silent nights

Thanksgiving has come and gone. And now the craziness of the Christmas season is about to set in.

After spending time with my parents and extended family and being at my house, I feel even more in touch with how important family and traditions are.

This Thanksgiving was the first I have ever spent without my Granddaddy. My dad'd dad, Richard Priode, died almost a month ago, on Halloween, after a fight with Parkinson's and other ailments. Yesterday would have been his 77th birthday. He and Grandma would have been married 53 years last Tuesday. This is normally a big week, but this year it felt bittersweet.

This year has been the first time I have ever dealt with the death of a grandparent, and with me being 21 years old-I consider myself immensely blessed.

It's foreign to me to think of only seeing my grandparents a few times a year because I have lived within walking distance of mom's parents and fifteen minutes away from Grandma and Granddaddy my entire life. I can't imaging growing up and not being at one of their house's once a week.

My way of dealing with the loss has largely been to put it out of my mind, but that has been harder this week.

The song Stille Nacht(Silent Night) always makes me cry, but for some reason has lately been reminding me of my home. I think it's because when I close my eyes and listen, I picture a vast openness and a massive sky. And then I sit on the front porch of my house and see the same thing.

One of my favorite things about being home is getting out of my car and waiting until all the lights go out and then looking up at the sky. There is very little light pollution because there are no streetlights, no noisy traffic because we are on a dead end drive and there is just...space. It's the closest thing to a silent night I can picture. It has always been so moving to me to be able to look up and see the stars and just know there has to be something else.

And now to know that Granddaddy is there somewhere too.

Happy holidays to everyone and their families.

it's such, it's such a perfect day

What I thought was going to be a boring weekend with all my friends and family out of town has totally turned into something else. My family stayed in town...and so did my roommates!

I had dinner with my parents last night and talked about life and my potential trip to Australia. They are all for me going, basically all that stands in my way is finding out from the university whether or not I CAN go, haha.

The roommates and I watched the Grinch last night, the Jim Carrey version, which I do not like as much as the classic one, which reminds me of my childhood.

Today has been such a great day too. I went to the Market Square farmers market, which I think is one of Knoxville's redeeming qualities. I came home with some cookies, muffins and a pumpkin to make a pie with from my old friend Colleen :-)

The ladies I live with had decided it would be a good idea to take a little trip up to Pigeon Forge and get one of those old timey pictures made to display in our apartment. Borderline risque dresses, fishnets, garters, guns...that was an adventure!

We capped the day by going to a pancake house, which are synonymous with that whole area, and visiting the Incredible Christmas Place! That place is so crazy and at the same time puts you in the best christmas-y mood!

I also did one of my favorite things ever today, which is go to the downtown library. Being there reminds me of going to the library with my mom and sister as a kid and doing the summer reading program and getting so excited about getting stickers for the books we had read.

It's been a great weekend and it's not over yet...I just have to study and write a little paper now.

Oh and the Vols won today, who knew they still had it in them?!?!

in one ear and out the other

I have had this song stuck in my head for almost two days now! It's kind of self-induced because every time I get in my car it's the first song on the I-pod.

And to give a shout out to some "colleagues" of mine down at TVC, here are some links to some legit videos that some very talented guys have put together for various classes:

Streetwise
Curious George
Just Business
The Ace of Spades, haha!

Look and laugh!

Snow snow snow snow snow!

There was snow on the ground this morning! This makes me really excited because the first day of winter isn't until something like December 21st.

It makes me think of my all-time favorite Christmas movie, White Christmas, that my sister and cousin Lauren and I watch multiple times every Christmas season and sing all the songs.

This is my favorite song from the movie!

only time will tell

HOW is it already almost Thanksgiving? Does time just fly when you are having fun...or have I really been procrastinating that bad? Because somehow this semester is almost OVER!

As I am looking at all the days I have crossed off my calendar, the words of a Jimmy Buffett song echo around my brain.

Some of the words of this rather legit song go like this:

Is it the answer or just a suggestion?
Is love what we truly want or merely a protection?
Is this music made to last or crumble like a shell?
Is there Heaven here on Earth or is this really Hell?

Only time will tell, if I am right or I am wrong
Only time will tell, is there a message in this song
Will it ever make sense, will it ever ring a bell?
Only time will tell

So what I'm feeling like Jimmy is telling me is to not try and figure everything out because only time can tell what I am supposed to be doing with my life. Will it ever make sense? That's my question. Jimmy says only time will tell and he has yet to steer me wrong.

shoot the moon

So I could not be more ready to get out of America!

This is not for reasons that a lot of my fellow citizens are vocalizing, (ie: I am not upset about the election) but I am so pumped at the prospect of going abroad for my last semester.

I got the official transcript and one of my references today and finished the little "mission statement" the application requests. And tonight I have been reading Australia travel books and letting my mind wander to the far side of the world.

I have no idea what I to expect or what I am looking for, I just know I am ready for a new routine!

melissa thoughts

So here goes again!

I'm really trying to stay consistent with this thing. I mean, I was kind of into blogging freshman year...but after reading some of the crap I wrote I quickly deleted it. Then I started this one up for a class last spring and then fell off the wagon...

(PS: the title is a shout out to anyone who watches the Office...and remembers the one where Creed makes a "blog", but it's really just a Word doc that Ryan typed Creed Thoughts on the top of...LOVE IT!)

I have been sitting here trying SO HARD to be productive! I have made a little progress but have mainly been distracted by the noises coming from outside/the tv in the living room, and by playing with Google calendar...so not as much has been accomplished as could have. Oh well.

I went on an impromptu run this evening to clear my head, which always works. When I'm feeling out of control and crazy...I tie up my shoes and slap on an Ipod. It's totally therapeutic. Running in the cold takes a little more motivation because it's just that-COLD! But feeling the cold air in my face and in my lungs always keeps me going. It's a calming feeling to me to be able to know where I am going and at what speed, hear my feet moving...that sort of thing, when I am feeling pulled in a hundred directions.

This week is about to get crazy, well, more like just the next 2 days...but still.

I'm already looking to the weekend and this one isn't even really over yet! Ahh!