I cried upon receiving some of these gifts.

A microwave.

Six month's worth of cable television.

A brand new futon.

Kitchen stools.

A vacuum cleaner.

More bath towels.

Charcoal Chuck's.

Keane, Hopes & Fears.

A bead curtain.

American Eagle.

Bath accessories

And much, much more.

I hope everyone was able to have as wonderful a Christmas as I was blessed to have. This year was certainly one to remember and I'm sorry to see it coming to an end. But 2005 will most certainly bring even more excitement. Here's to the coming New Year!

Who, or perhaps what, is to blame for this year's notable wave of political correctness? Was it the presidential campaign? Or perhaps this year's battle between the church and those fighting for the rights to same-sex marriage? Was it Michael Moore?

If you find yourself in the drive-thru at Dairy Queen and read a sign on their window that reads, "Merry Christmas!", are you offended? I mean, really - are you offended? If you are, will you write a letter to your local congressman in protest? Do you celebrate Chrismahanukwanzakuh and want the whole wide world to know it?

"Happy Holidays" is everywhere. Because it's the safest thing for business owners to display. Coca-Cola no longer makes their Santa Claus cans with "Christmas (Year)" written at the top, but "Holiday (Year)" instead. Santa remains on the can, but "Christmas" does not. Is anyone else bothered by this?

Instead of taking Christmas out of this joyous season, why not just include the rest of the holidays? Along with a "Merry Christmas!" sign, perhaps companys can display "Happy Hanukah!", "Kwaheri!" (for those who celebrate Kwanzaa), and "Feliz Navidad!" signs as well! Why must Christ be removed? Thanks to the giving of gifts by the wise men to baby Jesus, all of America can be thankful for the many things they receive by friends and family every December - for this is where the tradition originated. Jesus is the reason for the season, whether you like it or not.

I'm tired of this. Merry Christmas, already! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas! I can't say it enough! Merry Christmas! To those of you who celebrate the holiday or not - Merry Christmas! I love my God and He loves you, so Merry Christmas! Do not be offended because I am definitely not preaching. I am only wishing the happiest and greatest things for you and so I say "Merry Christmas."

Merry Christmas.

And we're back.

Remember that little train ride I took to California in March of last year to visit my friend Brian in San Luis Obispo? Yeah... He's getting married!

Andy and I went here last Thursday and I shot this photo. It's the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. It's more like a castle than a house, really. Beautiful, stunning, breathtaking - it's all of these. If you can visit, you should. You'll be impressed.

I know I haven't updated this thing regularly. I've been distracted. It's been hard to dedicate time to blogger on a daily basis. Things are kind of crazy right now with Christmas. Just one week away now. Frightening how fast time goes by the older you get. I remember listening to adults when I was younger and thinking they were crazy for saying that Christmas came too quickly. As a child, Christmas couldn't get here fast enough! Now, I feel the same way they do.

After a couple attempts, I am not sure if I'll get to be a bank teller again or not. I realize I've only tried a couple times, but the positions available are limited and my attempts, while valiant, may not be exactly what the banks are looking for. I am starting to wonder if my previous teller experience is actually hurting me more than helping me. From what I can tell, the banks don't want to have to pay me more because of my prior work and they don't want to have retrain me to their banking ways. I thought, "Surely, having worked as a teller in downtown Seattle will knock their socks off. They'll say to themselves, 'If she can handle downtown Seattle, then she can certainly handle our small town branch!'" But perhaps I am and was profoundly wrong. Right now, I just don't know...

Andy was able to get hired full-time at Books-A-Million, right here in town. Working the register and training to make one mean cup of coffee. Excuse me for being a girlfriend, but whenever I see him in those button down shirts and slacks and apron, I have to fight not to bite my bottom lip and coo. I don't mean to, but he's just so adorable.

I won't be able to buy presents for everybody this year - obviously - but I would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. God will be Infinity Years Old this year and I think that's cause for celebration. Happy Birthday, Jesus, although I do wonder what day You were actually born. Either way, I hope You have a great one! And thanks for all Your blessings.

My sister is really, very sick. Please pray for her.

The following verse is extremely profound to me:

1 John 4:18 NIV

18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

And this is the NLT version:

1 John 4:18 NLT

18Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us.

Profound. Ridiculously profound. This means that God's love has not been perfected in me. Because I'll be honest - I am afraid of being seperated from Him all the time. I am fearful of that... always.

