The Last Post of 2012

Here is a post to keep the blog updated.

We had a lovely Christmas.  I was sad that we didn't get to see Grandma and Grandpa Carsner and Jake because they were down with a flu bug, but the other parts of Christmas were nice.  Although a couple of the gifts I picked out were better received than I anticipated, there aren't any crazy Christmas-morning-reaction videos to share with you this year.  My favorite part was watching the kids become thoughtful and tender about choosing gifts for each other.  They can be such sweethearts.

Tim and I went to see The Hobbit in the theater one night while he was in town.  The parts I was awake for were really good!  Did I mention the movie ran until 2 a.m., and I'm not a night person?  I usually go to the theater only once every couple of years, so it seems worth mentioning that I'm also going to go see Les Miserables with my mom tomorrow.  Maybe I'll go see The Hobbit again during the day (when I'm awake) for my birthday.  Shoot! The theater employees will think I'm moving in!

Autumn is still doing AWESOME.  She complains of no pain in her back at all.  She has a check up in February with the neurosurgeon, but has been released to full activity for now.

Due to enormous pressure from his parents and Boy Scout leaders, Cody is making a last-ditch effort to earn some merit badges before his birthday. If he hurries, he won't miss out on the opportunity to earn his Eagle rank next year.  His procrastination has made the timing very tight.  It's going to be a close call.

I finished another quarter of community college.  I hadn't written about school in a while, and I guess some people didn't know I was still taking classes.  I am still taking classes, and--so far--I still have a 4.0 GPA.  As the time wears on and on, I have found I don't care as much about the grades as I did in the beginning.  The As-Long-As-I-Pass Attitude is beginning to rear its ugly head, I'm afraid.  Next week I will be starting Microsoft Word for Business, Introduction to Excel, and Keyboarding.  Only 17 classes to go after those.  (*sigh*)

A while ago my hours were cut back at work.  Recently they offered the hours back to me and tried to make it sound like a wonderful new opportunity.  The catch was that it is all or nothing; they want me to quit school and work full-time (without benefits). I gave a counter offer, which my boss is going to take to the all-powerful "Them" and see how it is received.  Somehow I feel as if I'm buying a used car.

After months of agonizing about what to do with my hair (maybe it would be more fair to say "years" of agonizing), I finally made a decision to have it permed.  I can tell by the reactions on friends' faces that my new look is shocking.  What I can't tell is if it's a good shock or bad shock.  I think I like it.  It's taking some getting used to, but it's different.  That's the main thing I was going for: out of my way and different.  I think it even makes me look a little younger.  There's no avoiding the fact that I'm on a slippery slope to 40, but my face looks more like it's enjoying the ride.

(I was going to post pictures, but I'm having technical difficulties.  I'll try again later.)