xmas in boston.

This year, instead of celebrating Christmas the normal way ("No one ever invites Stefon to normal Christmas"), we all jumped on a plane and headed to the East Coast to visit my big bro, Andy. He's a doctor so he didn't get to have Christmas break...another perk of still being in school.

Anyway, here are a few highlights from the trip:

1. We got to use public transportation! I really love public transportation.

2. We went to the midnight service at the Old North Church, which is the church that Paul Revere did the "One if by land, two if by sea" stuff. Exciting, I know! And when we walked in, they put us in the Bay Pew which is apparently a super special pew, right in the front next to the preacher. I told them I felt really special and they said I should. THEN, as if things could get any more exciting, the candle-lighter put Katy (Andy's girlfriend) and me on fire duty, meaning that we had the responsibility of blowing out the advent candles if they looked like they were going to set the church on fire. We're important, I know.

The Old North Church, that is still standing, thanks to Katy and me.

3. After the midnight service, we were walking home and there was a little bakery open so we stopped to buy pastries and cookies. Because Brunner's love carbs. I have no idea why they were open so late. Maybe just to catch all the midnight service people? Or maybe that's just how things work in Boston? Anyway, it was awesome.

4. It is blizzardy outside! Which is great now that we're inside, but really stunk when we were walking home from shopping downtown. Especially when your name is Julie and you forgot to wear a warm hat.

5. I applied for my first ever real-life-grown-up job! I'm an adult!!!

6. We watched Muppet Christmas Carol, the greatest Christmas movie the world has ever seen.

"It's good to be heckling again!"

"It's good to be doing anything again!"

7. We ate cheese every day. And if you know me at all, you'll know that I seriously love cheese. The first night we were here we had a cheese platter for an appetizer, and every night after that we've had cheese appetizers before every meal. It's divine. Brunners love cheese.

I think I shall move to Boston.

food=life

My life kind of revolves around food and I don't care who knows it. From the second I wake up, when I'm thinking about coffee and bagels, to thoughts of sandwiches and cheese around lunch time to fantasies of grilled chicken and potatoes at dinner and back to dreams of coffee, I am always thinking about food. I look up recipes online and can literally look at pictures of food for hours. And though I may or may not look like a fatty on the outside, I'm a fatty at heart. My grandpa always asks me if I "Eat to Live" or "Live to Eat" and I tell him that I "Live to Eat." He says I'm allowed to do that because I'm young. Apparently old people are only allowed to "Eat to Live." He insists that he "Eats to Live" because he's old, but I know better. His favorite french toast, bacon, and cinnamon roll breakfast doesn't fit into the "Eat to live" category. Neither does his cookie intake or expensive fish dinners. But I'll let him think whatever he wants.

Anyway, if I could do anything in the world, I would probably open a bakery in the middle of a city where I could give free cookies to homeless people and hold baking classes for children. But for now, I guess I'll just have to bake things for my little brother while he serenades me with Bob Dylan songs on his guitar. Honey Peanut Butter cookies coming right up!

mani.

So, yesterday my roomie convinced me to go get a manicure with her. I don't know why, but I'm really weird about my nails. Normally, they are cut down to the nub and painted bright pink (I work with children...), but Danielle convinced me that I need to be fancy for the holidays. I have no idea why this made sense at the time, but I decided to go for it.

I got acrylics with white tips (whatever that means. Danielle just walked up there and told them what to do). I'm still not sure how I feel about them. When I was little, I used to beg my mom for those fake press-on nails from Walgreens and she would never get them for me (rightfully so...they're pretty ridiculous. I always wanted the super long ones, too). Now I'm a grown up and can get them whenever I want! It's kind of like how I used to think: "When I'm a grown-up I'm going to buy Gushers every time I go to the grocery store!" And now that I have that power, I never buy Gushers. I do buy ice cream, frozen pizza and beer every time I shop, however. Those cashiers definitely judge me.