My Uncle John had a heart attack. Please pray for him.

Dating Etiquette: Her Birthday - what NOT to do!

carlybish says:
So tell me about your birthday! I can't believe you're 21! It's like... umm... ADULTHOOD! But for real this time, not like when you turned 18. So tell me about it!

Stephanie says:
Ok, so three words to sum up December 1, 2004: worst birthday ever!

carlybish says:
WHAT?! What happened??

Stephanie says:
Yeah, so my grandparents are awesome and came up to take me to the Olive Garden for lunch (it's my grandma's b-day too)--that part was fun…

carlybish says:
Very cool. Grandparents can be awesome.

Stephanie says:
Definitely! So I had to go back early because I had class from 1:45-3:30. Jake had mentioned previously that I should be ready by 5:30 or 6 because he wanted to do something w/ me. I got online and talked to him at about 4:30 or 5, just to see if that was still what he wanted. He told me we weren't really on a time limit, so anywhere around then was fine. And then he said, "Well, ok, here's the 'itinerary' for the evening:
1. go to the UC for dinner (my treat )
2. surprise
3. I have to work the front desk from 9-10pm
4. other surprise"

So, I look at #1, which says he is taking me to the PLU cafeteria for dinner. On my 21st birthday.

carlybish says:
...That's what that is??

Stephanie says:
Yes. So I called my roommate in and asked her if she knew what he was planning, She said no, so I showed her what he had said. So we decide it has to be a joke. I mean, the man is cheap, but he can't be THAT confident. So Katy gets mad and says that if it's seriously his plan, she wants to take me out to dinner. Then she IMs him to ask him if that's really where we're going. He says "yeah...i have no money ," and then she gets totally pissed and tells him that she wants to take me out because I deserve better, esp. on my 21st b-day.

carlybish says:
GOOD! Goodness sakes!

Stephanie says:
So they are fighting, and I am so mad at him for being such a jerk, ESPECIALLY on my b-day. So I make him apologize, tell him to knock it off, and tell him that if all he can afford right now is the UC, that's fine. He comes and picks me up at like 6 or something, and then we go to his room before we eat. I sit down on the couch, and he hands me a bandana, telling me I need to blindfold myself. I do, and then he starts handing me random objects and making me guess until I figure out what they are. Finally, the last object is my present, which he tells me I can shake. I do, and I tell him it sounds like sand in a box.

carlybish says:
Uh huh...

Stephanie says:
He lets me take the blindfold off and open it, so I excitedly rip apart the toilet paper he has so carefully wrapped it in... And then I stare in disbelief at what I am holding. Two boxes of Oregon Chai Tea mix taped together. From my boyfriend of SEVEN MONTHS. WHAT THE HECK DO YOU SAY AFTER RECIEVING A GIFT LIKE THAT?!?!?!?!

carlybish says:
I would be... speechless. I wouldn't be able to say ANYTHING.

Stephanie says:
Yeah, I definitely was at first. Somehow, I managed to thank him, but then I had to try really hard not to laugh. The best part was that he then proceeded to tell me that he had bought them at the PLU bookstore and that he had been able to use a gift card, so he basically got them for free. WHY would he TELL me that?!

carlybish says:
Still speechless!

Stephanie says:
Yup. So after a "delicious" and "romantic" UC dinner, we hop in the car for the first surprise. That was actually pretty cool, because he took me ice skating. But the whole time he just wanted to go as fast as he could, and it was not romantic at all. And then he got tired pretty fast. So we left, and he told me the other surprise was that he had wanted to take me out for a drink. But, by then it was 8:30 and he had to be at the desk at 9, so he told me we could go afterward.

carlybish says:
Okay... Please tell me it does not get any worse?

Stephanie says:
ok, so some of my guy friends heard about how Jake was taking me to the UC for dinner, so they told me they wanted to take me out while Jake was working the desk

carlybish says:
Yay! Good!

Stephanie says:
I told Jake I was going with them while he worked, and he was totally fine with it. So they took me to Red Robin, and all chipped in to get me some drinks, and it was SOOO fun! And when I told them all about everything that had happened, they were in shock. They seriously could not believe things just kept getting worse.

carlybish says:
Chai Tea and Jake competing against himself at the ice skating rink is a pretty non-romantic, non-special 21st birthday! I'm appalled as well!

