Cheesecake Lunch

Today Chelsie and I went to the Cheesecake factory for our Christmas present to each other. Chelsie had the spicy chicken, which I can vouch was delicious! I had the chicken marsala, which was good as always! Then we split the cheesecake special of the day, boy oh boy, what a delicious lunch, and great memory with my wonderful friend Chelsie.

Saturday After Christmas

Today I decided to stay in and enjoy my Christmas presents. One of my favorite gifts this year was from my good friend Jami. She got me an Espresso machine! Combined with Mandy's gift of fresh ground espresso coffee, I was able to make my first homemade latte this morning. I'm sitting at home watching Weeds, season 4 that Javier gave me and enjoying my latte. My brother got me a Starbucks gift certificate (I'm sensing a running theme here...) ;) My parents got me tickets to Toby Mac that I went to December 8th, and they also gave me a card for Christmas with a "Pay one bill" coupon. I'm really excited to use it, I'm still thinking about what I want to put it towards, but I'm thinking maybe getting my car detailed and a few things on it fixed up would be perfect!

Christmas Day

I had a great Christmas morning with my family; just like we normally do every year. With Dad feeling a little better each day, it was nice to see him out with us all morning opening presents. Dad sat in his recliner and opened presents and cards.

We get our presents from Mom whose always very eager to get the presents out to each of us from under the tree. Somehow she manages to get presents, pass them out, take pictures and even open her own all at the same time.

I think one of the best parts of Christmas is giving. It can sometimes be hard to find just the right gifts for people, but when you do, it really brings out the purpose of the season; giving to others.

A Traditional Farkle Christmas Eve

Every Christmas the "Farkle" family gets together and has a big Christmas eve get together. I say "Farkle" because it's our family nickname that includes all the family surnames. There's a story behind the name, but that's for another day. Our family traditions are passed from one generation to the next. For example, we always have a pinata that now my cousin's son, Cameron makes every year. It used to be made by his father, Guy (my cousin). Before that it was made by my Dad's uncle, Mont. This year Cameron made a large snowflake that all the children got a good whack at. Here's a picture of my cousin Kali holding her niece Sophie up for a good hit on the candy filled snowflake.



We're also blessed in that every year Santa comes and delivers presents to the children in the family. Every child gets a moment on Santas lap after he searches through his bag, finds a present, and calls out the name of the lucky child. It's always a fun time for everyone and for those of us who used to sit on Santas lap and get a present it's a little reminiscent of Christmas' past. Here's a picture of my cousin Matt's girls Madeline and Sophie opening their gifts from Santa.

Were The World Mine

Javier bought this movie and I was like, "Yeah, I'll watch that in my spare time." Then we watched it at Y.A.D. on Sunday and it's decidedly my favorite movie. This is kind of amazing because it's been a loooooong time since my favorite movie has changed.

The movie is based on a guy in his senior year and is kind of disconnected from his life. He is encouraged by his English teacher to audition for the senior play "A Midsummer Nights Dream" by William Shakespeare. I won't spoil it, in case you watch it, but it's setup almost exactly like the TV show GLEE. There are moments of song and dance that the main character enacts dreams or aspects of reality. It's masterfully tied to the Midsummer Nights' dream play in that everything that occurs in the play ends up translating into his life. I'm not a repeat movie watcher, normally; but I've already seen this one three times and I can't wait to watch it again.

YAD Christmas Cookies

Y.A.D. (Youth Alliance for Diversity) made Christmas cookies this year. It was fun... but mostly I'm just glad I didn't get any in my hair! The youth group has been an important part of my life, and giving back has been very meaningful to me. I'm glad Javier has given me this chance, and thankful for all the time and effort he puts into it himself. We also watched what is now my favorite movie - "Were the World Mine".

Christmas At The Cathedral

Every year (for as many years back as I can remember) I've been a part of or attended the CATC (Christmas at the Cathedral). I always enjoyed playing the bells in the bell choir. I haven't for the last couple of years... but perhaps I'll look for a church in California with a Bell Choir to join. :)

Regardless, this year was beautiful as always. The Church was decorated with giant wreaths and poinsettias adorned the sanctuary. It was wonderful to see friends I haven't seen in some time. The most wonderful part for me was listening to the Bell Choir. What a treat to reflect on this special time of year.

Toby Mac Concert

Tonight Maddy, Danielle, Charity and I went to see Toby Mac, Reliant K, Stephanie Smith and B. Reith in concert at the Idaho center. It was my parent's Christmas present to me as the four tickets were specially purchased to include VIP backstage passes to get pictures with the performers!


I've never had backstage passes and it was really neat to get to go behind the scenes and meet such amazing people. All of us had a great time and I can't believe how quickly it was over. Toby and the Diverse City crew brought an amazing performance! I'm looking forward to their next album due out early 2010. Listening to Toby's songs in person helped center me again. As of today, his songs are up on my MySpace. Check 'em out if you get a chance. They're stellar!

Sonoma State University, CA

This Thursday and Friday (December 3rd & 4th) were momentous for me. SSU (Sonoma State University) flew me down to interview, tour, and have a meet and greet at their campus. Flying down to San Fransisco International airport, renting a car, and driving an hour north to Sonoma Valley was surreal. The area and campus are absolutely beautiful. Everyone was friendly and personable and seemed excited to meet me.

Regardless of the outcome, I'm so very glad to have had the experience. It's hard to wrap my mind around not living in Boise, or working at Boise State. For now I'm going to enjoy the trip home (back over the Golden Gate) and see where things go.