Anyway, to decide how I feel about them I've made a pros and cons list:

Pros:

• They make me feel more like an adult. I mean, I am 25 years old. I'm closer to being 50 than I am to my birth! I can have fake nails! I AM AN ADULT!
• They make a clicking sound when I type. That's kind of fun.
• It feels like I'm getting a massage when I wash my hair. And since I hate taking showers more than anything, this makes showering more bearable.
• I baked some cookies called Melt-aways today and aside from being some of the most amazing cookies I've ever tasted, they also matched my nails. That was nice.
• They glow under black-lights! And you may be wondering: how often are you under a black-light? Well, as a matter of fact, I went Galactic bowling last night and I had the brightest nails on the lanes!
• I guess I look fancier.

Cons:

• They make me feel more like an adult. I'M OLD!
• They make a clicking sound when I type. I mean, it's fun for a little bit, but now I'm afraid I'm going to damage something with my intense typing. I'm a great typer, not to brag or anything.
• Texting is hard. I mean, look at my fingers. They're chubby. I already have enough trouble typing the correct buttons without fake nails to deal with.
• Bowling is also hard. Of course I go bowling the day I get fake nails.
• My sister judged me. I'm going to make her come and get them with me next time (if there is a next time).
• They cost money. I'm living on a graduate student stipend.

darn the luck.

When the clock strikes 10pm, all I want to do is sleep. Seriously. Unfortunately, however, my body hates to give me that pleasure. For instance, currently it is 2:15am and I have been trying to go to sleep since 11pm. Come on, body, you've got to be kidding me! I mean, I might as well be working an overnight shift! This is AWFUL! I've tried singing songs in my head, moving locations (bed to couch to futon), changing blankets and pillows, drinking water, and pretty much everything else aside from a tranquilizer. Life's hard. I do have a few predictions to make sense of this insomnia:

1) I'm allergic to dark beer or alcohol. And I had a Fat Tire tonight. Whenever I drink dark beers or red wine, I wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat with my heart racing. It's actually quite terrifying. If you have never been woken up by heart palpitations, you're lucky. And if you have, I feel your pain.

2) I think that I have trouble sleeping whenever the barometric pressure changes. Laugh at this prediction if you choose, but that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. Whenever there are big changes in weather, I just lie awake in bed until all hours of the night.

3) I'm sick. My stomach has not been feeling so content recently. I think I may have the H1N1. Sure, I'm self-diagnosing myself, but this lady at work was telling me how the symptoms of H1N1 are basically off and on stomach problems and you can have it for weeks and not even realize it. And that's what I have. That's the ONLY logical answer.

4) I also think I'm super sensitive to caffeine. And by super sensitive, I mean SUPER sensitive. Like I usually don't allow myself to indulge in caffeinated beverages after 1pm (just to be on the safe side).

5) My body hates to let me sleep.

Well. That's all I got.

sometimes...

Sometimes I go to preschool and little kids pee on me. Like the other day...children like to sit on laps, so I let them (I'm a crowd pleaser). Usually the lap-sitting comes with no consequences, however sometimes I leave preschool smelling like pee. Then I get to go sit in class with graduate students.

Sometimes preschoolers can't pronounce my name. So instead of calling me "Miss Julie," they call me "Miss Jelly." I'd correct them if it weren't so stinkin' cute.

Sometimes I do my laundry. And I hate every second of it. Laundry is probably my least favorite thing to do. Unfortunately, after 3 weeks, it is pretty crucial. I mean, I only have so many swimsuit bottoms I can wear when I run out of clean underwear. I would venture to say the only thing I like about laundry is the smell of the detergent.

Sometimes Brunners run around Stephen's campus singing songs from musicals. We have voices like angels. Or something like that...

Sometimes I look at pictures of food for hours. Literally. Is that sad and pathetic? No. So don't judge me. I mean, try and tell me you couldn't stare at this cinnamon roll for approximately forever.

Sometimes the only thing I have to do during the day is go to class for a few hours. Life is hard. Unfortunately, this isn't very common.

Sometimes I accidentally buy jeggings (jeggings= jeans + leggings) at TJ Maxx. Whoa. I guess I'll keep them since they were super cheap and feel more like sweats than jeans. Who knows? Maybe I'll become one of those jeggings/leggings wearers. Like when I was a child and refused to wear anything that wasn't soft enough. Meaning, the only things I wore were stirrup leggings and sweatshirt dresses. I was the softest kid in the neighborhood.

Sometimes I blog instead of doing my homework (obviously not very often, however, since the last time I posted was October 2).