It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I know you are thinking, "Christmas is over!"  Tell that to Mother Nature.  It snowed a lot last night, and it has been snowing again today.  Besides, the title is appropriate for blogging about Christmas, which I was going to do last time, but we had company.

Anyway, I woke up around 8:00 AM on Christmas and nudged Sean awake.  After I woke Mike up, we opened the presents under our tree.  Sean bought me an iTunes gift card, Up In The Air on blu-ray, a Nintendo Wii, an extra Wii Remote and Nunchuk, and two games: Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Mario Bros.  We set up the new system and washed the dishes (because who wants to leave dirty dishes in the sink on a holiday?) before going to my parents' house at 11:00 AM.

We ate a yummy brunch and then opened more presents.  My grandma gave me various knickknacks, my stepmom and dad bought me a Walmart gift card, and my sister bought me Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Tooth Fairy on blu-ray (it was a two-disc set...).  We then played a quick board game before going to Sean's parents' house around 2:00 PM, where we opened even more presents (Sean's dad gave me Telestrations, and his parents bought me a nice watch and a bottle of wine).

After eating lunch, we exchanged white elephant gifts (I ended up with the present I bought, a rip off bikini, which I gave to Sean).  We then played Scene It? Star Trek, as well as Telestrations, which ended up being funnier than I expected.  Around 7:00 PM, we went home.  Sean played with his new camera, and I played the Wii.

Christmas didn't end there, though.  A few days later, I bought myself a Nintendo DS Lite, a DS Lite Zip Case, and four games: Golden Sun, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, and New Super Mario Bros.  Sean bought himself gifts, too.

It was, among many feelings, sad Mom wasn't here to celebrate with us, but all in all, it was a good Christmas.

General Update

I interviewed with Big Brothers Big Sisters a week ago yesterday. It went well, I think. I should hear from them within the next week if I am accepted into the program, and the process of matching me with a Little Brother begins, which could take a few months, unfortunately. I'm very excited to be a Big Brother. In fact, I already have a few activities in mind. I'll continue to update you on the progress, of course.

On Thursday, I saw the new Star Trek movie with Sean and his family. I thought it was excellent! Although some Trekkies are disappointed with the changes that were made to the Star Trek universe, I feel it gave new life to a nearly-dead franchise, gaining new, younger fans. They, the Star Trek producers, writers, directors, et cetera, can take the series in a new direction without being tied down by the original time line and story. It'll be interesting to see what happens with this franchise in the future.

Here's a video mocking the disappointed Trekkies from The Onion:


Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

We also saw "Transmorfers: Mormon Meets the Eye" at The Off Broadway Theatre. It wasn't as funny as some of the other plays I've seen there, but it was still good. Afterward, we went to Keys on Main, which was really fun. We were all pretty tired, though, so we left early. I'm sure we'll go back sometime soon.

Yesterday, we walked in Salt Lake City's Race for the Cure. More than 18,000 individuals participated (about 100 of them from my work), raising several thousand dollars. It was nice to get out and enjoy the nice weather in support of a good cause - breast cancer. I am grateful my mom was able to overcome this disease several years ago, and I walked in celebration of her.

Happy Mother's Day!