clever subject title goes here :)

Right now, I am pretty freakin' happy and that makes me pretty freakin' happy...

I had an awesome Thanksgiving. It was great to be able to be with my family and not have to worry about my research project that's due in threeish weeks. I got to see both sides of my family and it was great. The time I spent with my mom's side of the family was bittersweet though. This was the last Thanksgiving we will have in my great-grandmother's house. She died over spring break this year, and my great-uncle and his family who were living there and helping to take care of her, are building a new house and are working on selling her house. This is the same house where I spent over 20 Christmases and learned my family's history. I don't know how I feel about this part of my life being sold, but I do know that I'm sad and disappointed (okay, I guess I do know how I feel about it).

On a lighter note, Thanksgiving with my dad's family was very much fun. I got to see my aunt, uncle and cousin who live in Oak Ridge and my sister, brother-in-law and nephew who suck b/c they never have time to see me. And I got to take leftovers back to BG with me (bonus!!).

Holidays rock b/c I'm reminded of how crazy my family is and how much I love them!

Something else that happened this weekend was not so happy. My brother's football team traveled to Memphis-Melrose for the 4A semi-finals. They lost, but I don't blame them. I blame the Tennessean. They picked WH to win every game this season, and they won every game this season. But for this game, the paper picked M-M to win, and they freakin' did. So thanks, Tennessean. It's all your fault. My brother is only a freshman, so he never got a chance to play in varsity games, but he was still disappointed. I just got done talking to him on instant messenger and he said that people were crying and he said he almost did. I was nervous all last night about the game, and I can only imagine how nervous I'll be when he actually starts playing. Good times to look forward to.

Not much else is happening. Work is cool. School is not cool. But I have decided to register for classes again. There are a couple of people who told me what classes they are taking so at least I will know someone in there.

My research project is coming along. I've already pretty much finished my review of the lit. and what's supercool is that I emailed a couple of the authors of some articles I've read and they emailed me back. I emailed and asked them for a copy of the survey that they wrote so that I wouldn't have to write one and b/c it already has established reliability and validity. Anyways, they emailed me back with copies of their surveys and get this: they said they were interested in hearing the findings of my research!! How freakin' cool is that?!?!? Everything with school is starting to overwhelm me now. I have an exam and a training module due in 525 on Sat. which is where I have to teach everyone in my class how to deal with a certain marginalized group in the workplace. I also have a presentation due on Wed. in 503 and a take home exam due at some point. Then I have all of this stuff due in 502. I still have to give my survey to a class then run all of the results in SPSS. Fun, right?!?!?

And I know that Nov. isn't completely over yet, but I can already tell you that I am not going to finish my novel.
I'm approx. 8, 259 words short. It sucks, but that's the way it's going to be unless a miracle happens within the next four days. I could probably finish it, but I have to work and I have to go home for a little while tomorrow, so I'm not sure it's going to happen. But oh well, there's always next year!

In other news, my uncle who is sick is doing a little better. They did find out that he doesn't have blood cancer, but they still don't know what's wrong with him. I pray that they figure it out soon, b/c I hate knowing that something's wrong with him, but not knowing what it is. I just want him to get better and I pray that's God's will for his life.

There's also news about my aunt's nephew Nick. He's doing lots better. He has started going to church and is getting out a little more every week. He will be having surgery to reattach his colon the second week of Dec. (I think). This may not sound like big news, but it is b/c it means that he has been gaining weight which is good! He is spending more time with friends which helps keep his attitude positive. Also a car dealership in Madison helped Hag get a new car b/c it's easier for Nick to get in and out of a car than their van. And Elizabeth doing great in her first year in school. She's on the honor roll and joined the cheerleading squad. Praise God for His great work in this family!

Disney is approaching quickly, which is fantabulous. I am getting more excited every day about getting to see everyone again. It's so much better than just talking to everyone on the phone or on instant messenger (although I'll take what I can get). I'm getting my gifts for the group all together. It's a little harder than I thought it would be, but I'm working on it. Some people are just too hard to shop for. But oh well, I'm having fun shopping for everyone.

I think that's all of the news that I've got. I'm sure there's more and I've just forgotten it, but oh well.