Stephanie says:
Exactly. So we all decided it was for the best that I got out for a bit and had a little alcohol to help me "relax" a bit. Well so Jake had assumed I would be back by 10, since that's when he got off and we didn't end up leaving until 10:30, so he sounded a bit less than thrilled when I called him.

carlybish says:
He has no right, but go on... I'm dying to see where this goes.

Stephanie says:
Haha. So the guys drop me off at PLU, and I go up to Jake's room. He's sitting there on the couch, pouting. And of course, when I ask him what his problem is, he won't tell me.

carlybish says:
Such a man.

Stephanie says:
Yeah... So then I finally drag it out of him that he's "sad" because I came back later than he had expected. And so he doesn't feel like going out anymore. So all I want to do at this point is go home, but he has to drive me back. And then he says something about how he's a disappointment to me because all he can offer me is the UC. That's pretty much the straw that breaks the camel's back. So I leave, go to the bathroom, and start crying because I am BEYOND frustrated.

carlybish says:
I am so sorry that happened, Steph. That's a terrible birthday. And for him to make YOU feel bad at the end of the day... It's YOUR birthday, for goodness sake!

Stephanie says:
I KNOW! That's what I told him, too! I was like, "what makes me the most upset out of the whole birthday ordeal is that you made me feel like I was a selfish jerk at the end of the night!"

carlybish says:
That's the worst part! Forget the bad dinner, the crappy ice skating, the freaking Chai Tea! I'd be pissed if he sat in his room moping just to make me feel bad! That's ridiculous!

Stephanie says:
If ever there was a defining moment in our relationship where I saw it heading towards a black hole,that would be it. I just wish I hadn't had so much faith in him still.

carlybish says:
Well, he's a good guy. He just... He needs to grow up.

Stephanie says:
Definitely. I told him that he does not treat me the way you treat the person you want to marry. Which he had a hard time understanding, but I explained it to him the best I could.

carlybish says:
What's not to understand?? You wouldn't give your wife Chai Tea for her birthday, would you??

Stephanie says:
HAHA!!! Ok, so do you know what my mom said about him?

carlybish says:
No, but please tell me.

Stephanie says:
She said, "The problem with Jake is that, metaphorically, he just needs his ride to be pimped. Well...or maybe he, himself, needs to be pimped?"

carlybish says:
AH!!!

Stephanie says:
I died.

Christmas is coming and I have no money to buy presents for my friends or family. This job hunt thing is really adding to my level of stress. I most recently applied for a teller position at BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust) where I had to take another "assessment test" to qualify for an interview. However, this time, I got the interview. But this all happened last Tuesday and it is now Monday and I wish like none other that somebody would call to request a second interview, or even better, tell me I've been hired.

One of my favorite pastimes is to mull over the things I'd like to do with my first paycheck. Something I can say now that a lot of people can't is that I truly know how it feels to "start over" with nothing and know no one. I do not have furniture. I do not have media entertainment. I lack a microwave, vacuum cleaner, dresser, cable television, computer, and much, much more... I knew I was living in a new realm of "thrifty living" when I splurged on a bathroom rug for $9 and a paper towel holder for $3 at Wal*Mart.

It's fun to think about the cool things I'll finally be able to purchase when I can afford to do so. Like a futon for my living room - practical for when friends and family come to visit and need a place to sleep. And basic cable television, so I can stay informed by local news channels and give my guests some form of alternative entertainment.

Most exciting, I will finally be able to move "Josser", my cat, to be here with me! I miss my cat. I mean, I really miss him. I miss our conversations. He's the type of cat that talks back. It doesn't matter what you say, he'll say something right back.

Right now, my conversations are limited to those I have with Andy and "December Fish", the male beta fish I purchased on the first of this month (a $2 indulgence). "December Fish" is filling the fins of "October Fish", who was Andy's gift to me when I first arrived in Tennessee. Sadly, "October Fish" lasted little over a month and now resides in Fish Heaven.

So right now, it's me, Andy, and "December Fish" and not a lot else really. And I apologize if this seems to be an ongoing topic for me, but when you've got nothing, you end up not having a whole lot to talk about.

Hopefully, for all your sakes, I'll get a job soon. Really soon.

www.photoblog.be/carlybish

Austin called me! So I still have at least one friend! That is so awesome.