I wore her on Christmas day to my aunt's house for dinner and felt like the belle of the ball. Accessories included a gold chain necklace with a black and white cameo and black jewel and a gold ring with a big black jewel. Oh, and the ever famous red coat. I'm gonna throw parties every day just so I have a reason to wear it.

Other miscellaneous presents included $50 from the g-pa (which I thought was beyond generous of him), movie passes from my 5 and 9 year-old cousins, a red marshmallow jacket from my Aunt, and a calendar of vintage pictures of women from Janet Miller-Shields. And, the best gift of all, A LAPTOP. It's used and is a Dell, but he is beautiful. Yes, he's a boy. His name is Paulie, and he's very cute. Score! Although the presents were limited, the presence of my family and loved ones made this the best Christmas I could've asked for. Their existence in my life make it all worthwhile.


Yesterday, our family and extended theatre family took a family outing to Disneyland(Craigy took the picture with his new camera). It was more fun than words can say. We didn't go on a lot of rides, but it was still the funnest time. What was funny was what we didn't spend on tickets, we pretty much spent on food. I had a giant slice of cheese pizza, parfait, and cookie from Pizza Port; a strawberry frozen lemonade from a cart; a chocolate covered pretzel with caramel and cashews from the candy store next to the Winnie the Pooh ride; my first turkey leg from the cart next to the Animation Station in D.C.A.; and a churro back at Disneyland from a cart in front of the train station. My food baby has STILL not gone down. I'm not gonna need a month of eating nothing but fruit to get rid of it.

Well, that about does it. Sorry if this was too long. I just had to tell you how great my Christmas was! I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas, as well. Tell me of your new treasures. B.G.G.

And so it has begun...

My days of getting behind the wheel have finally arrived. The much anticipated days of putting the key in the ignition, releasing the emergency brake, and shifting into drive is now in action. YAY!

I went to my high school's parking lot this morning with my father in his little gold compact Chevy Malibu. As soon as we got there, we got out and switched sides; I was on the driver's side. After much adjusting of the seat, we went over the basics: checking the mirrors, buckling the seatbelt, releasing the emergency brake, all that good stuff. I kept the car in neutral and practiced turning and straightening out in lanes and braking at the end of the lane to check for other cars/pedestrians. It was such a rush! After we did that a couple times, it was time to burn rubber. Not literally, 'cause that would smell bad. I put the car into drive and believe my top speed was about 18 miles. Not too fast for a first day. I went up and down lanes, avoided speedbumps, went around corners, and parked the car. It was all so terrifying, yet all so exciting. This is what I've wanted to have the power to do for years! So, all that's left to really do is practice with the blinkers and maybe parking a few more times. This is going to make Driver's Ed look like pre-school stuff. I cannot wait!

It also leaves me feeling a little nostalgic. For me, driving is symbolic in that I'm so past the point of childhood to where this will one day be me teaching my kids to drive. It's such a concept to grasp, but what my Dad so kindly did for me is what I'll do for little Emma when she's 15. (I'm not pregnant, that's just what I'm going to name my daughter) I'm not the innocent little girl anymore sitting in the car seat snuggly while Mom drives through McDonald's or unhooks me to get out for Coast Christian School. I'll be the one with the freedom to just get out and drive whenever I feel like it once I have the power to do it. No parent watching me, making sure I've followed all the rules of the road. Only the faith that I earned my license with good reason and can handle sharing asphalt with so many other lives. It makes me scared to even go out and get a license. I almost don't want the full independence that comes with the "driving" package.

However, as much as I don't want the independence, I do. I want to be able to drive myself over to the mall when Mom's too tired to, or run to Walgreen's at 1 A.M. when I need last minute supplies for a project at school. That's also just as overwhelming a concept to grasp as learning to drive itself. All worries and anticipations set aside though, I've got the drive. Pun intended. I can't wait to get back out there and feel the rush of going 15 MPH. It'll be great. Thanks for taking me out and being such a cool and collected driving instructor, Dad. You did a great job. B.G.G.

It's CHRISTMAS.

I'm getting very, very peeved with all this "holiday" mention. Everyone and their mother knows that it's not "holiday" season; it's Christmas season. Every JCPenney's commercial and Sears commercial that mentions it shows evidence that we're supposed to buy Christmas presents, so why refer to it as something it's not? This holiday just may be ruined with this identity crisis. Don't get me wrong, there are other holidays in the month of December, but come on. Let's not put a white elephant in the room by making EVERYONE have to suffer through your P.C. implications. That's just annoying.

I was watching Kicking and Screaming on TBS this morning, and it just so happened to be their "Movie and a Makeover" day. The host used the word "holiday" about 8 times in one sentence, and I wanted to puke. Of course all the gifts she mentioned and people on her list were all something/someone you'd buy stuff for for CHRISTMAS! Even the Jews and blacks know they're hinting at Christmas. What is this world coming to? Pretty soon, the flashing man on the crosswalk sign will have to be walking with his wife, so we don't assume women can't cross the street. I swear, there are nut jobs who will think that eventually.
But being in the spirit of Christmas, I might as well put some joy into this post. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas; it's my favorite holiday. It's the time of year where everyone seems to have a glow about their faces and don't feel obligated to buy things for other people, because they actually want to! And the weather just makes everything twice as cozy. I live for the bitter cold, 'cause it gives me a reason to wear fuzzy socks and come home to watch Tex Avery cartoons. (By the way, I'm still debating whether or not I prefer Tex Avery over Looney Tunes, but I'll talk about that some other time.) Where was I? Oh, yeah. I really do love Christmas. It just breaks my heart how consumer driven it is. They make us assume that no one will be happy unless we give them shiny presents with big bows and ribbons all over it. Why can't I just bake you something? It'll at least prove I put effort into putting together a good present for you. I recently visited this church where they talked a lot about that. Instead of giving everyone presents, why not give them a day of our time? Ya know, just have a chance to go somewhere together and grow even closer than we would with something we won't be using a few months from now. And the money we don't spend on gifts, we send to Africa! That's seriously an idea I'm thinking of sticking to. My list will be very condensed,
a.) because of the economy
b.) because of lack of funds due to my dad's field of work and
c.) there's too many people to choose from to get something for EVERYONE.
So, I'll be donating money to building Water Wells in Africa. My biggest dream would be to actually go there to build them, but let's not get crazy.
Well, that's about it. I'm going to try and survive the rest of this year without pulling all my hair out. Merry Christmas, everyone! B.G.G.
P.S. Santa came down my street tonight, and I was the happiest camper in the world. Look!


P.P.S. A friend named Michaela just sent me this link if anyone would like to donate to the Water Wells for Africa: http://www.waterwellsforafrica.org