the first semester of my graduate career is officially over, and i think (hope) that i just might make it onto the dean's list, thanks to acing a test and my final paper tonight...i have that hyper kind of energy that comes with finals week and the last day of school and the anticipation of only NINE MORE DAYS UNTIL WE GO ON VACATION! there's still a lot to do at work, but i'm feeling ever-so-energized right now... ...right now (this very minute), my lovely husband is mamking me a pair of shoes for the above-mentioned vacation. i wanted these or these, but since they're a little out of our budget and my lovely husband has a need and ability to make anything and everything, i'm getting my very own custom-made hybrid shoes! oh, he's also getting a dressform for christmas. seriously, the man can make anything. ok. this girl is tired. i'll leave you with a question of the day: what one holiday from another culture would you most like to observe? comment below.

happy human rights defenders day. to learn how to defend human rights yourself, give one of these a try: international justice mission human rights watch amnesty international

an inch an hour! the snow is really, finally here! after my first class tonight, the ground was covered, and an hour later when we got out of our second class early, it was twice as covered, and it is beautiful and fun, and it makes me happy - especially since i only had to drive in it for ten minutes, and now i get to hang out in my warm living room with my favorite dog and cat, in front of our new christmas tree. i feel relaxed and caught up with most things, and it's so lovely. we finally joined the ymca last weekend, and have been working out this week. i knew i would like it, and i'm not quite sure why it took us months to join (we get a half-price membership because i work for a united way agency), but i'm already feeling better, and i think daniel is, too. the only problem is that i have yet to actually get up at 6am to work out. as long as we can go after work, though, all is good. yes, all is good. and good night to all.

weekend plans? does anyone want to go see this with me on friday or saturday?